17th Sun. of Ordinary Time, Year B, 2015

(2 Kings 4,42-44; Ephesians 4,1-6; John 6,1-15: 17^th Sun. of Ordinary Time, Year B, 2015)

In today’s Gospel and first reading, we find striking common features: God’s benevolent act of feeding his people; the disproportionate ratio of those to be fed and the food available; miraculous multiplication of the food such that there were some left over after the feeding of the people and more interestingly, the fact that what was multiplied to feed the people did not fall from heaven but rather came from an individual. Of all these, perhaps the last feature has tremendous message for us in understanding Divine Providence.

            Consistent with his nature as a loving Father, God does not lose sight of the need of His creatures, even the smallest.  He provides for their well being and does this often in an amazing manner.  Divine providence ensures the sustenance and perpetuity of creation.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say in this regard, “…the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history”. (cf. CCC 303). The miraculous episode of the multiplication, in both the first reading and the Gospel, teaches us to have faith in Divine Providence. In the first reading, the servant of Elisha, and in the Gospel, both Philip and Andrew were skeptical that the little food they had would satisfy the hunger of the people who were with them, in a deserted area, far away from where one could buy enough food, presuming the availability of money. We know what happened in both passages.  A message that is constant in the whole Bible comes to the fore: Nothing is impossible to God! What is impossible to man is chicken feed for God (Matt 19, 26; Mark 10, 27; Luke 1, 37; 18, 27). What it boils down to is that we, weak men and women, should recognize our limitations, ask for help from God and trust Him.

            Even though providence is all God’s doing, there is, however, a human side to it in the sense that God wills that man cooperates with him as secondary causes to bring about the full realization of his will.  The Catechism puts it succinctly: “God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creature’s cooperation.  This is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God’s greatness and goodness.  For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of cooperating in the accomplishment of his plan”. (CCC 306) 

            The man from Baal-shalishah in the first reading of today and the small boy in the gospel offered what they had, which were in turn, miraculously multiplied to feed the people.  They became willful cooperators to bring about the realization of divine providence.  Today, God continues to give us the privilege of becoming secondary causes of the solicitude of Divine Providence.  The choice is ours: to either cooperate with God’s benevolence by bringing up the little we have so that others can benefit from it and experience God’s loving care; or to keep that which we have to ourselves selfishly and refuse to make it available. Selfishness is the root cause of all the evils we have in our society; be it moral, or physical. Selfishness has to be substituted by the spirit of solidarity and sacrificial love for the neighbour in need. By eschewing selfishness and embracing solidarity we would be pitching camp alongside the solicitude of Divine Providence. But if, however, we choose to remain in the side of selfishness, we can never put a stop to Divine Providence. It is just that we lose the opportunity and privilege to share in the realization of Divine Providence when selfishness, covetousness, avarice and the like prevent us from opening our hands and letting others share what we have.

The multiplication of bread and fish in today’s gospel reading by Jesus is a symbol, prefiguration and anticipation of the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, by which we have the multiplication of the Body and Blood of Jesus for the spiritual nurture of all who receive Him in the Sacramental Communion. By his command at the institution of the Eucharist: Do this in memory of me, he providentially assures of his presence and the provision of spiritual nourishment for our souls. It is this spiritual nourishment, which Jesus provides, that will enable us strengthen our Christian virtues especially that of sacrificial love, which serves as the foundation of unity, concord and peace. Let us pray that participating in the Eucharistic meal, which is daily multiplied in our altars, we may obtain the graces we need to comport ourselves in a manner worthy of the vocation we have received! Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time; Year B 2015

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Jeremiah 23,1-6; Ephesians 2,13-18; 

Mark 6,30-34: 16^th Sunday of Ordinary Time; Year B 2015)

The gospel of today portrays two traits of Jesus that demonstrate his nearness to us human beings. The first is his compassion: So as he (Jesus) stepped ashore he saw a large crowd and he took pity on them... Compassion means to suffer with, to be able to feel in one’s heart the suffering of the other. Why was Jesus moved to pity? This was because the crowd was like a herd of sheep without a shepherd; that is, like animals without a guide. What did he do next? He set himself to teach them many things. This passage is not the only instance in his ministry where Jesus felt pity in the face of human suffering and sorrow and showed compassion to the sufferers. He had pity on the crowd that followed him for long and had to multiply bread so that they could assuage their hunger (Mark 7, 35). Out of compassion, he had for the widow of Naim, he brought her dead son who was then about to be buried to life (Luke 7,11). He was also moved to pity at the tomb of Lazarus, his friend (John 11,38). These examples stand to show that in all difficult situations of need and suffering, be it material or spiritual, the heart of Jesus is moved to pity and compassion. We should never think that he is indifferent or insensitive to our situations of suffering. Certainly, we would want him to free us from all situations of suffering and sorrow. This would be expecting too much and might not be very plausible. We know for sure that He is near us and suffers with us; he counts every drop of tears from our eyes and sustains us with his grace. We are not to forget that it is the same Jesus who, out of compassion for us, shed the last drop of His blood for us. The important corollary or consequence of Jesus pity and compassion for us is that we have to be compassionate to our neighbours who are in different type of distresses.

The other trait of Jesus noticeable in today’s gospel is his tenderness and loving solicitude towards his disciples. They just returned from their first apostolic mission to which he sent them out, in pairs. Jesus like a good papa or mama (who is benevolent towards his/her children) brought them together and patiently listened to all they had done and how they had conducted themselves in their first mission apostolate. At the end of their narration, Jesus invited them to have a quiet time of rest and peace: You must some time go away to a lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while. Jesus extends the same invitation to us today. We all need to withdraw ourselves to a lonely place to rest a while. This would mean taking some time off our daily work and seek some quiet moment and silence, otherwise we burn ourselves out and begin to act like beasts in our attitude or work like automated machines. It all means that we would lose contact with God and swerve from direction and orientation of our very lives. To maintain contact with God, we should recall the importance of Sunday rest and the sanctification of Sunday. By going to Holy Mass on Sunday and abstaining from work we sanctify the Sunday, we keep it holy. That is not all; we have further gains: we recover our physical strength, redirect our minds to spiritual things, remove our minds from mundane things and focus them on the things of heaven. Such Sunday rest will also give the parents opportunity to stay with their children and to evaluate their human, spiritual and intellectual growth and development.  Having quiet moment is not limited to Sundays alone. Indeed, we need to take time off, for some quiet moments, every day, in order to contemplate God, speak to Him, listen to Him and discuss even the problems we meet in our daily lives and duties. Jesus shows tenderness to his disciples by listening to them and offering them opportunity to rest and have some peace. Do we extend such tenderness and care to our neighbours, including those of them who are members of our families and who share our household with us?

The liturgy of today also gives us the opportunity to contemplate two aspects of the personality of Jesus. In the first place, Jesus is the true prophet and pastor (guide) of our souls. He is not the type of shepherds whom Jeremiah, in the first reading of today, condemned and denounced. This was because they scattered the sheep and did not take care of them. Jesus, as the good shepherd, rather nurtures our souls with his words and teaching, gives us his very self and life and offers himself as food and nutriment in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

The second trait of the personality of Christ is brought out in the second reading of today where Paul writes: Christ is our peace! He is our peace, first and foremost, by the fact of reconciling us with God the Father through shedding his blood. By reconciling us with God, he made us sons and daughters of God. In the second place, he has reconciled us with one another, Jews and Gentile and has made us see ourselves as brothers and sisters. In addition, he has liberated us from the slavery of Satan and from the entanglement of sin.

Thus Christ is our master, he is our peace. There is problem of lack of true peace everywhere in the world, in our own country Nigeria, our towns and villages, our families and even our parishes and ecclesiastical families. As Christ is our peace, if we can put into practice his teachings of true and sacrificial love for one another, he will send his peace that is stable and durable (not provisional). This peace will be found within us, in our families, our society, the church and the whole world.  And we, who were once far away from God but now are near, by virtue of the blood of Christ, should endeavour never to cut ourselves away from Jesus but should rather follow the path of sacrificial love which he has indicated. May we, therefore, pray in this Eucharistic celebration for the graces to follow the portraits of Jesus that are manifest in today’s liturgy: compassion, tender care of our neighbours, medium of reconciliation and source of holistic peace.  Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

15th Sunday of Year B 2015....DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Amos 7,12-15; Ephesians 1,3-14; Mark 6,7-13:  15^th  Sunday of Year B 2015)

 

God himself is the architect and giver of every genuine vocation.  When he calls, he gives the one called the inspiration and accompanies him or her with the grace to meet up with the demands of the call.  The choice God makes of us does not depend on any merit of ours.  This truth compels us to always cultivate a healthy sense of unworthiness, knowing that nothing qualifies us to take up whatever vocation in life except the choice God makes for us out of his unbounded love.

Amos realized this truth about his vocation as a prophet.  In today’s first reading, he was quick to remind Amaziah that his prophetic mission was God-given and not something he consciously decided to embark upon. “…it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, ‘Go, prophecy to my people Israel’”. The only qualification Amos laid claim to, was the fact that it was the Lord himself who called him and gave him the mission.  It was all God’s own initiative; all he did was to make himself available. In exercising his prophetic call, Amos made sure he followed God’s directives and conveyed His message to the people without diluting it, making it to suit the political stake holders of his time or allying himself to them. He was not a court prophet who was in the King’s pay role or that of a powerful and influential politician.  He did not tailor his messages to suit the taste of the one who pays for his livelihood as the court prophets did and even Amaziah in the first reading of today. He did not compromise his call, and was then in the position to criticize and condemn the evil actions of the powerful ones in the society.  What is more, the message of Amos included calling the people of Israel to be faithful to their covenantal relationship with God, allowing the practice of divine cult (worship) to be reflected in their daily life, keeping the commandment of God and practicing social justice. 

In the second reading, St. Paul made the link between our fundamental vocation as Christians – the call to holiness, and the fact that it was God’s own choice that necessarily qualifies us clear: “…he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence”. The choice God makes of us, confers on us a new identity and demands from us a co-operation that is total and unconditional.  There must be that readiness to be able to adapt to these demands no matter the inconveniences involved.

While conferring their mission on the Twelve and sending them out in today’s gospel, Jesus challenged them to be prepared for the ‘inconveniences’ of their calling: “…no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses….”. The single-minded attention demanded by their mission would not admit of any preoccupation with personal convenience.  They were called to place all their confidence in God’s providence. Interestingly, the Lord who initiated their whole mission always ensured that they never lacked.  The same experience is extended to us in our struggle to answer God’s call and be faithful to the demands of our calling.  When we single-mindedly devote ourselves to seeking and doing God’s will in the different vocations he entrusts to us in this life, He always has a way of taking care of our needs and basic conveniences.  The initiative, the choice and the sustaining grace are all His.  All that we bring into the picture is our willful co-operation and availability. Assured of God’s providence in the mission He sends us today as he sent the apostles, we are to concentrate our message, as the apostles did, by preaching repentance (conversion). Conversion in effect means changing our attitudes to be in line with God’s will. Our behaviour follows then our attitude. This in effect will mean avoiding sin and all the occasions of sin, and keeping God’s commandments.  As the Latin adage holds: Nemo dat quod non habet (No one gives what he has not), we cannot preach conversion to others when we are not yet converted. Let us, therefore, pray in this Eucharistic Liturgy that the good Lord may bestow on us the gift of conversion that will enable us to be faithful to our vocation as Christians, so that our preaching, in words and deeds, will have positive effects in our lives, and in the lives of our neighbours. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye 

14th Sunday of the Ordinary Time: Year B.......DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2Cor.12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6, 14^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time: Year B)

In today’s gospel, St. Mark has a very apt description of the attitude of the people of Jesus’ own hometown towards him in these words - and they would not accept him. This attitude of non-acceptance had a direct consequence: no miracle!  It is faith that prepares the ground for the experience of divine intervention.   Where faith is lacking, no miracle is found.  Interestingly however, Jesus cured a few sick by laying hands on them according the text.  Even though he was displeased with their lack of faith, he did not subscribe to complete indifference to their plight.  He still had to heal a few. So unbounded are God’s love and compassion that even lack of faith cannot place a limit on them!

His generous gift of grace to man is an outstanding sign of God’s unequaled benevolence.  In the second reading today, St. Paul was assured of the abundance of this grace.  Empowered by this grace, he made a discovery that stands ever true in the complexity of our spiritual struggle: I shall be happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me. He even put it more aptly: For it is when I am weak that I am strong.  This Pauline assertion makes it very clear that our weaknesses, deficiencies and incapability far from being obstacles in the spiritual life, are in fact fertile grounds for the triumph of grace.  In the face of divine love, our weaknesses lose their disqualifying and impeding character!

God generous gift of grace and the immensity of his love do not however take for granted man’s willful disposition and co-operation.  In exercise of his God-given freedom, man may choose to reject this generous offer.  It is this conscious rejection that we find in Ezekiel’s prophecy in the first reading.  God warned the prophet in these terse words: “I am sending you…to the rebels who have turned against me.”  It was like God saying: ‘They have rejected the life I offered them and opted for death.  Yet, you have to go; I detest their rebellion but I can never be fed up with them. I still desire to save them’.

Many times, we rebel against God, rejecting the opportunities he offers us to take advantage of his love and draw closer to him.  In love, he continues to offer us more and more chances and does not hasten to condemn us.  We run the risk of passing judgment on ourselves when we threat these opportunities with indifference or outright scorn. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye