4th Sunday of Lent Year C (Laetare Sunday): Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

 I will rise and go back to the Father

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Readings: 1st: Jos 5:9-12; Ps 33; 2nd: I Cor 5:1-21; Gos: Lk 15:1-3.11-23

Today, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is called Laetare Sunday. It got this name from the entrance hymn of today’s liturgy which is taken from Isaiah 66:10-11. It says, “Laetare Jerusalem”, meaning “Rejoice, O Jerusalem.” It continued, “Be joyful, all who were mourning; exult and be satisfied.” So, the church invites us at this middle of the Lenten season to rejoice, to express joy and hope because Christ will reconcile us to the Father through His death on the Cross.

It is on this note of joy in the Lord that the first reading of today gave us the account of the joyful celebration of the Passover by the people of Israel in the promised land after they have been rescued and liberated by God from all their enemies. Theirs’ was not a freedom or victory won by their own hands and strength, but by God. Thus, they kept the fourteenth day of the month as a day of commemorating the great deeds of the Lord in their history.

The second reading of today concentrated on this theme of reconciliation with God: the reason why we have been told to rejoice today. It tells us that God reconciled us and the world to Himself through Christ, not counting our trespasses against us anymore. Having done this for us, God has now appointed us as ministers and ambassadors for Christ, entrusting us the ministry of reconciling the rest of humanity to Himself. Therefore, dear friends, our old life of sin has passed away, and a new life has begun in us: the new life of Christ, the new life of Holiness, of love, of peace, of charity, of kindness, and of service towards others.

Dear friends, St. Paul informs us that in Christ we have become a new creation. He, therefore, urges us to always get reconciled ourselves with God every day. This means that we should always seek the sacrament of penance as frequent as possible so that we will not have any stain of sin in us. Whenever we realize that we have fallen short of the glory of God, we are urged to run back to God’s friendship, grace and glory by going to confession, so that we will continue to be a new creation in Christ.

The gospel reading presents us the story of a son who fell short of the glory of his father, and how he ran back to the glory of his father when he realized his sinful state. There are many actors in this parable. What each of the actors did can be wonderful lessons for us.

In the first place, we have the prodigal son who allowed himself to be led astray by his youthful exuberance, his ambitions and the influence of his friends. He wanted freedom without limit, enjoyment without limit, parties and highlife without end. To get all these, he departed from the presence of his father, because he felt that living in the presence of his father was a hindrance to his aspirations. In the same way, some people do not come to church/God’s presence because they think that identifying with Christianity will hinder them from living the kind of life that their heart yearns. Some youths also do not feel comfortable staying at home because they want absolute freedom, the kind of freedom to do whatever they want and whenever or wherever they want it.

It is good to note that as soon as the prodigal son left the presence of his father, his problem started: he started losing his life and his resources day by day because he has left where there is abundance. Dear friends, whenever we depart from the presence of God, we expose our life to attacks from the devil and to a big lose. It is only in the presence of God that abundance and restoration are assured. In fact, it is good we know that whenever the devil wants to deal with someone, one of the first things he does is to pull that person out of the presence of God, because in God’s presence, protection is assured; he uses many tactics to draw that person away from God’s friendship and grace. The devil often does this by leading that person into sin. So, anytime we are facing temptations, it is good we realize that the devil is trying to pull us out of God’s grace and friendship in order to deal decisively with us. That was exactly what he did to the prodigal son. He pulled him out his father’s presence, led him to a very distant land and dealt with him there.

When the prodigal son came back to his senses, after many years of suffering and want, he told himself that he will go back to his father and ask him for forgiveness and get reconciled with him again. This is what the church expects from each of us this Lent. Dear friends, let us depart from our sinful affairs, from our sinful relationships, from our sinful attitudes, from that place of sin and go back to our father through the sacrament of reconciliation and ask him for mercy.

In the case of the prodigal son, his father was already standing at the gate waiting for his return. In our case, God the Father opens his hands everyday to embrace us, to cleans us of our sins. We have a loving Father, therefore, let us cast away all shame and pride and go back to him. No matter the gravity of our sins, He will forgive them all. The father of the prodigal son forgave him and restored him to his former place of glory. God our father will forgive us if we ask him for forgiveness, and he will also restore us to our former glory.      

Having shown us the images of the loving/forgiving father and the repentant son, the parable turns our minds to the image of the elder son in this story. Though this elder son did well in his service to his father, the kind of unforgiving and self-righteous heart that he has is what the church invites us to avoid. He has a heart that wants a sinner to die in his sins. This is not the life of a Christian. By presenting the image of the first son to us, the parable invites us to shun self-righteousness and self-justification, especially the attitude of wishing that sinners die in their sins.

Dear friends, we are all sinners saved by the grace of God. Let us admit the truth that we are an assembly of sinful people. Let us always acknowledge our sins and return to God as the prodigal son did. If we do this, we will receive God’s forgiveness and experience Jesus’ Personal Presence in the Holy Eucharist as our loving and forgiving God.

Peace be with you. 

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

3rd Sunday of Lent Year C: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

 He is a God of mercy and of justice

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Readings: 1st: Ex 3, 1-8.13-15; Ps 102; 2nd I Cor 10, 1-6. 10-12; Gos: Lk 13, 1-9

Dear friends in Christ, the story of the first reading of today which showed God’s mandate to Moses to go to Egypt to rescue the Israelites demonstrates that we have a God who is not far from us in times of pain and sorrows, a God who listens to our cries of pain and comes to our rescue. The name of God as contained in this reading makes evident these wonderful qualities or nature of our God. He said His name is ‘I am who I Am’. It is a name that shows God as both transcendent and immanent: a God who is in the past, in the present and in the future; a God who is always close to His people.

This wonderful God, through the instrumentality of Moses, brought Israel out of Egypt and settled her in the promised land. To place Israel in the promised land, God displaced, and sometimes times destroyed, many nations: Egyptians, Moabites, Amalekites, Jebusites, Jericho etc. God equally provided the material needs of Israel as they journeyed in the desert to the land of promise. On Israel, God lavished His graces and blessings. What God demanded in return from Israel was obedience, true worship and justice among themselves. Unfortunately, the people of Israel were unable to reciprocate the goodness of God by living according to His demands. Thus, on several occasions, after several severe warnings from the prophets and obstinacy to God’s messages on the part of Israel, God knocked Israel hard on the head, allowing her to suffer several kinds of punishments under powerful neighbours.

Like the people of Israel, God has lavished us with many precious gifts. He also intervened in many difficult times of our lives and rescued us. What God expects from us in return is a life of holiness, of obedience to his commandments and love towards our neighbours. The question is this: are we living up to these expectations?

In the gospel of today, the same line of story is evident. It tells us about the unproductive fig tree and the patience of the farmer. A fig tree bears fruits three times a year and also consumes a lot of soil nutrients wherever it is planted. But the fig tree in the gospel of today has enjoyed the care of the farmer for three good years without bearing fruits. What a patient and caring farmer. Now, as we saw in this parable, the anger of the farmer erupted like fire, and he demanded that the fig tree be cut down. What does this parable tell us? It tells us that the God of love and mercy is also the God of justice; that the God who loves us will also punish us if we fail to reciprocate His love by living up to His expectations; it tells us that to whom much is given, much is expected. Dear friends, God has given us life, He has given us good health and wonderful opportunities in this world, if we fail to make good use of these precious gifts for the praise of His name, we attract His anger.

It was the intervention or supplication of the servant of the farmer in today’s gospel that saved the life of the fig tree for another one year. So, a second chance was given to the fig tree to right its wrongs. Dear friends, our God is a God who never fails to give a second chance to his children. This Lent may be another second chance given to us by God to make right our past wrongs, and to start bearing fruits of love, compassion, peace, help to those in need; a chance to stop all forms of impurity, unforgiveness, lustful desires, and hatred towards others.

It is, however, sad that when God gives us a second chance, we take it as an outcome of our smartness. When people do bad and get away with it, they praise themselves for being smart or for having strong connections. Dear friends, it is good to know that those times we thought we were smart, those times we thought our strong connections are working, God was actually giving us another chance to stop evil. We must know that this other chance has a limit. The mercy of God tarries, but the more it tarries, the more severe our punishment becomes.

In the opening part of the Gospel of today, Jesus informed His audience that if they fail to repent of their evil ways, they will perish. Many people may find it difficult to believe that a merciful God used such a harsh tone, but the reality is that this God of mercy is also the God of justice. In His justice, He punishes us when we fail to make good use of His patience and His ocean of mercy.

In the second reading, Paul pointed to Israel’s ordeal in the desert and reminded the people of Corinth that many of their fathers died in the desert because of their failure to live lives pleasing to God. Then, he gave them - and us as well - this all-important lesson that the story of the failures of Israel in the desert was written as a warning to us so that we do not make the same mistakes they made. He said, “Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.” He continued, “Now, these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.”

Dear friends, we would not like to make the same mistakes of the people of the past in their relationship with God. We would not like to be punished by God. So, let us make good use of God’s patience (our second chance) this Lent. Let us drink from the ocean of God’s mercy, purifying ourselves of all sins, so that the justice and punishment of God do not catch up with us.

Happy Sunday to you and your family.

Fr Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 

 

2nd Sunday of Lent Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

 Beatific Vision: Reward for listening and obeying Christ’s voice

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Readings: 1st: Gen 15, 5-12. 17; Ps 26; 2nd Phil 3, 17. 4, 1; Gos: Lk 9, 28-36

Dear friends in Christ, the gospel of today presents us a glimpse of the glory of Easter and the splendor of heaven through the transfiguration experience. I was thrilled by the reaction of Peter after beholding the glory of Christ and the magnificent beauty of the heavenly home. He wished to remain on that mountain forever, enjoying the sight of the glory of God; he wished the experience continued unending; he forgot his family, friends, and the rest of the disciples, all he wanted was God’s glory. But let us remember that what he saw was just a glimpse of that glory that awaits all of us.

Dear friends, in reality, what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined is what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9).

Reacting to the request of Peter to stay on the mountain forever enjoying the vision of heaven, the voice of God the Father came from the cloud and said, “this is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”  That voice of the Father simply informed Peter that if he wants to enter the glory of heaven whose glimpse he beheld on the mountain, he must listen to the voice of Jesus Christ and follow His teachings.

Hence, my dear friends, listening to the voice of Jesus and doing what He commands us have become the conditions for inheriting the beautiful beatific vision which lies at the end of our earthly existence. Jesus went to the mountain in the gospel of today to discuss with Moses and Elijah the type of death he would have to die for the salvation of the world.

Every lent, the voice of Christ, through the church, calls us to take a break from the normal activities of life and dedicate some time to prayer, fasting and arms-giving so that our lives will be renewed and prepared for inheriting the glorious home. It is the voice that is calling us this lent to deny ourselves of some comforts and pleasures in order to share in the suffering of Christ and that of others. It is the voice that is calling us to love more, to forgive more, to say no to immoral desires. It is the voice that is calling us this Lent to say no to drunkenness, lies, gossips, pride, hatred, and other sins. In summary, this voice is calling us to the way of the cross, to take up our cross and follow Christ.

If we listen to this voice and follow its demands, if we carry our cross and follow where this voice is leading us, that glory which Peter beheld on the mountain will be ours at the end of our lives. So, between us and the glory of heaven lies the demand, the duty to listen and obey the voice of Jesus.

In the first reading, God made a covenant with Abraham. In that covenant, God promised Abraham that his descendants will be like the number of the stars in the skies. But, between that wonderful promise to Abraham and its fulfilment lay Abraham’s task of obeying every command from God and accepting their attendant hardships. It was obedience to the God’s commands, even in the most difficult and uncertain moments, that helped Abraham to reach what God prepared for him.

Dear friends, a careful look at the covenant between Abraham and God, and the actual situation of Abraham at the time of the covenant will show us the level of trust Abraham had in God. At the time of the covenant, both Abraham and his wife were already old and had no child (his wife had passed the age of childbearing), but they believed in the faithfulness of God. Of course, many people would look at the choice made by Abraham to remain faithful to God as a foolish choice, but his obedience to the voice of God paid off. Same way, Christians who trust in God, Christians who have decided to obey the voice of Jesus this Lent and to follow the recommendation of the church for a Lenten season may appear as failures in the eyes of men, but, in reality, they will be blessed by God.

In the second reading, St Paul informs us that there are many voices in the world that have the goal of distracting Christians from listening to the voice of Christ. He tells us that those who promote these contrary voices have already made themselves enemies of the cross of Christ and, therefore, they teach things that are against the teachings of Jesus as the standard for our world. According to St Paul, these people glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things. They teach people to adopt antilife policies and immoral lifestyle as best ways to enjoy life. Their project is always to promote things that are against the Christian life. These voices are heard everyday in our world. Each day, these voices want to rise higher above the calm voice of Jesus, they have misled many people.

However, my dear people, St Paul reminds us that we are citizens of heaven. It will, therefore, be unfortunate if those who are hoping to go to heaven are obeying the voices that contradict the teachings that come from heaven. Those who hope to enjoy the beautiful home of heaven, that home which Peter saw on the mountain, should listen to the voice of Jesus who has come down from heaven and obey it; this is our task this lent. Let us pray to listen obediently to the voice of Jesus and to shun all voices that contradict the teachings of Jesus.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

1st Sunday of Lent Year C: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

 Temptation: knowing when and how the devil strikes

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Readings (1st: Deut 26, 4-10; Ps: 90; 2nd: Rom 10, 8-13; Gos: Lk 4, 1-13)

Dear friends in Christ, the church ushers us into the period of Lent every year with the story of the temptation of Jesus. With this story, the church informs us that as we embark on the forty days journey of prayer, fasting and arms-giving to suffer with Christ in order to rise with Him, the devil will lurk around us to distract us from our mission, just as he attempted to distract Jesus from His God-given mission.

One of the problems of our time is the inability to realize when we are being tempted by the devil. So, the temptation of Jesus teaches us the various avenues the devil can take while tempting us, and the best ways to conquer him using the examples of Jesus. Let us, therefore, treat the temptation of Jesus in the desert step by step.

In the first temptation, the devil asked Jesus to turn stones into bread. The devil knew that Jesus was very hungry after fasting for forty days, so, he came with the suggestion of what Christ needed at that time. Dear friends, the devil will not tempt you with what you don’t need, he will always come with the idea of helping you to fill in the void in your life.

In this first temptation, the devil was like telling Jesus: “look, your God has failed to provide your needs. Why still wait upon him? Use what you have and get what you need.” This is a temptation to lose confidence in God’s providence for us; a call to do things our own way anytime we lack material means of survival; a call to rate God’s care for us only by our material success. It is a temptation that touches on man’s relationship with material things; that push to make the satisfaction of material needs the priority in every relationship.

We see this kind of temptation every day of our life. We see or feel it when that voice tells us that the only priority of our life should be the provision of our material needs by all means. To many of our girls, that voice tells them: “use your body to provide your material needs, hunger will kill you if you wait on God.” To our young boys, it tells them: “all your mates are making it through yahoo plus, join them, the end will surely justify the means, people will celebrate you.” To our businessmen, it tells them: “inflate the prices of your goods, you have the market control; make your gains, this is your time; prudence is for the weak minds, God’s time will never come.” To our politicians, it tells them: “join their evil groups and win the position first, being a good man will not help you.”

We also feel this temptation when that voice tells us that we have all it takes to enrich or satisfy ourselves materially, so, we don’t need to believe in God. In fact, that voice tells some people that God does not exist, since they have all their material needs. This temptation has led many people who are materially comfortable to think that faith in God is absurd. In this type of temptation, the devil aims to make us materially bound.

But the response of Christ has a lesson for us. Jesus reminded the devil that our mission in this world in not just that of the satisfaction of the material needs of our bodies, but that we must tend towards heaven in all that we do. Hence, we must satisfy our material needs according to the teachings of the Word of God.

In the second temptation, the devil told Jesus that all the riches of the world belong to him and that he will give them to Jesus if he (Jesus) bows down and worships him. Friends, the devil is the father of all lies. In this temptation, he was laying claims on things that do not belong to him. We know that God is the author of all that is good and the creator of the universe. Nothing good comes from the devil; what comes from the devil only appears to be good, but they are full of evil. So, in this temptation is the call to compromise faith in God in order to be rewarded. It is a temptation that hinges on the thirst or lust for power and control. It is a temptation to throw away good morals and Christian principles or teachings and, then, follow the whims of the world in order to be relevant in the world or be accepted by others. We have seen this type of temptation in many programmes of this world. It is true that many activities or programmes in our world are geared towards luring Christians to renounce their teachings in order to get financial grants and aids, business connections and friends, recognition, promotion and power in the society etc. Many people go to the extent of mocking Christians who say ‘no’ to the fantasies of this world.

The response of Jesus to this second temptation showed us that our allegiance in this world is only to God, and, therefore, we should not bow down to any other spiritual or worldly force.

In the third temptation, the devil asked Jesus to jump down from the high mountain since God will help him. To back up his claims, he quoted the bible. It is good we know that the devil can also substantiate his demands from us or his claims with a biblical citation. In this temptation, the devil wanted Christ to accept cheap popularity and false security in God. It is a temptation that touches our relationship and faith in God. In this temptation, there is a suggestion to have a false or perverse relationship with God. A kind of relationship that makes God an idol in our hands, something we can control the way we like. The devil asked Jesus to take an action that will make God indebted to him. It is a temptation of putting God to test. We see this type of temptation when that voice tells us that since we believe in God, no harm will come to us even if we are careless with our lives; it comes when that voice tells you that you don’t need to study for exams, that all you need to do is to pray and you will surely pass your exams; we feel this temptation when that voice tells us not to plan our lives very well, not to take care of our health, not to think of our future because God is our father and he will do everything for us. Dear friends, we are to collaborate with God by not putting ourselves at risk.

The devil is very wicked. When he succeeds in pushing people to have false security in God, he stands by the side and waits for them to fail. When then eventually fail, he will creep out of his hole and tell them: “You see, the God whom you hoped in has failed you, He is not capable of saving you; come, I will help you.”

With the story of how God rescued Israel, the first reading of today tells us that God does not disappoint those who have genuine faith in Him. We have a God who will not disappoint nor reject us in times of trials and persecutions. He will always intervene at His own time and rescue us if we repose our hope and faith in Him.

The second reading of today comes with an explicit affirmation of that assurance of God’s help for those who trust in Him. It said, “No one who believes in Him will be put to shame… everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Thus, in this Mass, let us build our trust in God, and always have recourse to Him in times of temptation.

Peace be with you. Have a blessed Sunday

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima