February 28, 2021. Homily the Second Sunday of Lent; Year (B)

 

Readings: Gen. 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18; Rom 8:31-34; Mk. 9:2-10 

Be Quiet! Stop and Listen

1.     A priest wanted to show his parishioners that they did not pay attention at Mass; that their responses was instinctive. After the procession and the veneration of the Altar, he made the sign of the Cross, tapped the microphone and said, “This microphone is faulty and must be repaired.” The congregation responded, “And with your Spirit”. On this second Sunday of Lent, we are invited to the mountain for prayer with Jesus, Peter, James and John. Elijah and Moses will be visiting soon. Here Jesus was transfigured, his clothes became dazzling white, and the Father’s voice was heard: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

2.     Listening is an integral part of communication. But do we really listen to one another? It is easy to keep a virtual company and communicate with people through texts in smart phones, using Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, and what have you, than be engaged with someone in the same room. Often, we see family members at dinner table with everyone on the phone. How many times do you try to have a communication with someone while he/she is scrolling on the phone or video chatting with someone else? Do we listen to God when we pray? At times we are eager and intent on letting God know what we want and how we want it, rather than allow God talk to us too. We bring the same attitude to our everyday life with our friends. We often hear people say, “Be quiet and listen!” Or “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” Listening means being quiet, attentive, and thinking about what to say when we have to say something. We must talk not because we must but because we have something to say. St. James warns: “Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak.” (James 1:19) So, today God tells us to be quiet and listen to his Son.

3.      In the first reading we see that God’s covenant is continuously made manifest in the life of Abraham. His willingness to sacrifice his son provokes more blessings, even as it renews his previous promise “I will multiply you exceedingly…for I am making you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you.” (Gen. 17:1-8). Abraham’s faith was unhindered by God’s demand, as painful as it was – the sacrifice of his only son. God asked him to “Take your son Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on the height that I will point out to you.” (Gen. 22:2). God knew the effect that this demand would have on Abraham. This was his only son, the son between him and Sarah, the child of their old age and the son of the promise. It was through Isaac that the promise to be the father of nations would be fulfilled. How could God make such a request of an old man. To show how much Abraham loved God, he was willing to sacrifice that which he loved the most.

4.     Love calls for sacrifice. God’s love for us is sacrificial love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16). “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn. 15:13). In the same vein, our love for God demands and requires the sacrifice of our love, our will, our heart and our being. How do we let go of that which we love and adore for the love of God? How do we give and continue to give all that we have and are because of our faith and trust in God? Abraham was willing to let go because he loved and trusted God that much. In my opinion, in his heart Abraham knew that God would not take away that which he loved without love in return for love. Abraham was not disappointed! Especially when he heard: “Abraham, Abraham! Do not lay your hand on the boy, do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.” (Gen. 22:12-14).

5.     In the gospel we see God’s willingness to sacrifice his Son, his only Son whom he loved, the only Son of Mary, out of love for humanity. We heard him: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mk.9:7). In the second reading Paul told us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else with him? Christ Jesus it is who died – or, rather, was raised – who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.” (Rom. 8:31-34). Humanly speaking it is hard, tedious, difficult and seemingly perilous, to let go and let God. Letting go without listening to Jesus, is to say the least, impossible. Hence the need to hush, be quiet and listen to Jesus as he leads us to greener pastures. God cannot enter into a noisy, environment. Therefore, Christ tells us, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your father who is in secret.” (Mt. 6:6).

6.      Abraham went into the inner room of his heart to pray and to listen; he heard the Lord who made a serious request of him. He asked for the sacrifice of his Son. Jesus went up the mountain for a few days of prayer and solitude with his friends, and his death was confirmed and his mission to save the world by the shedding his blood was sealed. That is why “As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” (Mk. 9:9). On this second of Lent, what is the Lord telling you to do? If we do not learn to be quiet and listen in prayer, we may not hear the Lord. Yes, the Lord may ask you for something demanding and difficult, will you be willing to obey him? Prayer is not only giving God the list of what you want him to do for you; it is also an opportunity to listen to the Lord. The Lord wants to talk to you, to share your worries and joys. He has a mission for each and every one of us. There is a specific thing He wants only you to accomplish on his behalf, but you may have blocked him with too much noise. Let us be quiet and listen so that he may transform and transfigure us into the image of his Son. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

 

February 21, 2021. First Sunday of Lent; Year (B)

  

Readings: Gen. 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mk. 1:12-15 

The God of a Second Chance - Are you on God’s Side?

1.     In the first reading God said to Noah and his sons, “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you…that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood.” (Gen.9:8-11). A covenant is an agreement entered into by two people with a promise and commitment to each other. It marks the relationship and the expectations they have for one another. God always made a covenant with his people in the Old Testament and enjoined them to remain faithful to Him while he would be their God, always providing and protecting them. God is faithful to his promises.

2.     The passage in Genesis speaks of a covenant God made with Noah and his sons after the disastrous flood. This new covenant demonstrates that the first one in Genesis 1:28-30, where God commanded Adam and Eve to go and multiply and fill the earth, was shattered by human sinfulness. “When the Lord saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved. So the Lord said: “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.” (Gen. 6:5-7). The flood was seen as the divine reaction to the human rejection of God. But there was a note of hope, for “Noah found favor with the Lord.” (Gen.6:8). So with Noah and his descendants God made a new covenant, but this time around, God demanded nothing from Noah, but promised what he will do for his people while asking nothing in return. According to Peter in the second reading, the covenant between God and Noah’s family prefigured baptism which is God’s pledge to us of salvation and eternal life.

3.     With this covenant, God seems to have said to Noah, now the past is done with, “Let us forget the past and forge ahead together. We will begin anew with peace between myself and humankind and, indeed, between myself and all creation. The rainbow will be its sign.” “Through the rainbow, God shows that he wants to be connected to his creation – all of it – in such a way as to create confidence in him and peace among his creatures…Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness” (CCC 1147). The new covenant includes all creatures, showing that God makes all things good, and in the end, all creation will be transformed (Rom. 8:18-22). This bond between God and us and all of nature is a mark of this new beginning.  

4.     Lent invites us to begin a new relationship with God. “Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord: though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.” (Is.1:18). Lent is God’s second chance to humanity. Do we always give a second chance to people who wrong us? Temptation and sins are roadblocks to a healthy relationship with God and one another; but like lovers’ quarrel that is capable of renewing love, we can strengthen our relationship with God by removing those blocks from our paths. We are invited to enter into a new covenant with God and rediscover the outpouring of God’s grace into our hearts on the day of baptism. God is always true to his covenant; we must be true to ours as well. What about temptation and sin?

5.     The Gospel of today presents us with the temptation of Jesus. We are not immune from the same temptation. Temptation comes in many ways. We may be tempted to be something that we are not, to assume the personality and status we don’t deserve. The attraction to this kind of life may turn us into liars, egoistical and proud. We may begin to think that we are everything to everyone as such our services to God, the church and humanity may become sterile and shallow. We may even forget why we do the things we do. Mother Theresa told Father Le Joly, a Jesuit priest who was writing a book about her “Father, when you write a book about me, tell everybody we are not here for work, we are here for Jesus. We are religious not social workers, or nurses, or teachers; we are religious Sisters. All we do, our prayer, our work, our suffering, is for Jesus. He gives me strength. I love Him in the poor and poor in Him. Without Jesus our life would be meaningless…incomprehensible…” If what we do is not done for Jesus our work is nothing more than false spirituality; and our work will draw us away from the covenant of God. Therefore, the Psalmist cries out, “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name give glory.” (Ps. 115:1). Let me conclude with this reflection from Fr. Eugene Maly, “What is important for us is not so much that we actually do during this Lenten season, whether it be attending daily Mass, visiting the sick and the elderly more often, or foregoing some special pleasure. All these are fine. But what is essential to Lent is our resolve to begin anew. One thing is certain: God’s covenant love is here to strengthen and comfort us.”  

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

February 17, 2021. Homily for Ash Wednesday; Year B

 

Readings: Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt. 6:1-6, 16-18 

Remember that You are Dust, and to Dust You Shall Return

1.     Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. You have heard me say many times that we must ‘question our beliefs and challenge our assumptions.’ Since last year with Covid-19 in our midst, we have constantly questioned our beliefs and challenged our assumptions in the celebration of the Church’s liturgy. We have adapted to our new normal and applied ourselves to new ways of doing things and new ways to worship God. Until we see an end of Covid-19 virus, we must continue to worship God in whatever way we can, bearing in mind our mortality, and the need to turn to God at all times. This is what this season calls for. God is merciful; scripture tells us: “You are merciful to all, O Lord, and despise nothing that you have made. You overlook people’s sins, to bring them to repentance, and you spare them, for you are the Lord our God.” (Wis.11:24,25,27).

2.     As ashes are applied on our foreheads, we are reminded that ‘We are dust and to dust we shall return.’ These same words will be pronounced by the priest as he pours sand on our coffin on the day of burial. A reminder that our circle of life on earth is over and a new life has begun with God. The second option on the application of ashes is ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel.’ This theme is heard loud and clear in the first reading. “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole hearts, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.” (Joel 2:12-13). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, however, warns that “Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, “sackcloth and ashes,” fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs gestures and works of penance.” (CCC. 1430). It continues “Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace.” (1431). When we sin, we turn away from God the creator to the created, thereby falling into the sin of Adam and Eve, choosing our ways over God’s ways. The Psalmist admits, “For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: “Against you only have I sinned; and done what is evil in your sight.” (PS. 51:5-6).

3.     The Second Vatican Council reminds us that “Lenten penance should not only be internal and individual but also external and social, that it should be suitable to the present time…” Hence the Church calls us to fast from food and abstain from meat and other things that we indulge in in memory of the passion and death of Christ. “Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The law of abstinence prohibits the eating of meat, but eggs, milk products, and sauces made from animal fats may be eaten, as may fish and all cold-blooded animals (e.g., frogs, clams, turtles). The law of the fast means that only one full meal may be taken during the day; two light meals are permitted in accord with local custom as to the amount and kind of food. The consumption of solid food between meals is prohibited, but liquids may be taken at any time. The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year of age. The law of fasting, however, binds all those who have attained their majority until the beginning of their sixtieth year.” (Canon 1250-1252).

4.     As we begin this season of grace, we must take stock of our life. What we are to fast from or give up depends on our willingness to embrace the life of grace with the help of God. Three things we must observe: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer brings us to the presence of God as we raise our minds and hearts to him. By fasting, we identify with the suffering humanity while almsgiving enables us to help them with our gifts. Pope Francis reminds us to fast thus: Fast from hurting words and say kind words. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude; fast from anger and be filled with patience; fast from pessimism and be filled with hope; fast from worries and have trust in God; fast from complaints; contemplate simplicity; fast from pressures and be prayerful; fast from bitterness; fill your hearts with joy; fast from selfishness and be compassionate; fast from grudges and be reconciled; fast from words; be silent and listen. Finally support any charity of your choice. Give to Joyful in Hope, 2021 annual appeal for Catholic ministries. Our goal is $7,035.00. Please be among the 47 parishioners needed to pledge and pay $150.00 so that we may reach our goal. This too is a wonderful way to celebrate the season of Lent. May you receive the grace of this season. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

February 14, 2021. Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Year (B)

  

Readings: Lv. 13:1-2, 44-46; 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1; Mk. 1:40-45 

No One Has Ever Loved Me Like You Do.

1.     Imagine being in a dire situation, desperately waiting for assistance. And then someone comes around, gives you a helping hand and changed your lot for good. He provided for you and made sure that you will never again be in want. What would you say to that person? I guess you would say “Thank you so much. No one has ever showed me love like you do.”  

2.     The first reading described the deplorable condition of lepers. “If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest.” (Lv.13:1). According to Fr. Robinson, “Without the sophistication of modern medicine, the term “leprosy” was applied to almost any kind of skin disease: such as ringworm, psoriasis, eczema, and leprosy itself. Anyone so afflicted with such diseases was required to avoid contact with anyone else lest the disease spread to the whole community. A ‘leper’ could not work, go to synagogue or temple, or visit his or her family. Usually a ‘leper’ ended up living in caves or tombs alone or in a colony with other lepers.”  It was the duty of the priest to declare a leper unclean. Such a person was then cast out of the community.

3.     The leper in today’s gospel knew his dire and deplorable situation. He knew that he was not to come out in public or come near anyone, even Jesus. He dared it all the same. He had no other option than Jesus who says, “I am the way the truth and the life.” (Jn.14:6) Again, “Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28). He was courageous, bold and hopeful. He must have heard about Jesus; that he was compassionate, kind, merciful and caring. He approached Jesus, went on his knees and made his request. “If you wish, you can make me clean.” (Mk. 1:40). His prayer was simple. He surrendered himself and entrusted his sickness into the hands of Jesus. His faith was in God; he was hopeful that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, he saves those whose spirit is crushed.” (Ps. 34:18-19). Because “Those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” (Ps. 125:1). His prayer was the prayer of Jesus, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt. 26:39). This is how Jesus taught us to pray: “Your will be done on earth as is in heaven.” (Mt.6:10).

4.     There are two instances that stand out for me in the bible, among many others, that Jesus touched and transformed people and left them speechless. The first is the woman caught in the act of committing adultery. She was condemned to death; her accusers were waiting with stones in their hands. The law of Moses commanded it, and they were ready to obey. But Jesus uttered those magic words “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw stone at her.” (Jn. 8:7). With that, the woman was brought back to life from the brink of death. She was grateful to Jesus and praised him with every fiber of her being. Oh “No one has ever loved me like you do.”

5.     The second is the leper in today’s gospel. We heard the prayer of the leper and also heard those magic words again from the lips of Jesus: “I do will it. Be made clean.” (Mk. 1:41). And “The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.” (Mk. 1:42). Then Jesus warned him sternly, ‘see that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest.’ Jesus rescued the leper from isolation, disgrace, pains, distress, rejection and emptiness. Mark Links captured the situation thus: “The leper’s life was a living hell. People hated the sight of him, and he, in turn, hated the sight of himself.” The Psalmist describes his wretched condition. “Those who know me are afraid of me; when they see me in the street, they run away…I am like something thrown away.” (Ps. 31:11-12). But the Lord removed from his mouth, the words we heard from Job last week, “I shall not see happiness again.” (Job 7:7). Instead, the leper would say “I waited, waited for the Lord, who bent down and heard my cry. He drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp, set my feet upon rock, steadied my steps.” (Ps.40:1-4). I can imagine the leper, now made clean, saying “No one has ever loved me as you do.”

6.     Today is Valentine’ day, technically called, lovers’ day. Jesus is the one lover we all need, who will never disappoint us. We are fragile people living in a broken world. But like St. Paul in the second reading, we know that “We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair…and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed…For this reason we never become discouraged.” (2Cor. 4:8-9,16). We seek to fall in love with a lover who loves us more than anyone else. We are lepers excluded from the community because of our sins. We must show ourselves to the priest in the sacrament of reconciliation so that he may restore us to wholeness and reconcile us to God and to one another. God bless you!

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

February 07, 2021. Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

 

Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk. 1:29-39 

He Took Our Infirmities and Bore Our Diseases

1.     Last Sunday I reflected on the plan that Jesus had in the execution of his mission. The driving force of his success was his relationship with God through prayer. Healing people drained him of his power and so he had to get charged after every ministry of healing. This is how Mark recorded it. A woman who had been sick for 12 years pushed through a crowd to touch Jesus. When she did, she was instantly healed. “At once,” Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (Mk. 5:30).

2.     Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s. Here we see a typical day in the life of Jesus. He preached with authority in the Synagogue, cast out demons; left the Synagogue and went with his companions to Peter’s house and healed his mother-in-law; more sick people came to him and he healed them all. He barely had time to eat, for though Peter’s mother-in-law got up after her healing and served them, Jesus’ attention must have been on the sick people he had to heal. It is clear that the healing took place at night. “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” (Mk. 1:32). Since it was still Sabbath, it was not until sunset, when the neighbors could bring their sick to Jesus. Transporting them on the Sabbath would be an offense against the Sabbath. He must have been tired and hungry; and he could have spent the remaining part of the night and the following day sleeping. But no, not Jesus. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” (Mk 1:35).

3.     In the morning, his disciples found him at prayer, and told him “Everyone is looking for you.” His answer was: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose, have I come.” (Mk 1:37-38). Jesus saw a great urgency in fulfilling his mission. He wanted to reach as many people as possible and so he must be on the move. Not even fame or cheap popularity could slow him down. He had places to go and people to teach and heal. There was no time to waste on frivolities. No wonder Pope Paul VI wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘On Evangelizing in the Modern World’: “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity.” The Church must evangelize if we are to keep our identity as Christians.

4.     Paul picked on this theme in the second reading: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” (1Cor. 9:16). Our Baptism imposed a duty and responsibility upon us to intentionally preach the gospel to everyone. In doing this, Paul reminds us to expect no reward but preach without compulsion. It is an obligation arising from the divine mandate: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20). Christ assures us of his presence while we carry out our mission. We do not necessarily have to preach the gospel in Church alone, but we can be more effective preachers by our way of life. We may be the living gospel for people to read and see by the way we relate, by our speech, by our charity, by the power of our examples and for standing up for the truth and defending same at all cost. We need no appreciation for the doing what is right. It is always right to do the right.

5.     In the first reading, Job is experiencing pains, sickness and deprivation through no fault of his, he had always done what was right. (Read the book of Job chapters 1 and 2). Job’s situation begs the question, why should good people suffer. In his pains Job reacted: “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of a hireling? So, I have been assigned month of misery, and troubled nights have been told off for me. If in bed I say, “when shall I arise?” Then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.” (Job 7:1, 3-4). Don’t we feel this way when confronted with the trials of life either, in ourselves or those around us? Sometimes when our parents are incapacitated, or when someone we love, a spouse, a child or a parent becomes ill or dies. It could be when we are hurt mentally, physically, or emotionally. Like a broken marriage, a broken heart, or when betrayed or disappointed by those we loved or are let down by family or friends. When this happens, we feel like saying with Job, “My days are swifter than a waver’s shuttle; they come to an end with hope. I shall not see happiness again.” (Job 7:6-7).  And so how can we be missionary disciples, preachers of God’s word and love. We feel that we are so broken and therefore, we have nothing to offer ourselves or anyone. Yet in our brokenness, we must preach the gospel with our lives.

6.     St Pope John Paul II showed the whole world how to endure sickness and death by the way he accepted his pains and identified same with that of Christ. He was effective in his brokenness and became the wounded healer, who healed us through his sickness and death. For it is the wound of our Lord that heals and gives us the power to preach his gospel. St. Bernard tells us, “Through the wounds of Jesus I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord. It is there in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart.” Christ taught us the greatest lesson on forgiveness as he was dying on the cross when he forgave the penitent thief and prayed for his murderers: “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:24). Our pains and our brokenness should not prevent us from preaching the gospel but should make us effective ministers of God’s word.  Because Jesus took our infirmities and bore our diseases and by his wounds, we have been healed. It is our life of prayer that will keep us united with Jesus who is our strength even in time of sickness and pain. May we not be afraid of sharing the love of Jesus with those we meet even in our brokenness. God bless you. Amen.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP