THE REMNANTS TURN BLESSED

HOMILY FOR THE 4^TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Those who are left in Israel; who are they? These are the ones referred to as the remnants. The First Reading taken from the oracle of Zephaniah (Zep. 2:3; 3:12-13) makes us to understand that the Lord is interested in the remnants of Israel. But before we fully understand the Lord’s interest on them, some foundational expositions are important. The word remnant simply denotes ‘that which remains’; remainder. When used with reference to nations in the Bible, it refers to a people that are left after a conquest/war. But over time, the word acquired a deep theological and spiritual meaning with regard to the history of the Israelites as a people. There are basically two understandings the word has acquired in the Hebrew Testament and History. And this duo has much to teach us as Christians.

1. The very first time this word was used with reference to a people in the Scriptures is found in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua. The context of these episodes centre on the success of Moses and how he defeated many Kings, and in particular Og, the king of Bashan who alone remained among the people of Rephaim, otherwise known as the giants (cf. Deut 3:11; Joshua 12:4.13:12). This context was seen further when Joshua took charge of the governance of the people of Israel. Having conquered many nations and kings, foreigners (the remnants) were now living with them. They were then instructed by the Lord to be strong against the bad influences from the nations remaining among them (cf. Joshua 23:7). These bad influences came in the forms of worshipping their gods, swearing by them serving them, and even inter-marriage. And in vv. 12-13, the Lord gave the verdict if they fail to keep to the instructions. The Lord would no longer drive out these nations (referred as remnants), but they would become a snare and a trap for them, a whip on their sides and thorns in their eyes. Most other references made of remnants in the Historical and prophetic books point to this context of other peoples. Whether the Israelites obeyed this instruction is yet another consideration. Surely, their disobedience of it would result to their becoming remnants themselves to other nations, and they would become exiled and subjugated, which would lead them to a loss of their prestige. When the Lord uplifts you and favours you, it is all the more reasonable for you to keep the Lord’s instructions and not break away from the instructions which actually were the ladders of your development. If you do not bear this in mind and go ahead priding yourself and flouting your evil deeds, the hands of the clock may be turned against you.

2. Having transgressed and broken the instructions of the Lord, calamity befell the Israelites that the word remnant was also used to designate the houses of Judah and Israel that remained after the conquests by Assyria and Babylon. In Jeremiah 40:15ff, the term is the normal designation of the group of Judahites which settled at Mizpeh after the fall of Jerusalem and then, when Gedaliah was murdered, moved to Egypt. In Ezekiel 9: 8; 11:13, the remnant of Israel is the Kingdom of Zedekiah, and in Amos 9:15, the remnant of Joseph is that which survives foreign conquest as yet in the future. This remnant may experience God’s favour. Isaiah is asked to pray for them (cf. Isaiah 37:4; 2 Kings 19:4). From this use of the word, there developed a sense of the word which makes it so technical that at the mention of the word remnant, it immediately means Israel which survives after the conquest, an act of the judgment of God, and which is the bearer of the promises of Israel.

But since the remnant is the only surviving Israel, it is the only object of the promises made to Israel, and it became the one to whom promises of consolation and messianic restoration are addressed. Here comes the sense of the First Reading. The remnants shall enjoy fabulous prosperity in Israel. The survival of the remnants is a palpable demonstration of the sustenance of God’s fidelity to Israel. Israel did not totally perish, and so the remnants became a sign of God’s fidelity to Israel. The word then acquired a deeply spiritual connotation. These remnants must correct the mistake of their forefathers, and so be faithful to God and his covenant. They must be a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. They shall do no wrong and utter no lie. Hence, they are declared the blessed people of God, for their existence has become a correction of an error of the past. Most times, as Christians, we exist to correct the deeds of our parents. You are you, as I am I. Our lives must be lived in such a way that we do not relax in a particular vice under the pretence that it is in our blood. There are no such things as the blood of stealing, the blood of fornication, the blood of lies, the blood of idolatry, etc. You can correct the stealing history of your family. Do not relax and be included in liars just because your family is known to be one of liars. You can find out the way the vicious influence of your family seem to affect you as a person.

Blessed is the man who goes back to follow the dictate of the Lord, and does not give up based on one queer postulation that a vice runs through his/her blood. Yes, blessed is the man who breaks away from such an influence. And that is the centripetal force of the Gospel (Mtt 5:1-12). The word blessed which is used in each of the beatitudes is a very special word. It is rendered in Greek as makarios. It is a word specifically used for gods. It is used to describe a deep joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, and which is completely independent of the sorrows and uncertainties of this life. No one will take your joy away from you, said Jesus (John 16:22). Hence, our blessedness connects us with that joy which seeks us through our pain, that joy which sorrow and loss, pain and grief, are powerless to touch, that joy which shines through life, and which nothing in life or death can take away. Hence, this blessedness is a triumphant shout of bliss for a permanent joy that nothing transient can take away.

The Beatitudes too are not simple statements. They are exclamations. Psalm 1:1 heralded: O the blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked. This blessed is borne out of experience and action. It is not one of utopia. They are not pious hopes of what shall be. They are congratulations of what is. Your blessedness as a Christian is not one which is postponed to some future world of glory; it exists here and now. It is not something into which will enter, it is something into which he has entered. One who is blessed would have course to boast in Jesus, and would no longer count important the distractions of this world. Being declared blessed is the highest form of wisdom that one can attain. This wisdom is attained not by worldly connections but by humility. It is a wisdom which has its pathway as stooping low to conquer. I pray you work so hard as to go through this pathway so that you can attain this wisdom. I wish you a life of blessedness this week. God bless you.