It Wasn't a Buffet!

It wasn’t a Buffet!

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, TN, USA

July 26, 2009

A buffet is a meal system where customers generally serve themselves. It is a popular method for feeding a large number of people with minimal staff. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels, restaurants and many social events. At a buffet, different kinds of food are displayed in such a way that they would be seen by all, and customers are expected to serve themselves. There is no waiter to ask you what you want to eat. The food is already on display. All you need to do is to grab your plate and your silverwares and serve yourself. At a buffet, you can eat as many times as possible. You can eat any quantity you want. You can pile up your plate and eat till you can take no more. The quantity of food one eats is not regulated. Eat as much as you can. One interesting thing about a buffet is that the one who ate just one plate and the one who ate four or five plates pay the same amount of money. The prize is flat.

In today’s gospel taken from John 6:1-15, Jesus fed about five thousand people with just five barley loaves and two fish. Incredible! In the first reading taken from 2 Kings 4: 42-44, Elisha fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves. In the first reading, the servant of Elisha doubted the possibility of feeding a hundred people with merely twenty loaves of bread. The disciples of Jesus also did not believe that five loaves and two fish can feed a multitude of five thousand. They could not see beyond the five loaves and two fish. Somehow they forgot that the man who had worked even greater miracles is in their midst. They were looking at the situation purely from logical point of view. They were looking at the situation with human reasoning. Faith gave way to logic and common sense. They never saw any way of feeding the multitude. Philip was quick to point out mathematically that “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” But Jesus proves that God can make a way where there seems to be no way.

It was not a buffet, yet everybody ate to his or her satisfaction and even had left over that filled twelve baskets. God offers us more than we can ever imagine. The disciples of Jesus did not see any divine possibilities. Andrew acknowledged the presence of a boy with some loaves and fish: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many?” (John 6: 9). Philip was the first to doubt the possibility of feeding the huge number of people: “Two hundred day’s wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little” (John 6:7). Logically speaking, the disciples were right. But they did not apply themselves to faith. They forgot that the one who raised the dead, the one who walked on the sea, who calmed the dangerous storm, drove out many demons and healed many people of their diseases was in their midst. There is nothing wrong in thinking logical, but in times of dire needs, faith may be the only thing that will see us through. No wonder St. Paul urges us in 2 Corinthians 5: 7 to “Walk by faith and not by sight”.

It was not a buffet, yet the Lord fed the five thousand people. It was not a buffet, yet there were plenty of food to eat. It was not a buffet, yet, everyone ate to his or her satisfaction. It was not a buffet, yet people could not finish the food. It was not a buffet, yet, there were left-over food the filled twelve baskets.

Dearest beloved, God offers us more than we can ever imagine. Our thinking right now may be how to make it till tomorrow. We might be thinking logically how to pay all the bills. School will soon resume, and already you are worried because of your children’s tuition. You are thinking of so many problems facing you. From human reasoning, there seems to be no end in sight. There seems to be no way out. The night seems to be too dark and long. The journey appears to be too far away. The mountain seems to be too high to climb up or too high to jump down. You seem to be at a cross road. You have run out of answers and have run out of time. You are so confused and seem to be loosing your mind. You need faith to see the future God offers to you.

It was not a buffet, yet thousands ate to their satisfaction. It was the miracle of food- bread and fish. Miracles have not ceased. When we are in need, God provides for us. When we are in trouble, he shows us the way out. When we are carrying loads that are too heavy, he lightens the weight. When you seem to be sinking deep like Peter on water, God reaches out to you to save you.

Dearest beloved, God will always provide especially when we are in need. All you need to do is to do your part. Do all you got to do well and uprightly then leave the rest to God. He will take care of the rest. When doubt sets in, when you begin to doubt the power of God to save you, when you start thinking with human logic, remember what happened in today’s gospel. He fed thousands of people with merely five loaves and two fish. When you begin to doubt, remember it was not a buffet, yet, thousands had their fill. That same miracle can as well happen to you. By the time the Lord is done with you, today’s responsorial psalm will be your song: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

WE TOO CAN BE SHEPHERDS TO OTHERS JUST LIKE JESUS

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, TN

July 19, 2009

According to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, anybody can be great because anybody can serve. Shepherds are called solely to care and serve the sheep. They were, and are those who tend, feed, and guard flocks of sheep. They are absolutely responsible for the sheep. If anything happens to the sheep, the shepherd in-charge of the flock must produce some kind of proof showing it was not his fault. It is a natural thing for a shepherd to risk his life in defense of his flock. Sometimes he may do more than risk his life especially when thieves and robbers come around to despoil the flock. When the thief and the robber come, a faithful shepherd often put his life in his hand to defend his flock. The true shepherd never hesitates to risk, and even to lay down his life for his sheep. The sheep have good care because the faithful shepherd has a personal interest in their well-being. He sees that the sheep find plenty to eat and drink. A false shepherd abandons the sheep at the sight of a wolf, a lion or a human intruder. He is not personally attached to the sheep. Instead of feeding the sheep, he feeds on the sheep.

In our First reading (Jeremiah 23:1-6), Jeremiah denounced the actions of the shepherds of Israel. Speaking on behalf of the Lord he said “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” Jeremiah came down heavily on them because they refused to take care of the flock. The kings in Israel on the day of their coronation were regarded as sons of God. As such, they were supposed to be a reflection of God. They were supposed to serve and cater for the people of God. They were supposed to be good shepherds tending and looking after the sheep. They were supposed to lay down their lives for the sheep. They were supposed to protect and guide the sheep. Their sole duty was to look after the sheep and ensure that none goes astray. They ensure that none is devoured by devourers. Unfortunately instead of feeding the sheep, the shepherds were feeding on the sheep. So in the first reading, Jeremiah pronounced doom on them saying:

You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.

The irresponsibility and the recklessness of the shepherds is the bad news. The bad news is the failure of the shepherds to take care of the sheep. The bad news is that the shepherds instead of protecting and caring for the sheep, left the sheep untended and unattended. Their irresponsibility led to the scattering of the sheep. Their lack of emotional and intellectual empathy led to the vulnerability of the sheep. The bad news is that the Old Testament shepherds failed in their noble duty of being a lamp and light to the sheep. But there is also the good news. The failure of the shepherds is not the failure of God. Through the mouth of prophet Jeremiah, God promised to send someone who is more caring. God promised to send the true Shepherd. God, speaking through his servant Jeremiah said:

Behold, the days are coming, when I will raise up a righteous shoot of David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security.

On the day of Lord, he will send the true King, the true shepherd. He will reign and govern wisely. He will do what is right and just in the land.

Dearest beloved, that righteous shoot of David is Jesus; the king who will reign and govern wisely is Jesus. The shepherd who will shepherd the sheep in a manner that the sheep will no longer fear and tremble is Jesus. Under him no sheep will be devoured. Under him no sheep will be starved. Under him the flock of the sheep will be safe and protected. Under him the sheep will lack nothing. He is the Good Shepherd. In the gospel of John 10:11 Jesus himself says “I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” In today’s gospel taken from the gospel of Mark 6: 30-34, we see Jesus doing the opposite of what the Old Testament kings did. The Old Testament kings were selfish. They left the flock unattended and untended. Their behavior towards the sheep led to the scattering of the sheep. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrated that he has the emotional empathy to look after those who were closer to him, his disciples, and the intellectual empathy to shepherd the multitude who were like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord was conscious of the urgent need of his disciples. Having worked so hard, he knew they needed some rest. So he took them to a lonely place to rest. He was also mindful of the urgent need of the crowd. He did not abandon them in their desperate search for a good shepherd- “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Unlike the Old Testament kings, Jesus gave his entire life gathering and protecting the sheep. He fed the sheep and became the door of the sheep. In fact he had said in the gospel of Mark 10: 45 “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

People of God, the good news is that we have a Good Shepherd. We are not alone! We cannot walk alone! We are not like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. We have someone who has laid down his life for us and is ever ready to do it all again. He cares for us. He will not let devourers devour us. He is with us in every step of the way.

Now just as Jesus cares and shepherds us, we have been called as a community of believers, to care about each other. We all have been called to be a true shepherd that leads others to the Good Shepherd. Parents should be true shepherds to their children, by that they will easily identify with the Good Shepherd. Teachers, be true shepherds to your students. If you are a doctor or a nurse, you can be a true shepherd to your patients by being compassionate and caring. Medicines only cure, but love and care heals. Whatever is your profession or vocation in life, we are all called to be true shepherds in imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd who spent his entire life caring for sheep.

The Good Shepherd possesses so much compassion for the sheep. The virtue of compassion moved him “and he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6: 34b). Luke 3: 36 says “Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” In this hard time of global economic crisis, some of us have lost jobs. When someone’s job disappears, the person, his family and other dependants suffer with him/her. We can be true shepherds to such people by doing what St. Paul says in Gal.6: 2 “Help carry each other’s burden, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

As the Good shepherd, Jesus attended to the urgent need of his disciples. After work, they needed rest. He took them to a solitary place where they could rest. There are times we will need some rest. There will be moments of rest and leisure for the purpose of recuperation and recreation. The human condition is limited as such it cannot go on and on working. The human being needs rest before he wears out too quickly. The right to rest is one of the indispensable rights of workers. Jesus knew this, so he invited his disciples to a lonely place where they can rest having worked so hard all day. But in seeking for this rest, let’s also remember the action of Jesus to the people seeking for his attention. He did not abandon them. Today’s gospel says as soon as he saw the crowd, “his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.” In seeking for rest and leisure, let’s not be insensitive to the needs of others. In seeking for a deserved rest, let’s be aware that we might be the last and the only hope of the person seeking for help from us.

As a young Redemptorist Student in Nigeria, I had a friend called Ijeoma. She was a University student. It happened that Ijeoma wanted to see me. Thrice I promised to go see her, and thrice I failed to go because of laziness. One weekend, Ijeoma sent a letter to me through her younger sister who attends Mass in our Seminary Chapel. In that letter, Ijeoma lamented about my promise and fail attitude. She told me she wanted me to come to their house so that I can help persuade her parents to allow her stay in the university hostels. As soon as I read the letter, I sent a very short letter to her through her younger sister. In that letter, I promised I would visit in the afternoon of that same day. Again, I failed to go. Ijeoma waited for me all afternoon but I did not show up. By evening she was convinced I will not come. So she left the house to attend a Charismatic fellowship in a Dominican parish nearby. On her way back from the fellowship, she had a very terrible motor accident, and was rushed to the hospital unconscious. The next day, I got the news of what happened to her. I quickly rushed to the hospital to see her. When I got to the hospital, I was told by the hospital receptionist that she only sustained minor injuries and had been discharged. I was happy. But I did not know that Ijeoma’s corpse had already been deposited in the mortuary. Ijeoma’s death hurt me so much. I cried for weeks and refused to be consoled. I couldn’t forgive myself. I felt so guilty. I had reasoned that if I had gone to visit her that very day, she would not have gone out. And if she did not go out, she would not have had the accident that killed her. And guess what? As soon as her mother saw me, she uttered what looked like the words of Mary and Martha to Jesus after the death of Lazarus. Her mother said to me “Brother Marcel if you had visited that Sunday that Ijeoma was waiting for you, she would not have died because she wouldn’t have had any reason to go out.”

Let us pray today for the grace to always strive to be attentive to the urgent needs of others. As Jesus paid attention to the urgent need of his disciples and that of the multitude, we too can when we begin to see life as not being all about ourselves. Being a shepherd like Jesus means JOY, i.e. J- Jesus; O- Others; Y- Yourself.