CHRIST IS COMING: STAY AWAKE

HOMILY FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT YEAR A

THEME: CHRIST IS COMING: STAY AWAKE

R1: Is 2: 1- 5, 

R2: Rom 13: 11-14, 

Gospel: Mt 24: 37-44

Dear friends, today is the first Sunday of advent. Advent means coming. It is a time we anticipate the coming of Christ in three different perspectives: at Christmas (his physical birth), his daily coming into our lives and his second coming at the end of time. This coming brings four important things; hope, peace, love and joy. These gifts make up the different four themes of advent, celebrated in the four Sundays of advent. 

Because of this wonderful coming, the whole Church is full of expectations. This expectation demands preparation. That is why, we see different kinds of decorations, lights and flowers in shops, malls and homes. Some people buy new clothes, shoes etc. This is only a physical or material preparation for the celebration of Christ coming at Christmas. But Christ’s coming demands more than just material or physical preparation. 

His coming brings hope; hope for salvation. Just as in the first reading of today, Isaiah speaks to the Israelites who were facing different terrors from different angles and had lost hope,  that the Lord will come soon and that his coming will make Jerusalem blossom again. This is to say, God will bring salvation at His coming. This is a message of hope to not just the Israelites but to all Christians especially now that Christianity is facing attacks from different opposing authorities who want us to do away with Christianity. As we cry to the Lord, let be assured that the Lord will surely come and bring us salvation. 

Meanwhile, as we wait for that time of salvation, St Paul in the second reading advises us to give up all things we do in the cover of the dark and arm ourselves and appear in the light. Hence, this is an invitation to a healthy living and a reawakening to be faithful to our baptismal promise of rejection of the devil and his works. This is a call to a total inward preparation that is beyond the material or physical preparation of decorating our house, malls and bodies. We must prepare our hearts.

This inward preparation is what the gospel reading is challenging us to do, to stay awake and pray so that we do not fall away (Mt 26:41). Thus, we must be conscious of not rejecting the gospel message so that we would not be swept away just as those who refused to enter the ark of Noah, enjoying themselves with the pleasure of the world were swept away by the food. God’s salvation will be only for those who are awake and fully prepared at His coming. Advent is the time for such preparation. Stay awake.

Rev. Fr. Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.

CHRIST: THE KING WITH A DIFFERENCE

HOMILY FOR CHRIST THE KING - Year C

Theme

CHRIST: THE KING WITH A DIFFERENCE

R1: 2 Sam 5:1-3

R2: Col 1:12-20

Gospel: Lk 23: 35-43

 

In today's first reading, the Israelites recognize David as king of Israel after Saul. They pledged homage to him. David accepted their allegiance and ruled over them. After the death of David, Solomon took over as king, kept the tribes of Israel together until sometime later during the reign of Rehoboam, some tribes broke away. From that time of separation, Israel has been praying for a king; a messiah who will come to unite the tribes again. 

With the birth of Jesus, God answered Israel’s prayer of having a messiah who will unite them. Unfortunately, the Israelites refused to recognize him or pay allegiance to him as they did to David. They killed him at last because of their wrong expectations of him.

After the resurrection of Christ, Christianity started spreading  even though some members of the early Church found it difficult to understand the kingship of Christ, they also had wrong expectations of him. Like in the church of Colossae in the second reading, some members  believe that heaven is occupied by spirits and forces superior to Christ. This led to the composition of the hymn by Paul, which acknowledges Christ’s supremacy over all creatures and as the first born from the dead, has everything subjected under his rule and has opened the gates of heaven to all and stands as the supreme judge of all. 

This failure of acknowledgment of Christ’s kingship is also present in our today’s world and Church, greatly dominated by wrong expectations. This is symbolized in the gospel reading with the division of the three groups present at the foot of the cross of Jesus; the crowd, the leaders and the soldiers.

The crowd: These were confused seeing all that happened. They were not responsible for Christ’s death. They were filled with wonder, waiting to be told what had happened. They were thinking Christ would fight their battle, why did he die if he was the Messiah?

These represent those who have not accepted Christ because they are waiting to be enlightened about him. They have many wrong assumptions of  Christ. Today is the day we should preach Christ to them by our actions and by our words, letting them know that Christ's kingship is for love and peace and not for battle and war.

The leaders: 

These people recognised David as king but refused to accept Christ as the Messiah and in fact killed him because he wasn’t the kind of kind they wanted. They had many expectations of him; if He is the Messiah, let him come down from the cross. They expected Him to preach in their favour but unfortunately His teachings set their hearts on fire, he preached against their way of lives.

This represents the many people who recognise world leaders who of course know the truth but have allowed selfish interest to win them over. They are not comfortable with Christ and his Church, they attack, fight and try to destroy all that Christ has led down for his people. Let us be careful and not let our personal interest and worldly gain make us lose sight of God’s kingdom. 

The soldiers:

Through the instructions of the leaders and the bribe they have collected, these hardened their hearts and killed Jesus.

Have we sold our consciences because of the peanuts we get from people? Have we become wicked and  act in hatred to God and his people? Have we listened more to wrong advice of friends, neighbors or leaders and thus reject God and his teaching? Today is a day to get up and go back to God.

Like the criminal on the right side of Christ, Christ is ever ready to give us the last chance to come back to him. Christ stands as the beginning and end, the supreme judge of all. If only today we would listen to his voice and turn back to him, he would remember us in his kingdom.

Homily by:

Rev Fr. Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.

THE DAY OF THE LORD

REFLECTION FOR 33RD SUNDAY OF YEAR C

THEME: THE DAY OF THE LORD

R1: Malachi 3:19-20

R2: 2 Thes 3:7-12

Gospel: Luke 21:5-9_

After the return of the Israelites from exile in Babylon, there was great suffering and hunger in the land. There was tyranny and unjust treatment of the poor. The people cried and  questioned, what is our gain for serving God? Why is it that evil people thrive while we are suffering, is it bad to serve God? It was these questions that prompted the prophecy of Malachi about the day Lord, which prepares us towards the last day. When that day comes, Malachi says, two things will happen: 

1. The evil-doors will be thrown away.

2. Those who fear the Lord will shine and be healed.

This prophecy of Malachi is both a warning and a hope. It is a warning to the doers of evil, that they may turn to the Lord and be saved. St Paul in the second reading clarifies that evil doers are those who have refused to work. They refused to make an effort to grow in their relationship with God, they see religion and Christianity as outdated and something that should be done away with. Rejecting God and his commands, they chose to live a life of idleness. Like those people in the gospel who went about spreading rumors about the beauty of the  temple without any intention of worshiping God, they admire the beauty of the world without acknowledging it’s creator. They say all sorts of things about Christianity and to redicle the people of God. For refusing to identify with God, they have made a wrong choice (away from God) which will lead them to destruction at last.

The fearers of God will shine when the day of the Lord comes but until then, they must be patient enough and should be prepared for continuous work of spreading the gospel by word and the way of life so that they will receive the reward of their labour when that day comes. While we wait for the Lord, we must be conscious of false prophets, who would want to seduce us into believing the wrong teaching or making a choice “away from God.” Be disposed for trying times and persecution  but do not prepare your defense, that is, do not rely on our own strength, be patient and persistent in your choice for God.

Just like the Israelites who returned from exile and faced different difficult times, we have also experienced similar situations, with the doers of evil succeeding while the righteous suffer. A time shall come when all these earthly beauty will not be remembered. The greatest beauty is that of the heart, the soul that seeks God. Even now that Christianity is facing different attacks from different sides, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. When the Lord comes, those who have made a choice away from him will be thrown out while those who made the choice of him will triumph.

*Rev Fr Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*

RESURRECTION: THE HOPE OF CHRISTIANS

REFLECTION FOR 32ND SUNDAY OF YEAR C

*THEME: RESURRECTION: THE HOPE OF CHRISTIANS

R1: Maccabees 7:1-2.9-14

R2: 2 Thes 2:16-3:5

Gospel: 20: 27-38

We are gradually approaching the end of this year’s liturgical season, the readings prepare our minds towards what we hope for at the end of our earthly life; resurrection from the dead. It is to this that we Christians anchor our hope, that just as the Lord died and resurrected, so too will he bring to life all those who are his followers.

As we think about resurrection, it may be surprising to know that centuries before the coming of Christ, Israel never believed there was anything like resurrection from the dead until about about 500 BC with the prophecy of Ezekiel about the dry bones that shall rise again (Ezk 37: 1-14)  and later 170 BC, with the prophecy of Daniel on the reawakening of those who have fallen asleep the land of dust (Dn 12:2). 

Even with these prophecies and the growing belief in the resurrection, in Israel, many of them, especially the elites doubted the resurrection. This led to the two camps of Judaism; Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees believe in the resurrection from the dead, angels and spirits but the Sadducees do not believe in any of these. The Sadducees were more of the wealthy people, the leading class and in fact the   chief priests were in this camp, hence, it was offensive and nonsensical to tell them not to enjoy life and the abundance of their wealth all in the name that they will be resurrected at last. They thought everything about life ends here therefore they should eat and drink and after everyone will die away.

To make nonsense of what Jesus was preaching, they put up the question of the possibility of resurrection to him, after narrating the story of the seven brothers who were married to the same woman. They asked Jesus, “at the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be since she was married to the seven brothers?” (Lk 20:33)

Jesus’ response gives us a clue of what resurrection from the dead is like: 

1. Resurrection is not a continuation of one's previous life but a totally different one. That is why in the present life one can marry but in the life to come there is no marriage (Lk 20:34-35). It is a new life. It is a life in God. However, the nature of this life is hidden from us in this present life.

2. Even though we can’t say exactly how life with God will be like, we are sure that in the resurrection from the dead we shall continue to live (an unending life) just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who though have died but still live in God.

However, there are conditions we must fulfill before we can partake in this life after. Part of these conditions is summarized in the experience of seven brothers in the first reading, who were arrested by the wicked king, Antiocus, and were forced to deny their faith by eating pork meat which was forbidden in their religion. They stood firm even to the point of death in defense of their faith and God. Just like them, we must be persistent in defense of our faith and firm in the time of persecution; for “Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right: there is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:10).

Another condition is this: since we are sure that resurrection from the dead comes from the Lord alone, just like St Paul encourages in the second reading, we must preach this gospel to the ends of the earth and bring to the awareness of all that life only comes from God. While we preach this gospel, we must always pray to God to preserve from the clutches of the devil who moves about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And finally, we must pray that God should grant us the gift of salvation by resurrecting us, when the time comes.

Rev Fr. Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.

ALL SOULS: PURGATORY?

ALL SOULS: PURGATORY?

Where is it in the Bible?

The term "purgatory" has a  Latin origin and it means: to purge, to cleanse or to make clean or to cleansed once again. 

This term was adopted by the Church fathers in their teachings to refer to those departed souls who have not attended salvation and are still undergoing purification. These souls tried to serve God and made effort to please Him but in the process of trying to do God's will they  fell, out of human weakness. Since Scripture says, "Nothing impure will enter heaven", (Rev 21:27).These people can't be admitted to heaven immediately.  It will also be illogical to conclude that they are in Hell. They will be saved but after the moment of their purification. Thus, Paul writes:

There are many others who will be saved but it will be with much struggle or as to pass through fire (1 Cor 3:10-15). St Paul is referring to the process of purification (Purg-a-tory), fire of purification.

In this passage St Paul highlights that those who built on a solid foundation will be saved while those who built without using  strong materials will be saved but with much struggle. 

*WHERE CAN WE FIND THIS IN THE BIBLE?*

The word purgatory is never found written in the Bible. However, traces of its existence are found in some of Jesus's teaching about the last judgement. 

*1. Lk. 12: 54-59*

Here Jesus talks about this purification when he said that at the Master's return, "the unprepared servant will be put into the prison and he will never go out until he has paid the last penny."

Following Paul, we can underline the following points:

1. A prison as a place where  those have committed one crime or the othe are being kept for a moment, pending the gravity of their offense. 

2. We know,  prisoners cannot help themselves, they must serve their prison times, BUT those outside (family and friends) can make an appeal that their judgement maybe revisited and if possible their time of service in the prison reduced.  

This is exactly why we pray for  our departed brothers and sisters  especially those  who  have  entered the  PRISON OF PURGATORY and cannot help themselves out of there.  Our faith is that since they cannot help themselves or do anything for themselves, through our daily prayers we can ask God's mercy on them and forgiveness being granted them so that  they can gain salvation. 

3. When  a prisoner's ransom is paid, especially when demanded and when a prisoner finishes his/her time of imprisonment, such person becomes free. Hence, when  God finds them purified, He will set them free. 

Therefore, we can say that purgatory is a place of settlement of faults. That is why in:

*2. Lk. 12:45-59 & Mt. 5:25-26*

Jesus explains that the servants who are not ready at the master's return will receive very many strokes of the cane but but he who prepared but later failed out of weakness will receive fewer strokes.  With this, we can confidently  say that there is no equal judgment given to every sin. Someone who has committed a grave sin (adultery, murder, etc) and a person who maybe out of human weakness told a lie or stole a pen cannot be judged equally. These are sins but cannot merit same punishment.

This is where we anchor our teaching on purgatory and praying for the dead.

Eternal rest grant unto them Oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. May they rest in peace,  Amen. 🙏 

*Fr Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM.*