Wednesday of the 28th week in the ordinary time of the year
Theme: A call to holiness
In the 1st reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he enjoins us to live a life that is rooted in the spirit; as against a life that is governed by the flesh. He went further to enumerate some of the attributes that are found in the life of those who operate on the level of the flesh; by implication the ways of the world. This is a subtle reminder of the fact that we are in the world but not of the world. That which emanates from the actions of the flesh is not pleasing to God and should not be found in our midst as children of God. Those who live their lives according to the spirit, produce the fruits of the kingdom such as love, peace, unity, happiness and so forth. Our ability to produce these wonderful virtues in our daily life will go a long way towards making our world a better place; and this is exactly what we are called to do as Christians in our own time. The word of God continues to encourage us to live a life that is good and pleasing to God at all times, and also helps us to enthrone the love and presence of God among his people. St. Paul invites us today to die to the flesh and embrace the works of the spirit, as children of God and ambassadors of Christ in our world.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the admonition of St. Paul in today’s 1st reading, give us an opportunity to reflect about the kind of life we lead at the moment. St. Paul makes it very clear to us that as children of God; we should operate on the level of the spirit and not on the ways of the world. This is because the fruits of the flesh are contrary to what we represent as children of God and Christians that we are. Simply put, St. Paul is inviting us to embrace holiness of life and bring forth fruits of the kingdom that will promote the kingdom of God here on earth. We all have what it takes to make this bold step of faith, it is for us to make up our minds and give God a chance in our lives.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, in the gospel reading we see Jesus rebuking the Pharisees and lawyers for their hypocrisy and show of externalism. The question today is, are we any different from them? Your guess is as good as mine. Authenticity of life is very important in our dealings with one another. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.