What Unfaithfulness Could Do To Us

 

Being faithless is to lose faith in God.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Thursday of 4th Week of Lent B, March 14th, 2024
Texts: Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 106:19-23; John 5:31-47 

We see in today’s readings what unfaithfulness could do to us. Unfaithfulness could lead to faithlessness, turning away from God. Today’s first reading tells us how the people of God became faithless. We read, “The  Lord said to Moses, "Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them”. Being faithless is to lose faith in God.  

Today’s Psalmist expresses unfaithfulness thus: “They forgot the God who was their saviour, who had done such great things in Egypt, such wonders in the land of Ham, such marvels at the Red Sea.” They lost faith in God and turned away from Him to make for themselves gods.  

They ascribed to image of bull what God did for them

They exchanged the God who had been their glory for image of a bull that eats grass. We read, “They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’" They ascribed to image of bull what God did for them. That is an insult against the goodness of God to them. 

Unfaithfulness could also lead to denial of divine testimonies. Jesus Christ accused the people in today’s gospel reading of denying true testimonies. Jesus Christ mentioned four testimonies about Himself that the people denied. They denied the testimonies of John, the works He did, the Father and the Scripture. They denied the testimonies because they were unfaithful. Jesus Christ puts it thus: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" 

Prayer  

We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord, that you may cause us, your servants, corrected by penance and schooled by good works, to persevere sincerely in your commands and come safely to the paschal festivities. Amen (Collect) 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke