FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT - WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

First Reading: JOSHUA 5:9-10-12, Second Reading: 2COR 5:17-21. Gospel: LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
"The God to whom little boys say their prayers has a face very like their mothers" -
James M. Barrie
WE ARE AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST
Dear my beloved brothers and sisters,
1. Many offices in modern society are patterned on Roman system of government. The Romans conquered many territories and made them Roman provinces.
a) A province which is still considered dangerous and had troops stationed in it, was under the direct control of the Emperor. To this province he would send his ambassador, his own representative, to administer it on his behalf.
b) On the other hand, a province which was peaceful and needed no troops to maintain law and order was under the direct control of the senate. When the senate decided that a given province should come under its control, they sent ten envoys, who together with the general who led the army which conquered the territory, arranged the terms of peace and drew up a constitution for the New Province. these were men who were responsible for bringing more members into the family of the Roman Empire.
We have heard of ambassadors in the other contexts. Nations send official representatives to friendly countries. These men may not be known to many citizens, but they are in an official capacity. Then we have ambassadors who are unofficial. I hear leaders talk about sportsmen and women who go out for international games as our ambassadors and we expect them to spread our good name abroad, since often they are more spoken of than the official ambassadors.
In the Church of God the Bishops are the official ambassadors of Christ. But also the followers of Jesus, all of them without exception, are sent to bring to other men the offer, and the conditions of God by which they can become citizens of God's empire and members of his family.
2. What are the characteristics of a good ambassador?
a) In the first place, they are different from the people among whom they live. They fly their own flags. The American ambassador most likely does not drive a Rolls Royce, neither is the British ambassador likely to drive a Mercedes Benz. They love to preserve their identity in the midst of an alien people and an alien culture.
I think an ambassador, who would lose his identity and become one with the people of the country, would be betraying his own mission.
We Christians are ambassadors of Christ. we are citizens of heaven, and as such, we are strangers in this world. A man who is unwilling to be different in his outlook on life, in his hierarchy of values, in his behaviors, in his relationship with the men and women around him, in his attitude to the things of his life, a man who is merely a conformist in a permissive society, such a man cannot be genuine Christian.
b) An ambassador speaks for his own country. He conveys the message, the decisions, and the policies of the country he represents. Some of you are members of bodies which decide major issues in our country or day today you may be a medical man or woman and have to decide on an action of deep moral implication, will you be Christ's ambassador and speak for him? will you be the representative of the church and uphold her principles?
c) The honors of the country lies in its ambassador’s hands. The responsibility of an ambassador is to recommend his country to the people he is sent to. This is a privilege, and and at the same time grave responsibility. By our word and action we make the people around us think more or less of the Church of which we are members, and of the master whose ambassador we are.
Lastly there is a note of reconciliation. Lent is a time of reconciliation. There are many Catholics who no longer think of confession and communion as an obligation. indeed it should not be if only we knew who it is. But because of lack of appreciation, we need a push from mother Church.
The parable of the prodigal son is for us all, but particularly for one who rarely ever goes to confession and communion. An ambassador who is not of the mind of the nation is unthinkable. A Christian who is not reconciled to Christ and united with him, in communion is difficult to think of. Pray for light and courage, that we may faithfully fulfill our task as ambassadors for Christ.
"Its better for man to confess his sins than to harden his heart".
- Pope St. Clement I


Rev. Fr. Joseph Nyamunga Mubiru, SSA
P.O.BOX 15318 Code 00509,
LANGA'ATA-NAIROBI (E.A),
Office : +254-020-230-806
Cellphone:+254-722-585-329