Blossoming Your Gifts of Grace and of Nature!

(Homily for the 33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

          Once again we are presented with a parable on time, which revolves around the past, of when we have received God’s gifts; the present, in which one has to utilize the gifts, and the future, in which one will be called to give account of all. And the present time is decisive for our eternal existence. And these themes of time and reckoning connect the three readings, for the first reading alludes to a time when a laborer (the industrious woman) will be given a share of her handiwork (v.31). The second reading dwells on the question of the time of the Parousia, and lastly, the Gospel dwells extensively on time and reckoning, and overlaps into the agenda of God who wants to make us partakers of His joy. The story of our salvation is a story of love, a story of a God that wants our welfare, a story of a God that wants humanity to share in His joy. Though, we have to merit it through his love and mercy. Indeed, beyond the themes of time and reckoning, in the Gospel passage we discover an eternal agenda of God for each and everyone us, and that is the Master’s desire for us to us share in his joy. We may therefore, say that the life of each of us is lived out in the shadow of eternity, in the consciousness  that day by day through our behaviour we are drawing closer to the hereafter, to the enjoyment or loss of God's presence.

          The first reading (Pro. 31:10-13.19-20.30-31) presents a charming picture of a virtuous and gracious woman, who practices love for God and man. This passage presents a particular talent that is both natural and spiritual: the talent of femininity, the talent of being a woman. It contains the well-known eulogy of woman that begins with the words: “Who can find a perfect woman?” But upon a critical perusal we discover that this eulogy that appears so beautiful has some dints of defection, which certainly does not depend on the Scriptures, rather on the time and culture when it was written. It does appear the whole beautiful attributes of a “perfect woman” are in function to man, for the conclusion is: “Blessed is the man who possesses such a woman”. Leaving that limit aside, I would like to resonate the relevance of this praise of a woman, that went beyond physical beauty but which orchestrated the dexterity and dutifulness of the virtuous woman: “let her works tell her praises at the city gates” (v. 31).

          Drawing the issue further, upon proper reflection, one discovers that it is quite hard to see the connection of this reading with the other readings. Perhaps, the words of verse 31 will be of a great help: “give her a share in what her hands have worked for, and let her works tell her praises at the city gates”, and a similar sentence recurs in the parable of the talents, for as we are told the enterprising servants were given a share in their earnings. However, if we concentrate on this singular point, we risk losing the main thrust of the readings

          In today’s Gospel (Mt. 25:14-30) like that of the previous Sunday, Jesus narrates from life experience. The parable of the talents is one of the parables of the 25^th chapter of the Gospel of Mathew located in the context of the last five great discourses that make up the Gospel. It is the so-called eschatological discourse on the ultimate realities of the coming of the Lord Jesus at the end of time as bridegroom in the parable of the ten virgins (Mt 25: 1-13) and the judgment on history - the picture of the Son of man / king who separates, as the shepherd does, the sheep from the goats (Mt 25: 31-46). The central message of this part of the Gospel is the invitation to be vigilant: history is oriented towards an encounter; the Lord comes as the Spouse and will be the judge of all. It is urgent to respond to the invitation to welcome his kingdom. Already in the present he is welcomed in the choices of life we make and in the relationship we establish with others: “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). To prepare for the coming of the Lord, it is necessary to 'keep watch': "Watch therefore, because you know neither the day nor the hour" (Mt 25:12). The parable of the talents is placed in this context. It could be referred to as the parable of the three servants: the story sees three moments. A master entrusts his goods to three of his servants before leaving on a journey. The three behave differently during the master's absence, finally - and it is the largest part - the three realize what they have done when the master returns.

          What are these talents? From the human or anthropological dimension, talent is a personal gift, quality and capacity each one of us has received from God, while from the spiritual dimension, it is the Word of God received and welcomed according to one’s capacity; it is the gift of faith and those of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, the parable of the talents joins that of the Sower. To the different fate of the seed he throws - in some it produces sixty per cent, in others it remains buried under thorns, or eaten by the birds of the sky, corresponds here with the different gain made with the talents. Importantly, we need to take to heart, that the different quality of the talents is not to be understood in terms of mere quality, rather in the sense of diversity. The story evolves, that the owner of an estate went on a long journey and entrusted his talents to three of his servants. On their master’s departure, two of them made good use of the talents, and made some capital gains. Then, on their master’s return they were commended and rewarded. Contrarily, the third servant simply buried the master’s talent and returned it back to him, exactly as it was given to him, but the master rebuked him and handed over the money given prior to him, to the most enterprising servant.

          The Parable of the talents proposed today, underlines the necessity of fructifying the gifts God has given to us, both gifts of nature and those of grace. It is fascinating the similitude of the gift of God to a capital, and as such, the receiver has to give good interest. And at the end, we shall be called to give good account of both the capital (gift) and the interests (the good works and fruits). Thus, conscious of the need for a reckoning, we are invited not to waste the gifts God has lavished upon us; we are also called to guard against the danger of “conserving” our gifts, thereby not making use of them at all, that is the tendency of one who is afraid of trying, who dares not to dare. The Gospel thus, reminds us that if we close ourselves in an egoistic possession of the gifts received, we stand the risk of losing them. The word of God therein, condemns the presumption of auto-sufficiency, of he who thinks that he merited all and the passivity of he who buries the talents he has received. For remember: “what have you got that was not given to you?” (1Cor. 4:7).

          The temptation or the act of hiding our gifts exposes us to everlasting danger, because our Master is exigent. The scripture also reminds us of this (cf. Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24). The jealous and just God of the Old Testament presents himself in the New Testament, in the person of Jesus Christ, with the name and the face of a Father, but not as a permissive Father, or as a Father Christmas that is always distributing gifts. Though He is generous and magnanimous, he requires our correspondence to his will. The message of this Sunday no doubt, revolves invariably not on mercy, but on the other parallel attribute of God, on justice. In that bid, today’s message reminds us that there is a day of reckoning, and no person is exempted. St. Paul captured it vividly well when he says: “For at the judgment seat of Christ we are all to be seen for what we are, so that each of us may receive what he has deserved in the body, matched to whatever he has done, good or bad” (2Cor. 5:10). And the judgment will be on how we have used the gift of God? How we lived our life in accordance with God’s word?

          Existentially, in the Gospel we are presented with three servants, let us try to evaluate ourselves, and make some interrogations deep within us, on which servant we resemble, the first two servants who fructified their gifts or the third one that buried his gift? The third servant is a representative of every Christian that does not recognize and fructify the gift of God. The experience of the third servant is the experience of a Christian that abandons the God of the gifts in the quest of “conserving” the gifts. In that bid, the word of God today, invites us to do a thorough examination of conscience, we should individually ask ourselves: if the Lord calls me today to give account of my life, will I be ready and prepared? Am I not like the servant that wasted the gift given to him?

          The summit of this parable must be understood in the dialogue between the master and the third servant: in fact the first two are praised but the third is rejected not because he has done something wrong but precisely because he did nothing and was not creative in ensuring that the gift received could multiply in some way. Above all, he remained closed in a condition of fear and suspicion towards his master. The other servants are told to 'enter into joy'. The master addresses them with the expression: 'good and faithful servant'. Jesus helps us to see that here he is speaking of the relationship not with a human master but with God. It is a truth worthy of note that accepting the entrustment of a gift calls for responsibility. What the third servant did not understand is that authentic wealth is constituted by the relationship with the master (with God). He is blocked by fear, locked up in a preconceived idea that makes him unable to act. He considered the talent not as a gift but feels under the control of a bad master. He does not understand that the talent entrusted to him is a sign of a relationship to which he must respond with the involvement of his whole life and that God's desire is to let him enter into his joy. He did not understand that at the heart of that entrustment lay the call to live an existence in service and creativity. Indeed, waiting for the Lord's return is not a reason for fear but for trust and openness. What we have received must be brought to others, in an attitude of service. In the present time, the disciples are called to live a life of fidelity not according to a religion of fear that leads to immobility and the rejection of any change, but to enter into a relationship of joy that opens existence to novelty and to fruitfulness in love.

          Beyond that, our human and Christian duty is not only to develop our natural and spiritual talents, but also to help others develop theirs. In the modern world there is a profession that is called: "talent-scout", that is, discoverers of talents. They are people who know how to identify hidden talents: a painter, a singer, an actor, a footballer etc., and help them to cultivate their talent and find who sponsors them. They don't do it naturally for free or for the sake of art, but to get a percentage of their earnings once they have established themselves. But as Christians we called equally to help others discover their talents, but for gratis. The Gospel invites all of us to be talent-scouts, discoverers of talents, not for the sake of profit but to help those who do not have the opportunity to succeed on their own.

          It is plausible to note that in the context of this parable, Jesus was condemning the Jewish religious authorities of his time, who were like the third servant, so bent on preserving the tradition at the expense of openness to new things and Jesus’ message. Upon a proper interpretation of the passage, we discover that the master of this parable is equated with Christ, his long journey (departure) with the Ascension, while his delayed return alludes to the Parousia.

          The second reading (1Thes. 5: 1-6) is a presentation of St. Paul’s attempt to reply those who were asking questions about the precise date of the Parousia. Here, Paul cited the parable of the thief in the night (Mk.13:35ss; Lk.12:39ss) to buttress his point. If we live like people “who belong to the light, who belong to the day” (1Th. 5:5), then and only then, can we show proof of those who live in vigilance for the coming of the Master. People of light think beyond themselves, they think for the welfare of others, like the two servants of the Gospel who thought of making gain for their master. On the other hand, people of darkness cannot see beyond themselves, beyond there selfish interests. Be that as it may, as emanating from St. Paul’s admonitions, a Christian ought to live always on tiptoe, with the consciousness that the Parousia can take place any moment. Therefore, it invariably implies that it is not a matter of idle curiosity, but one of readiness and vivid awakening. Imminently, we are called to pass from vain curiosity of “times and seasons” to the existential attitude of vigilance and laboriousness, for in the words of the Apostle: “work out your salvation in fear and trembling” (Phi. 2:12b).

          Above all else, dear brothers and sisters, let us not forget the invitation to vigilance that reoccurs in today’s readings. The Parable and the second reading remind us once again about the necessity of being vigilant and always ready for the coming of the Lord. However, in a more particular way, we are called to reawaken our sense of responsibility and spiritual inventiveness. We are all like administrators of God’s gifts, the gifts, qualities and capacities received are to be used for good works. In all, the promise that should keep us always going is the reward for whoever that fructifies his or her gifts, and that is participation “to the joy of the Master”. Let us make resolutions of trusting in the Lord always, of having a positive and optimistic view about life. We need to acquire the psycho-spiritual attitude of empathy and thinking beyond ourselves. For us Christians, the faith and the sacraments we have received today are talents. The parable therefore propels us to examine our consciences: what use are we making of these talents? Are we like the servants who make them profitable or the one who puts the talent underground? For some their baptism has become a buried talent, and as such denying themselves the joy of the Master. Lord help us to make good use of the gifts you have lavished upon us, and at last to share in your joy! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

A Vigilant Hope For An Encounter!

(Homily for the 32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

          As we are gradually approaching the end of the liturgical year and drawing closer to the Advent season, the tone and mood of the liturgy perceptibly change. It is therefore, logical that the readings orient our attention towards our eternal goal. They indicate to us some internal dispositions with which we have to encounter the Lord. The liturgical message of this Sunday invites us to adopt the attitude of vigilance in order to be able to obtain eternal happiness with God. The liturgical texts invite us to have an attitude of vigilance in the world in order to be able to happily reach the eternity with God: “Watch, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Gospel). This is the attitude proper to the wise, because he who is vigilant on account of wisdom will be free from care, as such, as a gateway to eternal happiness, “Watch for her early, and you will have no worries” (first reading). Thus we will be able to end our life in peace, and always be with the Lord (second reading). Thus, it is the theme of vigilance that connects the first reading to the second reading and the Gospel. For in St. Paul’s parlance, it is our vigilant hope that will help us to attain the Christological hope of being always with the Lord (v.17b).

          In the first reading (Wis. 6:12-16) we see the eulogy of the divine wisdom, the wisdom that comes from God. The divine wisdom is more precious than all the riches of this world. “For she herself searches everywhere for those who are worthy of her, benevolently appearing to them on their ways, anticipating their every thought” (v.16), for “meditating on her is understanding in its perfect form, and anyone keeping awake for her will soon be free from care” (v.15). Thus, it gives peace and serenity. The divine wisdom helps us to comprehend that life is a gift of and from God, it is not a fruit of chance. It is a journey towards eternity, and as such, it has to be lived with heaven in view, in a vigilant watch and not in indolence.

         The parable of today (Mt. 25:1-23), comes after the other two parables that revolve around the same theme of vigilance and readiness for the coming of the Lord, “Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Mt. 24:44). The second parable has to do with a servant who in the absence of their Master have to fulfil their duty, but if they allow themselves to be carried away by enjoyment and it happens that the Master comes back, “His master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know” (Mt. 24:50). Similarly, the parable of the ten Virgins who were waiting for the Bridegroom, touches the same theme, but with a different underlining. Here, the Bridegroom delays in coming, but at midnight when no one was expecting him he appears. For this, Jesus concluded the parable with the following enigmatic words “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt. 25:13).

          The similitude of this parable is powerful, that the kingdom of heaven is like ten courageous young virgins, armed with only lights, who forfeited their night rest and embarked on the journey of dissipating the darkness of the night with their tiny lights, because they were waiting for the Bridegroom, the love of their life. Honestly, in this parable almost all the protagonists appear problematic, starting from the Bridegroom that arrives very late, who as a result of his lateness, put all the maidens in crisis: the five foolish virgins that did not take enough oil for reserve, and the five wise ones that refused to share with the others, indeed, this parable is full of incongruence. The turning point of the parable is neither the dozing off of all nor the lack of vigilance, but the cry of the going off of light; the foolish then asked the other five “give us some of your oil”, and the response was an explicit no. However, from the passage, the evangelist does not explain what he meant by oil, but one can imagine that oil has to do with light and with fire, something like an ardent desire or passion, perseverance in faith that makes us to shine and glitter as God’s children. “In the same way your light must shine in people’s sight, so that seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:16).

          Furthermore, today’s Gospel passage illuminates us about the Christian Hope, from the episode of the parable we grasp that the Christian hope does not make us inactive and inert, rather it calls us to action. The Christian hope truly, like a verb is an action word. In the dynamics of the Christian hope, no room for inactivity, for it is all about vivid waiting and awakening. The Christian life, in the light of faith and hope:

►Is a waiting, however not in the sense of just waiting for time to pass and that’s all. Here, the waiting or the expectation presupposes a desire: of a person or a thing. And in the context of our parable, the ten virgins were waiting for the Bridegroom. The Christian life therefore, comports a waiting, replete with desires for the coming of Christ. For this, the psalmist says: “God, you are my God, I pine for you, my heart thirsts for you, as a land parched, dreary and waterless” (Ps. 63:1). This ought to be the internal disposition of every Christian.

►Is more than a waiting or an expectation, is a call to keep watch. A vigilant wait, which does not mean allowing oneself to be taking by inertia and somnolence, but the consciousness to be always ready, awake and attentive to the coming of the Lord. “Always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have” (1Pt. 3:15).

►It comports an attentive and industrious waiting. “The point of our toiling and battling is that we have put our trust/hope in the living God” (1Tm. 4:10). The parable teaches us that it is not sufficient to carry a lamp, there is need to light it, therefore need of having oil. Likewise, it is not sufficient to claim to have faith, rather there is need of living it out. And the lighted lamp is a faith that is active and functional, mainly through love; faith that is translated in love towards God and the neighbor. St. Paul speaks of “faith working through love” (Fides quae per caritatem operatur) (Gal. 5:6).

          In all, the narration of this parable revolves around the following truths that: ●The Lord will certainly come. ●We do not know when, how and where he will come. ●We are called to imitate the readiness and spontaneity of the five wise virgins and to discard the unpreparedness of the five foolish virgins. ●We need to be proactive like the wise Virgins, by always having the necessary things (good deeds). ●We need to know how to wait for his coming, always ready and prepared, for only those that are vigilant will recognize him and be saved!

          In the same vein, St. Paul in the second reading (1Th. 4:13-18) reminds us of the efficacy of our hope thus: “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and is risen…” (1Th. 4:13-14). The death and resurrection of Jesus are the bedrock of our Christian faith and hope. In this passage, St. Paul without making use of the banquet image, speaks of life beyond death, as a reality that awaits those who hope in and on the Lord. Indeed, a Christian is a man or a woman of hope, in all ramifications. A Christian is a man or a woman who lives in the dynamics of hopes, sequel to this, G. Marcel made a distinction of two types of hope (Espérance and Espoir), in his parlance: “The only authentic hope is that directed at what does not depend on us”, that is, Espérance, a waiting for the fullness of being, while Espoir is a waiting for the future means of life. The hope we are talking about here is Espérance and that is the Christian hope. The Christian hope is not a simple probability, rather a certainty, because it is founded on the Resurrection of Christ and on the Word of God. “Our hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rm. 5:5).

          Vigilance is the virtue of those who hope. It is proper to human hopes to be attentive, to look towards the horizon of the future, but it is even more proper to Christian hope. Christian hope is fulfilled both within history and above all beyond history. Within history, it is the hope in the grace and mercy of God, it is the hope in spiritual progress, it is the hope in a continuous and growing conversion until the end of life. But, beyond history, it is the hope in the possession of God, so desired in our earthly life, and finally realized. It is the hope of the communion of saints, which fully satisfies the universal longing for fraternal love, which now includes all times and all spaces. The reward of the vigilant hope, above all, is the banquet with Christ: “those who were ready went in with Him to the Marriage feast” (Mt. 25:10), and the Word says in Rev. 3:20 “Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and open the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s side”. That is intimacy with God, experienced and lived here on earth and it will culminate in the eternal bliss in heaven. The second reward is the participation in the ‘triumph’ of Christ, who will enter into Heavenly Jerusalem as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. And of course, an indescribable and unimaginable joy here on earth. In all this, we hope to achieve it as we keep vigil. Each of us strives to achieve it individually, but at the same time we strive as a Church, on the way to the goal and the reward of our hope. Lord Jesus help us to seek You with a sincere heart and to be found worthy of You! May we never seek You in vain. May we never run short of oil in our journey of faith. Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Present of the Saints, Our Glorious Future!

(Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints)

          As we celebrate all the saints today both canonized and non-canonized, we prefigure the celebration in heaven. Today’s feast reminds us of the continuity and unity between the pilgrim church on earth and the triumphant church in heaven. The solemnity of All Saints is for each and every one of us an invitation and a reminder to holiness of life, which is the vocation of all the baptized. Our Eucharistic celebration today begins (Entrance Antiphon) with the invitation to joy, which the Church as Mother and Teacher directs to all of us, thus:

                                            Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honour of all the Saints, at whose festival the Angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.

    In today’s first reading (Ap. 7:2-4.9-14), John recounts a vision he received about that heavenly celebration of the saints. The words of Apocalypse 7:9-10 are illuminating: “I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, “victory to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb”. And he was equally told why they are in heaven, “These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb” (Ap. 7:14). The saints in heaven were faithful to God despite the many hardships and persecutions they had to endure. Little wonder, they have been crowned and graced with white robes. The saints won victory over trials and tribulations through their collaboration with the grace of God. St. Paul captured the efficacy of divine grace when he opined that “what I am now I am through the grace of God” (1Cor 15:10).

    Furthermore, many a times, we are confronted with the question, “why do we pray through the saints?” We pray through the saints because they can help us on our sojourn towards heaven, because they are already there. John saw an earlier vision when he narrated that he “saw golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints” (Ap. 5:8). So they can intercede for us, and they do intercede for us. The prayers of the saints are powerful.

          A profound reflection on the Gospel passage (Mt 5:1-12) reveals that the saints are men and women of Beatitudes. Little wonder, at the heart of today’s Gospel the word “Blessed” was repeated for nine good times. The beatitudes are proclaimed by Jesus in a fascinating way. The choice of the Mount by Mathew for this sermon is in line with his conception of these sets of teachings as the new law, which corresponds with the old law given by Moses on Mount Sinai. For Mathew Jesus is the new law giver, the second Moses. Though for Luke the Sermon took place on the plain. Indeed, it has been often observed that the beatitudes describe the life of Christ himself. And as such, in connection to ‘All Saints” it denotes that all saints are those who manifested a Christ-like character as expressed in the beatitudes.

        Be that as it may, the road to sanctity or holiness is the road of the beatitudes. Spiritual poverty or humility and detachment from the things of this world, meekness and the rejection of every violence, bearing pains, thirst for justice, comprehension and mercy towards ones neighbour, purity of heart, spirit of peace: are the roads to holiness. And the saints we are celebrating today teach us by their exemplary life that it is a road that can be plied by all.

          However, we may ask a pertinent question thus: why are these categories of people proclaimed blessed by Jesus? Not because to them Jesus assured success and wealth, but they are blessed because the “Good News” of God’s kingdom has been announced to them, and they were disposed to welcome it, from here springs joy, happiness and blessedness. We too can be called blessed if we welcome the Good news and all that it comports, for by so doing we will be on the road to holiness.

          Interestingly, the second reading (1Jn 3:1-3), invites us to aspire to be where the saints are. So that, there present can become our future. He reminds us that heaven is our destination, and this is the first message emanating from this passage that we have to take to heart, “we are God’s children, but what we shall be in the future has not yet been revealed. We are well aware that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is” (v.2). As such, St. John enjoins us: “surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ” (1Jn 3:3).

          Above all else however, with the Solemnity of all Saints the Church draws our attention to few paramount messages:

►That Heaven is our destination, as St. John said, “Beloved we are now children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed we shall see Him as He is” (1Jn 3:2). Analogically, St. Paul expresses that “for now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face” (1Cor 13:12). Really the saints are beholding God face to face. And we hope to do same too!

►The second message comes from the first reading, the fact that we are all called to holiness. St. Peter affirms this when he vehemently posited: “this is the will of God: your sanctification” (1Pt 1:15-16). The conciliar document of Vatican II reminds us equally of this universal call to holiness (LG 40). We are not called to an exceptional holiness, rather we are all (the first reading talks about a great multitude from every nation, race, people and language) called to essential holiness. We pray that the Saints may continue to intercede for us on our journey of perfectibility, so that we too may become partakers of the saints in light!

May the Saints continue to intercede for us!! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

 

The Two Wings of love: God And Neighbor!

(Homily for the 30^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A)

The central message of this Sunday is condensed in the love of God and neighbor. For Christian love to be authentic, it has to be in forma crucis, vertically and horizontally (God and neighbor). The first reading of today hinges on the love of one’s neighbor, while the Gospel presents the two wings of love: love of God and love of neighbor, and it is a re-presentation of the commandments in a new way. In Jesus’ parlance the love of God and the love of neighbor are interlaced. You cannot have one authentically without the other. As a matter of fact, the love of God devoid of the love of neighbour is nothing but a mere barren emotion; and in the same vein, without the love of God, the love of neighbor is nothing but egoistic and self-centered love. In the second reading, similar to the tone of last week, St. Paul continues with the thanksgiving for the spiritual progress of the Thessalonians in the Gospel. This passage reveals the content of the major themes of St. Paul’s preaching, the abandonment of idols for the worship of the True God: “you turned from idols to serve the living and true God…”

     In today’s first reading (Ex. 22:20-26) we find ourselves in the context when the Israelites have left Egypt. They were no longer under the dictatorial laws of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. This reading presents a section of the guiding rules God gave them on how to care for the weak and the needy in their midst. So, this passage is an excerpt from the book of the covenant between God and his people, as such, the materials therein are related to legal codes of the Ancient Near East. The codes are formulated in the negative: “Do not maltreat the widow…”  But in the evangelical text St. Mathew gives us a positive formulation: “you will love the Lord your God with all your heart…” This passage comes from a section of the code on social conduct, and it hinges on the love of one’s neighbor. It gives us some clues on the activeness and genuiness of love, thus: Do not molest a stranger or oppress him. Do not maltreat the weak (orphans and widows). Do not take interest from a poor man when you lend to him. If you take your neighbour’s garment in pledge, restore it before the sun goes down. All these point to the love of neighbor.

     Reflecting on the Gospel passage (Mt 22:34-40) I think we have to thank this unknown doctor of the law for his question, “Master what is the greatest commandment of the law?” (v.36). He asked the question, not because he was desirous to know or to learn but because he wanted to put Jesus to the test (v.35). Even though the intention was not good, Jesus profited from the occasion to give a great teaching on love. The teaching of Jesus reveals that the heart of Christian religion is Love. The essence of our being Christians is to Love. To the question on the greatest commandment, Jesus responded, offering three objects of love: God, the neighbour and oneself.

     In answering the question about the greatest commandment Jesus did not quote any of the Ten Commandments, rather he summarized them in two parts: love of God (from the first to the third commandment) and love of neighbor (from the fourth to the tenth commandment). Thus, Jesus focused on the two commandments: love of God and of neighbor. For the first, the Word of God says: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (v.37), this entails that the love of God has to be total, incomparable and without measures. And then for the second it says “and your neighbor as yourself” (v.39), because it is presumed that one ought to love himself. However, we are going to see the novelty brought by Jesus in the New Testament about the love of neighbor. In his response, Jesus used the verb in the future tense “you will love”, which indicates that it is an inconclusive act, to love is not a duty per se, but a necessity for living, for in as much as man continues to exist he is called to love. The response of Jesus could be seen as the summary of the whole bible, both the Old and the New Testaments.

     In the bid, to respond to his interlocutor, Jesus enlisted two commandments already existent in the Old law, but he unified them together, for he says that the second is like the first. In fact Jesus took his response from the book of Deuteronomy (6:4-5): “Shema O Israel: Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh. You must love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength”, that is with regards to the love of God, while the love of the neighbour alludes to Leviticus (19:18): “You will not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but you will love your neighbor as yourself”. In the time of Jesus there were known to be 613 commandments in the Jewish Law. These two commandments were dispersed in the 613 prescriptions of the law (365 prohibitions and 248 actions to be carried out).    

     Once again in the response of Jesus we see the third aspect of the two commandments, which calls the attention of man to love himself, “love your neighbor as you love yourself”, because one who is not capable of loving himself, cannot love others. But Jesus took this to another level, to its Christological dimension, is no longer love your neighbor as yourself, but love one another as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34: 15:12), here Jesus becomes the model and the reason of love of the neighbor. Unlike in the Old Testament (Lev. 19:18). In some other passages of the Gospel Jesus deepened the modality of loving our neighbor and broadened the concept of neighborhood. There is indeed, a new sense that Jesus brought in, he called us to love our neighbor not as oneself, but as  He (Jesus) loved us, because now everyone (especially those in need) as Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25:37) is our neighbor. Thus, there is a passage from the Old Testament restricted sense of neighborhood to Jesus universalistic and inclusive sense of neighborhood. At the basis of this, is an invitation to love our neighbor without measures. For and with Jesus the concept of neighborhood acquired a universal meaning without discrimination of race, colour, religion or territory. My neighbour therefore, is someone I have to be close to, somebody in need. We remember the words of Jesus at the episode of the last judgement “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me” and again “In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me” (Mt. 25: 40,45). This reminds us of this sacrament of love and our neighbor as a sacrament of God. He who truly loves God cannot but love his fellow man (neighbour). The neighbor in Jesus parlance is similar to God, for the neighbor bears the image of God.

     The love we are talking about originates from God, for God is the source of love. The word of God says that “God is love” (1Jn. 4:8b) and thus “everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God” (1Jn. 4:7), therefore, as human beings we are objects of God’s Love, for we experience it daily, but also we are called to be subjects of God’s love, to become channel of God’s love to our neighbors. For Jesus the love of God and the love of neighbour are like two sides of the same coin. Little wonder, tells us that: “anyone who says I love God and hates his brother is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother whom he can see cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1Jn. 4:20-21). Indeed this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother”. We can see the imperative on must, there is no negotiation about it.

     Furthermore, it behooves us to affirm vehemently in this reflection, that though in the parlance of the great French Philosopher Rene Descartes man is an “res cogitas” but before becoming “res cogitas”, man was and still is “res cogitata”, that is to say that before becoming thinking beings, we were already thought of by God, and being thought of by God is a revelation of God’s love. God in deed, is the source of love.

    For Jesus these two commandments are interconnected, for love comes from God and St. John makes it glaring thus: “dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1Jn. 4:7). Love indeed, is the manifestation of the true knowledge of God. Here, when we talk about “knowledge” we don’t mean “knowledge” (gnosis) tout court, rather we are talking about epignosis, that’s real, practical and experiential knowledge, an incarnated knowledge. St. Paul links epignosis with love (cf. Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 4:13). Give or take, the authenticity of our faith is shown when we put these two commandments into practice. Thus we can say: no love no faith in God. Little wonder St. Paul affirms that “faith works through love” (Gal. 5:6). And in the letter of St. James we read, “faith without works is dead” (Jm. 2:17), the vitality of faith is given by good works. St. John once again in his first letter brings it to a drammatic conclusion as he says: “Children our love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine” (1Jn. 4:18). So, how is our love to be active and genuine? On this, the first and the second readings gives us some guidelines.

     In the second reading (1Th 1:5-10) instead St. Paul presents the community of Thessalonica as a model for other Christian communities, because they welcomed the word of God with joy. Not only that they welcomed the word of God but they equally translated it into concrete life situations. They got converted and turned to God abandoning their idols. This no doubt points to their love of God. Likewise, for us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, we too need to abandon our idols, not necessarily other gods, but those things that divide and deviate our attention from God. We need to abandon our self-made idols, object-idles and person-idles.

     In conclusion, for Christian love to be authentic, it has to be in forma crucis, vertically and horizontally (God and neighbor). Little wonder, the cross is our sign of love and victory. That is why Jesus transformed a sign of shame to a sign of salvific love. In all, we are called to be witnesses of love: “from this all we know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn.13:35). Love no doubt, is the distinguishing Christian personality trait that enables us to be who God wants us to be! Lord Jesus inspire us to love you and to love one another! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

 

Things To Caesar and Persons To God!

 (Homily for the 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

          Human history itself has been characterized by conflicts, oppositions and clashes. And one of the clashes is that between religion and the state, which is no longer new. Drawing the issue further, the history of Christianity especially in the West, was largely a history of conflicts. In the first few centuries of its existence, the Christian religion was strongly persecuted by the state. Even though, the persecutions gave birth to the martyrs and Christianity later became the religion of the state, however, the traces of that tension still linger today. Our readings today talk about these oppositions and tensions: Cyrus a pagan king as opposed to the Israelites, God chosen people and the tension between Caesar and God etc. The first reading from Deutero-Isaiah presents a remarkable story of the Persian King Cyrus, who did not know God, but all the same God used him to achieve his divine purpose, thus revealing that God is Supreme over all, all the rulers of the earth are subject to him. Cyrus was a pagan king but however was appointed by God (first reading). This episode in the first reading introduces a sort of Jewish teaching about the state, and the teaching culminates in the declaration of Jesus on the tribute to Caesar and to God (Gospel). In the second reading, the faith account of the community of Thessalonica is a manifestation of a community that has placed God in the first position; they have given to God what is God’s through their faith, charity and hope.

          The first reading (Is.45:1, 4-6) tells us that God used Cyrus, a pagan King of Persia, in order to realize his designs, the promise of liberation of the people of Israel. Isaiah envisaged God’s work in a pagan king, an unbeliever led by God and called by name and appointed by God. The word of God to Cyrus: “It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me” (Is. 45:4). The chosen people were slaves in Babylon, and Cyrus won victory over Babylonians, and with his political astuteness he made the exiled Israelites to come back to their own country. Although, some scholars have it that the King did this not with the intention to liberate them, rather he did it because he wanted to dominate them better by sending them to their own land. But the overwhelming point here is that, Cyrus unknowingly became an instrument for the realization of God’s project on Israel: Their liberation from slavery.               

          Extrapolating from the above fact, we see two emergent considerations:

►God can use anyone to realize his divine plans, believers and non-believers alike. However, he will use us more if we are docile and disposed to the manifestations of His grace. ►We should not always consider whatever that happens to us or in our world purely from the point of view of human criterion and logic, sometimes behind the scenes of the happenings, negative or positive there is God at work, for our favor and good. God can make something good out of evil. More so, it serves as a reminder to all of us, that the mission of the Church is to bring to all unbelievers the Good News that it is God that guides their destiny, and through faith in Christ and baptism they too will be anointed by the Spirit and called by a new name. The Good News is that God knows us even when we do not know Him.

         In the Gospel (Mt. 22:15-21) Mathew presents the episode of the tension between Jesus and the two opposing groups: Pharisees and Romans over the issue of tribute to Caesar as a plot to trap Jesus. Latently, Mathew sets out to present the episode as part of the conflicts of Jesus and his opponents. And the fulcrum of this encounter is condensed in the words: “Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and to God the things that are God’s”. Doubtlessly, this pronouncement has been subjected to a number of interpretations in the course of the history of Christianity. However, all the three evangelists collocated the episode within the context of the happenings in the last days of Jesus in Jerusalem.

          In the context of today’s Gospel, we see an unusual occurrence of two opposing groups (Pharisees and Romans) coming together for a purpose, that is, to lay a snare for Jesus. In fact, with their initial eulogies they pretended to be on the side of Jesus. The fake tributes to Jesus by two groups of enemies that suddenly became friends, mention of his honesty, his fearlessness, his disregard for the status of those he encountered, all this flattery coming from people who normally were hostile to Christ merely exposes the hypocrisy of their praise. They wanted to get Jesus by incensing him with eulogies, “Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in all honesty and that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you” (v.16). Afterwards, they threw him the question “give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (v.17). But Jesus “knowing their wickedness” (v.18), reacts immediately with a counterattack: “You hypocrites, why do you tempt me” (v.18). And he asks for a coin, saying “whose image is here?” (v.20), they couldn’t but reply “of Caesar”. And he told them “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…” If Jesus were to answer, “Pay the tax,” he would have been accused of collaboration with the Roman oppressors, and would have incurred the scorn of the ordinary Jews, who pay tax. If he had advocated for non-payment of tax, he could have been arrested for sedition by the Roman authorities. So Jesus played his cards well. “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”, these words left them confounded and they quietly went away. However, it could be said that the response of Jesus left the matter in suspense, for it neither touch on the right of the Romans to rule the Israelites, nor did it enumerate concretely the things of Caesar and those of God.

          However, the hot button phrase of today’s Gospel: “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God” (Mt.22:21), was reported not only by Mathew, but by the three synoptic. And in the account of the three synoptic we see the contending question to Jesus: “Is it lawful or not, to pay tribute to Caesar?” (v.15), this was indeed a hot button question because: ►If Jesus had responded that it was lawful, he would have become a friend of the Romans, and attracted the anger of the Jews. ►If he responded that it is not lawful, he would have fallen into the hands of the Romans. ►If he did not respond it would have been a big disappointment after that their initial eulogy.

          But with his well calculated response Jesus silenced them all, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”. That is to say, if you accept the services of Caesar, pay also the tribute. This goes a long way to educate the Christians that they have their prescribed rights and duties before the State. Then, Jesus added “And to God what belongs to God”, this invariably reveals that before the duties one owes to the State comes the duties before God, who is the Supreme and Absolute Being. The State / Government cannot appropriate to herself absolute values. Be that as it may, if the State promulgates laws that are contrary to the laws of God, a Christian has to respond courageously like the apostles: “obedience to God comes before obedience to men” (At. 5:29).

          The saying of Jesus above has been interpreted in so many ways, some use it to justify the claim that religious leaders should not interfere in secular domains like politics and economics etc. But this could not possibly be the meaning. As a matter of fact, the whole teachings of Jesus reiterates the fact that the whole of creation belong to God, “his is the earth and the fullness thereof”. As such, there is no question of separate domains, for everything belongs to God. More than that, the saying is rather about maintaining priorities. The question was a trap because for the Pharisees paying taxes to Caesar is important, but for Jesus it is of a relative importance, little wonder he responded in such a wise manner. What belongs to God therefore, must be considered from a wider sense to mean what we can not compromise where and when it is concerned, for instance we can talk about: family, the sacrality of human life, justice etc. Jesus in this passage is pointing out that priorities have gone wrong, little wonder, his response took them by surprise and at the same time, very satisfying, for they left him alone and went away. Many a times, we fall into the same misplacement of priorities like the Pharisees, for we lay too much stress on things that are important but secondary, for instance: wealth, prestige and popularity.

          Symbolically, as the image of the emperor on the coin demonstrates that the coin belongs to him, so also, man as an image of God, with God’s imprint, belongs to God. For Genesis 1: 26-27 reminds us that man is a “creatio imago Dei”, made in the image and likeness of God. As such, if the coin is giving to Caesar because it bears his image, man bears the image of God and thus, belongs to God. Therefore, to Caesar things, to God Persons! Jesus responded to their question with a double edged answer. First, he substituted the verb “to pay” with the verb “to give back”, therefore to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Here, "give back" is a strong imperative, that has to do not only with money, but the whole life. The question we cannot but ask is this: who is Caesar? Caesar is not God, and Jesus removed from Caesar any divine pretence. Give back to God what is God’s: to God belongs man, made little less than the angels (Ps. 8) and at the same time on our hands we carry the inscription: “Yahweh’s” (Is. 44:5). No doubt, Jesus recognized the value and autonomy of political powers in the spheres of their competence, however, he reminds Caesar (political powers) that he also has “to give God what belongs to God”, to recognize the universal sovereignty of God, therefore, respecting God’s law on man and the human conscience.

          In the second reading (1Th. 1:1-5b), we read from the earliest written document of the New Testament, which was authored by Paul around 50 AD during his stay at Corinth. It happened that Paul founded the Church in Thessalonica not too long from the moment he wrote this epistle. He writes with preoccupation over his new converts that he left, not only that, he even sent Timothy to go and see how they were faring in the faith. And as God would have it, Timothy brought an encouraging report, and that triggered the warm tone of the opening of this epistle, thus, he began with thanksgiving. They tried to put God at the proper position in their lives, they put God first, and they did give to God what belongs to God. He compliments them for their commitment in the faith, industriousness in charity and for their constant hope in the Lord. Can this be said of our own Christian communities and parishes too?

          In all, the story of Cyrus in the first reading confirms the fact that all authority comes from God and belongs to Him too (cf. Romans 13:1), all the same, giving to Caesar and to God does not mean compromising our faith in God with the things of this world. There is a pressing need to put God at the proper position in our lives and society. Today we are in a society that on and on tends to relegate God to the background, a society where relative opinions that drag the human dignity to the mud are made laws. We cannot but talk about the latent and manifest legalization of abortion, violence on human life, the presages of injustice and the reification of the human person.  Above all, we cannot but reaffirm the belongingness of man to God. Heavenly Father, all power and authority in heaven and on earth belongs to and comes from you, give us the grace to understand that it is in your Son we have life, and may the light of the Holy Spirit enlighten our minds and our darkened world to acknowledge and place You at the first position in our lives, thus God above all else. As we celebrate World Mission Sunday today, may the Lord give us the grace always to respond to his invitation like Isaiah: “Here am I, send me” (Is. 6:8). May the Lord help us to participate in the Mission either by going or by giving! Amen!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC) 

God’s Banquet Is Open for All!

(Homily for the 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

          The predominant context of today’s readings is that of a feast, a banquet. Thus, the theme of banquet or feast serves as a bridge connecting our first reading and the Gospel passage. Indeed, by banquet here, the sacred authors do not allude merely to ordinary feasting; rather it is a symbol of the happiness and joy that are essential elements in God’s Kingdom. In the first reading and the Gospel we see a promise and the ratification of the promise respectively. In the first reading (Is. 25: 6-10) we see the promise of a change and transformation, from a situation of disgrace that the people of Israel were living in, to a life of happiness and joy, as symbolized in the imagery of the feast on Mount Zion, to which all nations were to participate. It is for all. Again, in the Gospel (Mt. 22: 1-14) we see the dramatic situation of the King whose guests did not honor his invitation and consequently, the exceptional condition of inviting all, to the banquet of his Son’s wedding feast without ifs and buts, no merit, no preference and no consideration of class. On the other hand, in the second reading (Phil. 4: 12-14.19-20) the apostle presents a Christian community living in authentic love, joy and sharing in one another’s trouble. The gifts they sent to St. Paul are eloquent manifestations of their participation in the eternal banquet.

          In the Gospel passage Jesus employed the use of imagery in the narration of the parable to teach about the different aspects of the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, the theme “Kingdom of God” occupied a very important place in the life and ministry of Jesus. For at the beginning of his ministry, he started with the imminent call: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel” (Mk.1:15). And the Kingdom of God that Jesus has come to inaugurate on earth is not to be understood as a mere eschatological reality, but also as an experience of the love and peace that are parts and parcel of Jesus’ public ministry. It is a situation of inclusiveness where there is no discrimination and injustice. Drawing the issue further, the parable is full of symbolic personages: the King is God, his Son is Jesus, the invited guests are the chief priests and elders of the people and the messenger-servants are the prophets. The chief priests and elders refused to recognize God’s invitation to a call of holiness as delivered by His Son, but they rejected the Son and ignored his message out of stubbornness and hypocrisy. As such, the parable of this Sunday continues in the same direction of the previous ones, it does not matter who you are, where you come from and what your past has been, what matters is one’s readiness to respond to the Lord who calls. At the heart of that parable we see the theme of the universality of the Kingdom of God that Christ came to inaugurate.

          The Gospel periscope from Mathew presents the wedding feast of the Son of the King, and contrary from what is obtainable in the ordinary human existential context, none of the invitees seem interested, not even the rich and the wealthy wanted to come. But the King does not give up at the prime refusal of those invited, and he went ahead and launched another invitation, yet they did not honor it, but he did not give up. Afterwards, the third time, he said to his servants: “the wedding feast is ready, but those invited are not worthy”, then he sent them to call all, good and bad, and lastly, the wedding hall was filled with people. He asked his servants to invite all, without consideration of merits or formalities anymore. Here lies the central message of this parable: God is like one who organizes a feast, the best of all feasts, and He invites you and gives you the conditions for a good and joyful life. At this third time, he sent his servants to go out, this gesture cannot but remind us, of the invitation of the Church to be on the move, and not an immobile Church. They were sent out to call all, men and women of little importance, what is important is that they are thirsty for the feast and for life. Through this parable Jesus is telling us that God has opened the door of his heart for all men, no one and no race is excluded, likewise, we are expected to open the doors of our hearts to welcome his invitation. Therefore, this parable reveals the image of a God whose purpose is to share his life and blessing with all and the outright rejection of man does not reduce the intensity of the divine insistence. This loving and open-hearted persistence of God in inviting us to a joyful life in and with Him is a renewed Gospel that should reecho ceaselessly in our hearts and ears.

          An important aspect of the Kingdom of God is explained through the parable of the Wedding feast. As such, to belong to the Kingdom of God, is a personal choice of an individual, for therein all are invited, but each person has the freedom to choose to be or not to be a participant. And to become a participant of the Kingdom of God is both a Gift and a Responsibility; the responsibility to undergo a radical transformation and change, leaving behind the old man (cf. Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:9-10), in the Pauline parlance. We as followers of Christ are called to create an atmosphere of love, peace, sharing and passing from the logic of self-centeredness to that of God-centeredness, which depicts the reality of God’s Kingdom.

          In the same vein, the theme of universality was anticipated in the first reading from the prophecy of Isaiah, where he prophesized that the Lord: “will prepare a banquet for all the nations”. St. Mathew in the Gospel sees the parable of the banquet prepared by the King, as a summary of the history of Salvation of mankind. God sends on different times and occasions his servants to call the invited, there are those invited for the wedding banquet, particularly the Jewish people, and a good number of them did not honor the invitation. And their refusal served as an avenue to invite all. Interestingly, in the context of this parable, Mathew sets out to communicate to his readers that the true chosen people are made up of both Jews and Gentiles (pagans) alike, for Jesus has broken all the barriers of separation between peoples and nations. Meanwhile, in the person of Christ, the history of salvation reaches its culminating point: “everything is ready, come to the wedding” (v.4). The kingdom of God is present in Christ, for he is the “Autobasilea”, Kingdom personified. The Kingdom of God is realized through him and with Him the Kingdom of God is present. It is not just only an eschatological reality, for the Kingdom of God is present in our midst. Thus, there is no time to waste, man has to decide and make a choice. Are you honoring the invitation of the Great King or not?

          Secondly, we cannot but underline the gratuitous nature of this banquet; it is God that offers it. It is God that calls, and he expects us to accept the invitation. However, accepting the invitation entails accepting it with all its implications and consequences. It is surprising and astonishing that some of those invited to the banquet turned down the invitation, thus ungrateful of the generosity of the King. This is discouraging because the banquet is already ready, there are no serious reasons not to respond. For as we can see, the major reasons for turning down the invitation is because one prefers his own interest and personal work to the work and invitation of God.

           Consequently, others were invited “good and bad”, “Go on the streets, and call all you find there” (v.9). Here, once again the theme of last Sunday resurfaces, the people of Israel did not listen, and God turned towards all who are ready to welcome his Word. He does not ask about who they are, where they come from and what they have been doing before. Here, we see divine logic in action: from the Few invited to the All invited, from important persons to simple people of no worth. He says let them all enter. Interestingly, he says the bad before the good. The Gospel verily demonstrates that God is not in search of perfect people; rather he welcomes all who are ready to begin a journey of perfectibility and not of perfectionism. He does not want the wedding hall (Church) full of self-acclaimed saints, rather a Church full of pardoned sinners.

           Furthermore, the second part of the parable seems a little bit in contrast with the first one. The King calls all, good and bad, and then, when they are already at the banquet room, he pretends that those invited have the “wedding garment”, and sends away who does not have it (Mt. 20:11-14). In any case, above any exegetical discussion on the interpretation of the fact, it is certain that the parable is calling the attention of the disciples of Jesus, and all of us against the idea that the only thing important is to answer the call, and enter inside the banquet room, but that is not enough, there is also need to put on the “wedding garment”. The king enters the wedding hall and discovered that one of the invitees has not changed his garment, he has not put on the wedding garment, while all changed, he did not. He was still looking like those outside, the fact of his not changing and putting on the wedding garment is symbolic of one who remained in the old life, someone not ready to embark on the journey of conversion, a journey of perfectibility. He refused to enter into the dialectics of pardoned sinners. God’s banquet is open for all, but with the prospective of a spiritual and moral change, because man, and as such a Christian is in a constant becoming! It is indeed surprising that after inviting all, beggars and people of less importance, he now discovered one invited guest without the wedding dress. How come? What is this wedding garment that is necessary in order not to be sent away from the banquet? More than that, the wedding garment here does not refer to the one you wear on the body, it is a garment of the heart. It is a fervent heart, a heart desirous of an encounter with God in His eternal banquet. The wedding garment can be identified with promptness and readiness to begin anew, to start a new life, a state of mind in grace, and it has to do concretely with love (charity), the love of God and the love of neighbors poured on our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (cf. Rom. 5:5). The wedding garment can also signify the “dazzling white linen” of the book of Apocalypses (19:8), which consists “in the work of the saints” or “in the works of justice” that Mathew talked about in the Gospel (5:20), and particularly in the great sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29).

          The consideration above, invites each and every one of us to ask himself or herself the basic question: if he has the wedding garment? This is an important examination of conscience, we all have to do, because the parable ended emblematically with the phrase “many are called, but few are chosen”. The parable of the today’s Gospel is suggestive of four considerations:

►First, is that God continues to invite man to his banquet, even till today, but how do we respond? Sometimes like the invitees of the banquet in that Parable. The Eucharistic banquet is a sacramental sign of the biggest banquet of God, and it is the prefiguration of the eschatological banquet prepared for eternal life.

►Second, God calls each and every one of us to the banquet of friendship with him, to a life of communion with him. How do we respond to this? Do we always find excuses or we respond positively?

►Third, the parable admonishes us that it is not enough to enter in the Church, in order to be saved, there is need to live in accordance with the divine call. There is need of putting on the “wedding garment”, or to say it with St. Paul of putting on Christ (cf. Rom. 13:14).

►Fourth, it serves equally as an invitation to continue the work of evangelization to all: “All that you can find”. As such, in accordance with his invitation: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:19).

          Above all else, however, our God is a God that does not sit unconcerned on his Divine throne; rather he comes close to his people, a God that organizes feast for His people. As a matter of fact, as emanating from our readings today, especially from the Gospel, we cannot but re-affirm that the invitation of God to holiness is an invitation of joy, joy that is likened to a great banquet. So, responding to the invitation of the Great King to embrace the life of holiness does not subject us to sadness, rather it yields the fruits of happiness and joy. It is happiness that links us to eternal celebration with the Great King. In fact, St. Paul captured it well when he re-affirmed the words of the Scriptures thus: “What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualize; all that God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor.2:9). Who can imagine how the great banquet will be? My prayer for us all is that when the Great King comes, we may be found with our wedding garment, for indeed “blessed are those invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)