Abundance of God’s Grace in Christ

 

We have in Christ transforming grace.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Wednesday of 1st Week of Advent B, December 6th, 2023
Texts: Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 15:29-37 

                        Abundance of God’s Grace in Christ

Reflecting on today’s gospel reading, I just imagine the atmosphere of the arena, with so many people healed. It would all be joy and jubilation from everywhere. What came to my mind next was their experience. Thinking of their experience recalled the experience of Viktor Frankl in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. In his book, Man’s search for meaning, he says, “The medical men among us learned first of all: ‘Textbooks tell lies!’ Somewhere it is said that man cannot exists without sleep for more than a stated number of hours. Quite wrong!” That surprises him.  

The people’s encounter with Jesus made them realise that there was more to them than they knew. Indulging in the thought I remembered the words of Horace O. Duke in his book, where is God when bad things happen? He notes that we often focus on the miracle, forgetting the miraculous. Then I asked the question: what is miraculous in the gospel reading? It was that new things happened to them, it was the transformation that occurred in their lives. The mute had no hope that he would ever speak but he spoke. He discovered hope and God’s grace in his life. 

He realised that he could do more

The lamed could not believe he had ability to walk but he walked. That was a discovery of one’s self; he found faith in himself. He realised that he could do more, achieve more than he ever thought. The maimed that became whole might not mean the lost part of the body was replaced. It could be the realisation that they could do what able body could do or not do. They realised they could do more than they ever thought. There is nothing more miraculous than the maimed doing what able body could do or not do.  

The miraculous is the experience of God’s grace in us. This brings to mind the words of prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading. He says, “And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the  Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the  Lord has spoken.” That is the lot of those who await the Lord. We read, “This is the  Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”  

Grace that breaks every yoke

The message, today, is that there is abundance of God’s grace in Christ. We have in Christ transforming grace, grace that breaks every yoke. An encounter with Christ transforms our attitude, ways of life, ability and characters. It brings about the realisation that there is more to us than we ever knew. We realise the lies the world has fed us with. The world will tell us that we cannot love our enemies. In Christ we know that it is a lie. It is also a lie in Christ that we cannot maintain sanctity or that truth does not pay. There are many such lies!

Prayer 

Prepare our hearts, we pray, O Lord our God, by your divine power, so that at the coming of Christ your Son we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from his hands. Amen (Collect) 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke