August 04, 2019: Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year (C)

Readings: Eccl. 21:2; 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21 

How much is Enough for the Rich?

The readings of today address the rich and those who pursue wealth as their only reason to exist on earth. Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity. A vain person is excessively proud in his/her admiration of his/her own appearance or achievements. Vanity means the quality of being worthless or futile. The Preacher, in the first reading, wants us to reflect on futility, uselessness, pointlessness, and fruitlessness of life and the pursuit of wealth. Our labor would be fruitless if our only purpose of existence is to amass wealth for ourselves alone. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mk. 8:36). No matter how rich we may be and how contented our achievements may make us feel, a day will come when we leave it all to others.

The second reading offers us a solution to a life of vanity. It exhorts us to set our hearts on the next life where we hope to behold the beatific vision of God. “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ. When Christ your life appears then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:1-4). We may be whatever we want and achieve whatever we dream but we must not lose sight of the reason for our existence. The Penny Catechism reminds us that we were created to know, love and serve God in this world so as to be happy with him in the next. Therefore, we must put to death, immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed. We must stop lying and be sincere and honest in our dealings with one another.

In the Gospel Jesus addresses inordinate greed and lust after material things that has blinded many people and turned them into narcissistic, arrogant, selfish, haughty, conceited, self-important, opinionated, egotistic and superior; admirable only by themselves and their cronies, despicable and intolerable to others. They only think of themselves and everything is about them.  “I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” And Christ warns: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions”. How much is enough for the rich of this world? Why can’t they read the signs of the time and learn from the wisdom of Job: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there” (Job 1:21). How have you used your wealth to store up riches for yourselves so that you may be rich in what matters to God? Christ admonishes: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroys, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroy, not thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Mt. 6:19-21). To do this properly and admirably, you must share what you have with those who have not. You are only a steward of your wealth. In giving to others, you give to God and your treasures are stored up for you in heaven.

These readings affirm that we brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out of it. “Those who trust in their wealth and boast of the vastness of their riches should know that no man buys his own ransom or pays a price to God for his life. He cannot buy life without end, nor avoid coming to the grave. He knows that wise men and fools must both perish and must leave their wealth to others” (Ps. 49).

There is a story that captures the essence of today’s readings: Alexander the Great was the emperor of ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He led may military campaigns and created one of the largest empires ever, stretching from Greek to India. He did this all while he was about 30 years old.  While on his death bed he thought of the vast empire he has built, each and every spoils of war he captured and the might of his military machine. He went into depression, realizing nothing was worth it even after an extremely successful life he could not avoid death. He wanted to see his mother for the last time before he departed, but he knew he would not be able to do it and would soon pass away. So he called his loyal Generals and made three last wishes before dying. I have three last wishes, please carry them out, for soon I will depart. My first wish is that my doctors, should alone carry my coffin. My second wish is that the path towards my grave shall be strewn with gold, silver and all the precious possessions in my treasury, while my body is being brought to be buried. My third and last wish is that both my hands shall be kept dangling out of my coffin.

The Generals who were startled by the three wishes, asked Alexander about the strange wishes. Alexander told them, I want my doctors to carry my coffin to let all know that no doctor can cure anybody. They are powerless, cannot save a person from death. The strewn gold, silver and other precious stones on the way to the graveyard, to let the people know that though I spent all my life accumulating riches, not even a grain of gold will come with me when I leave this world. It is a sheer waste of time, energy, and peace of mind when one yearns to be rich. Having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I want people to know that I came empty handed into this world and likewise will go empty handed from this world.

Alexander wanted to teach the rest of the world that earthly possessions are not worth it, and one must not crave for them. We came empty handed and will die empty handed. What else can I say! In his riches, man lacks wisdom, he is like the beasts that are destroyed. “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”. May we be wise with how we use material things so that God may welcome us into his dwelling when we pass from this life to next. Amen.

July 28, 2019: Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time of Year C

Jesus Prayed, the More Reason You Too Should Pray.

Readings: Gen 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13

In my second Philosophy while studying for the priesthood, I worked as a seminarian in a parish in my home diocese of Calabar. It was customary for seminarians to stay with a family within the mission church during their tour. I was given accommodation with the catechist - Patrick. I returned from church one evening, exhausted, and went to bed at about 9:00 pm. The village had a lot of insects: mosquitoes and bugs. Thank God we were warned in the seminary to always have a mosquito net during apostolic work. My net was neatly put in place as I rested comfortably in bed for the night. At about 1:00 am, there was a knock at Patrick’s door. A man from outside called out begging Helen, the catechist’s wife, who had a convenient shop, to kindly sell him mosquito coil (when lit the smoke repelled mosquitos). Patrick shouted from inside that he and his family were in bed, that the man should come back in the morning. But the man would not hear of it. He knocked, begged louder and louder, that his kids were unable to sleep due to mosquitos. This went on for a good while. I was wide awake now, but restrained myself from interceding for the man, partly because I wanted to see what the catechist would do. The man outside would not go away, he persisted and insisted, he knocked, pleaded, and begged. Finally, Helen got up, took some coils, unlocked the door and shove them into the man’s hands and told him to go with the money till the following day. Then there was peace.  The story is similar to the parable told by Jesus in today’s Gospel about the need to persevere in prayer and not lose heart. Jesus Christ himself was a man of prayer. The Gospels relate instances of Him praying. He prayed so much that his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.

The 16^th chapter of my book, ‘Life’s Lessons’ looked at ‘Why Christ Prayed’. I used my life experience to explain why I think Christ prayed. In prayer Christ called home to check on his Father, to know how he was doing. To tell God his father about his mission on earth and the difficulties he encountered. He talked to God about the many sick people he met wherever he went; he told him about the devil who worked hard to undermine him. He needed his father’s advice on how to counter and overthrow the devil. I think Christ discussed with his father about the problems he had with people on earth, the ‘holier than thou’ who made life difficult for him: the scribes and the Pharisees who wanted to kill him; Herod who ridiculed him and those who called him names and said that he used the power of beelzebud to drive out the devil. He was worried about the hatred, the hypocrisy, the lack of love, the unforgiving people he had to deal with. He was bothered about the backstabbing, the gossip, the betrayal, and the disloyalty that confronted him daily. Or maybe he just wanted to tell his father about his day, his joys and sadness, about his new friends, those who were assisting him in his mission. He talked to him about the crowds, the disciples, his apostles and their characters, personalities, and temperaments. He talked about the women in his life and mission. He must have talked at length about his mother, Mary. Sure, he mentioned Mary Magdalene and how committed she was to his cause. Oh, Christ prayed every day, prayed hard and spent long hours in prayer. Sometimes he spent the whole night, other times he would go up the mountain or at day break he would go to a deserted place and prayed in solitude.

In my opinion, prayer made it possible for Christ to focus on the work of his father. Prayer helped him not to be rash in his judgement and decision making. Because he prayed he was able to see everyone as a son and daughter of God, therefore, his brothers and sisters. Since everyone is created in the image and likeness of his father, he was able to see them as members of his family.

If Christ who is both God and man prayed so hard, the more reason why we too should spend a good deal of time in prayer. Prayer is to a Christian what water is to fish. How can we possibly survive without prayer! Today Christ taught his disciples to keep their prayer simple and short. God knows what we need, hence, we should ask for his kingdom to be established here on earth.

There are many types of prayer to choose from depending on our particular need. We may say prayer of intercession as Abraham did in the first reading today. We say this prayer when praying for others. We also ask others to intercede for us as when we invoke the saints to pray for us. In the prayer of thanksgiving we express our gratitude to God for blessings received. We are encouraged to offer thanks to God for the gift of life. Our greatest act of thanksgiving is at the celebration of the Mass – the eucharist which is “the source and summit of the Christian life”. Other forms of prayer are: adoration, contrition, supplication, meditation and contemplation.  Our prayer is efficacious and is of utmost necessity for overcoming our enemies. Like Christ, the saints were people of prayer. They too spent their whole life in prayer, not only during the day but at nights as well. Prayer is a must for everyone. A Christian who does not pray knows nothing about God and his love for humanity. According to John Vianney, The Cure D’Ars, “We will watch ourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain, in vain we will avoid temptation if we do not pray; if we do not have continual recourse to prayer, all our other ways will be of no use at all to us and we shall be overcome. We can see plainly that in the world there are a great many occasions when we cannot run away; for example, a child cannot run away from the society of his parents because of their bad example. But he can pray and his prayer, will sustain him.” 

If we pray as Christ did, we may begin to experience life differently; see people differently and love as God loves us. We may begin to forgive people from our hearts as we want God to forgive us. In praying the ‘Our Father’ we are praying to a loving God, who cares for us and seeks what is best for us. No matter what we go through in life, our Father knows it all and wants us to tell him about it. But most of all, in praying may we never forget to ask for the one thing that is dearest to God’s heart, the gift of the Holy Spirit. For “The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills” (Rom. 8:26-27). Pray always, pray perseveringly, pray insistently, pray and do not give up and the God who sees your heart and knows your needs will open the door for you and give you all you need abundantly. He will turn your mourning into joy and fill you with the blessings of your youth. May the Spirit pray for us and in us now and always. Amen.

July 21, 2019: Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - We Can Be Both Mary and Martha

Readings: Gen 18:1-10; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42

  The first and Gospel readings of today resonate with me in many ways. When I was young we always had visitors coming to see my dad. Among them were priests, nuns, and senior seminarians (those studying for the priesthood). Whenever priests would visit, my day would whisper something to my mom before he settled down with the guests for a chat. My mom would in turn direct us, the children, on what to do. Some of us could be seen pursing a roaster and before long, one would be killed and prepared for a meal, while my elder would be seen on his bike and soon he would return with drinks to entertain the guests. We had no refrigerator when I was growing up. This would soon be followed with a delicious and palatable meal from my mom’s kitchen. I often wondered if food cooked faster on my mom’s kitchen than others. My mom was a great cook, and I believed that her cooking was the best. It was only during the meal that my mom would participate in the discussion while we, the children would play outside waiting for the remains of the food. That is how it was then. The situation was not different in the time of Abraham and Jesus. Hospitality to strangers was not questioned, it was a given.   

Last Sunday we reflected on the story of the good Samaritan. The parable was prompted by a question by the teacher of the law to Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The lawyer’s answer was “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus commended him and told him, “Do this and you will live”. Since the parable of the good Samaritan emphasizes love of neighbor, today’s readings, highlight the love of “the Lord, your God”. God must always be first in our lives and we owe God adoration, loyalty and worship. Prayer in all its ramifications is a must for all Christians and nothing should take the place of giving God his due, our time and our all.

In the first reading we see Abraham showing hospitality to strangers. He offered them a place to rest, and a meal to provide them strength to continue their journey. His kindness and hospitality did not go unrewarded. His wife was promised a child, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son” (Gen. 18:10). Abraham was taken into confidence by God who revealed to him that he was on his way to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy it due to their iniquities. This afforded Abraham an opportunity to intercede for the land and on behalf of Lot, his nephew. The Lord comes to us in many ways every day as a beggar on the street corner, a stranger in need of shelter, immigrants running away from starvation and oppressive and repressive government, the rich in need of a friend, or the lonely in need of consolation and love. Like Abraham, Mary and Martha let us reach out to them, for in helping them, we help God himself. “So long as you did it for the least of my people, you did it for me” (Mt. 25:40). When we give God our time in prayer and respond in generosity and hospitality to Him, God takes us into confidence and provides for us beyond our wildest dreams. Spending time in prayer is not a waste of time but a time well spent and freed to do things well with his power, strength, blessing and integrity. Prayer, according to St. Therese of Lisieux, “Is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”. Do not ever say you are too busy to pray.

Jesus is not condemning Martha for taking care of his physical needs, but Martha’s attitude in doing so. She allowed herself to be anxious, worried and distracted by her serving to the point of feeling that what she did was far more important than Mary’s. “Stop worrying, then, over questions like, ‘What are we to eat, or what are we to drink, or what are we to wear’? The unbelievers are always running after these things. Your heavenly Father knows all that you need. Seek first his kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides. Enough, then of worrying about tomorrow. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Today has troubles enough of its own” (Mt. 6:31-34). Christ is telling us that we can be both Martha and Mary without sacrificing one for the other. Lydia made the right combination, responding like both Mary and Martha. First, she “listened” to the Gospel message preached by Paul and then offered hospitality to him and his companions (Acts 16:14-15).

To be truly hospitable, we must have clarity of action, and that clarity can only come through prayer. Prayer enables us to attune to the spirit of God, to contemplate his blessings and to recognize that in giving to those in need, be it our time, our talent or treasure, we reciprocate God’s hospitality and kindness to us. In practicing hospitality, we recognize that we are only stewards of what we have been gifted. Praying like Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus listening to him, helps us to recognize first in our hearts, the Jesus that we must serve in the poor. Yes, we are urged to be both Mary and Martha for it is in praying like Mary and serving like Martha that our life will truly be complete.

The Gospel reading of today also reminds us, according to John Rose, that “Substitution of our daily duties and responsibilities with religious activities is not commendable. A father of family, who instead of working and earning for the family, spends needless time in the church, is to be discouraged”. The same with a mother who spends all her time in church praying to the detriment of her family should be reprimanded. Prayer, religious and social activities are good and highly encouraged on their own but the family and the good of the children should not be sacrificed on their altars. There is always time for Mary and also time for Martha. We can be both and we should strive at being both. Prayer and work must be combined in a healthy way to strike a balance in our lives. We must learn to discharge our social responsibility with equanimity and at same time we must make the time to sit at the feet of Jesus so as to learn from him how to be meek and gentle of heart. May Christ the good teacher, teach us to find peace and balance in our lives without anxiety, worries and distraction now and always. Amen.