This Sunday’s Gospel Message from the Priest
3rd Sunday of the Lent Gospel Message
Luke 13:1-9
This Sunday, the good news is that we have the opportunity to learn from the failures and consequences of our ancestor’s actions. God gives us another chance to call upon the Lord, who is “merciful, compassionate and love.” Jesus wants us to take a bold and positive step towards amending our way of life. This is a call to repentance for the times we neglected and failed both God and our neighbors; for the times we chose evil over good, and for those moments, we despaired and displayed a remarkable lack of faith in God.
The second half of the Gospel is the parable of the fruitless fig tree: a tree that lasts three years and bears no fruit, common sense would say, “It must be dead. What is the significance of a single fig tree in a precious vineyard? In the Bible, figs, along with vines, are often likened to God’s beloved Israel. However, it is also often associated with fruitlessness. In addition, fig trees often block the soil, making them a nuisance and a “distraction” to the surrounding vines.
But there is one person who still believes in the meaning of this tree’s existence, and that is the gardener. Out of agape and compassion, he offers to take special care of the vine. He says, “Leave it as it is this year. I will dig around the tree and give it manure. Then maybe next year it will bear fruit. The forgiveness and mercy of Christ, the gardener, are always present before the stern call to conversion, so that one can be receptive to the invitation. However, the opportunity for conversion does not last forever. Today we are alive, but tomorrow we do not know.
Fr. Wifridus Ngalla, cicm
2nd Sunday of The Lent Gospel Message
Luke 9:28-36
By His Transfiguration, the Lord reassured us all of His salvation, fulfilling everything that He has promised to our ancestors and predecessors, all the Law and the prophecies which He had passed on to them through the prophets, represented by the appearance of Moses and Elijah there at Mount Tabor with the Transfigured Lord. Both of them were very important figures in the history of the people of God. Their appearance there at Mount Tabor reaffirmed the fact that Jesus is truly the One Whom the people of Israel had been awaiting for, and the fulfilment and perfect manifestation of the Law of God that Moses represented, which He revealed in its fullness and elaborated in its purpose, as well as the completion of the prophecies of the Prophets that was represented by Elijah. And we are all reminded of the true nature of our existence, our true selves, unhindered by the corruption of sin.
The message of the Transfiguration is a call to follow the way of Jesus, who is about to meet his “exodus” in Jerusalem. It is an encouragement to the disciples who are in a crisis of misunderstanding and faith. God shows the three disciples that this Jesus is the “true and beloved Son. Having seen Jesus in all his glory for a moment on the mountain, the disciples must now return to the valley of human suffering and reality. They must descend from the “mountain experience” and accompany the people on their “way out,” in silence, chewing in their hearts the true image of Jesus. The final glorious vision of Jesus becomes a message of hope and joy.
Lent is a season that calls us to a deeper experience of God, inviting us to climb the mountain of prayer and meditation with Jesus. The “encounter” with God becomes the “food for life” for our daily lives, so that we may discern the true nature of Jesus in the encounter and sharing with others. Jesus is the baby of Christmas, the face of suffering and death, the resurrected one, and the simple bread and wine of the liturgy.
Fr. Wifridus Ngalla, cicm
1st Sunday of Lent Gospel Message
Luke 4:1-13
The Gospel passage this Sunday, we heard that famous moment when the same Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God Incarnate, was tempted by the Devil in the desert for the forty days period after His baptism at the Jordan. This baptism was the mark of the beginning of the Lord’s ministry, the time when He started to do everything that His heavenly Father, our loving God and Father, has entrusted to Him, for the sake of our salvation. But in order to do that, He Who also share in our humanity, and born into this world, also has to subject Himself to the same temptations that the Devil has brought upon our ancestors, by which he had led countless souls into the path of sin and damnation. Why is that so? That is because, by uniting Himself to our humanity, and by embracing our human nature, Christ our Lord showed us all that it is possible for us to defeat sin and reject the temptations to sin, by obeying God perfectly and wholeheartedly in our lives.
In the desert, Jesus was tempted by three temptations. He answered them all with words from the Bible. The three answers show us the “chosen path” Jesus chose throughout his life. It was a “choice” to live faithfully according to God’s will and Word, to serve those he met, and to give of himself. Each of us, as a church community and disciple of Jesus who wants to follow Christ, is invited to turn through the words of today’s Gospel and to choose the path that Jesus took.
Fr. Wifridus Ngalla, cicm
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel Message
Luke 6:39-45
Today, the eighth Sunday of ordinary time, the church continues to remind us of the virtues and qualities that should characterize our lives as Christians. She reminds us that while physical appearance could be deceptive, what determines who we are is what comes from within us. This includes the quality of our words, the wisdom, and the goodness that we manifest.
In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us that the quality of our heart determines the quality of our words and actions. He says, “A good person, out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, while an evil person, out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
As Christians, if we live according to the good news, our actions and words would be guided by it. Consequently, it will affect others positively. On the contrary, if we fill our hearts with flirt, our words and actions would be filled with nothingness.
We can also say that good teaching comes more from actions than words. It has been said that at our passing, people may not remember any of the words we spoke to them, but they will remember how we made them fell: accepted or rejected. True and lasting teaching flows from a good and loving heart, acting in accordance with Christ’s teaching and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Christ warns us today to be careful in judging others. Instead, we should be humble enough to look inwards before criticizing others. Hence, Paul reminds us: “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” (1Cor10:12).
Fr. Wifridus Ngalla, cicm
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel Message
Luke 6:27-38
The teaching in today’s Gospel is shown forth in the first reading, in the story of David and Saul: love your enemy! We Christians have become so used to hearing these words that it is truly difficult to live them. We don’t want to love our enemies. We humans have spent centuries killing one another and this present century will be no different.
We Christians say that we believe that God is present in every person. We say that the Holy Trinity dwells in each person by their being created. Yet our history is one of destruction and of making life impossible for others. So often those who are not Christians look at us and decide that Jesus cannot be God because those who say they follow Him are so awful and have caused such hatred in the earth.
All of this should not discourage us Christians. Rather, we can recognize that the Gospel and the readings today are calling us to repent, to change our lives and to learn how to live the incredible love that has been given to us. We must regain the courage to live as Christ lived and to love every other person. We must have courage and perseverance in living lives that are truly divine love present on this earth.
The Gospel today shows us a whole way of life. We must be merciful, not judging, forgiving and giving to others. That sounds so easy, but it costs us our whole life. It sounds as if we could not live very well if we really lived that way. Yet the truth is that the more we can live that way, the more truly human we become and the more divinity can shine forth through us.
Let us ask God today to help us have this courage and strength to live the divine life that Jesus has given us by His death and resurrection. May this world be transformed by the divine love given to us.
Fr. Wifridus Ngalla, cicm