Brothers and sisters, Prophet Ezekiel in the first reading of today, Prophet Ezekiel gives us words of encouragement and hope. He tells us that God will put his spirit in us and we shall live. Yes we are   alive because the spirit of God is within us.If God withdraws his spirit from us we are dead. Our bodies without the spirit of God are mere graves, with no life.  We live because the spirit of God is in us and therefore we are to   become aware of our total dependence on God.  The Spirit of Jesus dwells in you  Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Spirit of God. The same Spirit that God  had promised in the Old Testament,is brought in completion in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God,this means that Jesus is the fullness of the Spirit of God. The spirit that gives life. And the life that Jesus Christ gives is not only human life but also eternal life.  The Spirit of Christ is Christ himself  When we  speak of the Spirit of God we mean God and when we speak  of the Spirit of Christ we imply Christ himself. So when we say the Spirit of God or of Christ is within us we simply mean we are in Christ and Christ is in us. If we are one with Christ it means Christ extends his divine power to us. This point is made clear to us by Paul in the second reading of today;  “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin,the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Jesus   from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his  Spirit dwelling in you”. Rom 4:8-11  Jesus is the Resurrection  God did not only raise Jesus from the dead, but God made Jesus the Resurrection. The power of Resurrection is not part of Jesus’nature but the Resurrection is the essence of who Jesus is as the fullness of the Spirit of God who is the source of life. Jesus himself  affirms his identity as follows;  “I am the Resurrection and the life…whoever believes in me even if he dies, will never die” Jn 11:25,26  When we affirm Jesus as the resurrection, we are acknowledging that Jesus is the Son God who has the Divine power to conquer death .In this sense our faith in Jesus who is the resurrection becomes the source of hope beyond the grave. Even if one day we will die, we shall live.

Fr. Bartholomew Mrosso  M.afr

Pastor

Sisters and brothers today we celebrate the presentation of our Lord to the Temple. The temple is a place where people meet and worship God. The temple is a sacred place because God has chosen to dwell in it. And therefore
when people want to express their communion with God through prayers and sacrifices they go to the temple. In
short the temple is the house of prayers and Sacrifices.

Sacrifices to God

When we offer sacrifices to God in terms of material things, we are merely expressing our gratitude to God for what God has provided us. Through our sacrifices we telling God that all what we have belongs to you, and our lives do not depend on the material things we possess. God is the source of our life. God is the one who sustains our life and at the end of our human existence on earth, our life will return to God.

Our sacrifice to God is not only limited to material things, but offering of our own selves is the highest level of expressing our total dependence on God. When we offer our whole life to God, it implies that we consecrate our life to God who sanctifies us.

Presentation of Jesus

The parents of our Lord presents the Child Jesus to the temple as a way of fulfilling the Jewish laws that demands every first born child to be consecrated to God;

“ The Lord said to Moses, “Dedicate all the first born males to me, for every first born male Israelite and every first born male male animal belongs to me” ( Ex. 13:1-2)

By presenting the child Jesus to the temple, the parents of Jesus are acknowledging that the child belongs to God. God is the true father of this Child. The child is not their personal property. The parents have just collaborated with God in bringing this child to the earth. But the Child belongs to God. God is the real owner of this child. The parents are stewards of God’s Child. As parents, they are to fulfill their parental responsibilities of bringing up this child. Once this child grows up, he will depart from them, and commit himself to the mission of God. At the early age of seven Jesus reminded his parents that he belongs to God and not to them(Lk 2:49-51).

Sisters and brothers this feast of the presentation of the Lord to the temple reminds us that we all belong to God. Life is a gift from God and it can only be possessed by God. This feast also teaches us that Christ has been offered to God for the salvation of all people.

Fr. Barthlomew MROSSO M.afr
Pastor