Remembering the Sacrifice

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday of 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, August 25th, 2021
Texts: 1Thess. 2:9-13; Ps.139:7-12ab; Mtt. 23:27-32
There is no success without a sacrifice paid somehow, somewhere. What we are enjoying today some people have paid the sacrifice at a time in the past. Many a time we forget the sacrifice paid to get to where we are. If only we could keep before our eyes the sacrifice paid by some people to get to where we are now, we will be humble and do what is right. On this note St. Paul, in today's first reading, says, "You remember our labour and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God." St. Paul reminded the people of the sacrifice paid to make them accept the gospel preached to them; he toiled and laboured to make up for the burden they should have carried. In other words, He carried their burden by toiling and labouring and by so doing making their burden easy. Jesus Christ knew the benefits of keeping alive the memory of the sacrifice paid to get to where we are when He said, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22: 19). At every Eucharistic celebration we remember the sacrifice paid to set us free from the power of the evil one. The Eucharistic celebration performs the function of keeping alive in our memory the sacrifice of our Lord so that we may love Him and live in obedience to Him.
Today's gospel reading encourages us to always be real and genuine; our words should actually represent what is in our minds. We should stop being hypocrites, pretenders, and fake Christians like the scribes and Pharisees. We should act according to our faith. The scribes and Pharisees believed in the cause of the prophet, showed great admiration  for them, and condemned their fathers for killing them, but their actions show otherwise. Jesus says, "For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets."

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to keep before us always the sacrifice paid to redeem us and set us free. Amen

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke