HOMILY FOR SATURDAY 5TH WEEK IN LENT – YEAR B
THEME: REFLECTION FOR TODAY: ENEMIES OF PROGRESS.
BY: FR. KARABARI PAUL
“Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.”
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The human story hasn’t changed much. The past centuries have elements and characters of the present. In the Gospel of today (John 11:45-57), Jesus had raised Lazarus who died to life. So many people had also come to comfort Mary upon the death of Lazarus. These people were eye-witnesses of the glorious miracle performed by Jesus. This miracle showed them the incontestable proof of Jesus’s divine mission. And some of them believed in him. However, and painfully so, some were so far from being convinced that they went to the Pharisees, whom they knew to be Jesus’s implacable enemies, and told them what Jesus had done with no intention of convincing them to believe in him but to incite anger against him.
Even with the most powerful means of conviction and manifestation of divine power, some people showed an obstinate disbelief in Jesus. What has God not done for us? It is hard to imagine how they could ignore the force of the evidence produced in the raising of Lazarus. If they would not be satisfied that he was to be believed in as the Christ, why wouldn’t they be persuaded not to persecute him? Have you ever felt hated for no reason?
Perverting what is true is as bad as forgetting what is false. A special council is called, and “the rulers took counsel together against the Lord” (Psalm 2:2). Consultations of the sanhedrim were intended for the public good, but in this case, it caused the greatest pain and injury ever recorded in history. Men and women from the oldest of decades and still counting have always taken counsel for the disruption of light and to cause pain to others or even change the course of what was initiated for the good of all. We all lend testimonies to the pains caused by successive bad governance in Nigeria; government meant for our common and public good.
The main focus of this reflection is even about the unknown enemies with the veils of friendship. The people who reported this case to the Pharisees owned the truth of that miracle but rather chose the path of conspiracy, malice, and destruction. How does this link us? We have to be careful in our moments of celebration or even sorrow. Some people at such times have not come to share in our joy or sorrow but to acquire information that could be used as tools to destroy our career, relationships, jobs, and lives. They laugh when others laugh, but their hearts are covered with poisonous thorns of hate. They may never see anything good in what happens to you. Instead, they will spread their venom around to incite anger against you. If they were truly happy with Mary that Lazarus was raised to life, then they wouldn’t seek the destruction of the worker of that miracle. Is it conceivable that sometimes people who give you financial assistance when you are in trouble do not necessarily want you to get out of such a situation? And they can really be angry if things get better for you? Man remains a mystery to himself.
And what about those who pretend to cry with you when you are in pain when their hearts feel the opposite? Sometimes, they could inflict wounds on their body by rolling over stones crying, but that sorrowful condition that has befallen you is actually their own celebration. Human beings judge and can be misled by appearance, but God knows the heart. And the heart of man will always be deceitful. The good news that has necessarily followed the works of Christ is that he hasn’t changed towards us no matter the plot of men and women for the defeat of the light around us. In the beginning, the wicked plan appears to be working exactly as schemed. But time keeps record and will tell. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always, keep you safe from those who take council for your destruction and sadness through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.
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