Di Fifteenth Wik for Ordinary Time

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To Dey Rich More and More for Grace

Sunday Nomba 15 for Ordinary Time (Year A)

“Anybody wey get, dem go give am more, and e go become rich; anybody wey no get, even wetin e get, dem go collect am from am. Na why I dey use parables talk to them, because dem dey look but dem no dey see, and dem dey hear but dem no dey listen or understand.” Matthew 13:12–13

How person fit look without seeing, or hear without listening or understanding? This one fit happen only when person eyes and ears dey work well, but im mind dey somewhere else, and e no dey pay attention to wetin e dey see or hear. For example, make we say you dey listen as dem dey read one book, and suddenly you realise say even though you hear wetin dem read, your mind dey somewhere else and you no know wetin dem talk. Na something wey dey happen to everybody from time to time.

This part of the Gospel wey dem quote above come just after Jesus talk the Parable of the Sower to the crowd from inside one boat. For that parable, seed fall for path, for ground wey get plenty stone, among thorns, and for fertile soil. Na only the seed wey fall for fertile soil grow and bear good fruit. So, Jesus teaching wey dem quote above, together with the parable wey He talk before am, dey teach say plenty people hear the Word of God and see Jesus miracles, but dem no allow His teachings and miracles to bring faith grow for their hearts.

This Gospel passage dey especially important for people wey don be Catholics for many years but wey no dey grow again for their faith. When person dey go Mass every week, dey listen to the Gospel and dey share for the Eucharist, but e no dey continue to grow for holiness and understanding of the Mysteries of Heaven, then small small, e go lose even the little faith wey e get. Dem go become Catholics wey their faith no hot or cold, wey dey just do the usual things but no dey bear the good fruit wey dey come from genuine faith.

When you look back at your life as Catholic wey dey practise the faith, wetin you dey see from year to year? Time dey when your faith strong, but small small you don close your ears to the Gospel and don drift comot from the deep relationship wey you get with our Lord for your heart through prayer? Or when you look back, you dey see say the Lord don continue to give you more and more, as He dey lead you to life wey full of true spiritual riches? The Gospel don enter no be only your ears, but your mind and your understanding too? You dey both see and recognise wetin God dey do for your life and for the world around you? You dey put your whole heart for the life of grace, and you dey see say you dey draw closer to God every day? Or, sadly, you don lose interest and zeal, and now you dey see say small small you dey drift comot from practising your faith in way wey dey bear fruit?

Today, reflect on these important questions and try answer dem with honest heart. If you no see say your faith dey grow every year and you dey truly become rich for God im grace, then know say something need to change. To remain for one place without growth and to dey lukewarm for faith no good. Dem dey make person lose everything small small. As you reflect on your own journey of faith, commit yourself again to hold the Gospel tight with zeal, so that your soul go truly be like rich soil wey dey continue to produce plenty good fruit.

Lord, You want make everybody hear Your Word and see Your work for their lives. Abeg, continue to pour Your grace into my life so that I go continue to grow rich for Your mercy. I pray make my eyes and ears dey more fully open to You every day. Jesus, na You I trust.

Trust for God im Care and Provision

Sunday Nọmba 15 for Ordinary Time (Year B)

Jesus call the Twelve come together, begin send dem out two by two, and give dem authority over unclean spirits. E instruct dem make dem no carry anything for the journey except walking stick—no food, no bag, no money for their belt. But dem suppose wear sandals, and dem no suppose carry second tunic. Mark 6:7–9

If you feel say God dey call you to go another land to spread the Gospel message, most likely, you go plan ahead and pack everything wey you need for the journey. You go carry extra clothes, money and different other things wey you need. But for the Gospel wey dey above, Jesus instruct the Twelve make dem go their mission with nothing except walking stick. E instruct dem make dem depend on God im care and provision for the things wey their body need for everyday life as dem dey travel. Even though nothing bad dey for planning ahead and taking care of wetin their body need, Jesus give this instruction to teach the Twelve one spiritual lesson wey more important. For their mission to preach the Gospel, heal sick people and drive out demons, dem need to learn to depend on God im power, no be their natural abilities. So, as dem learn to depend on God im care and provision for things like food, clothes and shelter, dem dey more prepared to also depend on God im care and provision for their apostolic mission.

As you reflect on this passage, try imagine wetin fit don dey the minds of the Twelve as dem dey travel. Imagine dem as dem trek many miles and reach one town as sun begin go down. Since dem no get money or food, temptation to fear and worry for don come. Dem no fit rent room to sleep for the night. Dem no fit buy anything chop. This na test of their trust for God.

Imagine again say these same Apostles suddenly experience God im care and provision. To their surprise, people offer dem free place to sleep for the night and food to chop. The next day, the same thing happen. As dem dey trust, travel, preach, heal and drive out demons, dem find out say dem get wetin dem need every day and every night. This experience of God im care and provision for surely affect their personal faith. But e for also affect their ministry. As dem see how God dey provide wetin their body need, their trust for grace for also grow, so that dem go fulfil their mission with more fruit.

Just as the Twelve need to learn to depend on God im care and provision for everything, na so God want make you do too. E fit no call you to go on mission without any provision for your body, but E truly want make you learn to trust Am always. Maybe this mean say you go give more than one-tenth of your money to poor people or to the mission of the Church, as one way to show say you trust God with your money. Maybe e mean say you go buy fewer things for yourself and learn to live simple life more. Or maybe e mean say you go take one step of faith by talking to one friend about the Gospel, joining one apostolic ministry for Church, or taking another kind step of faith as you dey learn to put your trust for God. To trust God mean say you dey overcome fear and worry as you dey journey through life and fulfil the mission wey God don give you.

Today, reflect on the truth say God want make you learn to trust Am for everything, and especially to trust say E go use you share the Gospel with other people. If this dey make you fear, na good thing say you don discover wetin dey inside your heart. E mean say you don find the fear wey dey hold you back. No matter wetin that fear be, step forward with faith and overcome am. God go provide for you, and give you wetin you need to fulfil His divine mission for your life in wonderful way.

My Lord wey dey provide for us, You dey always provide for us for every way. You know everything wey we need, and You dey always provide dem. Abeg, help me make I trust You for every way and learn to depend on Your grace wey You dey use take care of us. Abeg, use me as You want, and work through me with Your power, so that my life go bear plenty good fruit for Your Kingdom. Jesus, na You I trust.

How Love Really Be

Di Fifteenth Sunday for Ordinary Time (Year C)

“Make you love di Lord, your God, with all your heart, with your whole self, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and make you love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Luke 10:27

One scribe ask Jesus wetin e need to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus ask di scribe wetin di Law of Moses teach. Na di words wey dey above be di scribe answer. Wetin e talk na mainly quotation from Deuteronomy 6:4, wey be one common prayer wey di Jews dey pray and wey dem see as summary of di whole Law of Moses as e dey inside di Ten Commandments.

Notice say this summary of di Law no give command wey forbid something, like “Make you no…” Instead, e give command wey tell us wetin to do: “Make you love…” Na love dey fulfil di Law of di Old Testament, and na love still dey fulfil di New Law of Christ. When we love God with our whole self, that love dey overflow reach all di things wey God create, including our neighbour.

For this Gospel, di scribe still ask Jesus who be im neighbour. Jesus answer am with di Parable of di Good Samaritan. For that parable, dem beat one man and leave am for roadside as if e don die. One priest and one Levite pass there, but dem no pay di man any attention. But one Samaritan pass there and take care of di man. E carry am go one inn and promise say e go pay wetin dem need to help di man recover. For di end of di story, na di Samaritan dem identify as di person wey act as neighbour to di man wey dem attack.

According to di traditional understanding of this story, di man wey di robbers attack represent Adam. Adam represent humanity wey don fall into sin. Di Samaritan represent Jesus wey care for humanity wey don fall into sin, heal us from sin, and provide everything wey we need. So, according to this parable, Jesus don act as neighbour to us, and we must love Am as we love ourselves. But Jesus still talk say, “Go and do di same.” This na mission wey E give humanity wey don fall into sin, but wey E don now heal from sin: make dem go meet other people, act as Jesus Himself, carry di grace of healing wey dem don receive, and generously share am with other people.

Sometimes, we fit see love as feeling or emotion. Even though some emotions and feelings dey often follow love, love pass all that one well-well. Na action. For this parable, if di Samaritan just look di man wey dem attack, feel sorry for am and pity am, but still go im way, e no for don show love. Di love wey be charity na action, and e require plenty from us. If we go fulfil this first and greatest commandment to love God and our neighbour, then we no fit wait until we feel like showing love before we act. Instead, we must act now without delay. Na this be love.

Today, think deeply about how love really be. Love, for im highest form, na to choose to do wetin best for other people—to help free dem from sin and to be instrument wey God dey use provide for dem and take care of dem. Na to share for di very love wey God don show us for Christ Jesus, wey give Im life to save us. God call all of us to give ourselves fully to this same kind of love wey no dey seek im own gain and wey dey make sacrifice. We must do this if we go share for di glory of eternal life.

My loving Lord, You don give everything to humanity wey don fall into sin. You don free us from sin and provide everything wey we need. You don act as true neighbour for every way. Abeg, give me di grace wey I need to follow Your example and share for di love wey You get for other people. Make I truly act, and make I never delay to show other people di love of charity wey You call me to show. Jesus, na You I trust.

True Love

Monday for the Fifteenth Week for Ordinary Time

“Anybody wey love im papa or mama pass Me no worthy of Me, and anybody wey love im son or daughter pass Me no worthy of Me; and anybody wey no carry im cross follow Me no worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37–38

When we first read am, this teaching of our Lord fit look hard. But when we understand am well, e clear say e dey help us put our relationship with God and our family for the right order, inside love and truth. To follow this command no go ever make us lack love for our family; instead, e go help us love only with the heart of Christ.

Wetin this teaching of Jesus require from us? To talk am simply, if person for our family, or any other person, expect us to do wetin dey against the will of God, we must choose the will of God instead of wetin dem expect. To understand this one better, think about how person fit choose to love “papa or mama” or “son or daughter” pass God. For example, suppose one pikin choose to go astray for the way e dey live or practise im faith, and e want make im parents support am for im sin. But the parents stand firm for wetin dem believe about right and wrong and, because of love, dem no support the bad way of life wey their pikin don choose. This one go hard especially for the parents if the pikin vex and begin condemn dem, dey claim say dem dey judge am and dem no get love. Wetin the pikin really dey ask na, “Mama and papa, una must love me pass God and Im laws.” And if the parents no support the wrong way of life wey their pikin choose, e fit wound their relationship deeply. Maybe na one reason wey make Jesus follow this command talk say, “and anybody wey no carry im cross follow Me no worthy of Me.” Love always involve the Cross. Sometimes, na cross wey require us to sacrifice our own interest and give ourselves for others. Other times, na cross wey make people misunderstand our love, and the people wey we really love pass go see us as people “wey no get love.” When parents truly love their pikin, wetin go matter to dem first and pass every other thing na their pikin eternal salvation and upright way of life, and dem no go choose “friendship” with their pikin instead of truth.

True true, this same truth concern every relationship wey we go get, and even our “relationship” with society as a whole. More and more, some people dey demand say all of us must support dem for behaviours wey no dey right in demself and wey dey against God will. Dem dey tell us say if we oppose these choices wey some people dey make, e mean say we dey judge dem and hate dem. But na this very thing Jesus dey talk about. If we choose to “love” other people pass God and His holy will, wey mean say wetin matter pass to us na to make people “feel” say we support the decisions wey dem dey make wey no morally right and wey confusion dey inside, then we no really dey love dem at all. At least, no be with God love. Instead, we dey put their sin before the truth wey dem really need to know, so that dem go fit gain freedom and enter true relationship of love with the God of Truth.

Today, reflect on true love. Love na true love only when e get im foundation and centre for God and every moral law wey E don give. Reflect on your own relationships, especially with your family and the people wey close to you pass. You dey love dem with the pure love of God? Your love still stand firm for the will of God? Or sometimes, you dey choose to bend the truths of faith and of right and wrong, just to satisfy the wrong things wey other people expect from you? Kindness, gentleness and compassion must always dey. But the truth about right and wrong must dey there too, and e must be the foundation of every virtue wey we practise for our relationship with everybody. No fear to love others only with the mind and heart of God. Na only this way you fit get true love for everybody for your life, so that you fit help save their souls.

Lord of All, You dey call everybody to love You with all their mind, heart, soul and strength. You dey call all of us to hold firmly to every truth wey You don speak. Give me the courage and love wey I need, no be only to love You pass everything, but also to love other people with Your love alone. Help me to embrace Your Cross when this thing hard, so that I go be better instrument of the love wey You get for everybody. Jesus, na You I trust.

To Dey Become Lukewarm

Tuesday for Week Fifteen for Ordinary Time

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! Because if the mighty works wey happen among una happen for Tyre and Sidon, dem for don repent since, wear sackcloth and put ash for body. But I dey tell una, on the day of judgment, e go easier for Tyre and Sidon to bear than for una.” Matthew 11:21–22

Chorazin and Bethsaida na Jewish towns wey Jesus dey visit often to preach and do plenty “mighty works.” Dem dey just north of Capernaum, the town wey E dey live. Tyre and Sidon na pagan cities near the sea, northeast of Chorazin and Bethsaida, for the place wey be Lebanon today, and people know the towns for their bad way of life. Even though Jesus no spend plenty time for those cities, E still visit dem sometimes. For the first visit of Jesus to that place wey dem record, remember how E meet the Syrophoenician woman wey beg Am to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21–28). The Gospel passage wey dem quote above happen before Jesus make that journey.

Why Jesus talk so hard to the towns where E spend plenty of Im time? Why E rebuke Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum? To answer this question, e important make we remember say Jesus spend most of Im time dey preach to the “sheep wey don lost from the house of Israel.” This one mean say the main work wey E come do during Im public ministry na to share the Gospel with the descendants of Abraham, the people wey God don put the Law of Moses, the teachings of the prophets and the liturgical rites for their care. Na why Jesus no only preach to these people in perfect way; E still do miracle after miracle. And even though plenty people believe in Am and become Im disciples, plenty others no show interest, or dem refuse completely to believe in Am.

Today, we fit see Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum as signs of those Catholics wey dem born and raise inside the faith, and wey their parents and other people teach and train well for the faith. Plenty parents wey their children don stray from the faith dey wonder wetin dem do wrong. But the truth be say people reject even Jesus Himself, despite Im perfect preaching, Im perfect love and Im miracles wey nobody fit deny. And the same thing dey happen today. Plenty people dey wey, even though dem raise dem inside the holy faith wey Christ Himself give us, still reject that faith and close their eyes to the Gospel and the Church.

The rebuke wey Jesus give those towns suppose still dey sound today for the minds of those wey reject God, even though dem receive plenty help through the good upbringing wey dem get. Of course, this rejection no always dey complete and total. Most times, na small small e dey happen. First, the rejection go start as dem dey miss Mass. Then dem go begin compromise for how dem suppose live good life. Then faith go begin lack. And at last, confusion, doubt and complete loss of faith go enter.

If you don start to dey follow the road wey dey make your faith cool down more and more, then make you understand say the rebuke wey Jesus give these towns na for you too, and na out of love E dey give am. “Everybody wey dem give much, na much dem go require from am…” (Luke 28:48). So, for those wey dem don teach the faith well, dem dey expect much from dem. And when we no live up to wetin God, out of love, require from us, na holy rebuke be exactly wetin we need.

Today, think well whether the rebuke wey Jesus give these towns na for you too. You don receive the blessing of good teaching and training for the faith? If na so, you don do everything wey you fit do to nourish that faith and grow for your love of God? Or you don allow your faith to lose im light, cool down and begin wither and die? If you don receive much, if dem raise you inside the faith and you don get the privilege of good examples for your life, then know say God dey expect much from you. Answer that high call wey you don receive, and respond to God with all your heart.

My Jesus wey get strong zeal, You pour out Your heart and soul through Your preaching to the people of Israel. Even though plenty people accept You, plenty others reject You. I thank You for the privilege wey I don receive to hear Your holy Word as dem preach am to me. Help me to respond to You with all my heart, so that I go dey among the people wey dey listen and believe. Jesus, na You I trust.

To Rejoice for the Gift of Faith

Wednesday for the Fifteenth Week for Ordinary Time

For that time, Jesus cry out say: “I dey praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because even though You hide these things from the wise and the learned, You don reveal dem to people wey get heart like small children.” Matthew 11:25

This passage different well-well from the passage just before am, where Jesus rebuke the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum because dem no repent and believe in Am. And as soon as Jesus give those rebukes, E lift Im eyes to Heaven and praise the Father because E reveal the hidden mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven to those wey get “heart like small children.”

One of the greatest things wey fit threaten pure faith wey be like small pikin own na pride for the knowledge wey person get. Those wey see themselves as “wise and learned” dey often face the temptation to depend on only their own ability to reason, to decide wetin dem go conclude and believe for life. The problem be say, even though the things of our faith agree fully with sound reason, dem pass the conclusions wey human reason alone fit reach. We no fit understand God by ourselves. We need the gift of faith for that, and the gift of faith dey begin when God communicate with us for spirit, and through this communication, E reveal to us Who E be and wetin be true. Na only those wey get heart like small children, that is, those wey humble, fit hear this kind communication from God and respond.

This passage still reveal to us say Jesus dey rejoice with all Im heart for this kind humble faith. E give “praise” to the Father for Heaven as E see this kind faith, because Jesus know say this kind faith dey come from the Father.

For your life, e important make you dey regularly think deep whether you resemble di wise people wey get plenty knowledge pass, or people wey get heart like small pikin. Even though God na mystery wey no get end and wey nobody fit fully understand, we must know Am. And di only way we fit come know God na if E reveal Himself to us. And di only way God go reveal Himself to us na if we remain humble and get heart like small pikin.

As we come get faith like small pikin, we must also follow Jesus example as E praise di Father for di faith wey E see for di lives of His followers. We too must look at people wey clearly show this pure knowledge of God through di gift of faith. As we see how dem dey live this faith, we must rejoice and praise di Father. And no be only when we see faith dey alive for other people we must give this praise; we must also give am when we see di gift of faith dey grow inside our own soul. We must nurture holy wonder and reverence for wetin God dey do inside us, and we must rejoice for that experience.

Today, think deep about Jesus as E dey praise di Father when E see di faith wey don begin grow for His followers heart. When Jesus look at you, wetin E dey do? E dey rebuke you? Or His Sacred Heart dey rejoice and give praise for wetin E see? Give joy to di Heart of Christ by humbling yourself reach di point wey you too go dey among people wey get heart like small pikin, wey truly know and love God.

My Lord wey dey rejoice, You dey pay attention to how grace dey work for every human heart. As You see the Voice of the Father dey speak to Your children, wetin You see dey make You rejoice. Dear Lord, I pray make my own heart be the reason for Your joy and for the praise wey You dey give the Father for Heaven. Abeg, speak to me and help me to believe with all my heart. Jesus, na You I trust.

Christ Yoke

Thursday for Week Fifteen for Ordinary Time

“Carry my yoke put for una body and learn from me, because I gentle and humble for heart; and una go find rest for unaself. Because my yoke easy to carry, and my load light.” Matthew 11:29–30

For those first followers of Jesus, “yoke” na word wey dem know well. Plenty of dem for don dey regularly work with oxen and other animals to plough their farms. To do this work, dem go put wooden yoke across the oxen. Na kind harness wey dem still dey join to the plough, to make am easier for the oxen to till the ground. To strap animal with yoke na sign say e dey serve, because na that work the oxen dey do.

As Saint Augustine dey explain this passage (for Sermon 126), e compare Christ yoke to bird wings. Bird wings big when you compare dem with the bird body. So, if person conclude say to remove bird wings go make life easier for the bird by removing that extra weight, wetin that action go do na to keep the bird for ground, without any way to fly. But give the bird im wings back, and that “yoke” go help am fly high through the sky.

Na so e still be with our Lord yoke. If we accept di invitation to be God servant and carry Christ yoke so we fit fulfil our mission to serve, we go discover say as we dey serve, e dey make us light, refresh us, give us new strength and energy. Na to serve God dem make us for, just as dem make bird to get wings. And like di bird, if we remove di yoke of service to God from our lives, heavy load go weigh us down and we no go fit do di good wey we suppose do.

This passage also tell us say no be our own yoke we suppose carry; instead, na Christ yoke we suppose carry. “Carry My yoke put for your body…,” na wetin Jesus talk. To carry Jesus yoke mean say E call us to live our lives with Am and in Am. E come to serve and to give His life for other people. Na our duty to do di same by allowing Am to do am inside us. Na Christ and His life of service must be wetin dey move us and di foundation of our lives.

Today, think deep about your call to be servant in Christ. How God dey call you to serve? Who God dey call you to serve? And as you dey answer that question, how you dey see di service wey you dey give? Service dey look like heavy load to you? Or you understand say na wetin dem make you for? If you dey see humble service as heavy load, then maybe na because you never really try to serve with Christ Himself and in Am. Try think deep about Jesus as E dey put His yoke for your shoulders. Talk “Yes” to that act and to di mission of humble service wey E call you to fulfil. If you do am with all your heart, e no go only refresh you; e go also give your life meaning and purpose.

My gentle Lord, You come meet us to serve and to give Your life because of love. Give me the grace wey I need to accept the service wey You do for me, and also to follow Your example and take part for the service wey You call me to do. Make I carry Your yoke put for my body, dear Lord, so that I go fit fulfil the mission wey You don put for my hand. Jesus, na You I trust.

Dey Free from Condemnation

Fraide for di Fifteenth Week for Ordinary Time

Jesus dey pass through one grain farm on di Sabbath. Hunger dey catch His disciples, and dem begin pluck di heads of grain dey chop dem. When di Pharisees see this, dem tell Am, “See, Your disciples dey do wetin di law no allow person to do on di Sabbath.” Matthew 12:1–2

When Moses give di Ten Commandments to di people, dem forbid work on di Sabbath. One part of di Third Commandment talk say “you must not do any work” on di Sabbath (Exodus 20:10). By Jesus time, di Pharisees don add plenty commentary to this law and expand am to cover as many as 39 different kinds of work wey dem believe say di law forbid. Harvesting and grinding grain dey among di work for their list. Na for that reason, when di Pharisees see say di disciples dey pluck heads of grain and rub di grain comot from di husks so dem fit chop am, di Pharisees condemn dem for doing wetin dem interpret as offence against di Third Commandment.

The first thing wey we fit notice for this passage na say hunger dey catch the disciples. Dem give themselves to Jesus with all their heart, and dem don dey travel with Am from town to town so that E go fit preach the Good News. Dem don leave their work, house, family and the money wey dem dey earn, so that dem go fit give themselves fully to Jesus and His mission. Because of this, dem dey live for poverty and depend on wetin other people give dem out of kindness. Na for this condition dem choose to chop food wey simple pass: grain wey dem pluck as dem dey waka. Dem no complain say hot food no dey wait for dem for where dem dey go. Dem accept the many long journeys wey dem make with their leg. Dem no get problem with the fact say dem no fit sleep for their own bed every night. But like every human being, dem need food, so dem pluck this grain as dem dey waka to satisfy their hunger.

Even though we fit learn plenty lessons from this passage, one clear lesson na about the temptation to judge and condemn other people. When we fall inside the trap of judging other people, some things dey common. First, when we dey judge and condemn, many times na because of wrong things wey we think say people do, and we come make those things look worse and bigger than dem really be. E clear say the Pharisee dem make this “sin” of the disciples look worse and bigger than e be. For our own life, the habit of judging people almost every time dey make another person sin, as we see am, look far more serious than e really be—if na even sin at all.

Another temptation wey dey common with heart wey dey judge and condemn na to no even try understand the person wey dem dey condemn. For this matter wey we just read, the Pharisee dem no even ask why the disciples dey pluck and chop grain. Dem no ask whether dem never chop for some time, or how long dem don dey travel. Dem no care say hunger dey catch dem, and most likely, say the hunger serious well well. Na so e still dey happen with us: when we judge and condemn another person, many times we don already decide say the person guilty without even trying to understand wetin happen.

Lastly, we need talk say we no get right to judge other people. Many times, when we do so, we no dey consider the harm wey e fit cause, and na because we dey think only about ourselves. God no give the Pharisee dem authority to expand the Commandment wey be number three into 39 things wey person no suppose do. E no still give dem authority to use those their interpretations judge wetin dem think say the disciples do. And God no give us authority to judge other people either. If e clear say another person dey repeat sin wey, for wetin e be, serious well well, we must do everything wey we fit do to help the person come out of that sin. But even for that kind case, we no get right to judge or condemn.

Today, think deeply about any way wey you dey tend to judge and condemn other people. If you see this habit inside yourself, take time think about the Pharisee dem. The way dem dey see themselves as righteous pass others bad and e cause harm. The bad example wey dem show suppose move us to turn away from this kind acts of condemnation and reject those temptations as soon as dem come.

My divine Judge of All, na You and You alone know wetin dey for heart, and na You and You alone fit act as Judge. Abeg, use Your authority for my life so that I go fit recognise my own sin. As You dey do this, abeg, also free me from the tendency to judge and condemn people. Instead, give me heart wey full of mercy and truth towards everybody. Jesus, na You I trust.

Another Kind of Messiah

Satide for di Fifteenth Week for Ordinary Time

The Pharisee dem go out and plan together against Jesus, how dem go kill Am. When Jesus know about this, E leave that place. Plenty people follow Am, and E heal all of dem, but E warn dem make dem no make people know who E be. Matthew 12:14–16

Dis passage still talk say Jesus comot go one place wey people no too dey, to fulfil wetin Prophet Isaiah prophesy (Isaiah 42:1–4). Dat prophecy na di first of wetin dem dey call “Di Songs of di Servant Wey Dey Suffer.” For dis songs or poems of Isaiah, dem present di Messiah to us as person wey God go send on mission, wey go suffer injustice because of other people, wey dem go reject, and wey dem go finally prove say E dey right and raise am to honour. Di mission of di Servant Wey Dey Suffer na to bring justice and salvation to everybody, including di Gentiles.

For that time, the idea of one king wey go be the Messiah still dey strong for plenty people mind. Dem dey expect one messiah wey go come as political leader and lead the people of Israel comot from oppression, so that dem go become one free nation wey get prosperity and power. But Jesus act the opposite way. Instead make E gather army to fight the evil plans of the Pharisee dem and overthrow the Romans, Jesus leave dem and invite people to come meet Am for healing and to receive His teachings.

Jesus fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah completely as E become the Servant wey Suffer. And because His role as Messiah different well well from wetin plenty people don expect, Saint Matthew point us to the prophecy of Isaiah for the Old Testament, to show clearly say Jesus truly na the Messiah wey God promise. E just no be the kind messiah wey plenty people dey expect. Na Person wey humble and gentle for heart. Na Person wey go redeem people through the Blood wey E shed for His Cross. And na Person wey go bring salvation reach all people, no be only the people of Israel.

One lesson wey this one dey teach us be say, even today, we fit dey expect things from God wey no correct. E easy for us to bring our own idea of wetin God suppose do and wetin true justice demand. But we still read for Isaiah say, “Because My thoughts no be una thoughts, and una ways no be My ways, na so the Lord talk. Because just as heaven high pass earth, na so My ways high pass una ways, and My thoughts high pass una thoughts” (Is. 55:8–9).

Just as e go don hard for the people of Israel to accept the Messiah wey God promise as Servant Wey dey suffer and Wey dey redeem everybody through that suffering, na so e dey often hard for us to accept our Lord as He be. E hard to drop our own ideas of wetin we want make God do, and e dey especially hard when He call us to share for His own suffering and life of service. To serve, suffer, sacrifice our lives, and other things like these fit hard to accept. But na this be our Lord way—na the way of the Servant of God Wey Dey Suffer.

Today, think well about wetin you dey expect from God. You get long list of things wey you think say God suppose do? You dey pray for that list of your own ideas, as you dey think say if you just ask enough, God go grant wetin you request? If wetin you dey ask come from His perfect will, then to pray for them with faith go make them happen. But if dem come more from you and your own ideas of wetin God suppose do, then all the prayers for this world no go make them happen. If na this kind struggle you dey face, try start afresh by turning your eyes to the Servant Wey Dey Suffer for everybody salvation. Think well about how God thoughts and ways dey most times far above your own thoughts and ways. Try humble yourself before the Servant Wey Dey Suffer, and leave all ideas wey no come from His Heart.

My Servant Wey Dey Suffer, I thank You for Your suffering and death, and for di redemption wey dey flow from di sacrifice wey You make out of love. Help me let go of all di wrong things wey I dey expect from You, dear Lord, so dat na only You and Your mission of salvation go guide me. Jesus, na You I trust.