The Mouth: The Window To The Heart!

 (Homily 8^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

     It was one of the famous Greek Philosophers Socrates who opined that nature has given us two ears, two eyes and only one tongue so that we should hear more than we speak. But nowadays the reverse is the case, we tend to speak more and hear or listen less. The contemporary man is prone to speaking and criticisms than to listening and understanding. Today the word of God revolves around the correspondence of words with actions, because for a Christian, “agere seguitur esse” (action follows being). This was used in Thomist metaphysical and moral principle that indicates the connection of ontology, obligation, and ethics. Thus, within the context of our reflection, it is not only that words have to correspond with actions, there is a further step: action has to correspond with being, with who we are and who God has called us to be. The Latin adage says: “ex ore tuo te judico”, that is “I judge you from your mouth”. Indeed, our words reveal who we are. They (words) reveal our thoughts, values, internal disposition, motivation and way of judging. Thanks to words for through them we give significance to the ideas in our heart and mind. No doubt, words are wonderful when they are used in good and edifying ways. More still, they are extraordinary and exceptional when they correspond positively with the actions. Contrarily, when used in a negative way, they not only reveal the negativity in the heart, but also the vacuum between what we say and what we do. Indeed, our words reveal the type of person we are, for our mouth is the window to our heart. We are therefore reminded that we are sent as witnesses of Jesus Christ. As such, our conduct must be consistent with what we say we believe. Our practical life must be consistent with what we believe.

     The first reading (Sir. 27:4-7) is a classic example of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, where the author used three comparisons to teach us about the internal congruence behind one’s comportment and attitude. He employed the use of three images: sieve, kiln and tree to drive home his points. ●For the sieve, when shaken it separates good grains from refuse, and the refuse remains. And relating it to the human person, it entails that a man’s filth (dirt) remains in his thought. ●As the kiln (furnace) with fire proves the value of objects of clay artifacts, so is the proof of a just man, of a person’s worth in times of tribulation. ●As regards the tree, the fruit of a tree reveals the quality of the tree, so words reveal the internal sentiments of man. Our words serve as a window to what is in our mind, this image will be re-proposed in the Gospel by St. Luke. The first reading reflects thus, on the human behavior and the type of heart from which such behavior emerges.

     In all, the last sentence of the passage is replete with wisdom and it goes thus: “do not praise a man before he speaks” (v.7). Therefore, this affirmation suggests that the best way to know if a person will be praised or not is to make him to speak, because at last his value system, internal disposition and his real self will be revealed. Indeed, words reveal the internal ethical and spiritual congruence or incongruence of a man. And applying this teaching to ourselves, it follows that Christians should reveal through their words, their new way of being in Christ. Our life and actions have to be congruent with our calling and being in Christ, who died and rose again in order to open up for us a new way of living. Therefore, we need to interrogate ourselves today with the following questions: do our words reveal our being “in Christ” or they reveal that we are aligned and conformed to the world? The basic existential principle of a Christian remains: “agere seguitur esse”, that is, the correspondence of our actions with our being in Christ, or better our being in Christ has to motivate our actions. It is when our words correspond with our actions and our actions correspond with our being in Christ that we acquire moral rectitude and integrity and of course, moral authority.

     Similarly, the Gospel passage (Lk. 6:39-45) is centered on “word” uttered by man as a means of laying bare what lies hidden in his heart and on ethical cum spiritual congruence, as exemplified by the good tree that bears good fruits, as opposed to the incongruence of a blind who wants to lead another blind. In this passage, it does appear St. Luke gathered all the pronouncements of Jesus in different occasions, with the problems that were present in the first communities. The blind guide (v.39), the false teachers (v.40), the hypocrites (vv.41-42); these categories of people would not have been the external enemies or the Pharisees, even though many a times Jesus called them hypocrites, but it has to do with members of the Christian communities, who pretend to be guide and leaders, but do not portray the corresponding Christian values.

      Interestingly, the passage of St. Luke ends with the following words: “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (v.45), that is, from the abundance of what a person has within. In St. Mathew’s parlance, “Whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart” (Mt. 15:18a). And he (Luke) continued thus: “Good people draw what is good from the store of goodness in their hearts”, “bad people draw what is bad from the store of badness” (v.45). Good people draw good words and teachings, while bad people draw wicked words and bad teachings. It all depends on what one has in his heart, in the inside. The fact of speaking and acting are logical consequences, for they are necessary avenues for revealing who a person is and what is in his or her heart. Let us learn to utter words that are positive and faith-filled, edifying words. In the preceding verses he opined that “Every tree is known by its fruits” (v.44). Good tree produces good fruits, while bad tree, bad fruits. In that bid, the criterion for knowing and recognizing who a person is, is by his or her fruits, which in this case could be words and comportment. A good man produces good fruit in words and actions, and a bad man produces bad fruits in words and actions too. Therefore, it is necessary to guide against false teachers and masters.

     How do we distinguish the good teaching from the bad one? It is not an easy task. However, we need to use our conscience and the values of the Christian education we have received as a tool for discernment. Of a truth, sometimes these are not even sufficient, because in our world today, where there are many currents of thoughts that promote opinions and ideas that tend to destroy our value system, where the several means of communication many a times create confusion on moral and religious matters, where subjectivism and relativism are seen as the new credo, it is really difficult. However, in the difficult task of distinguishing a good teaching from a bad one, we have the word of God and the teachings of the Church as our veritable compass.

     In fact, the first part of the Gospel begins with a brief parable on the usage of words and good teaching; and the pathetic question was raised: “Can one blind person guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit” (v.39). In other to understand adequately the meaning of this parable, we have to connect it to what Jesus said in the preceding verse: “Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven” (v.37). In essence, Jesus says who doesn’t accept these teachings comports him or herself like the blind, who pretends to lead another blind, for the two will fall into a pit.

     Jesus further expressed that the “disciple is not superior to his teacher” (v.40), secondly, this has to be linked to the previous words of Jesus that the Most High is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked (cf.v.35). As such, a man cannot impose himself as a severe judge over his fellow men; he cannot be more exigent than the eternal Father. He who judges others is a hypocrite, for he tends to hide his own faults. Jesus expressed this in a paradoxical language with “splinter” and “log” (cf. v. 41). For it is only when one has eliminated his “log” that he would be able to see better in order to remove the “splinter” in another’s eye, and he will be able to do it with comprehension, empathy, love and mercy.

     Jesus condemns the actions of those who are unaware of their shortcomings while they decry the faults of others. Those in Jesus parlance who notice a tiny splinter in others but are blind to the plank in their own eyes, are hypocrites. They have the tendency of seeing “all black or all white”. The underlying fact is that there are no perfect human beings, or those without faults, an ideal and perfect man is utopic. We only have real persons. The major spiritual deficiency of faultfinding is that it removes our focus from our shortcomings and fragility, and plunges us into the temptation of self-righteousness. Instead of criticizing others let us cultivate an attitude of positive regard and care for them. Behold, it was the Psalmist who captured earnestly the danger of self-righteousness when he prayed: “Who can discern his own errors? Acquit me from hidden faults” (Ps. 19:12). In fact, the Christian Standard Bible puts it in a more comprehensive manner thus: “Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults”.

     Be that as it may, every authentic disciple of Christ should avoid the presumption of being a judge of others’ actions; before judging others, one has to examine him or herself, and try to work and do away with his/her defects. If there is need for a correction, he does it not with airs of superiority, but with humility, unconditional positive regard and love. An authentic disciple of Christ is one who tries to be a good tree, in order to produce good fruits in thoughts, words and actions. He makes effort to possess a good heart, such that from the “treasure of his hearts” he brings out only good things (v.45).

     Above all, the moral teachings of Jesus even though they appear paradoxical, are not mere generic prescriptions or exaggerations expressed in parabolic forms basically to stimulate mere reflections. Instead, they have an authoritative tone, accompanied at times with admonitions, in order to help his listeners understand that they are to be taken serious. It is a radical choice. The law of Christ is determined from within, his teachings shake the conscience. And in our existential struggle to overcome our defects and fragility, which St. Paul presented imminently with the reality of death in the Second reading (1Cor. 15:54-58), we are overcomers, for God through his Son has given us victory. It is upon this assurance of faith that St. Paul invites us today “to remain firm and unmoved” in the faith, to continue to work for the Lord, with the consciousness that our effort will never be in vain (v.58). May the Lord bless our effort and give us the enabling grace to live the ethical and spiritual congruence that our faith in Him comports. May His w(W)ord form us so that we may act and speak in accordance with our being in Him. Amen!!!

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

On Christian Perfectibility!

 The “Something More” of Jesus!!

(Homily 7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

      In the course of human history, there have been numerous revolutions, ranging from political, for instance the passage from Roman Empire to the Barbarian Empire; social like the abolition of slavery; economic like the passage from industrial revolution to electronic revolution, to religious and cultural revolutions. However, experience so far confirms that every revolution brings about a change in paradigm and in the mode of life and the behavior of men and women. Above all these ephemeral revolutions, there subsists a permanent revolution in the history of mankind, and that is the Christian revolution. This indeed, is an authentic and insuperable revolution, for it has been realized and it continues to be realized with love. Truly, the story of love between God and man, taken to its dramatic and existential conclusions by Jesus revolutionized and continues to revolutionize the human history. He who loves participates in this existential continuous revolution. It is with this interpretative key that we will understand better the density of Jesus’ teaching on “something more” of Christianity, orchestrated by love of the enemies and generosity towards all, without ifs and buts, without frontiers. The pivot around which revolves the central message of this Sunday is generosity. The generosity of David towards Saul, who was persecuting him and was after his life as demonstrated in the first reading. In the Gospel Jesus insists on the generosity of a Christian towards all men and women, to the extent of loving one’s enemies, in imitation of the heavenly Father. At last, St. Paul in the second reading affirms the generosity of Christ, who as a life giving spirit through his resurrection vested us with the image of the new man.

     The passage of the first reading (1Sam. 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23) proposes David as a sublime example. He could have killed Saul in order to retaliate for all the evil he (Saul) did to him. Instead, he spared him, he saved his life. He demonstrated an incredible generosity and magnanimity of heart, that even Saul admired his gesture. The first book of Samuel contains two versions of the episode where David spared the life of King Saul, even after been haunted by him. We see the other version in the 24^th Chapter (vv.1-22). In any case, the two versions differ in the detail and narration of the event; however, both reflect one of the fascinating characters of David, his magnanimity. Furthermore, in the two versions we see what could be called the royal ideology, as a result of which David didn’t want to put his hand against the Lord’s anointed. Be that as it may, this magnanimity demonstrated by David which in no small way is a manifestation of the density of authentic forgiveness, makes the message of the first reading to interlace into that of the Gospel, on Jesus’ invitation to forgive others, as God has forgiven us. The Psalmist emphasizes on the kindness and mercy of God thus “It is the Lord who forgives all your sins, who heals every one of your ills” (Ps.103:3), it really serves as a response to the first reading and the Gospel.          

     The passage of the Gospel of St. Luke (Lk. 6:27-38) constitutes the apex of Christian perfection or perfectibility. They are imperatives that at first sight might be considered utopic, or better ideals reserved for a very few individuals. In truth, it is simply about Christian ideals for whoever wants to be and is a true disciple of Christ; he/she has to be inspired in his/her conduct to these imperatives. For that is the road of Christian perfection. What are these imperatives? What does Jesus require from those who follow Him? He asks that we love, that we love all without ifs and buts, without conditions. He therefore, invites us to love not only those who love us and do good to us. More than that, he calls us to love those who hate us, those who are indifferent to us. He calls to love our enemies, to love them not with abstract sentiments, but in concrete terms, that is by doing good to them. As such, he expects us not to react to violence with violence, hatred with hatred, but with mercy and love. Jesus teaches us the criterion on which our dealings and rapport with others should be based, and it is two dimensional: “Treat others as you would like people to treat you” (v.31) and “Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate” (v.36). Indeed, whoever desires to be a child of God has to imitate Him (God), who is benevolent even “to the ungrateful and the wicked” (v.35).

      In the Bible we find the logic of equivalence, this logic appears under two different forms. The first has to do with justice over the evil received. This is the law of retaliation: “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Ex. 21:24). When it was first formulated it appeared really to be a step ahead of vengeance that was demanding double, to justice that was demanding of equity in restitution. But this formulation is not Christian, for Jesus teaches: “Do not pay evil with evil” (cf. Mt. 5:38-42). Unfortunately, after so many years of Christianity, there are still Christians who continue to apply the law of retaliation. We find the second formulation in the Gospel: “Treat others as you would want them to treat you”. In the Old Testament, this “golden rule” was formulated negatively thus: “Do to no one what you would not want done to you” (Tb.4:15). The formulation of St. Luke is positive, and it is not situated on the level of justice, but on love. This indeed, is fully a Christian formulation, but still imperfect and incomplete. It is imperfect because the reference point is the I, man. It is incomplete because the expression “the others” in the common mentality at that time, refers to Jews, and excludes non-Jews and enemies. The logic of equivalence in the order of love, is Christian, but the radicality of our faith supersedes the logic of equivalence, and reaches to the logic of “something more”.

     In the Old Testament we encounter some figures who lived the logic of “something more”, even though the formulation of this logic could be traced to Jesus. In effect, the first reading exposes the generous gesture of David towards King Saul. Jesus formulates the logic of “something more” in terms that are humanly disconcerting: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly” (vv.27-28) and again, “Instead, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without any hope of return” (v.35). The human mentality asks us to hate our enemies, but Jesus calls us to love them. The human mentality demands that we do evil to those who hate us, but Jesus calls us to do good to them. The human mentality asks us to curse those who curse us, but Jesus invites us to bless them. The human mentality demands that we take interest while lending, but Jesus demands that we should ask for nothing in return. The human mentality asks us to pay back calumny with calumny, but Jesus asks us restitute calumny with prayer. This indeed is the essence of Christianity. It is the “something more” of Jesus.

     Upon proper observation, we see that the first two paragraphs of this passage are in correspondence with the antithesis in Mathew’s Great Sermon: “You have heard… But I say to you” (Mt.5:43-44). This is implicit in the Lucan version, because the love of one’s enemy was not a current Jewish teaching. Therein, “enemies” stand to indicate non-Israelites. At the end of the second paragraph we find an interesting saying thus: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”. But St. Mathew placed much interest on the idea of perfection, and the saying instead goes thus: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. As a matter of fact, this annotation is indeed a thing to go by, for man’s dealings with his fellow man should be a reflection of the treatment he receives from God. In the third paragraph St. Luke talks about judging, condemning and forgiving. In the preceding paragraph emphasis was laid on the imitation of God’s treatment towards us. In this paragraph the emphasis instead is on God’s kind response to our positive or negative behavior towards others. This, by no means suggests a quid pro quo rapport between Christian ethics and reward, rather, it revolves around the pivot that as God in his Son, Jesus Christ continues to show us forgiveness; we are called to do same to others. As such, the Christian ethics is an ethics of response, response to what God in Christ has shown and given to us.

      From the Gospel emerges that “something more” that Jesus requires from his disciples. As such, the “something more” that Jesus demands from his followers is proper to Christian perfection. The “something more” of Jesus is really exigent, at least judging from human standard. Therefore, one may ask: why does Jesus require this from his followers? Indeed, the teaching and exigencies of Jesus are based on three principles: ●First, it has a sapiential dimension of a common ethics: “Treat others as you would like people to treat you” (v.31), it entails that we should not do to others what we do not like others to do to us. ●Second, it has a supernatural dimension, of faith, and it is the example of the Heavenly Father that we are called to imitate: “Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate” (v.36), He “is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (v.35b). He is indeed, kind towards all sinners, towards us all. The Psalmist captured vividly well the density of the Father’s mercy thus: “He forgives all our guilt…he doesn’t treat us according to our sins, he doesn’t repay us according to our guilt” (Ps.103:3.10). ●Third, is the eschatological dimension, related to the divine judgment, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (v.37). Once again, a closer and a thoughtful glance at the “something more” of Jesus reveals that they are demands with recompense. Therefore, we have nothing to lose if we are merciful and good towards our neighbors; rather our reward is in view! We can imagine how peaceful and transformed our society would be, if we honestly apply these evangelical principles delineated by Jesus. As Christians we have the obligation to ensure that these principles are understood, accepted and practiced.   

    The imperative of Jesus are really demanding for three reasons: ►First, it challenges us to internal fight with ourselves, and afterwards silences our ego and pride. ►Second, because they are in contrast with the mentality of the world, where forgiveness and mercy are considered as weakness. But of a truth, non-violence, mercy and forgiveness require a strong will, self-control and courage. ►Third, because in a world like ours there is a common mentality that love towards one’s enemies, non-violence, forgiveness, and mercy mean to succumb and to allow oneself to be subjugated. Instead they are actions and gestures to ensure that evil doesn’t prevail and that injustice doesn’t become a system. It entails abhorring evil in all its forms and representations.

     In the second reading (1Cor. 15:45-49) we equally see the logic of “something more”, of generosity, but in a new dimension, the dimension of eternity. The risen Christ gives us the logic of “something more”, thus making us participants of his resurrection. And he who lives the essence of Christianity, love, has open wide the doors of the new life. Behold, it is on the principles delineated by Jesus, that the new humanity desired and inaugurated by Jesus are founded. In that vein, the human being as St. Paul expressed will no longer bear the “image of the man, made of earth and earthly by nature” (v.47), that of Adam, but he will be vested with the “image of the heavenly man” (v.49) Christ, who “has become a life-giving Spirit” (v.45). This of course, has both existential and eschatological dimensions.

     Above all else, however, no matter how arduous the imperative of Jesus may appear, we need to understand that it is not only from the light of faith, but also from that of reason, that the teaching of Jesus is the right path towards human peaceful co-existence and acceptance. Contrarily, if we thread the path of violence and hatred, we will end up in a tragic spiral of violence, without a way out, and the daily chronicle of the happenings in the world today, confirms that. The chain of hatred and vengeance can only be broken by heroic love that forgives the enemies and the persecutors, and uses mercy and understanding towards wrong doers. For Christians there are no enemies, only brothers. One of the overriding laws in Christianity is the law of fraternity or brotherhood. We are all brothers and sisters, first as creatio imago Dei, and as such we have one Lord and Creator. Second, we are all brothers by virtue of our Redemption, because Jesus has redeemed us all, through his Blood on the Cross, giving us therefore the grace of becoming adopted sons and daughters of God. Therefore, we are brothers and sisters, and nobody is exempted from this universal fraternity and where there is this spiritual filiation, there is no room for hatred and enmity. Beloved in Christ, let us pray to God for grace and strength, for on our own alone, unaided by divine grace we will not be able to concretize the principles indicated to us by Jesus. For without his grace; pride, selfishness, spirit of revenge and instinctive reactions will overwhelm our good will.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Lasting Happiness: The Beatitudes!

 (Homily 6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

     The human experience reveals so far, that the world is in a constant existential antithesis of the poor and the rich, the happy and the sad, the impressed and the depressed, the list can continue on and on, but they are in any case, facts of human existence. In the quest to overcome this antithesis, many a times, we allow ourselves to be enticed by the false promises, illusions and deceptions of the world, which pull us down from the standard that Jesus has given to us through his outstanding teachings. The standard of Jesus leads to true and lasting happiness, for his are standards of trust in God, beatitudes and hope. The existential antithesis is adequately expressed in the readings of today, where the blessing of those who trust in God is opposed to the curse of those who trust in man (first reading), in the Gospel St. Luke presents the antithesis between the beatitudes of the poor, the hungry, of those who mourn and those hated by people, and the woes of the rich, the satisfied, of those who laugh and are praised by men. And lastly, St. Paul reveals the contraposition between those who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead (some Corinthians) and those who believe in it (Christians).

      The first reading (Jer. 17:5-8) is a poem of two stanzas made up of the pronouncement of woe on those who trust in man and the beatitudes on those who trust in Yahweh. Alongside the woe and the beatitudes are two corresponding comparisons of the man who trusts in man, “accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh. Such a person is like a scrub in the wastelands” (vv.5-6a) and the man who trusts in the Lord, “Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on. Such a person is like a tree by the waterside” (vv.7-8a). In the first category, the man who trusts in man, is said to be cursed, How? Not certainly in the sense that God punishes him nor because God will send him misfortune, but in the sense that this man is on the way to his ruin. Why is the man who trusts in man on the wrong road, on the road to disappointment and failure? It is not as if it is prohibited to trust in man, but in the biblical sense, the verb stands to indicate putting all of one’s trust in man, thus making man an absolute, the end and foundation of one’s life. And the result will be nothing but delusion and failure. It is in this sense that the prophet says “cursed is the man that trusts in man”. On the other hand, “the man who trusts in the Lord is blessed” (v.7). Here “to trust in the Lord” does not entail folding one’s alms and wait passively for God to do all, rather it entails having God as the foundation and end of your existence, to trust in his Word, to allow oneself to be led by Him. We can trust in God for he is faithful. In the words of the prophet, he who trusts and entrusts himself to God will be like a tree planted by water (v.8). The psalmist captures vividly well the theme of Jeremiah’s poem, for Psalm 1 reaffirmed that the man who hopes in the Lord is like a tree planted near the streams while the wicked are like a chaff blown around by the wind (Ps. 1:3.4). This passage overlaps into the Gospel for the pronouncement of woes and blessings to different categories of people.

     The Gospel periscope (Lk. 6:17.20-26) presents the Lukan account of the Sermon on the Mount or the beatitudes. This must have been a disconcerting message to the listeners of Jesus, for in the common Jewish mentality of that time, richness was considered a blessing, a sign of friendship with God, while poverty was seen as a curse. In fact, the discourse of Jesus on the Mount still presents the disconcerting aspect till today. Similarly, the widespread opinion is that richness and power are the things that matter, and people can go to any length to have them. This of course is contrary to the teaching of Jesus. The discourse of Jesus is programmatic, and has to be understood as such.

     In Luke unlike in Mathew (5:1-12) this great sermon was delivered on a plain ground and not on a Mount. In Luke’s parlance therefore, the sermon on the plain or level ground took place where crowds gathered with the quest for hearing Jesus’ words and be healed of their diseases. In that bid, verse 17: “He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples, with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon”, provides the Lukan setting or context of the Great Sermon. It is interesting, Luke’s choice of a plain ground, probably to emphasize that in the human search for meaning, we find ourselves in the same place and in the same level. It is from this common background that Jesus speaks to his followers and to us today. The Sermon however, was addressed to the disciples and not to the crowds, though it took place in the presence of the crowd, “Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours” (v.20). This entails that the ethics of the Sermon was not meant for all, but for the followers of Christ.

     In both Mathew and Luke, the Sermon begins with series of beatitudes; they are eight in Mathew and four in Luke. In Luke each beatitude has a corresponding woe; the rich and the poor, hungry and full, weeping and laughing, hated (prophets) and spoken well of (false prophets). In Luke’s account the Sermon has some sociological dimension, for the poor and the hungry include the less privileged of the society. Once again, making reference to Mathew’s account, the later seem to be more correct when he talks not just about the poor, but the poor in spirit, and not just about hungry, but those who hunger for righteousness. As a matter of fact, care must be taken in order not to analyze the Sermon only from the sociological view point, for it basically has to do with one’s relationship with God, and not necessarily on one’s social status.

    In the Beatitudes Jesus proclaimed the nearness of God’s Kingdom, that it is already present in Him, Autobasileia. He affirms that the promises of the prophets find fulfillment in him, and he in turn promises salvation to the poor. We cannot but remember all the prophecies of Isaiah, who announced the future Messiah as a Consoler, the hope of those suffering, and he indicated as one of the characteristic signs of his coming, the proclamation of the good news to the poor. And precisely to them, to the poor, the hungry, to those who mourn, Jesus promises salvation. On the other hand, the rich are not only those who possess a lot, but also those who selfishly enjoy and massacre their wealth. The poor instead are not only those who lack material wealth, but also the persecuted, the suffering and the simple hearted. In his programmatic discourse Jesus proclaimed the poor blessed (v.20) and woe to the rich (v.24). The poor in material and economic sense are those that lack the basic necessities of life, those who struggle to survive; and in the spiritual sense (the most important) the poor instead are those their hearts are detached from earthly things, and they do not put their trust or derive their happiness from them. Those poor in the spiritual sense are those proclaimed blessed by Jesus, because they are ‘simple’, ‘humble’ and ‘dependent’, they recognize their nothingness before God.

     However, it is interesting to note that for St. Luke unlike St. Mathew, it is not about spiritual poverty, for instance St. Mathew would say: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, but for St. Luke it has a realistic significance, it has to do really with the poor, those who lack the basic necessities, it is about those who are hungry, the persecuted, the marginalized etc. They are proclaimed blessed not in the future, in the eternal life to come, but at the present, here and now, because at the present a supreme good is offered to them: the Kingdom of God, the proposal for salvation and encounter with Christ. The beatitudes are not doctrines or thesis for social reform, they are not proposal for class struggle, nor a call for the destruction of injustice and inequality (though a Christian has to be adequately involved in this). They are a promise of salvation that God offers in Christ to those who listen to his word, place their trust in Him and recognize their need of Him. And many a times, the poor and not the rich are well disposed to welcome this offer.

     In his account, St. Luke added his famous word “woe” or “alas”, addressed to the rich. Be that as it may, we could ask some pertinent questions thus: Are the rich excluded from the kingdom of God? Is the Good news not for them also? The answer is emphatic No! Jesus does not intend to exclude anyone, his message of salvation is not discriminatory, and it is not as if Jesus wanted to attack the rich, far be it! It seems instead that he intended to reawaken in them the consciousness that their riches can lead them astray. In concrete terms, Jesus maintains that in relation to the supreme good of man, which is salvation, and the gift of the Kingdom of God offered to man, riches can be a big obstacle. This is because he who possesses riches runs the risk of being closed in self-sufficiency, and thus can grow deaf to God’s appeal for salvation. He risks trusting in himself and his riches. He risks losing the precious treasure, that inestimable pearl as announced in the parable, that worth selling all that one possesses in order to purchase it. This is why the “woe” to the rich is a sort of warning, and not an attack. Jesus invites them and us today to guide against the attitude of making money and riches an absolute value. It is not as if money and riches are bad or evil in themselves, but what matters is our attachment or detachment from them. Therefore, it is good to acquire wealth, but we need to guide against the temptation of being possessed by wealth and riches. What matters is to have a heart detached from earthly things, to have that sense of dependency and nothingness before God. We need to ask the Lord for the spirit of poverty or poverty in the spirit. Let the rich not attach his heart to his riches and let the poor not be jealous, too ambitious and greed.

     As St. Paul evidenced, in the second reading (1Cor.15:12.16-20) we can see the most evident proof of trusting in God, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death. St. Paul affirmed that God raised him from the dead as the “first fruits” of those who have fallen asleep (v.20). Therefore, the reality of his resurrection is a guarantee that also one day we shall resurrect. After the proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection, Paul reproached the Corinthians for their inconsistency. For if they accepted the proclamation of Christ’s resurrection, how come they deny the resurrection of the dead? They do not believe because they trust more on human intelligence and knowledge than in God. In verses 17-20 St. Paul advances an existential argument to drive home his point, because the denial of the resurrection of the dead, undermines the reality of our present Christian existence, in his words: “your faith is futile and you are yet in your sins” (v.17). As a matter of fact, the Christian hope of resurrection is by no means a mere philosophical opinion, but a realism on which hinges our hope. Indeed, “If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people” (1Cor. 15:19). By means of Christ resurrection, we have become forgiven sinners, Christ has introduced us into a new relationship with God, which goes beyond this present existence.

Oratio: Lord Jesus may your transforming words irrigate our sterile souls and lead us to the path of the Beatitudes, the path of lasting happiness. Amen!

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

The Invasion of Grace!

(Homily 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. C)

      The three readings we heard today present three wonderful protagonists: Isaiah, Paul and Peter. In these three protagonists we are presented with stories that are similar in some aspects, and yet diverse in nature. However, in each case, we see a sense of unworthiness which is later surpassed with grace and forgiveness, and this led to their being called to participate in the mission for salvation. As we have seen, these three had an encounter or an experience of God, an overhauling experience that changed their life completely. It created in them a “before” and an “after”. Truly, this is what an authentic encounter with God should be. Therefore, for us Christians, our experience and encounter with the person of Jesus should cause a change in our lives. Similarly, there should be a “before” and an “after” in our Christian sojourn and experience. When God’s grace captures man, it leads him to the discovery of who he is and who he is called to be before God, the spiritual real and ideal self. Isaiah encountered God, confessed his unworthiness and received forgiveness. Paul encountered the risen Christ and received conversion. Peter encountered Jesus, recognized his unworthiness and sinfulness before his Master. What has changed in your own encounter with Him?

     In the first reading (Is. 6:1-2a. 3-8) we are told of Isaiah in his popular vision of God, where he discovered the greatness and holiness of God, and contrarily his own sinful condition. The vision of Isaiah, the propelling force of his prophetic vocation is well situated into history: the year of the death of King Uzziah. By means of the liturgical elements that Isaiah saw in the vision, he came to understand the holiness and transcendence of God. The greatness of God is identified in the image of the Lord of host seated on his throne. The encounter with God’s holiness, the mysterium tremendum, led Isaiah to confess his unworthiness. But after that overhauling experience of and with the divine, he responds “Here, I am, send me” (v.8). His call came as a miracle of grace; he received forgiveness for his sins and later was sent to go for us. In that bid, the emphasis of this passage today is on the call and not on the vision of God’s holiness, for the call of Isaiah is parallel to that of Peter in the Gospel passage and by extension to that of Paul in the second reading.

     The second reading (1 Cor. 15:1-11) presents Paul and his personal experience of the Risen Lord. St. Paul recounts his experience with the Risen Lord on his way to Damascus and the faith that he derived from it. He recounted the different appearances of the risen Lord, including the appearance to him, where he received his apostolic call. And indeed, he emphasized on the grace-character of his apostolic call. Paul affirms with vigor that Christ died and he has risen and he described the resurrection as a saving event. Therefore, for Paul Christ cannot be put aside, like any of the figures or personages of the past, this is still valid even for us today. For He lives on! In fact, Jesus himself declared: “I was dead and look – I am alive for ever and ever” (Rev. 1:18a).

     In the Gospel (Lk. 5:1-11) we see Luke’s collocating the call of the first four disciples, which Mark and Matthew reported at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus (Mk. 1:16-20; Mt. 4:18-22), unlike them Luke equally enriched the narrative with elements that renders it similar to the miraculous catch in John (Jn. 21:1-14). Thus, in the episode we see the experience of Peter, who was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, in an ordinary manner he had an extraordinary experience. Peter profoundly demonstrated what it entails to believe in Jesus and His words. Peter too was overwhelmed with stupor. Today Peter teaches us what faith and belief in Jesus entails. He teaches us how far we can go in believing in Jesus and His words. As a matter of fact, let us remember that the Lord has already called the disciples and they accepted to follow him, but it does appear they continued in their former activities and means of livelihood, mainly their fishing for a living. This represents the first stage of the call; at first they answered Jesus’ call without a total commitment. But in today’s passage Jesus upgrades the cost of discipleship, “henceforth you will be catching men”, “they left everything and followed him” (vv. 10.11). He invited them and us to the next stage of discipleship.

      Let us go back to the storyline once again, after Peter’s struggle and fruitless labor all over the night together with his friends, they adhered to the invitation of Jesus: “Duc in altum” (v.4) (Put down the net for a catch). Even though the invitation of Jesus was contradicting their experience as experts in the art of fishing, yet they acted on his words. Humanly speaking they know too well that it was quite difficult if not impossible to catch something during the day, when they did not catch anything at night; however they obeyed the words of Jesus and threw down the net. But notwithstanding, Peter wanted to help Jesus feel in their own shoes: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word I will let down the nets” (v.5). This indeed is faith in action! Many a times, we seem to shiver in our trust like Peter. Sometimes we might have toiled and struggled a lot, with little or no result. Why? May be because we trusted only in ourselves and in our capacities alone, or may be God wants to test us. However, today Jesus invites each and every one of us to trust in Him, not to give up in our life struggles. May be in your studies, business or work you have toiled like Peter without success, today hearken to His words as He says to you “Put down the nets for a catch”. Therefore, do not give up, insist, persist, and continue to try for God has not given up on you. For this, St. Paul confirmed in the second reading “but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain” (1Cor. 15:10). Neither will His grace be in vain in our life, Amen!

     Let us try to situate ourselves in the position of Peter and his friends. After that experience of an unrewarding toil, what would you have done if you were in the shoes of Peter? May be you would have told Jesus: “You are joking, do you want to teach an expert like me? What do you know about the art of fishing? Listen, at this hour you cannot catch anything, point and black. Let us be”! But their reaction was quite different. His fruitless human effort did not push him to give up on Jesus. Beloved in Christ, no matter what you might be passing through today, do not lose hope, do not give up, and do not give up on God’s word. Little wonder, St. Paul vigorously proclaimed: “Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). Truly, He did more than Peter and his friends could imagine!

     Let us reflect deeper on some salient phrases arising from the episode. Just think about the magnificent response of Peter: “on your word I will let down the nets”. And Jesus appreciated the wonderful response of Peter with the miraculous catch, a blessing of the biggest catch of fish he ever had probably in his life. Indeed, the greatest appreciation was the invitation Jesus made to Peter to be his disciple, to proceed to the next stage of discipleship: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (v.10). At this point, the Greek verb (psarévo) that was used to indicate the act of fishing changed, because “fish is fished for death”, but in Peter’s new mission of fishing men the Greek verb Zogréo (to catch alive) was used, because fishing men is for life. He has to catch them alive for the kingdom of God. In the words of Iraneus, “The glory of God is man fully alive”.

     In this passage, an important characteristic of one who wants to be a disciple of Jesus is indicated by the verb “to follow”. “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him” (v.11). As such, a Christian above all, is one who follows a person: Jesus. The book of Apocalypse captured this vividly well when it talks about “following the Lamb wherever it goes” (Ap. 14:4). Another important verb is “to leave” qualified with the adjective “everything”. The fact of “leaving everything” delineates the radicality of the detachment and of the response. “To follow” Jesus therefore, involves two types of freedom: freedom from and freedom for, freedom from our sinful habits and freedom for the other and the Other. Little wonder, Peter and his friends from “fishers of fish” became “fishers of men”.  From this, we can see that the call of God opens up a new horizon, a mission ad and intra gentes. Another verb beaming with meaning in this passage is the Greek verb “kopiao” (to toil). This verb was used to indicate the struggle or the toil of the night fishing without success, and St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles will use the same verb to indicate the apostolic toil (cf. Acts.20:35). Therefore, there precedent toil was indicating the toil of their new mission.

     In all, another significant Greek word that tailored the density of this passage is “rhema” (Lk. 5:5), and Peter used this when he said to Jesus “on your word I will put down the nets”. Here, an attentive reader discovers that Peter used the word rhema instead of logos (because in Greek logos is word, rhema also stands for word but there is something more in it). Rhema means word-event, that is, to say that the word of Jesus is an event, it is not ordinary word like others. Therefore, the encounter with the word of Jesus (Word and Word personified) is an event that changes life. In fact, if we go to the Acts of Apostles (5:32), Luke used the same word which was translated in some languages as event, things or facts. Be that as it may, the word of Jesus as an event has to change our life and our mentality.

     My dear friends in Christ no matter what your present situation may be, remember always that an encounter with Jesus creates a before and an after. If you have toiled and struggled in your life without success, Jesus is telling you personally continue to try, even if your name has been identified with failure do not give up, for Jesus has not given up on you. He has come to raise us up with his presence and words. Above all, may our encounter with the W(w)ord of God expose and remind us of our poverty, our sinfulness and our nothingness. Peter is a living example, for when the mirror of God’s word appeared before him, he begged Jesus: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”. But the Lord does not depart for He has come to empty our pride, mistrust, unworthiness and sin and to fill us with trust, humility and holiness! There is power indeed in His word!! Happy Sunday Friends!!!

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

 

  

Behold The Light For The Nations!

 (Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord)

World Day For The Consecrated Life

          Today we not only celebrate the Day of the Lord, we equally celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The Gospel of this Feast is greatly inspired by the Lucan narrative of Mary and Joseph going to the temple with the infant Jesus in order to fulfil their obligation as prescribed by the Law of Moses. Indeed, at the heart of this feast is the presentation and manifestation of the true identity of the Child Jesus and the family background of the Holy Family. Moreover, over the years the feast of the presentation of the Lord has received three different captions drawn from the different aspects of the Gospel periscope. First, the feast in question was celebrated in some countries as the Feast of Purification, as such linking it with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who though immaculate was not bound to make an offering for purification, but she does that in humility. The Immaculate Virgin carried out the ritual purification of new mothers on the fortieth day after delivering a son. Second, the feast is officially recognized as the Feast of the Presentation, as such, as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi in the first reading: “suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire” (Mal.3:1). Third, the feast is also called Candlemas owing to the liturgical tradition of blessing and processing with candles to the Church. This was equally inspired by the declaration of Simeon that the Child Jesus would be a light for the revelation of Israel. The Feast of today is indeed beaming with significant, and no doubt we need to identify and interiorize the import of this Feast in our lives today as Christians of the 21^st century.

          The first reading (Mal. 3:1-4) presents the people of Israel in an expectant situation. Malachi lived in a very difficult period, about 450 years before the coming of Christ, the holy people were living a licentious life, abandoning the practice of justice and love, the poor were exploited, and nobody expected God to keep His promise. This discouraging situation made people to have the opinion that there is no difference between the good and the bad people. And behold the Lord’s reply to this, is a solemn promise “Lo, i am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me” and he continues, after the coming of this Messenger another mysterious person will appear, who will be called ‘the Lord’, He ‘will come to the temple’. (Simon saw the realization of this promise in the gospel). What will He do? We are told that he will purify the religion of Israel, he will be like the refiner’s fire. The coming of Jesus fulfils this prophecy. Jesus is thus presented as the Purifier by prophet Malachi. He entered the temple to purify it. Today, also our religious practices need purification. We have not allowed the Lord to enter with his fire. Many a times a look into what is happening in our society today, even amongst us Christians, reveals the need for us to allow the Lord to enter into the inner recesses of our being.

          The second reading (Heb. 2:14-18) narrates how Jesus stooped low to become like us, not only that, but also accepting death in order to set us free. He accepted death in order to “destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (vv. 14b-15). The sacred author in the second reading presented Jesus as the Destroyer of the devil and the High Priest. For those of us that have been to the hospital, certainly we must have met two types of doctors, those that are indifferent to our problems pains, and those that really feel for us and encourage us. Our Lord Jesus is like this good and caring doctor. He did not stay in heaven to point to us the way to freedom from on high. Rather he became one of us and experienced human anguish and suffering. Indeed, “the sufferings he himself passed through while being put to the test enables him to help others when they are being put to the test” (v.18).

          In the Gospel (Lk. 2:22-40) the theme of Israel awaiting the realization of the ancient prophecy resurfaces. Israel was looking forward to the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi that we read in the first reading. Israel was expecting from their God a powerful sign, a strong force to destroy their enemies, but behold surprise, only a weak and frail child. They would have loved to see fire burning their enemies, instead Simeon proclaims this child the ‘light’ that will enlighten all peoples, for both the righteous and the wicked. The gesture of Simeon is replete with meaning, the showing of the child to the world reveals that he is not only for the Israelites but for all nations. The Mosaic Law prescribes that forty days after birth of the first son, the parents will go to the temple in Jerusalem to present or offer their first son to the Lord and for the ritual purification of the mother. In any case, the parents of Jesus went through this prescription. But it was not a ritual like the other times. In the other times men used to present their sons to the Lord, as a sign of offering and belongingness; this time around, it is God that presented his Son to men. God does it, by speaking through old Simeon and prophetess Anna (Simeon and Anna represent all the faithful Jews who longed to see the Messiah and the redemption of Israel). Simeon presented him to the world as salvation offered to the whole world, as a light that will enlighten all peoples, but also as a sign of contradiction, as the one who will expose the secret thoughts of many.

          Another interesting fact is that in the Jewish tradition only women go for purification (cf. Lev. 12:1-4), but in our passage today, the whole family went, that portrays the unity and love that characterize the Holy family. The Virgin Mary accepted to undergo the rite of purification not because she was unclean but as a demonstration of humility to the law. Jesus participates in the rite of purification in order to purify humanity. Even though, he was pure, he accompanied us to where the Lord will make us pure. He entered the impure temple of his time, to make it pure. Today, let us allow Him to enter into our lives in order to make us pure.

          Upon proper reflection on today’s Gospel, one could easily make a number of considerations, but we would like to divide the passage into four parts thus:

●The first part (vv. 22-24) describes the presentation of Jesus in temple. Jewish law prescribed that all first born of man and animal be offered to the Lord (cf. Ex 13:1-6) and again the male that opened the womb is to presented to the priest and be ransomed by the payment of five shekels (cf. Num. 18:16), for children could not be sacrificed so they were ransomed. The parents were to bring to the priest an animal without blemish in place of the child (rich families offer lamb, poor families offer pigeons). The parents of Jesus kept the law, his was a poor family and so they offered two pigeons. This serves as a good example for parents, Joseph and Mary did not do more than their means, they did not offer lamb because others were offering lamb, instead they recognized and accepted their poverty irrespective of so many things that have been said about this Divine Child. Parents should learn this virtue of making effort to live within their income. What people may say should not condition us in being who we are and living according to our pocket. This could be a wonderful Christian education in our families today. ●The second part (vv. 25-35) is the heart of today’s gospel. Therein we see the gesture of the old man Simeon full of meaning: he takes the child from the arms of the parents and presents him to the whole world. Simeon is the symbol of the people of Israel who for centuries have been expecting the Messiah. An exemplary old man, he was righteous and devout. Later he made the second prophecy that the child would be a sign of contradiction and indeed his prophecy portrays Mary as a true symbol of Israel. He revealed the destiny of suffering awaiting Mary. ●The third part (vv. 36-38) presents another elderly person, a prophetess: Anna. She was 84 years old (this figure is the product of 7x12: 7 means perfection while 12 stands for the people of Israel). Anna was a devout widow, in the words of the evangelist she “never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and praying” (v.37). Anna stands for us as model of a faithful Christian who remains firm in God no matter the storms that come her way. She was also faithful to the husband, as she refused to remarry after the husband’s death. She stands as a symbol of Israel who after fulfilling his mission waits for the coming of the Messiah. ●The fourth part (vv. 39-40) ends with the return of the holy family to Nazareth and with the remark of the growth of Jesus in age and wisdom. Already Simeon revealed the future of this child, and for its realization wisdom and God’s favour were bestowed on him. The revelation of Jesus as a sign of contradiction was the beginning of the suffering of Mary and the doors of an experience that will culminate on the Cross was opened.

          Going back to history lane, in connection with this Gospel periscope early enough in the Orthodox Catholic Church a feast called Hypapantè was introduced, that is encounter. And in the IV century, it was extended to the Roman Catholic Church, and here it was enriched with a penitential procession. And later on, the rite of blessing of candles was introduced, it was perceived as a feast of light popularly known as Candelora. The candles serve as an expression with a visible sign, of the faith in Jesus Christ as the “light of the world”. As a matter of fact, in order to bring out the significance of this great feast, we would like to make reference to the two names given to the feast by the Orthodox Catholics and the Roman Catholics: hypapantè and candelora: that is feast of encounter and feast of light respectively.

          First, the encounter of Jesus with Simon and Anna in the temple of Jerusalem appeared to be the symbol of a more great and universal reality: The encounter of Humanity with its Lord in the Church. In the first reading we listened to the words of prophet Malachi, who preannounced this encounter. “Behold I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”. In the temple Simeon recognized the long awaited Messiah, Jesus and he proclaimed him the Savior and Light of the world. He understood that from that moment onward, the destiny of every man is decided based on one’s attitude towards Him; “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel”. In the words of John the Baptist: “His winnowing fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out” (Mt. 3:12).

          This episode is repeated in a different level, even today, in the new temple of God, which is the Church, where men and women encounter Christ, they learn how to recognize Him, they receive Him in the Eucharist, like Simeon who took Him in his arms, his words becomes for them light and his body strength and nourishment. We make live this experience each time the Holy Eucharist is celebrated. Indeed, at the beginning of our celebration, the faithful together with the priest entered the Church with lighted candles and songs, as a sign of going to encounter Jesus, who is calling us in his Church, with the hope of going to meet Him one day in the Eternal Encounter, when we will be presented by Him to the Father. The feast we are celebrating today is no doubt a moment of an encounter between God and man, but also a call to prepare for our own presentation before God.

     Second, with regards to the second name given to this feast, as a feast of light, it signifies that truly Christ is the Light of the world. The candle above everything else remains the symbol of Christ. Be that as it may, the candle light of today brings to our consciousness; the mystery of God made flesh, the true light of salvation. St John captured it in a glaring manner when he affirms thus: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone” (Jn. 1:9). At the second level, it entails that we have to be light of the world as well. For “no one lights a lamp and puts it in some hidden place or under a tub” (Lk. 11:33, Mt. 5:15), likewise Christ did not light our lamps at Baptism in order for us to hide it, but for us to give light to those around us. Let us reflect a bit on our own light, what has happened to our light? What has happened to that candle that Christ lighted on the day of our Baptism? Who has been able to maintain the light? Christ says “I have come to bring fire to the earth” (Lk. 12:49), He was not talking about a material fire that burns and destroys, but a fire that warms: that is Love. His life was a flame of this fire, but men allow him to blaze a little, little wonder, he desires to entrust this light to his disciples so that men will not be ignorant of this light. The light he has entrusted to us is found in the precept of love: Love one another”, “love your enemies”. This indeed is the light we have to carry in a renewed manner with us, every time from the Church, in order to enlighten those around us and those we encounter in the course of our day. We are thus invited to radiate and enlighten others with the fire of love, thereby burning every form of hatred and injustice.

           In conclusion, the Feast of today calls to mind the efficacy of God’s word, for God will never fail to fulfil his words and promises. It reminds us that observance of the law is important in our relationship with God and the models of Simeon and Anna are existential invitations to us to be steadfast and patient in waiting for God’s promises. We need to ask ourselves: what is the import of this feast for us today? We need to rediscover and recognize Christ as the Light of the world, the light that dispels every form of darkness and the light that inflames us to radiate love and goodness. As we celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s Presentation we pray that we may continue to radiate the light of Christ and allow the rays from Jesus the light to radiate in every corner of our hearts and in every corner of our world. Also today being the world day for the Consecrated Life we pray for all consecrated persons that they may continue to in the Child of Bethlehem the Savior of the world in the manner of Simeon and that their light may continue to shine in order to dispel the various forms of darkness shrouding our world today. Amen!!!

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