2nd Sun. Year B, January 14, 2018

 We want  to take this opportunity of the first post of this year 2018 to thank immensely our indefatigable Bishop His Lordship John I. Okoye and his   assistants  who  regularly and punctually write this  homily   and make them available to me which on my personal decision put them up in the blog  for the general public(with some  appropriate  illustrative graphics) who view my blogs and  other social media. 
We shall continue  to pray to God  almighty  to give you  more wisdom and physical strength to continue  with this great work. God bless you all .

I  am  

Charles O. Chukwubike 
(The Blogger and Moderator https://www.facebook.com/doctrineandfaith/  
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May by listening to Jesus, who speaks to you always make you grow in intimacy with him and transform you a good disciple of his. Happy Sunday!  +John I. Okoye

Doctrine and Faith

(1 Samuel 3,3b-10.19; 1 Cor 6,13c-15a.17-20; John 1,35-42: 2^nd Sun. Year B, January 14, 2018)

The Church at the beginning of the Ordinary Season of her liturgical year invites us to reflect closely on the implications of our Christian calling. The readings of this Sunday present us with the correct understanding of our vocation as Christians as well as challenge us to a life of faithful adherence.

In the first reading, we see the figure of Samuel as he dwells in the sanctuary of God at Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The Lord called out to him severally but he was unable to discern the Lord’s voice. Only by the guidance of Eli was he able to realize that it was the Lord who was inviting him. As soon as he did, he responded with all the disposition of his being saying: Speak Lord, your servant is listening! This indicates that the priceless treasure we bear within us as Christians is God’s initiative and never ours no matter how we come to know Christ. Unlike Samuel, who had the right disposition, many people do not pay attention to the insinuations of grace or stay within the space where the grace of God could meet them. Amidst the bustle and hustle of our busy age, it is almost impossible to pick the voice of God. The desire to always seek the will of God which, after all, is the best like young Samuel should always be our disposition and attitude. Little wonder Samuel made great exploits. His influence can only be attributed to God’s direction in his life. Each one of us (young and old) fits into his plan and has a duty to accomplish. May we, therefore, in our everyday life seek to listen to what the Lord is saying. With the guidance of our priests, those God has placed over us as spiritual guides and, especially, the assistance of the Holy Spirit we can understand the message God is giving to us at every moment.

The gospel reading still advances God’s desire in Jesus to share his life with us, to have a deep rapport of friendship, based on deep knowledge and love. Jesus expressed his willingness to allow the disciples have experience of him, to come to know his identity, a knowledge that could open a new vista for them, when in reply to their question, where do you live? he answered: Come and see. Notice that before this invitation, John the Baptist made the revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, when he exclaimed as Jesus was passing by: Look, there is the Lamb of God. What John said about Jesus made impression on attentive Andrew and John. We get something striking about these duo. They have been touched so much that they have to labour to share the good experience they had with the Lord and work it out that their hearers too come to experience him. Andrew with joy declared to his brother Peter: We have found the Messiah. God through Christ calls each of us as his disciple, just as he called Samuel, Andrew, John and Peter. He does so in order to make us participate in the work of salvation, first of all by closely adhering to him in an intimate friendship and only then becoming messengers of his work of evangelization by bringing our neighbours in contact with Christ as John the Baptist did (who pointed Christ to John the Evangelist and Andrew) and later Andrew (who brought Peter to Jesus).  What other lesson can we adduce from this periscope? Our Liturgy is not an empty action having no bearing on our day to day living. The Eucharist should be an opportunity for deep encounter and intimacy between us and Christ. Unless the transformative effect of the Liturgy overflows into our daily activities we risk not being Christians in reality.

Paul poignantly states in the second reading:  You know surely that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ...Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit... The logical consequence of these affirmations is that the Christian life should be pure and all traces and forms of immorality and impurities should be shunned.  In asserting that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit Paul insists that God dwells within us and, therefore, we no longer have absolute right over them. So, we neither defile the temple of God nor grieve the Holy Spirit that dwells within our body, the means through which we touch the mysteries of God. The readings of today make it clear that Jesus wishes that each of us should enter into intimacy and friendship with him. This defines the Christian vocation. We can enter into intimacy and friendship with him by making conscientious effort to conform and unite our will with his. Quiet times with him alone in prayer, meditating on the mysteries of our redemption, participating in the Sacraments and sincere effort to remain in the state of grace are best bet to remain connected with God. May we therefore, ask him for all the graces we need for this when we meet him at the table of the Eucharist. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

graphics  by chukwubike