Good Friday: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: THE CROSS: Jesus transforms whatever He touches

Dear friends in Christ, the Good Friday Ceremony – the Veneration of the Cross – is a celebration of the victory of the ‘foolishness of God’ over the wisdom of man, a celebration of the transformation of the symbol of shame – the cross – into a symbol of our salvation. This transformation is courtesy of Jesus, who transforms whatever he comes in contact with.

Before the death of Jesus on the cross, the cross was a symbol of shame, a course reserved only for criminals and other outlaws. In that case, death on the cross was the most shameful of all deaths. It was for this very reason that the Pharisees and the elders, who instigated the condemnation of Jesus, asked Pilate to have Him crucified on the cross. They wanted a shameful death for Him. However, the nature of Jesus is to transform whatever he touches. His encounter with this symbol of shame – the cross - transformed it into a symbol of salvation, a symbol that is revered and venerated. Jesus touched the symbol of shame and transformed it into a symbol of faith and salvation.  Such is the power of Christ.  

Dear friends, the church invites us to open ourselves to Christ, to allow ourselves to be touched by Him. He transforms whatever He touches. If he comes in contact with you, your life will never remain the same. Today, we have the cross of Christ in our midst; it will be lifted up in all parishes in the world. Let us embrace it, let us venerate it so that we will feel its transforming power.

Every Good Friday, we listen to the Passion narrative; it is not a sweet story. It is rather a sad one, a story that recounted the injustice of the powerful over an innocent man. This narrative should push us to take a decision to defend the course of the innocent. It was the silence of those who were supposed to talk that led to the triumph of injustice in the trial of Jesus. Therefore, we should realize that any form of silence from us in the face of injustice can lead to the death or the suffering of someone who is innocent. We should realize that evil triumph when good people do nothing. The Passion of Christ should push us to say ‘no’ to being silent in the face of evil in our society. It should lead us to say that we will never allow the voice of injustice to triumph wherever we are gathered, be it in the family or in the workplace.

Lastly, it was our sins that necessitated the coming of Christ to die for us. Hence, as we condemn those who unjustly judged Jesus for their wickedness, we should also ask ourselves whether we are still committing those acts that made Him to accept the sorrowful journey to Calvary. Every form of sin is a betrayal of Christ who died for us on the cross. Every sinful act increases the weight of that cross. We condemn him to death any time we fell into sin.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

PUSC, Roma

 

Holy Thursday: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: Christ’s Passover: A New Covenant for a new life

Readings: Ex 12:1-8,11-14; 1Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15

Dearest brothers and sisters, the celebration of this evening - the Passover of the Lord - is at the foundation of the Church’s life. It celebrates the institution of the Holy Eucharist by Jesus Christ on the night He was Betrayed. The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith; it is at the centre of the Christian life; it is what we gather in the church to celebrate every day. This Passover also celebrates the institution of the Sacred Ministerial Priesthood. It was at the Passover Meal that Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Orders. With the Chrism Masses celebrated in all dioceses of the world this week, the institution of the ministerial priesthood is commemorated.

The Eucharist is a meal that saves us from the power of sin and death, it is a meal of the new covenant, and a meal that requires its recipients to live a particular pattern of life. These qualities are clearly illustrated in the readings of today.

The first reading from the book of Exodus recounted the Passover meal and the experience of the people of Israel in Egypt, the land of slavery. After many years of suffering and slavery in the land of Egypt, God instructed the people to prepare to leave Egypt. On the night of their departure, God instructed them to mark their liberation and redemption by celebrating the Passover. They killed a lamb, ate it in a ceremonious way, but in a haste, and smeared its blood on their doorposts to save them from the angel of death who would go round that night to kill the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt. It was the blood of that lamb that saved them from death. The Passover meal was to be commemorated every year to celebrate that event. It became a great feast for the people of Israel in remembrance of the great event that saved them from slavery.

It was on the occasion of the commemoration of that Passover that Jesus instituted a new Passover for us. Just like the old Passover, in the new Passover, the blood of the Lamb – Jesus – that was shed on the Calvary saved us from sin and death, and we are instructed to celebrate this Eucharistic meal in remembrance of the salvific event that saved us in Christ.

In the second reading, Saint Paul tells us that what Jesus did at the Last Supper was an institution of new covenant between God and His people. So, the Eucharist is not an ordinary meal, it is a covenant between us and God; it replaced the old covenant with the people of Israel. According to the Gospel accounts and that of St. Paul, we are to celebrate this meal in remembrance of God’s saving deeds in Christ until He comes again. The celebration is not to be a passive remembrance, but an active one, a celebration that brings to life or makes present the same meal that was instituted on that night by Christ. It is referred to as an anamnesis. The term anamnesis shows us that the Eucharist is an active reminiscence of the Last Supper, a celebration through which Christians actively enter into the Paschal mystery. So, our active participation is required at every Mass if we really want to benefit from the blessings of the Mass.

In the Gospel, Jesus showed us the type of life he expects from those who have participated in the new covenant, it is the life of love and service to others. As soon as he finished eating the Passover meal, Jesus descended from the table and started washing the feet of His disciples. Thereafter, he told them that that he has given them an example to follow, and a new commandment to love one another. Dear friends, the Eucharist is a communion with God which challenges us to commune with one another. Jesus has shown us that loving and serving one another are the qualities that should characterize the life of whoever participates or has participated in this meal of love and salvation. Therefore, all of us who participate in this meal are challenged to go out to spread the love of God through good service to one another. We are called to be humble in this service, just like Jesus who knelt down to wash the feet of his apostle. The foot is the most common part of our body, the part with which we march on dirt. So, it is only a servant/slave who washes the feet of others. At the Last Supper, Jesus assumed the position of the servant/slave. He wants us to do same.

Therefore, dear friends, it will be a contradiction if the one who is participating in this meal or who has participated in this meal cannot love other people and cannot help those in need. It will be a contradiction if the one who eats this salvific meal cannot replicate what Christ did. It will also be a contradiction if the one who eats this meal cannot be humble. Let us go out and replicate this new life required of us by this new covenant.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

PUSC, Roma

 

 Wednesday of Holy Week: reflection

Reading: Mt 26:14-25

Did you notice the innocent appearance Judas put up at table in the gospel reading of today? He knew he was guilty of what Jesus was saying, but he sat at table calmly and pretended to be innocent. He even joined the other apostles in asking if he was the one who would betray Jesus, even though he had just returned from selling Jesus to His enemies for thirty silver coins. In his mind, he had successfully concealed his evil from everyone.

Yes, he successfully hid his sin from his fellow humans, the apostles, but not from Jesus, for nothing is hidden from God; He knows us more than we know ourselves and sees everything, including the ones we do in secret. It was for this reason that the Psalmist said: “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you discern my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. (Ps 139:1-4)

Every time we commit a sin, we are tempted to behave like Judas. We are often tempted to hide our sins from people so that we will escape human judgement and condemnation. Most times, we are also tempted to think that since we have successfully hidden our sins from human beings, they are also hidden from God. In this way, we continue to wallow in sins believing that nobody is seeing us.

Dear friends, God sees the innermost part of our hearts and knows everything we have done, the ones we are doing and the ones we have planned to do. We can’t hide from him for a second. So, He keeps record of all we are doing and will hold us accountable for them. We are, therefore, advised to be careful what we do, we might successfully conceal our crimes from humans but not from God.

May your activities this Wednesday be abundantly blessed. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima

 Tuesday of Holy Week: reflection

Reading: Jn 13:21-33,36-38

As the Paschal Triduum draws near, the daily readings help us get into the right frame of mind for celebrating the Paschal mysteries by furnishing us with the last scenes of Jesus with His apostles, what He told them as well as His true state of mind as He approached His death.

According to today’s gospel reading, Jesus was deeply troubled when He was seated at table with His apostles. The betrayal he was about to experience from His closest allies and collaborators troubled Him more that the death He was about to accept for the sake of humanity, for it was already written that He will die to save mankind. Having spent three years with His apostles, His close circle of friends, He was expecting nothing from them other than love, friendship, intimate relationship, and mutual support, especially in difficult times. Unfortunately, the people who ought to support Him in times of trials and need were about to stab him at the back. He wondered why His closest friends must be the ones to betray, deny and abandon him. Thoughts of this kind weighed down his spirit.

Through our baptism, we have become close friends and family of Jesus, the people for whom He laid down his life and from whom He expects reciprocal actions. Great is the sorrow that afflict His heart anytime we fail to reciprocate His love and sacrifice for us by doing the bidding of that same person from whose wicked hands He delivered us. The paschal events of the Triduum always challenges us to do those things which the apostles could not do for Jesus on account of human weakness. Let us approach Jesus this Triduum, as Peter did, and beg Him for forgiveness for the many times we betrayed Him and our friends/family, for the many times we troubled His loving heart by our sins (our acts of betrayal of God’s love for us).

May God’s grace strengthen you and fill you with the resolve not to betray Christ again. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima