WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF YOU?

 Reflection for Monday of the 16^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Micah 6:1-4, 6-8, 6-8; Mt 12:38-42)

Welcome to another blessed Week as we journey with Prophet Micah, who was a contemporary of Isaiah. Micah can be described as the prophet of divine justice for the inviolable rights of the poor.

In our readings today, Micah used a courtroom analogy to expose the situation between God and His chosen people, Israel. This kind of analogy involves a question and answer section, and witnesses. The prophet summons the mountains and hills to hear the debate! God questions Israel, saying, “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage...” Israel’s response to this was the offering of calves and thousands of rams and oils. Micah concludes the debate by saying to the people, “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

The words of the prophet resonate in our hearts today. Once we fail in doing what the Lord requires of us, we will be pursuing self-interest and exuberance in the name of divine worship. That is why the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign. How can an evil and adulterous people ask for a sign from God? How can we be unjust, unforgiving, greedy, proud and ask for miracles? Jesus explained that He himself is the sign. As Jonah stayed three days and three nights in the belly of the whale and became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so Jesus, the Son of man, resurrected after three days and became a living assurance that God has delivered us from bondage.

Both the wisdom of Solomon, which the Queen of the South came to seek, and the miraculous sign of Jonah for the conversion of Nineveh, all point to Jesus Christ as their ultimate Sign. But the Pharisees neglected the Saviour in their midst and were asking for a sign; a sign that would point to what? It was to entertain their curiosity. Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give the glory (Ps 115:1). Micah has reminded us today that God wants something from us. And our hearts are constantly tuned to this divine requirement on us as we gaze upon the face of Jesus in meditation. As we go about our activities this Week, let us be conscious that we are in God’s presence. No matter how the days unfold, we should practice justice, love and kindness, and be humble. Jesus is in our midst; A blessing greater than ‘Jonah’ and ‘Solomon’ is here for you. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Monday July 20^th, 2020.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com