Reflection on Today's Readings, Thursday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time Year II, 13th August, 2020
Texts: Ez. 12:1-12; Ps. 78:56-62; Matt. 18:21-19:1
God says, "I have made you a sign for the house of Israel". For Ezekiel, it was a sign of captivity for the house of Israel. The state of our society is the outcome of the sign we have all decided to be. Our society is a reflection of us. The solution to the problem in our society is everyone being a sign of change. Everyone is to be a good sign: Sign of forgiveness, sign of truth, sign of justice, sign of peace, etc. If we all become good sign, our society will be good.
God wants all his children to be his sign in the world. Today's gospel dwells on being sign of God's forgiveness to our neighbours. Hence, it is said, "I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; and should not you have had mercy on you fellow, as I had mercy on you?" God has forgiven us our sins, we are to forgive others too. If God has been good to us we are to be good to others. We should be to the world what our God is. If our God is truth, we are to be sign of truth to the world; is our God love, let us be sign of that to the world. If we are truly saved, let us be sign of salvation to the world.
In this scheme of being a sign of God to world, we all have different lots. My own lot might be to be a sign of God's patience, yours might be to be a sign of God's peace, and another a sign of God's healing power. St. Thomas Aquinas is a sign of God's wisdom to the world; St. Theresa is a sign of God's love to the world; St. Padre Pio is a sign of God's passion to the world; etc.
Everyone is a sign to the world, either sign of God or sign of the devil. Those who are on the side of God are his signs to the world. Those who are on the side of the devil are his signs to the world.
St. Gregory of Nyssa tells us to be sign of Christ to the world when he says, "But as we bear the name of Christ, who is peace, we too must put an end to all hostility, so that we may profess in our lives what we believe to be true of him". He adds thus: "But if we look upon Christ as our sanctification, then we should keep ourselves free from all that is wicked and impure both in thought and in deed and so prove ourselves worthy to bear his name".
Lord our God, pardon us for the number of times we have betrayed you by not representing you well, fill us with the courage and strength to be your sign to the world. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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