Friday of 10^th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

Theme: Be determined to part with anything that makes you fall into sin.

Reading: Mt 5:27-32

In today’s gospel, Matthew continues with Jesus’ special call for a different and better lifestyle from his followers. As we saw in the gospel reading of yesterday, Jesus is inviting Christians to stop sin from its source.

The special call in today’s gospel is that anyone desiring to enter God's kingdom must get rid of anything that would stand in his way. Jesus conveys this lovely lesson through an analogy that appeals to common sense. He advises cutting off one's hands, legs, or eyes if they will lead to sin, that it will be better for one to enter eternal life without them than to go to hell fire with them intact.

Medical professionals often recommend amputation of infected or cancerous body parts in order to save life, and patients voluntarily or, occasionally, reluctantly submit themselves for such painful experience just to save their lives. Now, the question is, if people are willing to have their parts amputated in order to save their temporal life, should they not be willing to do more to save their eternal life?

Dear Friends, Jesus is telling us that if we are willing to give up our infected eye, leg, breast, hands, and internal organs, as well as reject some beautiful and tasty food, in order to save our temporal life, we should be willing to do the same or more in order to save our eternal life. We must be prepared to part with any object or person whose presence in and around our lives will cost us our eternal life, no matter how beautiful they are. Anyone or any object whose presence in our lives will deny us heavenly glory should be treated as a cancerous part.

May your efforts this Friday bear good fruits in abundance.

Fr Isaac Chima.

 Thursday of 10^th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

Theme: Exceeding righteousness

Reading: Mt 5:20-26

In the gospel reading of today, Jesus invites all of us who are Christians and have a better knowledge of him to live a better and distinct lifestyle from those who know him less and those who do not yet know him. Matthew captioned this different exemplary lifestyle expected of Christians as ‘exceeding righteousness’.

Jesus is challenging us to speak, behave and live better than those who do not know him. Thus, it will be against the Christian faith if a Christian justifies his mistakes with the popular slogan of ‘others are doing it’. All Christians should rather measure their actions against the standard set by Christ.

Today's gospel reading highlighted a few instances where Christians ought to make a difference in the world. There is a law that forbids everyone in the society from killing other people. But Jesus wants Christians to do more than just observing this law; he wants them to go beyond its letter to prevent, heal, or eradicate that which drives people to kill, which is anger. According to Jesus, anger is the same as murder because a person who harbours anger for another has already killed and buried that person in his heart. If the emotional state of anger is not set aside, its physical manifestation, which could lead to physical death, is inevitable.

He also wants his followers to show a particular difference in the process of reconciliation. While some people may sit in their homes waiting for someone who has wronged them to come and apologize, Jesus commands his disciples to always leave whatever they are doing—even if it is a Thanksgiving sacrifice to God— to go and get reconciled with a brother or sister who is angry with them; He wants Christians to always take the first step towards reconciliation.    

Dear friends, Jesus wants us to be pacesetters in better ways of doing things as well as transformers of wrong attitudes in the society. We ought to be bearers of light wherever we are.  

May God grant you a blessed and fruitful Thursday.  St Anthony of Padua, Pray for us.

Fr Isaac Chima

 Wednesday of 10^th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

Theme: The God that answers by fire and the steadfastness of Elijah

Reading: 1Kgs 18:20-39

Many Christians frequently invite God into circumstances beyond their power by using prayerful songs derived from today’s first reading on the story of Elijah's encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Such songs have lyrics like "God of Elijah, send down fire" and "the God who answers by fire, you will be my God."

Today, my focus is not on the calling down of fire by Elijah nor on the defeat of the prophets of Baal, but on the steadfastness of Elijah, which attracted God’s prompt response to his call for fire. Our Jesus Christ said if we have faith as small as the mustard seed, we can tell a mountain to move and it will obey us (Mt 17:20).

Prior to the encounter on Mt Camel, queen Jezebel had launched a massive attack against the prophets of God because she wanted the worship of Baal to be the state religion of Israel. Many were killed, others fled. Elijah was the only prophet left to face the queen and the 450 priests of the new god. Instead of crossing over to the new religion or at least remaining silent as many people of our own time would have preferred, Elijah remained steadfast in his conviction that the true God was the Almighty God of Israel and firmly stood against the queen and her 450 priests.

In the passage we read today, Elijah boldly stated that he was not intimidated standing alone against 450 men nor afraid of standing alone when the people chose to ignore his plea for them to choose between God and Baal (1Kgs 18:20-22).

Elijah’s steadfastness and victory demonstrated the wrongness of the popular logic that the number of supports one gets shows how right or wrong he is. Sadly, our world is gradually turning into a place where the logic that everything is decided by popular vote is being applied everywhere; a place where erroneous ideologies are declared right and acceptable based on the number of people and social status of those who endorse it.

Dear friends, Elijah has taught us that you can stand alone and still be right, especially when you are standing for God and for the good. So, whoever wants the God of Elijah to answer him as He answered Elijah must be ready to show his steadfastness in God and for the good, even if such steadfastness entails standing alone against the wrong position of more than 450 strong people.

May your Wednesday be richly blessed.

Fr Isaac Chima

 Memorial of St Barnabas, apostle (June 11)

Theme: Be a source of encouragement to others

Reading: Acts 11:21b-26;13:1-3

On this 11^th day of June, the Church celebrates a saint whose life has an important lesson to teach all of us, especially in the light of the current state of economic hardship that has befallen our nation. This saint is Barnabas.

According to Acts of the Apostles 4:36–37, Barnabas was a native of Cyprus, a Levite, and was converted to the faith shortly after the Pentecost. His name was Joseph, but after his incredible acts of encouragement in the early Christian community, the apostles changed it to Barnabas, which means "son of encouragement."

When the church was just getting started and all believers needed both material and moral support, only the name of Barnabas was mentioned among those who contributed materially. He sold his field and gave the proceeds to the apostles. By doing so, he encouraged the community of believers in their spiritual and communal life. (Acts 4:32-37).

Barnabas’ acts of encouragement were not limited to material donation, he also devoted his life to encouraging and strengthening young Christian communities. In the passage of today’s first reading, he was sent to the young Christian community of Antioch, and he exhorted them to be faithful to the Lord. His words of encouragement and support were so strong in them to the extent that their lifestyle won the admiration of the citizens of Antioch, who responded by calling them Christians – followers of Christ. (Acts 11:19:26)

Paul's success as a missionary and his acceptance into the Christian community of Jerusalem were both greatly aided by Barnabas. When the Church in Jerusalem was afraid to welcome Paul into their fold after his conversion, it was Barnabas who stepped in and explained to them what happened to Paul on his way to Damascus and encouraged them to give Paul a seat among the disciples. (Acts 9:26-30). He was Paul’s companion in almost all his missionary journeys right from the day the Holy Spirit asked that the two of them be set aside for mission (Acts 13:2)

Dear friends in Christ, the present situation of our nation needs men and women who will rise up and encourage their brothers and sister to stay strong by offering them both material and moral support, just as Barnabas did for the early Church. Never you miss any opportunity to encourage someone materially, spiritually and morally.

Have a blessed day. St Barnabas, pray for us

Fr Isaac Chima

 Monday of 10^th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

Theme: Do you wish to be blessed? Follow these paths

Reading: Mt 5:1–12

Everyone obviously needs blessings and desires abundance of blessings from God, but most times, people do not know the paths to follow in order to receive these blessings.

In the gospel reading of today, Jesus went up on the mountain and showed his audience and all of us the paths that lead to the blessings that we earnestly seek, listing the characteristics of lives that will draw God's blessings. According to him, those who want to be blessed must be poor in spirit, they must be meek; they are those who hunger for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, those who are mourning, those who make peace, those who are persecuted for doing what is right, those who are castigated for the sake of Christ and those who are falsely accused on account of Christ. These are the people who will be given a pat on the back on the last day and declared blessed by God the Father.

Most times, people tend to see those who drive big cars, hold prominent social positions, host lavish parties, and lead otherwise luxurious lifestyles as blessed. However, today's gospel has demonstrated that these attributes of life were left off in Christ's list of qualities that lead to a blessed state.

May we, therefore, follow Christ own paths, which have maximum assurance of leading us to the blessed state that our hearts yearn for.

May God bless the work of your hands this Monday.

Fr Isaac Chima

10^TH SUNDAY, YEAR B: HOMILY BY REV. FR. JUSTIN ADIELE

THEME: “BROTHERS/PARTNERS IN DOING GOD’S WILL”

INTRODUCTION:

Today, Jesus extended the boundaries of his brothers, sisters and mother to all those who do the will of God, granting them equal rights, time, attention and affection. Even mere hunger for the word of God is enough to make Jesus give you his whole time, attention, healing and compassion. In a similar way, all who do God’s will deserves our time, attention, charity and brotherhood/partnership. Brothers or partners in crime shouldn’t be more united, cooperative and supportive to one another than brothers or partners in Christ. We must see our fellow Christians and even non-Christians who do good (God’s will) as brothers and partners worthy of our love and support.

THE FIRST READING (GEN. 3: 9 – 15)

The first reading revealed to us one factor that distinguishes those who do God’s will from those who do not; and that is, obedience or disobedience to God’s commands. After creation, God partnered with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But after disobeying God’s express command, they were sent out of the garden planted by God, to till their own soil and do their own planting. Their disobedience cost them their close brotherhood or partnership with God. They also incurred some curse, suffering and hardship on account of not doing the will of God. Before you take anyone as your brother or partner, first ascertain if the person really obeys God’s commandments.

THE SECOND READING (2 COR. 4: 13 – 5: 1)

In the second reading, St. Paul sees and calls all those who share the same spirit of faith with him, “Brethren”. He believes and teaches that they will all be raised together with Jesus; and grace and eternal glory would equally be extended to them. For this reason, St. Paul was never tired or ashamed of suffering, ministering and teaching his brethren in faith, whether Jew or Gentile.

THE GOSPEL READING (MK. 3: 20 – 35)

In the gospel reading, Jesus made the famous statement; “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister and mother.” From the context of the passage, we saw Jesus attending to the crowds who were ready to listen to the word of God. He even forgot to eat or to go home; for home is wherever Jesus finds people or souls longing to hear or know the word and will of God. Jesus’ ‘actual’ brothers and sisters out of jealousy even began to see him as having a mental issue.

Two factors in the gospel destroy our brotherhood with Christ or with one another; first is jealousy, and the second is denial of the good, wonderful and loving works of God and others. This is where the Scribes and Pharisees fit in. For our brotherhood in Christ to flourish, we must remove every jealousy amongst us and learn to appreciate and acknowledge the good done by others, lest our brotherhood will not stand and crashes along the line.

CONCLUSION

Oscar Wilde told a story about the devil once crossing the Libyan Desert and found a group of people trying to tempt a holy Hermit to sin but they failed time and again. The devil came and told them that they are using a wrong method and wasting their time. So, he asked them to observe while he plays his evil trick on the monk. The devil whispered to the hermit, “Your brother has just been made a bishop”. A scowl of evil jealousy at once clouded the face of the hermit, which later set in motion other evil thoughts. If we can handle our jealousy, we can preserve our brotherhood/partnership in Christ or in doing God’s will.

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Justin

 10^th Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: What we shouldn’t do after falling into sin

Readings: Gen. 3:9-15; 2Cor. 4:13-5:1; Mk 3:20-25

Dear friends in Christ, on this 10^th Sunday, the Church wishes to call our attention to what a person who has committed a sin should not do. Often, when people commit sin, their reactions range from running away from God to refusing to acknowledge that they did anything wrong and to blaming others for their sins. Today, the Church is telling us that the proper response after committing a sin should not be refusal to admit our sins, nor blaming others for our sins, nor hiding from God, because these actions will not restore peace between us and God, nor between us and our fellow human beings.

Today’s first reading highlights some of the harms sin causes and some wrong reactions after committing sins. The first damage highlighted here is that sin wounds the nature of man. Man was innocent by nature before the fall, not knowing what is evil. But, as we saw in this reading, after the fall, man lost his innocence, realized that he was naked and covered himself with leaves; He became a slave to concupiscence, not only knowing evil but also yearning for it or suffering the attraction of it in everything he does. Sin steals our resemblance of God and gives us the nature of the devil.

The second damage mentioned in this reading is that sin ruptures our relationship with God because every sin is a violation of God’s commandment and, therefore, it distances us from God. In this reading, when Adam and Eve heard the sound of God's footsteps, they fled and hid themselves instead of running to embrace and kiss Him. They lost their friendship with God and, consequently, instead of receiving warm greetings and blessings from their Father, they received curses. Man’s loving relationship with God was destroyed by sin and has continued to be destroyed by sin.

The third damage is that sin weakens human solidarity by rupturing our relationship with one another and causing disharmony or disorder in the social realm. Sin causes a breach of peace, love and harmony, and breeds suspicion, hatred and discord. In this first reading, the relationship of mutual love between Adam and Eve was weakened. The snake that once had a conversation with human beings became the enemy of human beings and now inspires revulsion in them because enmity has been put between it and the offspring of Eve. There was also enmity between man and other animals. Let us say that creation lost its harmony with the entrance of sin.

This reading also highlighted the wrong reaction most people make when they fall into sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, their reaction after covering themselves was to hide from God out of shame and fear. When most people commit sins, they hide themselves from God and from anything that will remind them that what they did was wrong. In some cases, some people will stop coming to Church, so that they will not hear homilies that will condemn their actions, their choices or their lifestyles. Most times when people fall into error, they typically isolate themselves, refuse to listen to voices that prick their consciences and only open up to those that condone what they have done. Some people go to the extent of attacking those that tell them to repent.

In the gospel reading, the latter was the main point of contention between Jesus and the scribes. Rather than acknowledging their mistakes as exposed and corrected by Jesus, the scribes took to denying the authority of Jesus and rejecting his teachings and healings. Dear friends, we are reminded that hiding from God or from his words does not restore the relationship between us and God that has been weakened by our sins, it rather turns us into God’s enemies.   

The second wrong reaction we saw in this reading was the refusal of Adam and Eve to admit responsibility for what they did. Adam blamed Eve and God for what he did; Eve, on the other hand, blamed the serpent. There was no admission of the sin committed, there was no apology. Dear friends, refusing to admit our wrongdoings does not absolve us of our guilt before God and man, rather it causes us to refuse God’s freely offered forgiveness and restoration. 

Dear friends in Christ, the damages which sin causes to our nature, to our relationship with God and to solidarity among God’s creatures cannot be undone or restored by running away from God’s presence nor by denying our responsibilities for our wrong actions. Our healing and restoration can only come from sincere acceptance of our wrong actions, genuine repentance and confession in Christ.

Peace be with you

Fr Isaac Chima