8th Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May our relationship with God, so wax day by day that we help in establishing the Reign of God not only by building up the Christian community but also by doing God’s will at any given moment of our life. Happy Sunday!

+ John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Isaiah 49, 14-15; 1 Cor 4, 1-5;  Matt 6,24-34;  8th Sunday of the Year A,  2017)

Today’s first reading consists of two short verses.  The first is a lament from Zion, the nation of Israel while the second is a word of comfort to the nation by God himself. Why did Israel lament? Jerusalem, was sacked twice in a space of ten years (597 and 587). The nation was disillusioned in not having any political allay that could help her and, as well, was disappointed in the comportment of God whom they thought had forgotten them in their destiny and completely abandoned them, so they lamented thus: The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me. The lament is quite terse, a piercing cry in the midst of desolation. In his response to their lament, God uses the mother metaphor to characterize the extraordinary love He has for the people. God’s love for His people is compared to the love or relationship between a nursing mother and her child.  God vows that even if a nursing mother abandons the child of her womb, he will never abandon his people. This statement first depicts the intimacy of the bond that unites God and his people. Again the child in the mother’s breast suggests that Zion finds its sustenance in God, but it should not be forgotten the suggestion that Zion’s origin was from God. In summary, the short passage is saying that it is improbable, though possible, that a woman would forget the child of her flesh, God still will never forget his people. The people of God may feel abandoned and forgotten, it is only a feeling: it is not a fact, for God’s attachment to his people will never be severed. 
            We the present people of God, the Church, often find ourselves in the mental situation similar to the people of Israel, the first elect people of God. We are sometimes discouraged or loose confidence as we see people work against the church, abandon the Catholic faith, our youth find it difficult to embrace the faith, and moreover, within our own fold, there are divisions and discriminations among us. People disobey the Pope. We feel lost and ask, how long will this last and how will the situation be solved? We listen to the same word of God where he indicates that he will never abandon or forget us. Certainly the word of God neither deceives nor does his faithfulness wane. We need to reanimate our confidence in his help and assistance even though he allows temptation that seems to put the life of the church in danger. 

            Even our personal lives as individuals are fraught with  disillusions: we often imagine that we are tested beyond our capacity; we find ourselves in a vicious cycle with our weakness  and we are unable to initiate any action that would lead us out of them. The word of God is addressed to us in our concrete situations and assures us that God will not abandon, nor forget us, just as a mother will not forget her own child. Using the metaphor of mother (a metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable) depicts God’s total commitment to our needs than a mother suckling her child of her womb.  The intimacy here cannot be compared with anything else; there is complete giving of oneself. This is the kind of bond with which we are attached to God. This bond is the basis of our trust.

    We know in realty and faith that our intimacy with God goes far beyond the extent the mother-metaphor will lead us to. This is because through our baptism our intimacy with God is beyond limits, we are even living the life of God, sanctifying grace. He wishes us to deepen that intimacy and relationship by heeding the words of his Son, Jesus who admonishes us in several ways in today’s Gospel reading. First of all we are not to make the material possession of this world to be our top priority. God should top our priorities. We have to serve God rather than mammon. The second point is that we are neither to serve, nor be slave of, money and, at the same time, we are not be over anxious about what we need in life as sustenance, clothing and shelter.  If we are anxious about them, it all means that we do not trust the providence of God and his commitment to be of help and assistance at any given moment. The other side of the coin is that it would give the false impression that in our weakness that we are able to do something. What we are to do as our top priority is, rather, to seek in all sincerity and with all the strength of our being the Reign of God and its justice. The establishment of the reign of God would mean taking up the duty of living according to the will of God. This duty of establishing the reign of God, be it the building up the church of God as a community of the faithful or be it as the living example that God rules and reigns in every heart, is to take precedence of any other duty in the Church.  May we therefore, pray in today’s liturgy that our intimacy with God continue to wax stronger day by day and may it manifest itself in plunging all our being into establishing the reign of God. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

 pictures  by chukwubike 

7th Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May the good Lord bestow you with the gift of understanding that will enable you to live a life of holiness that is patterned after the perfection of God the Father who loves every person beyond human imagination.  Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Lev 19,1-2.17-18;  1 Cor 3,16-23; Matt 5,38-48: 7th Sunday of the Year A,  2017)

            The liturgy of the Word begins with the exhortation: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.  It concludes with the words of Jesus to his disciples in the gospel: You are to be perfect. The motive for the perfection is because God whose children we are, is absolute sanctity. The children of God include priests, consecrated men and women religious, the lay faithful, married and unmarried, young and old. Holiness or sanctity does not mean the capacity to work miracles or something extraordinary, that is to say, that it is not the type of holiness that is accompanied or characterized by prodigious works. The sanctity that is proposed to us is the common, ordinary one, that is accomplished through the extraordinary and heroic way in which we fulfil our daily duties. It means being faithful to God in very little things of our daily lives as we pray in the opening prayer of today’s holy Mass: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Holiness is to live according to the will of God, which he reveals to us through the Sacred Scriptures, the teachings of the Church and our consciences. It means attaching ourselves to God, orienting our lives to him who is the Absolute Good and who is to be loved above all things. As we know, holiness consists in the perfection of love: love of God and love of neighbour. Love of God should reflect itself and manifest itself in the love we have for our neighbour. The love of neighbour becomes concrete, true, visible sign and manifestation of the love of God. The exact measure and the sure proof of our love for God is indicated by the love we have for our neighbour. Already, in the book of Leviticus, in today’s first reading, there are already indications of some demanding exigencies and implications of the love of neighbour: You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. This means that in order to be holy as God is holy, we must refrain from nursing hatred in our hearts. More of the exigencies are:  if we see someone doing wrong we are required to rebuke him/her or we will share in their guilt; we are forbidden to entertain any form of vengeance and we are told to love others as we love ourselves. All these imply that the well being of others must be as important to us as our own.

It is in the gospel that the commandment to love our neighbour is developed to its maximum perfection and brought to its extreme exigencies. Jesus’ reinterpretation of some of the tenets of the Old Testament Law that began last Sunday continues today and touches our theme of love of neighbour especially as it regards the manifestation of the life of holiness in our interaction with people we share a strained relationship with. Jesus says: You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth… This policy known as lex talionis, was found as early as the eighteen century BC in the code of the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi. It was really a moral advance over the common custom of blood vengeance which would exact a price that far exceeded the wrong done. Jesus says that even this more humane form of justice should not be practiced by his followers. In fact, he instructs his disciples to offer no resistance at all when someone tries to take advantage of them. Jesus exhorts his disciples that they should turn the other cheek to the person who strikes them on one. By this Jesus is telling his disciples that they should not retaliate when insulted but should offer non violent resistance in such a situation. The disciples are further told that if the court requires that they  hand over the clothings they are wearing in order to pay a debt, they  should willing relinquish even the cloak they might use at night as a blanket. Finally, if a soldier of the occupying forces compels them to carry his gear for a mile (as the Roman soldiers often did), they should be willing to carry it twice the distance. The point of these examples can be summarized in Jesus final admonition: Give to whoever asks. In fact, give more than is asked. In effect it means: disarm them with your willingness to go beyond what is required; outdo yourself in generosity. The most likely outcome is that through your kindness you may turn enemies into neighbours. Still on the theme of love of neighbour as index or pointer to our love of God, Jesus again, in the gospel reading of today, offers another reinterpretation of some of the tenets of Old Testament Law: You have leant how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. In his radical reinterpretation, Jesus insists that the disciple’s love must be patterned after God’s love, which is given unquestioningly to the just and the unjust alike. Among the people, to whom we have to show unconditional love, are those who do not particularly like us. We are to love those who deliberately exclude us from their social circles, talk about us behind our backs, make us feel we are not good enough for them, resent us for our accomplishments, and exploit us or do us harm. It is expected that those who strive for sanctity are to love as God loves.

    In order to be able to love as God loves, including our enemies, we should fix our gaze on Jesus who as he hung on the Cross of Calvary exclaimed: Father forgive them (his executioners) for they do not know what they do. Jesus is our model. We should imitate him who forgave those who did him harm. What is even more is that Jesus seems to be saying as he hung on the cross. Love your neighbour (your enemies inclusive) as I do by giving up my life to save the just and the sinner. The love of God for his people is a motive for us to love our neighbours. The author of today’s responsorial psalm enjoins us to praise and bless the Lord. The reason for such encouragement is because of God’s willingness to pardon, to heal and to redeem and save. These are acts that flow from God’s loving kindness (hesed) and compassion (rehamim). It is out of God’s mercy that he acts, ignoring the harsh punishment, the sins of the covenanted people would warrant. The extent of God’s mercy is further sketched by means of the figure of speech, east to west, which denotes immeasurable distance. Using this figure of speech the psalmist is claiming limitlessness or immeasurable extent for the compassion of God. Out of covenant love, God puts our transgression so far from us that the distance cannot even be imagined. In effect, God has forgiven and forgotten our transgressions. Finally, the psalmist uses a familial image to characterize God’s compassion. Although the reference is to the compassion of a father for his children, the familial word itself comes from the word for the womb (rehem). Here compassion is much more intimate than empathy felt for those who suffer.  It is a womb love.  In other words, the love that God has for us is the love a mother has for the children of her womb. This explains God’s commitment to us, and it is certainly reason to bless and praise the Lord. Undeservingly, we are sons and daughters of God through our baptism and God being our Father we should be able to imitate him both in his universality of love, as the gospel of today indicates, and in the depth of love, even the womb love, as the psalmist inculcates in the responsorial psalm, Psalm  103. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

 pictures  by  chukwubike 

6th Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May the good Lord grant you all the graces you need to keep the spirit of his commandments out of love for him and for your neighbour. Happy Sunday!

+John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Sirach 15,15-20;  1 Cor 2,6-10; Matt 5,17-37: 6th Sunday of the Year A,  2017)

            The first reading and the gospel reading offer us, Christians of today and modern day disciples of Jesus two good lessons. The first encourages us to take responsibility of our actions and not impute responsibility to others. The gospel reading holds that in fulfilling the commandments of God or the Church’s by-laws we have to pay greater attention to their interior meaning than to their material significance.

 The book of Sirach insists on human liberty, on our capacity to observe the commandment of God. The author writes: If you wish, you can keep the commandments; to behave faithfully is within your power. God created us free and that means that we have the capacity to say yes or no, accept his will or to close ourselves against it. The same book of Sirach affirms: Man has life and death before him; whichever the man prefers will be given him. We have to be conscious of our decisions. If this is taken according to the will and mind of God, which is the will open to love, creation and redemption, we would be treading on positive path, in the direction of life and we will have serenity, peace, joy and definitely union with God. If on the other hand, we allow ourselves to be seduced to evil, if we live in selfishness, then we will be marching towards corruption and destruction. We should be very conscious of our situation. We are free in the sense that we can acquire more and more interior freedom or little by little destroy the freedom we already have. In fact, whoever commits sin has become the slave of sin. Further consequence from the reading from the book of Sirach is that being free to make our choices; we should blame neither God nor anybody for what we are or do. We need to be courageous enough to take responsibility for the good or bad consequences of things we do. This is the first step towards interior conversion. The Bible is fully aware of human condition, knows the burden of temptation, the fragile nature of human beings and even the presence of Satan that induces to evil, nevertheless it does not excuse anyone for doing evil when it holds: sin is lying snare on your door but you can overpower it (Gen 4,7). Therefore, we are to take responsibility of our actions, ask for pardon, get converted and stop evading the consequences of our negative choices. Sirach also suggests another important fact: the necessity to observe the commandment of God out of persuasion and from interior conviction. It is true that no one forces another to commit evil just as it is true that not even God does force any one to commit sin. God does not want anyone to be restricted nor does he want anyone to act in duress, but rather through conviction that is outcome of persuasion. True obedience to God will have to come from two convictions: God is not a tyrant who is interested only in himself but a father who is interested in human affairs.

The gospel reading of today is the continuation of Jesus’ instruction of his disciples. Although his teaching is based on the common tradition of Israel found in the Law and Prophets, his interpretations seem to have been so unprecedented that some accused him of having rejected that tradition. Jesus insists that the accusation is false. Furthermore, while his interpretations do indeed provide a new perspective, they really offer the fuller meaning of the tradition. The gravity of Jesus words is significant by his introductory statement: Amen, I stay to you. Amen stresses the validity and truth of his words. The phrase I say to you emphasizes the authority with which he speaks. The contrast which Jesus sets up is not between himself and the Law but between his interpretation and that of the scribes and Pharisees, the interpreters of the Law for the people of that day. Jesus had criticized them for their insistence on the minutiae of the Law at the expense of the righteousness that is at its heart. Some people believed that God’s will is to be found in fidelity to the markings of the text, the actual letters of the Law. They went so far  as to insist that even a mistake made when copying a text was a violation. Jesus uses this very point of view to argue that he is not abolishing anything. He respects even the smallest part of the smallest letter (iota), and he teaches others to do the same. He insists that everything within the tradition will stand until it had been fulfilled. Jesus uses the formula: You have heard it said: …But I say to you.  His interpretation is really radical. He demands much more than mere external conformity. While the Law bans murder, Jesus forbids anger and even insult. Anger with a member of the community will make one liable to judgment. Calling someone fool or idiot warrants an even harsher penalty, the fires of Gehenna (the Jewish equivalent to hell). We must remember the significance in the society during Jesus’ time of both one’s name, honor and shame. The name contains the very essence of the individual. To publicly call another an insulting name was to shame that person and to deprive that person of an honored place in society.  It is to be observed that Jesus expects us to go extra mile in keeping the commandments and, therefore, he expects self-mastery/discipline from us. Lest we fall into interior anger and hatred and expose ourselves to violence, we have to renounce not only external violence but also interior one, thereby not allowing any traces of violent thoughts. Harmony, within the community introduces the need to be reconciled with other community members. It is important to note that the grievance, Jesus highlights, is against a disciple who has come to perform an act of religious devotion. Jesus states that reconciliation is the responsibility of that disciple and this reconciliation supersedes the act of devotion. Social discord must be attended to before it gets out of hand. The Law prohibits adultery, while Jesus forbids lustful desire. Here self-mastery and discipline are called for. Jesus uses standard Near Eastern exaggeration to underscore the need for self discipline. It is better to mutilate oneself than to suffer total annihilation in Gehenna. The final contrasts which Jesus treats to show the radical nature of his reinterpretation regarding oaths. They were generally taken when the word of the person was not reliable. In such a situation, a person who was reliable was called upon to stand for the trustworthiness of the one taking the oath. Jesus here forbids taking frivolous oaths and thereby implicating God in any way in doing so. One’s word should be honest and straightforward, and when given it should have the force of an oath.

The above nuances of Jesus’ reinterpretation of the Law are difficult to put into practice but Jesus gives us the grace and force to go ahead in this direction. He is not content to present to us commandments but also he came into the world to donate his grace, help and the joy that will enable us perfectly fulfill the will of God by loving him with all our being and generously loving our neighbours. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye 

GRAPHICS  BY  CHUKWUBIKE 

 

5th Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May the gracious Lord bestow you the graces to be true light and salt of the earth, this Sunday and throughout your life. Happy Sunday.
+ John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Isaiah 58, 7-10; 1 Cor 2,1-5; Matt 5,13-16: 5th Sunday of the Year A,  2017)

            You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world! These significant words of Jesus are destined to all the members of the people of God, to all Christians, the apostles and disciples of Jesus today. All Christians will have to be salt and light of the world. Jesus uses these two metaphors to characterize the essence of discipleship. The importance of salt cannot be questioned by anyone. It is not only essential for life itself, but also valuable for preserving, seasoning, purifying food and also for fertilizing. Because of its significance, it was used in various sacrifices (cf. Lev 2,13) and also a means of sealing certain covenants (Num 4,6).  In the gospel passage of today the primary value of salt is in its taste. In a sense salt looses its separate identity when it gives taste to something else. Its value resides in the way it acts on another substance. This is what Jesus is alluding to when he says salt is worthless if it loses its taste. It can no longer act on anything. This is an important characteristic when you apply the metaphor to the disciples. Their worth is gauged according to the influence they have on one another. The second metaphor is light. The disciples are told that they are the light of the world. Two distinct images are used to exemplify the role played by light. The first  is a city on a mountain and the second is a lamp on a stand in a house. The first calls to mind a village at night. There are no lights on the road to dissipate darkness. Then on the top of the mountain one can see a light in a distant village from the generating plant of the Igwe (chief) or one wealthy man, of the village. The surrounding darkness only accentuates the light from the village, which serves as a beacon leading the traveller to a place of safety.  The second image is a lamp intended to provide light in the house. The flame is uncovered and held high so that its flame lights up the entire room. The apostolic meaning of the metaphor of light is further explained. True disciples are the light that shines forth in the darkness of ignorance or faithlessness. They enlighten others not by words but by their manner of living.

The important question is: can we as disciples, in our capacity alone, as salt influence our neighbours for good or as light enlighten others? In the second reading of last Sunday Paul indicated that Christ chose what was weak, poor, and of little value in order to confound the powerful and wise ones of this world. In today’s second reading, Paul holds that he presented the good news not in the show of oratory or philosophy, but in fear and trembling and not relying on any power of his own. Yet his message was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit and the faith he was able to inculcate in the Corinthians was dependent on the power of God rather than on human philosophy. Thus, Paul was able to preach effectively to the Corinthians due to divine support he received and not on account of his human capabilities. Therefore, through human possibility alone we are not capable of being the salt and light of the world. We can be so only because Christ supports us with his grace and also by virtue of our union with Christ through faith and love. It is Christ, and he alone, who is the true light which can illumine everyone who comes into the world with the light of his truth. It is only he who can orient and guide people in the right direction. It is only Christ, and he alone, who is able to give taste and flavor to life, offer joy in living and preservation from corruption from evil. It is to the measure in which we allow ourselves be penetrated by this salt and illumined by this light who is Christ that we become ourselves salt and light for others. What is more: Christ has illumined us not so that his light becomes hidden (to illumine only ourselves) but rather that it radiates and reaches out to other people. We have not been given the joy to live in grace and recognize ourselves as the children of God just for our personal satisfaction but also that this taste of life be communicated through us to our brothers and sisters.

One can ask: how can one in concrete terms be salt and light of the world? Today’s gospel gives an indication when it holds: … your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. It is our good works that reveal the Christ in us, lead people to God and Christ and make us salt and light of the world.Which good works in particular? These are works of charity and mercy  as Isaiah graphically inculcates to us in the first reading. These mandates of charity address most of the basic human needs: food, shelter, and clothing. The original Hebrew text of the passage of Isaiah highlights the personal involvement required in meeting the needs of others. The involvement does not take place in a distance, through an agency, but face to face. For example: Isaiah holds: share your bread with the hungry. Here the verb share (paras) means to break into two. There is no thought here of merely giving from one’s surplus. Rather, both giver and recipient eat of the same loaf. Sheltering the homeless is also a very personal act. The original Hebrew text holds that the poor who have been cast out are to be brought into one’s house. The naked is to be covered wherever they are encountered. It is on this passage from Isaiah that we have to examine ourselves to know if we are salt and light of the world. We all have to do so. This is because it is very easy to reduce our faith and religiosity to only acts of external/exterior cult only. It is however pleasing to God and he wishes to know who shares bread with the hungry, provides accommodation to the homeless, job to the jobless, and care to one who suffers. In concluding our reflection we bring to mind the words of Jesus in the gospel of today: If salt looses its taste … it is good for nothing and can only be thrown out to be trampled underneath by men. Therefore, if we are not salt and light for the people we encounter in everyday life we are worthless and failure in our Christian vocation as the modern day disciples of Jesus. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye