God Whose Anger Lasts Not

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Saturday, 3rd Week of Lent, Year B, March 13th, 2021
Texts: Hos. 6:1-6; Ps. 51:3-4.18-21; Luke 18:9-14
Today's first reading reminds us of the truth that God's anger does not last forever; it is a truth that it is often affirmed in the scriptures. Through Isaiah, God says, "I do not want to be forever accusing nor always be angry, or the spirit would fail under my onslaught, the soul that I myself have made" (57:16). Once we return to Him, His anger is pacified. Hence, Hosea, in today's first reading, says, "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." This reemphasizes once again that He is truly God, He is our creator, the author of life; He could tear us down and build us up again; He gives life and gives death. In His words, He says, "See now that I, I am he, and beside me there is no other god. It is I who deal death and life. When I struck, it is I who heal (no one can rescue anyone from me)" (Deut. 32:39). The power to strike and to heal, power to kill and  make alive properly belongs to God and no other; the Devil only has the power to kill and destroy, not even the soul but the body (Luke 12:5; John 10:10). The Devil has no power to give life. This is a reminder that we are to put our faith in no other but God. His mercy is an expression of His power to give life, while His anger is an expression of His power to kill, to tear down. Both His mercy and anger are expressions of His power over life.
The truth that God's anger does not last forever is expressed thus: "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." When we yield to His warning and return to Him, He withdraws His anger and He revives us and raises us up. This particular word of God manifests in Jesus Christ, His Son who was raised up on the third day after His death. He was torn down because of our sins, that our humanity might be healed in Him; He was striken for our sins and we are bound up for His sake. On the third day, He rose from the death to manifest life and give us life.
Today, our return to Him is a call to know Him, to have personal knowledge of Him. It is said, "Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” we are to seek to know God, to have personalknowledge of Him. His going forth is sure as the dawn because He does not fail to reveal Himself to those who search for Him; as dawn does not fail to come, so also God does not fail to reveal Himself to us when we search for Him. God says, "I love those who love me, whoever searches eagerly for me finds me" (Prov. 8:17). What God needs is the personal knowledge of Him. He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth because He shall pour down His grace and blessings upon us in abundance when we find Him.
We are also reminded that our love for God should not be like that of Ephraim and Judah; their love for God is like a morning cloud that quickly disappears. Our repentance during this Lent should not be fake but genuine, the one that  lasts beyond Lenten season. God wants us to practice mercy always and to seek to know Him, that is, to deepen our relationship with Him. Hence, He says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings." Many a time  we follow the rituals of our faith but fail to show mercy to our neighbours and to have personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are called, today, to show mercy to our brothers and sisters, and to have personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in the gospel that our ritual observances do not earn us God's favour, but our humility. The tax collector had the awareness of God’s holiness and mercy, and his own sinfulness, but the pharisee relied on ritual observances and was ignorant of God's mercy; his ignorance of God's mercy is a display of his ignorance of God. When we have the knowledge of God, we will be humbled.

Lord our God, we acknowledge you as the Lord of life and we thank you for always holding back your anger, grant us your mercy and help us to always seek you, and you alone. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke