Reflection for Saturday After Ash Wednesday
(Is 58:9-14; Lk 5:27-32)
"If you take away from your midst, the yoke, the pointing of finger, and sneaking wickedness...then shall your light rise in the darkness." Repentance involves a practical action. The Prophet Isaiah gives some guidelines on the proper practical steps to be taken, and the blessing that will follow. He emphasized 'honouring the Sabbath' as an important step to show repentance. This might sound odd to the modern ear!
The Sabbath, the 7th day, is the day God set aside for Himself, and He imposed a blessing upon it that creation and the rest of the days might be blessed through the Sabbath day. It is the day God 'drew attention to Himself'. Thus, honouring the Sabbath day becomes an external gesture of 'giving God attention.' And the attention we give God is worshipp. The repentant sinner who honours the Sabbath, therefore, worships the Lord. Of what use is repentance if it does not give God the attention that is His due?
However, God established for us a new place of 'rest.' Jesus is the New Sabbath where God's rest awaits us (cf. Heb 4:1-12). God drew all attention to Himself in Christ Jesus. "When I Am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself." He invites us to come and enter into His new place of rest. This is the invitation to conversion--the invitation given to Levi in the Gospel of today. '"Follow me.' And He left everything, and rose and followed Him" (Lk 5:27-28).
Reflect on the action words, 'he left everything', 'he rose', and 'he followed.' Now place them side by side with what we do every Sunday! Is it not how we move to participate at the Mass? The feast at table with Jesus can be likened to our dinning with the Lord at the Eucharist--sinners, repentant sinners, who are now supposed to be 'in a state of grace' surrounding the communion rail.
Therefore, the culmination of our practical steps to repentance is the worship of God, giving God the attention that is His due. This is what Isaiah prophesied as honouring the day of the Lord. Repentance without worship is self-righteousness, which leads to the hypocrisy of pointing fingers. Our Lenten journey to conversion cannot stop until we seat at table with Jesus.
Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu.
Saturday March 9th, 2019.
