REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL OF SUNDAY WEEK 31 Year A (ALL SAINTS) BY REV FR JULIAN O EKEH

 

I AM BECOMING A SAINT

(Matthew 5:1-12a)

A teacher entered a classroom in a mission school and asked the students what they will be in the future. Some said Politicians, others medical doctors, some others chose to be Engineers, pastors and so on. But a particular student answered what shocked the teacher. He said: I am becoming a saint.

This is indeed what we are all called to be. In whichever profession we find ourselves, we have received the divine mandate to sanctify what goes on there. Thus, the saints are those who were professionals in different works of life, but they made these professions holy and made themselves holy in undertaking their different life roles.

Today is the solemnity of All Saints. It is a special day in the Church. We are celebrating our fellow human beings who lived like us, in this world of ours, in different ages and time. We are celebrating excellence. We are celebrating people who stood out and stood firm on holy ground. Those who, like Moses, removed their Sandals to stand on the mountain of the Lord, who today with millions of angels rejoice in the heavenly Jerusalem.

We are celebrating Ndiche nke nzuko. They are ndi puru iche nke Chukwu. They lived in the world with their contemporaries, but they lived a remarkable life of uprightness. Ndi iche are those who refused to be stained. They refused to be corrupted.

They are our parents and ancestors. Some were canonized, while myriads were never canonized. We celebrate all of them today. They washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and lived with the beatific vision in view and today their names are written in the book of life. Some were apostles, some were martyrs, some virgins, some pastors, some palm wine tappers like my grandfather, some were farmers, some traders, some choristers, some husbands, some wives, some youths, some soldiers, some judges.

The gospel of today gave us the qualities that made them to receive the blessings from the Lord. They were poor in spirit, they suffered, they were hungry without palliatives and never became thieves, their greatest hunger was righteousness and justice. They never stopped protesting against sin because of discovered goodies.

They were merciful and not brutal. They were peacemakers and not avenging armies. They were persecuted and called names by their colleagues for their refusal to join them in evil. But they have their rewards in heaven.

Lessons

Be A Living Saint

Saints are not made after death as people erroneously believe. Sainthood is a lived life. Be a saintly musician, not a sinful one. Be a saintly footballer not a bad one. Be a saintly actor not sinful one. Be a Holy Priest or Pastor and not a bad one.

Can people look back after your life and thank God for the gift of your person to humanity or rejoice that your evil has come to end? 

Saints are not Superhumans

Yes, saints are those faced with the ordinariness of day-to-day activities, the joys and sorrows.

They are men who fell, they failed severally too. But they rose as many times as they fell. Then they took the decision never to fall again. They sinned but they confessed and returned to the state of grace and died in the state of grace.

They were stained before they became saints. If they were not stained there won't have been need to wash in the blood of the lamb.

Let your humanness and weakness not weigh you down. You can become a saint.

They are our Role Models

St Paul will say, 'imitate me as I imitate Christ'. These numberless saints tried their best to live the life of the beatitude in different ways. We should make them our role models since they modelled their lives after Christ. Who is your model? Don't make an Antichrist your role model? The saints are the 'Pro Christs' we should keep their lifestyles as our model.

Spiritual Excellence

We should endeavor to excel in greater values. The beatitude Jesus released today teaches us how to make heaven out of our everydayness.  Let us not use our lacks, the persecutions, the sufferings and even the joys as excuses to look away from our heavenly target. Heaven should be our only goal.

Remembering Heaven

Remembering heaven will help me on my journey of becoming a saint.  I will realize that everything does not end here. I will be aware that every opportunity paves way for my sainthood. Remembering heaven will make a Governor know that He can make heaven through just a tenure. It can challenge a policeman to stand out in the midst of the many forms of corruption associated with the force. It will make each and everyone of us put God first in all we do, seeking to do not our will or the will of people but the will of God.

Are we becoming saints or becoming all the more stained?

Is it possible to have saints in this generation? Has God any hope among us? To live for us must be Christ and to die gain. When we live this way, we are truly becoming saints.

Let us Pray

Dear Lord, we want to live saintly lives. We want to answer that universal call to holiness that you made in a more personal way. A lot of trials and temptations are around us. The world and its forces continue to draw us. We need your grace to be in the world and not of the world. Help us to become living saints touching lives in a positive way here on earth to be united with you for ever in heaven, through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday and Solemnity of All Saints.

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh