People are now born into the faith

 

Now you are God’s people

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Saturday of 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, September 9th, 2023
Texts: Colossians 1:21-23; Psalm 54:3-4,6,8; Luke 6:1-5 

During the time of St. Paul Christianity just started spreading. Conversion, at the time, was evident in new worship and new principles of life. This is not often the case in our own time and age. People are now born into the faith. Hence, it should not be said of us thus: “You, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in Christ's body of flesh by his death”. Such word could only be applied to a new convert into Christian faith and the strayed.  

However, the death of Christ still redeems us as it did to the people of the time of St. Paul. The death of Christ redeems the sinful nature we inherit from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Baptism makes us participate in the death and resurrection of Christ and become God’s people and children of the Church. Hence, what could be said of us is the word of St. Peter: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:10). Being God’s people, we are to be like Him in love and holiness.  

Salvation is not a day job, it is a whole life job

St. Paul goes further to speak of an importance of the death of Christ, which is holiness. He says, “he has now reconciled in Christ's body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him”. He also tells us how to sustain holy life when he says, “provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard”. This means salvation is not a day job, it is a whole life job. We are to persevere in holiness for our whole life to attain salvation.  

St. Paul simply reveals to us that holiness is about being stable and steadfast in faith and hope. It is not about the law as the Pharisees uphold in today’s gospel reading. They say, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" Jesus called them to faith in Himself when he said to them, "The Son of man is lord of the Sabbath." Knowing Christ and following Him is the way to holiness. Being the Lord of the Sabbath, He is the author and designer of Sabbath, the beginning and the end. He created Sabbath for our good and salvation.  

Prayer  

God our Father, we thank You for reconciling us with Christ by His death in the flesh, grant us the grace to be stable and steadfast in faith and hope. Amen  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke