A popular quote goes thus; “watch your thoughts for they become your words, watch your words for they become your actions, watch your actions for they become your habits, watch your habits for they become your character, watch your character for they become your destiny.” Indeed, God has destined us for everlasting life, but to actualize this eternal goal we are encouraged to follow his commandments. It is for this reason that he sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to give us the wisdom of life and sent the Holy Spirit to help us make good choice of our thoughts, words, actions, habits and characters according to his divine will. Remember that St Augustine stated that “He (God) who created us without our help, will not save us without our consent.” this bears connection with the word of God in today’s first reading from the book of Sirach, when it says, “if you will, you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live.” So, as Children of God in need of God’s saving grace, we should value the gift of our freedom and responsibility of choice-making. We should shun sin and choose holiness of life, shun all vices and choose virtues, shun lies and choose truth, shun inclinations of the flesh and world, then choose the wisdom of God.
Dear friends in Christ, for our choice to be heavenly productive, we must not adhere to the wisdom of this age or world, as emphasized in the second reading, but obey the secret wisdom of God that is revealed through the Spirit. Hence, the indispensable condition of attaining the “Beatitude” or “Blessedness” is by freely consenting to God’s Commandment. Little wonder, Jesus in the gospel passage says “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets… but to fulfil them.” he summed up the laws and prophecies of the old testament in the spirit of love. This does not literally mean that love has supplanted the other commandments of old, but that love must inform and characterize their observance. Jesus wants a conversion of heart that goes deeper than mere external observance of laws. He does not want his followers to live a life of hypocrisy, self-righteousness nor to be pretentious like the Scribes and Pharisees. Unlike the Law of Old, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “the New Law is called a ‘law of love’ because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a ‘law of grace’, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments.”My dear friends in Christ, the Love of God abolishes sin and gives us the grace to fulfil the commandments.
The Commandment of God is not a condemnation unto mankind, but a divine recommendation to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is for this reason that Jesus said that “he who keep these commandments and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” It is now crystal clear that attaining greatness or blessedness has to do with our wise choice of cooperating with the grace of God and obeying his law. Dear people of God, as our country Nigeria draws closer to the stipulated date of election, we have the lawful right, the franchise and the responsibility of making good choice of the nation’s political leaders. It is important that we merge our faith with good works as encouraged by the letter of St James, which says “faith without work is dead.”
In the wisdom of the Church, the CBCN (CatholicBishops Conference of Nigeria) has prepared the “Prayer for free and fair elections in Nigeria” and Prayer for Nigeria in distress.” As we pray to God in faith, let us also act wisely. Let us make good use of our PVC (Permanent Voters Card) and choose servant-leaders that will be obedient to the will of God and the “rule of law” of our nation and one who will be very useful to maintain our natural and human resources, to the glory of God and for the betterment of mankind.Just like the first reading puts it “before a man are life and death, good and evil, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.” Our choice will either make us or mare us. In the light of this, let us be encouraged not to sell our vote, let us avoid bribery, thuggery, forgery and any other corrupt or evil actions against the law. Today’s responsorial psalm says “blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord. As we strive to abide in the law of the Lord and justly follow the nation’s rule of law, we pray God to bless us with the wisdom to remain fruitful and faithful to his holy will till the end. Amen. • Rev. Fr. Simeon Reuben is the Associate Priest of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Shogunle, Lagos.
