HOMILY OF THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C
Exodus 3;1-8a.13-15, 1Cor 10:1-6.10-12, Luke 13:1-9
THEME: COMING HOME:
Fate took Joseph to Egypt and the struggle for survival took his people there the same. The Jews were comfortable enjoying the privilege of Joseph, the slave-turned-minister. They forgot the land of their birth until their number became a threat to their host, who later subjected them to slavery.
However, God will never forsake his own people. He remembered them and brought them out with a mighty hand. It took God time and well planned strategy to pull his people out of the land of Egypt. The manner in which he called Moses showed how enormous his task was to be. To convince the Israelites, he had to call and convince Moses through a rare supernatural encounter.
Moreover, taking the Jews into the Promised Land was never an easy task. Many died on the way for their disobedience and thickheadedness. As long as they remain in Egypt, God knew that they will find it difficult to service the covenant he has made with their fathers. Hence, the need to come out that they may worship him.
HOME IS CALLING
Our Christian journey always calls for consciousness of homecoming. The need to survive may take us out of our father’s house; it is expedient that we know where we come from. When we are too comfortable outside God’s plan for us, we run the risk of loosing our identity. When we take pleasure in sin, we may forfeit the freedom that Christ bought for us by his death. We may be engrossed with the need to get what we need and forget our Godly principles. Therefore, God is calling us to return to him and never forget his covenant with us.
CELEBRATING GREEN CARD
More so, when we celebrate green card or citizenship of another country, it is a clear sign that something is wrong with our tie to our father’s land or we have lost the bearing of where we are coming from. To survive, it is good to travel far and wide, but when we forget the land of our birth, it is a clear sign that we have lost a knot from our root. It is either our home government is Herodic or we have lost the true spirit of patriotism.
It is either you are a tenant or a landlord. It is either you are a citizen or a foreigner. Though nationalizing outside your home may afford you some rights, there are many ways of melting out discrimination without appealing to what is written in the law. Slavery has different shapes and colours. Home is the best. We pray for good governance in our nations.
WE HAVE A LOVING FATHER
Interestingly, we have a father who is ever ready to embrace us; a father who cannot forget his children. He told Moses, “say to the sons of Israel, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ha sent me to you’: this is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”
Let us come back home from our desert of sin. It is time to trace our steps. May we not die on the way home like some of the Israelites.[1 Cor 10:1-6.10-12] Our God is holy. Let us always be aware of his holiness, so that we may please him always. Let us obey him and reconcile with him.
May the grace of the Lenten season lead us back home that we may always enjoy the freedom of the children of God. Amen.
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