13th Sunday of the Year C 2016

(1 Kings 19, 16.19-21; Galatians 5, 1.13-18; Luke 9, 51-62: 13th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

   

 There is some sort of parallelism between the first reading and the second part of the gospel reading. The resemblance is found in the theme that treats the exigency of the call of Prophet Elisha and the call to the would-be-disciple of Jesus. The time Prophet Elijah was ministered was a difficult one. It was a critical time, religious crisis for that matter, infidelity to God on the part of the elected people of God and full blown apostasy through idolatry of foreign gods. It was also the time, of chastisement of the people of God, a time of their purification. There was then the need for another prophet who would work with Elijah (Elijah means: My God is the Lord) for a while and would later continue with his prophetic mission alone. The lot fell on Elisha (Elisha means: My God is the Saviour). The call of Elisha was through prophetic symbolic action. The symbolic act of Elijah, throwing his clock over Elisha, can be interpreted in more than one way. It can be interpreted that Elisha has been invested with the power and authority of Elijah. It also suggests that the kind of activity in which Elijah was engaged had come to an end and a new generation of prophets was on the horizon. Elijah, then, was a kind of precursor, a sign of what was to come. Elisha was called while he was ploughing a field. He immediately left his ploughing and eagerly ran after Prophet Elijah. He had no second thought about following his call. He only asked permission to say farewell to his parents. The account describes the conflict that exists between two fundamental responsibilities: fidelity to the call of God and fidelity to one’s primary family obligations. Elijah did not grant Elisha permission to leave but he did respond that Elisha had been commissioned by God to be a prophet and it was up to him to decide whether or not he could make the radical break from the past that this commission required. His response was wholehearted. His slaughter of the oxen and his destruction of the plowing equipment were symbolic acts of severing his ties with his past. He was now totally committed to the ministry of the people. He demonstrated this by feeding them.

 In the second part of the today’s gospel there are three episodes which teach the things Jesus expects from those who decide to follow him. Jesus demands that he who follows him should not repose his confidence in terrestrial and material things. Jesus referring to himself said: The foxes have holes and the birds of the air their nets but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. The disciple of Jesus, therefore, will have to know how to live in want, poverty, necessity and scarcity in this world, and on the other hand, know how to repose his confidence and security in God. What is more, he has to regard the possession of the Kingdom of heaven as one’s true wealth. Again, Jesus demands complete and absolute disposition from those who want to follow him and enter the kingdom of heaven. Such disposition would help them not to look for excuses and pretences to postpone decisions and also prevent them from swinging from one indecision to the other. Jesus’ dictum, Leave the dead to bury the dead. Go and proclaim the Kingdom of God clinches the above point. Jesus also demands that the would-be-disciple does not allow himself/herself be distracted by the thought of changing his/her mind after responding positively to the call of God:No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back ward is worthy of the kingdom of God. From the foregoing, it is clear that Jesus makes himself and his message of salvation the absolute values to which other values are subordinated. Any other thing acquires its value in relation to this absolute value. We have, therefore, to ask ourselves sincerely, if we really regard the Lord as the truly and unique value, the value more important in our lives, as is indicated in the responsorial psalm that we sang. If God is the absolute and unique value, we then have to follow his call with our whole being and with our whole strength. That boils down to affirm that there is no part-time discipleship. We must have a willing attitude that frees us interiorly from all other concerns so that we might be able to follow Christ, regardless of our state in life and our profession. This attitude of commitment does not merely arise from our own generosity of heart but, fundamentally, from our having been transformed into Christ through faith and baptism. With the psalmist we cling to God, who is our allotted portion and cup. Such whole hearted commitment is an interior reality and not an exterior demonstration. It is not for a few, it is required from all.

    This interior reality is the mainstay of Paul’s teaching to the Galatians which we are privileged to listen to in the 2nd reading of today. Paul teaches that the Christian is free from the prescriptions of the Jewish law. Therefore, what is important for the salvation of a person is Jesus Christ and faith in him. This faith is to be mediated through charity or love. The Christian, all of us are liberated by Christ so that we can show charity to one another. But to live in the liberty of the sons and daughters of God and to practice love among ourselves we need to allow ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit of God that will guide our lives as the disciples of Jesus and will help us with his guidance and illumination to always stick to our decision to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Happy Sunday!+John I. Okoye

12th Sunday of the Year C 2016

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Zechariah 12, 10-11; Galatians 3, 26-29; Luke 9, 18-24: 12th   Sunday of the Year C 2016)

    In today’s gospel story, Jesus Christ reveals his identity and the characteristics of anyone who would be his disciple then and Christians today.  Jesus asked his disciples: Who do the people say I am? The disciples’ answers revealed that some of his contemporaries were mistaking him for John the Baptist, Elijah or any of the prophets. Jesus pressed further to know the opinion of his disciples. Representing the disciples, Peter declared: You are the Christ of God. Peter’s confession brought out the identity of Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, the one sent by God the Father, consecrated by Him for the mission of saving the entire world through suffering and death, the only beloved Son of the Father, the Saviour promised for all humanity.  That Jesus was a prophet, as some of his contemporaries indicated, was not completely out of place. However, his type of prophecy was different from those of the other prophets. The other prophets, proclaimed the word of God which they received from God. They were rather repeating what God said to them. But Jesus spoke from his own authority. He was more than a spokesperson. Again, his messages were not conditioned by the times in which he lived, as were the prophecies of other prophets. While it did address the moment in question, it was the norm for all other times and determined all other teachings.

    After Peter’s confession, Jesus went further to specify the type of Messiah he was. Though anointed by God, nevertheless, he was not a triumphant Messiah, but a suffering one. He predicted his passion and death: The Son of man will suffer much and will be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes and will be put to death and will rise on the third day. Jesus aligned himself with the figure of the suffering servant found in Isaiah. Jesus’ prophecy of his passion indicates that he would accomplish his mission of saving the world by sacrificing himself, humiliation and disfigurement.

    Moreover, Jesus knew that as the Father sent him to save the world, he was to send people for the same mission. That is why he choose the apostles, the disciples and us (in our own time) in order to continue the mission of saving the world. He, therefore, earlier showed the characteristics of his would-be-follower, participant of his ministry.  He/she will have to be able to deny himself/herself. This means removing all forms of selfishness in one’s life, as well as sin, occasions of sins, concupiscence, pride and avidity for material things. The would-be-disciple of Jesus will have to take up his/her cross. This should not be exaggerated to mean accepting moral or physical pains passively or fatalistically. We have to fight vigorously to reduce physical, moral, mental, emotional or any other type of pains. However, we have to bear in mind that the cross, in one way or the other, accompanies us in our terrestrial life. We cannot completely eliminate sorrow and suffering from our lives. Therefore, we have to accept some of the sufferings with courage and unite them to the sufferings of Christ which he undertook for the salvation of the world. The-would-be disciple of Jesus will have to sacrifice his life to Christ and his brothers. Jesus said: He who loses his life for me will gain it. Whoever places Jesus’ interest above his own, thereby forgetting himself for the love of Christ, is his true disciple.

    One of the foremost disciples and apostles of the New Testament, a persecutor of the Christian faithful in his early life, understood very well the characteristics of the follower of Jesus and he tried to teach and live it.  In his teaching, in his letter to the Galatians (2nd Reading), he insists that through baptism, the Galatians (Christians) have entered into a new form of life, a life in Christ. During the baptismal ceremony, the entrance into the new life was symbolized by the baptized removing the clothing he was wearing and donning the baptismal robes. A reference to this ritual probably prompted Paul’s statement about putting on Christ as one would put on a garment. The garment was an external sign of a profound internal transformation. In this new life, former social distinctions are reinterpreted, and so the social, class and gender discrimination of the past have been erased. All those baptized into Christ were one with Christ and, thereby, one with one another. Indeed, for Paul, that identification with Christ in discipleship breaks down the barriers set upon society by the differences between Jew and Greek, slave and free persons, male and female.  The privilege often associated with political calcification is cancelled. Not even disciples can claim privilege. This was the kind of Messiah Jesus was. This is the kind of discipleship to which we are called. The corollary to Paul’s treatment of baptism, in addition to the cancellation of all class distinctions, is that all that were baptized were, as if one body. All are true children of God; all are genuine descendants of Abraham; all are heirs to the promises made by God. The Christian community is inclusive, embracing even those people the broader society has relegated to its margins. If these are true, why is that we Christians and particularly Catholics still cling tenaciously to the class distinction of osu and amadi. Are we really baptized? or baptized but not converted and transformed. As long as we allow this malaise to prevent us from becoming one in mind with Christ, growth in interior/spiritual life, our Christian worship, even our frequent reception of the Sacraments remains external and ineffective rituals. We remain in the level of babies, pre-nursery infants that are hardly able to do anything. In this weak situation, coupled with the fact that most of us Catholics stop at the level of first communion or confirmation classes, how can we be veritable disciples of Christ in our contemporary society. Let us therefore, ask Jesus today in the Eucharistic celebration to help us do away with all sorts of social discriminations and make us grow in intimacy with him through the personal relationship which the Sacrament of Baptism has established between him and us. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

11th Sunday of the Year; Year C 2016)

DOCTRINE  AND  FAITH
(2 Samuel17,7-10.13; Gal 2,16. 19-21; Luke 7,36-8.3;  11th  Sunday of the Year; Year C  2016)

    Today’s liturgy highlights not only the mercy of God in forgiving sins but also his willingness to make of the sinner a new creature. We have two cases of sinners, King David and an un-named woman in the Gospel who reached the bottom pot of human misery and moral degradation. What were the sins of David? When David took the wife of Uriah, he not only committed adultery with her but also cut off Uriah’s line of descent. Uriah’s murder merely brought this fact to completion. This means that with no descendants, Uriah’s name will not endure into the next generation, his bloodline would dry up and his property could be confiscated. With his adultery, David destroyed an entire family. He abused his royal privilege with regard to both Uriah and his wife. He took the woman as one would take a possession, and he had Uriah cut down. The fact that the blessings of God are enumerated in the beginning, suggest that the true sin against God is the king’s desire to determine the future of the monarchy rather than allow God to direct it through him. Since descent was an important factor in David’s sin, it will also play a major role in his punishment. As through intrigue and violence he cut off the bloodline of Uriah, so the history of his bloodline will be one of intrigue and violence. 
    In the gospel episode, Jesus referring to the woman who anointed his feet said that her sins, her many sins must have been forgiven her… What were exactly her sins? Jesus openly admitted that she was a sinner, though her sins were not explicitly identified. Her demeanour suggests it was somehow sexual, for a respectable woman would neither be unaccompanied, approach or touch a strange man, nor loosen her hair in public. Jesus did not rebuff her, so Simon concludes that he does not know she is a sinner and, consequently could not be a prophet. 
    One would wonder if these two sinners, David and the unnamed sinner-woman acknowledged their sins. Confronted with his sins face to face David said: I have sinned against the Lord. In the case of the woman, the parable Jesus gave shows that the one who had been forgiven much loved much in return. Love was the response to forgiveness. The woman, on the other hand, was forgiven because she loved much. Love seemed to have been the reason for forgiveness. Lest we think that forgiveness is earned, we must remember that the woman was present at Simon’s house before she came to see Jesus. Her demeanour suggests that she had already heard of his power to forgive. In her case, repentance precedes forgiveness. So, both David and the woman sinner,in one way or the other acknowledged their sins.

    The psalmist in today’s liturgy had this to say: But now I have acknowledged my sins: my guilt I did not hide. I said: “I will confess my offence to the Lord.” And you Lord have forgiven the guilt of my sin. Yes the Lord, merciful Father forgives the guilt of the psalmist, but the psalmist first had to acknowledge his sins and ask for forgiveness. For we must freely and consciously contribute to our salvation. Our merciful Father initiates our journey to salvation; salvation is never forced upon us. If we are to be saved, we must first acknowledge our need. If we are to be forgiven, we must first admit our sins. As strange as it may seem, such acknowledgement and admission are difficult to acquire. But if we cannot admit our sins, we will not be able to acknowledge the magnanimous goodness of God in forgiving us. We will not be able to be grateful for the mercy shown to us. Naming our sins before God is the first step towards reconciliation. In fact, we cannot only admit our sins and acknowledge God’s mercy because that mercy has taken a step towards reconciliation even before we have taken ours. God’s goodness towards us precedes any contrition on our part. No sin, once admitted, is beyond God’s forgiveness. David violated the wife of Uriah, cut off his bloodline, and had him killed. Although he was punished, once he admitted his guilt there was no thought of his not being forgiven. The woman who came to Jesus demonstrated her contrition publicly, and Jesus publicly announced her forgiveness. We see the same dynamic in the responsorial psalm today: the psalmist confesses his sins and he is forgiven. Although admission of sin may seem to the sinner an almost insurmountable obstacle, it is a very small thing compared to the overwhelming flood of mercy it will unleash. What is it that keeps us from opening the floodgates of mercy?
    The corollary to admitting our sin is acknowledging the source of the grace of salvation. It is clear, in both narratives, that God is the one who assures the repentant sinner of forgiveness. Paul is insistent about this. We are not justified; we are not reconciled to God through our own works. We do not earn our salvation. It is granted to us through faith in Christ, which itself is a gift from God. A question that seems to summarize the apparent tension in the gospel narrative goes this way: Do we love because we are forgiven, or are we forgiven because we first love? Because of his struggle with those who claimed that observance of the law was essential for salvation, Paul was the one who most strenuously argued that forgiveness is never earned. We are not forgiven because we are loved. Repentance may precede forgiveness, but even repentance is a grace offered to God.

    There is no way we can repay God for the magnanimous mercy shown to us. However, gratitude is often expressed through service to others. This is demonstrated in the gospel narrative. The repentant woman was possessed by a desire to serve, regardless of the fact that her actions were censured. Her service took the form of humble hospitality. The women who accompanied Jesus and his group also served. They provided for the group out of their means. How do we show our gratitude for having been forgiven? Do we realize that the reconciliation with God that we enjoy makes us ambassadors of reconciliation for others. Do we do what we can, give what we have, to further the ministry of reconciliation? Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye 

10th Sunday of Year C 2016

DOCTRINE AND  FAITH(1 Kings 17,17-24; Galatians 1,11-19; Luke 7,11-17: 10th Sunday of Year C  2016).

    The first remark that can be made from the first reading is that the revival of the son of the widow by Elijah happened in a non Israelite territory, in the confines of Israel, to the north of Sidon. This fact is important, because this miracle took place in a land thought to be under the jurisdiction of another god. Thus the Lord has his sway in other lands and had universal influence. He blesses those who are not of his chosen race, Israel. God’s power and goodness disregard national boundaries. There are no limits to the healing love of God. It embraces all, regardless of race or gender.

    Both miracles in the first and Gospel readings were done in favour of widows, both having only a son. In the face of death of their sons, the widows faced double tragedy.  In a patriarchal society a woman could claim the major privileges of society only through the agency of men in her life. With no husband and no son they would not fit into the kin structure. Furthermore, with the death of the son, the family itself was at its end. There would be no descendants to inherit the estate, and the name of the father would not pass into the future and, therefore, cease to exist. In the case of the first reading, in order to heal, Elijah performed what was really a kind of symbolic prophetic act. It was not the power from the body of the prophet that restored the boy but the power of God working through the prophet. The passage itself makes this clear; Elijah prayed to the Lord, and the Lord heard his prayer. When the son was restored to her alive, the woman responded with an act of faith. Her living son was proof that God’s power worked through the man of God. She testified that God’s word came from Elijah’s mouth as well. God’s life-giving power has been exercised in a foreign land for the benefit of one of the most disadvantaged of the society, a widow.

    In the issue of the miracle of bringing back the life of the only son of the widow of Nain, Jesus seemed to have performed it out of his own deep emotion rather than in response to someone else’s request or demonstration of faith. Jesus was deeply moved at the sight of the grieving mother, a widow over her only son. Jesus and his companions met the funeral procession at the limits of the town. Jesus disregarded the cultic prohibition against touching a corpse. Such an act would render him unclean. However, it was through this act that the life giving power of God was transmitted to the corpse. The same act that polluted Jesus raised the young man. He spoke giving evidence that he was alive. Jesus gave him back to his mother.

    While the prophet Elijah prayed to God and performed the rites of intercession in order to bring back the life of the dead child, Jesus rather brought back the life of the widow of Nain’s son through the prodigious force of his Word, because he is the Lord and his words are not the words of men, but the Word of God. It is understandable the wave of administration and enthusiasm which the bystanders experienced as the miracle was performed. They attested: a great prophet has risen from among us and God has visited his own people. Jesus is the last Word of God, not just any prophetic word no matter how important it could be. As Bonora holds: With Jesus God has said all his Word, in an insuperable definitive way. He has made us understand that death is neither the ultimate word, a conclusive seal nor an invincible evil. Jesus himself solemnly declared at the raising of Lazarus from the dead: I am the resurrection and life: who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will not die forever (John 11, 25-26).

    It is also necessary to mention that Jesus has not only conquered the death of the body because he is the Lord of life, but can also break into the intimacy of the most obstinate and hard heart, he can open for himself a passage even in the heart that does not allow grace to get in and change it in a most radical way. This is demonstrated in the event of St Paul who from persecuting the young church of Christ became, after the apparition of Jesus on his way to Damascus, the most fervid and passionate proclaimer of the gospel among the Jews and Gentiles. This thought makes us feel optimistic in our own case for we know that God can make us rise from our weaknesses, and cure us from our spiritual infirmities. Indeed, he wishes to do so; what we need to do is to open our hearts to him and strive to cooperate generously to his grace. In fact, what the Church invites us to ask in prayer, for ourselves and for others, is the spiritual resurrection. God is able to raise the dead even those obstinate dead who consider themselves still alive. God is able to transform us. Faith means considering it possible that God can make us new.  The true atheist is not one who affirms that God does not exist. Such are few. The real atheist is the one who affirms that God cannot transform him, who says that he is no longer able to change, and is too late to change. Real atheist is one who negates the infinite power and force of the resurrection which is inherent in the grace of God. True believers are those among us who know that it is only a genuine prayer, a sincere confession and just only one word from God that are enough for us to be renewed and to continue our Christian life. Therefore, let us in today’s Eucharistic celebration, ask God to give us the grace to be true believers. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye