2^nd SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: FOLLOW JESUS TO THE MOUNTAIN

(Luke 9:28-36)

After the declaration of Peter about Jesus as the Christ, and the prediction of Christ about the suffering and type of death awaiting Him, Jesus took the Apostles of the inner circle up the mountain. What was His intention of taking them there? What did they witness on the mountain? Can we be part of the closest followers of Jesus Christ to journey with Him this Lenten season? Let us look at the mountain experience of Jesus and the apostles and see how it helps us. Why the upward movement and what really happened?

 

PRAYER

Jesus took them up to pray. Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is always in communication with God the Father. He invites the apostles to learn the act of prayers. He took them away from the worries and distractions of the world to be in touch with the Divine aura. He wanted them to go beyond the low level of operation to a higher, spiritual perception of relationship with God.  There, He showed them the transforming power of prayer. That is to say that the man of prayer doesn't remain the same. Prayer is not just a verbal thing but a reality that manifests itself in your life and daily activity. Have you been changed by your prayers? Have your prayer life been able to convert anyone to Christ? The Lord takes you up this season to pray in a higher and better way.

 

BEHOLD GOD'S GLORY

To understand this well, we have to take a look at the preceding episode where Jesus spoke about the cross. The apostles must have felt frustrated and disappointed with Jesus. Matthew and Mark's account of this same story narrates how Peter couldn't help but rebuke Jesus for painting the image of suffering. Taking them up therefore Jesus tells them it's not going to end in sorrow. It's not going to be an empty suffering but a rewarding one. That after the rains, the sun must shine, that out of the darkness of pain and tears, joy and happiness must radiate.

 

LIBERATION

 Before the coming of Christ, the Israelites were held bound by the law. They were subjects of the law. The law is represented by Moses. Jesus came, born a subject to the law, to redeem the subjects of the law. He enters into conversation with Moses to put away and cause a disappearance of the vestiges of the law. To set His people free, to bring about the inclusive new law of love. It is no longer the exclusive mosaic law that people didn't dare to near the mountain for fear. It is about freedom. 

He goes on to bring about the fulfilment of the promises and prophecies of God for humanity. In Elijah, we saw a beckoning for Christ to ride on to Jerusalem for the salvation long foretold. May the promises of God for your life come to fulfilment.

 

LISTEN

Having manifested how good it is to be in the presence of the Lord, to behold His goodness, Peter desired to remain there. Moses and Elijah were taken away. Then, an important aspect of encounter with the Lord was voiced out by the Voice that came from above: Listen! To keep the word, person, and wondrous doings of the Lord alive in us, we have to pay attention to what the Lord tells us at each point in time.

May we listen to the Lord calling on us this season to the mountain of prayers, to the mountain of encounter, to mountain of transformation, to the mountain of total self-abandonment. May God manifest His glory in our lives. May our worldliness, tears, and problems be transfigured by the presence of Christ. May we remain in constant communion with Christ the Most High.

May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

Thank You, Lord, for Your word today. Thank You for inviting us to the Holy Mountain of Communion and Holy Encounter with You. May we not remain the same after our encounter with You. Transform our situations for good. Open our spiritual eyes and ears. May we follow where you lead. And may we be liberated from spiritual, economic, marital, vocational, and political bondages through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Happy Sunday (Second Sunday of Lent, Yr C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

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

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

Readings: Gen 15:5-12,17-18; Phil 3:17-4:1; Lk 9:28-36

Dear friends in Christ, through the transfiguration experience, the gospel of today showed us a glimpse of the glory of Easter and the splendor of heaven. 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. 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 wanted to enter the glory of heaven whose glimpse he saw 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 that lies at the end of our earthly existence.

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 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, gossip, 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 saw on the mountain will be ours at the end of our lives. So, between us and the glory of heaven lies the demand or 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 and its fulfilment, Abraham had the task of obeying every command from God and accepting their attendant difficulties. It was obedience to God’s commands, even in the most difficult and uncertain moments, that helped Abraham to reach/inherit 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 Abraham’s choice of remaining 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 foolish 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 whose project is to distract Christians from listening to the voice of Christ. He tells us that those who promote these contrary voices (antichristian voices) have already made themselves enemies of the cross of Christ and, therefore, they purposely 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 lifestyles as the best ways to enjoy life. Their project is always to promote things that are against the Christian life. These voices are heard every day 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

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

Theme: Temptation: knowing how and when the devil strikes

Readings: Deut 26:4-10; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13

Dear friends in Christ, every year, the Church ushers us into the period of Lent with the story of the temptation of Jesus. With this story, the Church informs us that as we embark on the forty-day 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 moment. 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 temptation to do things our own way anytime we lack material means of survival; a call to evaluate God’s care for us only by our material success. It is a temptation that touches on man’s relationship with material things; the kind of temptation that pushes people to make the satisfaction of material needs the priority in every relationship.

We see this kind of temptation every day of our lives. Occasionally, 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 because 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 election 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 is 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, that is, according to the will 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, 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/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/instrument 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 to put God to the 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 also feel this temptation when that voice tells us not to plan our lives very well, not to take care of our health and 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 they eventually fail, he will creep out of his hole and tell them, “You see, the God in whom you hoped 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 or 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.” Therefore, let us build our trust in God and always have recourse to Him in times of temptation.

Happy First Sunday of Lent

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

 1^ST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: TEMPTATION: GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO GLORIFY GOD

(Luke 4:1-13)

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. We are presented with the temptation of Jesus, which is a follow-up from the Baptism episode. The Holy Spirit had descended on Jesus, testifying that He is the beloved, and God is well pleased with Him. Moved by the same Spirit, He made His way to the wilderness not necessarily to be tempted but to reflect on what to do with His anointing, to meditate in a quiet place on how to go about the ministry and to lead the people who have been called upon to listen to Him. He went to ponder on the right choice of companions with whom His mission would be actualized. He was led there for Him to give a thought on how to enhance the growth of the kingdom of God and its reign.

In the same way, the Spirit of God through the Church leads us into the desert to reflect on the price paid for our salvation, to ponder on what we have made out of our

baptismal, confirmation, confessional, eucharistic, ordination, and matrimonial "anointing."

Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days to be strengthened spiritually to withstand and overcome the various temptations on the way to his realizing the will of God for himself and humanity. We, too, are called upon to make use of these 40 days and nights to examine our appreciation of what Jesus Christ has offered us even in the face of the many trials surrounding us.

To do this, we have to learn from the 3 Temptations of Jesus Christ:

 

TURN STONES INTO BREAD (Oh no!)

You will never be tempted with what you do not need at any point in time. It is at your weakest moment that the tempter strikes your weakest point. He really knows where to strike. Jesus was hungry of food and was tempted with it. But Jesus did not sell His birthright like Esau, who for porridge had to sell. Jesus hungered more about the Heavenly food, namely, to do the will of the One who sent him.

My dear, what's the most appealing apple in your garden?  The tempter would like to tempt you with it like he did to Eve. What's your most loved food? Bread? Yes, the Jews generally loved bread but it could be that Jesus' special love for bread and the great miracle He intends to make of it in the future has been discovered by the tempter who wanted to be the author of transubstantiation thereby making it devilish instead of divine. But Jesus made known to him the source of His inspiration - the mouth of God.

You may be strong in controlling yourself in matters of theft but gullible in resisting sexual temptations. You may be strong in obedience but weak in gossiping. Never allow your weak point to be used by the devil. Be careful.

 

THROW YOURSELF DOWN (God forbid!)

There may be other interpretations of the above, but I wish to see it that no one, not even the devil, has the power of really throwing you down.  Thus, he can only persuade you to do it yourself. He comes to give you reasons for which you should fall away from the grace of God.

Never take the grace of the Lord for granted. Yes, the Lord is merciful and full of compassion, but He frowns at abusing his mercy and love. Every sin attracts a punishment.  Endeavour not to fall. Rise if you have fallen. That's why the Church offers us this good opportunity to fall on our knees in penance, asking for forgiveness for the many sins we have committed by throwing ourselves down to the lowest level in sin.

May you never fall from virtue's height to vice's depth.

 

ALL THESE I WILL GIVE YOU, JUST A SIMPLE BOW (Be gone!)

Can one give what he hasn't? Oh no. This is one of those empty promises of the devil. He steals to give and claims falsely. He demands respect and honour.  I can imagine the devil, the human tempter or the mind telling the tempted one: It is as simple as that, just do it after you ask God for mercy, just hit the money by simply saying yes or no.

Wealth and Mammon are forces we have to battle against to remain faithful. What has the devil to offer? He is a thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. But Jesus comes that you may have life and have it in abundance. Worship Him alone.

 

My dear people of God let us thank God for this wonderful opportunity He has offered us this Lenten season. Let us in a very special way learn that every temptation is an opportunity to glorify God and also an opportunity to shame and rebuke the devil. Let's not put God to shame by following the instructions of the enemy. May the devil never take the glory in your life.

Job did not allow that, Joseph in Egypt did not permit such, Jesus in today's Gospel refused to allow it. May Julian, you, you, and you never allow that to happen by the grace of God.

May God bless His word in our hearts.

LET US PRAY

Gracious Father, we thank You for this period of grace. We adore and glorify You for enabling us to take part in this period of spiritual rejuvenation. Fortify us with the necessary weapons we need to overcome the many forces trying to pull us down, away from Your grace and Holy will for us. May we sustain Your grace as we journey with You into the wilderness through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy First Sunday of Lent

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 

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

Theme: Be formed before forming others

Readings: Sirach 27:4-7;1 Cor. 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45

Dear friends in Christ, two weeks ago, we started reading St. Luke’s account of the beatitudes - a series of teachings comprising blessings and woes, which Jesus taught his disciples at the foot of the mountain. The beatitudes were intended to show the disciples the way that leads to happiness and the way that leads to misery. Gradually, as we have seen from last week Sunday, Jesus extended this teaching to modes of conduct for the disciples and all of us as well.

In the gospel reading of last week, Jesus tasked his disciples to treat their enemies with love, mercy, and compassion. He also instructed them not to judge or condemn others. Then, in the gospel of today, Jesus taught his disciples more reasons why they should love their enemies, treat them with patience, mercy, and compassion, and why they are not to judge or condemn other people. Jesus did this by using three images drawn from everyday life.

The first image came with this rhetorical double-barreled question: can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? The answer to the first question is ‘No,’ a blind person cannot lead a blind person. To the second question, the answer is ‘Yes,’ because if a blind man leads a blind man, they will fall into a pit.

With these two rhetorical questions, Jesus was teaching his disciples that they would not be able to successfully lead other people out of their errors or sins or to correct people in their mistakes unless they have allowed themselves to be transformed by what they have learnt from Him and what they have seen Him do. What does this tell us, dear friends?

Here, Jesus is challenging all of us as teachers, pastors, parents, guardians, and leaders, and whatever influencing role we have in the lives of others, to first of all be motivated and influenced by His teachings before we set out to guide, to correct, and to teach others. Dear friends, if we do not allow ourselves to be influenced and transformed by Jesus and His teachings, if we are not well convinced by the type of life Jesus is calling us to live, if we do not choose Jesus as the way in our life, then telling others about the Christian life would be like the blind leading the blind.

Therefore, dear friends, we must allow our lives to be transformed by Jesus and to live a good sacramental life before we go out to correct and teach others. Furthermore, we should learn about our faith: learn what the church teaches about the sacraments and what the scripture teaches, because we cannot be good disciples of Christ unless we have learnt from Christ.

Secondly, Jesus used another beautiful illustration to teach his disciple what people often do when they judge or condemn other people. He did it with these questions: "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye," when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41-42).

With these questions, Jesus touched the tendency inherent in all of us, that is, that tendency to notice the mistakes and wrongs of other people while turning a blind eye to greater mistakes in us; that tendency to exaggerate the evil in other people and overlook the evil in us or, perhaps, with a view of hiding our own evils. Dear friends, have you not noticed that it is easy to find fault and mistakes in others?

With this second image, Jesus warned His disciples and all of us not to be the kind of disciples who are quick to point out the faults in the lives of other people but are too slow to recognize the sins in their own lives. In a special way, Jesus invites us to be reformed and transformed before we reform others. He warned us not to be hypocrites as we set out to correct others in their mistakes. There should be no discrepancies between what we say and what we do. Thus, before talking about the sins of others, we should first of all look at ourselves in the mirror to know how we truly are.

Furthermore, Jesus used another beautiful image to teach His disciples why it is good to be transformed from within before setting out to transform others. The reason is that it is impossible for one to transmit what he doesn’t have, but it is very easy for good things to flow out of good people. He said, "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit… A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks."

With this last picture, Jesus teaches us that just as a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit, so also a good person produces good, and an evil person produces evil. In other words, if we choose to live a life rooted in Him, the outcome would be the good fruits of kindness, gentleness, peace, mercy, compassion, faith, hope, and love towards others. But when we choose to live outside the teachings of Christ, our lives will never contribute to the good of others or to the well-being of the society, because we cannot give what we do not have.

Peace be with you. May God bless you.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

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

THEME: WORK FIRST ON YOURSELF

(Luke 6:39-45)

Today is the 8th Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year C of the Church's Liturgical Calendar. It is the Sunday that ushers us into the Holy season of Lent. Wednesday is already Ash Wednesday.

The movement of the Gospel is quite interesting. It is a movement that calls much attention to be focused on the "I" more than the "Thou," thus a movement that starts with "Me" to "Thee."

As a matter of fact, Jesus addresses you as the "You" that is the first person singular, calling you as it were to handle you before the other. The invitation is for self -evaluation, self-examination, and objective personal analysis of my personality. It calls for scrutinizing and examining one's own conscience and consciousness. It calls for 'mea culpa'; having to do with beating of one's own chest in acceptance of our faults (Saying: Oui, j'ai vraiment péché), and not beating that of the other.

This work on oneself that doesn't give room for judgement is an integral activity. The Gospel specified tips to guide us in this important task:

 

SEE, CORRECT SELF BEFORE THE OTHER

Jesus started with a parable, a parable that came in a question form. A question that carries yes and no answer. He asked: Can the blind lead the blind? "He can't," may be the answer in the negative. "He can" may also be the answer in the positive. In the first place, it is not something that should be attempted since it is an unthinkable thing to do. But on the other hand, they can take the risk. But Jesus provides answer to what becomes of them. The pit will be their end.

Why are you blind to your faults and see well when it has to do with the other? You can't succeed in clearing what's faulty in the other person's life when you're carrying a lot of filth in your own life.

Seeing well also enables you to come out of yourself and be your own judge. Tell yourself what no one sees in your life, be just to yourself for once. It helps you quickly to know how fallible you are, yes that I too make and can make mistakes, that I have done this before or have nearly done this before. I am not better than the other person since anything can happen if a single mistake is made, and because of that, I should correct with love and not criticize destructively with hypocrisy.

It is a call to know that the other person who knows that he's not getting it right and accepts the truism is better than me when I don't know the harm am doing myself by deceiving myself, hiding my fault and pronouncing the others. When I see well, I will stop condemning the other because he's not in the same political party with me, when am ready to excuse away my friend of same party who did the exact thing or even more grievous.

When I see well, I will understand the statement: "If any of you have no sin, let him be first to throw stone." Let's not be first in throwing judgmental stones but first work on ourselves and show love.

 

BLEND THE WORDS WITH WORKS

Jesus says that a disciple is not greater than the master. The above could be explained in different ways, but I chose to talk about it from the perspective that a disciple cannot know more than what his master shows in deeds. This should be a warning against 'soro okwu onum esola omume m.' If you claim to be a master in virtues, then know that you're followed, and your followers have more eyes than ears.  Your deeds speak more volume than any other thing. Action speaks louder than voice.

 

EVERY WORK BEAR FRUITS

By its fruits, a tree is known. Having worked on oneself, the result is sound heart. From the sound heart, therefore, flows good and edifying words. One can, at this point, lead. Lead people out of darkness into light, out of sin into holiness, out of ignorance into knowledge.

What a wonderful thing! It started with the eyes(blind) and ended with the heart. Never judge with human eyes. Look within and correct with divine love, the love that flows from the sound heart.

May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

We thank You, Lord God, for Your word, which is the light for our paths.  Give us the grace to work on ourselves and help us not judge others rashly.

Bless us with a sound heart that we may produce good fruits in all our endeavours through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Sunday

(8th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Yr C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh

 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