Homily Wednesday Third Week of Lent Year B, 6th March, 2024

Readings: Deut. 4:1.5-9, Ps. 147, Matt 5:17-19

Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia.

 

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR TRUE GREATNESS? THEN KEEP AND TEACH GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

 

The difference between the early Christian community and the present day Christianity is the mode of witnessing. The early Christian community practically preached the word of God by witnessing with their lives, while present Christianity is witnessing by preaching the word of God aloud with megaphones and all kinds of powerful sound systems without practising what they preach thereby misleading people and deceiving one another.

 

Hence today in our Gospel passage, Jesus said to his disciples as he is instructing us, that the man who infringes even one of the least of his commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven. Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way to achieving greatness not just here on earth but also in heaven.

 

So, as Christians our duty is to teach and bear sincere witness to God’s commandments through our ways of life, we need to start practising what we preach, we need to do more of witnessing than preaching. It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to blatant injustice and utter prophetic declarations and denunciation; these kinds of words lack real meaning of our faith unless they are accompanied by effective action manifested by our way of life. Hence we need to acknowledge that our authority as Christians comes from God who through Moses commanded us in our first reading not to forget the things our eyes have seen, nor let them slip from our hearts all the days of our lives; rather, we should tell them to our children and our children’s children.’

 

Dear friends, today Jesus tells us that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to complete them, so we are not called to compromise the teachings and laws of God to suit our wrong motives and parade ourselves as Christians, teachers, pastors, prophets. Rather we are called to live them out so that our actions should reflect the paternity of God in the way we live and serve others, knowing that true greatness is found in keeping and teaching the commandments of God, of which Jesus tells us that the greatest of these commandments is to love God and our neighbour.

 

Therefore, true greatness is rooted in our love for God and our neighbours, Jesus emphasized that it is too bad to break one of these commandments, but to teach someone else to do the same is a terrible evil thing to do. Thus, we should ask ourselves today, am I breaking these commandments and teaching others to do the same through my attitude and way of life? Am I following my own opinions contrary to the commandments and laws of love which Jesus has taught us by his way of life? Or am I keeping and teaching these commandments through my attitude and by way of life? The answers to these questions are not far from us.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, all good things come from you, as we struggle to sincerely witness our faith and keep your commandments, grant us the grace to keep and teach them by our way of life and so obtain the Joy of true greatness in this world and your heavenly kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a favourable day.