Theme: “Following Christ with Wisdom and
Costly Love”
By Teclus Ugwueze (Rev Fr)
Beloved in Christ, today’s liturgy
invites us into the heart of Christian discipleship, a path that is neither
cheap nor easy. The Gospel calls us to carry our cross and follow Christ, not
with sentimentality or mere enthusiasm, but with clear-eyed wisdom and
sacrificial love. Let us journey through the readings to uncover the Lord’s
message for us.
1. The Humility of True Wisdom
(Wisdom 9:13-18)
The Book of Wisdom begins our
reflection with a sober truth: “Who can know God’s counsel, or who can
conceive what the Lord intends?” The sacred author reflects on the
limitation of human reasoning when it comes to divine matters. The affairs of
the world often cloud our judgment; we are burdened by the “perishable body”
that “weighs down the soul”.
But thanks be to God, He does not
leave us in ignorance. He sends His Holy Spirit, who makes known to us what is
otherwise beyond human grasp. In our time, filled with intellectual pride and
technological advancement, we must remember that only the humble can receive
divine wisdom.
So, we must ask: Do I seek God's
wisdom, or am I content with my own opinions and worldly knowledge? A true
disciple discerns the will of God through prayer, Scripture, and spiritual
direction, not through personal preference.
2. Love That Transforms and
Restores (Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17)
In the shortest of Paul’s letters, we encounter a deeply personal moment, a letter not to a church, but to a man: Philemon. Paul is writing from prison about Onesimus, a runaway slave who has now become a Christian. Paul makes an incredible appeal: “Receive him not as a slave anymore, but as a beloved brother.”
This is the power of the Gospel: it reorders relationships. It breaks down social and cultural walls. A slave becomes a brother; an enemy becomes a family member. And Paul, the apostle of Christ, identifies so strongly with this converted man that he says: “I am sending him, my very heart, back to you.”
This passage challenges us to
examine our relationships. Are we willing to forgive those who have wronged us?
Can we welcome back the lost with the heart of Christ? Do we let the Gospel
transform how we treat the weak, the poor, the marginalized, even those who’ve
hurt us?
3. The Cost of Discipleship (Luke
14:25-33)
The Gospel is perhaps the most demanding. Jesus speaks plainly: “If anyone comes to me without hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
These words shock us. But they are not a call to emotional hatred; rather, Christ uses Semitic exaggeration to make a vital point: No relationship, no ambition, no attachment must take precedence over our loyalty to Him.
To follow Christ is to carry our cross daily, deliberately, and even painfully. He tells us to “calculate the cost,” like a builder before construction or a king before battle. Christian life is not something we drift into, it is a radical, conscious decision to follow the Crucified Lord.
Here in Umuogbo Ulo, and indeed in
all of Nigeria, we know what it means to suffer for faith, for truth, for
family. The Lord is not romanticizing suffering; He is asking: Are you
willing to give everything, if necessary, for Me?
Pastoral Applications
Dear brothers and sisters, what
then is the Lord asking of us today?
- Seek wisdom, not from social
media or gossip, but from the Holy Spirit. Learn to discern God’s will in
prayer.
- Live the Gospel in your
relationships. Is there someone you must forgive or reconcile with? Who is the “Onesimus”
in your life?
- Commit fully to Christ. Do not follow Jesus half-heartedly. Let go of anything that stands in the way of your discipleship.
Conclusion
Christ calls us not to be mere
admirers, but disciples and followers who are willing to pay the cost. Let us
not be like the man who begins to build and cannot finish. Let us make our
lives on divine wisdom, live with Gospel love, and follow Christ with total
commitment. May Mary, Seat of Wisdom and Mother of Sorrows, intercede for us,
that we may follow her Son all the way to the cross and to the glory beyond. Amen.
Download our app using the link below
Android IOS
