Jesus The New Passover Lamb And The Priest For Love Of Us!

 (Homily For Holy Thursday)

     Today marks the beginning of the Paschal Triduum, and it is indeed a celebration beaming with joy and gratitude for what God has wrought for humanity. In this evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper we gather to open the Paschal Triduum in preparation for the commemoration of the Lord’s Resurrection. Today being Holy Thursday, in a glaring manner we recall Jesus’ act of self-giving, orchestrated in the gift of His Body and Blood; the gift of the ministerial priesthood in the context of the Last Supper, in order to perpetuate his presence in our midst. That fulfills his promise to his disciples “I will be with you till the end of time” (Mt. 28:20). Jesus, indeed, is The Priest of the New Covenant, who unlike the priests of the old covenant offers himself and his blood, and not the blood of animals. The scene around which revolve the readings is the context of the supper where few persons reunited. However, the text and the context reveal that it is not just any supper like others. It is all about a unique supper, of great importance for all the guests. In the first reading, those that reunited were members of an Israelite family, who with the supper celebrate the liberation from slavery in Egypt. In the Gospel, those reunited for the Supper are Jesus and his disciples, and it was a dramatic moment, that pre-announces the Passion. Similarly in the second reading, we see the Christians of Corinth who were reunited first for supper, and later to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

     Our celebration today culminates in the rediscovery of the essence of Christ’ self-giving (the institution of the Holy Eucharist), the gift of his ministerial priesthood (the institution of the Holy Orders), and in the midst of these he continues to invite us to rediscover the value of service and of fraternal love (as exemplified in the washing of feet). We would like to make considerations on these three events: ●Institution of the Eucharist: Institution here does not mean enactment of a new rite. The institution is the investment of an existing rite with a new and profound meaning. This earthly banquet enacted by Jesus looks forward to the eschatological banquet. We may therefore, affirm that the Eucharist has both backward (the event of the Cross) and forward (eschatological banquet) imports. ●The establishment of the ministerial Priesthood: Be that as it may, the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful derive their priestly character from the nature of the Eucharist. ●The commandment to love: this is exemplified in the episode of the washing of the feet and the words of the Lord that accompanied it. In synthesis, we may well affirm that at the center of our celebration this evening are two symbolic elements: the Table and the Towel. It was at the Table of the Last Supper that God revealed the immensity of the divine love in concrete terms: a Towel and a Table (Bread), that is, in service and in total self-giving. A service orchestrated in a profound humility of washing his disciples’ feet. In fact, the act of kneeling before another, points to the voluntary poverty that Jesus embraces. Through the Table and the Towel He manifested how deep his love for humanity is, it is indeed an extravagant and endless love (cf. Jn.13:1), not just too much love, not just excess love, but endless love!

   In the first reading (Ex 12:1-8, 11-14), we see a fascinating description of the first Jewish Passover meal. In that event it was customary that a lamb has to be sacrificed for each family. Afterwards, its blood was put on the doorposts and lintel of the house to protect and protect its occupants (the Israelites). This served as an identification of the houses where the Israelites were. Then the houses without blood were for the Egyptians and when Yahweh passed over that night the firstborn of the Egyptians were massacred. Here, God promised the Israelites: “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you” (Ex. 12:13). The first reading therefore, is a narration of how the tradition of the banquet of Paschal Lamb began. It was a memorial sign of the passage from slavery to freedom (called the Passover). While the blood of the lamb protected and saved the Jews during the first Passover, now it is the Blood of Jesus that saves and liberates us. His Blood is the seal of the New Covenant, not the blood of an ordinary lamb. He is therefore, the New Passover Lamb. Be that as it may, we would like to make a few considerations: First, the Passover as an annual memorial of God’s great redemptive act. For a devout Jew believed that when he celebrated the Passover he was actually there coming out of Egypt with his forefathers. This indeed, is a strong realism. This type of realism tailors the Christian Eucharist. Second, the shedding of the blood of the lamb is a sort of prefiguration of the death of the Lamb of God. And for Christians, blood shedding is more than a mere ritual or cultic act, it is above all a moral act (cf. Heb. 10:5-9). Third, the Passover was eaten in haste and expectation. In the same vein, in the course of time, this sense of urgency has been transformed into the great expectation of the Messiah. On the other hand, the responsorial Psalm emphasized on the two aspects of the Eucharist: the sacrifice of thanksgiving and the communion among believers.

     The Gospel tonight (John 13:1-15) narrates an unexpected fact that is only seen in the Gospel of St. John: the washing of feet by Jesus. During their Supper Jesus rose from the table and removed his outer garment, with a towel around his waist and He began to wash the feet of his disciples (Jn. 13: 4-5). This was an incredible scene in the sight of the disciples, for this was the task of slaves. In fact, some biblical scholars have it that, even during that time it was not the slave that washes the feet of the guest; rather the slave brings a basin with water and a towel for the guest to wash by himself. Contrarily, Jesus went lower than a slave. Afterwards, He called the attention of the disciples to the moral implication of what he has done: “I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you” (Jn. 13:15). As such, what should characterize our identity as Christians is the humble service rendered to our brothers and sisters in need. Our presence should be a refreshing, enlivening and cleansing presence. He did not do it just to impress the disciples or to win their admiration; rather he did it in order to show them and to show us the example to follow. The washing of his disciple’s feet is a symbolic act. First, because through it Jesus shows how he bowed down to humanity by means of his Incarnation and his death on the Cross, Christ’s self-abasement. Second, is its moral implication: “I have given you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you” (Jn. 13:15). Jesus has given them and us a model of love: serving others. After washing the feet of his disciples, He asked them: “Do you understand what I have done to you?” (v.12). This question of Jesus still re-echoes even in the Christian assembly after so many years. Have we really understood the import of what Jesus did and how it has to shape our rapport with each other? He is still asking us even in the context of this liturgical celebration: “Do you understand?” We fail to understand when we do not love and care about those around us, when we are self-centered and think that the world revolves around us alone, when we are unable to cultivate and appropriate the virtue and value of humble service.

     Drawing the issue further, a deeper reflection on the feet washing reveals that this gesture of Jesus could be considered from two perspectives: Symbolic and Exemplary. First, the symbolic perspective maintains that the laying aside of his garments by Jesus is a sign of humiliation or better his self-emptying and kenosis (v.3). Second, the exemplary perspective, which is seen in verse 15: “I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.” On the other hand, the washing of the apostles’ feet by Jesus can also have other imports; let us pause a little on the words of Jesus: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” (John 13:8). Jesus says to Peter that he will have no inheritance if He does not wash his feet, which implies that Jesus will be Peter’s inheritance but only if Peter allows Jesus to wash his feet. For instance, it can be seen as a symbol of baptism; for when we are baptized, our sins are washed away, Jesus becomes our inheritance. May we also allow Jesus to wash us, to wash our feet, that part of us that is always stained.

     In the second reading (1 Cor. 11:23-26) St. Paul presents a detailed description of the Last Supper. Indeed, it is worthy to note that this is the oldest account of the Last Supper. It was written even before the Gospels, for St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians around the mid 50’s of the first century. Unlike in the Passover meal, in the Lord’s Supper Jesus added two more symbols (Bread and Wine). He took a loaf of bread, said the blessings and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: “Take, and eat it, this is my body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me” (1Cor. 11:24). Similarly, he took the Chalice and said “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood, whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me” (1Cor. 11:25). And indeed, with the above words the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist was enacted. As such, Jesus anticipated the sacrifice of himself on the Cross as he handed the Bread and the Cup to his apostles. The hot button message of this old Pauline text is the fact that Jesus is the True sacrificed Lamb, not the animal of the Jewish Passover; but Jesus who is both the “Offering and the Offerer”. As it was in the tradition of the Jews to confirm covenants with blood, now Jesus declares the shedding of his Blood as a confirmation of the New Covenant. For this, St. Paul expressed with a sublime conviction, “Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God” (Eph. 5:2). Likewise in Paul (as in the Synoptic), the Eucharist looks both backward (to the salvific event on the Cross made present) and forward (to the second coming as anticipated here).

     In all, as we can see, within the context of the Last Supper Jesus instituted the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and of the Priesthood (Holy Orders). He passed it on to his apostles: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk. 22:19; 1Cor 11:24). In and with those words Jesus gave us the mandate to continue to celebrate it in commemoration of Him, and that we do each time we celebrate Mass. Here we have to pay attention, for the command “do this” (plural) is addressed to the Christian community as a whole. The Eucharist is an action of the whole church and the eloquent expression of the Eucharistic priestly character (cf. 1Pt.2:1-10; Rev.1:6). He who presides at the Eucharistic celebration is the mouthpiece of the Church’s priesthood. On the other hand, the one presiding exhibits the priesthood of Christ to the Christian community. Jesus instituted this sacrament for the commemoration of his Passion and Death (The One and Living Sacrifice), so that each time we gather to celebrate it, we relive in an unbloody manner the event of Christ, particularly the offering of Himself in a bloody manner on the Cross. It is not by chance that Jesus instituted these two sacraments in the same context, and this goes a long way to reveal that the two sacraments are intimately tied together. Indeed, Jesus is The Real Passover Lamb (the Eucharist) and The Priest (The Priest of the New Covenant) For Love of Us (He demonstrated this in the washing of feet).

Thank you Jesus for the Eucharist, Your Eternal Presence!

Thank you Jesus for the Priesthood, That makes You present in our midst!

Thank You Jesus for calling me to share in your Priesthood!

Lord Jesus, the Eternal High Priest may we never depart from your Eucharistic table and help us to commit ourselves to a life of humble service. The Table and the Towel are signs of liberation; Jesus set us free from darkness and this present deadly pandemic. Amen!

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

The Journey of His Passion: From Jerusalem to Calvary!

 (Homily For Palm Sunday, Year B)

     Today marks the beginning of the Holy Week or the “Great Week”, which will be crowned with the Pasqual Triduum, the culminating point of the whole liturgical year. In this WEEK, the Church celebrates in her Liturgy the great mysteries of her redemption (Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord). In the Holy Week God gives us an appointment of an existential and salvific REALITY-SHOW of the ‘Man’ on the Cross. The Cross, therefore, is at the center of this week, but not just as an ordinary instrument, but because of the ‘Man’ on it, who made it a sublime and salvific image. As such, we are called to ‘re-live’ with faith and love these events of our Salvation. In our Eucharistic celebration, we read the passion of the Lord, but prior to that, we celebrated his entrance into Jerusalem (His Triumphant entry), in the midst of acclamations by the people, the shouts of Hosanna that decorously accompanied Jesus, and the road that was decorated with palm fronts. In his triumphant entry we could imagine the presence of people of different calibers, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, all full of expectation, and yet they were not too sure of what was happening, they were pushing and pulling all around him, singing and dancing, shouting and ululating: “Hossanah! Glory to God, hail the King, Son of God, Son of David, Alleluia”. On the other hand, there were also the scribes, friends and opponents who understood better than others where all this would lead to.

     The disciples and the crowd proclaimed Jesus King and he was accompanied majestically, they hailed him as King who comes in the name of the Lord. They hailed Him with Hosanna, because in Jesus’ public ministry, he healed their sick, fed the hungry and performed so many miracles. These wonders he wrought in their midst aroused in them the desire to crown Him King, but afterwards the whole game changed from shouts of acclamation to shouts of elimination. Who would have imagined that the crowd which welcomed Jesus with such excitement and enthusiasm during his entrance into Jerusalem would turn against him with such hostility, as to demand for his elimination and death, from the ululation of Hossanah to the demand of his crucifixion. It is now obvious that those shouts and ululations of Hossanah were superficial.

     The readings of today unify two events: the commemoration of the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and the “reality-show” of the Passion of Christ. The first event was remembered with the rite of entrance through the procession with palm fronts; with the proclamation of the Gospel about the entrance of Jesus in the Holy City. And the second event auspicates the reality of Jesus’ Passion. The essence of our reflection and of the events we are celebrating today is not as a result of the desire to remember just the past, but rather to render present today the Event of Christ through and in the liturgical celebration and in our lives. Hence, we are called to enter with Jesus into the drama of his Passion.

     In the first reading (Is. 50:4-7) we see what could be termed the prophecy of Jesus’ Passion: “For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover my face against insult and spite” (Is. 50, 5-6). By means of this prophetic passage we are called to reflect on the third song of the Servant of Yahweh, which serves as a prefiguration of the sufferings of the future Messiah. Even the responsorial Psalm prefigures the Passion of Jesus, in the following words, “All who see me deride me. They curl their lips, they toss their heads” (Ps. 22:7).

     The second reading (Phil. 2:6-11) presents the hymn of St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, which in no small way illustrates the mystery of Christ’s self-emptying in his death and supreme exaltation. St. Paul speaks of the kenosis (self-emptying) of Christ, “who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being” (Phil. 2:7). St. Paul points to his glorification thus: “And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names” (Phil. 2:9).  In this Christological presentation, the identity of Christ was revealed: Jesus is the Son of God, who in order to save man, became man, through an itinerary of suffering, humiliation and death.

     Indeed, the liturgy of the Palm Sunday presents to us a complete chart of the mystery of our salvation. Let us not forget, that we are called to be active in the whole event, because it was for the sake of man and his salvation that the Son of God passed through this heroic adventure. As such, St. Paul sets out to propose a model we all have to imitate, if man is at the center of Jesus’s Passion, he cannot remain only as a passive spectator. Little wonder, the apostle invites: “make your own the mind of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). We are invited therefore, to follow with faith and love the passion of the Lord.

     This year we are called to reflect on the Passion of Christ according to the Gospel narrative of St. Mark (MK. 14:1-15, 47). Jesus through and with his Passion realizes the prophecies and the plan of salvation designed by the Father. The Gospel of Mark is believed to be the first gospel to be written. The Passion narrative of Mark is dry and disconcerting. Jesus does not react, he does not talk, he does not utter any word. However, Jesus was not resigned to his fate, rather he gave himself. Mark opens his account of the event leading to the Crucifixion with a sort of contrast between the malice of the mean Jewish leaders and Judas, and the love for Jesus demonstrated by the crowd, especially by one  unnamed woman. Let us remember that in the context of Mark’s gospel the initial words are the declaration of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) and Son of God (Mk. 1:1), which are reconfirmed in the profession of faith of the centurion at the foot of the Cross (15:39). For in the gospel of Mark, it is at the point of total annihilation of the Son of man that his identity is revealed. It is plausible to note that some Scholars so far retain that the account of Mark, even though it doesn’t have much theological re-elaboration, appears more adherent to historical reality.

     In Mark’s narrative, the death of Jesus is not so much considered from the point of view of the Innocent Servant of God, but as an agonizing conflict between the powers of light and that of darkness. Though this is considered to be apocalyptic. The cry of Jesus is considered an announcement of the victory of light over darkness. And the rending of the temple veil is a symbol of that victory. Here, we can allude to the hymn in Philippians 2:6-11 in seeing Jesus as the Redeemer who emptied himself (cf. 2Cor. 8:9; Gal. 3:13). His death leads to his exaltation and triumph over the powers of darkness.

     We can ask ourselves many questions in the light of Christ’s Passion and sufferings. Each one of us can read his own life in the light of the Passion, in order to discover those internal incongruences, contradictions and ingratitude towards God. Let us have a flash back to what transpired during his triumphant entry and during the Passion, here we see once again the power of the crowd. And the truth has to be said that sometimes we behave like the crowd that was ululating HOSSANAH and afterwards demand for His death. It is easy to be part of the crowd that attend morning masses and Sunday masses, to take front seats and places of honour in the church, and when Jesus needs us most, we are no where to be found, we are like the crowd that turned against Him and refused to go with Him to the Cross. In all, let us not fail to recognize and appreciate Him for He died on the Cross for our salvation, and He is always ready to welcome us in his Mercy. The immensity of his mercy cannot but propel us to cry for our sins of betrayal, of denial and of abandonment of Him.

     In the Passion, Jesus prays to the Father: “Abba, Father! He said, For you everything is possible. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it” (Mk. 14:36), the prayer of Jesus takes him closer to the Father, it raised him up, and he ascended from the desire “to remove the cup” to the desire of “what the Father wills and not what he wills”. This is what prayer does in our life too, it transcends us and takes us closer to God. Prayer helped him to stand his ground before his terrifying Passion and death. Prayer indeed, transforms our sufferings to avenues for blessing. Through His sufferings every suffering of a Christian becomes a SPIRITUAL THERAPY, for through Him, suffering acquires a sublime meaning and signification. Even as we are plunged into this deadly and dreadful virus in the world today, let us unite our worries, our fears, our questions for meaning, our sufferings, in fact, our passion to His Passion. Indeed, humanity today is experiencing a passion, but it is only with the gaze fixed on the event of the Christ, precisely on His Passion that we will be able to come out of this pandemic. His Passion and Death give meaning to our life, our suffering and our death, and even our present passion.

     The Passion of Jesus should be for us an opportunity for repentance (the repentant thief), an occasion to affirm His identity (the Centurion) and not just as an incident that arouses hostility and indifference in us. So, are we like Judas that betrayed him? Like Peter that denied him? Like Pilate that delivered him to death? Like the stubborn thief that insulted Him? Or like the disciples that failed to keep wake with Him? Instead let’s cue in, in the line of Simon of Cyrene who helped him to carry his (our) Cross, of the women of Jerusalem that mourn for him, of the Centurion who strikes his chest and recognizes him as the Son of God, of the good thief that believed and entrusted himself to Jesus. Does His Passion still move us today? It should move and touch us because our sins inflicted those pains on him. Let it not be a momentary touch or feelings, rather His Passion should move us to flee from our sins and abandon our old ways, for through His wounds we are healed (Is. 53:5; 1Pt.2:21) and made whole.

     In all, may His Passion lead us to the rediscovery of His real identity, and here the gesture and proclamation of the Centurion is superb! “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mt.27:54; Mk.15:39; Lk.23:47). The pagan Centurion did not recognize his Son ship because he saw the tomb empty, not because he saw shining light, but he discovered this at the heart of the event of Good Friday: Jesus on the Cross, the reality-show! But all does not end here, we can only read and understand this event if we start from the end. Indeed, the Passion of Christ like the Hebrew alphabet is to be read from the end! Have a Grace-filled Holy Week!!!

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

Seek Him Whose Death Restored Our Life!

 (Homily 5^th Sunday of Lent –Year B)

     Once again, the theme around which revolves the readings of today, is the Cross. No doubt, from the lenses of the Old Testament, we can opine that the Cross is the instrument through which the New Covenant is established; a covenant in which God’s law is written by the Spirit in the heart of man and woman, and not on tablets of stones. Be that as it may, it is upon such consideration, that the responsorial psalm could be seen as a prayer in view of such a renewed heart. Yet in a more practical manner Jesus in the passage of the epistle to the Hebrews offered his Gethsemane prayer. Above all, the gospel captured it vividly well, for the event that gave rise to the renewal of our hearts is the fulfilment of his hour (passion, death, resurrection and ascension). Indeed, his death is like the proverbial grain of wheat, He bears fruit by the surrendering of his life. He surrendered his life to renew us, He gave himself up that we might be taken up, renewed and reinstated. His death restored our life!

     The first reading (Jer. 31:31-34) from the prophecy of Jeremiah talked about a future time when God will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. This covenant will be different from the one He made with the people when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. He maintained that the exile was a punishment as a result of the people’s unfaithfulness and infidelity, in breaking the Old Covenant. The old covenant was made at a location namely, mount Sinai. It was written on stone and had to be read to the people from time to time to remind them of God’s ordinances and what He expects of them. Contrarily, the New Covenant is to be located and written in the hearts and minds of each and every one. It is at this backdrop that the prophet looked forward to the advent of a New Covenant, which the Lord will make with his people. In the New Covenant, God will write his laws and ordinances, in the hearts of his people, and no longer on tablets of stone. This dimension of internalization of God’s law made the people to “know” Him. Here, knowledge corresponds with obedience, thus obedience to God’s law. This passage of Jeremiah’s prophecy is believed to be one of the passages in the Old Testament where the New Testament is explicitly mentioned. Indeed, in his experience and journey of faith, St Paul saw the fulfilment of that prophecy in the covenant which was enacted by the blood of Christ, and which in turn gave rise to the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the faithful (cf. 2Cor. 3:6-7).

     The psalmist in the popular psalm Miserere (51), envisaged Jeremiah’s prophecy into his prayer, whereby under the new covenant the hearts of believers will be inwardly transformed, for the forgiveness of their sins. He says “create a pure heart for me, O God; renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). This creation of a pure heart and renewal of spirit is in connection with the New Covenant.

     The second reading from the epistle (Heb. 5:7-9) to the Hebrews is a concatenation of both theological and ethical exhortations. The first deals with the heavenly high Priest, Christ. The author uses the event of Gethsemane to illustrate that truly Christ is the high priest. At Gethsemane Jesus offered his prayer to the Father. And indeed, the prayer at Gethsemane was heard, not that Jesus was saved from death as he prayed, but through and with his death and resurrection he was made perfect. It is important to note here that, “perfection” doesn’t mean moral perfection, rather the attainment of a goal or a destiny. His goal was to become our High Priest. Jesus served as a mediator between God and his people, reconciling them through his self-sacrifice. And finally, the author says he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him- this is the ethical import of this passage- obedience to the W(w)ord of God.

     The Gospel (Jn. 12:20-33) speaks of Jesus in the holy city for the last time. There were many people in the holy city, there were the simple people who gave him a festive welcome shouting “hosanna” (Jn. 12:13), there were the Pharisees and other Jewish authorities who wanted to eliminate him, because for them he was subversive, thus an obstacle to their plans. There were also the Greeks who were curious to see Jesus, they heard of his person and mighty works, the most recent was the raising of Lazarus.

     In today’s Gospel St. John continued his discourse on the theme of the Cross, but this time around he employed the use of metaphors: “grain of wheat” and being “lifted up” to communicate to his listeners about the “hour” of the Son of man. At the beginning of this passage we are told that some Greeks went to Philip and made a request thus: “we want to see Jesus”. And afterwards Philip went and told Andrew, and both of them went to tell Jesus. And upon hearing the request of the Greeks, Jesus began his discourse which is not unconnected with the request of the Greek. Unknown to them he introduced a new way of life, a new logic of existence: “that it is only through death that life comes”. In that bid, Jesus narrated a story about a grain of wheat which was a revelation of his imminent redeeming death and glorious resurrection. They wanted to see Jesus, whether out of curiosity or a quest for more wisdom, their desire in itself is inspiring. And as such, we may well ask: how many of us seek truly to see Him today?

     To that important request of those Greeks, Jesus responded with words dense in meaning and eye-opening. He began to tell them about a grain of wheat and being lifted up. In that bid, he made two great pronouncements: ●That a grain of wheat must die if it has to bear fruit. ●That it is only by being lifted up will Christ draw all men to himself. As if he were to say to them: if you want to understand me, look at the grain of wheat; if you want to see me look at the Cross. Indeed, the grain of wheat and the Cross are the humble synthesis of his personality. As we can observe out rightly in the passage, even though Jesus was talking about his death, the emphasis is not on the verb “to die” rather on the verb “to bear” (to bear much fruits). In the image of the grain of wheat we behold another dimension of the Paschal mystery: Fruitfulness. Indeed, from his death and resurrection the living water of grace, the new covenant, the Easter community emerged. In Him “death has been swallowed up in victory” (1Cor 15:54). Jesus invites us to become grain of wheat, thus to die to our sinful behaviors, pride and false self-image in order to rise to new life in Christ. Therefore, the emphasis is not on death but on life, for through His death we are restored to life. The reality behind the grain of wheat is its capacity to die and germinate, thus producing new life. That is what Jesus did for us. Secondly, to see Jesus we have to look at the Cross, as Jesus opined “when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself”. Truly we become authentic Christians by attraction. The Cross has a formidable force of attraction. The Cross attracts us not with miracles and signs, but with the beauty of love. Jesus is a victim of love and for love. In his love from his kingly throne on the Cross he will draw all men to himself. More than that, the Father is the propelling force of this attraction, for Jesus says “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me” (Jn. 6:44).

     Besides, the emphasis of Jesus on the grain of wheat and being lifted up, invariably points to the universality of salvation that will spring up from the Cross Event. The rejection of the gospel by the Jews accelerated the entrance of the gentiles into the sheepfold of Christ. His death and resurrection were necessary so that Pagans could adhere to the faith too. In John’s parlance, therefore, the grain of wheat has to die before it can bring forth fruit and that is the wining of Gentile converts. And the Son of Man has to be lifted up, “lifting up” in Johannine parlance alludes to crucifixion-resurrection. As such, the verb “to lift” in Greek is “hypsòo”, it has a double meaning: elevation on the Cross and exaltation. The verb seems to have been taken from the fourth song of the suffering Servant of Isaiah: “Look, my servant will prosper, will grow great, will rise to great heights” (Is. 52:13).

     Another important element present in today’s gospel is the “hour”. Without mincing words, the “hour” in the fourth Gospel stands to signify the whole event of Jesus’s death tout court, his Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. It is the hour of the Cross. The hour of the defeat of the prince of this world (Satan) and thus the victory of God. It is the hour of the paschal sacrifice. Death cannot have the last words over Him. The hour of the glorification of the Son of man is connected to his uplifting on the Cross. Unlike in other biblical passages, in this passage, Jesus did affirm that the hour has come. For instance, at the wedding in Cana Jesus said his hour had not yet come (Jn. 2:4), elsewhere when they wanted to arrest him, the evangelist said that “his hour had not yet come no one laid a hand on him” (Jn. 7:30) but in today’s Gospel he says his hour has come: “Now the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23), What is this glory that Jesus is talking about? It is his Passion and Death in the parlance of the author of the fourth Gospel. The logic behind this is: “if a grain falls on the ground and dies it yields a rich harvest” (Jn. 12:24). The second reading captured this logic well, for in the words of the apostle, “Although he was Son, he learned to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:8-9).

     Towards the end of the Gospel, as Jesus was speaking and praying to the Father a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again”.  Indeed, this voice of the Father serves as a seal to what Jesus was talking about. Let us not forget that in all the important moments in the life of Jesus, there is always this voice from above, the voice of the Father, not only to reveal him, but also to give credibility and seal to his words. For instance, at the episode of his Baptism (Mt. 3:17; Mk. 1:11; Lk. 3:22); at the event of his Transfiguration (Mt. 17:5; Mk. 9:7; Lk. 9:35). Indeed, we can say once again regarding the request of the Greeks, that to see Jesus is to see the Father, for Jesus says “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and still you do not know me? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). There is another interesting annotation in the last paragraph of today’s Gospel. Jesus vehemently affirmed that “now the prince of this world is to be driven out” (Jn. 12:31). Who is this prince of the world? It is Satan, to whom St. Paul referred to as the “god of this world” (2Cor. 4:4). But once when Jesus is lifted up he will draw all men to himself, thus he will recover (cf. Col. 1:13-14) all the Children of God as he conquers the Devil. Remember the word of God says “This was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of the devil” (1Jn. 3:8).

     Above all else, however, in the school of Jesus, Lent is a season of self-denial for love of God and our neighbors. Jesus denied himself to the point of accepting death on a Cross, a sign of his kenotic love. Therefore, in this season our efforts should not only be limited to the denial or removal of certain dishes, rather let it be creative and fruitful in forgiveness and the resolve to live as those who have received God’s mercy, for we are called to be subjects and objects of God’s mercy. Secondly, another important lesson we need to learn is from the Greeks who sought to see (to know) Jesus Christ. Do we really seek to see him? For his word assured us, “If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me” (Deut. 4:29). The Greeks, the gentiles did and found him. You too can find Him, only if you search for him. Interestingly, with the coming of Lord Jesus Christ we see the inverse movement, it is no longer the people in search of Him, but Jesus is in search of us, for in the book of Revelation He says “Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s side” (3:20). Dear beloved in Christ, as we journey along in our Lenten sojourn, remember “If today you hear his words, harden not your hearts” (Ps. 95:7; Heb. 3:15).

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

The Greatness of God’s Merciful Love!

 (Homily 4^th Sunday of Lent –Year B)

     An in-depth reflection on the readings of today reveals that the themes running through the three readings are mercy and love. It was out of his unfathomable mercy that God never relented in his effort in bringing back the Israelites when they strayed. St. John in today’s Gospel passage evoked those reassuring words that depict the density and immensity of God’s mercy and love, thus: “for God so loved the world”. And in the epistle reading, St. Paul draws the matter from theological to its existential implication “God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ”. Be that as it may, though the readings of today hinge more on God’s merciful love, however, the second reading and the gospel implicitly or explicitly introduced the theme of the Cross, the theme per excellence of this liturgical season. And as our Paschal celebration draws closer we cannot but be reminded that Jesus did not accept the Cross for fun, rather he did to show us the high price of his love, the Psalmist affirmed that the price is too high (cf. Ps. 49:8a). Therefore, behind the Cross, we cannot but see a borderless love. Above all else, however, the image of God presented today is that of a loving and merciful Father, who is in a relentless and persistent search for his sons and daughters. If he reaches you with his words, make a U-turn back to him, pay him back love with love. Make a move!

     The first reading (2 Chron. 36:14-16.19-23) presents a consequential explanation of the exile, as a divine punishment. From the parlance of the chronicler, the punishment was both for the pre-exilic priests and the people, for they failed to listen to the pre-exilic prophets. The book of Chronicles presents in a condensed manner the history of Israel, and at the heart of this history is the affirmation thus: “In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity”. Drawing the issue further, one could opine that this not only depicts the historical reality of the Israelites but that of humanity as whole. They practiced all sorts of abomination and polluted God’s temple. The writer then enumerated the different steps that God took to bring them back, “God send messenger after messenger to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God. Despised his warnings and scoffed at his prophets” (2Chron. 36:15-16). 

     God persistently sent messengers but they refused to turn back to God. Truly, this indicates that God’s mercy and love go before his justice, for God did not condemn them out rightly, rather he went in search of them with his merciful love. But consequently, their stubbornness of heart brought about God’s wrath and justice, for the city and the temple were destroyed and they were taken to exile by the Chaldeans. The captivating fact about God’s mercy or love is that it does not give up on us, for even when the people were in exile out of their stubbornness of heart, God’s mercy was still searching and waiting for them. Indeed, we could say that God’s mercy and justice are intertwined, for in Hebrew ‘tsedakah’ can stand for both charity (mercy) and justice. Behold, at the heart of the spirituality of Lent is the rediscovery of God’s mercy and love, a mercy that never ends (Lam. 3:22) and a love that endures forever (Ps. 136:1).

     Apparently, the reading does not relate to either the epistle or the Gospel readings, and as such one may wonder the reason for its choice. Indeed, the idea behind the choice revolves around the fact that the exile in Babylon was a type of Christian Lent, and the return forms a sort of Crucifixion and Resurrection. And indeed, the theme of the cross implicitly or explicitly dovetails into the three readings.

     In the second reading (Eph.2:4-10) St. Paul affirmed that “God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ”. St. Paul further buttressed that we are saved by God’s grace. Indeed, grace brings God’s merciful love at the doorpost of our hearts and life. It is this gratuitous gift (Grace) of God that merited us Salvation. Furthermore, this passage associates baptism with the death and resurrection of Christ. It goes further to buttress the point raised in other Pauline writings on death, resurrection and baptism (cf. Col.2:12, Rm. 6). Ephesians 2 opines that we are not only risen with Christ that we are already in heaven with him. Be that as it may, the fact of being in heaven with Christ should not induce in us the feeling of being arrived or intoxicated of being in heaven. For this, the author further added that by grace you have been saved. This was expounded in v.8 “by grace through faith”. Indeed, the Pauline affirmation that we are in heaven already shouldn’t make us relent in our daily effort to live as God’s children, rather it should serve as a constant reminder for our relentless moral effort to live with heaven in view.

     The Gospel (Jn. 3:14-21) presents the continuation of the dialogue and encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Prior to this moment, Nicodemus had come to Jesus at night to ask what he must do to inherit the kingdom of God and our Lord told him that he must be born again. In that encounter Nicodemus asked threefold questions (vv. 2.4.9) and each of the questions gave rise to a pronouncement from Jesus. The first part of the discourse explains the necessity for rebirth as an essential requirement for entrance into the Kingdom of God. The second part from which the passage of today’s gospel is taken, explains that this rebirth can only be realized through the “lifting up” of the Son of Man, that is, the death and glorification of Christ.

      We may well affirm that God’s ultimate desire for everyone is salvation. And for the realization of this desire, Jesus speaks of his total self-giving and the mystery of the Cross. In fact, St. Paul puts it thus: “Christ Jesus, who offered himself as a ransom for all” (1Tim. 2:5b-6a). Jesus indicated a symbol to Nicodemus, that bronze serpent that was lifted by Moses for the healing of the Israelites bitten by the snakes (cf. Num. 21:4-9). Similarly, “the Son of man will be lifted up” (Jn. 3:14), Jesus will be lifted up and he will save who turns his gaze towards him. The serpent that Moses raised is nothing but a prophetic prefiguration of the crucifixion of the Son of man. In the context of the Israelites whoever that looked on the serpent was healed, but now we are called to turn our gaze towards the Son of Man, therefore now whoever that looks at the Crucified with the eyes of faith, will have eternal life. The Israelites that looked at the serpent regained only physical health, but whoever that fixes his gaze on the Crucified-Risen Lord gains fullness of life (Jn. 10:10) and the blood and water that gushed forth from his pierced side (Jn.19:34) is a true fountain of eternal life.

     In the passage, the evangelist affirms strongly that the cross is an act of divine love per excellence: “for God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son” (3:16). Verse 16 reveals the initiative of the Father, who offers his Son, a supreme expression of his love for the world. This is equally in connection with the opening words of the epistle reading. Without mincing words, at the heart of the Johannine affirmation about God’s love, is the revelation that God wants our salvation at all cost, God “wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth” (1Tm. 2:4). Love is greater than sin. The phrase “God so loved the world” is the central verse of the Gospel of John, and even believed to be the summary of the Gospel and the entire Scripture. It is a verse with words replete with stupor each time we hear it. It is an illuminating love. Indeed, with this “love” the night of Nicodemus and our nights are illumined and we are reborn, we are reborn in faith, hope and trust. This verse is really captivating, for it is not only man that is loved, but the world, all the created order. The term ‘world’ has a positive connotation in the present context, and it designates humanity in her entirety. As such, if God so loved even the earth, we too have to love it. In that phrase Jesus reveals that God has consideration for the world, for man, little wonder, He willingly lost his Son in order to purchase us, “Since he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for the sake of all of us” (Rm. 8:32). For this St. Paul asserted that, “through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins. Such is the richness of the grace” (Eph. 1:17). The psalmist both captured our helplessness and the greatness of God’s merciful love thus “But no one can ever redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God, the price for himself is too high” (Ps. 49:7-8a). God through Jesus Christ paid this price that is too high, at the cost of his blood. God so loved the world, but man is destroying it. God so loved us, but we are instead killing each other. God’s love should propel us to love each other too!

     Our evangelist puts the verb “God so loved the world” in past tense (aorist tense), to indicate that the love God has for us is not something to be realized in the future or something that happened momentarily, rather the tense of the verb indicates the certainty and realism of this love, for he continues to love us even when we stray. With the death of his Son, God demonstrates that his love for us is not a long distance and disinterested love affair. In our Guanellian Spiritualty, we would say that God’s love is a love that is felt and realized with presence. No doubt, this takes us closer to our Guanellian charismatic experience; because in order to express love and care to the poor, there must be presence. Love therefore, for every authentic Christian and Guanellian cannot be devoid of presence. You don’t love from a distance, love is realized and actualized with concrete actions, gestures and gazes.                                 

     Beloved brothers and sisters, we have to ask ourselves the pertinent question, concerning where we have kept our gaze today, is our gaze fixed on Jesus or on all sorts of idols? Remember the condition for being saved is remaining focused on Him with faith. St. John added an encouraging but emblematic verdict that “though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19). Unfortunately, this preference for darkness and evil still continues today. The initiative of God that was manifested through Christ was not aimed at the extermination of the wicked, rather to the salvation of the world. And the fate of every man is dependent on his choice, if he opens up to the love of God or rejects it, if he chooses darkness or Light. Lord Jesus help us to understand and appreciate the high price of your love, and to pay you back love with love!

Wishing you all a grace-filled Sunday!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu)

 

 

The Echoes of the Decalogue and The Ideal Temple!

 (Homily 3^rd Sunday of Lent –Year B)

     Today being the third Sunday of Lent, the Church continues to invite us to have our gaze fixed on the events of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. In fact, the readings and events of the Lenten season are programmatic and interconnected. On the first Sunday we read the Gospel passage of the temptation of Jesus, which took place in the desert. On the second Sunday we reflected on the event of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. And in today’s Gospel we read about the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus. Extrapolating from the above, so far, the contexts of the Gospel readings have offered us three vital places for a special encounter with God: Desert, Mountain and Temple. Thus, it serves as a reminder to us, that the period of Lent is and ought to be a season of special encounter with the Lord, through our prayers, words and actions. No doubt, the Decalogue is for us a guide. Therefore, today, we are not contemplating the victory over the antics of the devil (the temptations) nor the glorious face of Jesus (the transfiguration), rather his ‘angry’ face (in the temple). Indeed, we are reminded that adherence to God’s word and a courageous fidelity to God are at the basis of the spirituality of lent.

     In the First Reading (Exodus 20:1-17), God gave the Israelites a set of rules meant to direct their lives and relationship with God and with their neighbors. This set of rules is traditionally known as the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue. The Decalogue is often seen as the summary of Christian moral obligation. The Decalogue appears in two places in the scriptures, precisely in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5. The two versions differ mainly with regards to the commandment on Sabbath. The Decalogue can be divided into two, the first part on the duties to God, and the second part on the duties to the neighbor. The Ten Commandments are rules of conduct that guide man’s relationship with his fellow man, and man’s relationship with God. They do not remove possibilities to sin, rather they make us to be conscious of the possibility to sin. Similarly, between the Decalogue and the cleansing of the Temple is a call to authentic and courageous religiosity. And in particular a brief story of a friend will throw more light:

A priest was coming back to his parish one evening in the dark, only to be accosted by a robber who pulled a gun at him and demanded, “Your money or your life!” As the priest reached his hand into his coat pocket, the robber saw his Roman collar and said, “So you are a priest? Then you can go.” The priest was rather surprised at this unexpected show of piety and so tried to reciprocate by offering the robber his packet of cigarettes, to which the robber replied, “No, Father, I don’t smoke during Lent.”

Interestingly, one can see how this robber is trying to keep the pious observance of not smoking during Lent, but he virtually forgets the more fundamental commandment of God, “You shall not steal.”

     In the Gospel (John 2:13-25), Jesus gives us a clearer picture of what religiosity or piety beyond mere observance of the law entails. Today in the Gospel Jesus goes radical, he loses his cool. A thorough reading of the fourth Gospel reveals that the public ministry of Jesus began with two extra-ordinary events: the wedding feast at Cana, where he performed his first miracle or sign of turning water into wine; and in Jerusalem, in the temple where he chased merchants out of the temple. Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem and saw those who were buying and selling animals and he drove them all away with a whip and went further to overturn the tables of the money changers. A careful look into the event would reveal that Jesus went there, above all, to cleanse the temple and equally, to convey the message that true religiosity is not all about observing the religious laws and ordinances but also the capacity of a convinced performance.

     The primal collocation of the Purification of the temple at the beginning of his Gospel shows that for St. John it is a very important event. The reason behind Jesus action of chasing the merchants away, was as a result of a diffused mentality of that period, the tendency and temptation of thinking that they can buy favor from God. Is a call to guide against the commercialization of religion and faith. Many a times, we too fall into the temptation of religious commercialization. This happens when we want to bend God’s will to our own desires and needs, when our rapport with God goes with the logic of ‘I give you prayer and sacrifices, and you give me security and good health’. Love does not operate with this logic, the logic of love is gratuity, love cannot be bought. As a matter fact, the money changers and the animal sellers in today’s Gospel made an error of judgment about what they could do in the temple, but upon his arrival Jesus seized the occasion to correct that mentality. Sometimes, we may be influenced by the society and people around us; by what we see and hear in the televisions and over the radios respectively.

     There is indeed, a connection between the two episodes that constitute the beginning of the revelation of Jesus. While the sign of Cana represents the first manifestation of the glory of the Messiah, the purification of the temple prefigures his death and resurrection, the culminating point of his mission, which will reveal fully his identity and the redemptive love of the Father. In the episode of the cleansing of the temple, Jesus manifests for the first time his divine sonship, when he declared the temple as the “house of his Father” (v.16), which implies a special relationship with the Father (Lk. 2:49). At that point, the disciples remembered the words of the psalmist thus: “I am eaten up with zeal for your house” (cf. Ps. 69:9). In the passage, we see a version of the cleansing of the temple, which is parallel, but however stands out from the synoptic version. The fourth Gospel combines two different events found in the synoptic Gospel: 1) the cleansing of the temple (Mk. 11:11.15-19); 2) the prediction of the temple’s destruction (Mk. 14:55-58). More than that, John introduced some other elements not found in the synoptic. For instance: whips: which denotes the degree of force used by Jesus and the allusion that the incident took place when the temple is 46 years since its erection.

     After that incident the Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus, and behold Jesus told them that he could rebuild the temple in three days. In that bid, Jesus introduced a new understanding of the temple. Henceforth, temple is not only to be understood only as temple-building, but also temple-body. For he was referring to the temple that is, his body. This substitution of Christ for the temple is indeed John’s proprium. This goes a long way in expressing the spiritual intimate relationship that exists between the believers and God. This not only reveals the intimate rapport between man and God, the presence of God in the life of believers, but above all, a privileged task and responsibility to be conscious of Him who inhibits in us and live accordingly. Extrapolating from that perspective, if my body too is the temple of God, likewise my neighbors’, this should propel us to see and recognize the presence of God in others, to see the other as a sacrament of God’s presence and thus to respect, revere and love him/her. “we are his household, as long as we fearlessly maintain the hope in which we glory” (Heb. 3:6).

     Behold, the paramount message of the purification of the temple revolves essentially around the revelation of Jesus himself, as privileged place of God’s presence amongst men. He is the spiritual temple of the New Covenant. Jesus is the New Place of Divine presence, which will be the center of the worship “in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23). He is the spiritual temple from which the waters of the Spirit will flow (cf. Ez. 47; Jn. 7:38), that will be the sanctuary of the risen body of Christ. Be that as it may, brethren, as His Spirit dwells in our bodies, our bodies too will become temples of and for God (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16; 2Cor. 6:16). Indeed, we are immersed in this new perspective of Jesus: temple-body, thereby, our bodies become the temple of God who inhabits in us. In the epistle reading, the apostle speaks of the wisdom and power of God, which inaugurates a new dispensation and launches a novelty in the way of worship, as denoted by Jesus’ action in the Gospel.

     In the second reading (1Cor 1:22-25), St. Paul writes from the debt of his enriching experience of preaching to both Jews and Gentiles. He discovered that the Jews were in quest for a sign, a miracle (as we can see in today’s Gospel: Jn. 2:18), as a proof of the authenticity of his message. On the other hand, the Greeks looked for wisdom, as such, they were ready to accept Christianity, if it was presented in a convincing understanding of the universe and man. At the time of St. Paul’s writing, the Corinthians desired for wisdom and not signs. Behold, St. Paul did not repudiate the quest either of the Jews or the Gentiles, instead he tried to connect it with the message of the cross. In the parlance of St. Paul, the cross is “dynamis”, power. Interestingly, dynamis is a word that is frequently used for miracle and it corresponds to sign and wisdom as well. But the “power” that Paul was talking about here is a paradoxical type of power and wisdom that may be apparently seen as foolishness in human parlance. However, it takes faith in God to penetrate the density and immensity of the wisdom behind the folly and the power behind the weakness. In a similar vein, for those who do not have faith in God, the cross and its message remain a scandal and folly. But for believers it is God’s dynamis.

     Above all, Lent is a period to reform and renew our consciences, it is a privileged moment to remove from our live whatever that is based, a period to overturn the tables. The action of Jesus in the temple serves as a reminder to us that every authentic encounter with Him cannot but overhaul us totally. May we allow our consciences to be formed by his commandments and his message to turn us around for a positive change, for as today’s response to the Psalm says: “You, Lord have the message of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68). May we adhere to his words to gain eternal life, Amen!!! Wish you all a grace-filled Sunday!!!

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