4th Sunday of the Year B: 31th January 2021

           DOCTRINE AND FAITH 

(Deut. 18,15-20; 1 Cor. 7, 32-35; Mark 1,21-28: 4th Sunday of the Year B: 31th January 2021)

                                   
This Sunday's Gospel presents Jesus as a prophet. He begins his ministry and immediately, reveals himself as a powerful prophet in word and deed. The Gospel is prepared by the first reading, which refers to God's promise to send a prophet similar to Moses. The second reading speaks to us about virginity and marriage, to invite us to a full participation in the new life that Jesus gives.

The Gospel tells us the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He enters the synagogue on the Sabbath and begins to teach. His first activity is that of teaching, because he is the one who reveals God's plan to us, all the mystery that communicates a new life to us. People are amazed at his teaching, because it is not an ordinary teaching. The scribes teach, but without their own authority: they were based on tradition, on what Moses and the prophets, or other scribes of ancient times, have said before. Instead, Jesus teaches authoritatively, thus he reveals himself as the Son of God, and not as a mere man who must base his teaching on previous traditions.

Jesus has full authority. His teaching is new: a new doctrine taught with authority, underlines Mark. We can see this in a more explicit and widespread way in the Gospel of Matthew, in particular in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says: You have heard that it was said to the ancients ... But I tell you ... (cf. Matt 5, 21-48). Jesus' teaching is truly new. On the other hand, he is also powerful in his works. In the synagogue of Capernaum there is a man possessed by an unclean spirit. We do not know exactly how this spirit usually manifests itself, but in this circumstance, it manifests itself with cries: What has this to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? You came to ruin us! I know who you are: the saint of God. This unclean spirit knows the power of Jesus, and also proclaims its holiness; he says: You have come to ruin us! Jesus came to free men from the influence of evil spirits, to give them the true freedom of the children of God.

Jesus scolds this unclean spirit, saying to him: Shut up! Get out of that man. These words of his are enough to obtain his victory over the unclean spirit, which comes out of that man tearing him up and shouting loudly. This fact greatly impresses those present; all are filled with fear and ask themselves: What is this? A new doctrine taught with authority. He even commands the worldly spirits and they obey him!. The power of Jesus confirms his authority. He does not only speaks words, but also works. Thus, he manifests God's plan in words and miracles. In fact, in the Gospel we see that he is not content with just talking, but manifests God's love with many gestures of dedication to the sick, the needy, children and sinners. People recognize that Jesus is a prophet.

In the first reading, taken from Deuteronomy, God, through Moses, promises to send to his people a prophet similar to Moses: The Lord your God will raise up for you, among you, among your brothers, a prophet like me; you will listen to him. The people were promised a prophet who will speak in the name of God, to preserve them from the danger that had manifested itself at Sinai: the danger of death caused by immediate contact with God. The people then asked: May I not hear the voice anymore of the Lord my God and may I not see this great fire any more, lest I die (Deut. 18,16; cf. Exodus 20,18-21). Direct contact with God is tremendous for man; God's holiness is like a devouring fire. The sinful people do not feel like facing this contact and ask for a mediator. God, who is full of goodness and mercy, accepts the proposal: What they said is fine; I will raise up a prophet in the midst of their own brothers. Several times God has sent prophets to guide his people and warn them against the temptations of idolatry, social injustice and all abuses. The prophets spoke in the name of God, with authority; Thus, they led the people and preserved them from the evils caused by sins. But God's promise to send a prophet like Moses had not yet come true. At the end of Deuteronomy, the author declares: A prophet like Moses has never arisen in Israel (Deut. 34:10). Therefore, the people continued to wait for a prophet like Moses for the authoritative teaching and power of miracles. This expectation was very much alive in the time of Jesus; the Gospels tell us, several times, that people wondered if he was not the prophet announced (cf. Mark 8,28ff).

Today's Gospel passage shows us that Jesus is indeed this prophet announced. In one of his speeches after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter says that Jesus is the prophet similar to Moses – in fact, superior to Moses - who had been promised and who therefore, has the right to our obedience (cf. Acts 3,21-22). Stephen too, in his address to the Sanhedrin before dying, recalls this fact (cf. Acts 7,37). We must consider ourselves fortunate to have Jesus as our teacher who is powerful in words and deeds, Jesus who communicates to us all the light necessary for our existence and also the strength necessary to overcome difficulties, trials and temptations. We must consider ourselves fortunate to have such a powerful and so good prophet as our teacher.

In the second reading, Paul tells us that the best condition for a person is to be concerned only with the things of the Lord. He would like the faithful to have no human concerns, but only concern for the Lord; he says: Whoever is not married is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he can please the Lord [...]. Thus, the unmarried woman, like the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, in order to be holy in body and spirit. This, in itself, is the most favourable condition. However, it must be recognised  that it presupposes a particular vocation. In fact, it is not given to every person to live in such a spiritual, costly way. For the most part, people find themselves in a complex situation, that is, in search of the Lord and things of the world.

It is clear that when a person is married he has to worry about the course of family life. This is a good thing. But Paul affirms that this also leads to a certain interior division: one does not think about pleasing the Lord alone, but one must also think about other things; thus, the person finds himself divided within himself. We must accept Paul's teaching. He is aware that he is saying these things for the good of Christians: not to draw a snare for them, but to enlighten them and encourage them to remain united as much as possible with the Lord, each according to his own vocation. +John I. Okoye

(graphics  by Chukwubike OC)

30th Sunday of the Year A, 25th October, 2020

May God in today's Eucharistic celebration, grant us the grace to live out the two commandments of love; loving God and loving our neighbour as Christ did, by giving his life as sacrifice of redemption on our behalf.

Happy Sunday!

 

 

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Exodus 22,20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1,5c-10; Matt. 22,34-40: 30th Sunday of the Year A, 25th October, 2020)

 

This Sunday, the liturgy presents us with a short but very important question of which is the greatest commandment. The Gospel reading addresses this question. The first reading, which is a passage from the Law of Moses anticipates this theme. The second reading does not have a direct relationship with the Gospel; however, it can be seen how Paul practices the two commandments of love.

Matthew relates that, after Jesus has answered the Sadducees who came to him with objections against faith in the resurrection, the Pharisees try to be better than the Sadducees in the attempt to put Jesus to the test. One of them, a doctor of the law, asks him this question: Teacher, what is the greatest commandment of the law? It is a difficult question, because in the Law of Moses there are 613 precepts and prohibitions. How can one discern the greatest commandment of all these? This is a topic that could be argued endlessly. But Jesus has no hesitation, and immediately replies: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first of the commandments. Then he adds something that was not requested by the doctor of the law: And the second is similar to the first: You will love your neighbour as yourself. And he concludes with great authority: The whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments. This response from Jesus is not to be taken for granted, because, among so many precepts and prohibitions, the most important are, in everyone's opinion, the Ten Commandments. In Deuteronomy, Moses explains that the Decalogue is made up of ten Commandments promulgated by God himself and welcomed by the people. Only these commandments were pronounced by God himself; the other commandments or prohibitions were given to the people by Moses, and not directly by God. Therefore, it would be logical that Jesus, in answering the Doctor of Law, chose one of the ten Commandments. In particular, he could choose the first, which is undoubtedly of very great importance: the prohibition on worshiping other gods, but Jesus does not choose one of the ten Commandments, but looks elsewhere. He takes one text from Deuteronomy, which enunciates the commandment of love, and a second one from Leviticus, which expresses a second commandment of love, and says that the second is similar to the first: You will love the Lord your God ... You will love your neighbour. How can this choice by Jesus be explained? Let's try to understand how. The Ten Commandments, which have an exceptional importance, are mostly prohibitions, negative commandments. They are exceptionally, important because they set the conditions under which it is no longer possible to have a positive relationship with God. Whoever wants to live in accord with God must, absolutely, respect them. If he does not, he finds himself in disagreement with God, offends him and follows the path of perdition. But the Ten Commandments all present negative conditions, both in relations with God (first series) and in relations with other people (second series), except one in each of the two series. As for the first series, the positive commandment is: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day (Exodus 20,8). But, if we look at the context, we realise that this commandment too is explained with negative precepts. What does it mean to sanctify the Sabbath, according to the text of the Law of Moses? It means not doing any work on that day: You will not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your slave, nor your slave girl, your cattle, nor the stranger who dwells with you (Exodus adds 20,10). So, again, we have a negative commandment. In the other series, there is a truly positive commandment: Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you (Exodus 20,12). It is a very important commandment, because the family is the fundamental cell of society and, if there is no family solidarity, society cannot survive. But it is a very limited commandment: it concerns relationships with only two people, and it says nothing about the attitude one must have towards all other people. Jesus, on the other hand, does not want either a negative commandment or a limited commandment, but wants to offer a dynamic, positive, universal ideal. The Decalogue does not present this ideal properly, because it consists of negative commandments. Obviously respecting the Decalogue is already a great thing, but it does not give an impulse to life. Instead, what gives an impetus to life is love. For this Jesus chooses two commandments of love: You will love the Lord your God ... You will love your neighbour. These are positive commandments, commandments that give extraordinary impetus, because they present a very high ideal. The first is: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Who can really say that they have achieved this ideal? We always remain below this requirement; therefore, we must always strive to progress to be at least a little closer to this magnificent ideal of complete, perfect, unlimited love. And the second is: You will love your neighbour as yourself. Who can say that he is able to love his neighbour as himself? We have an innate love for ourselves, rooted in our psyche, and in reality, what we do for others is always very little compared to what we do for ourselves. Furthermore, with regard to this second commandment, we must also say that in another more dramatic circumstance, Jesus widened the perspective, when he said: This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you (John 15,12). This means that we must love others more than our life, because Jesus loved us more than his life, offering his life for us. Therefore, the ideal that Jesus presents to us is a wonderful one, which corresponds with the deep desire of our hearts. In fact, we were precisely created for this. God, who is love, created us to make us share in his love, to be loved by him and to love him and love all other people with him. This is the highest human ideal. But, to achieve it, we have an absolute need for God's grace, we need to receive the capacity to love that comes from God within us. The heart of Jesus is offered to us to truly love the Father as he loved him, and to love our neighbour as he loved him. Jesus offers himself to us for this very reason. In the Eucharist we receive his Body and Blood in us, that is, we receive Jesus at the moment of his greatest love, at the moment when he offered himself to the Father for our salvation, the moment when he offered his Body and Blood to be our spiritual food and drink and in this way feed the life of love in us. This revelation was already anticipated in the Old Testament, which contains, precisely, these two perspectives. Therefore, this commandment of Jesus is not new; what is new is the way he explains it. The first reading shows how much the Old Testament insists on love of neighbour. The Old Testament manifests a great concern for harmonious social relationships, in fact very generous ones. The book of Exodus says: You will not harass the stranger or oppress him, because you have been strangers in the land of Egypt. So, the neighbour to love is the stranger too. You will not maltreat the widow and the orphan. God is the guarantor of their lives. If you maltreat him, when he invokes my help, I will hear his cry, my anger will be kindled and I will make you die by the sword. The Old Testament goes into very particular details, such as the case of the pledged object. When you give a loan to another, you must not behave like usurers: If you lend money to someone of my people, the indigent who is with you, you will not behave with him as a usurer: you must not impose any interest on him. Often the cloak was given as a pledge, which was not necessary during the day, but which served as a blanket for the night; the people were poor, and did not have many things to pledge, and, therefore, gave their cloak. The Law of Moses is concerned with this case and says that the cloaks must be returned at sunset, because the poor need them to cover themselves during the night; not to give them back would be a cruelty, And God also guarantees the situation of the poor: When he invokes my help, I hear his cry, because I am merciful. Thus, already in the Old Testament this orientation of attention to all the needs of the neighbour and generous dedication to his service appears well specified. But Jesus traced the way of an even more generous love for us.

In the second reading we see how Paul practices the two commandments of love. He writes to the Thessalonians who have recently converted, and among whom he says his great love for the Lord is manifested. In fact, he immediately speaks of them, saying: You have become imitators of us and of the Lord [...]. The word of the Lord echoes through you [...], you have converted to God, moving away from idols, to serve the living and true God. Here we see Paul's great love for the Lord. On the other hand, the Apostle also expresses his love for the Thessalonians. He has known them for a short time, but they are already present in his heart in a very deep way. He delicately manifests his love, praising them: You have become a model to all believers who are in Macedonia and Achaia. The Thessalonians were generous, they welcomed the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the midst of great tribulation. This praise that Paul gives is a manifestation of love, and also of apostolic zeal, because when a person is praised, he is greatly encouraged to act in a virtuous way. We must be careful to emphasise the good in others and the good they do. This is a delicate, also very positive, and fruitful demonstration of love. It is a question of recognising the good done by others, to encourage this good, and thus grow all together in love for God and for our brothers. You will love the Lord your God, you will love your neighbour, love one another as I have loved you: this is the most important thing of all, the ideal that we must always pursue. In all our purposes, in all our initiatives we must always go in this direction. In all, we will always be more united with Christ in his relationship with the Father and the brothers. +John I. Okoye

Graphics  by Chukwubike 

6th Sunday of Easter: Year A, 2017

May God bestow on you the necessary graces to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit. HappySunday! + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Acts 8, 6-8.14-17; 1 Peter 3, 15-18; John 14, 15-21; 6th Sunday of Easter: Year A, 2017)

    The coming of the Holy Spirit is an important and focal event in the history of salvation and the raison d’etre of the work of Incarnation and Redemption.  At the discourse after the Last Supper, in today’s gospel reading, Jesus affirms: I will pray the Father and he will give you another Advocate who will stay with you forever, the Spirit of Truth. The Greek term parakletos,generally means helper. When Jesus said that he will send to his followers Another Paraclete he underlined his awareness of their weakness and how much they stood in need of divine empowerment. The Fall of Adam and Eve signalled rupture of friendship between man and God. By virtue of his incarnation, passion, death and resurrection, Jesus restored fallen humanity to the glory of divine friendship. Having paid the ultimate price to save man from damnation, Jesus promised a divine helper to the fallen but restored humanity- he Paraclete whose function it is, in the economy of salvation, to sanctify and empower. We need the Holy Spirit to help us speak to God and speak the truth to one another. We need him to help us to pray, witness to Christ, preach the gospel, resist evil, live holy lives, uproot and destroy wickedness in the world, build and plant kingdom values everywhere, love one another, administer the Church well, be patient in tribulation and worship God as it is fitting. Left on our own, we can really do nothing (John 15, 5). Jesus said that he would send us the Helper so that we would not be like orphans after his departure (John 14, 18). Orphans are people without help. His promise is that this Helper will be always with us. Nothing is consoling as this assurance of twenty-four-hours help of the Holy Spirit in all the moments and situations of our lives. The fact that the Holy Spirit comes to our help does not, in any way, imply that he has taken our freedom nor diminish our responsibility. We cannot fold our hands and wait for God to do our household chores, work in our farms and gardens, fix our political systems, eradicate corruption from our society, convert people by force, make us holy, train our children and make our marriages work. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. The Holy Spirit assists us to accomplish the will of God through the talents, abilities, gifts and powers he bestows on us. Therefore, our belief and reliance on the Holy Spirit should neither diminish nor destroy but enhance our readiness and willingness to work hard to improve our lives and make the world a better place.

    Jesus describes the Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. The Holy Spirit has the competence to illumine the disciples to fully understand the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is this Spirit that enabled the Church and individuals not to remain on the superficial level of things but also led them into the full revelation and understanding of the message of Christ. In the gospel passage, Jesus also points to the fact that the world does not know the Holy Spirit but that the disciples know him, because he is with you and in you.Here Jesus alludes to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples. We first note that Jesus is able to dwell in the disciples because He is a Person. The Holy Spirit is not just an aspect or attribute of God. Likewise, he is not an instrument which God uses to do things in the world, but He is a divine person in the same way as the Father and the Son. While he works in union with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit has a special role to play for the salvation of the world. It is important that we appreciate the personhood of the Holy Spirit because it is only then that we will be able to enter into personal relationship with him (the indwelling).  Being a person means that the Holy Spirit is capable of mutual relationship, loving and being loved, giving and receiving and other acts of a living subject. We should, therefore, go beyond the images we have of the Holy Spirit as dove, fire or cloud and begin to see the divine person represented by the images. May we also endeavour to begin cultivating intimate loving relationships with him.  The indwelling of the Spirit in the disciples is not exclusive. Jesus also indicates the mutual indwelling between him and the Father. This serves as a paradigm for the disciples to enter into relationship with him. But for this to be a reality, the disciples will have to demonstrate their love for Jesus by keeping his commandment. The keeping of the commandment is a sure sign of the love the disciples have for Jesus. Jesus assures the disciples that he will return to them. He will be in their presence again. He will be living the same divine life with his disciples that will dispose them to an interior and intimate life with Jesus. This interior and reciprocal living is mysterious, beautiful and expressive of perfect union with love. In simple practical terms it means: if one is docile to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will lead him into an intimate union with Christ (the indwelling of the Christian with Christ). What happens next? Because, Christ is intimately united with God the Father, there are the chances that Christ (as a result of his intimate union with the disciple) will eventually lead the disciple into an intimate union with the Blessed Trinity.

    The Acts of the Apostles, which supplies the first reading of today, is a narrative describing how the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirt, spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the then known world. She could not have done it without the power of the Holy Spirit, the Power of God. This divine power was promised by Jesus, shortly before he ascended into heaven:“It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1, 7-8; See also Luke 24,29).  These passages underline the role of the Holy Spirit as the giver of divine power. Philip, one of the deacons, moved by this divine power preached successfully in Samaria. The apostles Peter and John had to come down from Jerusalem. They imposed hand on the Samaritan Christians and they received the Holy Spirit. 

    We need divine power to be faithful followers of Christ and to accomplish the purpose of our creation and call. The Holy Spirit provides the power we need and he is the power himself. We are called to preach the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth, to make disciples of all nations, and to get the whole world reconciled to God. That is why Peter, the Apostle, calls upon us in the second reading of today to be ready to provide reasons for the cheerfulness of Christians in the midst of sorrows, our hope in the face of misery and joys in difficulties. None of these will be easy for us without the help of the Holy Spirit. We need power to bear active and courageous witness of faith, love and hope to Christ in our time and place. 

    We are already invited by the liturgy of this Sunday, to reflect on the feast of Pentecost that is almost at the corner. We therefore, hope that the good Lord will not only bestow on us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, endow us with the power of the Spirit but also make it possible that we be led into and participate in several levels of intimate relationship (in-dwellings) with the Persons of the Blessed Trinity. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

(graphics by blogger)

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 

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 

 

4th Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May the almighty God give you the special grace to live out the beatitudes every moment of your life. Happy Sunday!
+ John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Zephaniah 2,3; 3,12-13; 1 Cor 1, 26-31 ; Matt 5,1-12,: 4th Sunday of the Year A,  2017)

 In the gospel reading of today, Jesus proclaims in a very solemn manner the beatitudes. Proclaiming this from a mountain, Mathew presents Jesus as the new Moses who proclaims the new law, the statutes of the new people of God, the people of the new covenant, which is the Church. The beatitudes which he proclaims are not abstract precepts, nor theoretical enunciations but rather true characteristics of Jesus himself which are verifiable in his life as we see in the Gospel narratives. He is per excellence the poor in spirit, the afflicted, the meek, the one who thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the operator of peace and the persecuted.   

            The disciple of Jesus, the true Christian, is the one who follows the master and incarnates the beatitudes in his life after the Christ’s example. The first beatitude which Jesus enunciates is: How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is a typical example of this beatitude. He was born, lived and died poor. Poverty in spirit does not only mean interior detachment from material things but also connotes the idea that it is chosen and willed and that it is not endured out of necessity or undertaken on account of circumstances. The one who is poor in spirit is one who refrains from the accumulation of the goods of the world, one who chooses to live not paying any iota of attention to money, power or career. He is also one who refuses to get involved in the worship of money or power. The poor of the beatitudes are like the poor about which both Zephaniah and Paul speak. These are people who, in engaging themselves in life, repose their hope especially on God. They are free from selfishness and ambition for power, from avidity for wealth. They are people who, no matter how badly the world treats them, remain attached to God, repose all their confidence in him and entrust themselves into his hands, assured that God will never disappoint them and for this reason they are very happy.

  What one finds a bit jolting in the proclamation of the beatitudes is that Jesus declares blessed or happy the category of people whom the world considers unhappy: the poor, afflicted, the persecuted, etc. It is not to be understood that Jesus exalts and beatifies any situation of suffering and sorrow as such; this would be some special type of masochism. The situation of suffering remains what it is. But the reaction of the Christian about it should be different from that of the world. The world anchors the foundation of her joy and happiness in the possession of the goods of this world, in wealth, success, pleasure or something of this kind. However, the gospel invites one to set the foundation of his joy on the love of God, a love that promises unfailing security in the midst of any crisis in which one may find himself. The joy of the beatitudes is based on the certainty of a happy future which will be the gift of God. It is also based on the joyful realization that right now, it is possible to have a foretaste of the joy, on account of the spiritual disposition which the beatitudes make possible. This spiritual disposition as well as the moral attitudes emanating from the beatitudes should not remain interior, individualistic and abstract; neither should it be left to be passive. It should not have a private but rather a public and concrete aspect. The spiritual disposition should lead to a very courageous undertaking for justice and peace, from individual faithful as well as the entire Christian community. What is expected from the Christian is not passive surrender but concrete and active task in favour of peace and justice.

 We mentioned above that true follower of Christ is the one who incarnates the beatitudes in himself/herself especially in his/her heart, where the reign of God has its root. It is, therefore, opportune that we ask ourselves if our moral profile corresponds to those traced by the beatitudes, that is to say, if we are truly people who do not run after the goods of the world considering it as the mirage of happiness. We examine ourselves to find out if we trust in God and confide in him. We need to ask if we are people that are humble and simple and sincere in heart, who are not ambitious and full of the arrogant air of one who has arrived. Are we people who do not believe in violence but desirous to work for justice and peace with the force of love, also capable to suffer and bear persecution for the cause of good. Are we merciful? It is necessary that we Christians assume and imitate this evangelical mentality and believe that through them to be happy, already in this world as far as it is possible to human condition, but hopefully to be permanently happy in the next life.

 Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics  by chukwubike