17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME :28th July 2019

May God, in today’s Eucharistic Celebration, not only lead you to pray genuinely, but also, give you the Holy Spirit that will pray with you from the depth of your heart. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Genesis 18,20-32;  Colossians 2,12-14; Luke 11,1-13: Year 3, 2019)

The account of the dialogue between Abraham and God (Genesis 18, 20-32) over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is really a theological inquiry into the nature of divine justice. There is no question about the sinfulness of the cities. The underlying question that drives the exchange between Abraham and God is one of justice. The question as stated is: Should not the judge of all the world act with justice? The answer is obvious. Of course! However, the question as intended is: What is justice in a situation like this? The answer to this question is not so obvious. There is a tension here between communal guilt and innocence and individual guilt and innocence. If the city is guilty it should be punished. But what if there are innocent individuals in that city? Is it fair that they should suffer along with the guilty ones? The question can be looked at another way. In traditional societies, identity and significance are more communal than personal. More emphasis is given to the group than to the individual member. Within the context of this theory known as corporate personality, one can ask: If the guilt of some can result in the suffering of all, cannot the innocence of some hold back the hand that inflicts the suffering? Abraham demonstrates extraordinary deference toward the Lord. In customary Near Eastern style he prefaces each of his inquiries with adulation. However it is still he who boldly initiates the exchange that probes the nature of divine justice. Six times he questions God about the parameters of divine justice, and six times God appears to adjust them. He moves progressively from fifty to ten people whose innocence is strong enough to withstand the punishing arm of God, which is raised against the city. The account demonstrates the power of the righteous. Only a few can be salvific for many. 

In the second reading, Colossians 2,12-14, in what appears to be baptismal instruction, Paul describes the effects of the triumph of the power of God in the lives of believers as manifested in the resurrection of Christ. He does this by relating Christ's burial in the grave of the earth with the Christian's burial in the waters of baptism. Joined to Christ in faith, through baptism they enter the grave, the realm of the dead, only to rise with Christ to a new life. Paul moves from the concept of actual physical death to that of spiritual death. This is the condition of those who, because of sin, are separated from God, the source of life. The baptised Christians have gone down into death with Christ and have been raised with him to new life. The new life into which they have been raised brings with it a new standard of living, a new ethical code. Since they have died and are living a new life, the legal claims of the past are no longer binding, claims that appear to have been more a burden than a guide. Furthermore, the debt owed because of the transgressions of the past is cancelled. The image Paul employs suggests this debt was originally set to writing but has now been expunged. Just as indictments of death were nailed to the cross of the criminal, so this notice of cancellation of debt is also nailed. Just as the cross was the instrument for carrying out the death sentence, so it is now the source of life.

The gospel pericope, Luke 11,1-13, a discourse on prayer can be divided into three separate but related segments: the Lord's Prayer (vv. 1,4); an example of persistence in prayer (vv. 5-8); the assurance of being heard (vv. 9-13). It was Jesus at his own prayer that prompted his disciples to ask for direction in their prayer, just as the disciples of other religious leaders had been taught to pray by them. The plural pronouns in the prayer denote its communal character. The prayer consists of an invocation, appeals for the glorification of God, and the petitions of the supplicants. The invocation Father suggests a relationship that is intimate and childlike. Furthermore, it came from Jesus, so it is evidence the prayer is intended for those who enjoy this relationship because of Jesus, for it was Jesus who called God Father and who here invites his disciples to do the same. Since the name of a person comprises the character of that person, to pray that God's name be made holy is to pray that God be given appropriate honour. The prayer for the coming of the reign of God is a prayer for eschatological fulfilment. There is a question about the meaning of the rare word that modifies bread (epiousion). Most commentators agree that daily best captures its intent. The verb form used in this petition denotes continuous giving. These features point to constant dependence on God rather than some form of eschatological satisfaction. The next plea includes an acknowledgment that forgiveness by God assumes the petition's forgiveness of others. The final petition prays that one not be overwhelmed by temptation. These petitions all point to the continuing need for God in the present struggles of life. The persistence with which one should pray is characterised by the story of the man who woke his sleeping friend. That friend was not upset because he was awakened, nor was he unwilling to share his bread with his friend. He was upset because he did not want to disturb his family. However, he finally gave in, because his insistent friend would not. What was not achieved because of friendship was accomplished because of persistence. The lessons to be learned about prayer are finally explicitly articulated. Like the man who was awakened from sleep, God is willing to give, but one must ask; God is willing to reveal, but one must seek; God is willing to open the door, but one must knock on it. God is willing to answer prayers, but one must pray. God's willingness to grant petitions is described through the use of a Jewish form of argument: from the lesser to the greater. If a human father gives good things rather than harmful things to his children, how much more will the Father in heaven give good things to those who ask for them, the greatest good being the Holy Spirit? This entire discourse encourages the disciples to persevere in prayer. 

The readings for this Sunday offer us an opportunity to reflect on the prayer of the disciple. They suggest some of the predispositions for praying; they reveal some of the content of Christian prayer; they offer us an idea of what can happen to us when we pray. Finally, Jesus himself gives us the Our Father, a prayer that contains within itself all of the characteristics of prayer that we will consider. As children we learned there are different kinds of prayer: praise, contrition, thanksgiving, and petition. All these different prayers recognise two fundamental realities: we are a dependent, needy people; our needs can really only be adequately met by our sovereign God. In the gospel Jesus instructs us to ask for what we need, to seek what we desire, to knock on the door behind which we hope to find our fulfilment. He assures us we will receive what we request, we will find what we seek, and the door will be opened to us. In other words, God is more than willing to give us what we need. However, for this to happen we must turn to God and humbly acknowledge our need. Our prayer is always directed toward God, as we see in the Our Father. Even if we pray to Mary or to one of the saints, we are still praying to God because these others only act as intermediaries for us before God. Therefore the first characteristic of prayer is that it is directed toward God. Regardless of whether it is an explicit prayer of praise or contrition or thanksgiving or petition, as prayer it acknowledges the majesty of God and is, therefore, a prayer of praise. In the Our Father, we praise God's name. While many of the psalms, and the Our Father as well, include mention of the petitioner's own needs, the two narratives read this Sunday describe prayer offered for someone else. Abraham asks for mercy for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the man in the gospel asks for bread for his friend. Generosity of heart is a second characteristic of prayer. The most obvious characteristic depicted in the readings for this Sunday is persistence. Neither Abraham nor the man in the gospel was deterred by any obstacle. They show it is not so much that we persist in prayer in order to change God's mind as it is that we persist in order to discover what God's mind might be. How would Abraham have known the number of righteous required to save a city if he had not gradually reduced the number? How would the man have known he was willing to risk his friendship with another in order to fulfil his obligation of hospitality? Persistence in prayer reveals to us the lengths to which we are willing to go for another. The salutariness of prayer is often found in the change it effects in us, not in God. While it is true our prayer may not change the situations for which we pray, it is also true that frequently we change in the praying. By persevering in genuine prayer we may come to acknowledge that all things are in God's hands and that we can rest content to leave them there, trusting the situation will be cared for as God sees fit. It seems trite to say God hears all prayer and sometime the answer is No! It is better to say God respects the freedom of people and will seldom intervene to change the way events unfold. Still, prayer can change the one who prays and also the one for whom the prayer is offered if only human need is recognised and divine solicitude is acknowledged. May God in the Eucharistic Celebration of this Sunday not only lead us to  pray genuinely but also give us the Holy Spirit that will pray with us from the depth of our being. Happy Sunday ! +John I. Okoye

 (graphics by Charlie.MBC)

16th Sunday of the year C, 2019

May the Good Lord, in today’s Eucharistic Celebration, give you the grace both to listen attentively to and be at service to our Lord Jesus Christ, as you encounter Him in other people during the course of your daily life. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Genesis 18,1-10a; Colossians 1,24-28; Luke 10,38-42: 16th Sunday of the year C, 2019)

The reading from the book of Genesis, follows a classic story that was well known in the ancient Near East. In it, heavenly beings come in disguise to a humble home, receive hospitality from those living there, and reward that family with the announcement of the future birth of a child. Israel made use of this form in telling the story of the promise of a child to Abraham, whose name means father of a multitude of nations (cf. Gen 17,5). The context and theme of the account is nomadic hospitality. In the narrative, as soon as Abraham sees the men, he goes out to them and compels them to accept his hospitality. It would be a breach of etiquette if he did not act in this way, just as it would be a breach of etiquette if they had refused his overtures. Refusal by either side could be properly interpreted as a threat to the safety of the other. Upon receiving guests, the host was bound to refresh them and to offer them food and drink, the quality of which indicated the degree of importance the host accorded the guest. Abraham is portrayed here as the perfect host. In the concluding section of the story one of the visitors, presumably a perfect stranger, foretells the birth of Sarah's son. Sarah's significance is clear. First, she is named rather than merely identified as Abraham's wife. Second, the child is identified as her son rather than Abraham's. Obviously this woman will play an important role in the life of her son. All of this points to the extraordinary nature of the yet unborn child. His birth is mysteriously foretold by strangers who appeared from out of the desert and who not only know his mother's name but identify him with her.

The second reading, Colossians 1,24-28, contains two important themes: the sufferings Paul endures, and his ministry to the Gentiles. Paul's teaching about his own sufferings is an issue that has generated much discussion. That he rejoices in these sufferings should not surprise us, for he believes they will benefit the Colossian Christians. The question arises when he claims that the sufferings (pathema) of his own flesh (sarx) fill up what is lacking in the afflictions (thlipsis) of Christ's body (soma). The vocabulary itself indicates that the body of Christ is clearly something other than his physical being. It is the Church. Therefore, Paul is saying that his own physical sufferings contribute to building up the Church which Christ, the Messiah came to inaugurate. Paul would never say that the sufferings of Jesus were in any way lacking in their atoning efficacy. Rather, he believed that, joined to Jesus, his own sufferings had merit and could be seen as part of the sufferings that would inaugurate the messianic age (a future coming according to Jewish tradition; a present as well as future reality in Christian faith). This is why Paul can claim to rejoice, regardless of the agony he might be enduring. They are hastening the time of ultimate eschatological fulfilment. The second point of Paul’s teaching is on stewardship which consists in preaching the word of God, specifically the doctrine of salvation to the Gentiles. He considers this a mystery hidden for ages. He did not apportion any blame to those Jews or Christians who reject the idea that Gentiles can be saved without having first to convert to Judaism. The Gentiles are included along with the other holy ones, for according to Paul, all those who have been baptised have been transformed in Christ; they are the saints. Having tasted the glory of Christ at the time of their baptism, they await in hope the fullness of that glory. Ultimately the real message that Paul proclaims is Christ the risen Lord. As steward of the household, it is Paul's responsibility to make sure that in the domain of his ministry everything is erfect. 

The gospel story in Luke 10, 38-42 is the vignette about the sisters Martha and Mary. The first thing that strikes one in the narrative is the question of gender. In several ways the scene depicted is extraordinary. It is Martha who welcomes Jesus into her house. Though the explanation for her ownership is not given here. In many patriarchal societies ownership by a woman is unusual though not impossible. Jesus is portrayed as interacting alone with women who are not members of his family, thus challenging that restrictive taboo. Mary's depiction is important. She is seated at Jesus' feet, the customary place of a disciple, and she is listening to his words, a technical phrase that connotes either the fundamental proclamation of the good news or the instruction that flows from it. Here the faithful disciple is a woman. For her part Martha is not only overwhelmed with the traditional house hold duties of a woman, she is also fulfilling the customary responsibilities of hospitality. She is distracted from attending to Jesus' words by her service (diakonia), a word that came to have specific ministerial connotations. Just as in last Sunday's gospel Jesus chose the figure of a despised outsider as an example of unselfish neighbourliness, so today we have women as examples of two different forms of ministerial activity. In their own ways both sisters are faithful disciples of Jesus, one listening to his word and the other performing service. It is this very difference that is the source of the tension in the story. The text does not say Martha wants to sit at the feet of Jesus; it states that she wants her sister to share in the responsibilities of service. Martha points out to Jesus his apparent indifference and then gives him directions for remedying the situation. Jesus is being asked to do more than intervene in a domestic squabble. He is being called on to decide which responsibility of the disciple takes precedence over the other. Jesus' response, though clearly stated, is somewhat ambiguous. What exactly is the better part that Mary chose? Is it reflection over action? Is it a choice for the things of God over basic human needs? The context of the story might give us a clue to the meaning of Jesus' response. It opens with a statement about hospitality. Martha welcomes Jesus into her house. Might the answer be as simple as this: is true hospitality found in giving personal attention to the guest rather than in being distracted from that person by the duties associated with hospitality? Last Sunday we saw that attention to the person in need is to be preferred over the fulfilment of one's responsibilities, regardless of how noble those responsibilities might be. We also saw that when one's priorities are in order, one need not choose one obligation to the exclusion of the other. The story of Martha and Mary seems to be another example of this principle. The better part is to be attentive to the person. This attentiveness will eventually express itself in appropriate service. 
The readings for this Sunday might all be reflected upon under the heading of openness in the form of hospitality. When we think of discipleship and hospitality we normally focus on how disciples are accepted by others. In today’s readings we see Abraham and then Martha offering their hospitality. What lessons of discipleship can be learned from these readings? First and foremost we see how important openness is, for in each case those to whom the hospitality was offered were divine visitors in human form. Martha may have known that it was the Lord she was entertaining, but initially Abraham did not recognise the true nature of his visitors. We can never be sure under what guise God will come to us. It could be the person on the street who asks for directions, or the beggar on the sideway asking for alms and little money for pure water, or the one who comes to our place of work to engage the service we provide. It may be the friend who comes to dinner or the co-worker who acts in a way we did not expect. It may be a sick one in the neighbourhood who managed to craw out from her dungeon to ask for one favour or the other. God comes into our lives in unexpected ways, and we must have an open attitude of hospitality if we are to receive the blessings that might come with such visits. If our hospitality is genuine, we will share the best we have to offer. We will offer our time, our resources, experiences, and we will do what we can to meet the needs of those who come to us. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges disciples face today is finding the right balance between the tasks we have to accomplish and the needs of the people we serve. The tension between Martha and Mary illustrates how difficult this is. Martha was busy with the legitimate responsibilities of hospitality, but her complaint showed she was more concerned about her duties than her guest. With all the responsibilities we carry today, it is so easy to lose sight of the people involved. Parents can be so overwhelmed with the demands of making a living that they have little time for those for whom they are making the living. Doctors can be so intent on curing the illness that they are insensitive to the fears of the one who is ill. Priests and missionary workers can be so overworked with administrative duties that they have little time for pastoring and giving personal attention to individuals they guide. All these du ties are important, but not as important as the people for whom we do them. How hospitable are we to the people who come to us? We should also bear in mind that the effort to be hospitable could give rise to some personal discomforts and sufferings. In this regard we take cue from Paul who gloried in his suffering and who saw it as a way of making the reign of God realisable now and in the future. May the good Lord during the Eucharistic Celebration of this Sunday shower us with the graces to enable us be good and hospitable disciples who are open and disposed to receive and entertain him in the people we meet in the course of our daily life activities. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

 (graphics  by chukwubike)

15th Sunday of Year C, 2019

May this Eucharistic Celebration make you realize that the laws are directives that will usher you into a life of union with Christ who will teach you how to love both God and your neighbors as he does. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Deuteronomy 30,1 0-14; Colossians 1,15-20; Luke 10,25-37; 15th Sunday of Year C, 2019)

In the first reading for this Sunday, Deuteronomy 30,10-14, Moses instructs the people about the law's importance and its accessibility. To those who may say the law is too difficult to understand or so lofty it is almost impossible to observe, Moses replies: No! It is neither mysterious nor remote. It does not belong to the secrets hidden in heaven awaiting the end-time to be revealed. Because of human weakness it may be a challenge to follow, but it is relatively simple to understand. Nor is it located across some impossible divide, unattainable for most of us. Even a cursory examination of the law will show that while it is indeed the word of God, it arises from the experience of women and men: worship one God; do not steal; do not lie; and so on. The law of God is as close to us as our own human life. This is a bold claim, not because it minimizes the value of the word of God because it does not. It is a bold claim because it identifies human experience as the place where the word of God is to be found. It is in our mouths and in our hearts. This is less a statement about what we call natural law than a reference to the will of God that we have learned and interiorized. Moses insists that his audience knows God's will. What they must do is carry it out. 

The high Christology of the second reading, Colossians 1,15-20, extols the divine character and activity of Christ rather than his human nature and the physical life he lived on earth. Paul uses several striking terms to characterize Christ: image of God; firstborn; the beginning; head of the church. Each one adds a significant dimension to our understanding of Christ. An image can either represent something or it can be a visible expression or manifestation of it. It is clear from the passage that Christ is here considered more than a symbol. Rather, he is a visible manifestation of the invisible God. To say that Christ is the image of God is not meant to limit our understanding of God. Rather, it extols the per­son of Christ. Firstborn can also be understood in two ways. It can refer to priority in time or to primacy in importance. Since this hymn is extolling the divine nature of Christ, the reference is probably not to Christ as the first created being but to the sovereignty of the power he exercises. Christ occupies the place of preeminence over all the rest of creation, a preeminence that makes creation dependent upon him. He is the agent through whom all was created, and he is also the goal of all creation. This characterization is reminiscent of the feminine figure of Wisdom, who, though still a creation of God, was present at and somehow participated in primordial creation (cf. Prov 8,22-31). Christ's rule extends over the angelic realm as well (dominions, principalities, powers). He is said to be before all things. While this can suggest preexistence, it also means priority of distinction. Using the metaphor of body, he depicts both the union that exists between Christ and the Church and the preeminence that is Christ's as head of that body. Redemption is accomplished through Christ's resurrection. Priority of time and preeminence are both present also in the reference of firstborn from the dead, for Christ is both the first one raised and the one through whom all others will be raised. Finally, as image or manifestation of the invisible God, the fullness of God dwells within Christ. In this capacity Christ is the agent of reconciliation. This reconciliation has a universal scope. It includes all created things in heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible. Though we are accustomed to thinking of reconciliation purely in human or social terms, the text is clear. All things are reconciled. We are only beginning to explore the ecological implications of this. The means of this reconciliation that Christ brings is the blood of the cross. Thus the sacrificial death of the human Jesus becomes the means through which the cosmic Christ reconciles all creation with God. 

In the gospel narrative, Luke 10,25-37 a well-known conflict story, one skilled in the law challenges Jesus' knowledge of that law, probably in an attempt to publicly shame him. Certain verbs betray his motives. He puts Jesus to a test (v. 25), and when Jesus answers his challenge correctly, the lawyer attempts to save face by justifying himself (v. 29). Jesus not only shows himself as one who knows and conforms to the law, but he turns the lawyer's challenge back on him by asking him to answer his own questions. The lawyer asks about inheriting eternal life, not about earning salvation. Inheriting means receiving blessings bestowed by another. Eternal life is an allusion to the reign of God. In a very real sense the lawyer is asking the right question, but his reason for asking is wrong: to catch Jesus in some error. In answer to his own first question, the lawyer quotes the two passages from Scripture that encompass all of one's responsibilities. We must love God with all the powers of our beings (cf. Deut 6,5), and we must love our neighbor (originally interpreted as another Jew) as we love ourselves (cf. Lev 19,18; at times resident aliens were included in this injunction, Lev 19,34). Jesus recasts the lawyer's second question, Who is my neighbor? and tells a story to demonstrate what it means to be a neighbor. When Jesus asks the recast question, the lawyer is caught in his own snare. He is shamed, while Jesus emerges from this confrontation with even greater honor. The story itself draws obvious lines of contrast. Priests and Levites were temple personnel, jealous of their ritual purity. In this account they are caught in a dilemma. Even if they wanted to help the man on the road, he may have been dead, and they would incur ceremonial defilement by touching him. Should they fulfill their social obligations to another human being, or should they protect their cultic purity so they might fulfill their ritual obligations? They chose the latter. On the other hand, the Samaritan had no ritual obligations. He was one of the despised half-breeds and was already considered unclean by the Jews. However, the text clearly states that he did not attend to the man because he had nothing to lose. Rather, he was moved with compassion (splanchnizomai), the same emotion that overwhelmed Jesus when he saw the grief of the widow of Nain (cf. Luke 7,13) and the father when he saw his prodigal son returning (cf. Luke 15,20). The Samaritan responded out of love, a love that encompassed all the powers of his being. The lawyer had asked about works and was told to love. The Samaritan loves and demonstrates it through works. He goes out of his way to meet the needs of this stranger. He cleans the wounds with the alcohol composition of the wine; he soothes them with oil; he puts the man on his own animal and walks beside him to the nearest inn; he himself cares for the man; and he pays for the care provided by another. In this episode Jesus is not interested in merely telling the lawyer who it is that deserves his love and attention. Rather, he reveals what it means to be a loving person. The focus shifts from the other  person to oneself. The admonition is striking: Go and do likewise! Put aside all racial or religious prejudices in order to meet the needs of others! Put aside all other responsibilities in order to love the other! In this parable Jesus is not the good Samaritan; the lawyer must be. 

Today’s readings give us further insight into what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and to be committed to him. Discipleship also demanded a certain ability to make the necessary shifts in understanding in order to recognize what following Jesus required. Jesus in his encounter with the lawyer did not merely repeat the religious tradition in which he had been formed; he reinterpreted it. Today's disciples face a similar challenge. We too are called to understand the religious meaning of the words and deeds of Jesus, but we must also know how these words and deeds themselves called for adjustments of understanding on the part of those who first heard and witnessed them. This will help us appreciate the need for today's disciples to make comparable shifts of understanding in order to bring the message of Jesus into conversation with the contemporary world. With Paul, we extol Christ as the exalted image of the invisible God, as the firstborn of all creation, the one in whom all else was created, and then we stand at the foot of the cross seeing the blood flow from his crucified body. The exalted one is humiliated, and it is precisely through his humiliation that he is exalted, that he redeemed us, reconciled us to God and to one another. In today’s liturgy we are told to love our neighbor, and when we ask who that might be we are told a story that turns the question around. Who is my neighbor? or Whom should I love? becomes, Who acts as a neighbor? or Who shows love? Attention shifts from the object of our love to the character of our loving, from deciding who deserves our love to loving without deciding who is deserving. The respectable person asks about righteous living, and the genuinely righteous person turns out to be the one who was not respected. The ways of God are indeed paradoxical. The challenge today’s liturgy gives us is further seen in the way the law of God was presented. The law of God, which appears to be so lofty, is really depicted as very close to us, in our mouths and in our hearts. Yet, if we understand ourselves to be part of the body of Christ, as  is depicted in the epistle, as people redeemed and reconciled to God and to one another and if we love the Lord our God as totally as the gospel exhorts us to love, we will allow the law to take hold of us in such a way that we will esteem it. This is not to promote a kind of legalism. Rather, it is a way of living inspired and informed by love, love of God and love of others, even, and perhaps especially, those whom we are not inclined to love. May the Eucharistic celebration of this Sunday make us realize that the law or commandments are pointers or directives that will usher us into a life of union with Christ who will teach us how to love both God and our neighbors as he did. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics by chukwubike

14th Sunday of the Year 3, 2019

Through this Eucharistic celebration, may you receive the grace of renewing your commitment to be a disciple of Jesus, accepting wholeheartedly the cross of Christ in your life, becoming an instrument of healing of our wounded and sick world, and spreading the eschatological peace in our troubled world. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

                        DOCTRINE AND FAITH

Isaiah 66, 10-14c; Galatians 6,14-18; Luke 10,1-12.17-20; 14th Sunday of the Year 3, 2019

The first reading for today, Isaiah 66, 10-14c, an oracle of salvation (Thus says the LORD) dwells on the theme of rejoicing on account of the future restoration of Jerusalem (v. 12). The ones called to rejoice are those who had previously mourned for the city (v. 10). The author adroitly employs the metaphor of motherhood to characterise the relationship that will exist between the city and its inhabitants as well as the loving care this relationship will provide. Like a nursing mother, Jerusalem will be feeding her inhabitants from the fullness of her own body. The very city for which they had previously mourned will comfort them! This is truly the reason for rejoicing. With the metaphor of water, the author of the oracle once again depicts the city's life-giving properties. Water is essential for life in any part of the world, but especially in arid sectors. Since the land of Israel was bounded on several sides by deserts or barren wildernesses, the people would be keenly aware of their need for water. Flowing water, or water that was constantly being renewed by its source, was considered living water and came to be a symbol for life itself. The generous contributions of rivers or water torrents cannot be exaggerated. As they flow in their paths, they yield riches beyond imagination. They bring to the surface food of all kinds, and like a devoted mother they ask for nothing in return. In order to illustrate the tenderness the city has for those who are her children, the author of this oracle of God uses again the motherhood metaphor. She carries them; she fondles them; she comforts them. After using the motherhood metaphor to represent the city's solicitude toward its inhabitants, the prophet next uses it to characterise the tenderness God will show to those who are in Jerusalem. What is the better way to describe the self-giving nature of God other than as a nursing mother who protects and soothes and plays with her child? What would happen when Jerusalem receives such close attention? She will be transformed and the people will rejoice with their entire being, with their hearts and their bones (esem). This will be a wonderful day. The power of God will shine forth from the restored city, and the People of God will rejoice.

Paul begins and ends the second reading, Galatians 6,14-18, with reference to suffering; first to the death of Jesus, and then to the evidence on his own body of the sufferings he endured as a result of his commitment to Christ. Christ died through the ignominy of crucifixion. It was a degrading death reserved for slaves, violent criminals, and political rebels. It was not only an excruciating death, it was also a sign of ultimate defeat. Jesus died as a convicted felon, and it is in the sign of this death that Paul boasts. Paul evidently suffered greatly because of his commitment, and his body carried the marks of that suffering. Having boasted in the suffering of Christ, he then used his participation in that suffering as reason for forestalling opposition from others. Paul having been joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus, has struck a death blow to the world and its system of values; that world is now dead to him. Next he treats the question of circumcision. This was the ritual act that symbolised membership in the People of God. It separated Jew from Gentile and men from women. Here, Paul insists it really makes no difference whether one is circumcised or not. The age of fulfillment has come and brought with it a new creation. Faith in the power of the cross of Jesus is the sign of membership in the People of God. Thus, women and men from every race and ethnic origin are welcome in this community. Paul pleads for peace and mercy for all who accept this rule or principle.

The mission of the seventy-two disciples in the gospel pericope (Luke 10, 1-12.17-20) of today is symbolic of the ultimate mission to all the nations of the world (cf. Genesis 10). Jesus uses two metaphors to represent the mission: harvest, and lambs among wolves. Harvest connotes the readiness of the world for the ministry of the missionaries. This is a positive image suggesting that planting and growing have been accomplished. It only remains for the seventy-two to gather up the fruits of the work of others. Someone else had planted and watered. They were now there to harvest the yield. The second metaphor adds a sobering tone to the picture. Although the harvest is ready, harvesting itself is a dangerous occupation. The field of ministry is threatening, and the missionaries themselves are vulnerable. The directives Jesus gives accentuate this. The disciples are told to go into the world with only the bare essentials. No purse, no traveling bag, no extra sandals. They are to trust in God and depend on the hospitality of those to whom they go. Since their housing was intended merely as a support of their ministry, they were not to haggle for better accommodations, nor were they to decide the menu of the place even if there was some question about dietary purity. Finally, since two witnesses were necessary to verify any legal claim, they were to go in pairs. Besides using the metaphor of harvest to characterise the urgency of the mission, the disciples were also told to refrain from engaging in the kind of prolonged greeting that was commonplace in the ancient Near East at that time. There was no time for social niceties. Peace! would be an adequate greeting. While peace! was a typical Jewish greeting, it was more than that. It had become a synonym for messianic salvation. On the lips of a Christian it announced the presence of the age of eschatological fulfillment. Acceptance of such peace became the condition that determined the future of those to whom the disciples were sent. This peace rested on some but not on others. Those who were open to the message were blessed, but those who refused the missionaries determined their own sorry fate. The missionaries were told to shake the dust off that town from their feet. This also reflects the urgency of the time. The missionaries did not have the leisure to cajole those who were not open to the message. In a situation such as this the rejection was now mutual. At the end of the mission the seventy-two joyfully returned with stories of success. They had cured the sick and announced the advent of the reign of God. In this they had witnessed the power of God triumphant over the powers of evil, symbolised by serpents and scorpions. Jesus confirmed their appraisal of their accomplishments. Satan had indeed been cast down. This entire experience was then put into context by Jesus. As important as were the wondrous deeds they had been able to perform, more wondrous still was the fact that their names had been inscribed in the heavenly book (cf. Exod 32,32f.).

The cross, the symbol of the ignominious death of Jesus can serve as the key for interpreting the message of the readings of this Sunday. The cross of Christ is the sign that we have been called to be disciples of Jesus; it is in this sign that we have been sent; it is in this sign that we understand our mission. The cross of Jesus Christ creates all things new. It reorders our priorities; it refashions our identities; it puts us in opposition to the standards of the world. No longer do we judge success or failure as before. No longer do we separate people by gender or race or religious tradition. A new reality has been formed, with peace and mercy as its identifying characteristics. The cross is the standard of everything. It is the cross that marks the disciple.

Although the gospel story is a report of ministerial commissioning, it contains elements of discipleship in general. Most obvious is the disciples' dependence on Jesus. They are not independent missionaries. They are called by him; they are sent by him; it is to him they return and report. To be a disciple is to be a follower. A second point that should be noted is the communal dimension of discipleship. While there is certainly a personal relationship between Jesus and each disciple, discipleship itself is not a singular privilege that one hugs to oneself to the exclusion of others. Disciples minister to the needs of others, whatever those needs may be and with whatever abilities the disciple may possess. There are various kinds of healing. A friendly smile, a word of gratitude, a soothing touch, can go a long way in a world where pain and suffering seem to reign. We can teach the lessons of life in classrooms, in playrooms, in kitchens, in market places, in schools, in buses, in boardrooms. There are many ways we can cast out the demons that hold our world by the throat, demons of poverty and oppression, demons of addiction and slavery, demons of disdain and neglect, demons of hatred and violence, demons of corruption, demons of segregation, demons that make us regard the other as inferior, as an outcast, as an osu. If they are not cast out by us, then by whom? A life of discipleship is not an unmixed blessing. Because disciples are marked by the sign of the cross, they must expect suffering. The gospel speaks of rejection. Not everyone will welcome the message of the cross. Not everyone will appreciate the new creation it brings. Because they do not live according to the standards of the world, disciples will be judged as fools. Some of them will be subjected to even greater suffering. It makes one wonder who would even want to take on such a life. It seems like one is constantly going against the tide. And yet, if we are honest, we will have to admit that much of what the world promotes really goes against the grain of what is truly human. In the face of this, the disciple proclaims that true fulfillment is only found in God! In reality it is the world that is upside down, not the life of discipleship. And it is the cross that sets things right. Both the first reading and the psalm response give us a glimpse of what can happen when things are set right, when the words or life of the disciple are taken seriously. The city is renewed; the world is rejuvenated; the prosperity of God is enjoyed by all; those who suffer are comforted; the kindness of God fills the whole world. May we in the Eucharistic celebration of today, request for these graces: renewing our commitment to be disciples of Jesus, accepting wholeheartedly the cross of Christ in our lives, becoming instruments of healing of our wounded and sick world and spreading eschatological peace in our troubled world. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

 graphics  by charles