A DISCIPLE’S CROSS

REFLECTION FOR 22ND SUNDAY OF YEAR A

THEME: A DISCIPLE’S CROSS

R1: Jeremiah 20:7-9

R2: Romans 12: 1-2

Gospel: Matthew 16: 21-27

Dear friends, today's readings record two important statements: “You have seduced me, Lord, and I have allowed myself to be seduced (Is 20:7), and, “Get behind me, Satan!” These form the basis of our reflection.

The prophet Jeremiah was sent by God to confront the impious act of the city of Jerusalem and to pronounce imminent destruction of the city if they refuse to change their ways. His words angered the religious leaders and kings who rose up to persecute him. It was surprising that the commoners joined in clamouring for the prophet's persecution. Jeremiah was arrested and beaten. This made the prophet feel abandoned by God, and in his grief he cried, “You have seduced me, Lord,and  I have allowed myself to be seduced.” With these words, Jeremiah questioned why God would allow him go for a mission when He knows He will not stay with him till the end.

The experience of Jeremiah is a common experience of those who are sent to preach salvation. Persecution and suffering are always attached to every missionary adventure. This is exactly what Jesus tried pointing out to his disciples when he said  he will go to Jerusalem and there he will suffer and die. This statement didn’t make any sense to Peter who had already testified that He is the Christ. As generally perceived by the Jews, the expected Messiah was supposed to be powerful, undefeated, and in fact, immortal. So, how could Jesus say he will go and suffer death? Is he actually the expected Messiah? Hence, Peter rebuked him saying, such can never happen to him. For this, Jesus told Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan!

It may be strange to understand why Jesus will call Peter Satan today, after calling him the rock upon which he will build his church. It does seem Peter forgot that he was just a disciple and as a disciple he is a follower (Nwa azu) and that means he should always be behind, following in the master’s footsteps and direction. His action towards Jesus at that moment was a kind of self mastery, he at that moment was no longer a disciple but was trying to lead Jesus not to go about his mission but Peter’s preventive ideas. Jesus' response was therefore a gentle reminder, that as a disciple, he should always be behind and however comes in front acts like Satan.

As a general reminder, Jesus states again what a disciple must do; a disciple must “renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Self renunciation is identical to true discipleship. This statement is not something abstract to common sense and human experience. For instance, to be an engineer, lawyer or medical doctor, one must renounce many nights of partying, take up the cross of rigorous studies and follow his/her teacher. As an athlete or to win a game, one must renounce taking a lot of food, take up his/her cross of training and follow the coach. Therefore, Jesus is saying, no cross no growth and no pain no gain.

There are three crosses we must identify and carry: cross of inconvenience, cross of witness and cross of martyrdom. For the cross of witness, even though I pray for a sick person, I must make time to visit to make my prayer meaningful. Love goes with sacrifice. I must  inconvenience myself to show how much I love him/her. The cross of witnessing is what the second reading if today demands; acting in a different manner from the common way of the world. I must be Christ-like. Cross of martyrdom could be wet or dry. We have many saints who passed through wet martyrdom. For dry martyrdom, we must surrender our wills to that of Christ. We must do only what Christ wants.

*Rev Fr Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*

KEEP HANGING ON

REFLECTION  FOR 20TH SUNDAY OF YEAR A

Theme: KEEP HANGING ON

Matthew 15:21-28_

Son of David, "Have mercy on me. My daughter tormented by the devil." This was the request of the Canaanite woman to Jesus, but Jesus kept quiet. She kept shouting, Lord, help me. This made His disciples  to say to  Him, please grant this woman what she has asked that she may stop disturbing us. Jesus retorted, it is not good to throw children's food to dogs.  And the woman said, even the dogs under the table can feed from the scraps that fall from their master's table. This faith led Jesus to grant her wish. 

The story of this woman has three strong and important lessons for every Christian:

1. PERSISTENCE: We all, like the woman have our reasons for following Jesus. The woman needed her daughter to be healed and we need the greatest healing which is salvation. This is the primary reason of our followership. Understand that nothing good comes easy. Sometimes it may be as if God is silent,  in such moments our thoughts are not to conclude that GOD IS DEAD, it should push us further to keep disturbing Him, saying,  "Lord help me." Keep disturbing Him, keep pushing until something happens. 

2. FOCUS: Always remember that salvation is what prompts our followership, do not be distracted by other things by the side. The woman was focus on the healing of her daughter hence, she didn't allow herself to be distracted by the comments of people, friends and even the silence of Jesus. Usain Bolt, the Jamican athlete was asked how we could finish a 100 meter race under 10 seconds, he said, "while on the race, remembered the voice of my coach who said to me 'Stay focused', so I didn't look back, so I won." Hence, never allow yourself to be distracted by any obstacle. Salvation is personal.

3. COURAGE: Not minding that the woman wasn't a Jew and the segregation that was observed between Jews and foreigners, the woman summoned courage and moved because of what she wanted. It takes courage to remain a Christian. It takes courage to follow God, do not be deceived, have your eyes fixed on the price and move on courageously. 

Overly, when it is difficult ask for the help of others,  ask people to pray for you, pray through the saints. The disciples intervened when it became difficult for the woman and her wish was granted.

Homily by:

Fr Chukwuemeka Livinus, SMMM.

GOD IN SILENCE

REFLECTION FOR 19TH SUNDAY OF YEAR A

Readings: 1 Kings 19:9.11-13, Rom 9:1-5, Mt 14:22-33

Theme: God in Silence

The first reading presents us with the story of prophet Elijah, who was hiding in a cave. Why was he hiding in a cave, has he committed anything, was anyone after him? Yes, Jezebel, was after him because he had killed the prophets of Baal, after winning them in a battle and exposing their powerlessness and the emptiness of Baal. 

In order to save his life, Elijah ran to hide in a cave, and there he longed to see (his) God, this God who made him win the battle against the prophets of baal. His expectation was to see this mighty in battle (God) manifest himself in a very mighty way, thus he expected God to be in the very violent wind that broke the rocks, but God was not there. A mighty earthquake came, he expected to see God but He was not there. When a very cool and gentle breeze came, God was there.

This communicates the very nature of God which most times we fail to understand. Most of us have a wrong orientation and notion of God, we expect God to be that person who destroys our enemies or who acts in a violent manner for us to feel his presence. When this does not happen we feel there is no God. This kind of expectation is likened to that of the Israelites whose notion of the messiah was the one who would come and lead them to battle and destroy their enemies, no wonder most of them till this day see no reason in believing in Jesus as God. To such people, Jesus, would say, this is a wicked generation, they are asking for a sign (Mt 14:4). 

Our wrong understanding and explanations have made many lose sight of the daily presence of God who speaks to us in silence. We have failed to know and be in touch with Him, hence the problem of feeling the absence of God is not from God himself but from us. Our problem is within, we and the world  are too noisy and we expect that of God as well. He is very close to us, He is near us, He speaks to us. For us  to hear Him, we must avoid getting distracted by our noisy environment which makes us not pay attention to the silent inner voice through which God speaks to us. We must create a silent moment for God to hear him speak.

Like Peter  in the gospel, when the wave of the world blows us around, when we are troubled, let us look up, we shall see Jesus who is not far from us. To do this, we must be in contact with our inner selves, train ourselves to listen to silence, for in silence, God speaks. Silence heals. Silence is power, it brings out the reality of who and what we are. 

Silence is that time we bring out and  set apart to commune with God. It is that particular time we are able to lift up our hands and say, “Save me, Lord.” In silence, God responds, in silence He saves us  from getting drawn.

Therefore, we must create time for silence if we want to hear God. God is not noisy. He speaks in silence. He answers in silence. If we become too noisy or influenced by the noise of our environment, we may miss Him when he answers, we may miss the opportunity of getting hold of him.

Homily by 

Rev.  Fr. Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*

THE TRINITY IN COMMUNITY, WITH US IN COMMUNITY

REFLECTION FOR TRINITY SUNDAY, YEAR A

THEME: THE TRINITY IN COMMUNITY, WITH US IN COMMUNITY

R1: Exodus 34:4-6. 8-9

R2: 2Cor. 13: 11 - 13, John 3:16-18

Trying to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity has always been a difficult challenge among every preacher. This is because such effort will demand going beyond any human domain into the reality of God’s identity.

Sometime ago, a story was told of a priest who on this day, mounted the pulpit during the homily and said to the people in Igbo language, “what we are celebrating today is a mystery (ihe omimi).” He proceeded to explain what this mystery means but then a man who was mentally challenged was sitting at the back, when this priest wanted to begin the explanation of this mystery, the man thundered with a loud voice from the back, “Father keep quiet! If this is a mystery then you do not know what it means but if you know what it means, then it is no longer a mystery.”

The message of this man clearly indicates the difficulty involved in trying to explain the mystery of God because a God whose nature if fully known seizes to be God but an idol created by ourselves and for ourselves. No one knows how God really is therefore we can’t explain what we do not know, but we shall know Him when we see Him face to face. However, the fact that we do not know how He really is does not promote any form of disbelief, after all, we do not know what water is, we do not know what light is, we do know what heat is, most of us do not know how telephones work, we have many hypothesis about some of these but our ignorance of them do not stop of from their usage. That is why in a matter relating to God, one needs faith; believe.

Even though we have a limited knowledge about the Trinity, their existence reminds us of community. Our catechism tells us that one of the reasons why God created us is that we might unite with Him. This suggests that the establishment of a community with His people is central to the creation story. When this intention was destroyed by the fall of our first parents (Adam and Eve), God, again and again tried to re-establish this relationship by calling a people to Himself through Abraham and his descendants(Israel). In the desert, the people sinned but  today in the first reading He communicates His essence to Moses, “a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.” These also project that quality of God who has a reuniting purpose. This he reinstituted by sending Jesus for our salvation.

The Trinity is a mystery of God who though One, has three distinct persons. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit are three persons but One God. This reality is a model of unity for all Christians thus, Paul, greeting the people of God with the Trintarian formula,reminds us that we must grow together, we must be happy together, help one another and live in peace, for it is only when we exhibit this quality that God shall be with us. This reminds me of the last wish of Jesus, “that they may be one” (John 17:21). “For where peace and charity are, there God is”.

Dear friends, God does not want us to be alone for He himself is not alone, He is a Trinity, and to prove this, He created us to be in a community (It is not good for man to be alone, I will make for Him a helper - Gen 2:18). Let us realize the need for one another, I can’t do without another so can’t another do it alone. We are all important to one another. Therefore, let us seek the common good of one another, for this is the fulfillment of the commandment. This is the proof that we love and believe in God, and by believing, we shall not be condemned (Jn 3:18).

*Rev Fr Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*

DO NOT GET DISCONNECTED!"

HOMILY FIR 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

Theme: "Don't get disconnected!"

R1: Acts 6:1-7

R/P: Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19

R2: 1 Pet 2:4-9

Gospel: Jn 14:1-12

 *Sing:* "Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, my God, that is who you are..."

 *Today, we are called to stay connected to the one who is the living God.* He is the way, the truth and the life. *Hence, if we follow the way in sincerity and truth, life will surely be ours to love and enjoy unto eternity.* In order to grow in the Image of God that we are, we must *decide to remain consciously connected to JESUS!*

"He is the Life: connected to Him and being in communion with Him, will enhance the vitality and life in the believer, just as Jesus being in communion with the Father is living... *C.S. Lewis commented: Jesus is divine. This compels us to decide: To be with Jesus or to be away. We have to take sides... The choice is ours. Without Him we will be lost, for he is the Way; without Him we will be in confusion, for He is the Truth; and without Him we will be withered, for He is the Life."* The Yorubas have a saying, "Odo ti o ba gbagbe orisun re, a gbe ni" (Never forget your source to stay alive and active). Remember the Lord your God in all your doings.  Sincerely, to stay connected to Him is not an easy task. *No matter what comes your way, just stay connected to the Holy Trinity!*

Jesus gives the assurance today in Jn.14:1ff, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me... I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be too." *Indeed, "Trust is the basis of life. Without trust, no human being can survive long...* Once we stop growing, learning, living, reflecting, thanking, rejoicing, praising God, we die." *No matter how hard your situation is right now, better life remains in Jesus Christ. Don't give up!!!  Be good of heart at all times, give without discrimination or selfishness.* Make a move for peace, love and righteousness. God bless you! Sing: "When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way..." Blessed week ahead. Fr Stephen Balogun

PRE - PENTECOST MINISTRATION OF FAITH!

Homily recipe for the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Yr A 2023: PRE - PENTECOST MINISTRATION OF FAITH!

by Benedict Agbo (Rev Fr)

*Act 2: 42 - 47, 1 Pet 1: 3 - 9, Jn 20: 19 - 31.

A. MINISTRATION FOR FELLOWSHIP

Don't mind my use of this vague terminology called "ministration" by Charismatics in today's homily. I just chose  to refer to what Jesus did for the apostles in today's gospel as a kind of "pre - Pentecost ministration" of faith mearnt to deepen fellowship.

We are told that the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Yes, the greatest problem the early Church must have faced after the death of Christ was the problem of fear causing backsliding in fellowship. Christ therefore came, even before the Pentecost, to release grace for fellowship which is the staying power of any Christian community. It is said that 'a family that prays together, stays together'. 

Today's 1st reading says that the early Christians were sustained by 4 things; fidelity to the doctrines, sacraments, liturgical prayers and the brotherhood. It says that the whole community remained faithful, (i) To the teaching of the apostles (Word of God), (ii) To the brotherhood (Practice of Love ), (iii) To the breaking of bread (Sacrament of the Eucharist) and (iv) To the liturgical prayers (Fellowship), Matt 18: 20, Heb 10: 25. And the Lord added to their number those who were to be saved. 

B. BACKSLIDING FAITH

Immediately after the death of Christ, some people began losing faith /backsliding. The problem of Thomas was not really lack of faith but the backsliding of his faith. The Bible says he was not with them when Jesus came for  the first time and when they told him what happened he said: 'I refuse to believe until I see the holes in his hands.' But that was too bad! Philosophical and theological scepticism have remained the biggest blows to modern day Christianity. Christ's message to him and to us today is: 'Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed. 

Faith is not an empirical experience but a spiritual one. The Word of God says that 'The faithful shall live by faith and not by sight', 2 Cor 5: 5. Faith is a gift /reward of fellowship. It is not a mark of wisdom to insist on waiting for personal experience in the face of a group experience. Even the resurrectional faith is proved not merely by the empirical evidence of the empty tomb but by the prior evidence of scriptural revelation. Personal miracles alone cannot make us good believers. We need others' faith (the faith of the Christian community) to help our unbelief. 

- Heb 11: 1: Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for or prove the existence of realities that are yet unseen. 

- Is 65: 19 f: Example, blessings of longevity, prosperity, divine favour, divine protection and peace.  

- Community faith is therefore what we acquire from fellowship. 

C. CONTEXTUALIZATION

We are face to face with the problem of 'Sunday - Sunday - medicine' approach to Christianity and 'Social - Club - mentality' to contemporary Catholicism especially in Nigeria. Our Christians are fast losing the value of fellowship, respect for the mass, the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist. Our funeral and wedding ceremonies show clear examples of our 'planned lateness' that negates the whole idea of Christian fellowship; no hunger for the Word of God, no respect for the Eucharist and no real sense of Brotherhood. Our leaders must act fast otherwise we are watching the Christian Fellowship being eroded in our very eyes. 

This pre - pentecost ministration of the Holy Spirit for the elimination of fear and forgiveness of sins is the greatest secret behind the survival of the Church before and after the Pentecost. Our people are also losing faith in the efficacy of this sacrament of reconciliation /forgiveness of sins.  According to Vima Dasan, the Holy Spirit works in 2 ways; through the explosive power of charisms and through the staying power of the Church sacraments and fellowship. Because Thomas was absent from Church fellowship, he lost out completely.  Christ's ministration today is bifocal; He releases the Holy Spirit for the escape of fear and timidity, 2 Tim 1: 6 - 8 and for the Sacrament of reconciliation. This is because, anytime we offend God, we lose the boldness (faith) and confidence to come before him as children of God, Heb 10: 19 f. 

D. CONCLUSION

We praise the frankness of St Thomas in today's gospel. As Alfred Tennyson puts it: 'There lives more faith in honest doubts, believe me, than in half - based creeds'. Many of us pretend to be Christians when we haven't the slightest faith in what we are doing. But when he (Thomas) was sure, he went the whole way of faith: 'My Lord and my God!'. Soren Kierkegaard calls it 'a transcendental leap of faith'. He now went beyond the physical revelation (phenomenon) of the pierced hands of Jesus to the metaphysical (neumenon) revelation of Christ's divinity - a Christological proclamation that we still like to make during the lifting of Eucharistic species before Communion even until today. Happy Easter dear friends!

BETRAYAL OF JESUS: HOW DID I CONTRIBUTE?

HOMILY ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD, PALM SUNDAY, YEAR A

BETRAYAL OF JESUS: HOW DID I CONTRIBUTE?

Mathew 26: 14 - 27: 66

Dear friends, welcome to Holy Week. This is the most important week in our lives as Christians. Today’s liturgy begins with a joyful celebration of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem and later a sudden change of mood during the passion narrative. The passion narrative of Christ is not an interesting story, it is all about betrayal, torture and death. Am I guilty? 

The passion begins with a movement from a disciple; a close friend and a companion, Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests and elders to demand, “What would you give me if I had him over to you?” What will you give me, is a request to exchange a friend for money or wealth. This is the problem of the world today. Many have allowed the quest for money and material possession to take control of them. It is about taking unnecessary advantage of others, especially the helpless. It is about using our positions to extort and exploit  others, like our employees, those under our care, the poor, the needy. Most times, this is carried out by those we trust, those who eat with us from the same table and from the same dish, those we thought would never do us any harm even after swearing and promising, “Surely, not I.” The betrayal of one is the betrayal of Jesus for “whatsoever you do to others, you do unto Him (Mt 25:40).

What is more saddening is that we have all journeyed into the Mount of Olives with Jesus like the disciples when we accepted baptism, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation and have like Peter promised that even if everyone will leave You, I will not leave You, Lord. Has it been long before we started denying  we do not know Him? Has it been long before we stopped going to Church because we are too busy with our personal concerns? Are we proud enough to insist that we are His disciples and insist on the truth, even in the face of persecution and even if such belief will lead to our death? Do we not deny Jesus when we celebrate and receive the Holy Communion in an unworthy state? 

Jesus is inviting us today to come and keep watch with Him even if for an hour. This invitation is a reawakening of our consciousness to what we have forgotten, to come back to Jesus, to offer him a little of our time otherwise, we fall into temptation. Are we to sleep away in our slumber, enjoying worldly pleasures and killing the spirit of God while Jesus is awake and inviting us to come and experience the fruit of the blessed resurrection? 

Dear friends, even if we have sinned, the cock is crowing to remind us that the time is now. Let Peter let us cry to the Lord and ask him for mercy for He will surely turn and look at us with pity. Let us not join the crowd to jeer at Jesus and make mockery of him by turning away from him after a joyful singing of Hossana at our baptism and now asking that He will be crucified by our negative actions. Let our actions of neglect not make us spit on His face and condemn Him to die. Let us not be among those who clamour for less doctrine and more liberty otherwise we join those who preferred the release of Barabbas to the release of Jesus. 

Let us turn to the Lord now for now is the appointed time, now is the time of mercy, now is the time of grace. Let us accompany Him through His passion by a change of heart  and wait at the foot of the cross and cry out with the man crucified on his right, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Only then will He remember us in his paradise.

Homily by

Rev Fr Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*