5th Sunday of Lent: Year B, 18th March 2018

May your celebration of the Eucharist strengthen your relationship with the Risen Christ that you not only accept mentally his message but also follow his life of sacrificial love especially on behalf of the needy neighbor.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Jeremiah 31,31-34; Hebrew 5,7-9;  John 12, 20-33;  5th Sunday of Lent: Year B, 18^th March 2018)

I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. With this short parable Jesus describes the meaning and value of his redemptive death; it was a death that was neither a failure nor a defeat but rather a source and cause of life for humanity. Drawing the imagery of this parable from simple agricultural life, it was a common sense knowledge that a grain of wheat sown in the soil must, first of all, dry up, die, rot and be completely destroyed before it germinates, by which it brings up a new ear that contains many turgid grain wheat. Jesus is like that grain of wheat that died in order to bring much fruit; he offered his life in order to be the  cause of salvation for all who obey him as the second reading of today put it. Jesus was able to realise this through his passion and death on the cross. According to the Evangelist John his death on the cross, humanly speaking that looked like a defeat, rather became the instrument of his exaltation and glorification; of the defeat of Satan and judgment of the world. The hour of the cross was the hour of the glorification of both the Father and the Son. Jesus prayed in today’s gospel: Father glorify your name. By allowing Jesus to pass through the agony of the cross God further proved his love for humanity and demonstrated his will to save the world.  His will to save humanity was first made manifest in his sending his Son: God so much loved the world that he gave (sacrificed) his Son… But God did not abandon the Son to death; he resuscitated him from death. Through the resurrection of Christ, God the Father was glorified and his generosity and omnipotence manifested. The passion of the cross was also the hour of the glorification of the Son. Jesus exclaimed:  Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jesus has earlier enunciated that no love was greater than to give/sacrifice one’s life for the other (John 15,13). Christ’s dying for men on the cross at Calvary shows how his love reached its limit. It is also to be noted that the death of Jesus on the cross was the introduction to, and the prelude of his complete and definitive glorification that was accomplished at his resurrection and ascension into heaven. This is to say that the fact of his death on the cross kicked off of his triumph and glorification on earth. He affirms in today’s gospel reading: And when I am lifted up on earth, I shall draw all men to myself. Those Greeks who wanted to see Jesus in the gospel reading of today were the first fruit of the millions of souls whom he attracts to himself.

            Besides the fact that the passion was the hour of the glorification and exaltation of the Father and the Son, it was also that of the glorification and exaltation for men. In so far as the cross is a way and passage that leads to the resurrection, the death of Jesus on the cross assures people that it is not death but life, not the wickedness of men but the goodness of God, not sin but grace that eventually conquers. Man’s existence is not destined to end in nothingness/annihilation but it is to continue after the mortal death in the fullness of life; human suffering is not useless and sterile, but united with that of Christ it becomes the source of merit and glory.

            The hour of the cross is the hour of the defeat of Satan. Jesus affirms in today’s gospel: Now the prince of this world is to be overthrown. Satan is named the prince of this world because before the passion he reigns more or less supreme in some parts of humanity. But at that very point of the passion and death of Christ on the cross, he was no more the uncontested  ruler of the world. The resurrection of Christ signaled his clamorous defeat. It is in virtue of this that humanity has the possibility and grace of not succumbing to the insidious seduction of the tempter. The hour of the cross is also that of the judgment of the world. Here is not for the final judgment but the judgment that takes place in the present, and with regard to the unbelieving world that is hostile to Jesus. The judgment consists in man’s attitude, who refusing to believe turns himself away from the love of God, thereby cuts himself from God and remains slave of death. It is man himself who judges and passes judgment on himself; a sort of self-condemnation.  As soon as Christ attained the glory of the resurrection there was no other way of being saved except through belief in him. This fact is succinctly stated in two expressions: He who believes in him is not condemned (John 3,18) and  Who believes in the Son has eternal life (John 3, 36).

            Belief in Christ, however, is not just mental adhesion to his messages. It is imitating him and following his way, the way of the cross and carrying ones cross. No one is exempt from any type of suffering, be it physical, moral or both in this life. They become ways leading to glory if we humbly welcome them as the will of God and unite them to the sufferings of Christ. In the gospel of today Jesus advises: If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. As Christians and disciples of Jesus we are called to relive/live again the mystery of Christ and become like him, a grain of wheat that must die (to selfishness, pride, bad habits/vices, bad inclinations, etc) in order to produce much fruit. Furthermore, we are called to hate our lives in this world in order to posses eternal life. Here hatred is not in the sense of developing aversion for life (this would be against nature) but it is to be taken to mean not preferring or rating mundane realities superior to those celestial, material interests to spiritual ones or the present life that passes to the future one that is eternal. We should be disposed to loose on the material and terrestrial platform in order to gain on the spiritual and supernatural levels. We should also be ready to risk much in order to remain faithful to Christ and his gospel messages and even offer our lives, if necessary, for the good of the other. Let us therefore ask the good Lord in today’s Eucharistic celebration for the grace to strain ourselves with much efforts in order to go through the narrow gate of the cross and to walk on this tight road that leads to life (Matthew 8, 14). Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

(pictures  by chukwubike oc)

4th Sunday of Lent: Year B

May you through participating in today's Sunday  Eucharistic celebration receive the fullness of God's generous love that makes you an instrument of the same divine love and mercy to others.Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(2Chronicles 36, 14-16.19-23; Ephesians 2, 4-10; John 3, 14-21; 4th Sunday of Lent:  Year B)

The entrance antiphon of this fourth Sunday of Lent invites us to rejoice: Rejoice Jerusalem … Be joyful, all who were mourning. It is a Sunday of joy. Today’s readings indicate God’s generous love for us as the motive of this joy. In the gospel reading Jesus tells Nicodemus: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. In the second reading Paul declares: God loved us with so much that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ - it is through grace that you have been saved. The first reading shows example of God’s mercy as, through the pagan king Cyrus, he made it possible for the exiled Jews to return home and reconstruct the Temple after a very long time.

The second book of Chronicles, from where the first reading is taken, describes how, despite the sinfulness of the people, God was moved to compassion. Again and again reforming prophets (messengers) were sent to this corrupt nation but to no avail. Not only did they ignore the prophets, they actively derided them. According to this account, it was this callous contempt that unleashed the avenging anger of God. The demise of the monarchy, collapse of the temple system of worship and deportation of the people were the inevitable consequences of this hardhearted obstinacy. The punishment was brutal and sweeping. What had been desecrated through the wickedness of the people was now purified through the inexorable fury of God’s wrath. What was not destroyed was appropriated by the conquerors. Because the people had failed to observe the Sabbath, the entire land would now be deserted in a Sabbath rest for seventy years (cf. Jer 25, 11). However, the reading ends on a hopeful note. Just as Jeremiah had prophesied the demise of Judah, so he also foretold the collapse of its conquerors and the captor (Jer 25,12). As the king Cyrus, the new Persian king came to power, through God’s inspiration, he decided to set the exiles free and made it possible for them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. He gave them all the necessary means to do this. In doing this he did not deny the scope of the influence of the power he wielded, but he credited the God of Israel as the source of it all. King Cyrus’ intervention was another stupendous manifestation of the mercy and faithfulness/steadfastness of God, the infidelity and criminality of the Jewish people notwithstanding.

The manifestation of the mercy and generosity of God as we have seen in the first reading is only a prefiguration of God’s generosity that came to fore at the resurrection of Jesus. This is the show of God’s mercy and generosity after the extreme infidelity of the Jews when they condemned Jesus to death and rejected their Messiah. God made him rise from the dead. The resurrection is not something that concerns only Jesus; it also concerns us as Paul teaches that God, out of his love for us, raised us to life with Christ. The resurrection of Christ is a miracle of love which is much more important than the reconstruction of the temple of Jerusalem. The risen body of Christ is now the medium of both presence and worship of God. The resurrection of Christ is now a gift to the whole humanity. It is affirmed in the Gospel reading that God so loved the world that he sent his Son … God does not love only the Jews. The love of predilection which the Jew were privileged to enjoy was not an exclusive love but one destined to diffuse to all people and nations of the earth.
God loved the world and gave his only Son… God gave his Son to the world raising him on the cross and equally raising him to be with him, to the right hand of his majesty in heaven. Thus the raising on the cross was the first part of the movement of elevation. It was followed by the resurrection and then the ascension into heaven by which our human nature was placed near God to the advantage of all of us. In the gospel reading, Jesus hinted to Nicodemus that as the serpent was raised in the desert, the son of man will also be raised. Jesus accepted his being compared to the brazen serpent that was raised up in a pole. He was fully aware that the raised serpent was a symbol of sin and punishment for it. The cross, on which he was, eventually, raised signified sin and punishment for sin. But by the strength of his love, Jesus completely changed the meaning of the cross, from being instrument of punishment for rebellious slaves, to becoming the manifestation of the greatest act of love. Jesus himself affirms: No one has love greater than giving one’s life for one’s friends (John 15, 13). The cross is the greatest manifestation of God’s love. It is a love that proceeds from the heart of the Father. This love was received with gratitude and generosity by the heart of the Son and from there it spread to the ends of the world. This is surely for the salvation of the world. Jesus holds also in today’s Gospel: God did not send his Son in the world to judge the world but rather that the world be saved through him. God does not want the death of the sinner but that he repents (Ezek 33, 11). All sinners are invited to have confidence in God’s infinite mercy which is manifested in the death of Jesus on the cross.

God, however, will not force people to behave in any particular manner. That is why they can still behave as the Jews, during the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, when they mocked the prophets. It is still possible to close ones heart against the love that comes from God and prefer darkness to light. Jesus affirms: Whoever does evil, hates the light, and does not come from the light so that his works will not be revealed. All said and done, God desires that he who does evil comes to light so that he may receive God’s infinite mercy and begin to work in truth, that is, to always walk in the direction of the light.

We are invited always to open our hearts to the infinite love of God, to his tender mercy and unbounded generosity. During Lent our joy consists of receiving God’s mercy more and more. Indeed it is not enough receiving forgiveness, but it is necessary and required to receive God’s mercy. Therefore, we have to receive this love while conducting a life full of justice and charity. In this way our life will become a testimony of love that has God as its source. Happy sunday! +John I. Okoye

pictures by chukwubike

3rd Sunday of Lent: Year B, 4th March 2018

May you realise by the celebration of this sundays Eucharist that Jesus Christ is the medium of God's presence among us and through whom we worship God the Father in spirit and truth. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Exodus 20, 1-17; 1 Cor. 1,22-25;

John 2, 13-25;  3rd Sunday of Lent: Year B, 4th March 2018)

Let us listen to the gospel reading to find out how it portrayed Jesus Christ especially in what he did and said. This gentle Jesus, who spent a quiet life in the village (John 1,29) and saved a marriage feast in Cana very efficaciously is now being shown under a different aspect. Coming from Galilee to Jerusalem in a private and personal pilgrimage, during the paschal feast, he procured a whip which he used in a serious manner in the temple of Jerusalem. In this way, according to St. John’s Gospel, Jesus started his mission in Jerusalem. In the temple courtyard Jesus met a real and boisterous market: sales of animals destined for sacrificial victims in the temple; bureau de change for foreign pilgrims who needed to pay temple tribute. It could have been very convenient having very close at hand animals for sacrifice in the temple as well as coins for temple tribute and all under the controls of the temple authority, but it did not agree with Jesus’ concept of the house of his Father. He called God his Father and this influenced his behaviour with regards to the house of God, the temple; not everything practical or that brings in money is justifiable. Selling animals for sacrifice is commendable/honourable but it should be kept afar from a place designated as embodying the presence of God where God is venerated. Even though, commerce is regulated by the commandment of God, it should be kept clearly distinct from the house of God. Jesus perceived the abuse; he was not indifferent to it and did not wait but intervened openly, and declares decisively his mind on the issue. The house of the Father manifests the Presence God and this fact should occupy the thoughts and actions of all who are in its precincts; other things are to be eliminated and removed away from the house of the Father. The Jews considered the action of Jesus as presumptuous and wanted to find from him the proof of his authority. Jesus hinted to them in a veiled manner, in signs, the ultimate and decisive confirmation of his action and claim.  With the words: Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up, alluded to his violent death and resurrection. But they understood the words of Jesus as referring to the temple of stones; they miss-understood him completely. Jesus was telling the Jews: You can kill me; you can even challenge my ultimate claim. I will, however, complete my work and will be definitely revealed. Already, in this first conflict between Jesus and the Jews, it was becoming evident what will be the outcome/consequences and what would be the goal of the mission of Jesus: his death and resurrection. Jesus claims would lead to violent death. Through such death a new temple will be raised. The Risen Jesus will be the definitive medium, of the presence of God among his people and, of adoration of God on the part of his people; he would be the perfect house of the Father. The Jews will not be able to prevent the zeal for his Father to reach its perfect end.

           Jesus was always accompanied by his disciples. Here the Evangelist brings their importance to the fore. The disciples are the people through, and in, whom the work of Jesus reaches its conclusion; they are the people who understand and believed in him. Twice in the gospel of John, after Jesus had spoken or performed some work, it was said: His disciples remembered (John 2, 17, 22). The meaning of remembering here is not just bringing out of our memory facts of what had happened before, but a remembrance that helps to understand deeply how things really are. The evangelist expressly declares that such understanding is the outcome of Christ’s resurrection. The disciples have a very long journey to travel, not only, to accompany Jesus but also to understand him. Communal living with him, as such, do not give an instantaneous and deep knowledge of him. It is a special grace for the disciples to remain in such a journey with Jesus, carrying with them all they have experienced, even when they do not fully understand or only when they partly understood. It is by remaining faithful and in exercising patience that they would be led to the full understanding. Accompanying Jesus in his ministry will make it possible to have a glimpse of his life, his words, his works and entire mission. But it is only his resurrection that would throw light that  will illumine all darkness. 

            The affirmation in the gospel reading: Zeal for your house will devour me is taken from Psalm 69 which is a prayer of an ancient persecuted person. This psalm will be quoted another three times in the gospel of John (15, 25; 19, 28. 29), all in reference to the passion of Christ. Though, in 2,17, in our passage, it is affirmed not only that Jesus was full of zeal for the house of the Father but also that this zeal will cause his death. Remembering this, the disciples understood the true reason or cause of his death and understood that such death finds confirmation in the word of God. In Jesus’ death, there is the issue of God and the understanding of God. Jesus did not die because he offended God, but because he was engaged in a very unique way for him. Remembering, the disciples understood through the Scriptures the death of Jesus and believed in the Scriptures; they also understood the words of Jesus and believed in him. The words of Jesus acquired, for them, the same value as the words of the Scriptures; it became for them the word of God. Taking signal from the Scriptures, they understood the reason for the death of Jesus and taking a move from his words of Jesus, they understood the meaning of the resurrection as the definitive medium of the presence and of all the search of God. The new temple or the place of worship is his divine body. It is the privileged place to experience the presence of God, the place of meeting with God, because as St. Paul holds, the whole fullness of Deity (Divinity) dwells bodily in him (Col 2,9). In this vein, recall how Jesus retorted to Phillip who wanted him to show him the Father, he said: Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14, 8-9). He also told Thomas: I am the way, the truth and life: no one comes to the Father, except through me (John 14,6). In a way, one can say that Jesus is the centre of the universe, the medium of our communication with God, and the very presence of God in our midst. What is your reaction to this reality about Christ? When we accept him in faith, we are accepting his claims. We accept that he is the centre of the universe, the medium of our communication with God, the presence of God in our midst. We may profess this belief, but do our lives reflect it? We should, therefore, make effort to get connected to him through prayer, reception of the Sacraments, works of charity, reading and reflection on the Word of God. Happy Sunday!+John I. Okoye

graphics  by charles