7^th Sunday, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: The true identity of those redeemed by Christ

Readings: 1 Sam 26:2, 7-9, 12-23; I Cor 15:45-49; Lk 6:27-38

 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, one of the problems we see among many Christians is the inability to remain faithful to the Christian identity in words and in actions. It appears many Christians are forgetting the distinguishing qualities that Christians are known for. In the Acts of the Apostles, the people of Antioch identified the followers of Christ by the way they acted in society and the way they treated themselves. It has, however, become difficult for present-day Christians to distinguish themselves from those who don’t know Christ. Often, many Christians are at the forefront of the promotion of many unchristian behaviours in the world. For example, many Christians join in the promotion of inhuman and anti-life policies, as well as the promotion of all manner of evil and sinful practices in the world. Some Christians support their unholy actions in society with the argument that the Church and the state must be separated. The people who hold on to this argument, however, refuse to understand that the teachings of the Church are solidly supported by moral and natural laws and, as such, are for the well-being of the society.

To draw our attention to the difference that should exist between the lives of those who have accepted Christ and the lives of those who are not yet Christians, the Church presents us the beautiful readings of this Sunday. Through these readings, the church reminds us of the essential virtues and elements of the Christian life. They include mercy and compassion, love of God and neighbour, self-control and appreciation of values, moral responsibility, awareness of sin and the sense of the sacred.

In the second reading of today, St. Paul made a beautiful comparison between Christ and Adam. According to Paul, there should be a progression from the type of life received from Adam to the life received from Christ by those who have been redeemed through baptism in Christ. So, in this reading, St. Paul is calling for a significant difference between the attitudes of those who have accepted Christ and those who have not. Those who are not Christians are still tied to things that are below, that is, to the dust, but those who have been redeemed by Christ have been elevated by a life-giving spirit; they are to look towards heaven – to things that are above. He said, “As was the man of dust (Adam), so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven (Christ), so are those who are of heaven.”

Earlier on, St. Paul had informed Christians that anyone who has been baptized in Christ has become a new creature, the old life has passed away, and the new life has begun. In many places St. Paul made his audience to understand that the life of those who are in Christ have been won by grace, unlike those who are still living under the bondage of the law and the old life of sin.

In the gospel of today, Jesus gave us a beautiful sermon on the essential qualities that should be the identity - the differential factor - of those who are Christians. He said, “But to you who are listening, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.” So, Christ is saying that while the lives of non-Christians are often guided by vengeance and retributive justice, the lives of Christians should rather reflect love, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. No Christian should repay evil for evil because vengeance is God’s.

Furthermore, Christ instructed that the lives of Christians should reflect generosity to everyone and love to everyone, especially to those who do not merit their love. Christians are not to pass judgement on people nor condemn people. He said, “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back…Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Dear friends, these virtues required by Christ for every Christian are difficult to live out; some people may see them as impossible, but Christ demonstrated how possible they are by being an example for us on the cross. Therefore, whenever we look at the Cross and anytime we do the sign of the Cross, we are reminded that the Christian life demanded by Christ is very possible.

The first reading of today also showed us the possibility of living the type of life required by Christ. In this reading, David had every opportunity to end his sorrows by killing his enemy, Saul, but he refused to yield to vengeance, even when his friend urged him to do it. While David represented that elevated life that every Christian should live, Saul represented that low life of the unchristian mind that seeks to kill its enemy.

Dear friends, the Church invites us to emulate what David did in the first reading. We should stop looking for opportunities to take revenge against our offenders. We should stop praying for opportunities to inflict pain on our offenders. We must not bow to pressures from circumstances or from our colleagues to do evil. This is because two wrongs can never make one right. A reprisal attack or revenge may hurt one even more than it will hurt one’s offender. But forgiveness heals all wounds and wipes all tears away.

Let us, therefore, pray in today’s Holy Mass to remain faithful to our identity as Christians, to remain steadfast to that type of life required of us by Christ.

Peace be with you. Happy Sunday.

Fr Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 7^TH SUNDAY, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: LOVE OF ENEMIES: HUMAN FOOLISHNESS VS DIVINE WISDOM

(Luke 6:27-38)

The heart of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is love. Love comes with different faces. Love ordinarily goes to friends, but Jesus gives us extraordinary virtue as Christians to incorporate foes more in our agenda of love and compassion via the following instructions:

 

NEVER TO RETALIATE

 The ordinary thing to do is to retaliate when we're hurt. The one who hurts us or derives joy in seeing us sad is definitely our enemy. He even wishes us dead. The human voice will immediately speak: kill him for he doesn't want your good, do not spare him, strike him, this is an opportunity, what are you waiting for? If you miss this moment you're a big fool etc. But see what Jesus says: Do good to your hater, yes, I know he hates you but be good anyway. He curses you, right? Do not stand and give it back to him. Oh no! Bless him, dear. He's not treating you fine. Pray for him. Oh yes, he really needs it. You're not at the same level.

 

APPLY THE GOLDEN RULE

Treat people the way you'd like them to treat you. Don't treat people according to the standard they scheme. Use your standard as God's child to treat them. They pinch and punch you? you feel bad, you'd not like that done to you. Never do it to them. No matter who's involved, if it's not what you will feel comfortable with when done to you, then avoid doing it to others. If you do not want your child to die in election violence, why should you pay and encourage other people's sons and daughters to expose themselves to death? If you love your good name, why destroy the others' name because you see him as your enemy?

 

GO BEYOND YOUR ENEMY IN VIRTUES

You've got not to operate at the same level with the unrighteous, the man who doesn't care about Christian values, even though he may be a Christian. You are his opposite. You stand for virtues, and he represents the vices. He throws vicious stones at you, and you return virtuous fruits to him. He fails to greet you. You greet him first even when he doesn't accept. He says no to you when you come to borrow, you lend him when he comes to you. He fails to invite you for an occasion, you invite him and give him a special place in your own celebrations. He gives you expecting something in return, you give without any expectations.

 

BE COMPASSIONATE

This is a divine attribute. God wants us to share in it. It is the ability to feel with the other. Whosever is the person, put yourself in his shoes and feel what the person feels at a particular point in time. We've lost compassion in our age. People who start fighting these days either stop when they get tired of fighting or when they kill each other. Instead of having the human feeling to look for a way to separate them, people stand aloof with cameras taking snapshots and videos. The other woman who is not my wife who is in labour receives no favour from me because we had a quarrel yesterday. When a Christian loses the sensitivity of compassion, he becomes a devil incarnate. 'I don't care attitude' is not for us Christians.

May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

Almighty God and Father help us to love all, especially those who hate us.

Grant us the grace to forgive those who trespassed and continues to trespass against us. May we convert our hardened enemies with love.

Give us abundant grace and divine gifts in full measure, running over.

May we never follow our enemies in evil but continue doing good come what may through Christ our Lord. Amen.

HAPPY SUNDAY TO YOU (7th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 6^th Sunday, Year C: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: The blessedness of trusting in God.

Readings:  Jer. 17:5-8; I Cor 15:12.16-20; Lk 6:17.20-26

Dear friends in Christ, in this Holy Mass of the 6^th Sunday of the year, the Church invites us to re-examine our relationship with God once again to know the level of trust we have in this God of ours. The Church also informs us that we are totally safe when we place our trust in God and in His Son Jesus Christ. Truly speaking, trust is always one of the basic factors of every true relationship. Whenever trust is lacking in a relationship, such a relationship is as good as dead.

Since we are social animals, people who need the other to survive, trusting the other and ourselves is also one of the keys to a stable relationship. When we trust the other, we give room for a healthy relationship. Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. So, to trust is to establish a relationship with the reality that is trusted. Furthermore, when one trusts in himself, he challenges himself to rise beyond the ordinary.

However, trust is a very delicate thing, and it has always been a big risk putting total trust in human strengths and in other human beings. Total reliance on human beings has led many people to disappointments and the fear to trust again. But today, the Church reminds us that we have a friend who is more than just a friend, a friend who is reliable and cannot fail those who trust in Him, a friend in whose company we do not have to be afraid of betrayal of trust. This friend is God.

To draw our attention to this friend, the Church gives us the readings of today, which made comparisons between the fate of those who trust in God and those who trust in human beings or their own abilities alone.

Today’s first reading from the book of Jeremiah reminds us of the consequences of trusting solely in our abilities, in our human strength, and in human beings. It says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord.” “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like the tree planted by the waterside; it does not cease to bear fruits.” This reading simply reminds us of the risk we face when we cede the place of God in our lives to human beings and what we stand to gain when we hand over our life, our plans, and our purposes to God. This reading challenges us to ask ourselves this crucial question: In what or in whom have I put my trust? Is it in God, in man, or in material things? This reading, however, is not saying that trusting in God is a call to stop believing in what we can do for ourselves; rather, it is a call to recognize that it is God who sustains, confirms, and blesses our ways and efforts.

To place one’s trust in God is a great source of blessing and interior joy. For this reason, the psalmist reminds us that “those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion that can never be shaken.” (Ps 125:1) In the same line, the psalm of today gives a very wonderful description of the blessings that come to those who put their trust in God. It says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.” He is like a tree planted along streams of water, which bears fruit in his time: his leaves do not wither, and everything he does is successful.

The gospel of today presents us St. Luke’s version of the beatitudes. Beatitudes means blessedness. The gospel of St. Matthew has another version of the beatitudes. We may have noticed that while that of St. Matthew is called the Sermon on the mount, Luke’s version was given on the plain and could be called the Sermon on the Plain. Luke’s and Matthew’s versions of the beatitudes present little differences in number and style. But we are not going to dwell on those variations here.

So, in his own version of the beatitudes, Luke pronounced certain groups of people as blessed and some others as accursed. He said: Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who cry, and those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ. These categories of people Luke pronounced as blessed are the opposites of those the world believes to be actually happy and fortunate. One may then wonder why Luke chose to pronounce such people as blessed. The reason is that Luke believes that material poverty leads to greater detachment from the things of this world, thereby allowing people to attach themselves to spiritual values and then focus only on God. This takes us back to the topic of trust in God as proposed by Jeremiah in the first reading. So, the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted are blessed because God is their only hope for survival; they put their entire trust in God.

Luke, then, affirms that material riches and success can lead people to trust only in themselves, refusing to acknowledge God’s providence and grace. In that case, Luke announced woes to those who have no place for God in their success stories, those who have ceded the place of God to human beings and material possessions. They are indeed accursed for not believing that it is God who provides and sustains.

In the second reading of today, St. Paul also hints at the theme of trust in God. He urged Christians not to allow their faith and hope to end in this world and in material things, but that the reality of the resurrection of Christ should be their conviction that there exists a life after this worldly existence. If there is life after this world, we should, then, be filled with trust and hope in God, who will raise us on the last day and reward us with eternal bliss in heaven.

Peace be with you

Happy Sunday to you

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 6^TH SUNDAY, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: ATTRACT BLESSINGS AND NOT WOES

(Luke 6:17.20-26)

Jesus comes to us with blessings from God. He is a trustworthy Saviour. The Gospel Reading of today is a follow-up from the episode where Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, to seek the face of His Father, to bring down heavenly blessings to humanity. When He came down, He called people to be co-bearers of this blessing. He started with 12, and with time, their number grew, and he started teaching them the way to blessedness. The blessing of Jesus Christ is not conditional. It is a type that is felt in every situation, a blessing that locates you in every condition whatsoever, a blessing that tells you how much God cares about you. A blessing that explains indeed why Jesus came, why He comes and continues to come to us:

TO HEAL AND LIBERATE

Even before speaking the words of blessing, Jesus had already started with deeds that bless. People gathered to be touched and, as many as touched him, got healed of their diseases. He's the Lord that healeth thee.

TO LOOK INTO AND BLESS EVERY SITUATION

The crowd can never stop Jesus from locating you if you are His own. The word says: 'looking at his disciples'. Another translation puts it this way: 'fixing his eyes on his disciples'. God looks lovingly on us in our situations. Open yourself to Him. Yes, lay bare your life before Him as you are. He looks for you and on you to bless you based on what you are facing at the moment. Stop claiming what you're not. Be you, and God will raise and bless you.

God sees what you're going through, and He is speaking words of blessing to each and every one of your situations: You're poor, but the Lord says you have a rich God who is in heaven. So He tells you: Yours is the kingdom of heaven, look up to heaven because it is from there that God supplies for you according to His riches in glory. Meanwhile, He has blessed us already with His riches in glory. May our bad government and corruption, nor laziness not stop us from receiving the blessings packaged by God for us.

Are you hungry now? The Lord is promising you satisfaction. May you be satisfied with good things. He gives His people bread from heaven, having all sweetness in it.

Are you weeping now? You must laugh. In some people's lives 'ihe ato ochi agwula' (there's no reason to laugh), no course for joy, there's every reason to wail. Such people go to the office, they behold problem, they go to the market, lo and behold trouble. They go to bed, soaking their pillows with tears. Night and day, their hearts are weary with looking upwards. They drink alcohol, sleep, and wake up with the cause of their cry staring them at the face. The Lord is saying: weep no more, I am here for you. Am here to comfort you. Egbula onwe gi.

Are you hated for good? Rejoice! God will fight for you.

Why do you fight the person you are fighting? Gini ka o mere gi?

FROM WHERE THEN CAME THE WOES?

God doesn't curse. Curse is a consequence of one's refusal to be blessed. Rejection of divine Benediction results to woes.

Woe to you when you choose to get rich by impoverishing others.  Woe to you if ala arighi mma wu uru gi ka onye nze, if you're 'oji akpa eli ozu' if you're 'ori na crisis '(people who feed fat in bad times)

Are you feeding fat through poor people's sweat? You will vomit it through one means or the other.

If you're rejoicing because of what you should weep for... Be careful.

Are people clapping for you when you're not getting it right? They're digging your grave.

TAKE HOME QUESTIONS

Do you attract blessings or woes by your actions and inactions?

Are you a blessing or a curse to your generation?

Are you a disappointment or blessing to yourself and to God?

PRAYERS

May God appoint you for blessings and not curse.

May God free us from every form of curse.

May He lavish His numerous blessings upon us through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday to You (6th Sunday, Ordinary Time Yr. C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 5^th Sunday, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: Positive response to God’s initiative despite weaknesses and predicaments.

Readings: Is 6:1-2a,3-8; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11

Dear friends in Christ, this Sunday, the church invites us to reflect on those things that make us feel unworthy of the mission to speak in God's name to our audience, those past experiences that make us feel unworthy to serve God, those flaws that make us feel ashamed or shy of speaking to our friends about God, and those weaknesses/failures that cause us to make excuses whenever we are called to serve God and humanity.

Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, who were mentioned in today's three readings, have vital lessons for us about how we should deal with past wrongdoings. They teach us how to best respond to God's call, even when we feel undeserving of it, and how to deal with the flaws that frequently cause us to create excuses anytime we are asked to do anything for God and mankind.

The first reading talks about the call of the prophet Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah was called to speak to the kingdom of Judah that was about to be destroyed by the Babylonians. A journey in the book of Isaiah will tell us that it was the sinful lifestyle of the people of Judah that attracted the wrath of God upon them. From the exclamation of Isaiah when he saw the glory of God, as we read today, he was not free from the sinful practices of his time. He said, “There is no hope for me; I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among sinful people.” (Is 6:5) However, with the acknowledgment of his sinfulness, God cleansed him, and immediately, he accepted the mission to proclaim God’s Word to the house of Judah.

We also saw the same line of story in the life of St. Paul from the second reading of today. In this reading, St. Paul informed us that if all he did before he was called by Christ were to be counted for him, he would not have been worthy to answer an apostle. As we know, St. Paul was a famous persecutor of the disciples of Christ, but when the hand of Christ touched him, he submitted himself whole and entire to Christ and then accepted the mission to preach in the name of Jesus to the nations.

So, the lives of Isaiah and Paul challenge anyone who is being hunted by his past misdeeds. They are challenging those whose past and present misdeeds are preventing them from drawing closer to God; they challenge those who feel unworthy to serve God because of the way they lived their lives in the past. Our God is holy, and before Him we are all imperfect beings; before Him we stand no chance to be called holy. But the examples of Isaiah and Paul tell us that we have a God who will not despise a broken and contrite heart, a God who is full of mercy and ready to forgive and accept us. Therefore, they tell us to open our hearts to God, and He will make us clean and also make us worthy to proclaim His message.

Dear friends, I don’t know your past experiences; I don’t know if there are things that make you feel unworthy of bearing the sacred message of God; I don’t know if there are things that are making you feel unworthy and unwilling to serve God; but what I know is that if you open yourself for a divine touch today, God will cleanse you and make you worthy of His mission.

While the call of Peter in today’s gospel also showed us the same line of acknowledgment of unworthiness in carrying the divine message, Peter’s encounter with Christ tells us of another kind of challenge that we often face when calls to serve God and humanity come to us. In the gospel, the call of Jesus came to Peter to offer His boat for service to God and humanity. Ordinarily, since Peter had toiled all night without catching any fish, he should be angry with the request of Christ to offer Him his boat. He would have angrily told Christ to look for another boat. Many people in such situations would have given excuses why their boats should not be used by Christ. But, dear friends, Peter refused to give excuses to the call of Christ to allow his resources to be used to promote the kingdom of God and the well-being of humanity despite the predicaments he faced all night in the sea.

Therefore, Peter challenges all of us who give countless reasons for not accepting the call to serve God and humanity, those who have ready-made answers to refuse any initiative that invites them either to serve God and humanity or to allow their resources to be used to help the needy or to promote the kingdom of God. The gospel tells us to always say ‘Yes’ to God’s initiative to use us, our time, our talents, and our resources for the well-being of others and for the establishment of His kingdom on earth despite the discomfort that we may face. The example of Peter in today’s gospel challenges us to use our resources, our money, to help the Church and her ministers in their mission of preaching the Good News and helping of the poor. By doing this, we render help to Christ in His mission of establishing the kingdom of God.

Dear friends, let us not be afraid to open ourselves to God to be cleansed of our misdeeds. Let us not feel unworthy of the call to speak in God’s name. Let us not give excuses to the divine initiative that calls us to use our resources to help/support the Church and her ministers in the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

Happy Sunday and God bless you.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima.

 5^th SUNDAY, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: HUMAN LABOUR AND DIVINE FAVOUR

(Luke 5:1-11)

The Gospel Reading challenges us to take a look at the limitations of our efforts as humans. It invites us to appreciate the wondrous turnaround that comes with divine involvement in the human environment. It reminds us that we cannot do without God. It seems to address the issue of 'omemara ma Chi ekweghi': meaning by that, that one can hustle and struggle without God and end up fruitless. It becomes a serious reminder of the fact that God's approval is very necessary for our human endeavours to yield abundantly. To realize a perfect merge of human labour and divine favour the following steps from the scriptural insights of Today's Gospel must be looked into:

LEAVE THE BOAT FOR JESUS

The fishermen were already washing their nets, thereby calling it a day. A day of nothingness, a day of disappointment, a day of futility, a day of wasted effort. The normal thing should be to be angry with oneself, God, and everyone around. Jesus asked to take over the boat. Imagine this. Put yourself in the condition of these frustrated guys. What would actually be your reaction? He didn't use it to do anything but to preach. Patience with God strikes an interesting chord here. It was only after His preaching that Jesus did something concerning the situation at hand. Self-abandonment to Jesus as the master and captain of our lives matters so much. Allow Jesus to preach on and to that situation.  That situation may be a lesson to you and to people around you.

BE OPEN TO DIVINE DIRECTIVES

Simple instructions are not simply easy to take. It was quite normal for Simon, the expert fisherman, to look down on the instruction of an ordinary carpenter who lacked even the layman's knowledge of fishing. Besides, he knew the best time to fish. But Jesus was rather addressing him based on God's time. He obeyed. May God give you the humility to accept simple instructions that would catapult you to greatness.

LOOK BEYOND THE PRESENT TOIL

Most of the time, we rely on our past bad experiences, hold tight our present sorrows, plunge ourselves into the ocean of self-pity and ignore what the Lord is up to and lose sight of where He's taking us to. The bad past experience of Simon tells him loudly that they had worked and caught nothing. But thanks to God that He went beyond his humaneness to embrace the Divine instruction. Mark his words, "If you say so..."That is faith in action. Faith defiles sight and might. Faith proves to us that it is not by strength nor by might but by the Spirit. When he followed the directions, the mountain of frustration, of poverty, of effort in futility, of near-success syndrome was destroyed. May God give you the grace to look beyond your present negative experience to follow Him to a successful nearest future.

CATCH AND INVITE OTHERS TO CATCH

Having experienced the manifestation of Jesus, the unexpected blessing was so much that they couldn't gather the fish alone. God will surprise you with many blessings. When you are blessed, bless others too. Don't keep only to yourself. May God make you a channel of blessing to your family, friends, and community.

REMAIN IN DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Seeing how much Jesus had loved him, how unworthy he was to receive such great favour from God, Simon fell and begged Jesus to depart from him. But Jesus drew them closer, to be confident in approaching Him.

Some people, when they get what they want, put God aside, run away from God, and keep off from divinity. That's a temptation from the devil   to bite the finger that fed you. Remain in connection with the Divine and be elevated favourably.

BLESSINGS

May God bless you with Divine Favours, may He crown your human effort with unspeakable success through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday to You. (5th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr.C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh