13th Sunday, Year C, 2019

As you participate in this Eucharistic Celebration, may you be granted the grace of true freedom and genuine love that will enable you commit yourself wholeheartedly to following Christ as your first priority without counting the cost you have to pay for doing so. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(1 Kings 19,16b.19-21;  Galatians 5,1.13-18; Luke 9,51-62: 13th Sunday, Year C, 2019)

The narrative of the first reading is an illustration of prophetic succession in ancient Israel. The spoken word was not the only way prophecy was handed on; certain symbolic action also carried prophetic meaning. The symbolic act by Elijah of throwing his cloak over Elisha is one such example. Elisha is called while he is ploughing a field, not unlike Saul, Israel's first king (cf. 1 Sam 11,5). And as soon as he was called, the narrative holds that Elisha immediately left his ploughing and eagerly ran after the prophet. He had no second thoughts about following his call. He only asked leave to say farewell to his parents. Kinship ties are very important in traditional societies like that of ancient Israel. To say good-bye is more of emotional attachment than kinship responsibilities. It is important to note that both father and mother are mentioned. This account describes the conflict that exists between two fundamental responsibilities: fidelity to the call from God and that of one's primary family obligations. Elijah does not grant Elisha permission to leave, but he does respond. The implications are demanding. Elisha has been commissioned by God to be a prophet, and it is up to him to decide whether he can make the radical break from the past that this commission requires or not. His response is wholehearted. His slaughter of the oxen and his destruction of the ploughing equipment were symbolic acts of severing his ties with his past. He was now totally committed to the ministry of the people. He demonstrates this by feeding them. The narrative ends with Elisha in a subservient position. Though he had been commissioned as Elijah's successor, he would first minister to him as attendant. It would seem that his time of independent prophetic activity had not yet come. 

The second reading, Galatians 5,1.13-18, is a discourse on the nature of Christian freedom. Paul, in this passage does not merely proclaim Christian freedom, he also states that Christians have been freed for the sake of freedom itself. In other words, Christ did not free them from one form of bondage only to have them submit themselves to another. They are told to stand fast in their freedom and not to allow themselves to be bound again. The Christians are already free, but they are not yet totally free. It is not merely that they could lose their freedom, though this is clearly a possibility, rather, the reason they might lose it is that, though freed by Christ, they are not yet completely free within themselves. They still retain habits of mind and heart, addictions of all kinds, even after they are renounced. Freedom itself is a frightening thing because it requires the willing renunciation of whatever compensations people have cultivated in order to cope with those habits that enslave them. Paul realised this, so he exhorts the Galatians to stand fast in their freedom. Having warned the Galatians against reverting to some form of slavery after being set free by Christ, Paul next addresses the opposite inclination. He insists that the freedom to which the Galatians have been called is not an invitation to license. It is not an opportunity for throwing off all moral restraint and indulging in some form of libertinism. Though no longer under the bondage of the law, they are not free to live lawless lives. In fact, they are expected to love their neighbours as themselves (cf. Lev 19,18). Though not slaves of the law, they should be servants of one another in love. In this way, though they may not accomplish all that the law requires, they will have fulfilled all that the law intends. Paul contrasts life lived in the Spirit with life lived in the flesh. Jewish anthropology of the day maintained that the inclination toward good, which resided in the spirit, and the inclination toward evil, which resided in the flesh, were in constant contention within the human being. It is this inner struggle Paul has in mind. He insists that if, through a false sense of freedom, the Galatians give in to the inclinations of the flesh, they will eventually destroy one another. However, if they serve one another in love, they will live lives of genuine freedom guided by the Spirit of God. 

In the gospel pericope, Luke 9,51-62, when the Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus and his company, James and John suggested that Jesus call down fire from heaven, just as Elijah had done when the enemies of Israel approached the prophet (cf 2 Kgs 1,10). The antagonism the Samaritans felt toward the Jews can be traced back to the return of the Jews from the exile in Babylon (ca. 536 B.C.). Because some of the people in the district of Samaria had remained in the land during the period of exile and had intermarried with foreigners who lived in the vicinity, the returning Jews considered them social and religious half-breeds and, consequently, culticly unclean. For this reason they were prevented from helping with the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. In reaction to this, the Samaritans built their own temple. Although the Jews later destroyed it, the Samaritans continued to worship God on Mount Gerizim, an action the Jews considered illegitimate. This explains why the Samaritans refused to show hospitality to Jews who travelled through Samaria on their way to worship in Jerusalem. As we go further in today’s gospel, we see someone step forward and offer to follow Jesus, and later two others are called by Jesus to be disciples. The attitude of these three toward discipleship and Jesus' response to them is revealing. The first enthusiastically offers commitment, the other two wish to postpone joining Jesus until they have put their immediate affairs in order. In each instance Jesus emphasises the demands that discipleship will exact. With the first, Jesus points to the price the commitment will require. A follower of Jesus must be willing to relinquish all. The example given to illustrate the degree of surrender required is the willingness to forgo the sense of belonging somewhere. Jesus underscores the same demand when responding to the other two individuals. To one he insists that even religious ceremonial customs must be set aside if need be when commitment to Jesus is at stake. With the other he maintains that not even family ties can take precedence over discipleship. The advice to the first person seems to be contradicted by the advice given the other two. However, this contradiction is only apparent. Discipleship does require wholehearted commitment to Jesus, but this commitment must be embraced realistically. While followers should be enthusiastic in their dedication, they should also be prepared to pay the price of wholehearted commitment. 

The readings of today challenge us to examine the quality of our response to the call of discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Our response should be a commitment that is wholehearted. For there is no part-time discipleship. Our commitment must be wholehearted and complete. We must have a willing attitude that frees us interiorly from all other concerns, so we might be able to follow Christ regardless of our state in life or our occupation. This attitude of commitment comes not merely from our own generosity of heart but also from our having been transformed into Christ through faith and baptism. With the psalmist we cling to God, who is our allotted portion and our cup. Such wholehearted commitment is an interior reality, not an exterior demonstration. It is not for the few; it is required of all. The readings for this Sunday also invite us to meditate on another aspect of discipleship, the cost of discipleship, on the conflicts that face us when our various allegiances seem to clash. We may have family responsibilities. There are children to raise, elderly parents or infirm relatives to care for. What does discipleship require of us? We must earn a living. Are we expected to leave our employment to follow Jesus? And if so, what then will we do? All disciples must face the interior struggle caused by the conflict of legitimate responsibility. There is no other way to navigate through the interior dilemma other than heeding the exhortation to love one’s neighbour, love that is based on the true concept of freedom, as expounded by Paul in the second reading. The freedom of which Paul speaks is neither license nor half-hearted commitment. It is the freedom that comes with genuine love. If out of love we can negotiate successfully these conflicts caused by competing responsibilities without compromising our total commitment to Christ, we will find a new kind of freedom. This is the freedom that enables us to be faithful to both sets of responsibilities according to the proper priority. We will see that commitment to Christ is primary and the circumstances of our lives with the accompanying responsibilities set the parameters within which we live out our commitment. It is not in opposition with these responsibilities or despite them but by means of or through them that we live out our discipleship. May we, therefore, in today’s Eucharistic celebration, be granted the grace of true freedom and genuine love that will enable us commit ourselves wholeheartedly to following Christ as our first priority without counting the cost we have to pay for doing so.Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye.

(graphics  by chukwwubike)

3rd Sunday of the Year A, 2017

May God help us realize that in order to be apostles who preach that the reign of God is hand and who are fishers of Men, we are to be completely converted to God. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Isaiah 8, 23b-9.1-3; 1 Cor 1, 10-13; Matt 4, 12-23: 3rd Sunday of the Year A, 2017)

 The gospel reading tells us that having received the news of John the Baptist’s arrest, Jesus went to Galilee and stayed in the remotest part, the area called the Galilee of the pagans. Here the population was mixed and in this much despised area, he begins his ministry. It is quite significant and shows the orientation of his ministry: Jesus always went to the small, humble and the most needy ones of our society. Furthermore, the evangelist Matthew sees the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in this region as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah who prophesied that the towns of Zebulon and Naphtali that had been dwelling in the shadow of death would see great light. Jesus is the great light that sprang up for all humanity as he himself says: I am the light of the world. The Evangelist, John in the prologue of his gospel holds: He (Jesus) is the light who illumines all who come into the world. The designation that Jesus is the light of the world means that he is the Way and the Truth. He not only accompanies us in our journey towards God the Father, but also makes assurance double sure that we reach God, our life destination. Jesus as light of the world also means that he is the Life, that is to say, the one who will ransom our soul from death confirming what he says: He who follows me will have the light of life. Jesus as light would also mean that he is also the source of joy. His birth was regarded as a great joy for the world (Luke 2,10). 
            Jesus begins his ministry with these words: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The invitation to conversion is based on the good news: The kingdom of God is near. The Jews were expecting the kingdom of God that would change the face of the world, ushering in justice, peace and joy. Jesus affirms that the reign of God is near but adds that conversion is needed to have access to it. By this Jesus clearly indicates that the kingdom of God is not something outside the person but something that has to take root in the very heart of the person, through conversion. Conversion here means a total dedication of the heart, mind and being to and towards God. Nothing is to be hidden from God or kept outside the influence of God. There has to be the total surrender of oneself to God. It is people with such attitude of mind that welcome and admit the reign of God.

In the gospel story of today, we also see the call of the first apostles of Jesus. It is quiet significant that from the onset of his ministry, Jesus did not want to go alone. He called some people to be associates in his ministry of salvation for the world. The first associates he called were two sets of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. They were called away from their occupation. They were casting their nets to catch fish but henceforth they would be casting a different kind of net to be catching people/followers. They left what they were doing and followed Jesus. The radical nature of their response should not be overlooked or oversimplified. They were not poor beggars. They were meaningfully and gainfully employed in one of the most stable occupation of the area. They had a lot to lose by following him and yet they dropped everything and followed Jesus. James and John even left their father. This was an unusual and unacceptable move in a society where kinship ties were very strong and loyalty to one’s father was of paramount importance. Let it also be borne in mind that these men were called and that they did not initiate their own discipleship as follows of rabbis normally did.

            The call of the first apostles of Jesus today should remind us of our own call to be his disciples and fishers of people. What are we expected to do as the disciples of Jesus? We are called to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, whether in public ministry or in our private lives. We are to break the yoke that weighs people down and the rod that oppresses people. We are also to bring our brothers and sisters to Jesus, the source of joy. We are to usher in the light of Christ that would remove all shadows of darkness. Like St. Paul we are to work for unity, both in the Christian community and outside it.  But above all the disciple of Jesus will have to maintain a good relationship with the Master, Jesus, through continuous conversion. Continued conversion is facilitated by our nearness to the word of God and the sacrament of Eucharist. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye  

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33rd Sunday of the Year C 2016

May the good Lord grant you all the graces you need that will enable you to joyfully encounter him at the end of your life. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye
---------------------------------------                                                 DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Malachi 3, 19-20; 2 Thess 3, 7-12; Luke 21, 5-19: 33rd Sunday of the Year C 2016)
    Sometimes it appears that evil forces seem to prevail over the good and evil doers seem to be more powerful than sincere and honest people. For the unbelievers this does not constitute any problem. But for the believer it does, and they often ask: How is it that God watches things go so bad? How it is that God allows the just always to have the worse part? Is there no time when justice will be done? Such questions were posited by the Israelites of the time following the liberation from Babylon. This was a time, for various reasons, of deep crisis of delusion as the promises of the prophets seemed not to be fulfilled. It was a time of desperation that gave rise to religious infidelity, disorder in the area of morality and apostasy of the young ones 

       In the Old Testament the expression, the Day of the Lord appears in several places. The Day of the Lord is the time of fulfillment of all God’s promises and the realization of the destiny of the world. It is a time when justice will be revealed, when the scales of righteousness will be balanced, when good will be rewarded and evil punished and when evil will no longer prevail over good, nor wicked men over honest and sincere people. Initially, Israel thought that this day would be a time of vindication and, therefore, of rejoicing for them. Some saw it as the day of liberation, and therefore, of joy and happiness. The prophets, however, were announcing that the day would be that of anger and fury. In the first reading of today, Malachi describes the day thus: The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The prophets, like Malachi, set the Israelites straight on the issue, insisting that Israel itself would have to face the righteous anger of God. Israel will have to pay for its sinfulness; there would have to be just recompense. 

        The gospel reading of today, which describes the destruction of Jerusalem that took place 70 years after the death of Christ is to be considered as a prefiguration of the end of the world, of the final judgment and  the manifestation of the glory of Christ. To the admirers of the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus indicated that there would be a time when the magnificent temple would be so destroyed that no stone would lie on top of the other. The interlocutors of Jesus wanted to know when that would be and what signs would precede it. Jesus did not answer any of the questions but changed the discussion to what would happen at the end of the world and the glorious coming of his Kingdom.  Even in this case, he did not indicate time or signs that would precede the event. What is to be taken home from the gospel reading is that the end of the world and the glorious coming back of Jesus will surely take place but not so immediate and imminent. Jesus did, however, stressed two things. First, is the indication to his disciples, on what would be happening in the short and long run of the history of the church and  the world. They include civil issues like wars and revolutions; cosmic matters like earthquakes, pestilence and lack of essential commodities necessary for human life; political issues like persecution from the ruling class, or from ones members of the family. These are what  to be expected in the course of the life of any Christian, at any given time and epoch. The second area where Jesus stressed was: In such circumstances as we have above how should the disciple of Christ then, and the Christian  of today behave? This is at the heartbeat of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus and Christian of all ages should heed the following points: (a) He should not allow himself be swayed away from the correct path by false prophets who claim to be Messiahs or friends of the Messiah. The Christian is not to listen to them at all. (b) The Christian is  not to allow himself be terrorised by stories about wars, revolutions,  cosmic cataclysms; he is not to panic or be anxious   on account of what is happening but he is to confront the situation holding on to his Christian values. (c) The Christian is  to bear witness to his faith; the persecutions, threats and even the sacrifice of one’s life are occasions and opportunities for the Christian to express his love for Christ and the confidence he reposes on Christ. (d)  He has to persevere in his faith, constant in his faithfulness to the gospel and coherent in his life

     In practical terms and in summary, what the Lord Jesus wants from us and every Christian of every epoch is that we do not allow ourselves  to be  blocked or paralysed by any event at all, no matter how pernicious it may seem to be. Jesus has conquered all things on our behalf. We are not to live in inertia, or in disinterest in, or in alienation from, the concrete problems of this life. On the contrary, we are to get ourselves more involved, allowing our actions to be informed by the gospel values and courageously inserting ourselves in all ambients  of life, be it social, economic, political, cultural, just as the Vatican Council II document exhorts us (Gaudium et see no. 37).

      The problem of dis-engagement, inertia and parasite mentality resulting from the thought that everything finishes soon and that Christ’s glorious return was imminent was that of the church of Thessalonica (See 2nd Reading). Today we run the opposite risk of not engaging ourselves sufficiently in things that pertain to our Christian life. We neither think about the end of the world and the day of the judgment of the Lord, nor about the Day of the Lord. But taking the end of the world aside, our individual and personal lives are moving resolutely on its own towards their end and to particular judgment of God. We need to give this a serious thought so that within the time that is still at our disposal we would still be able to perform good works and transform not only our lives but also  the ambient in which we live. May the good Lord grant us his grace and wisdom in today’s Sunday Eucharistic celebration 

Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics by chukwubike oc 

14th Sunday of the Year C 2016

DOCTRINE AND FAITH 
(Isaiah 66, 10-14; Galatians 6,14-18; Luke 10, 1-12.17-20: 14th Sunday of the Year C  2016)

   

Last Sunday we reflected on the characteristics of good discipleship according to the Evangelist Luke. They include: abandoning all terrestrial security and detachment from material things; having God and the reign of His Kingdom as the primary and absolute value to which all other values, even familial ones, are subordinated to; and persevering in following Christ and living out our commitment to him without planning to change our minds or turning backwards.

   In today’s gospel, Jesus sends out his disciples to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God and they are to do so two and two in every city Jesus is to visit. It all means the disciples were to go before Jesus to prepare the way for him. They are to perform the type of work John the Baptist, the precursor Christ, did. Being disciples of Jesus, they must have received enough formation to fully execute this important function. Their formation consisted simply in the docile listening to the words of Jesus which, more or less, formed their faith and helped them to follow him convincingly. By virtue of our baptism we, Christians of today, are called to a life of intimate relationship with Christ. We need also to bear in mind that through our baptism we are called to be sent out in order to carry out a mission which is that of disposing our brothers and sisters to meet with Christ, thereby making them benefit from the gospel message of salvation. Disposing our brothers and sisters to meet Christ is mainly done through the witness of good Christian life. Seeing the Christian and watching him, people will discover what is particular and peculiar in him—transformation.  This transformation, what Paul terms the new creature is a direct result of the encounter of Jesus with the Christian. 

    In the gospel story today, Jesus himself indicates the characteristics of the disciple who becomes a missionary. First of all, he has to adopt the proverbial meekness of the lamb. Jesus says: I will send you like a lamb in the midst of wolves. The proclaimer of the gospel is to follow the path of meekness and not of violence. The mission is no doubt difficult and arduous, especially in the world of today that prefers violence and show of prepotence. Jesus’ use of lamb and wolf metaphor is ad rem. The forces are disproportional. The meekness or gentility of the lamb is counter-posed to the aggression or show of prepotence of the wolf. It would look like the battle is lost from the onset. It would be so, if the lamb is bereft of the power of Christ who sent him. We need to be very clear on this point. No matter how aggressive and violent wicked forces oppose good ones and no matter the extent of difficulties we encounter in the announcement of the gospel, Christ is with us and no evil force will overpower us. We need to trust, rely upon and confide in him and in the power of his grace. Jesus again recommends that in carrying on the work of proclamation, there should be no waste of time through unnecessary exchange of pleasantries; this is because the proclamation of the gospel is urgent and does not allow such delays. In the directive:  carry no purse, no haversack, no sandal, Jesus forbids the announcer of the gospel to provide any human or material security for himself. He is to be content with those things that are really necessary; he is also to live in poverty so that he would be free from superfluous things that could impede his movement and make his spirit less disposed for the announcement of the gospel. The announcer of the gospel is credible in so far as he does not rely on material and terrestrial means or human efficiency and to the extent he reposes confidence in divine providence. The next recommendation for the proclaimer of the gospel is that he has to be a man of peace. The peace meant here connotes interior peace, serenity of spirit, a gift of Christ which he won with his precious blood, a sign of the Kingdom of God and a sign of God’s power, especially the power of divine renewal. Whoever accepts the kingdom of God has peace. Indeed, the first greeting of the proclaimer of the gospel as he enters a home should be: Peace to this house…The next characteristic of the announcer of the gospel is that he should be a person who is attentive and sensitive to the necessities of people who are somehow weak and needy. He exhibits this character when he fulfils Jesus injunction: cure the sick. He is, therefore, to be a person who practices love/charity, beginning with the least and most needy.

    The disciples of Jesus’ time were sent to the places where Jesus was to visit. They acted as precursors of Jesus. The disciples of our own time are the baptized Christians of today including we Christians of Nigeria. Where are we to carry out our missionary work as precursors of Christ? Do we go afar field? or do we bring the venue nearer home? The common dictum holds that charity begins at home; however, it should not stop there. There are certainly members of our family or family circles, nuclear and extended family members, colleagues in work places, in schools, in market stalls etc that are sick in one way or the other and need to meet Christ so as to be healed. Do we through our meekness and gentleness bring them closer to Christ by showing them love, and trying to assuage their material, spiritual, emotional and psychological needs. It is necessary that we Christians of today,  no matter how low or high we are placed, know how to use every opportunity to give witness to our faith through simple and kind gestures of smiles, gentility, sympathy and favours which we show to people we come in contact with. What is more, life offers us wonderful opportunities of contact with diverse people in different environments where we can coherently and effectively bear witness to our faith. As we follow the injunction of Jesus to pray, so that the good Lord may send labourers to his harvest, may we personalize the prayer by requesting: Send me Lord! I am ready and willing to do your will and live out the recommendations of the discipleship as you stipulated in today’s gospel reading, in my circumstances of life.

 +John I. Okoye      

(GRAPHICS ADDED BY BLOGGER)