SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF LENT 13TH MARCH 2024

SERMON/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE 4TH WEEK OF LENT 13TH MARCH 2024

Isaiah 49:8-15; Ps.145; John 5:17-30

Does my life testify to God’s unity?

Just yesterday, the Jews sought to kill Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath and asking him to carry his pallet. In response, Jesus creates more tension by claiming He is the Son of God. This claim was dangerous to Jewish conception of God. For the Jews, God is one not plural; also, God is so holy that He cannot condescend so low and be contaminated by the world that is thought to be evil in itself. Thus, God can neither be equal to any other being nor live in human form. This makes Jesus’ claim blasphemous to their hearing. The question is, did they really understand what they were trying to defend? Jesus is the Son of God not because he was born by God but because he was begotten by God.

Jesus explains that He and the Father are one because they never contradict themselves; they have the same will and carryout same action. No two persons can have the same will and perform same action, not even identical twins. Therefore, the unity between the Father and the Son is not just one of agreement but an ontological unity. The fact here is that Jesus fully reveals God and that is why He is able to save us. Hence to accept Jesus is to accept God. Jesus is God.

How does this affect us? When we claim to be Christians but refuse to allow the Christian principles permeate every aspect of our lives, then we create a dichotomy. God is essentially one. So, our belief must be synonymous with our actions. The Jews who claimed to be defenders of the Jewish law were rather hypocrites since they acted differently. Little wonder they could not understand Jesus.

Dear friends, today we are again called upon to live out the truth of our Christian life because only the truth can set us free.