VINDICATION FROM TERROR

Meditation for Friday of the 5^th Week of Lent

(Jer 20:10-13; Jn 10:31-42)

The tension is rising! The hour of Jesus is closer at hand, and the gang up against Him is thickening. The prophet Jeremiah captures the mood of the moment in the first reading. “I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! ‘Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ say all my familiar friends, watching for my fall.” Jeremiah’s ordeal was fulfilled in Jesus, who faced such fierce opposition from the Jews. The prophet entrusted the situation to God, who vindicated him and his accusers ended up in dishonour.

While some believed Jesus, the anger of those who opposed Him superseded.  It is difficult for one to reject Jesus and still remain neutral about Him; they all end up persecuting Him. So those who would not accept Jesus as the Son of God took up stones to throw at Him. Jesus began to explain to them how the Scriptures and His works bore witness that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. He told them that if the works are not of the Father, then they should not believe him. But if they recognize the works as coming from God, even though they do not believe in Him, “Believe the works that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” By performing works that only God can do, like raising Lazarus from death, is a self-evident proof that Jesus is divine.

After all the explanations, the Jews tried again to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands.  After this, many people believed in Him. His adversaries were covered with shame, but they continued to re-strategize on how to arrest Him. So when we are surrounded by enemies, bound tight by tension, fear, temptation and sin, let us quickly surrender to Jesus. He is our Vindicator! We do this by focusing our God-given responsibilities of the day, and living out the will of God for us in every situation. This was how Jesus conquered His adversaries by focusing on the works of the Father. In His name we too shall be vindicated. Amen.

 
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Friday March 26^th, 2021.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

HOPE IN THE ANNUNCIATION

Meditation for the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Today we recall the annunciation of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate with great solemnity that moment in human history when the Divine Son of God took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We rejoice and are glad, for the almighty has done great things for us!

The Annunciation of the Lord was faintly heard even at the dawn of creation when God announced the coming of a new order through the woman, which would crush Satan. “I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel” (Gen 3:15).  The development of the Annunciation of the Lord followed henceforth throughout the history of Israel. In God’s covenant with Noah, the universal Covenant was pre-figured. When He announced His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, hope the Annunciation of the Lord was sown in the patriarchal lineage. Moses was a prominent figure whose life, and the role he played, left more to be desired for the coming generations. He became a pointer to the Holy One who mediates for His people before the Father. He was the leader, in whom was hoped for the Messiah who would lead the people to freedom in the eternal promised land. Moses, the law-giver, longed for the perfect covenant that would not be broken. “If you really believed Moses, you would believe me too, since it was about me that he was writing” (Jn 5:46).

In David, the Annunciation of the Lord began to grow as a royal dynasty that would last forever. Yes, we longed to see the everlasting sovereign dynasty for all peoples. In the prophets and the priesthood, the Annunciation of the Lord was awaited in their call for justice and righteousness; the Holy One to come, the vindicator and the Lord the righteous judge was longed for, and the great Sign of salvation was expected.  Isaiah told Ahaz, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God...Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is 7:10-14). Hope in the Annunciation of the Lord came very close in Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist!

However, in the Blessed Virgin Mary the Annunciation of the Lord was no more a hope suspended in the unknown future; the Annunciation of the Lord became a reality! How glorious is Gabriel the harbinger of good news; how beautiful is Mary the receiver of good news. The moment she offered her great YES to the will of God, the Annunciation of the Lord breaks in from an unknown future into the reality of humanity. No more shall humanity hope in vain; no more shall we go without hope! (cf. Rm 5:5). How happy is the Blessed Virgin Mary who was given the most exalted honour of receiving God in such an extraordinary way. Let us echo her ‘yes’ to the will of God in our lives that the grace of the Annunciation, which Mary has in full, shall be poured into our hearts. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
March 25^th, 2021.
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE AUDACITY OF FAITH

Meditation for Wednesday of the 5^th Week of Lent

(Dan 3:14-20, 24-25, 28; Jn 8:31-42)

Today we meditate on the beautiful and powerful story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These faithful men resisted the persuasion of King Nebuchadnezzar to worship the golden image he set up. We see in the developing story our battle with temptation and sin.

Nebuchadnezzar was full of himself; his pride was all over him. “But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?” In his voice, we hear the AUDACITY of evil; the pomposity with which temptation floods our hearts and minds. The voice of sin is always self-confident; giving assurance without hope! Refer back to the audacity with which the serpent addressed Eve (Gen 3:1-5). “Sin speaks to the sinner in the depths of his heart...” (Ps 36:1).  Imagine the roaring voice of the King as he tried to convince the three young men. Compare it with the relentless attraction with which temptation pulls us to sin! This roaring voice gives the impression that resisting its suggestion would lead one to unnecessary pain and agony. It takes one with a burning fiery faith like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to resist the self-imposing influence and empty promises.

The audacity of faith is tested as it stands firm against the pomposity of evil. Such a faith hopes completely in God, surrendering itself fully to the will of God. “If it be so, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O King that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” The King was angry and threw the men into the furnace. Sin and temptation always try to prove a point as you resist them, which is part of the trick to convince you, even at the last minute, to give in. The fury of evil always attempts to take away the freedom and life of the children of God.

But faith in God wins! The silent power of faith silences the roaring voice of evil. At that moment, sin and temptation vanish like smoke. The faithful are saved; the evildoers testify. Hence, Jesus declared, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jesus’ word anchors us on His person that we might follow Him in faith. Therefore, our Christian faith becomes the way we surrender totally to Jesus, in whom we fulfil the will of God. In this way, we do not surrender to the audacity of an alluring evil and we fear no threat of any burning furnace. Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house forever; the son continues forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday March 24^th, 2021.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

 

 

THE PATTERN OF THE NEW COVENANT

The Pattern of the New Covenant

 Meditation for the 5^th Sunday of Lent, Year B

(Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33)

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with house of Israel and the house of Judah...” The people of Israel transgressed against the commandments and broke their covenant with God. The prophet Jeremiah announced a new covenant, which shall be unique and different. It shall be a covenant written on their hearts, not on the tablet of stones. That means the covenant shall be part of their lives, and it shall become the principle of their existence. And knowledge of God will be part of their existence, for each shall know God from within him. It is only a fool that says in his heart that there is no God (Ps 14:1). Thus, the hand of God shall be evident in their lives. Therefore, their sins shall be forgiven. “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.”

If sin that caused the breakdown of the earlier covenant can be wiped out in the new covenant, it means that the SUSTENANCE of the new covenant is not on the individual sinner. We hear from the second reading that Christ is the source and sustenance of the new covenant. In His body in the flesh, Jesus offered up supplications with tears to God for us. Though He was Son, He learnt obedience through His suffering and death. God raised Him,  and made Him perfect and the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Thus, Jesus becomes our entry into the New covenant in Himself.

 In the Gospel some Greeks came to look for Jesus. These were among the Gentiles, who were accounted sinners and unbelievers. For these people to desire the Messiah implies that the universal salvation of Jesus is already at work. Hearing their coming to look for Him, Jesus said, "The HOUR has come for the Son of man to be glorified." The great hour for the new and eternal covenant is the hour of the Cross! This too is the hour the sinner dies to sin that he might live with Christ. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." This is the PATTERN with which Jesus saved us on the Cross. 

Thus, the pattern in which we are saved is now prescribed to us as the way of life! This is so beautiful. Hence, the covenant ìs mingled with our lives; we must always die to ourselves so that the grace of the resurrection will come alive in us. This too is the pattern with which we follow Jesus; our pattern of worshipping and serving God with our lives. If we die with Him, we too shall be glorified in Him. Therefore, we must resist the temptation to be self-absorbed, living for ourselves and trying to save our lives! We must begin to surrender ourselves by allowing Jesus to draw us to Himself. 

"When I am lifted up, I shall draw all men to myself." We see how we are pulled to Christ, the source and sustenance of the new covenant, my living out the pattern of the Cross. In this way, the prophecy of Jeremiah is fulfilled that the new covenant shall be written in our hearts. By dying with Jesus like a grain of wheat, we rise with the blessings of the Father to build up families, relationships, businesses, education, moral life, prayerful life, etc. And our sins our washed away, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church 

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Sunday March 21st, 2021.

www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE GANG UP

Meditation for Saturday of the 4^th Week of Lent

(Jer 11:18-20; Jn 7:40-53)

Prophet Jeremiah felt the pinch of the gang up against him, “But I was like a lamb led to the slaughter.” In his helplessness in the face of sin and evil, the prophet cried out to God for justice and vengeance. “But, O lord of hosts, who judge righteously, who test the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.”

In the Gospel of today, we hear different voices, arguing and planning against Jesus.  Some identified Him as THE PROPHET, while others acknowledged Him as THE CHRIST. While the division was raging on, the officers were on standby to arrest Him. But they too were confused and could not lay hands on Him. The Pharisees, who planned all the tricks, waited patiently for the officers to deliver Jesus to them, but they came back empty handed. The officers answered them, “No man ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees were angry and confused. Their evil thoughts blocked their sense of justice. However, one of them tried to defend Jesus and correct them. They angrily shut him down saying, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee.”

All these arguments, confusion and anger were simply because they did not want to accept Jesus, and accept Him wholeheartedly. While Jesus was at peace within Him, those who opposed Him were restless. Their fierce anger and evil plans left no mercy for Him; He is the true lamb that was led to the slaughter. This is what sin does. It disrupts our inner peace, inclining us to discomfort and dissatisfaction. But it is paid for by the BLOOD JESUS, which also cries to God for our vengeance. Already we feel the pinch of the gang up against our life of holiness by numerous temptations lurking in our hearts. 

This Lenten season, let us entrust ourselves to Jesus, washed in His Blood our hearts shall know peace. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Saturday March 20^th, 2021.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

ST JOSEPH: THE SILENT ACHIEVER

 ST JOSEPH: The Silent Achiever

Meditation for the Solemnity of St Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 Can you recall any word St Joseph directly uttered in the four Gospels?

Our meditation from THE SOUND OF SILENCE gazes at St Joseph from one of his unique qualities: silence! All that we know about this humble man were reported speech. One can argue that the Evangelists wrote in retrospect. But the events surrounding him were so direct, important and conspicuous that such silence reflects something of his character. While Mary is properly portrayed as a recollected and quiet woman, ‘silence’ is the disposition of Joseph and the ‘language’ he spoke!

“...Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary of her was born Jesus who is called Christ” (Mt 1:16). Without saying anything about himself, Joseph was introduced as a member of the house of David. His name speaks to us eloquently about the patriarchal hope and blessings from Abraham down to David and to Joseph himself. That means he embodies the hope of the Patriarchs, especially the long-awaited fulfilment of the establishment of an everlasting dynasty for David (2 Sam 7:4-16). In Joseph, this hope stepped into its actuality; the great promise reached its fulfilment! Still, Joseph did not utter a word.

St Joseph was such a quiet man that when he had issues with Mary’s pregnancy he carried the burden in his mind, thinking out the best way to save Mary from embarrassment. Yes, he spoke in silence even in his dream, for he did not say anything to the angel. But he got up and acted accordingly (Mt 1:18-25). While his silence reigned, his actions spoke for him. It is through these silent actions that we hear clearly about the personality of Joseph and the grace that followed him. Recall the events surrounding the birth of Jesus... Think about his silent but quick response to the instruction of the angel to take the child and his mother to Egypt! Look at the beautiful scene of the presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple as Joseph led Mary and the Baby into the temple. Imagine Joseph’s fatherly role and presence as they looked for the Child and found him after three days in the temple.  His silence did not diminish his presence nor under rate his role.

Joseph was popularly known for the work of his hands: “This is the Carpenter’s Son” (Mt 13:55). Unfortunately, his humble status was part of the reason the stubborn-hearted rejected Jesus. He stood as a solid pillar of the Holy Family, providing socio-cultural foundation and relevance to Jesus and Mary. “But when Joseph learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee. There he settled in the town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene” (Mt 2:22-23). The powerful fatherly role of Joseph followed Jesus silently throughout His journey for our salvation. “Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews’” (Jn 19:19).

We thank God for the gift of St Joseph; his life and example shine on like a pillar of light to lead us aright. By his silence, he allowed the will of God to prevail in his life. And within silence St Joseph discerned properly and acted promptly. In silence he spoke, and his ‘voice’ continues to sound! Since we have such example, why do we so easily brag about our achievements? Why do we easily feel uncomfortable in silence? Why must our worship of God be noisy and rowdy? Why do we easily want to impose ourselves on others? Why are families easily given in to misunderstanding? Let the silence of St Joseph speak to us, energizing us from within, so that our hopes and aspirations can step forward to their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Friday March 19^th, 2021.
Solemnity of St Joseph
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE GREAT INTERCESSOR

Meditation for Thursday of 4^th Week of Lent
(Ex 32:7-14; Jn 5:31-47)

While Moses was up on the mountain, the people of Israel down below lost patience, and lost faith in God and His servant Moses. They made for themselves a molten calf, and worshipped it and sacrificed to it. The Lord in His fierce anger wanted to destroy them and set up a new nation through Moses. All He needed was for Moses to leave His presence, for the sight of Moses as the representative of the people was evoking His mercy! This faithful and holy servant of God began pleading on behalf of his stiff-necked people. “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought for out of the land of Egypt with great power and with mighty hand...Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, your servants, to whom you did swear by your own self...And all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” Moses’ plea was heard, and the Lord spared the people of Israel.

Meditate on the beautiful role of Moses, and the burden of the righteous to save the ungodly! While the unfaithful people were down below satisfying their feelings and living according to their own standards, the faithful and righteous one has to stand up for them, denying himself and pleading for them to their utmost ignorance of what was being done to save them! Because the sinner is not aware of the saving work that spares his life, he may not acknowledge and appreciate it. Once one begins to realize this saving work caused by his sin and for his salvation, true repentance begins to germinate. That is why Jesus explained to the Jews that they did not know the role of John the Baptist so that they may gain knowledge and be saved. “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” But a brighter light than John; a greater intercessor is here!

“But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John for the works which the Father has granted me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear me witness that the Father has sent me.” The Father has borne witness to Jesus through the very works He performed—works that only the Father can do. So the testimony of Jesus is greater than that of Moses and John the Baptist. Like the Jews, those who reject Jesus and refuse to repent are those who do not abide in the word of God, who have no love of God in them, and those who do not seek the glory of God but who seek human glory. Jesus said to the people, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Let us at this Lenten season acknowledge and appreciate Jesus for pleading for us in the highest heavens. We continue to relate and absorb the testimony of Jesus through the Sacraments and the Scriptures. In this way, our lives too shall testify to Jesus, that His blood pleads insistently for us, and we have been saved, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Thursday March 18^th, 2021.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com