Friday of the Third Week of
Lent
Total
Commitment to God
Today, we are more concerned about
having material possessions than developing real family relationships and
friendships. And we spend our time, energies and resources in this regard which
is dominated by work, money, appearances, power, position and possession. It is
not necessarily bad, but extremely prioritising and not forging the actual
valuable relationships has a negative impact on one’s life.
That’s why
the readings of the day call upon total commitment that it speaks about the
valuable relationship with God and others.
In the first reading prophet Hosea
invites people to return to God and even guides them what they are supposed to
say. He reminds them they primarily belong to God but the problems and difficulties that they are
experiencing are the result of their distancing from God. Hence, he urges them
to return and repent of their words and deeds.
They are to:
1. Turn from their mere external
offerings to sincere internal repentance in their words (Prayer and worship)
2. Turn from their trust in Assyria,
its army and its God (so far they have relied upon them for their well being
and offered themselves to their gods) To the One and Only God, who created,
liberated and saved them always.
3. Turn from the gods of their hands to
the God of their forefathers. (today we have too, gods of our hands Like
(money, fame, name, power and position..etc)
God will shower his blessing and
graces, provided they return to Him.
God will come to them, provided they
heed to His voice.
God will heal their disloyalty,
transgression out of his unconditional love, provided they sincerely rely on
Him for their well being.
And in the last sentence of the
first reading: “Let him who is wise understand
these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the
LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.” This
leads us straight into the Gospel. What is the path of the lord that one needs
to walk to be wise and to be blessed.
Gospel.
When
a scribe asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus
replies that :
The first
is this: Hear, O Israel! The
Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind and with all your strength.
The second is this: You shall
love your neighbour as yourself.
The
Path of the Lord is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
It’s total commitment. Even, we do not usually like superficial and
inconsistent love, so does God. and love of ourselves and others is inseparable
from the first commandment. The order in which Jesus mentions is important
because we usually care for me, my family and
then relationship with God if at all time is left.
This
season of lent invites us today to have total commitment to God’s love.
Total
reliance on God's providence.
Let
us value which is more important in our lives today.
“Your heart must be wholly devoted to the
LORD, our
God, observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day.” (1 kings 8:61)
