THE FERTILE SOIL OF FAITH

Meditation for Monday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(1 Tim 2:1-8; Lk 7:1-10)

Humility is a natural quality that can be nurtured both by believers and unbelievers. However, faith in Jesus Christ supplies the extraordinary grace that can efficiently sustain and deepen humility in the believer. In today’s Mass reading, we meditate on the role humility plays in strengthening the faith of the believer.

Though faith is a supernatural gift, it grows freely and develops faster when planted in the soil of humility. Thus, humility is the humid soil in which faith grows stronger and yields a rich harvest. Think about the words of St Paul in the first reading: “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling.” Such freedom of expression and gestures towards God can only come from a humble heart, who is not weighed down by pride and arrogance. Humility empties the heart for divine grace to refill. The man of faith, who prays constantly with such freedom, must be humble at heart.

 

In the gospel, Jesus praised the faith of the Centurion. This Roman army commander sent Jewish elders to implore Jesus to come and heal his servant who was at the point of death. The Jewish elders talked about the man’s kindness to them. As Jesus was getting closer to the house, this Centurion sent message to Him, saying, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore, I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.” Think about the humility of this Gentile; while the Jewish elders found him worthy, the man did not acclaim himself worthy. Also, it is great humility for such a highly placed man to take the pains to care for his servant. Here was a man with natural human heart, who did not see his position as an elevation above others. He did not use his Roman power to oppress the Jews. In addition, this Centurion believed in Jesus and in His power to heal.

 

Jesus praised the faith of this army commander, saying, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” While humility is the fertile soil from which genuine faith germinates, faith in Jesus nourishes humility and gives it an eternal value. We may not often have the strong faith we desire. Even the little faith we have can easily be choked by doubt and trials of life. But we can always nurture humility! Then, the mustard seed of faith within will continue to grow and flourish to the glory of God. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Monday September 18, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

UN-NUMBERED FORGIVENESS

 Meditation for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
(Sirach 27:30-28:7; Rm 14:7-9; Mt 18:21-35)

In our meditation today we reflect on the root and consequences of forgiveness. The readings testify that forgiveness is a divine mandate, which will affect our relationship with God. To understand and embrace the divine root of forgiveness is an important step in forgiving others. Forgiveness is one of the most challenging spiritual exercises. The human person will always want to base forgiveness within himself or around his hurt and feelings. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to forgive, and the reason Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

 

Sooner or later, the human person realizes that his good will and capacity to forgive are not sustainable enough without divine grace. Then, anger, bitterness, grudge, enmity will begin to manifest. The first reading says, “Anger and wrath, these are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them.” These negative energies can make one seek vengeance on his neighbor. But he that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord. In other words, forgiveness is a sign indicating the kind of relationship we have with God. That is why the unforgiving servant in the gospel parable was sent to the jailers till he should pay all his debt because that was how he treated his fellow servant. And the first reading asked, “Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins”

 

Hence, in answering Peter’s question Jesus made us to understand that forgiveness is not centered on the human person, nor does it flow from the hurt one received. Forgiveness is not numbered; it is an example we learn from God, and a gift we receive from Him. As we meditate on the parable of the unforgiving servant, it becomes obvious that those who are indebted to us by their misdeeds or offences remind us that we are all debtors before God, who blesses us with unmerited forgiveness. That means to forgive others is to share with them in joyful celebration and gratitude the mercy of God; it becomes an acknowledgment and witnessing to the divine love that wipes away our debts.

 

In the words of the second reading, to forgive others becomes our concrete demonstration that we do not live for ourselves, and none of us dies to himself. We belong to Jesus, we live and die for Jesus, and not to anyone or to any hurt others must have cause us. That is why forgiveness cannot be numbered nor based on trespasses. But forgiveness is a demonstration of how much we have allowed Jesus to be Lord over us, and thus, count every other thing as loss. In this way, forgiveness becomes our constant witnessing, and great proclamation of God’s mercy and compassion. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Sunday September 17^th, 2023.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com