Dear Parishioners,
Our Scripture reading today from the Book of Exodus reveals God's initiative in elevating a small group of people into a special relationship with Himself. He chose the house of Jacob and spoke through Moses to communicate His divine election. This act marks God's appearance in human history among a particular people, taking Israel as His point of contact with the rest of humanity.
God remains true to His nature as the Creator of the universe. He uniquely fashioned humanity, setting us apart from all other creatures and allowing His image and likeness to be reflected in us. He leads us along the path by which He reveals Himself so that we may know Him and enter into a loving and free relationship with Him. God did not create robots; rather, He created human beings endowed with free will, capable of choosing to serve and love Him. He made us for Himself in such a way that life finds its true meaning only in Him. He is our compass, and without His guidance we become lost.
The story of the Israelites further helps us understand this deliberate and loving action of God. It speaks of His intention to establish a covenant with them. But what is a covenant, and why is it significant? A covenant is a solemn and sacred bond between God and His people. While we may never fully comprehend why God chose Israel for this unique relationship, we can see that the covenant gave them a distinct identity among the nations of the world.
The experience of God's people in the Old Testament serves as a prelude to the covenant that would later be fulfilled through the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through His death and resurrection, Christ established a new and eternal covenant.
The problem with the old covenant was that it was repeatedly broken. The infidelity of the Israelites mirrors the condition of the entire human race. Our frequent failures and helplessness revealed the need for a definitive solution to this cycle of sin and separation from God. Therefore, God initiated a new way by which the covenant could never again be broken. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, became the means and the only path to an unbroken covenant. On our behalf, He stood in the breach and took away our sinfulness.
Saint Paul, writing to the Romans, celebrates Christian hope—not a mere wishful thinking, but a genuine confidence rooted in God's actions in the past and experienced in the present. He reminds us that humanity was once alienated from God through sin, burdened by weakness and estranged from the source of life. Yet, at the appointed time, Christ overcame this alienation through His sacrificial death.
What is truly astonishing is that Christ died not for the righteous but for sinners. As Paul teaches, it is rare for anyone to die even for a good person, yet Christ willingly gave His life for those who stood opposed to Him. Through His death and resurrection, He reconciles us to the Father and confers new life through the Holy Spirit, thereby establishing a new covenant. For believers, this is God's definitive intervention in history. Through Christ, an era of reconciliation has begun, and this forms the foundation of our hope and confidence for the future.
This helps explain why, in Matthew's Gospel, Christ commissions and instructs His Apostles to go forth and proclaim the Good News. He grants them authority over demons, disease, and death, and sends them to announce the arrival of God's Kingdom. Although their initial mission was directed primarily to the house of Israel, after the Resurrection it expanded to include all nations.
Today, you and I are the recipients of this same mandate. We are called to proclaim the Kingdom of God, inviting all people to turn away from sin and embrace the gift of salvation. Through our words, actions, and witness, we participate in Christ's mission of bringing the world into communion with God.
Sincerely yours in the Lord. Fr. Vitalis Anyanike, Pastor
