BE VIGILANT AT ALL TIMES

BE VIGILANT AT ALL TIMES

Fr. Marcel-Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

Holy Names of Jesus & Mary Catholic Church

Memphis, Tennessee, USA

November 29, 2009

Ephesians 5:14 “Wake up O sleeper and rise up from the dead, and let the light of Christ shine upon you”

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year in the Church. The Catholic Church has her own special liturgical year and calendar; and through this liturgical year and calendar, she presents again the history and unchanging mysteries of our salvation, from Creation to the Second Coming, together with the entire life of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Church’s liturgical year is a year of formation; and like students in school, Christians learn about faith, hope and charity. We learn about God’s will and how to do God’s will. Each Sunday and Feast present a special lesson to us for our daily living.

Advent is a lovely season because it emphasizes the Parousia- the Second Coming of Christ. It reminds us that after sunrise, there will be sunset. With the beginning of the season of Advent, we begin a new liturgical year. The First Sunday of Advent is therefore the Church’s “New Year Day.” Advent begins the Christmas cycle.

The word “Advent” means “arrival” or “coming”. Advent reminds us that the Lord is coming. It means that Jesus Christ, our Brother in our humanity and our God in His divinity will arrive or has arrived. The Lord comes to us in different ways:

• In the whole of Gospel of Luke 2, we were told that Jesus came to us at a specific time in history at Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. This first coming of Jesus is what we celebrate during Christmas. At this time, he came in humility.
• The Gospel of Matthew 24:29-31, speaks of when the Lord, the Alpha and Omega will come to judge the living and the dead. This time he will come in glory.
• The Lord comes to us in grace. He speaks to us in our consciences. In Rev. 3:20, he says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.”
• Again, the Lord comes to us in the Eucharist and in the Word of God proclaimed. In the Gospel of John 6:25-59, Jesus tells us that he is the Bread of life. And in Matthew 26:26-29, Jesus established a constant presence with us. “Take and eat…Do this in remembrance of me.”
• Finally, the Lord comes to us in the person of the beggar, the needy, the suffering, and the oppressed. We must be ready to receive and welcome Him when He comes, however he comes. Remember Matthew 25:40 “Whatsoever you do, to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did unto me.”

Advent is a period of great expectation. It is a wonderful expectation of the coming of our Savior and our salvation. If there is no Savior, there will be no salvation. The Savior brings Salvation, and this salvation is for those who are ready to receive it. The salvation is free, but not cheap. Mark it; Salvation is free, but not cheap!

What shall we do then to be part of this salvation and redeemed people? Jesus provides the answer in today’s Gospel reading when he said: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that that will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Brethren, Jesus says, stay awake! You may be asking yourself, what is there to wake up from? What are we to wake up from? The Lord wants us to wake up from the sleep of the soul. The sleep of the soul is the neglect of the things of God; it is the neglect of our spiritual duties; it is the neglect of our state of life; it is the neglect of virtues. Today, let us examine our lives in order to see how prepared we are because we do not know the time or the hour when we will meet our Lord.

Outside the city of Rome is a little Chapel, and the wall of this Chapel is painted a short sentence: “Quo Vadis, Domine?” Which means, “Where are you going Lord”? Now tradition tells us that it was at that point that St. Peter met Jesus when he was running away from the first Roman persecution. While Peter was running away from Rome, he met the Lord going towards Rome, and he asked Jesus “Quo Vadis, Domine?” “Where are you going Lord?” And Jesus replied him, “I am going back to Rome to be crucified again.” Tradition also tells us that Peter realized that Jesus was talking to him, and he retraced his steps and went back to Rome, and from history we know that he was martyred there for his faith.

The question “Quo Vadis” – “where are you going” is today directed to me, to you, and to us as a Church. And this question is a practical question that we should ask ourselves periodically. Roughly we may divide our lives into three categories: our spiritual life, our intellectual life, and our social life. Applying this question to these three phases of our life, our divine Savior asks us today:

• Where are you going spiritually? Do you pray at all? Do you have the habits of praying or do you leave it to your moods? Do you attend Mass on Sundays regularly? Remember that Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke 18:1- “Pray always and do not loose heart.” Again, in Ephesians 6:18, Apostle Paul says, “Keep on praying in the spirit.” Again, remember the solemn promise of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew 7:7- “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall found, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
• Quo Vadis? Where are you going intellectually? What books and papers and magazines do you read? What occupies your mind? What thoughts are habitually fostered in your mind? May be you read anything, think anything, or may be deliberately choose books that are contrary to Christian morals and faith. What do we usually think about? Do we spend sometime to read the Word of God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light unto my path.” And in John 6:63, Jesus said, “My Words are Spirit and they are life.”
• Quo Vadis? Where are you going socially? Are you a scandal to others? Do you seek the company of those who are going to be an occasion of sin for you? Are you giving too much time to social activities? It is very important to remember always that Romans 14: 17 says, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.” And in verse 18, it says, “And when you serve Christ Jesus in this way, you please God and are approved by others.”

Where are we spiritually, intellectually and socially? The Lord says to us today, ‘Wake up from your spiritual slumber.’ St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:14 says, “Wake up O sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and let the light of Christ shine upon you.”

Romans 13:11-12 says “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

Some of us are still asleep, although we are walking around. And while in deep slumber, we are overtaken by the deeds of darkness, and driven back to Sodom. Our dreams are all about Egypt. Sleeping Christians believed in past glory. They are completely unaware that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. But today, Jesus calls us to wake up. He wants us to prove once again that our eyes are open, looking unto heaven, waiting for his Second coming. We should not remain in bed when we wake up. Arise and shine in this crooked and perverse generation.

In the book of Revelation 3:1, the Church in Sardis was described by the Lord as follows, “I know your deeds, you have a reputation of being alive but you are dead.” Divine view is different from human view. No wonder 1 Samuel: 16:7 says: The Lord does not look at the things human being look at. Human beings look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

THE CHURCH IN SARDIS was deceived by their reputation; she was deceived by human applause, positive assessment and acceptance. When weighed on human scales, they were found perfect. They were justified by men. Whenever they were singing, praying, clapping their hands and probably dancing inside the Church, the onlookers usually nodded their heads in great admiration, saying, “Yes, their Church is alive and marching forward.” In their Church, they prayed like Elijah, danced like David, preached like Paul and Apollos, performed miracles like Elisha, and sang like the angels. People believed they were alive. But weighed spiritually, they were empty. Jesus scanned their hearts and found that what they had was outward show of piety.

Today, our loving Master asks us to wake up from our sleep. He wants us to come down from our bed of sleep. He wants us to hearken to what Prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 2:3 “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths…”

Rev. 3:2 says, Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.”

And in 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8, Apostle Paul says, “So then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled…putting on faith and love as breastplate, and hope of salvation as helmet.”

But if we don’t do anything concerning our spiritual life and our life generally, we may be found wanting when the Lord comes. And in the Rev. 3:3 he warns: “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.”

Only those who are awake and ready will sing with the Psalmist in Psalm 122: 1, “I rejoice when I heard them say, ‘let us go to God’s house’”.

OUR SECOND CHANCE

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

November 15, 2009

A hospital called The Hospice of God in Beaune, France which was founded in 1443 has the picture of the Last Judgment painted by Rogier van der Weyden. The beds in the large hospital ward were positioned in such a way that the patients could see the painting from their sickbeds. In the center was Jesus Christ with the Archangel Michael. This picture of Jesus is not the friendly Jesus carrying a sheep on his shoulders; it was not the picture of Jesus surrounded by kids, it was the picture of Jesus as a Judge. In the picture, there was the Archangel Michael weighing the sins of those seen rising from their graves on a scale. The righteous are seen joyfully entering into God’s Kingdom, while the damned go to everlasting torture. The intention of the painting is so easy to understand. Those who are sick and dying are being warned and being given an all important second chance to prepare to meet the Lord for judgment. But guess what? Only those who have enjoyed the grace and the friendship of Jesus will appreciate this painting. They are the ones that will easily understand this painting. To such people, this painting will make a lot of sense.

All major religions of the world have a sense of judgment beyond this world. There is earthly judgment done by the Judges in various law courts. But there is the final judgment or the Last Judgment which will be done by the Son of Man himself. I have always believed and taught that if the perpetrators of evil should escape earthly judgment, they cannot escape the Last Judgment. At that Judgment, the all knowing Lord cannot be deceived or misled or misguided. Now Christianity and Judaism believe that the Son of Man will come in the clouds to judge. Our today’s Gospel says

“…they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”

But it is not only biblical religions that teach about a judgment day. Islam teaches that when one dies the angel of death comes with God’s judgment to bring the person either to paradise or hellfire. Hindu, Buddhism and other religions of China talk about being reborn as a moth or a man, prince or a slave. But what determines where one will be reborn is one’s actions on earth. Sinful and evil people will be sent downward chained everlastingly. Whereas righteous people will be sent up. Therefore Nirvana or final nothingness is the hope of humanity according to these Asian religions. It is crystal clear that God has implanted in the heart of every human the notion of accountability. Human life does not go on unceasingly here on earth. There is life after life; there is life after death. Our actions here on earth determines where eternity will be spent. It was William Shakespeare who said that the world is a stage and everybody is an actor. Those who acted lovingly will be shown love hereafter; they will receive love. Those who acted with so much hate and bitterness will be rejected by love. The Igbo tribe of Nigeria describe human life on earth as going to the market or to the shops to buy things. After shopping, one does not stay behind in the shop, he or she returns home. The world is a shopping place, those who buy good will see good; those who buy evil will see evil.

In our Eucharistic Acclamations we profess our faith in Jesus’ coming: “Christ has died, Christ is risen , Christ will come again.” In the Creed we recite every Sunday we profess: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” In the Creed, we profess our belief in a judgment that awaits us. In that judgment we will see the evil effects our sins have caused. We will see the numerous opportunities we had to do good but let slipped by; we will also see the good we did. The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel taking from Mark 13: 24-32 is a reminder of what lies ahead so that we live now with that second chance. Jesus’ first coming as Man and his second coming is one entire act of saving the world. His second coming is the final part of that salvation. The Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead.

“God won’t ask the square footage of your house. He will ask how many people you helped who didn’t have a house.

God won’t ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet. He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to those who didn’t have any.

God won’t ask how many material possessions you had. He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.

God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.

God won’t ask how much overtime you worked. He will ask did you work overtime for your family.

God won’t ask how many promotions you received. He will ask what you did to promote others.

God won’t ask what your job title was. He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.

God won’t ask what your parents did to help you. He will ask what you did to help your parents.

God won’t ask what you did to help yourself. He will ask what you did to help others.

God won’t ask how many friends you had. He will ask how many people you were a friend to.

God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights. He will ask what you did to protect the right of others.”

We have a second chance, that chance is now.

Today’s gospel calls us to learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprout leaves, we say that the summer is near. Do not be frightened by today’s Gospel reading. The Lord’s intention is not to frighten us. He is calling our attention to what awaits us. He is giving us a second chance. Today’s Gospel from Mark is both a warning and a comfort. The warning is God’s judgment is coming. The comfort is Jesus does not want us to be unprepared when it happens. He wants us to be ready and well prepared. There is another thing comforting about this message of judgment. Who is the judge? It is Jesus who loves us so much, who promises never to leave us. He is our reconciliation. The judge is the one who said of himself in the Gospel of John 10: 10 “I have come that they may have life, life in its fullness.” The judge is the one who says in John 10: 11 “I am the Good Shepherd who will die for the sheep.” The righteous judge is the one who promised us in John 14: 2-3 that after he had prepared a place for us in his Father’s house, he will come to take us. The Judge is the one who called us friends in John 15: 15. The Judge is the one who promised not to leave us as orphans. The Judge is one who prayed for us in John 17 that we may be in him just as he is in the Father.

This Judge is giving us a second chance by reminding us to be ready. Are you ready? Holy Names, are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?

REAL GIFT IS SACRIFICIAL

REAL GIFT IS SACRIFICIAL

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for 32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

November, 8, 2009

Today, the Church presents us the beautiful stories of two widows. One gave the only food she had to a prophet, Elijah. The other widow gave the only money she had so that sacrifice could be offered in the Temple and the bills of the Temple paid. We are presented with two remarkable stories of two women who gave everything they had for others. The widow of Zarephath gave the last food she had to Prophet Elijah, and because of her kindness, she never lacked food for the next one year even though there was famine in the land. The widow at the treasury gave her last coins and her offering was considered the greatest by Jesus Christ.

A lot of people who don’t even know much about the Bible would know what you are talking about if you mention the widow’s mite. Christians and non-Christians, Churchgoers and non-churchgoers know about the story of a poor widow in today’s Gospel reading from Mark 12: 41-44. It is a story of great sacrifice.

Jesus had gone to sit quietly opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. The treasury is the collection boxes where people throw in money for special purposes like the buying of corn or wine or oil for the sacrifices. They were contributions for the daily sacrifices and expenses of the Temple. Many people threw in quite considerable contributions. The Gospel says “Many rich people put in large sums.” Then a widow appeared. She is not just any widow; she is a poor wretched widow. She put in two mites- two small coins like two cents. But her offering caught the attention of Jesus. Jesus was watching as people put in their money. The rich, out of their surplus wealth made huge donations. But the poor widow, from her poverty, has given all she had, her whole livelihood. Jesus was so thrilled that he called his disciples and said “…this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury.”

The story of the widow at the treasury reminds us again what we already know about Christian discipleship- that God does not need money. He needs us. He wants us. This poor widow did not give God money; she gave herself entirely to God; she gave everything to God. She gave her entire self, her present and her future. She gave the only thing that stands between her and total dependence on the providence of God- two cents. Real giving has a certain recklessness in it. The widow could have kept one coin even though it would not have made much difference, but she gave everything she had. She did not reserve anything. Her action has a profound symbolic meaning. Think about it, this poor widow surrendered and tendered everything she had. What about us? The tragedy here is that there is some part of ourselves that we are yet to surrender and tender to Jesus; there is some part of our time, talent, and treasure that we are yet to surrender to Jesus; there is some part of our activities, some part of our lives which we haven’t yet given totally and entirely to Jesus Christ. There is something we are holding back. We are afraid to give them up because of the fear of the unknown. We don’t have a childlike faith that assures us that if we give them up, if we surrender to Jesus our entire live, our activities, our three Tees- time, talent and treasure that God will take care of us. We are not yet ready to make the final sacrifice and surrender. We are still giving excuses, not yet ready. But these two windows gave everything.

From these two widows, another lesson to learn is that real giving must be sacrificial. What matters here is not the amount of the gift, or the size of the gift. What matters is the sacrifice. Real giving must hurt. Profound generosity continues to give until it hurts. For many of us, the question is not whether we give; the question is whether our giving to God’s work is sacrificial at all. Some of us can afford to spend huge amount in restaurants; some of us can afford to spend our money in some unnecessary pleasures and entertainments. We can spend real money in jewelries, in clothes, in shoes, etc. but not in things that pertains to religion, not in offertory basket.

The stories of these two remarkable widows will only make more sense if we believe that what we do with our money shows what we have in our heart. If you want to find out what you really love, read your credit card bill. No wonder Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke 12: 34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The use of money, stewardship and material things was so important to Jesus that he called his disciples together to tell them about the widow’s gift. The main issue for Jesus was not how much she gave or what she gave. And recognizing the little donation of the widow does not mean that Jesus approves of the conditions that rendered the widow poor. It does not mean that Jesus approves poverty and deprivation. The Lord is saying that what we do with our money either grows our faith or deadens it. What we do with our money can deepen our spirituality or shatter it.

Now when we talk about gifts, some of us may claim that they don’t have enough of material gifts or personal gifts to give to Jesus Christ, but, if we put all that we have and are at our disposal, the Lord can do great things with them and with us. Every child of God has something to give. Every one of us here has something to give. The two widows gave everything they have. What about us?