YEAR A: HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT (2)

YEAR A: HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT

HOMILY THEME: LENT: DAY 18 – FAST FROM INFRINGING THE LAW; KEEP BOTH THE LAW OF GOD AND THAT OF MAN

BY: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU

HOMILY: READINGS: DEUTERONOMY 4:1.5-9, PSALM 147, MATTHEW 5:17-19

Jesus lays down the eternal character of the law before us today. St. Paul says ‘Christ is the end of the law’ (Rom. 10:4) only to the extent that in him, the law is full, it is complete; in fact, he is the law, the law of God. Today we see in Christ, one who is a respecter of tradition. His (human) forebears had a tradition of faithful adherence to the law and it was only right that he followed them, not to become part of the law but to give it a new face, a Christian face. Indeed he gave it a new face; he condemned all those aspects of the Jewish law that weren’t in line with the divine law and the good of man. Yet he insisted that we keep those that are just and for the good of man.

From the Old Testament to this day, there has been an insistence on the law. Today we hear Moses telling the Israelites to adhere to the statutes and ordinances of God if they were to possess the Promised Land. He further tasked them to make the laws of the Lord known to their children and their children’s children (Deut. 4:9) (importance of the law). We may notice that God’s blessings to the Israelites were dependent on whether or not they kept his statutes and ordinances. First call; that we faithfully adhere to the commands of God so as to earn more of his blessings besides those he gives us gratuitously, secondly, by so doing, we may merit the title, great in heaven (Matt.5:19).

The Ten Commandments for instance are the essence and foundation of all law and their meaning can be flawlessly summed up in one word – REVERENCE. Reverence for God and his name, reverence for his day. Reverence for parents, reverence for life, for property, for personality; reverence for the truth and for another person’s good name. Lastly, reverence for oneself so that wrong desires may never overpower us. Reverence for God and respect for ourselves and our neighbours are the very soul of the law.

Jesus came to fulfil the reverence that lay behind every law. He came to show us how to give God his due – putting him first and unrivaled in our lives, never cajoling his name and reverencing his day of rest. He came to help us respect the law governing man – respecting our parents, valuing life and protecting it, respecting our bodies and being chaste, respecting others by not stealing or cheating them, by not lying against them, by not coveting their goods or wives. The reverence Jesus came to fulfil consisted in the positive command to love God and treat man rightly. This reverence for Jesus endures eternally and no man must infringe it.

HELP FEED AND EDUCATE ONE POOR THIS LENT