The Beauty of Religion

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Thursday of 1st Week in Ordinary Time, Year 11, January 13th, 2022
Texts: 1 Samuel 4:1-11; Psalm44: 10.11.14- 15.24-25; Mark 1:40-45
A yoruba proverb says, "White teeth are the beauty of a mouth just as character is the beauty of a religion." Many a time we live our lives as if God does not care about one's ways of life. In today's first reading, the people of Israel had abandoned the ways of the Lord and yet expected God to help them. In yesterday's first reading that told us about the call of Samuel, tthe message given to Samuel was omitted. God told Samuel the sins of Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and the misfortune they had attracted to themselves (1Sam. 3:11-14). Today's first reading tells us the fulfilment of what God told Samuel. The Hebrews lost the battle because their ways were not pleasing to God; the two sons of Eli were corrupt. We learn from today's first reading that once we abandon the ways of the Lord, we are on our own; no matter how much we cry for help, it will all be in vain. For some of us, the solution to our problem is to change our ways. When we change our ways, things will be better for us, we shall see the help of God.
Some of us are like the people of Israel; we are merely religious but no holiness. We pray our Rosary, we receive holy communion daily, we attend religious program, but we are far from living out the gospel values. Living such a life and still expecting God's help, it is like taking God for a fool or thinking that religion is a magic. The effectiveness of magic does not depend on one's ways of life but faithfulness to ritual. We are to wake up from such dream that makes us think that religion works like magic. We just have to know that God's grace or help does not even depend on doing the will of God alone but also the willingness of God, His good pleasure.
Today's gospel reading affirms that the grace of God does not depend on our good deeds, religious practices and faithfulness to ritual alone but most importantly the willingness of God, His good pleasure. It is said, "A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling said to him, 'If you will, you can make me clean.' Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean." The leper had a true understanding of religion; he understood that it all depended all God's good pleasure. Hence, he said, "If you will, you can make me clean." The healing received by the leper was dependent on the willingness of Jesus Christ to heal him; it is His good pleasure that granted the leper healing. Though God's help of us is dependent on His good pleasure, not our works, He, Himself, still demands that we live rightly and be faithful to Him.  He has given us His words that our righteous living shall never go unnoticed. Righteous living makes us worthy of His good pleasure. In the letter to the Hebrews, it is said, "For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do" (6:10). His justice will make Him not to over look our labour of love. Put differently, His justice makes it binding that our righteousness should be noticed and rewarded.

Lord our God, thank You for Your good pleasure towards us, grant that we may live so as to be worthy of Your good pleasure. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke