31st Sunday of the Year C 2016

May the good Lord give you the grace to always have the burning desire to encounter Him and to be open to him just as Zacchaeus did in the gospel reading of today. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE  AND  FAITH

(Wisdom 11, 22-12,2; 1 Thess 1,11-2,2; Luke 19, 1-10: 31st Sunday of the Year C 2016)

                                                                                       
    The author of the book of Wisdom, sometimes referred to as the Pseudo Solomon, presents to us some of the aspects/attributes of God. He speaks of the immensity of God. The entire expanse of the cosmos is as nothing when compared to God. This powerful  and immense God is a lover of what exists as he does not despise anything he created. His love for his creation is manifest through his mercy. God is merciful as well  as he is powerful. In our world that glorifies strength, mercy could appear to be a weak virtue. This passage dispels the false perception. Only the one with power can move beyond the strict rules of retribution, and if divine power is boundless, then it is possible that divine mercy has no limits. This idea may have led the author to indicate that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things. What could sound like pantheism (a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God) might be better understood as panentheism (the belief or doctrine that God is greater than the universe and includes and interpenetrates it). The implications of such incarnational concept are noteworthy. First it provides the clue to the reason God so loves creation. Second, it throws more  light on the intrinsic value of the natural world both human and non human. Pseudo Solomon was not oblivion of human weakness. He knew that people sin and he knew that there was suffering because of it. This in no way nullified his claims about the mercy of God. Instead, that mercy explained the way God dealt with sinners. They were rebuked more as a correction than as a punishment and this was done in order to bring them to greater insight, deeper commitment and trust in God.
    The responsorial psalm, (Psalm 144) partly a hymn of praise, expanded the attribute of God (which Pseudo Solomon started in the first reading) using covenant language: The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. God is described as gracious, compassionate and filled with loving kindness. It is to be noted that this divine goodness was not reserved for Israel alone but was extended to all God’s works. This includes all people and nations and also all  natural creation. Thus, the covenant has been expanded to a universal embrace.  The final section of the psalm extols God’s reign and God’s care for those who are burdened. God’s reign, unlike the reign of other gods, is resplendent, eternal and universal. In this light, the covenantal faithful ones were called not only to praise God for wonders God had accomplished in and for them but also to announce the glory of God’s rule to the entire human race, to all children of Adam. It was not enough that they enjoyed the privilege of belonging to God’s kingdom. Through them, God invited the entire universe to participate as well.

    The passage of the book of Wisdom finds its full verification in  today’s gospel passage. Jesus, the revelation of the image of God the Father, manifested the divine power of showing mercy and forgiveness in his mission to seek and save what is lost. We are not to forget that the Jews prided themselves as the people whom God saved from bondage and with whom he entered into a covenant. Therefore, any kind of servitude was repugnant to them. Zacchaeus belonged to the hated class of those who kept the servitude on, as he was a tax collector and a principal one, for that matter. This means that he probably benefited from both the taxes paid and  the fees the tax collectors themselves exacted of the people. He conducted his business in Jericho, a prominent city on the east-west trade route. His repute as tax collector, notwithstanding, Zacchaeus was described as possessing several honourable qualities. The interest in seeing Jesus overrode any shame he may have experienced in having to climb a tree. He responded immediately as Jesus has instructed and he extended  the fullness of customary hospitality to him. The extent of his transformation was seen in the extent of his restitution. The law prescribed the return of the money extorted along with twenty percent of that amount (Lev 6,5). Zacchaeus was extravagant in his compensation, repaying fourfold whatever he must  have owed and he did this in addition to giving half his possession to the poor. Such prodigality was his response to having been called by the Lord and honoured with his presence.

    Jesus not only accepted Zacchaeus’ hospitality but boldly invited himself to the man’s home. In a sense he became the host, inviting Zacchaeus into his life, into the intimacy of his friendship. By this act he displayed the unrestricted nature of his love. He established a bond with a man of questionable character, and he thereby transformed him into a man who repented and radically reformed his life. Although the home belonged to Zacchaeus, the real home into which Jesus invited him was the reign of God and there Jesus was the host. The hospitality Jesus offered dissolved all constraints. Sinners become friends; the lost are found; all are restored to their rightful place, as children not merely of Abraham but of God. The creativity of the Creator is matched by compassion of the re-Creator. 
    In accepting Zacchaeus’ hospitality of, the people murmured against Jesus and condemned him for eating with sinners. In his bid to save what is lost, Jesus saw the utmost need and urgency of going into Zacchaeus home that day: Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today. Jesus had to enter the house of Zacchaeus so that salvation would come into the house. Jesus was only passing through Jericho and if they did not seize the moment, the opportunity could be lost. The urgency of the moment demanded that religious and social customs had to be set aside. Zacchaeus, might well have been a sinner. His decision for restitution implied that he knew he was. Jesus did not even challenge the criticism of those who accused him of associating with a sinner. Instead he insisted that only those who were lost can be found, only those who were perishing can be saved. Those who revered themselves as righteous seldom understood this and as a result missed opportunities for their own salvation.

    The compassion of God was manifest in the fact that God promised us a future. In that future all the blessings of salvation will be brought to fulfillment.  Like Zacchaeus, we have been called; we have been invited to open ourselves to the Lord who is coming so that he can extend to us the riches of his own hospitality. Therefore as we have a future, our past will not hold us back, division will be dissolved. We have a future; this is the reason to cry out in praise and thanksgiving to the immense, powerful, compassionate and gracious God who is of loving kindness:  I will praise your name forever, let all your works give you thanks! Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

30th Sunday of the Year C 2016

May God who, through Christ, bequeathed us the Our Father, endow you with all the necessary graces for an authentic and effective prayer-life starting from today till the end of your life. Happy Sunday! 

+ John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Sirach 35, 12-14.16-18; 2 Tim 4,6-18;Luke 18, 19-14: 30th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

    There are teachings on prayer in the gospel. Jesus taught his disciples the ‘‘Our Father’’. The major theme of last Sunday’s gospel reading is the necessity of perseverance in prayer. This Sunday, the gospel reading touches on another important aspect of prayer: the interior disposition/attitude of the one who not prays. Jesus uses a parable to illustrate this. In the parable Jesus contrasts the attitude of the Pharisee and that of the Publican/tax collector. The Pharisee was bold in addressing God in his prayer while the publican stood at a distance from the altar of holocaust and did even raise his eyes to heaven. The pharisee, full of himself, was thanking God for not being like other people. He presented to God his merits: fasting twice a week (instead of once a week), paying tithe on all he has (instead of on his earnings). On the other hand the publican did not make any long prayer; he beat his chest saying: Oh God have pity on me, a sinner. In concluding the parable, Jesus indicates that the publican went home justified while the pharisee was not. The prayer of the pharisee was not pleasing to God while that of the publican was acceptable to Him. 

    The parable brings out two diverse religious attitudes. Jesus wishes to put us in guard against falling into the temptation of praying like the pharisee who presumes to be just/self-righteous and despises other people. Often, we Christians congratulate ourselves feel satisfied and justified, like the pharisee, on account of our works of piety/charity or our participation in cult or our observance of the commandments. There is the tendency to reduce the Christian to the one who performs determinate actions or fulfils certain religious practices, one who excludes some excesses in his moral conduct, especially in his external and public conducts, one who participates in the holy Mass and religious practices. In this way, there is the risk of falling into a pharisaism that is as empty as it is presumptuous and arrogant. There are several ways in which we show that we are self-righteous, but basically they all show that we have forgotten that God is and we are not. This is the attitude which Jesus condemns. It presumes that we are righteous through our own power, when the case might be that we have not been thrown into a state of affairs that sorely test the mettle of our virtue. When the circumstances of life support our efforts to be compliant we can easily assume a superior attitude towards those whose weakness are only too apparent. They may show failings in area where we are resolute, but disdain for them is a clear sign of both our ignorance of our own human frailty and lack of human compassion for the frailty of others. Unfortunately, this attitude of arrogance can be brought in while praying by the Pharisee in all of us.  

     The authentic Christian always feels like a publican, a sinner, one saved by the mercy of God and who continually needs His help. Jesus extols the humility of one who admits being a sinner and can accept the implication of that admission. The tax collector neither denies his culpability nor tried to excuse it. He, straightforwardly, acknowledged his sin and stood humbly and openly before the God to whom he was accountable to. There is an unpretentious honesty in his manner. He knows what and what he is, and he knows who and what God is. He asks for mercy, knowing fully well he does not deserve it, but also knowing that there is every reason to believe that the compassionate God will grant his request. His prayer demonstrates contrition, humility and confidence. Unlike the Pharisee, who looks only to himself, the tax collector, though he does not even raise his eyes to heaven, looks only to God. This is the attitude Jesus commends.

    The publican’s prayer is the kind of prayer that is described in today’s first reading from the book of Sirach and in the psalm response. It is those who can admit they are needy who turn to God in that need. It is those who trust that God will be their strength in the face of their weakness who are strengthened. The lowly, the poor, the oppressed and the brokenhearted are not closer to God because they are lonely, poor, oppressed or brokenhearted but because in their straits/difficulties they turn to God rather than to themselves. God is merciful, and they experience this mercy when they pray for it. God is the source of their strength and they are strong when they turn to God for strength.

    Let us also turn to the second reading to learn from Paul what our attitude to prayer should be. Like the Pharisee, Paul acknowledges his success. He has completed his assignment well; he has finished the course given to him; he kept the faith. Unlike the Pharisee, he acknowledges that God is the source of any good he has been able to accomplish. The Lord stood by him and gave him strength. If there is any glory, it belongs to God. Paul’s confident prayer springs from a humble heart. May we therefore, pray in today’s Eucharistic celebration, that the good Lord who taught us to pray ‘‘Our Father’’ and insists that we persevere in our prayers may grant also us the interior humble disposition/attitude that is a sine qua non for an effective and authentic prayer. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

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29th Sunday of the Year C 2016

May the intimate relationship between God and the Christian, which is the purpose of prayer, be yours in its fullness this Sunday and all through your life! Happy Sunday! +John I.Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Exodus 17, 8-13; 2 Tim 3, 14-4, 2; Luke 18, 1-8: 29th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

The gospel reading focuses on the theme of prayer and highlights the aspect of perseverance in prayer. The other readings of this Sunday take up other aspects of prayer. To effectively bring home the teaching of the necessity of persistent prayer, Jesus gave a parable of an unjust judge and a widow.  The judge is described as fearing neither God nor human beings. The fear of God is the quintessential characteristic of the pious person. By his own admission, the judge is devoid of such devotion. This is a way of saying that he does not hold in regard the pivotal commandments of love of God and neighbor . He was unjust not because he was an active adversary against another but because he failed to ensure that justice was served in the lives of all. This is an extraordinary serous charge against a judge, whose very function is to secure justice for all, especially for the most vulnerable of society. Sins of omission can be as devastating as sins of commission. The woman, on the other hand, was a widow, a member of one of the most oppressed classes in Israel. It would seems that she is not only widowed but also alone in the world, for it would have been customary for a male member of her family to appear before the judge to plead her cause. Though vulnerable, this woman was bold. She was already the victim of injustice, but she appears here, before the judge, pressing him for a hearing. As indifferent as the judge seems to be towards her case, so is she persistent in her demands of him. He will not give in; she will not give up. How long this standoff lasted we are not told, but it was long enough to wear down the judge. He finally relents. At this point in his narrative instruction, Jesus introduces an a fortiori argument: If the judge who was unjust  will finally vindicate those who have been mistreated, how much more will God vindicate those who are the chosen ones.            We, Christians, the disciples of Jesus today, are admonished to persevere in prayer. Perseverance does not mean multiplying our words (verbosity) or our requests, but rather the constancy and the patience of the one who confides hopes and knows how to wait for God. Perseverance manifests also itself in the attitude of dependency and abandoning oneself in God. Perseverance also means having confidence in God, be it the time he listens to our prayer or the time it seems he does not. Perseverance can also mean the interior assurance and conviction that our prayer would be answered. The attitude of perseverance can be compared to the unshakable assurance of the child on the benevolence  and good disposition towards him/her on the part of his parents and also the conviction a friend has in the faithfulness of his/her  friend. The disciples of Jesus are admonished to be persistent in prayer, day and night regardless of how closed God might seem to their pleas. Jesus parable shows them that in God’s regard, it is not a question of disinterest but of timing. God will answer in His own time.

In the parable, the woman’s persistence, finally, opened the door of the judge. This story only captures one facet of prayer, namely: God’s opens to us. In reality, prayer develops a mutual openness: God is open to our desire for Him and we are open to God’s desire for us. In the gospel account it was the woman who was persistent; in reality it is God who prevails on us to open ourselves. The gospel only hints at this particular aspect of prayer. It states that the Son of Man will come seeking faith.

 There is an intimate connection between faith and prayer. Even one theological axiom holds: Lex credendi, lex orandi (The Law of belief is seen in the law of prayer). Prayer, in fact, should be an expression of faith, otherwise it cannot be a true prayer. If one does not believe in God, he cannot pray to God. If one does not believe in the goodness and benevolence of God he cannot pray in an adequate manner. Faith is an essential basis for the correct attitude in prayer. 

 We hinted above that there are others aspects of prayer that are highlighted by the other readings of today. One can see the communal aspect of prayer in the first reading. The Israelites would not have been able to prevail on the Amelekites without the prayerful action of Moses, but Moses would not have been able to persevere is his action of entreaty had not Aaron and Hur supported him. This teaches us that we should find ways of praying for and with our community. After all, God brought us salvation through Christ as a community, even though sometimes we benefit from it individually. Charity begins at home. May we begin this communal dimension of prayer by starting afresh, from this Sunday, the family communal prayer. To develop a communal sense of prayer may be one of the most challenging aspects of our discipleship for many of us today, but we have to develop it.

Paul admonishes Timothy in the second reading to keep preaching the gospel, to keep spreading the good news, to allow the Scriptures to continue to be source of wisdom for himself and through him for all the people who hear him. To have this kind of facility with Scriptures requires that one enter into deep meaning of the Scriptures and make them the basis of his /her  prayers. To be able to do this one will have to engage oneself with the lectio divine; this is prayerful, reflective reading of the Scriptures. This practice, or spiritual discipline gives us access to God and it also gives God access to us. It moves us out of our penchant towards isolated devotion into ministerial commitment. It gives us the courage and the gentleness to teach, refute, and correct. When our ministerial action flows from prayer, it also flows from and strengthens right relationship with God, with the society and with the Christian community. When this becomes a reality, the son of man will indeed find faith on earth. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics  by  chukwubike 

28th Sunday of the Year C 2016

May the good Lord continue to cure you of all human frailties and endow you with the spirit of gratitude and praise that will enable you appreciate his enduring favours to you. Happy Sunday! +John Okoye

                                                  DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(2 Kings 5,14-17; 2 Tim 1, 6-8.13-14; Luke 17, 11-19: 28th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

    We have in the first reading a story that has some converging points with that of the gospel reading. In the first reading the figure of Naaman dominates. He was the head of the Syrian Army and a person of authority. Unfortunately, he contracted leprosy. Through the suggestion of the prophet Elisha, a man of God, he washed seven times in the River Jordan and got instantly healed. Even though he originated from a pagan area, Syria, but having experienced the prodigy, Naaman confessed that the only true God was the one believed in and honoured by the people of Israel: Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. He wanted to show appreciation to the prophet through gifts. His insistence, notwithstanding, Elisha categorically refused accepting any gift, with the motive to teach that the lord is the only person to thank and from whom emerges all gifts. Naaman understood and promised that from that moment on he would not be offering sacrifices and holocaust to any gods except to the only and true God, the God of Israel.

            The evangelist Luke presents to us, in the gospel reading, the case of the cure of ten lepers by Jesus, at the entrance of the village. The lepers were standing  some distance away from Jesus, following the the prescription of Leviticus 13,45-46. They were imploring loudly: Jesus! Master! Take  pity on us.  Jesus did not bother himself with the prevailing opinion that leprosy was considered a curse from God and symbol of sin, rather he urged them, as soon as possible, to present themselves to the priest.   It is important to bring out the fact that showing oneself to the priest was valid to those who were already cured of the disease. The priest was to verify the realty of the cure. This not withstanding, the ten lepers, even though still experiencing the full effects of the disease, without objection and showing no hesitation, set out, in obedience to Jesus’ directives.  Their faith was fully rewarded, for while they were going away, they were cleansed. After their cure, one expected that they should return to thank who healed them. All did not, expect one. He might have had the intuition that God manifested his presence and power in Jesus who healed him. Jesus accepted the gratitude and adoration, unlike Prophet Elisha, because he was not just a prophet, he was the Son of God. It was for the act of faith, for having praised and thanked God prostrating at the feet of Jesus that Jesus said to him: Stand up and go on your way, your faith has saved you. Though, Jesus was full of mercy, he had to express his disappointment that only one out of ten people cured came back to thank God and praise him and what is more, the cured person who came back  was a Samaritan, a member of the group whom the Israelites considered strangers, away from God, sinners and unworthy of salvation of God.

We learn two important thing  from the forgoing narrations from the Gospel of Luke and that of 2nd Kings. The first is that Jesus, because he was God, was sovereignly, free and could not be conditioned by anyone, nor be circumscribed by ethnic, religious and political barriers. In the two passages, the beneficiaries be it in the body or  in the spirit, were pagans and, that is to say, two persons completely outside the Jewish religious ambient and were considered to be excluded from the Kingdom of God.  In one of his encounters with the people of his own town Jesus (Luke 4,24-27) came out clear that no one should pretend to have the monopoly of the divine benevolence, assert his rights before God, or pretend to have special privileges or boast of his merits. Whatever he did, or conceded to people was out of his liberty and freedom, and was purely gratuitous gift, grace; He dispenses, abundantly, to anyone who showed openness,  was disposed, open and approachable. What was important to Jesus was not belonging to this tribe or this group,  this religion; not even the exterior and formal observance of the divine law, but the openness of heart, the disposition to leave oneself to be drawn  by him, availing oneself of his graces  and making use of his grace and getting converted. This should give us food for thought. This is because we may be pious and devout Christians, scrupulous observers of some law, but lovers of this life, ill disposed to change our way of life, and leave oneself to be internally transformed.
    The other lesson from the word of God is the duty of gratitude we owe to God. We need to learn  how to appreciate so many benefits we receive from God and how to raise prayers of praise and gratitude. We are not to limit ourselves to the prayer of request. We need to praise, glorify, bless and thank God the Father who gave us his Son to redeem us and who raised him from the dead. It is in him that he saved us, and made us his sons and daughters who partake of his divine life. He has also called us to be part of his church and has illumined and sustained us with the light and power of the Holy Spirit, to whom we are destined to abide in happiness forever. This incessant prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God should not remain only verbal expression or sentiments locked up in our hearts, but should be translated into apostolic action and in joyous announcement of our faith in Christ Jesus who rose from the dead, just as Paul teaches in his letter to Timothy. We are therefore to be disposed, like Paul, to suffer for the gospel and to endure every suffering so that our many brothers and sisters may reach salvation which Jesus Christ brought us. This is the best way to thank God for the benevolence which he shows towards us by making us the spokespersons or announcers/proclaimers of his message of salvific love.  Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

  

graphics  by  chukwubike oc

27th Sunday of the Year C 2016

May God augment the quality of your faith and may he make you an instrument of faith-mediation to other people. Happy Sunday! + John I.Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Habakkuk 1, 2-3; 2, 2-4; 2 Tim 1, 6-8.13-14; Luke 17, 5-10: 27th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

All the readings of today, in one way or the other, are connected to the theme of faith. Faith is very important, being the foundation of the Christian life. Christian life is received from God through faith. Without faith, there would neither be hope nor charity which is the perfection of the Christian life. For this reason we should be convinced of the extraordinary importance of faith in our lives. Faith has to do with man's relationship with God. It is a theological virtue, meaning that it has its origin from God, himself. It is a free gift from God. The concept of faith in the Hebrew Bible is conveyed by a word whose basic meaning isto be firm, solid and true/genuine. Often the term is predicted of God to mean that God is true, genuine, trustworthy and steadfast (See Psalm 103, 17-18). So, faith is man's relationship of trust in God who is dependable. Faith is man's positive response to God's word of invitation and revelation of his will. Faith is committing one's whole person to God and allowing God to be master of one's life.

            The readings of today challenge us to reflect on some aspects of faith. In the first reading, Habakkuk was in the midst of the suffering of his people. There were utter violence, ruin, misery and destruction. He faced strife and discord. It seemed too much for him to bear. He felt the absence of God and God's usual tender solicitude for the covenant people in need. Such absence of God’s presence, as Habakkuk felt, often serve as crucible within which faith is forged and refined. What happened to Amos is the experience of any true disciple of Christ. In our struggle to be faithful disciples, we must frequently endure periods when we feel abandoned by God and when it seems that God has withdrawn his consolation. Such experiences are difficult under any circumstance. In such situations, should we give up, throw in the towel and quit? No! We have to follow Abraham’s, our father in faith, who remained firm in his trust in the steadfastness of God.

We mentioned earlier that faith is a theological virtue, and, therefore, a gift of God and takes its origin from God. This knowledge of the origin of faith must have inspired the apostles of Jesus to request him to increase their faith: Lord, increase our faith. In his reply to their request, Jesus shifted from their perspective. They were interested in the quantity of faith, but Jesus was concerned with the quality. To illustrate this, Jesus employed a metaphor whereby the mustard seed, small as it is, would be able to uproot the mulberry tree that has deep and well formed adventurous roots. By the use of the metaphor, Jesus indicates that it is not necessary to have increase in faith, rather the concern should be to secure the genuine faith, no matter how little. Such faith will be able to realize even what seems almost impossible and unimaginable.

As Christians we should be thankful to God for our faith, which we do not merit in anyway. That it is a free gift of God to us, is the meaning of the parable in the second section of today's gospel. The servant in the parable has to work in the farm and, thereafter, has to attend to domestic chores to serve dinner to the master. He is to be thankful after discharging his duties. The disciples of Jesus should expect a similar lot. They have been called to labour and after fulfilling their duties, faithfully, they have only done what is required of them: We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty. This saying challenges any form of self-adulation based on accomplishment. So, like the unprofitable servant, we do not even earn the faith we have now as baptized Christians. We have no right to claim it as our own. If we are honest to ourselves there are people that are more deserving of faith than we are and more disposed to respond to it as we do. Such thoughts should challenge us to realize that the faith we have is a gift from God. We should always bear in mind that we are the ones to whom faith has been given. And, therefore, we are the ones from whom faithful service will be expected. We will be sent to plow the fields, tend the sheep and be called to serve at table.

In the Old Testament faith has communitarian dimension. Abraham was the father of faith but eventually the communitarian relationship of faith was between God and the elected people of Israel, by virtue of the covenant relationship. People became members of this believing community, not by conversion experience but by being included through birth into the community of Yahweh, the people of God. In the New Testament, inclusion into the community of faith was by conversion. Faith is required if one is to be included into the people of God, the Church, the new community of God. This is the reason of the profession of faith before baptism. Our faith is mediated to us, first of all, through the church and then through our parents who have the principal duty, aided by our sponsors, to lead us to mature faith. Faith comes from hearing and we have heard about Jesus and God from various peoples: our parents, family and friend cycles, teachers and preachers, colleagues at work, etc. Faith comes from God but through the mediation of the community. Timothy received his faith from his mother and grandmother. His faith was strengthened through the imposition of Paul’s hand and through his own preaching of the word of God. Furthermore, what Paul taught him was handed over to him by those who first preached to him. God grants us the gift of faith, but it comes to us through people. There are so many people around us, and even better than us, who have not received this faith because they have not met someone who mediates it to them. Perhaps you will be meeting such people today and at any place. The challenge and duty to mediate faith to them could and should be yours and mine. In today's Eucharistic celebration, may we therefore, pray the good Lord to equip us with all the graces we need to maintain our faith relationship with him in dark moments of our lives, discharge faithfully our services as unprofitable disciples and dispose ourselves to become instruments of faith-mediation to other people. Happy Sunday! 

+John I. Okoye

(graphics  by chukwubike oc)