At the Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem
Text: Luke 19: 28-40
We hear, today, this word of our Lord: “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” The question to us, today, is this: “What do you have that the Lord is in need of to glorify Himself?” The Lord needs our time. Some of us do not have time for God, we do not have time to pray. Some of have time to reading so many things except the words of God. Some of us have time to gossip and talk to people but do not have time to speak to God. Some of us are too busy that we have no time for our family. Time is something we must use, whether we like it or not; we either use it for something good or bad, meaningful or meaningless, useful or useless, etc. Once again: “The Lord needs your time.” Let us use all our time for something that glorifies God by focusing on doing good.
The Lord also needs your talent. Some of us use our talent to promote evil, moral decadence. If you can speak, speak in words that seem to come from God. If you can sing, sing to the glory of God and for the betterment of humanity. Are you gifted in artistic work?, use it to glorify God and enhance human growth and development. The Lord needs your treasure. Some of us use wealth to oppress and enslave others. The Lord needs, today, our pride to be laid down for Him to crush out of our lives. We are to lay down our greed and selfishness for Him to crush out of our lives.
Mass Proper
Texts: Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9,17-20,23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56
There were two thieves that were crucified with Jesus Christ. One of the thieves was not different from those who crucified Jesus Christ. This is clear in his words: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” The other thief expressed deep faith in Jesus Christ which challenges everyone. He said, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. .... Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.” First of all, this thief showed a sign of penitence, for he said, “And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds”. He was penitent and his sins were forgiven him. One of the goals of Lent is to arouse the sense of penitence in us; the readings are carefully chosen to lead us to penitence. The Lenten observances, such as stations of the cross, are imbued with penitential spirit, they incline us to penitence. The observance of stations of the cross inspires in us sense of sin and makes us feel sorry for them. This is more tensed during Easter Triduum. Lent is truly season of grace. Let us make use of the last week of the season, let us immerse ourselves in the Holy week celebrations, let us follow every part of the celebrations wholeheartedly, let us participate actively and consciously, so that we may be truly penitent, that our sins may be wiped away, be removed from us as far as the East is far from the West and be thrown into the depth of the sea.
What challenges us most in the life of the thief is his faith. He prayed to a dying man to remember him in His kingdom. This shows that he believed that the cross is not the end of Jesus. Whereas the disciples of Jesus Christ, even His apostles, were already overcome with the scandal of the cross. God has used what the world held in contempt to shame the proud. This confirms the words of St. Paul: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God” (1Cor. 1:27-29). God gave such faith to a thief, someone held in contempt and counted to be nothing. There was no record that he once followed Jesus Christ or listened to Him. There was no record of meeting, encounter or acquaintance with Jesus Christ. The question is: where could he have gotten his knowledge? We are left hanging as to this! We are left to decide that it was God who revealed it to him as He once revealed the identity of Jesus Christ to Peter. It was the Lord’s doing, it is marvellous in our eyes. The faith of this thief will continue to challenge every generation. He recognised God in the scandal of the Cross, he saw someone who was holy, invincible and immortal in Jesus Christ.
Can we notice how we quickly lose faith in God when we face any suffering? The thief’s hope of heaven, eternal life, is never dashed, never lost. He used his last hour to work for heaven, eternal life. His suffering and pains could not dampen his sense of sin and the hope of heavenly glory. Let us not allow anything in this world dampen our hope of heavenly glory or our sense of sin. Let us learn to look beyond here and now. If the thief had not looked beyond here and now, he would not have seen God in Jesus Christ, he would have just seen a dying man. Let us always look towards heaven. Jesus Christ also endured His passion because He fixed His eyes on the glory that lies ahead. We are advised thus: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).
Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Saviour to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection. Amen (Collect)
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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