4th Sunday of Lent: Year A, 2017

May Christ, the light of the world, illumine your  mind not only to  perceive what is God's will for you at any given moment of your life but also to know how to be docile in fulfilling it. Happy Sunday!

+John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

                                 (Samuel 16,1.4.6-7.10-13; Ephesians 5,8-14; John 9,1-41: 4^th Sunday of Lent: Year A, 2017)

            In order to understand the significance of  the episode of the cure of the man born blind we need to call back  to mind what Jesus affirmed of himself in John 8,12:  I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. This miracle also bears out what is stated in the prologue to the Gospel of John about Jesus: (He is) the true light that lightens every one coming into the world (John 1,9). The cure of the man blind from birth appears like a sign, a proof and confirmation that Jesus is indeed the light. He gives the eyes of the body the capacity to see material things and endows the spirit the capacity to penetrate the supernatural world with the light of faith. Just as the man born blind acquired the power to see from the water of the pool of Siloam; in the same way every one baptized receives from Jesus the capacity to welcome the light of salvation.

The cure itself is not a restoration, for the man was born blind. It is more of a new creation. The ritual or process of cure was simple. Jesus spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay. Jesus, who is sent by God, sends the man to the pool named One who has been sent (Siloam). There, the waters wash away his blindness; by means of the waters he is made a new creation. How was this miracle received? How did people react to it? The episode shows different ways in which people reacted to Jesus’ cure of the person born blind. The first reaction to the cure comes from the neighbours who knew him as a begging blind man. They were astonished at his transformation and they inquired as to its source. The cured born blind man gives a report of the events that occurred along with the name of Jesus as the healer. The next reaction came from the Pharisees who questioned the cured born blind man. They were divided on their opinion of the righteousness of one who heals on the Sabbath. They, stubbornly, refuse to see or believe, despite the evidence before their eyes. The Pharisees, to avoid having to acknowledge Jesus’ divinity, rejected the only possible explanation for the miracle. They negated the evidence. They lack the disposition of leaving themselves be illumined and the sincerity required in search of truth. The reasons or causes, on the part of the Pharisees, for locking themselves up in their blindness, and this their rejection of the light of Christ can be seen to be three. The first is prejudice: They had it stamped in their mind that Jesus could not be the Messiah and, therefore, superior to Moses, Abraham and the prophets, for this would not agree the idea of the Messiah they had in mind. The second is selfish interest: This is nothing other than the fear of loosing their position of power and prestige. Jesus was indeed a threat to their selfishness. The third is presumption:  They believed to be seeing well, of being in the right position while they were indeed blind and guided blind people. The real blind person is the one who thinks that he sees and knows everything but never subjects himself or his reasoning to thorough scrutiny. Prejudice, selfish interest and presumption are also reasons of incredulity among people today.

The reactions of the parents of the blind from birth are awkward. They were afraid to accord any type of claim to Jesus lest they lose their standing in the religious community. Unlike his parents, the beneficiary of the miracle, the born blind man, boldly proclaims that his cure is evidence that Jesus is from God. He progressed from simply knowing the name of the one who cured him to professing that Jesus is a prophet, then to proclaiming that he comes from God. The final stage in his profession of faith occurs when he encountered Jesus a second time. When Jesus reveals his identity to him, the one whose eyes have been opened attested to his faith in Jesus and accorded to him the kind of reverent adoration that belongs to God. 
    What is the implication of the episode of the cure of the man born blind for the Christian of today? The Christian is thankful for the illumination from God he got through his faith. Baptism is the sacrament of this illumination. Baptism first of all plants faith firmly in the soul. This faith disposes the soul to welcome and accept supernatural truths and realities. Therefore, without faith there is not even an iota of illumination. It is, therefore, necessary to be informed about faith. First and foremost, though faith is a gift from God, the Christian must work for its increase, deepening, maturation, progression and perfection. The search for firm possession of faith is on-going. However, it is to be borne in mind that search for faith does not exclude difficulties, trials and moments of darkness and uncertainties. What will be helpful to us are the lessons from today’s gospel: assiduous and docile listening to the word of God and allowing ourselves to be illumined and guided by the light of Christ. There has to be a movement from seeing with the light of faith to doing guided by faith. The second point about faith is that if God, through Christ, draws us out of darkness into light and gives us faith it is in order that we will be able to conduct our lives like the children of light. This is what Paul teaches us in today’s 2nd reading. The Christian will have to exhibit in his/her life complete goodness, righteousness and truth. These qualities are merely symbolic of the complete transformation of character this light can effect. Goodness is a quality of moral excellence, it is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5,22). Although righteousness is a divine attribute, humans share in it as long as they live their lives in harmony with God’s plan. Truth connotes sincerity, genuineness, the absence of sham or pretence. These three qualities describe a life lived openly in the light that comes from Christ. The third important fact about the gift of faith is that it often gives rise to opposition and discomfort. The case of the person born blind of today’s gospel is typical; his parents did not even support him; he was expelled from the community, marginalized and isolated. Let us therefore, be thankful today as we celebrate the Eucharist for the gift of faith and the illumination it brings about in our lives. May we also ask for the grace, courage to bear witness to this faith and light of Christ when the occasion comes about in our family, committee of friends, colleagues circles. May we not follow the example of the Pharisees, nor that of the parents of the person born blind but that of the cured born blind man in his courageous profession of faith in Christ Jesus.  Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye 

pictures and graphics by chukwubike 

26th Sunday of the Year C 2016

May God bestow on you the grace to always help the poor in our society. Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Amos 6, 1.4-7; 1 Tim 1, 6, 11-16; Luke 16, 19-31: 26^th Sunday of the Year C 2016)

 Prophet Amos condemned, in the first reading, not wealth itself but the complacency that often accompanies wealth. He attacks vehemently the confidence of salvation the leaders of Samaria and Judea reposed on the official places of worship (Mount Sion and Mount Garizim) while at the same time transgressing social justice. They were of the opinion that the mere ritual performance of rites without the attendant piety and conversion of heart would bring them nearer to God. The prophet was also distressed because these affluents entertained themselves with wantonness while the social structure of the northern kingdom of Israel disintegrated: They drink wine by the bowlful, and use the finest oil for anointing themselves, but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all. The profligacy of wealth in the face of social breakdown was evidence of their self-indulgence and complacency. The particular aspect of their lives that he censured was their habit of self-indulgence in feasts. Amos criticized not only their eating posture, but also their menu. Their diet of meat was a rarity in ancient Israel. The prophet’s condemnation could not have been more severe. He pronounced Woe upon the people. Only funeral dirges begin in this way. The use of such denunciation here denoted the degree of the prophet’s disdain. He believed that the degenerate nature of the wealthy indicated that real life had died in them and so a dirge was appropriate. However, their affluent lifestyle would be cut short, and in the ironic turn of events of those who always thought of themselves first would be the first to be deported into exile.

    The parable which Jesus narrated in the gospel reading has two protagonists: the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus contrasted the lives of these two people. The wealth of the first man was seen in his manner of dressing, style and the quality of his meals. He lived in luxury every day, enjoyed sumptuous meals and a home that boasted of a large gate. By contrast, the poor man Lazarus, whose name is the Greek form of Eliezer (My God is my help) was destitute. He laid begging at the gate of the rich man, hoping for crumbs from his table. His condition was so debased that the scavenging dogs licked his sores.

    At the death of both protagonists, there was reverse of fortunes. Lazarus was taken to a higher, honoured and blessed position, beside Abraham while the rich man descended into the place of torments. Why was Lazarus rewarded while the rich man punished? Was there merely a bias of poverty? The answer is found in the understanding of covenant responsibility. Both men were somehow associated with Abraham and, therefore, belong to the people of Israel. Abraham told the rich man that his brothers had Moses and the prophets, a reference to the religious tradition of his people. From this we can conclude that these two protagonists were bound together by the covenant, even though their social conditions were diametrically opposed to each other. This means that they had responsibilities toward each other, particularly the rich man towards the poor man. The story shows that he ignored these responsibilities. He was indifferent to the needs of the covenant brother who laid at his gate. The fact that he called the poor man by name when he asked Abraham to send him refreshing water indicated he was not ignorant of him. When he asked that Lazarus be sent to warn his brothers to change their way of life (metanoia), he was told that they had the same religious tradition he has had, a tradition that clearly charged the wealthy to meet the needs of the poor. If they were not attentive to that tradition, they would not heed a resurrected Lazarus. When he was alive and in a position to help Lazarus, he disregarded him. At this point in time that he was in need, he asked that Lazarus first comfort him, and then warn his brothers. Even in death the man was self -serving, still selfish.

    The lesson of the parable is very clear. We are to fulfill our responsibilities toward our needy neighbours. Jesus teaches us, through the story of the good Samaritan, that anyone in need is our neighbour whom we must help. By the depiction of the general and last judgment in chapter 25 of Mathew’s gospel, Jesus teaches that whatever good we do or fail to do to our needy neighbour is done or not done to him. So in our lives as baptized Christians we are not to allow any separation between us and our needy and suffering neighbours, brothers and sisters. We need to meet them where they are, take care of them and take responsibility over them.

    There is another important lesson, from the concluding part of the parable, emanating from the answer that Abraham gave to the rich man’s request that Lazarus should go and warn his brothers: If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead. What does this boil down to? Even the most impressionable miracle will not convert a person if he is not attentive and docile to the word of God. What the miracle does is only to provide a surprising and admirable effect and nothing more and does not lead to conversion. In order to be converted and turn one’s mind and heart undivided toward the Lord, it is necessary to listen to the word of God in the Old and New Testaments. It is necessary to heed the word of Jesus who calls for conversion, particularly through this parable in which he urges us to show charity to any needy neighbour, eliminate spontaneously all traces of selfishness from our hearts and take care of people, especially the needy. Listening to the word of God should not awaken in us only emotional feelings but also lead us to concretely and effectively take responsibility of our suffering sisters and brothers. It is also to be borne in mind, as one of the lessons of today’s gospel reading, that it is on this side of life that we can effectively work out our salvation. After death, we would not be able to effect any change just as the rich in the gospel reading was incapable of achieving anything after death. As we have the opportunity now, let us earnestly use it so as to avoid any everlasting regrets in the future, beyond the grave. May we therefore in today’s Eucharistic celebration pray the good Lord to bestow on us all the graces we need to take care of our needy neighbours. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye. 

(grafics by chukwubike)

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B......DOCTRINE AND FAITH

                                (Isaiah 50, 5-9a; James 2, 14-18; Mark 8, 27-35; 24^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B)

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah deals on the suffering servant of God who endured much suffering in the hands of his persecutors. He willingly offered his back to those who flogged him and his beard to those who pulled at it. He did not hide his face from those who poured out insults on him.  He was indeed humiliated. His pains and humiliation notwithstanding, the servant still had great trust and confidence in God in whom he firmly hoped would assist and deliver him.

 The Person of the suffering servant is given various interpretations. The New Testament writers see in him the Person of Jesus Christ. As Jesus did his ministry and worked miracles among his people he was conscious of his identity as the Messiah but did not want this to be divulged among the people. One day, he wanted to find out from his disciples whom the people took him for. Some thought he was either John the Baptist or any of the Old Testament prophets. When Jesus wanted the opinion of his own disciples, Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. Christ then took the opportunity to inform the disciples on the type of messiah he was. He was not, as they all expected, the triumphant political messiah. Rather he was the type of messiah who would be humiliated, suffer and die on the cross. This idea of suffering did not go down well with the disciples, especially Peter. But Jesus reprimanded him and corrected the notion of the type of messiah he thought Jesus was. Thereafter, Jesus went on to teach about discipleship: If anyone wishes to follow me, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me. By this statement, it was clear that Jesus’ messiah-ship was that of the cross and whoever was following Jesus for material gain was backing the wrong horse. The disciple after the heart of Jesus will have to adhere to three standards. First, he has to renounce himself. This means that he has to stop thinking of himself, making himself, selfishly, the centre of the world forgetting every other person completely. If one is to be a good disciple of Jesus, he has to do away with all forms of selfishness. The second duty the intending disciple of Jesus would undertake is to take up his cross. To take up the cross does not mean just accepting the difficulties of life with equanimity, rather, it means to give oneself, completely, to the service of the other person just as Christ himself shed his last blood on the cross in the spirit of total self-giving for the salvation of mankind. To carry the cross is, therefore, to share in this type of total love for others. The would-be disciples also should be ready to follow Christ. This does not just mean taking Christ as model. It rather means, following him by sharing in his choice and participating in his plan and programme. What this means in practical terms is living one’s life for love of others in Christ. Jesus further went on to teach: Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake and that of the kingdom will gain it. This principle reminds us that the vocation of man is to love God who, out of love, created man in order to communicate to him his love and render him capable of living in love.

In the second reading, James indicates that true faith has to manifest itself in good works. It means then that our faith is to be concretised in practical help we render to our needy neighbours. Our love for them should not end in wishing them well, but in practical gestures that alleviate their pains and suffering. This teaching of James, in a way, corresponds to Jesus’ in today’s gospel. Our faith in, and profession of Jesus as the Messiah should set us free from our selfishness and enable us to participate in Christ’s heroic, selfless and total self-giving in  love for the salvation of mankind. We celebrate this maximum sacrifice of love of Christ in the Eucharist. May the Eucharist, mystery of faith, we celebrate, therefore, make us grow in the knowledge and experience of Jesus, the suffering Messiah. May the Eucharist, mystery of incredible love of Jesus and the sacrament of his total gift of self, also make us grow in love towards God and our brothers and sisters. Happy Sunday!+John I. Okoye

17th Sun. of Ordinary Time, Year B, 2015

(2 Kings 4,42-44; Ephesians 4,1-6; John 6,1-15: 17^th Sun. of Ordinary Time, Year B, 2015)

In today’s Gospel and first reading, we find striking common features: God’s benevolent act of feeding his people; the disproportionate ratio of those to be fed and the food available; miraculous multiplication of the food such that there were some left over after the feeding of the people and more interestingly, the fact that what was multiplied to feed the people did not fall from heaven but rather came from an individual. Of all these, perhaps the last feature has tremendous message for us in understanding Divine Providence.

            Consistent with his nature as a loving Father, God does not lose sight of the need of His creatures, even the smallest.  He provides for their well being and does this often in an amazing manner.  Divine providence ensures the sustenance and perpetuity of creation.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say in this regard, “…the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history”. (cf. CCC 303). The miraculous episode of the multiplication, in both the first reading and the Gospel, teaches us to have faith in Divine Providence. In the first reading, the servant of Elisha, and in the Gospel, both Philip and Andrew were skeptical that the little food they had would satisfy the hunger of the people who were with them, in a deserted area, far away from where one could buy enough food, presuming the availability of money. We know what happened in both passages.  A message that is constant in the whole Bible comes to the fore: Nothing is impossible to God! What is impossible to man is chicken feed for God (Matt 19, 26; Mark 10, 27; Luke 1, 37; 18, 27). What it boils down to is that we, weak men and women, should recognize our limitations, ask for help from God and trust Him.

            Even though providence is all God’s doing, there is, however, a human side to it in the sense that God wills that man cooperates with him as secondary causes to bring about the full realization of his will.  The Catechism puts it succinctly: “God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out he also makes use of his creature’s cooperation.  This is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God’s greatness and goodness.  For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of cooperating in the accomplishment of his plan”. (CCC 306) 

            The man from Baal-shalishah in the first reading of today and the small boy in the gospel offered what they had, which were in turn, miraculously multiplied to feed the people.  They became willful cooperators to bring about the realization of divine providence.  Today, God continues to give us the privilege of becoming secondary causes of the solicitude of Divine Providence.  The choice is ours: to either cooperate with God’s benevolence by bringing up the little we have so that others can benefit from it and experience God’s loving care; or to keep that which we have to ourselves selfishly and refuse to make it available. Selfishness is the root cause of all the evils we have in our society; be it moral, or physical. Selfishness has to be substituted by the spirit of solidarity and sacrificial love for the neighbour in need. By eschewing selfishness and embracing solidarity we would be pitching camp alongside the solicitude of Divine Providence. But if, however, we choose to remain in the side of selfishness, we can never put a stop to Divine Providence. It is just that we lose the opportunity and privilege to share in the realization of Divine Providence when selfishness, covetousness, avarice and the like prevent us from opening our hands and letting others share what we have.

The multiplication of bread and fish in today’s gospel reading by Jesus is a symbol, prefiguration and anticipation of the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, by which we have the multiplication of the Body and Blood of Jesus for the spiritual nurture of all who receive Him in the Sacramental Communion. By his command at the institution of the Eucharist: Do this in memory of me, he providentially assures of his presence and the provision of spiritual nourishment for our souls. It is this spiritual nourishment, which Jesus provides, that will enable us strengthen our Christian virtues especially that of sacrificial love, which serves as the foundation of unity, concord and peace. Let us pray that participating in the Eucharistic meal, which is daily multiplied in our altars, we may obtain the graces we need to comport ourselves in a manner worthy of the vocation we have received! Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye