STANDING FOR THE KINGDOM

Meditation for Thursday of the 3^rd Week of Lent

(Jer 7:23-28; Lk 11:14-23)

The prophet Jeremiah complained against the hardness of heart of the people of Israel, who refused to obey their God. Despite numerous efforts to convince them, they would not obey. “This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.”

 Even as Jesus was casting out demons, some of them refused to believe and called Him Beelzebul, the prince of demons. While others, to test Him, asked Him to perform more miracles! Think about how people behave when they do not acknowledge what they know to be self-evident truth! Often times, they put up a false defence to justify their self-pity, then, they try to cause distraction. But Jesus did not fall to their self-delusion and tricks. He showed how their stubbornness and doubt is self-contradictory. “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid to waste, and house falls upon house. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”

As the people of Jeremiah’s time continued their stubbornness unto exile, those who refuse to accept Jesus but stand in opposition to Him, shall miss the Kingdom of God. “If it is by the Finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” We cannot be indifferent; it is either we are for Christ or against Him. If we stand for Jesus, He will melt our hearts with His love, and make us obey the word of God. Then, the Kingdom of God shall grow within us, and we shall bear its fruits. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Thursday March 11^th, 2021.
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