Obedience

Last Sunday, through the readings, the Church presented us with the personality of John the Baptist; the voice crying in the wilderness for repentance and preparation (John 1:23); all in anticipation for the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Already the prophet Isaiah foretold that too. In the days of John the Baptist, some people never obeyed his clarion calls. They paid adamant ears to his prophecy. As such, they missed the blessings of the Messiah when He eventually came.

Today, in the first reading (Is 48:17-19), God is saddened by the disobedience of His people. People rejected His commands and directions and as such, they lost the blessing which God prepared for them. These blessings God enumerated as prosperity like the river, success like the waves of the sea, descendants like the grain of sand and above all, perpetuity of their names. Isn’t that awesome?

On Decemeber 8, we celebrated the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a story of a lady that encountered the grace of God and cooperated with the Grace; hence became “Full of grace”. She arrived at that point because of her obedience to the Will of God. Likewise, obedience to the commands and Will of God is a requirement to fully enjoy His blessings.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where people swim in disobedience even to God. People prefer to do their own will; notwithstanding how erroneous they are. The same pride which is a characteristic of Satan continues to eat deep into the fabrics of our generation. As in Jesus’ time, it becomes hard to know what to compare to this generation. No time in history has had more opportunity for the proliferation of the gospel message and work of evangelization than our time. Yet, this generation seems almost more recalcitrant than the past ones. However, as Jesus said: Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds (Mat 11:19).

The wise ones amidst the encompassing chaotic decadence are those who follow not the counsel of the wicked nor linger in the ways of the sinners nor sit in the company of scorners but take delight in the laws of the Lord by regularly pondering on them (Ps 1:1-4). The blessings promised by God in the first readings are theirs because they will be like a tree planted by the riverside that is constantly healthy and fruitful.  

Let us ask God to make us docile to obey good and right instructions and to ponder and obey His laws and commands daily so that we will not be like winnowed chaff to be driven away by the wind but enjoy God’s protection and blessings; especially in this time of fears of the pandemic and insecurity.

[Readings: Is 48:17-19; Mt 11:16-19]

Fr. Louis Mary Ocha

Fr. Louismary Ocha is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Umuahia in Nigeria. He has a licentiate degree (Masters) in Sacred Scripture and a doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Biblicum) Rome-Italy and the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome-Italy respectively. He presently teaches, conducts Bible studies online, and retreats. He also does research in Scripture and Biblical-related topics and is involved in pastoral work. To contact him, please send an email: [email protected].

2 Comments

  1. Larry Conlans on January 10, 2021 at 1:15 pm

    I would like to add that when you do not currently have an insurance policy or else you do not take part in any group insurance, you could well make use of seeking the assistance of a health broker. Self-employed or people who have medical conditions generally seek the help of an health insurance brokerage service. Thanks for your writing.

  2. Elijah-jesu CCE on December 15, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to you dearest Fr

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