Fourth Sunday Of Lent Year C 27 March, 2022. Theme: Through Christ, God Has Reconciled Us To Himself Forgiveness is a necessary practice in relation to fellow human beings and our prayers to God. ‘Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray’ (Sirach 28:2). On his part, Jesus instructs us that: ‘I do not say to you that you forgive seven times, but seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:22). The challenge for us is that we are to be holy as God is holy. To be a Christian means being Christ’s follower, both in season and out of season. As a reminder, for us to follow Christ’s command on forgiveness, we are not to return evil for evil, but our forgiveness of one another must be countless, endless, limitless. Since one cannot give what one does not have, one should learn to forgive oneself unconditionally before one can transfer the same to other people. Forgiveness is from the heart. This is why motivation comes from the inside, the mind. In forgiving, we are reconciled with ourselves, with our fellow human beings and with God, our loving Father and Creator. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, in Christ, we keep learning the ways, paths, of forgiveness through his life, death and resurrection. Being Christ’s followers, through Christ, in Christ and with Christ, we are reconciled to God Himself. Jesus Christ has come to teach us how to sacrifice, how to be committed in serving God with our God-given gifts, talents, with courage and humility. In this light, even in our world today, following Jesus life, there are people who lose their breath for others to breathe. There are people who lose their lives for others to live. To forgive is to express God’s grace and mercy. Once again, in our continued journey of Lent, we need to be merciful and grow into the image of God for our prayers to be answered by God. To be merciful, compassionate, is to be forgiving, and to be forgiving is to be merciful, to be compassionate. To have a merciful heart is to have a compassionate heart, a forgiving heart, a loving heart. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, let us learn to forgive lovingly, rather than harbouring malice. We are to let go hate or hatred and let in love. This is elimination by substitution. Daily, let us always remember that it is in forgiving and loving that we are co-creators with God, co-gatherers with God, instead of being co-destroyers, co-scatterers, with the devil. Brethren: do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:30-5:2) Today’s First Reading – Joshua 5:9a, 10-12, tells us of the mercy of God by removing the reproach, criticism, disapproval, of Egypt from the people of Israel. This is also presented in the Gospel – the merciful and gracious God. Let us note that in the promised land, the Hebrews, that is, the people of Israel, celebrated the Passover. Their motivation was not to get something per se, in itself, love and gratitude were the principal motivations. Good works should be the result of sanctification. In the matter of leading a Christian life, it is the reason why one does so that counts. The people of Israel offered their lambs as a sign of gratitude to Almighty God. Our Passover Lamb is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Now, my Brothers, Sisters and Friends, the Passover is the Eucharistic Prayer, the Apex, the Summit, of the Catholic Church. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, the Holy Eucharist is the Greatest Prayer of the Catholic Church and it must be treated reverently, solemnly, with utmost respect. This prayer is offered to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the Prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise, and these sentiments should be our motivation for taking part in it. ‘We offer you (God) in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice …. Through him (Jesus Christ), with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.’ (Eucharistic Prayer III) The message of the Second Reading, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, is that God, in Christ, has reconciled us to Himself. Let us apply this to ourselves. Whether a person is ‘the prodigal son’ or ‘the righteous son’ of today’s Gospel, a person needs reconciliation, which is bought with good works, but given freely, as already described. Yes, Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Today’s Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 34). My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, in today’s Gospel – Luke 15:1-3, 11-32, like the prodigal son, we are all urged to return to our Father, God. The Parable of ‘the Prodigal Son’ is further known as The Parable of ‘the Merciful Father’. Indeed, it is all about ‘a man’, called ‘father’ fourteen times and obviously representing Almighty God, who cares for both the son who ran off and the law-abiding son who remained home. Here in the passage, Luke identifies the people to whom the parable is directed: the tax collectors and sinners (the son who ran off), and the Pharisees and Scribes, the righteous observers of the law (the son who remained home). The latter observed the law, but their motivation was wrong. They tried to buy salvation by scrupulous external observance. Their attitude was like that of the oldest son: ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command….’ My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, unloving service is not far from servitude, slavery. We should be very careful when fear and calculation are the only reasons why we are obeyed or obey other people. Sincere and loving obedience is better than sacrifice. It promotes true harmony and real development. Both sons in the parable were wrong. However, no matter which of them individually we identify ourselves with, we must return to our God, our loving Father and Creator, who is EVER merciful. All of us, daily, must always need to return home to the Merciful Father, like the prodigal son through the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). In the words of Max Lucado: ‘The difference between mercy and grace? Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance. Like I have been doing lately, I humbly enjoin you to learn to make the sign of the Cross with reverence. It should be made properly, not just anyhow, as it is the seal, the authenticating stamp, that we mark ourselves at the beginning and the end of the Catholic Church’s prayers. Please, I humbly request all of us to pray for Professor Gregory Adebiyi Daramola, who hailed from Okemesi-Ekiti, Ekiti State, who died on Friday, 25/3/2022, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Prof. Daramola was the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State. May he rest in peace and may God continue to bless, sustain, strengthen, protect and guide his darling and caring Wife, Mrs Funmilayo Daramola, their cherished children, beloved family, friends and well-wishers. Amen. On Friday, 25 March, 2022, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, His Holiness, Pope Francis, set aside the day specially as the Day of Prayer For Peace And Consecration Of Russia and Ukraine To The Immaculate Heart Of Mary. This was done in the Catholic Church worldwide. May Mary, our Queen and Mother, keep interceding for us. May Mary’s intercession keep us safe from weapons of hate and violence, and may the war between Russia and Ukraine come to an end. We ask this through Christ our Lord who has reconciled us to God Himself. Amen. The Prayer Of St Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;And where there is sadness, joy.O, Divine Master, grant that I maynot so much seek to be consoled,as to console;to be understood, as to understand;to be loved, as to love; for it is in givingthat we receive,it is in pardoning thatwe are pardoned;and it is in dying that we areborn to eternal life. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, let us adopt this Prayer of St Francis in our daily relationships with one another. With confidence in God and Christ being our strength, wherever God leads us, we FOLLOW with joy, commitment and happiness.
Most Rev. Felix Femi Ajakaye Bishop of Ekiti.