Thursday of the 4th week of Lent year A
Theme: A call to repentance
In the 1st reading of today, we see the anger of God against his people, because they have forgotten what God did for them and have embraced idolatry. Then the Lord told Moses what he intends to do to them because of their stubbornness of heart. Simply put, the Lord was determined to destroy them because of their actions. However, he promised not to make Moses part of those to be destroyed; but rather Moses will be made a great nation. The action of Moses is worthy of emulation. He was not comfortable of the fact that God was going to destroy the people and bless him alone, so he interceded for the mercy of God for the people. Some of us would have allowed God to carry out his threat against the people, because they will not be affected but blessed. Due to the intercession of Moses, the Lord repented of his plan to destroy the people.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the action of the Israelites is practiced by some Christians in our own time. As a result of the challenges of life, they have forgotten the role God has played and is still playing in their lives and have gotten themselves involved in things that are not of God. The anger of God against his people today is a call to repentance, from the works of darkness that we have embraced in our lives. The season of Lent presents us a wonderful opportunity for us to retrace our steps and embrace the light, which is Jesus Christ himself. The works of darkness have no place any more in our lives as children of God. Let us be strong and trust in the loving mercy of our God, to be merciful towards us and forgive us our sins, just like he did to the Israelites, after the intercession of Moses.
Dearly beloved in Christ, today’s liturgy invites us in a very special way to retrace our steps and return to God. As human persons we may have made one mistake or the other in the past like the Israelites, the Lord invites us in a very special way today to come back to him and seek his mercy and forgiveness; he will forgive you. The Lenten season presents us a wonderful platform on which we can stand and seek the mercy of God. I want you to know that the Lord is waiting patiently for you to return to him like the prodigal son and he will gladly welcome you and forgive you your sins. The question today is, what is keeping you away from making that bold step of faith like the prodigal son did? May almighty God bless you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.