Do Not Let The Devil Win!

(Homily for the 1^st Sunday of Lent Yr. 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 center 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 pericope.

        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. 4:1-11) 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 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 M.C. Unegbu, SC)

Beginning A Journey of Perfectibility!

(Homily for Ash Wednesday)

First reading: Jl 2:12-18; Ps. 50; Second reading: 2Cor. 5:20-6:2; Gospel: Mt. 6:1-6.16-18

     Yearly we embark on this spiritual journey of the Lenten Season. It is a full-time spiritual experience of 40 days, in which we as Christians are called to be sincerely conscious of who we are and who we are called to be before God. This, as a matter of fact, will not only enable us but propel us to embark on the journey of conversion and return back to God, in the manner of the prodigal son (cf. Lk. 15:11-32). It is true that God’s grace and mercy are always available for us, but this is a “kairotic” moment, a moment of grace. Indeed, it is God’s time flowing in the ordinary flux of time. Therefore, to make the best out of this gracious moment, we are called to repudiate all forms of idols that obfuscate our vision and knowledge of the True God, and above all, a moment to grab the infinite and unfathomable mercy of God.

     One may ask: what is the significance of the number 40 in relation to this spiritual journey? A careful search into the Bible would revealed that the number forty was mentioned severally and it is indicative of a long time as well as a period of divine testing, trail, probation and judgment. Be that as it may, instances on this in the Bible abound:

• During Noah's time the rains came down for a period of forty days and forty nights (Gen.7:4).

• Moses was with God in the mountain for forty days and forty nights while he was receiving the commandments (Ex. 24:18; 34:28).

• The Israelites where in the wilderness for forty years before they reached the Promised Land (Nm. 14:33-34).

• God gave Nineveh forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4).

• Jesus remained on earth forty days after resurrection (Acts 1:3).

     The event of Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the “kairotic” period: Lent. The event of this day is characterized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead of Christians, which reminds us of who we are, what we are called to do and where we are heading to. For this, during the liturgical act of the imposition of the ashes the Priest says: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”. Ash is a symbol of purification, penitence and repentance. On the other hand, it points to the reality of our mortal bodies after death, for it decomposes and returns back to clay. Interestingly, ash reminds us of the burning fire that goes down, so is our existential experience.

     In these 40 days we are invited to begin or initiate a journey of perfectibility, for conversion does not occur once and for all. Instead, it has do to with a dynamism that has to be renewed daily. Today, the word CHANGE is so much in vogue especially in the political sector, but change as envisaged during this period is a real and authentic one. It is an invitation for a CHANGE of mind and heart, a change of behavior and attitude, a change of personal life. According Fulton Sheen the most important verse in the Bible is Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand”. Repent and believe the gospel”. We are called to change ourselves because the kingdom of God is near. This is the most important because Jesus preferred to begin his ministry with a clarion call to a CHANGE of life, and not with the manifestation of miracles. The change in our life must start with the change of heart. Little wonder Prophet Joel is inviting us in the first reading thus “tear your hearts and not your garments” (cf. Joel 2:12-18). Secondly, this change must be translated into actions: prayer, fasting and alms giving, and I would like to add: a journey of PERFECTIBILITY, trying to become better than who we were yesterday, one step at a time!

     It is against the above backdrop that we may affirm that Lent is a time of our Christian self-rediscovery, that is the rediscovery of the truth about oneself in Christ. It is not necessarily only a moment of penitence, a moment of mortification. For this, Jesus decried that even the hypocrites fast and do charity as well (cf. Mt. 6:1-6.16-18).

     Historically, one may not be wrong to say, that during this season there is a desire to relive and re-actualize the 40 years of the Israelites in the desert, as such leading Christians to the knowledge of themselves before God, just as the Israelites were led to the knowledge of their real identity as a people before God. And the knowledge in question comes through the w(W)ord of God. It equally reminds us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, when and where he was tempted by the Devil. But in that episode Jesus won the tempter, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He won the Devil with the power of God’s word (cf. Mt. 4:1-11). Be that as it may, the struggle and victorious fight of Jesus in the desert become an example and inspiration for us, to fight and combat against all that threaten our journey of full and self- realization as God’s children.

     The readings of this day, situates well into context, the immediacy and the programmatic nature of the Lenten season. Prophet Joel in the first reading proclaimed the immediacy and urgency for return to the Lord, that is of conversion, with the following words: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and tear your hearts and not your garments” (Jl. 2:12-13). The Psalmist joins his voice to that of Prophet Joel thereby, inviting us to the humble admission of our sins. St. Paul too in the second reading reechoed this urgency of the now: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2Cor.6:2). This indeed, reveals the “kairotic” nature of this season, a time of favor and grace. On the other hand, the programmatic nature of this season is orchestrated in the Gospel passage through the dynamics of Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting. These are the three specific righteous deeds. The righteous deed of giving fosters our relationship with others. The second, prayer which is the dialogue between God and man, is a righteous deed that deepens our life of grace and relationship with God. And the third righteous deed: fasting, the discipline of control over oneself entails that we are serious about the spiritual freedom that opens hearts to the will of God. The evangelist went ahead and delineated the way or ways for its actualization, it must be done in secret, so that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt.6:18).

     Beloved in Christ, at the heart of Lent resounds the old and ever new traditional dictum of “bonum faciendum et malum vitadum”, (that is doing good and avoiding evil). Above all, it is upon this consciousness that prophet Joel invited us to “tear our hearts and not our garments”, because the journey we are called to embark on, is more of an internal work, for true and lasting change comes from within. St. Mathew on his part, calls our attention to authentic Christian living and practice of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. And lastly, St. Paul hits the nail on the head as he affirms vigorously that the time of favor, grace and salvation is now. Ours this season is not an ordinary kronos, but a kairos, an ordinary moment, season that has been transformed into an extraordinary season, a season of grace. May God help us in our daily effort to become better Christians this Lenten period! Amen! Wishing You an authentic and life transforming Lenten experience.

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

Love Without Frontiers / Borders!

(Homily 7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

          The overriding word or theme that resounds in all the readings of this Sunday is the solemn invitation to a higher level of holiness, orchestrated by the call to model our lives to the holiness and perfection of the heavenly Father. It opens with the exhortation of Leviticus thus: “Be holy for” and concluded with the words of Jesus in the Gospel: “Be perfect as”. And the profound motive for which we are invited to a life of holiness was indicated, because we are children of the heavenly Father. Again, St. Paul in the second reading re-affirmed our belongingness to God by identifying the Christians of Corinth and all of us as the temple of God. The readings reveal the standard of the Christian ethics inaugurated by Jesus, and indeed, we can see that the Christian ethics always sets a higher standard. Jesus asks for more: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” What is so special about that? Jesus asks for extra. He told his disciples: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt.5:20). Jesus invites us today not just to listen to him or to the word of God, but to follow his footstep (he prayed for his executioners, “because they know not what they do.”) and that of God the Father (who gives the sun and rain to all without segregation). In a nutshell, the readings of today speak of letting go of resentment, unforgiveness and hatred, but instead to embrace the characteristics of God, which are compassion, love, holiness and forgiveness. Indeed, the message of the readings today goes like in a crescendo, from the call to love your neighbour as yourself to Jesus imperative of loving your enemies and praying for the persecutors. Jesus intends to eliminate the very concept of enemy. Love indeed without borders.

          Our first reading (Lev. 19:1-2.17-18) began with God’s intervention and the manifestation of His dream and desire for mankind thus: “Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: Be holy, for I, Yahweh your God am holy”. However, this is framed within the context of kinship and community: “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against the members of your race”, that is a practical advice on how to model ourselves to the holiness of the heavenly Father. Holding grudges, taking revenge, these are not the ways of Christians, if we want to be holy as God, we cannot indulge in them. The passage indicated some exigencies and implications of the love of neighbour, the commandment desired by God and they are truly demanding. It goes thus: “you will not harbour hatred for your brother…You will not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but will love your neighbour as yourself.” We are therefore called to love our neighbours. But there are implications for this love of the neighbour: “you shall be holy for I, Yahweh your God, am holy”. In the tradition of the Jews holiness means been set aside, separation from people. But Leviticus sees holiness differently, it does not involve physical separation from people, rather it is to be shown through good deeds like not hating one’s brother, not to bear grudges or vengeance and finally to love one’s neighbour as oneself. Thus, here holiness is to be conjugated with the love for one another. Indeed, our everyday experiences reveal that to live the divine commands of forgiveness and love in the family and community setting is challenging. For many a times, we fall into the temptation of harbouring grudges against those closest to us. No doubt, hatred, grudges and revenge create dysfunctional families.

          Today’s gospel narrative (Mt. 5:38-48) is the continuation of that of last Sunday. Therein, we see Jesus’ interpretation of some of the laws of the Old Testament. He starts by recalling the saying “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” (Cf. Ex. 21:23-25), though this was never applied literally. Prior to the emergence of the Law of Recompense or Retaliation (Lex talionis), in ancient times, when someone is caught committing a crime he pays for his own crime and other crimes that have been committed and were unpunished (eg. If somebody is caught stealing a goat, he will pay for all other goats or other things that have been stolen so far). So to put a stop to this, they came up with the law of eye for eye, for proportionality in the punishment. But Jesus went beyond the old law given by Moses, the law of retaliation: “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Ex. 21; Mt.5:38). Jesus proposed a sort of revolutionary ethics: “But i say to you, offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well” (v. 39). One could imagine how our world would have been if all should apply this to our day to day living, instead of taking the paths of opposition and violence, we take that of ‘turning the other cheek’. What Jesus proposes is not passivity or weak submission; rather he proposes taking a courageous stance of disarming revenge and violence. Even in our Nigerian context where violence and persecution have made headlines, violence is not to be responded to with violence. His words in the Gospel may seem to imply a passive acceptance of violence and oppression, but far be it! Violence and hatred are to be opposed with love and forgiveness; strength with apparent weakness. The Christian is one who strives for peace, the examples of Ghandi and Martin Luther King cannot go unmentioned. Christianity does not make me a doormat, a rag-doll or a wimp. Rather it makes me to become extraordinarily strong, because it requires great strength of character and great single minded resolve to be able to forgive, or to turn the other cheek.

          In the second part of the Gospel, he made another qualitative leap, he went further and told his disciples: “You were told, love your neighbour and hate your enemy, but i tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (vv. 43-44). This is the true evangelical revolution. The commandment of the love of neighbour was taken to a maximum perfection, to its extreme consequences. Indeed, many of the listeners of Jesus at this point, must have been tempted to say like the Jews: This discourse is too hard, who can comprehend it? And some might have walked away. Here, Jesus uses a paradoxical language in order to capture the attention of his listeners; however, it is not to be taken literarily. In fact, the human common sense suggests that you love those who love you and greet those who greet you. But Jesus says: For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much” (v. 46). Therefore, there is need of maintaining intact the words of Jesus and seek to understand the profound reasons behind them. Why should man or woman act in opposition to his or her natural instincts that propel him / her to react over an offence and to revenge? The answer is this: “so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike” (v.45). Indeed, even the responsorial psalm drew our attention to this prerogative of God: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our faults” (Ps. 103:8.10). Jesus brought a radical change, as he revealed that we are God’s children, who gives his sun and rain to all even to those who offend him.

          Furthermore, the fundamental motive revolves around the invitation: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”, and again in the first reading: “You shall be holy, for the Lord your God am holy.” Jesus went further to give us concrete ways of perfectibility. Be perfect and be holy, are expressions which in the context means, be perfect in mercy, be heroic in love, as your heavenly Father. The word translated as ‘perfect’ in English comes from a Greek word meaning to be “full grown”. This entails that Jesus is inviting us to become full grown, mature followers of Christ. A mature Christian does not take revenge or hold grudges, for they are not signs of love. Love is the DNA of our Christian existence. Full grown and mature Christians love their enemies and pray for their persecutors. And this is the height of Christian perfection! But can we be perfect as God? Or like Christ who from the Cross cried out: “Father forgive them”? It is quite difficult humanly speaking. Jesus gave us objective means of overcoming our little strengths: his words, his example, his grace and his Eucharist. Jesus did not come to present a moral at the measure of man, rather he came to bring man to the measure of God and not God at the measure of man.

          From the efficacy of these means echo the testimonies of the martyrs that forgave their persecutors. We remember the cries of the first martyr Stephen, “he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’” (Acts 7:60). Even till today, they continue to give testimonies, many unknown Christians who knew how to win evil with good, to overcome offences with pardon, and violence with meekness. Jesus gives us a new law about revenge: “Offer no resistance to injury.” He says turn the other cheek, go to the extra mile, give to the beggar. Jesus took us from the don’ts to the dos, he went another step further: “Love your enemies” and “pray for your persecutors”. A wonderful example of a saint who prayed for his persecutor is St. John Paul II, who prayed for Mehmet Ali Agca, who attempted to assassinate him. Jesus invariably invites us to see both the enemies and persecutors as images of Christ, whose names, like ours, are written on the palms of God’s hands (Is. 49:16).

          Jesus has taught us to bring down the barriers and frontiers that cage our love in the egoistic garb. The central message of Jesus is that of radical love and radical forgiveness. Indeed, “Love conquers all things and endures all things” (1Cor. 13:7). Furthermore, a Christian should not close the doors of forgiveness with such words as: over my dead body, a whole me etc. The first step to forgiving is to heal those painful memories. When I forgive someone, I set both of us free. Forgiveness has a liberating power. There is extraordinary freedom in having a forgiving heart. Christianity is a religion of love, love mined through the process of forgiveness. The message of Jesus teaches us to treat others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated. Therefore, a Christian instead of revenging and bearing grudges he is called to do like his Father in heaven, who allows sun to shine on all without discrimination. For in the words of St. Paul: “This is God’s will for you all, your sanctification” (1Th. 4:3). With the new standard that Jesus has given to us, we have come to understand that in forgiving and pardoning those who offend us we grow and mature in humanity. It is in and through forgiveness that we regain our brothers and sisters that have offended us. Memorable friendships are fruits of the wonderful gesture of forgiveness; marriages and homes in crises are saved and re-joined together after a difficult forgiveness. But unfortunately, we still have those human experiences where Christians are still practicing the law of retaliation ‘eye for eye’, where brothers and sisters live in continuous open and latent conflict.

          In the Second Reading (1Cor 3:16-23) St. Paul focuses on the unique dignity of the baptized Christian and the definition of Christian ministry as service. Therein, he writes to a divided church at Corinth, a church pre-occupied not with the Gospel but with arguments over who should be regarded as the greatest among the teachers of the Gospel message. He responded to the crisis by affirming the dignity of the faithful as temples of the Spirit of God. In a captivating manner, he concluded: “Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life and death, the present and the future, all are your servants, but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.” Once again, let us take as point of departure the affirmation of St. Paul: “You are the temple of God. The Spirit of God dwells in you. Holy is the Lord’s temple which you are.” Paul is referring to the Christian Community of Corinth, and this is valid for every Christian community, for every Christian community is a locus of God’s presence, a locus where the Spirit dwells and works. But also the affirmation of St. Paul is valid for every single believer, right from baptism the “Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts”, through the work of the Holy Spirit we are regenerated to the divine life, we became children of God and “that is what we really are” (1Jn. 3:1). If we are the children of God, and as such participants in his divine nature, we have to make effort to imitate Him. The natural human instinct that propels man for resentment and hatred is the type of wisdom that St. Paul called folly. It does not resolve anything, it does not break the chains of evil instead it perpetuates it. Revenge begets revenge and it continues spirally. The wisdom of God teaches us how to conquer enemies and transform them into friends. In this new ethical paradigm introduced by the Master (Jesus) we can no longer have enemies, Jesus has removed them all and restored them to us as brothers and sisters to be loved.        

         To crown it all, in today’s readings we see the recall of Christians to their fundamental responsibility, their essential vocation, that is our universal call to holiness, auspicated through the words: “Be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy”. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. By Holiness we do no mean doing exceptional and extraordinary things, but just as expressed in the Collet of today, the effort and the commitment “to carry out in words and in actions what is in conformity with the will of God.” This is holiness: to live in the will of God, to do the will of God, which has been made known to us through the Scriptures, the teachings of the Church and even by our own good consciences. It is an invitation to live as the Lord desires, in our different states of life. Again holiness consists in the perfection of love, vertically and horizontally (love of God and love of neighbour). The love of God is to be reflected and expressed in the love of the neighbour; the love of neighbour becomes a sign and a concrete and visible manifestation of the love of God. God wants us to treat others not as they deserve, but instead to treat them as God desires. The desire and dream of God is for us to break down the walls and barriers of hatred and revenge, and build a love that abhors hatred and resentment, a love without borders!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

Unless Your Holiness Surpasses…!

(Homily 6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-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? Generally, it is conceived to be the possibility to follow one’s desires, to do and obtain what one wants, without censures or limitations of the law. What does the Bible say about freedom? 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 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 and he declared its validity, 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.

        Jesus accomplished this completion of the old law in two senses: in the sense of extension and in the sense of interiority. ●In the sense of extension: the mystery of God and supernatural realities that were revealed little by little through the prophets and manifested to the Jewish people, Christ revealed them in a perfect manner. The salvific will of God that was been revealed little by little in the course of the centuries, is manifested fully in Christ. ●In the sense of interiority: Christ perfects the Law and the Prophets. 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…”. ►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, 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). 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 (that is the law) 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.

        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 enwisdomize us to choose always in accordance with our calling and dignity as God’s Children!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

          

Let Your Light Shine!

(Homily 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

          At the heart of today’s invitation for us Christians to be salt and light, that preserve others from corruption, give flavor to the life of others and enlighten those around us, is the existential decision to do good. On this, Isaiah in the first reading invites us to share our bread with the poor, to help the miserable and the homeless. St. Mathew in the Gospel admonished us on the necessity for good works, which Isaiah has already concretized. And it is indeed on this passage of Isaiah’s prophecy that we have to examine ourselves to know if truly we are the salt and light of the world. St. Paul in the second reading gives us a wonderful input: humility in words and in action. Therefore, in any field a Christian finds himself or herself, be it economy, political and religious he or she has to work hard for the good of the poor, and then against oppression and injustice. This invitation for an authentic Christian is not optional, rather an imperative. The Lord has not lighted in us the flame of faith for us to hide it jealously in us, rather that we might communicate it to others. Christianity is about attraction through our good works and not proselytism and over-moralizing. We are therefore called to offer humanity the salt of faith excavated from the inexhaustible mine of divine grace and light beaming from His abiding presence. Let your light shine!

          In the first reading (Is. 58:7-10) the Israelites just returned from exile, they were trying to practice exteriorly the acts of devotion as prescribed by God: praying, seeking the Lord and fasting. But to them it does appear that God was not hearing their prayers, then they reproached God for His silence: “Why have we fasted, if you do not see, why mortify ourselves if you never notice?’ Look, you seek your own pleasure on your fastdays and you exploit all your workmen” (Is. 58:3). Many a times we have demonstrated this type of attitude when it seems to us that God has not hearkened to our supplications. But prophet Isaiah in the name of God debunked their presumption, and he reminded them of a series of sins that provoke God’s anger (cf. Is. 58:4-5). Isaiah reproached them that it is not enough to pray and fast, because prayer and fasting are useless if they are not expression of an interior attitude of detachment from sin and the overcoming of one’s egoism. Prayer and fasting are pleasing to God when they are accompanied with a pure heart and the works of charity and justice.

          Isaiah in his prophecy laid emphasis on concrete works of light. He says: “Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin? Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh’s glory come behind you” (vv.7-8). Indeed, it is when our good works shine that God will answer us, that he will assure us of his presence. “Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, ‘I am here.’… if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness” (vv.9-10). It is only when one has done the aforementioned good works that he can call God, and God answers. And indeed, who acts in such a manner will shine like light in the darkness. It is the power of good example and the rectitude of the heart that enable one to shine. Today in our society the hungry, the homeless and the helpless abound. Especially the affluent ones among us, how do we make effort to help these categories of people in our midst? Isaiah speaks about doing away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, that is oppression, pointing of fingers and violent words, these pollute and obfuscate our co-existence and togetherness. We need to live as true sons/daughters and disciples of light.

         In the Gospel passage (Mt. 5:13-16) Jesus delineated for his disciples and followers the two major spiritual personality traits of a Christian: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world”. Jesus addressed those words not only to his immediate apostles, but to all his disciples, for the context of this passage was immediately after the discourse on the Beatitudes, and there was a large group of people following him. Salt is used for purification and cleansing. Prophet Elisha used salt to purify the foul water and it became wholesome (cf. 2Kgs 2:19-22). Salt also has the quality of preserving from corruption, as salt a Christian has to preserve the environment in which he lives through the testimony of his works. Again, light is meant to illumine, a Christian is a light who with the word of God illumines the human minds and situations. A Christian is like a lighted lamp that cannot be hidden because his or her good works cannot be obfuscated by obscurity in the world. In which sense are the disciples salt and light? Certainly, they are not salt and light in themselves alone, rather they are in the measure they participate in the Eternal Light: Christ. Jesus says: “I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not be walking in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn.8:12). The Psalmist says: “your word is a lamp for my step, a light on my path” (Ps. 119:105). Again, St. John affirms: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone” (Jn. 1:9). He is the true Salt and Light, in whom we are flavored and enlightened humanly and spiritually.

        Jesus is the salt of the earth, without him, the world is insipid, without the taste of eternity the world decomposes morally. St. Bernard said, whatever I listen to or read is insipid if I do not find the name of Jesus. Then, in what sense did Jesus attribute to his disciples the prerogative of being salt and light? It is in the measure they are illumined by his word, that they can become agents of light and make his light shine. As they have been made to participate in the divinity and Spirit of Christ they have to make others be enlightened by Christ. As a matter of fact, at the event of our Baptism we have received this responsibility. In the rite of Baptism the priest says: “Receive this salt, in order to be always fervent in the spirit” and again, “Receive this ardent light…”. Therefore, in Baptism we receive the Spirit of Christ, and as such, we become like him: salt of the earth and light of the world. We light our small candles from his great light. Little wonder, St. Paul says: “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; behave as children of light” (Eph. 5:8), ‘In the Lord’, not in ourselves. He continued thus: “for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and uprightness and truth” (Eph. 5:9). We need to allow the light of Christ to dispel the darkness in our lives, to dispel the darkness of our corrupt nature, so that through us his light and love will be manifested to others. The responsibility invested upon us, is to permit Jesus to continue to be light and salt of the earth through us. Thus, bearing witness for him before men, as he requested (cf. Acts. 1:8).

          The affirmation above helps us to grasp how concretely we are called to be light and salt to others. We are to realize that by living intensely our Christian experience, communicating to others light, joy, the capacity to love and to be loved which the presence of Jesus gives us, and striving to live in such a coherent manner that those who have not discovered Jesus will realize that only Jesus can give adequate meaning to our human existence. Indeed, there are some attitudes that are eloquent: amiability, mercy and generosity. And above all, the eloquent attitude of bearing witness to the truth. Not only that, Jesus speaks of something more concrete: good works, that is the work of light, which men see and give glory to the Heavenly Father.

          We need to ask ourselves: for whom are we expected to be salt and light? The Gospel says ‘of the world’ or ‘of the earth’. Here, the world stands to indicate our small daily world: our family, our environment of work or business. An authentic Christian cannot afford to be: “street angel, house devil.” Jesus speaks of a real light, a lamp that is lighted so that it will give light to the whole house. We really need to be light to those in our own houses as Jesus expresses symbolically with the imagery of the light in the house. Literally we need to be light to our families, to those around us, and especially today that violent in the families is on the rise. We need to be witnesses of Jesus, the Light. Indeed, the invitation of Jesus to us, to be salt and light is not an easy one, little wonder, he talked about salt that loses its taste and the light that goes off. An insipid Christian is one whose life is no longer informed and formed by the Gospel, and he becomes “the most miserable of all men” because he is denigrated for his incoherence. Today, we have many insipid Christians and those their light has gone off, those living in darkness.

          By that, Jesus means that our action has to have the same characteristics of salt, that is, to preserve from corruption and to give taste and flavor to the world and to the society, preserving it from corruption through the proclamation of the truth of Christ and with the integrity of our lives inspired by his teachings. Again, our exemplary lives have to become light for all men, a light that cannot and must not be hidden. A Christian has to be like a city built on a mountain, which is visible to all. A Christian who acts in secret, ashamed of what he does and says, is an agent of darkness; he or she has lost his taste and value as salt and light. A Christian who has lost his taste and value as salt and light lives contrary to his mission, he has failed in his responsibility as compass that gives others orientation towards God. Jesus is very clear on this, for he says if salt loses its taste is worthless. So if you are not salt and light to those that encounter you, you have failed in your vocation as a Christian.

          In the passage of the second reading (1Cor. 2:1-5) St. Paul said he presented himself not with “lofty words or of wisdom”, but in extreme poverty of human means, in full awareness of his nothingness: “I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling”, this could be regarded as part of Paul’s autobiography, and it is quite captivating. Truly, St. Paul confirms that on our own alone we cannot be salt of the earth and light of the world, we can only be when Christ has encountered us with his grace and when we are united with Christ in faith and in love. Paul did not present himself with sublimity of words and wisdom and his speech and message were not based on plausible words of wisdom, but on the demonstration of the Spirit and power. This indeed is interesting for there are three salient and determining elements for Paul and by extension for us: ●To know Christ and Christ crucified: which entails having a living and a profound experience of Christ. ●The manifestation of the Spirit of God and his power: he never based his proclamation on human wisdom and standard. ●To demonstrate with facts that the Spirit and the power of God have changed our lives.

         As a matter fact, unaided, left for our strength alone we cannot be true salt and light. Thus, we cannot offer others the taste and the joy of living, the just vision of reality and the correct orientation for life without Jesus, we need the Eternal Light in order to shine. On our own unaided by divine grace we will remain insipid and in darkness. For this the Psalmist affirmed: “In you is the source of life, and in your light we see light” (Ps. 36:9). To say it with St. Paul: “caritas Christi urget nos” (2Cor. 5:14), it is the love of Christ that inundates our hearts and propels us to become salt and light to those around us. Therefore, beloved in Christ, to safeguard the light we have received on the day of our Baptism is a daily conquest, it requires the effort to put on our little light each time it goes off, from the great Light who is Christ. And no doubt, the Eucharist is a privileged occasion to revive our identity of salt and light, for the Eucharist enlivens, enlightens and revives us. May His light continue to radiate in and through us, for in your light Lord we see light! Let your light shine!!

 (Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)