Life Changing Encounter!

(Homily for the 3^rd Sunday of Lent Year A)

          On our Lenten journey towards Easter, the Church through the readings guides us gradually to the understanding and the unveiling of Jesus’ identity, as the Messiah, a God with and in the midst of his people both in good and in hard times; a God who journeys along with his people even when he seems to be hidden; a Jesus often on movement in search of a sinner to encounter and change his or her life. On the other hand, drawing our reflection further, we can see that water seem to be one of the central themes of the readings of today, or the pivot around which the message of today revolves, especially in the first reading and in the Gospel. From the evangelical episode, we see that Christ is the Rock from which the water of eternal life gushes forth. In the words of Christ whoever drinks of the water He will give, will never be thirsty again, “the water will become in him source of eternal life”. In the first reading he became the solution water to the physiological and spiritual thirst of the Israelites. The second reading instead indicates the crucial moment in which Christ becomes the Rock from which gushes forth water for eternal life. “God shows his love to us because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

          The first reading (Ex.17:3-7) presents a people on a journey in the desert. The people of Israel left Egypt and were led by Moses towards the Promised Land, across the Sinai desert. At first, everything seemed glorious; they witnessed marvels (crossing of the red sea) which ought to have convinced them that God was with them. But not sooner than later, there arose difficulties: heat, tiredness, hunger, thirst and in the desert there is no water. On realizing that there was no water they thought they were going to die, as they began to doubt God. Is God with us or not? They felt abandoned by God. They murmured against Moses: “Why did you make us go out of Egypt only to die of thirst.” And Moses in turn cried to God: “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Moses made an appeal and petition before God and God intervened, he told Moses to go with the miraculous rod which he used to struck the Nile, “I shall stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.” God never forsakes his people, because “He remembers his covenant forever” (Ps. 105:8; 1Chro. 16:15). The question of whether God was with them or not is an existential question most of us ask in difficult moments. And God using Moses made water to flow from the rock, and this demonstrates once again to them that God is still with them. As a matter of fact, in the face of life challenges when we have a similar experience like that of Israelites; sometimes we are tempted to ask like them if God is with us. But the answer is in the imperative: YES HE IS. The Good News of the first reading is that the Lord is in the midst of his people. He is with us!

         The Israelites murmured, hardened their hearts and doubted the presence of God in their midst. The responsorial psalm picks up the theme of Israel’s hardening of their hearts during the wandering through the wilderness: “Harden not your hearts as in Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness”, this recalls Exodus (17:7), Moses “gave the place the names Massah and Meribah because of the Israelites’ contentiousness and because they put Yahweh to the test by saying, “Is Yahweh with us or no?”. From a physiological challenge of thirst the problem of the Israelites metamorphosed into a spiritual problem of doubting God’s presence. Water is indeed life, as the Igbos say. Our need for drinking is obvious; without water we would quickly die. But many a times we fail to recognize easily the soul's thirst. We can be fully preoccupied with the surface of things, and quite neglect the obscure thirsting of the spirit for eternal life. Like the Israelites, we worry about our physical needs, but many a times are unmindful of God who supplies them. Today, Jesus offers us the refreshing water of eternal life, a power of faith and union-with-God which is our deepest need, and can satisfy the thirst of our souls and the thirst for eternity.

         In today’s Gospel (Jn. 4:5-42) at first we see a Jesus that was wearied and tired after the long walk under the sun, a Jesus that was thirsty, who like every other pilgrim ask for water to quench his thirst, certainly for the purpose of speaking his transforming words to the heart of the Samaritan. However, in this episode we see a Jesus who did not subject himself to the schemes of the common behaviour and customs of his people. He swam against the current of his time, he was not bound by discriminating customs. The pivot around which revolves the message of this passage is Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. And in that encounter Jesus stooped low to talk to her, a Samaritan. In fact in the Old Testament, the conversation of a Rabbi with a woman is considered uncalled for. And because of the division amongst the Jews and the Samaritans, the woman at the beginning was responding to Jesus almost in an unfriendly way, trying to maintain the cultural gap. “How can you, who is a Jew, ask of drinking water from me a Samaritan woman?” The disciples too were surprised that Jesus was not just speaking with a woman, but a Samaritan woman. But Jesus did not allow himself to be conditioned by the current opinion of his time.

     More still, who could imagine a Jew chat with a Samaritan at that time? It is noteworthy that at the period in question there was enmity existing between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be schismatic, and as such, they have their separate place of worship, which is in contraposition to the one in Jerusalem. But Jesus ignores these divisions. On and on, the peak of this encounter is that Jesus stooped to talk not just with a woman, not just with a Samaritan, but with a woman of easy virtue, a woman of questionable character (she had five husbands, and the current one living with her is not her husband). Jesus concretized his mission statement that “It is not those that are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the upright but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:31-32).

     Interestingly, to Jesus the past life of this woman was unimportant. Jesus opened a new horizon, a new way for her. And in this encounter Jesus revealed himself to this Samaritan woman, as a Prophet. The woman declared “I can see you are a prophet”, after Jesus must have unveiled her past (5 husbands) and her present (the man she was presently living with). Openly to her Jesus declared to be the Messiah (that is Christ). For the woman said: “I know that the Messiah will come” (Jn. 4:25), you see sometimes like this woman our knowledge of the coming of the Messiah does not change our life. And Jesus answered her: “That is who I am, I who speak to you” (Jn. 4:26). Jesus disclosed his identity to this woman of questionable character, something that is uncommon in the scriptures. Jesus went ahead and disclosed to her the gift he came to bring on earth, not just ordinary water, but the Living water. Jesus says: “who drinks the water i will give will not thirst again, he will become fountain/source of living water.” Jesus is the living water. We too like the Samaritan woman are called to recognize and accept the Gift of God. God’s ultimate gift as we can see is Christ (Gospel), God’s gift is the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (second reading).

          In that encounter Jesus made pronouncements about the imminence of the Kingdom of God. In the words of Bultmann, “the revelation brought by Jesus gives life, and thus stills the desire which no earthly water can satisfy.” Already in his prophecy of Isaiah declared: “Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of salvation” (Is. 12:3). Jesus says: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me” (Jn. 7:37) and St. John added: “From his heart shall flow streams of living water” (Jn. 7:38). And indeed, Jesus left these streams for us as an inheritance. Furthermore, Jesus announced to the woman that the favourable time has come to break every barrier, whether ethnic or religious, the time not to limit religious cult or worship to a determined place or to exterior rites, rather to adore God “in spirit and in truth”. Jesus wants his followers to be pure in heart and in mind. Henceforth, true adoration of God is that founded on the newness of life realized by the Holy Spirit. It is a call to the internalization of gospel values.

          Indeed, at the end, Jesus fulfils in her the most marvellous work: He transformed her; from a sinner to a convert, from a convert to an evangelizer / a preacher. St. Augustine sees in this woman the symbol of the church that receives the revelation from Christ and announces it. The woman left her water jar and ran to call others. “Come and see”. A similar phrase Andrew used when he discovered Jesus and went to call his brother Peter: “we have found the Messiah… and he took Simon to Jesus” (Jn. 1:41-42), it is indeed a phrase that denotes the stupor and marvel that the divine presence provokes in the human heart. It denotes the power of invitation before the divine presence. The Samaritan woman gradually discovered Jesus, from interacting with Him as a mere man, to a teacher, to a prophet and finally she realized that He is the Messiah, her discovery of Jesus was gradual, from a mere Jew (v.9); he then becomes Sir (v.11); later a Prophet (v.19); then Messiah (vv.25-26); and finally the other Samaritans recognized him as the Saviour of the world (v.42). Upon this breath-taking discovery, she left her water jar, the source of what she thought she needed, and ran back to the town, and eventually calling, inviting and leading others to Christ. When she discovered the living and eternal water, she left her jar of earthly water that cannot quench her thirst for God. She does not need it any longer. She left her jar to enable her run faster, to avoid any kind of distraction. This indeed, is symbolic of leaving behind anything that can distract us or slow down our spiritual movement. May be each and everyone us has encountered Christ in different ways, what have you left behind?

          Today, Jesus like to the Samaritan, is inviting us to take cognizance of him in our life “I am the one speaking to you”, the Promised Messiah, the Saviour. He wants us to recognize Him as our companion in the journey of life, as the eternal Word of God, who continues to speak to us. Even till today, He is still speaking to us. Therefore, let us in obedience to the words of the psalmist: “kneel to adore the Lord, He is our God, we are his people the sheep of His flock” (Ps. 94). Jesus invariably told that woman and he is telling us today not to search for our salvation in any other. Again Jesus repeats to us, I alone can give you the living water, do not search for the living water elsewhere. He repeats to us: I alone can give you the water that can quench your thirst for truth, for goodness, for happiness and for eternity. Like the Samaritan let us open our hearts to the Word, for the psalmist says “today if you here his words harden not your hearts” (Ps. 94). The Samaritan listened to Jesus, and faith indeed, comes by hearing (Rm. 10:17), by hearing what? God’s word! Faith is to be shared, and it is not a “hear say” but a personal experience with the God that loves each and every one of us not in a generic way but personally. And the conviction of faith comes from this personal experience of God; those called by the Samaritan woman were able to say: “it is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves...” (Jn. 4:42).

          In the second reading (Rm. 5:1-2.5-8) St. Paul expounded the redeeming act of God in Christ in terms of man’s justification. And he concludes thus: we have peace with God, we have access to grace and we have a joyful hope of sharing the glory of God. And the basis of all this is that the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts. Indeed, justification and the gift of the Spirit are the outcome of God’s love. Therefore, this expatiates the idea that love is not an abstract idea, but it was concretized on the cross. Thus, St. Paul reminded us that in the midst of life difficulties we may think that God has abandoned us or we may think that our hope has no solid foundation. We too, are on a journey towards our own promised land that is eternal life. And on this journey sometimes we pass through the desert, sometimes also we are overwhelmed by doubt and we may begin to question “Is God with us or not?” Here the Apostle assures us that the fact that God is with us is undoubtable because Jesus is the reality-proof. For Jesus gave his life for us, “God demonstrates his love for us, because while we are sinners Christ died for us”, this is the underlining message of the second reading. St. Paul further expressed that “the Love of God has been poured into our heart through the Holy Spirit…” For St. Paul, our hope is not founded on our good works, rather on the love of God. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us”. Therefore God’s love for us is not based on our merit or our good work. St. Paul assured us of God’s presence in our midst through his Son, and the fact that Jesus died for us sinners is a proof of both His presence and love. He reminded us why we should always trust God: because ‘our hope does not disappoint us’ (Rm. 5:5).

          In all, to encounter God in the person of His Son we need to embark on a journey, the Israelites were on a journey, the Samaritan woman was also on a journey, we are also called to embark on the journey of discovering God/Christ. A journey of discovering that irrespective of the many challenges, trials and difficulties God is always with us. Also to discover Jesus as the Messiah in our midst, our Companion in our earthly sojourn and journey. The encounter with Jesus is an encounter that leads to a mature faith, a mature faith emanating from the first hand and personal experience with Him, which eventually ends in a religious conviction and the profession of faith: “It is no longer because of your word that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world” (Jn.4:.42). We have become altogether new creatures and it is no longer a case of accepting Christ because that is what our parents brought us up to do or any other second-hand religion but as the Samaritans affirmed we believe in Him because we too have heard Him and we know that He is the Saviour. Behold, we pray that the certainty of this knowledge of Him will make the ravages of doubt, fear and sin yield to the new life of grace in Christ. Jesus help us to rediscover you as the Living Water, for temptations abound to go for earthly springs that do not last. There are many watering holes. Some of them are life-giving and others are toxic. Little wonder Yahweh decried: “For my people have committed two crimes: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug water-tanks for themselves, cracked water-tanks that hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). May we never wallow in search of unsatisfying earthly waters or go to places that cannot guarantee us the Living Water. Happy Sunday Friends!!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

 

 

 

Go! Do Not Be Afraid!

(Homily for the 2^nd Sunday of Lent Year A)

        It will not be out of place to underline the theme of Vocation as the most evocative theme in today’s readings. The theme of God’s call, vocation dovetails into the three readings in different degrees. And by inference, we can equally say that this theme is in connection with the theme of faith, which is manifested in the human response to the divine call. Therefore, our message today revolves around the theme of God’s call and man’s response orchestrated by faith. And the locus of this as manifested in the first reading and the Gospel is an unknown land where Abraham goes for the realization of his divine mission and to the Mountain of Transfiguration, where Jesus called his three apostles the second time and on that mountain his divine salvific mission was revealed.  In the first reading, we see the episode of the call of Abraham, where God invited him to leave his country and go to an unknown land. In the Gospel passage, Jesus took three of his apostles to Mount Tabor and revealed himself to them in a unique and divine experience, his Mission as New Moses, New Elijah and the Son of God. Lastly, in the second reading St. Paul reminded his disciple Timothy and all Christians the holy call we received from God, which has to be the source of trust in the power of God, to the point of suffering for the Gospel.

        The first reading (Gen. 12:1-4a) evocates the acts of God in the history of mankind, for often theologians speak of the mighty acts of God in history. But many a times one may ask: how can we conceive today a God who acts in human history? Indeed, our passage from the book of Genesis is suggestive of one of the ways God acts in history. God intervenes and acts in human history by calling some vital individuals and establishing a covenant with them, and it is through these human responses that a channel for the execution of God’s designs is manifested in the world. At first, God tried with Adam and Eve, but it ended on a sad note (cf. Gen.3). Afterwards, He entered into covenant with Noah and his descendants (cf. Gen.9:9-11). Again, after Noah, there was need of establishing a new covenant and constituting a new people of God, for this God called Abraham to enter into covenant with him. In order to realize his will, many a times God enters into a close rapport with man, in a rapport characterized by call and response. It is under this interpretative key that we can understand better, God’s gesture and the obedient gesture of Abraham. Abraham in obedience left his country and set out for an unknown country, and it is as a result of that, that God made him, a great nation and a blessing to all the nations of the world. When the Lord calls, he attaches a promise. In Abraham we see an expression of an authentic human response to God’s call, a call that was addressed to a series of key individuals, starting from Abraham and culminating in and with the person of Jesus Christ and his apostles. It is on the basis of the above, that St. Paul used Abraham as the paradigm of faith. Faith in this panorama is conceived as an obedient response to the call of God, which opens up channels and avenues for the redemptive actions of God in the history of mankind.

      For Abraham the voice of the Lord was expressed with the words we heard in the first reading: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house.” Abraham was at peace with his people, he was happily married with Sara and probably desiring to be surrounded by his own children and to enjoy his old age. But God wanted him out of that comfort zone! Behold, the mysterious voice of the Lord came to him: “Go from…” It is indeed humanly speaking a painful command, but on the part of God it is not for deception, because what God promised him is greater than what he asked of him (Abraham): “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”, And we were told that “Abraham went as the Lord told him.” This movement in the life of Abraham is a maximum expression of faith, little wonder, so many years after that event, he is still considered as “Our father in faith.” God called him and sent him to an unknown destination, and he responded trusting in the Lord, even though he was unaware of what awaits him. He made a qualitative leap of faith! The call of God necessitates an “es tasis”, that is an exodus from oneself, it is a radical self-emptying. It is the abandonment of all the human securities: country, house, affection and material means. And the only security and guarantee given is God’s word, his faithfulness and his promises. A great lesson from Abraham is that: faith is all about trusting God even when you don’t comprehend his plans and where he is leading you to.

        The Gospel passage (Mt. 17:1-9) presents the event of Jesus’ transfiguration. And as a matter of fact, it is not by chance that we are called to reflect on this event at this particular time in the liturgical season of the church, because the transfiguration looks forward in anticipation to the Passion and subsequent glorification of Jesus at the Resurrection event. St. Mathew situates the event of the Transfiguration in the part of his Gospel where he speaks about the revelation of the Messiah (13:53-17:27); the solemn proclamation by Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:13-20) and lastly after the proclamation of the Passion (16:21-28). The word transfiguration simply means change of figure, and symbolically, it is an anticipation of the resurrection. Put in another way, it means giving up the present figure and obtaining another one. Thus, he transfigured before them or he changed in appearance.  In the Transfiguration of Jesus we see rays of Jesus’ divinity, which was somewhat hidden by his humanity, he offered us an anticipation of his future glorification and demonstration that his death on Calvary will not be the end, there is the resurrection, death will not have the final word!

        In his narrative, Mathew provides a number of fascinating factors: ●Mathew and Luke unlike Mark mentioned about the change of Jesus’ face and countenance respectively, “his face shone like the sun” (v.2). ●Only Mathew compared the whiteness of Jesus’ garments to light (v.2). The splendour of his face and the whiteness of the garments indicate the glory of God manifested in Jesus. ●Moses and Elijah are the two of the most important figures in the Old Testament, Moses represents the law that Jesus has come to bring to fulfilment, while Elijah represents the prophecies that Jesus has come to realize. He is therefore the Promised Messiah. Jesus is the New legislator who will give men a unique commandment and the synthesis of all other commandments: love, and as the new prophet who will proclaim to men the secrets of the heart of his Father. Thus as the new Moses and new Elijah he will realize his vocation and manifest the love of the Father. ●What was the content of his discussion with Moses and Elijah? Only St. Luke opined that Moses and Elijah were speaking “of his exodus, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:31), that is, his Passion. ●Mathew like the other synoptic reported the voice that came from the cloud saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The content of the message of the voice of the Father is a revelation that in terms of what Jesus does (his works) he can be compared to Moses and Elijah, but at the level of being he is more than them, because he is the Son of God! Secondly, we are all invited to listen to him, listening to him entails following his examples and threading the paths he has charted for us. And truly Abraham in the first reading shows us by an existential example what it means to listen to God, which is equivalent to trusting in his word and abandoning oneself in Him. The voice of the Father from the clouds reveals who Jesus is: “This is my Son.” God the Father reveals that Jesus is not only a man, He is also God. The context of the transfiguration event is a place where God declared the mission of the Son: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. After the Father’s voice, Jesus readily climbed down from the mountain of glory to the valley of human predicament and suffering. While he was coming down from the mountain Jesus ordered his disciples not to talk about the transfiguration until after his resurrection. ●In Mathew, there was a command of silence until after the resurrection. Mathew reported this command, Mark said: ‘he charged them”, but Luke omitted it. Why this command? It is because it will lack logicality, if the transfiguration is disclosed before the death and resurrection that would imply glory without the cross. At the heart of this narrative is the age-long assertion: “No cross, no crown”.

        Indeed, let us imagine the scenario at Tabor, before the apostles: Peter, James and John, and the vision of the transfigured Lord. It was indeed an atmosphere of glory and indescribable peace that made them to be bewildered and overwhelmed. Then out of bewilderment and fear, Peter spoke up: “It is wonderful for us to be here.” They wanted to remain there. Peter went as far as coming up with a concrete step on how to realize that dream or project: “I will make three booths.” At the heart of that event, Mathew tells us that the disciples were afraid, and Jesus intervened and calmed their fear with his reassuring touch and voice. As a matter fact, the Scriptures portray fear as man’s reaction to a theophany. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid…” (Rev. 1:17). And this fear was conquered only by the encouraging word of Jesus (cf. Mt. 14:27; 28:5, 10). Jesus came and touched them, saying; “Rise, and have no fear”, and they began to walk down to plain ground. There is a human tendency to remain in a place considered to be a comfort zone, just like the three apostles, even though they were afraid, but the mountain at that point became a comfort zone and they wanted to remain there to enjoy the tranquillity of the mountain and the “divine display”. They wanted to remain in the mere vision of glory, but Jesus led them down to the plain ground where he has to face his destiny on the Cross, where they will see the real glory, not a vision. Many a times, we are also like the apostles who desired to remain on mount Tabor, without realizing the necessity of passing through Calvary.

     What are those places and environments in your life that you have declared: “it is wonderful to be here”, of course, with the desire to remain there? Examine those moments and places very well and see if they lead you to your destiny, to your goal, to your dreams and aspirations in life, or they will only cause a spiritual abortion to the realization of your dreams. It is really true that sometimes the Lord leaves us in such places or environments for sometimes and he comes later very close to us to say: “Rise, do not be afraid.” In fact, in the destiny of every man or woman, especially of every Christian, there is a Tabor, a place, a situation from which he or she has to climb down in order to climb the Calvary, to arrive at a real glory not a mere vision. Therefore, we all make this experience, but what makes the difference is the attitude of each person. Here, the disciple of Jesus has to distinguish himself or herself from a non-believer. How? By and through the response he or she gives to that invitation of Jesus: “Rise”, not just rise, but rise and move down towards the realization of your goal. Drawing the issue further, the transfiguration of Jesus is a sign and a prophecy of what will become of us one day. Our Christian life is tailored in being and becoming, between reality and hope, between the already and the not yet. Our being, our reality or our already is in Christ. Little wonder, the apostle reminds us: “You are in Christ Jesus” (1Cor. 1:30).

     In the second reading (2Tm. 1:8b-10) St. Paul picks up the theme of the divine call and narrowed it down to the Christian calling. He emphasized that the call is by no means based on human merits, instead upon God’s purpose and design. Interestingly, this age long divine purpose has now been fulfilled and manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, who brought life and immortality to light. This wonderful presentation of Jesus as one who brought life and immortality into light introduces us to and situates us well into the context of the Gospel passage on the theme of Transfiguration.

     Above all friends, the message of the today’s readings reminds us that we are pilgrims, like Abraham, moving toward the land of promise. But our own pilgrimage is an inward pilgrimage. Just as God called Abraham, so he has called each of us. Though he may not call us exactly like Abraham to “your country and your father’s house” but he calls us to leave behind our old ways, greed, insincerity and selfish desires. Indeed, the direction of this existential pilgrimage is not geographical but moral: is a journey towards love, kindness and obedient to God’s word. Our own Promise Land is Heaven. Thus, in this season of Lent, the Church reminds us of this journey and calls us to conversion, the Church calls us in reality to repent and appropriate the experience of Abraham and that of the apostles on Tabor. In concrete terms we are called to accomplish three symbolic tasks or movements: to go from, to go down and to go. ●To go from: from the daily routines of life, from our Ur of the Chaldeans, where we are comfortable and relaxed: our comfort zone. ●To go: towards the land that the Lord will indicate, that is, towards the future of faith, opening oneself to the promises of God. In that episode, the land that God indicated to Abraham was the Promised Land, Palestine. But for us our own Promise Land is the kingdom of God, not just the kingdom of God after death, but already here in our midst. ●To go down: from Tabor entails going courageously towards God’s will, following the Lamb wherever he goes (cf. Rev.14:4). We need to embark on this existential and spiritual movement. The three apostles wouldn’t have arrived at the joy of the Resurrection, if they had remained on Tabor. Likewise us we cannot experience the glory of the Lord if we do not follow Him courageously, even when it means sacrificing our comfort zones, the things and persons that make us feel good.

        We cannot but remember the experience of Joseph, if someone who loved him wanted to show him favour, the person would have taken Joseph back to his Father, and not to Pharaoh, but the throne would have been aborted, he would have died, Jacob would have died, and that would have been the end of Israel. But Joseph needed to go to Pharaoh for the realization of his mission and no longer back to his father. “Pharaoh said to Joseph, I hereby make you governor of the whole of Egypt” (Gen. 41:41). And at the end, through the names given to his children he vehemently discovered God’s blessings and favour in disguise: “Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, Because, he said, ‘God has made me completely forget my hardships and my father’s house’” (Gen. 41:51); “He named the second Ephraim, Because he said, ‘God has made me fruitful in the country of my misfortune’” (Gen. 41:52). The path way to favour and blessing is not always positive and pleasing, many a times it comports pains and sacrifice. Abraham had to leave his father’s land and family, the three apostles had to follow Jesus and go down from Tabor, even though it was a wonderful place for them. Therefore, you too need to make a move. Go! Do not be afraid!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

Do Not Let The Devil Win!

 (Homily for the 1^st Sunday of Lent Year A)

          The readings of this first Sunday of Lent present the miserable condition of man caused by the fall of our first parents and on the other hand, our redemption in Christ. They present Adam’s weakness before the temptation of the serpent and Christ’s resistance and strength before the temptations of Satan, from the first, sin and death gained entrance into the world, while from the later, life and freedom. No doubt, the themes of our reflection today therefore revolve around fall and obedience, death and life, fallen humanity and redeemed humanity. The messages of the three readings are somewhat intertwined, for the Genesis story of Adam and Eve can be related to the Gospel narrative of the victory of Jesus over temptations, through the analogy that St. Paul made in the second reading between Adam and Christ. A profound perusal into the readings of this Sunday places the old Adam and the New Adam side by side. And the hymn of Newman reveals very well the aforementioned analogy and thus helps us to go in-depth:

O loving wisdom of our God!

When all was seen and shame,

A second Adam to the fight

And to the rescue came.

 

O wisest love! That flesh and blood,

Which did in Adam fail,

Should strive afresh against the foe

Should strive and should prevail.

Truly, it is through the prevailing of the New Adam that we can stand our ground in resisting the temptations of the evil one, but most importantly through that we can make a spiritual retrospection in recognition of our failings and the courage to ask God for pardon. It is on that note that the words of the responsorial Psalm introduce us not only to the spiritual climate of Lent but also to the reality of our fallen nature redeemed by Christ, “Have mercy on me, O God…for we have sinned. For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind. Against you, you alone I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong” (Ps. 51:1.4). Just like the first Adam we have fallen, we are sinners but redeemed in Christ. Thus, in today’s readings we see the synthesis of the whole history of salvation, all our history: creation- sin – redemption.

        The first reading from the book of Genesis (Gen. 2:7-9; 3:1-7) in a way points to the future of Christ’s event, for if we want to grasp the saving significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, we cannot but make a journey in retrospect, remembering that man is God’s creation, yet a fallen creature. Indeed, something went wrong somewhere, for man has become what God intended him not to be. These two great theological truths: creation and fall are expressed in the book of Genesis in chapters 2 and 3. In the passage of our first reading, we see the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and their eating of the forbidden fruit at the serpent’s deception. Not only that, there is another creation account in the first chapter of the book of Genesis that is more theological, for therein there is an assertion that God created man in his image and likeness. In this later account, man is the culmination of all God’s creation. The second chapter places man more at the centre of creation, therein, God made man and put him in the garden and surrounded him with all that he needed. However, in both cases, the theological import is the same: that is the fact that man occupies a unique place in God’s creation. The account of the fall of Adam and Eve and the temptation by the devil replicates the consequences of disobedience. They disobeyed God and obeyed Satan by eating the forbidden fruit. Maybe we may begin to imagine a garden with so many trees and at the centre, there is the tree it’s fruits are forbidden. Rather this stands as a symbol for a limit that should never be crossed. They sinned against God, and what is sin? Sin is a free act of man against God’s project. The result of sin is curse. When we do not listen to God’s word we go astray and the result is tragic (cf. Dt. 30: 15-20). The essence of the original sin consists in man’s pretence to realize himself without God. In disobeying God and taking independence from him, man discovered that he is naked, that he has lost his dignity. But God did not abandon man in his disobedience. Human experience confirms the fact that whenever we sin we forget who we are and what God has done for us.

          This ancient story of creation and fall in the book of Genesis reveals a profound theological insight. The overriding message is that man cannot blame God or any evil fate for his plight and condition; instead man is directly responsible for his actions, because man has made wrong choices that were not in accordance with his destiny as God created him. However, these choices and their consequences do not deprive man his responsibility. As we were taught in Catechism, the original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve was transmitted to us through our conception and together with it is concupiscence and disorder that pushes us to evil. We do not sin because someone has sinned before us, but we sin freely, imitating Adam on our own. And by extension, we can say that when one sins he or she is for those who come after him or her, what Adam was for that person, through my actions I can condition those who come after me, to be slaves or free. Sin in its profound intension is the attempt to eliminate God, to negate him, in other to put oneself in His place, as the absolute value. The serpent deceived them: “You will be like God”. The desire to be like God, to assume His place and to be the absolute master of one’s destiny and freedom, is the hidden intension in sin. This is hidden from our spirit, but not hidden from God, for God himself has said: “I shall climb high above the clouds, I shall rival the Most High. Now you have been flung down to Sheol, into the depths of the abyss” (Is. 14:14-15). In fact, St. Paul puts it in a more emblematic manner thus: “Who made you so important? What have you got that was not given to you? And if it is given to you, why are you boasting as though it were your own” (1Cor. 4:7). This is why God reacts to sin, because it is lie in essence.

          The second reading (Rm. 5: 12-19) could be seen as the continuation of Adam’s ordeal in the first reading, but also it complements it, for it balances the fall of Adam with the restoration of man in Christ. St. Paul speaks of the contrast between Adam and Jesus. He advances the argument that the sin of Adam and its consequent death is analogous to the sin of all men and thus the consequent spread of death to all. But more than that, St. Paul makes an analogy between Adam and Christ, for he posited that Adam began a history of fallen mankind that was characterized by sin and death, while Christ began a new history of mankind characterized rather by liberation, life and righteousness. However, in his analogy, Christ surpasses Adam, little wonder the apostle says: “If Adam…how much more Christ”. Be that as it may, Christ’s achievement is far greater than Adam’s, for we could say that while Adam introduced sin and death, Christ inaugurated freedom, life and righteousness. Death is negative, for its dominion enslaved man, but life is positive, for the dominion of Christ sets free. Christ is our saviour and through him we gained back what we lost in Adam: our dignity as children of God, he makes us sons and daughters of God. It is the “yes” of the second Adam that rectifies the “no” of the first Adam. Indeed, the analogy between Adam and Christ here serves as bridge between the first reading and the Gospel periscope.

        Furthermore, St. Paul meditated on these two events and he offers us an amazing synthesis, “One man’s offence brought condemnation on all humanity, and one man’s good act has brought justification and life to all humanity. Just as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience are many to be made upright” (vv. 18-19). St. Paul revealed something of a great importance, and that is the fact that Adam did not fall only for himself and Christ did not win only for himself. The disobedience of one implicated others in sin, while the obedience of the other introduced all to grace. And till today, man is caught up between these two poles of attraction: with Adam or with Christ, with sin or with salvation.  The first (sin) is consummated in a garden of delight, between euphoria and pleasure, but it exposes one immediately in the midst of thorns and thistles. The second (salvation) instead is realized in fatigue and suffering, but introduces one in the garden of joy, where angels come to serve winners.

          The passage of the Gospel (Mt. 4:1-4) is the presentation of the temptation of Jesus by the evil one. This account is found both in Mathew and in Luke (4:1-13), although there is a little difference in their manner of presentation of the temptations, while Mathew has bread-temple-mountain, Luke has bread-mountain-temple. It does appear that Mathew’s intention was to bring together the two questions pertaining to Jesus as Son of God. As such, for Mathew the temptations of Jesus are messianic in character. On the other hand, Luke’s ordering is suggestive of his desire to emphasize that Jesus is the new Adam, the antitype of the first Adam, who fell when tempted by the serpent. As a matter of fact, given that we are reading the Matthean version with the second and third chapters of the book of Genesis and the fifth chapter of the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, we are going to thread the line of St. Luke, therefore, seeing Jesus’ temptation as the temptation of the new Adam.

          The three temptations condense the three fundamental relations of man:

●Towards oneself (stone or bread) - Concupiscence of the body

●Towards God (God at my disposition) - Concupiscence of the eyes

●Towards others (power) - Concupiscence of power

         The first temptation was the demand of the Devil to Jesus to change stone to bread. Even though it is true that bread is good, but the word of God is best. It is also true that we need “bread” to survive, but what keeps us in being is the word of God. His “word are spirit and they are life” (Jn. 6:63), so also man “lives of every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord” (Mt. 4:4). This is the temptation to use his power to His material and personal advantage, to satisfy his hunger, after 40 days of fasting, but the real word that satisfies is the word of God. Till today we are still faced with the temptation of turning everything to “bread” just for personal satisfaction. Little wonder, greed, selfishness and insatiable desires for material things is erupting the foundation of our world.

        The second temptation was the devil’s attempt to put Jesus to his disposition. He took Jesus up the pinnacle of the temple, and challenged Him: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge over you, to guard you…” And Jesus to the devil, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Here, the devil asks Jesus for a miracle. The devil used the written word of God to tempt the Incarnate Word of God. Peter made a similar request to Jesus at the episode when he saw Jesus walking on water. “Lord, he said, if it is you tell me to come to you across the water” (Mt.14:28), and Jesus allowed him, but after three steps, he became afraid and started to sink. Indeed, miracles are not necessary for one to have faith. We remember Jesus performed so many miracles in Galilee and Samaria, yet his people wanted to throw Him down from the hill in Nazareth (cf. Lk. 4: 22-30). It is not miracle that gives faith, it is a supernatural gift. This is the temptation to make God succumb to the devil’s will, sometimes also we are like the devil, when we want to bend God’s will to our will, when we want and command God for miracles because we want them, not because He willed them. Some of us tempt God with: Give me, do that, resolve this problem etc.

          The third temptation was the Devil’s open challenge to Jesus. He took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed Him all the Kingdoms of the world and their splendor, and then the Devil tells Jesus (God) to worship him. The devil invited Jesus to succumb to his logic, for him to have everything. What an irony! Here we see the logic of the devil: “I give you, you give me”. This is the temptation for power (to have power over others). This temptation for power has dealt with our present world. This indeed is the exact contrary of God. God in His logic loves us first and gratuitously too. He loves and gives without asking for anything in return. The devil’s logic is “nothing goes for nothing” and God’s logic is “something goes for nothing”.

          Jesus in the threefold temptations teaches us to always put God first in our life. The responses (Man shall not live by bread alone; you shall not put the Lord, your God to the test; you shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve) of Jesus to the devil manifest that Jesus put God first in everything. Who is first in your life? These three temptations are the three ways through which man deserts the way of God: ●temptation of idolizing material things (selfishness), ●temptation to desire for success and personal prestige, ●temptation to grab power for the sake of domination. We too, are constantly tempted to deviate from God, but Jesus indicates to us through his experience a major road in order not to fall into temptation. We should avoid a type of an accommodating Christianity that tends to please man, rather than God.

          Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit, and he was tempted. He felt that there is an obscure power in the world he has to wage war against. And at the end of the temptation the devil left him, but St. Luke added: “the devil left him, until the opportune moment” (Lk. 4:13). And truly he did return, when instead of the pinnacle of the temple he took him (Jesus) to the pinnacle of the Cross and says to him: “if you are the son of God come down from the cross” (Mt. 27:40). In the episode of today’s passage Jesus started his fight against sin and against Satan the Instigator. Through his victory over Satan He created a new possibility for us: that is the possibility of overcoming temptation and sin. He is the antithesis of Adam. He (Adam), man wanted to be like God; but Jesus even though God became man to save man from his evil inclination and desire. St. Paul says of him: “Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God…But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8). The temptation of Eden has not ended, for there are still many serpents who continue to lead man astray and make him deviate from the divine will, but Jesus has opened a new possibility for us, he won Satan and his temptations in the desert, we too can win him in the desert of our human existences.

          As we reflect on the episode where the Devil tempted Jesus for three good times, the tempter had a sort of a formula: “if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread” (v.3); “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (v.6); “I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and do me homage” (v.9). The “if question” was something recurrent in the life and mission of Jesus, indeed, the part of the struggle he had to contend with was that of doubt and challenge, even upon the cross: “If you are the Son of God come down from the cross” (Mt. 27:40). Peter was caught up with the same question, upon seeing Jesus walk on water, “Lord, he said, if it is you tell me to come to you across the water” (Mt.14:28). The same question was addressed to him regarding his identity at the beginning of his public ministry. In our own experiences today, despite our human frailty and sins, we are invited to put the “if question” into the hands of God, and allow Him to fill us with the assurance of his presence and divine grace. In all, Christ and Adam show the two opposite reactions in face of temptation: Adam, archetype of sinful, evasive, self-seeking humanity and Christ, archetype of the new God-seeking man, resists temptation even repeatedly. We are indeed invited to follow the way of Christ in dealing with temptations and the tempter. Remember do not let the Devil win! We pray earnestly in this season of Lent that we may experience more deeply God’s mercy, goodness and love! Amen!!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)

Unless Your Holiness Surpasses…!

(Homily for the 6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A)

        From the readings of this day emerge the theme of the rapport between law and freedom. Freedom has become almost like a cry that we often hear especially from the youth: freedom for this or freedom for that. What does man intend by freedom? Often, it is wrongly conceived to be the possibility to follow one’s desires, to do and obtain what one wants, without censures or limitations of the law. God created man and He created him free. But God gave man a law on which to exercise his freedom. Not because he will not obey, but in order that he might obey freely. For this, the first reading affirmed that God “never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin” (Sir. 15:20). The true freedom of a Christian is the freedom to do what one ought to do and not what one wants.

        The catechesis on freedom begins with the explanation of freedom as the capacity to choose. To be a man is to live choosing, opting between one thing or the other. The little choices of everyday are to be guided by the fundamental choice that is the choice that Sirach spoke about in the first reading: choosing between good and evil, grace and sin. This ethical principle is not optional, it is inscribed in the laws of the human spirit, and as such, one cannot renounce them without renouncing at the same time one’s humanity, because not to choose is already a choice! The three readings of today are centered on the theme of freedom that is authentically Christian. In the first reading the sacred author made recourse to images to demonstrate the responsibility of man in his actions: “He set fire and water before you; put out your hand to whichever you prefer. A human being has life and death before him, whichever he prefers will be given him” (vv.16-17), this depicts the free will that God gave to man. In the Gospel Jesus went straight to the root cause of sinning and made the extra demands of the morality of the New Law: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you”. Lastly, in the second reading St. Paul talks about a wisdom that is imparted to the mature, a superior wisdom that is mysterious, divine, hidden, which God revealed through his Spirit.

       The first reading (Sir. 15:16-21) constitutes the necessary premises to welcome the message of the Gospel, that is so profound, radical and exigent. The passage states clearly that each person has a free will. God does not force his commandments on us, neither is he responsible for the evil which exists in the world. As the author says in such a thought-provoking and frightening way, “Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better, will be given him.” One has to admit his responsibility be it in good or in bad, this is the first step towards interior conversion. The Bible knows very well about the human conditions and fragility, little wonder, it speaks also of the presence of Satan that leads to evil, but it does not excuse man when he commits evil. For this, the word of God averts us: “Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him” (Gn. 4:7). True obedience to God has to spring from a two-fold conviction: that God is not a tyrant interested on himself but a Father who is interested on our good, consequently, He does not impose any law on us. As the author posits: “For great is the wisdom of the Lord…The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him and he knows every deed of man”. His knowledge does not in any way infringe on the freedom of man!

        The Gospel (Mt. 5:17-37) passage presents one of the most difficult questions in the Jewish world. The question is: is it still necessary to observe the law of Moses, after the coming of Christ? And is this observance in conformity with the teachings of the Scribes and Pharisees? Summoning all the sayings of Jesus, St. Mathew took a position about this fundamental problem: Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to complete it: “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them” (v.17). With this affirmation, Jesus recognized the law of Moses and all the Old Testament as authentic revelation of the will of God, but at the same time, he evidenced its limitations and imperfections. With that programmatic sentence, that was part of his sermon on the mount, Jesus presented his identity card and summarizes his mission. Jesus established a line of continuity with the past (O.T.), this continuity is not mere repetition, but completion and deepening. The will of God interpreted and realized by Christ is superior to that of the Old Testament (represented by the law of Moses and the Prophets), especially as it was being interpreted by some Scribes and Pharisees. For six good times Jesus repeated the necessity of embracing the profundity of the New Law. He repeated it like a refrain: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you”. Jesus speaks on his own name (I say to you) and with divine authority, manifesting therefore, his awareness of being the Messiah. Jesus presented himself to his disciples in the position and with authority as the “Supreme Legislator” of the New Law. The perfection and completion that Jesus brought is to be understood in the sense of a major radicality, of a more profound moral rigor and interiority. Jesus did not limit himself to the prohibition of some attitudes and extreme actions like homicide, adultery and swearing, he goes deeper and demands the fundamental dispositions of the heart and the change of heart, which is the root of every sentiment, intention and action. He helps us to understand that the exigencies of the will of God go beyond the teachings of the Scribes and the Pharisees, and what is indicated by the same Law of Moses. We need to go in-depth!

       As a matter of fact, the concrete examples that Jesus presented evidenced the major perfection of the New Law (the Gospel) with respect to the old Law: ►It is no longer enough to say do not kill your neighbor physically, there is need of respecting him or her. It is not enough to condemn the visible act of homicide, there is need of going deeper, to verify the internal or interior attitude or disposition. For one can kill through words, with judgment, with criticism, with calumny. You can morally and spiritually mortify, humiliate and kill with one’s attitude of superiority, arrogance and insolence. It is not enough, to say do not kill, it is necessary to comprehend how to show compassion, to pardon, in a word: to love. “If you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your offering there…” (vv.23-24). Here, we see the urgency of reconciliation. You cannot honor God if your brother or sister is dishonored, you cannot claim to love God and not loving a brother, because God is first encountered in the neighbor. ►It is no longer enough the commandment: do not commit adultery. This is too little. Whoever looks at a person with a disordered desire, therefore considering the person a thing, an object to be used for oneself, as an object of pleasure, has already committed adultery in his or her heart. This is because adultery is first consummated interiorly, in the heart and in the mind, before it metamorphoses into an exterior material act. We need to differentiate between a lustful look and a gaze or an eye to beauty. It is true that we all take a second look at a beautiful person, but the lustful look goes further to wallow in sensual imaginations. We can remember vividly well the case of David and Bathsheba (2Sam. 11:1-5). Jesus insisted not only on the fact that sinful acts must be eliminated, but decisively to remove every occasion of sin, for this Jesus says: “if your eyes is an occasion for scandal for you… if your hand…”. ►It is not enough not to divorce your wife with a writ of dismissal. But Jesus says everyone who his wife makes her an adulteress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Thus, as we have adultery of the heart, we can also talk about divorce of the heart, when the husband or the wife lives with the other without love, or the heart is linked to another person. Many Christians (husbands and wives) for years are living in this kind of practical divorce, when between the husband and the wife there is not even the desire to forgive each other or to reconcile. When indifference and hostility are established that is practical divorce of the heart. ►Finally, in the new Law Jesus abolished swearing for vain and meaningless motives. The Jews had the attitude of swearing, and while swearing they invoke heaven or the temple in order to give authority and credibility to their words. But Jesus says: do not swear at all. We dare not say yes when we mean no, and no when we mean yes. The authority and the credibility of your words, of your promises, of your testimonies, must be founded in yourselves, in your rectitude and honesty.

        However, man’s quest for freedom has plunged him into moral quagmire, to the extent of using his freedom to reject the law. Thus, law and freedom became for man two stumbling blocks, instead of two wings that will help man to fly to God, as it was in God’s design. They (law and freedom) became two forces that push towards the opposite direction, which has made man sometimes to groan: “who will rescue me?” (Rm. 7:24). But Jesus comes to redeem humanity, by reconciling these two opposites. He raised the standard, just as we heard in the Gospel passage: “You have heard how it was said…But I say this to you…” Naturally, it has to do with introducing a new dimension to the law, no longer externally imposed and translated in thousands of different prescriptions, but they are interior to man, written on his heart (cf. Jer. 31:31-34), and condensed into one precept: “You must love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself” (Mt.22:37-39; Mk.12:30-31; Lk.10:27). The greatest novelty brought by Jesus is linking the law with eternal life. For this St. Paul says that “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rm. 13:10). Be that as it may, Jesus wants us to do away with every form of ambiguity and double joke. He wants us to be sincere and transparent in our rapport with God and with our neighbors. Through the passage of this Gospel Jesus has helped us to understand the most profound exigencies of the new Law. It is now left for us to embark on a journey of conversion and a change of conduct in the sense and direction indicated by Jesus.

        What more novelty did Jesus bring entering into the world? Indeed, another new thing Jesus brought to the world is Himself! He made himself the sacrament of reconciliation between the will of God and the freedom of man. In him truly “justice and peace embraced” (Ps. 84:11). The two forces that were drawing man opposite directions, in Christ reacquired the possibility of being united, thus directed towards God. In fact, Jesus was the supreme realization of the will of God and the supreme actualization of the human freedom. In his obedience “until death” the will of God and the free response of man are affirmed. And there point of convergence is called Love. He offered himself spontaneously to his Passion: “I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again” (Jn. 10:17-18). Christ indeed is seen as the free man, who at his Passion freed and empowered others with his freedom (cf. Jn.8:36). By so doing, he traced for us a path through which we can follow him by imitation: “Brothers, you were called to be free; do not use your freedom as an opening for self-indulgence, but be servants to one another in love, since the whole of the law is summarized in the one commandment: You must love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:13-14). In the words of St. Peter: “You are slaves of no one except God, so behave like free people, and never use your freedom as a cover for wickedness” (1Pt. 2:16). Therefore, we are free, but like Jesus, free in order to serve God and our brothers and sisters. Though, the Masters of suspect like J. P. Sartre tried to negate the fact of human freedom, they say that man is condemned to freedom. Our freedom is not a condemnation but a call. Not only that we are called to imitate Jesus, he also gives us strength to follow him. Indeed, here consists his novelty, he did not abolish or substitute the law with grace, as it is said sometimes rather he gave the grace to observe the law, the Spirit to overcome the flesh. The most common conflict is caused by the flesh that refuses to obey the Spirit and tends to make freedom, as St. Peter said: “a veil to cover wickedness”.

        Indeed, all the discourse of Jesus reveal clearly the wisdom that comes from above, just as St. Paul expressed in the second reading (1Cor. 2:6-10), about a wisdom that is not of this world, “It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began” (v.7). This truly reveals all the novelty and the perfection of the evangelical message, which requires the orientation of the whole person, especially one’s heart, towards God and not just one’s exterior comportment. We could decipher from the words of St. Paul that the Christian freedom is not a wisdom of this world, rather it is a wisdom that comes from God, which God revealed to us through his Spirit, because where is the Spirit, there is true freedom (cf. 2Cor. 3:17). The Christian freedom in a pluralistic society like ours requires great discernment. We live in a context of religious, political and cultural pluralism. A pluralism that even touches the way we consider good and bad, and as such that touches and tends to condition our everyday choices. But a true free Christian acts under the action of the Spirit.

      Therefore, we are free, but like Jesus, free in order to serve God and our brothers and sisters. Though, the Masters of suspect like J. P. Sartre tried to negate the fact of human freedom, they say that man is condemned to freedom. Our freedom is not a condemnation but a call. Not only that we are called to imitate Jesus, he also gives us strength to follow him. Indeed, here consists his novelty, he did not abolish or substitute the law with grace, as it is said sometimes rather he gave the grace to observe the law, the Spirit to overcome the flesh. The most common conflict is caused by the flesh that refuses to obey the Spirit and tends to make freedom, as St. Peter said: “a veil to cover wickedness”.

    Above all, the first and second readings speak about the wisdom of God and no doubt, we need that wisdom to choose well, a wisdom which comes through the Spirit. St. Paul affirms that “the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.” Therefore, it is the Spirit who enables us to choose “in-depth”, in line with the radicality and profundity demanded by Jesus. The Spirit enables us to make the kind of choices which are in line with what is deepest in us and, therefore more life-giving. In the Gospel reading, Jesus proposes a virtue which goes deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, a virtue in-depth, from the heart. May the Spirit prompt us to choose always in accordance with our calling and dignity as God’s Children! Amen!

(Fr. Vitus Chigozie, SC)