Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Jesus the Good Shepherd

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

St. Gerard Majella Church 

Baton Rouge, LA

April 29, 2012

Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, a day that we all are called to pray and to reflect on the meaning of God’s call especially that to the priesthood and the religious life. It’s the Good Shepherd Sunday. And in today’s gospel taken from John 10:11-18, Jesus made a distinction between a good shepherd and a hired one. Shepherds were primarily called to care, to serve and to protect the sheep. They were absolutely responsible for the sheep. If anything bad happens to the sheep, the shepherd in-charge of the flock must produce some kind of proof showing it was not his fault. There were two kinds of shepherds: the hired one and the shepherd-owner. The hired shepherd saw keeping the sheep as just a job. He moved from one flock to another depending on the condition of pay and service. Because he was a hired hand, he would not risk his life for the sheep. He cared less for the sheep. Seeing a wolf, a lion or a human intruder coming, he would abandon the sheep and flee leaving the sheep at the mercy of the invader. Jesus is not such a shepherd!

On the other hand, there was the shepherd-owner. He is the good shepherd. It is a natural thing for him to risk his life in the defense of his flock. The sight of a wolf, a lion or a human intruder never scared him. He would fight to save his flock.  The sheep had good care because the faithful shepherd had personal interest in their wellbeing. He saw that they find plenty to eat and drink because he was personally attached to them. As a  good and faithful shepherd, he fed the sheep, but a bad one fed on the sheep. 

The good shepherd-owner had a good knowledge of the sheep. He knew each of them. He can identify his own sheep no matter where they were. He can narrate personal story of each of his sheep. He knew each of their strengths and each of their weaknesses. He knew their mood. He knew the meaning of the sounds they made. The good shepherd knew what the sheep wanted and when they wanted it. During the day of grazing, his flock of sheep can mix and mingle with other sheep, but as the sun set, the good shepherd was able to identify one after another, all his sheep and led them home to safety. When he had led them to the sheep-pen, he would not go home. Instead, he made his bed across the entrance of the sheep-pen. That means, no intruder will be able to enter the sheep-pen without passing through him. In today’s gospel, Jesus says he is that Shepherd. 

In today’s gospel, Jesus says of himself: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” As for someone who is hired, who is not a faithful shepherd, Jesus says he “sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters the them.” You may be wondering, “Why would he do that?” The Lord answers “because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” He has no interest in the flock of the sheep. He just wants to work and make some money. But Jesus does not work for money. He works for love. He loves his own so much that he laid down his life for them. He suffered and died to set us free. Everything he did and accomplished, he did and accomplished for us.  

Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd. Now in Greek, there are two words for good. There is agathos which simply describes the moral quality of a thing; there is kalos which means that in the goodness of a thing, there is a quality of winsomeness, attractiveness and loveliness. When Jesus is described as the Good Shepherd, the word is kalos. Jesus is more than efficiency, he is also lovely and attractive. In him, there is not only efficiency and fidelity but also loveliness. Most times, when people describe a doctor as a good doctor, they are not only describing the doctor’s efficiency and skill as a physician but also the sense of sympathy and kindness and the graciousness he/she brings which distinguishes him or her from other doctors. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who attracts people not just by the efficiency of his work, but by his love and compassion.  

Dearest beloved, the good news is that we have a Good Shepherd. We are not alone! We cannot walk alone! We have a lover that stands beside us daily. We are not like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. We have someone who has laid down his life for us and is ready to do it again and again. He cares for us so much. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your burdens on him because he cares for you.” He will not let devourers devour us. He’s with us in every step of the way. When the tempter calls us, he says to us, “Do not be afraid for I have conquered the world.”  

Because He Lives...

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

St. Gerard Majella Church

Easter Vigil Homily

April 7, 2012

Moments before Jesus died on the cross, he made a brief comment that is interpreted as an address to his Father, to his audience and to generations after. The brief comment is a three-worded statement "It is finished."And after that, he addressed his Father specifically, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” With that, the Lord bowed his head and died. “It is finished” are not the last words of Jesus on the cross, but they seem to be the most important and blessed words that our Lord spoke on the cross.

Remember, when Jesus cried, “Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani” his mockers thought he was calling Elijah. They totally misunderstood what he said. When he also cried, “It is finished” they also misunderstood him. They thought and rejoiced that they have finished him. They mistakenly thought that he has been finished. But Jesus was not in any way finished by his killers and by death itself. Easter tells us he triumphantly came back.

“It is finished” was not a cry of being finished. When Jesus declared it, he did not mean: “I’m finished. I’m done. I’m ended. My life is gone. I tried but was not able to do it. I can’t do it.” It was rather a victorious declaration first to his Father, and secondly to us. Addressed to his Father it means: the work you gave me to do is accomplished. The mission you sent me to accomplish is finished. “It is finished” therefore is a shout of victory. It is a cry of obedience, God-centered obedience. And it is a word that you and I can claim by our faith in Jesus Christ. To us, the Lord also says, “It is finished” which means I have given you everything. I have told you everything. I brought you the most beautiful message of all: God is love! God loves you! There is nothing left behind. I have emptied the bag. I have told you everything you need to know to gain salvation. I have given you everything you need to have to gain salvation. The complete message of love, the message of salvation and deliverance has been preached completely.

“It is finished” means there is nothing I have not done or said for you to achieve salvation. I have emptied myself completely for you. My love has been given out to you unreservedly. My entire life has been poured out completely for your liberty. Nothing is reserved. Nothing is kept away from you. Everything- my life, my Body and my Father has been given to you. 

“It is finished” does not mean the Lord is finished. It rather means that the enmity between us and God is over. The enmity between us and God is finished. The sin that separates us from our loving God is erased. The barrier of sin has been finally destroyed. “It is finished” means that Satan’s power and victory over us is finished and over. He can no longer win the battle. “It is finished” means “I have finished the evil one.” Jesus was not finished; instead he finished his enemies and our enemies as well.

“It is finished” does not mean that our Savior’s life is finished and ended. It means rather that eternal death is ended for those who would believe in him. New life therefore has been won! Jesus’ mockers misunderstood what he said and thought that he was finished. But Easter tells us he rose. Easter tells us he has risen. Easter tells us he lives to die no more.

And because Jesus lives, because he lives we can face tomorrow.

Because he rose and lives, the fearful and timid Apostles could no longer hide in a locked upper room. Because he lives, they were no longer afraid of the Jewish authorities.

Because he lives Peter who denied him three times would make a three time confession of love, “Yes Lord I love you.”

Because he lives, three thousand people would believe in him in one single day.

Because he lives, Stephen would later shed his innocent blood for the sake of the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, Saul of Tarsus who later took the name Paul would abandon crucifying him and his disciples and became a strong defender the Christian faith, and towards the end of his life said, “I have been crucified with Christ” “I have fought a good fight of faith.” Because he lives, St. Paul would say, “For me, to live is Christ Jesus and to die is gain.”

Because he lives, fishermen would become fishers’ of men and women. Because he lives, Peter and Paul would shed their blood for him.

Because he lives, the Western and the Eastern martyrs of the Church would run to martyrdom just to demonstrate how much they love him.

Because he lives, a holy priest Maximilian Kolbe would volunteer to be killed in order to save another man who had a family to cater for. Father Kolbe died in hope of the new life in the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, African martyrs- St. Charles Lwanga and his companions would give their young lives in witness to the power of the Risen Lord.

Because he lives, St. Alfonsus Maria Liguori would abandon his famous profession, his noble status, and his family’s wealth in order to follow the Lord and to bring his beautiful message of salvation to the poorest of the poor that lived in the mountain of Naples.

Because he lives, Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador would refused to be intimidated by the political leaders, instead he pitched his tents with the poor- the friends of Jesus, fought for their freedom and rights and was eventually assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist. Because he lives, Archbishop Romero would refuse to obey the government when they asked him to stop preaching, but like St. Paul said, “I doomed if I do not preach the gospel.” And in words and deeds, he preached. He died defending the dignity of those created in the image of God.

Because he lives, you have become his followers; I have become his follower too. Because he lives, you have given your time, talent and treasure in the service and work of the Lord. Because he lives, we have all gathered here tonight. Because he lives, we can face tomorrow. We don’t know what tomorrow holds for us, but we know who holds tomorrow. Since the one who holds tomorrow is the one who loves us so much, we can live without fear of the unknown. The unknown is only unknown to us, but not unknown to the one who loves us so much, the one whom death could not hold in the grave.

Dearest beloved, the silence and the emptiness of Holy Saturday remind us of the silence of the world, our own silence in the face of the suffering of another. It reminds us of the silence of others, and sometimes our friends and family in the face of our own suffering. The emptiness of Holy Saturday reminds us of the emptiness of a life without God. It reminds us of the emptiness of a life of sin. Sin tends to be satisfying. But in the end, it is utter emptiness. Life without Christ is crisis. Life lived without an honest and profound relationship with God is emptiness. But Easter tells us that the emptiness and the silence of Holy Saturday is not the final word or the final day. Easter is the final word. Easter is the final day. Easter tells us that he lives. And because he lives, we can face tomorrow.

The seeming silence of God in the face of our difficulty does not mean we have been forgotten by God. Easter tells us that he lives. Because he lives, we can rejoice and be glad! We can be hopeful that after all the silence and emptiness of life, a new life, a new day, a new beginning would emerge. That’s what Easter tells us!

It tells us that every difficulty has an expiring date. Our pain, sorrow, loneliness, depression, illness, joblessness, lack, hardship etc have an expiring date. When that day comes, not even the devil can stop you from rising from that grave.

Because he lives, we too who believe in him would live!

Happy Easter!

Few Hours Away

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for Holy Thursday

St. Gerard Majella Church

April 5, 2012

Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God. He is the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1: 29). The gospel of Matthew says that Jesus began his mission of preaching the good news by touring all of Galilee: “Jesus toured all of Galilee. He taught in their synagogues, proclaimed the good news of the kingdom, and cured the people of every disease and illness” (Matthew 4: 23). To make sure his message was well spread, Matthew tells us that “Jesus continued his tour of all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues, he proclaimed the good news of God’s reign, he cured every sickness and disease” (Matthew 9: 35). Jesus did not only make himself available, he toured all the towns and villages teaching, proclaiming, feeding and healing people. Acts 10: 38 says that Jesus went about doing good, healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. He opened the eyes of the blind, he cleansed the leper; he raised the dead; he fed thousands who came to listen to him; he was all things to all people. He gave hope to the hopeless; life to the lifeless. He restored the woman caught in the act of adultery and forgave the prodigal son. Jesus gave his entire life for the life of others.

But brethren, few hours away, the one that cured and healed many sicknesses will be rejected all. Few hours away, the one that proclaimed the most beautiful message “God is love” will be denied love. Few hours away, the hands that blessed everyone will be nailed to the cross. Few hours away, the feet that went about bringing healing, relief, restoration, joy, hope and love will be bound to the stake. The mouth that spoke the most beautiful message “God is love, God loves you” will cry and scream of abandonment. Few hours away the one whose only passion for us is love will experience the passion of hate. Few hours away, the Good Shepherd will be attacked by wolves. Few hours away, the enemies of good, will attempt to block the Way to eternal happiness. Few hours away, the Truth will be rejected. Few hours away the One who is Life and life-giving will breathe his last. Few hours away, men and women will choose darkness rather than the Light. Few hours away, wickedness and injustice will be unleashed on the Just One. Few hours away, the friend of the poor will be crucified. Remember he is the Poor One who stands in solidarity with all the poor in the world. Few hours away, He will be cursed and treated as a common criminal. Evil will appear to have conquered him. Few hours away, the Soul of life will be killed. Few hours away, darkness will seize our world; Satan will go on rampage; darkness will appear to have overcome the light. Jesus will appear to have been overwhelmed by pains. Few hours away, Jesus our Savior will experience the greatest rejection by the same people he toiled and sweated for. Few hours away the same people that cheered “Hosanna in the highest” few days ago will turn around to jeer “Crucify him!”

But Jesus was not taken by surprise. He was not unaware of what awaits him. He was well aware that he was about to be betrayed. You may think that such knowledge would have easily turned him to bitterness and hatred. But it made his heart run out in greater love than ever. The most surprising thing is that the more they hurt him, the more Jesus loved them. It is very easy and sometimes so natural to resent betrayal and to grow bitter under insult and injury; but Jesus met the greatest injury and the greatest rejection and hatred with the greatest humility and profound love.

The Lord knew what awaits him. But before that, he demonstrated the most profound example of humility, love and service. He washed the feet of his disciples. 

Life in Palestine in the time of Jesus was hard. The roads were dusty. In dry weather they were inches deep in dust and in wet they were liquid mud. The popular means of transport was your feet. The shoes ordinary people wore were sandals. They had little protection against the dust or the mud of the road. People walked long distances on rough, dusty and muddy roads to go from Galilee to Jerusalem, for example. Travelers often arrived their destinations with sore and aching feet. As a sign of hospitality, the host would see to it that his guests were given a warm foot bath and massage as a way of relieving their aches and pains. This was usually done by the house servants or slaves.

Few hours away before Jesus was crucified, he did something that none of his disciples, that none of us was prepared to do. The Master and Lord became the slave and the servant. He washed the feet of his disciples. In our worldly way of thinking, a student does not deserve more honor than the teacher; and a servant does not deserve more honor than the master. A common man in America does not deserve more honor than President Obama. A common man in Nigeria does not deserve more honor than President Jonathan Goodluck. But Jesus washed the feet of his disciples showing them and showing us how we must behave towards each other.

This should make us think. Our society is full of people who are standing on what they have- money, power, influence, educational degrees, connections, associations etc when they ought to be kneeling at the feet of their brothers and sisters. By standing on our money, power, influence, academic qualifications, and associations we let all that define us. We begin to place ourselves in a different level. We end up belittling our brothers and sisters who do not have what we have. But when we are tempted to stand on your money, prestige etc, let us imagine again the picture of Jesus, tied around him a towel, kneeling at the feet of his disciples washing their feet.

We are truly great if we have the humility of service, the humility to serve others. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Anybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” And in Matthew 23: 11, Jesus says “The greatest among you must be your servant.”