What Name Would You Choose?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John The Baptist, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA, USA

June 24, 2012

Dearest in the Lord, today, the Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ whom we usually encounter in the season of Advent. As a rule, the Church celebrates the feast of a saint once a year, usually on the anniversary of the saint’s death. But in the case of John the Baptist, we celebrate his birth as well as his death. He is the only saint after our Lord Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate with a solemn feast. Do you know why? Because “Of all those born of women, none is greater than John,” Jesus says in Luke 7:28. The Church is only affirming the Lord’s declaration. 

Today’s Gospel taken from Luke 1:57-66,80 focused chiefly on the naming ceremony of the new born child. We were told that as soon as the relatives had come for the child’s circumcision, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But the mother objected saying “He will be called John.” The relatives fought back arguing that there was no one in the family who had such a name. As the argument raged on, the father of the child, Zachariah (who was made dumb by God for doubting the prophecy of the birth of the child) requested for a writing tablet on which he wrote: “John is his name.” 

But why does the Gospel show such an interest in the naming of the child? What’s in a name? In biblical times, and still today in many African cultures, names are not mere appellations. They are not just titles with no relevance to life. Children are not just given names simply because such names sound beautiful. Personal names convey what the bearer of the name stands for. Personal names can convey one’s faith; it can describe an event or an experience. It can also give a hint of someone’s mission on earth. In the Gospel, when Simon demonstrated that he could be relied upon as the leader of the Lord’s Apostles, Jesus gave him the name Peter which means “Rock.” When the sons of Zebedee, James and John, asked Jesus to call down fire from heaven to consume the inhabitants of a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus, they were given a new name “Sons of Thunder.” In the Bible, names reveal an essential character or destiny of the bearer. 

What then is the meaning of the name John? The name John means “God is gracious.” This means that John’s birth points to a new beginning, a new era, an era that will be marked not by punishment but by grace, love and forgiveness. The birth of John is the threshold of God’s grace. Let’s not forget that the mission of John the Baptist is closely bound to the mission of Jesus Christ. Through his preaching of repentance and conversion, he prepared people to hear and accept Jesus and his message. The name John means “God is gracious.” John was not the source of grace, but he pointed to the presence of God’s grace among God’s people. John was simply a threshold, that is, a point of entry. Jesus is the grace. The meaning of the name John was only an announcement to the people that the era of grace is coming, in fact, it is already here. And in John 1:29, St. John the Baptist declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I meant when I said ‘A man who comes after me is greater than me because he was before me.”

The people of BC believed in a punitive and vengeful God. They believed in a God that acts like police officers (who hide in a corner of the road just to catch those over-speeding and ticket them). But the name of John conveyed that the people’s notion of God was wrong, that God is gracious. And God’s graciousness was ultimately demonstrated in the sending of his only begotten Son. And what did God’s Son tell us about God? “God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” 

Beloved in Christ, in John we see that before we were born, God already had a purpose for us. In the First Reading from Isaiah, the Prophet himself said, “Hear me O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name” (Isaiah 49:1). And in Jeremiah 1:5, God said to Jeremiah, “Before you were formed in your mother’s womb, I knew you, before you were born I have set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Before we were born into this world, God already had a purpose for us. Now, part of our calling is discovering our purpose in life and being faithful to its requirement. Probably, the reason why we are still living is because we are yet to accomplish our purpose in life. Any day the purpose and mission are accomplished, God may call us home. John the Baptist is being remembered today not simply because God called him to a special vocation but because he faithfully walked on the path that God had called him to tread on. 

As we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist and read the beautiful story of how he got his name which was given to him by God, I want to ask each of us: If we are to receive a new name, a name which represents our mission, our purpose, our identity and our calling in life, what would that name be? The name John means “God is gracious” and through his work on earth, John announced this God to his people. What name would you choose? What message and mission would such a name convey. There is something in every name. At birth, my parents named me Chukwuemeka which means “God has done marvelously or greatly.” At Baptism, I was given “Marcel” which is derived from the Latin “Marcellus” meaning “little warrior.” Yes, I am a warrior of the Lord. At confirmation, I took the name Divine. Divine is the very nature of God

According to your mission, goal, and purpose in life, what name would you choose?

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“But Once It Is Sown, It Springs Up And Becomes The Largest of Plants”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

June 17, 2012

Mustard seeds are small round seeds of various mustard plants. They are so small that they can easily be overlooked or ignored. In Palestine, a grain of mustard seed proverbially stood for the smallest possible thing. But when these seeds are planted in the proper conditions which includes a cold atmosphere and a relatively moist soil, they grow and mature into noticeable and easily seen plants. Mustard seeds are so small and tiny but the height of their plants can overtop a horse and its rider. Birds love mustard plants for two reasons: the little black seeds of mustard are sources of food for them; and the plants provide shades for them. The mustard seeds is also good for humans as well. They are rich sources of oil and protein. 

In today’s Gospel taken from Mark 4:26-34, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed. When these tiny seeds of the Kingdom are sown, this time, not in the ground, but in lives that have been grounded by fear, uncertainty, unspeakable hardship, abject poverty etc. they can spring up and become the largest of all. When the  seeds of the Kingdom of God- the Word of God, the Word of love is sown in lives that have been grounded by drugs, violence, murder, abuse of substance, rape, abandonment, racism, discrimination and prejudice etc, God is capable of turning the tiny seeds into something mighty. The mustard seed is a very small seed; but its plant is not the smallest in a wood. The seeds of the Kingdom of God, no matter how small it is, is capable of turning someone around. An individual who once felt invisible in the society, an individual who was once defined only in relations to drugs and alcohol and violence can rediscover who he or she is when the seeds of the Kingdom have been planted in him or her. My God is capable of using these tiny seeds to transform and change lives. With this, a drug addict can be a God addict. A criminal who break into people’s homes when the police is not watching and when no one is watching can become a watchman of the household of God. An alcohol abuser can be drunk with the Holy Spirit. A life destroyer can be life-saving and a life saver. A guilty and a convicted criminal can be innocent again before God. Even a prisoner in jail can be truly free even in jail. The Gospel of John 8:36 says, “Whoever has been set free by the Son of Man is truly free.”  And in Luke 4:18, Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to set the captives free, for the restoration of sight to the blind and release to the oppressed.” 

Sisters and brothers, the spreading and the planting of these tiny seeds have just started in our Church and in our community. This past week, I have been working with Mama Siebel, Brother Gene and the two Redemptorist Seminarians on summer apostolic work (Ashford and Son). We have been going round the neighborhood spreading these tiny seeds of the Kingdom. Some of you may have seen us on TV, specifically on Channel 9. The goal is not media attention or publicity. The goal is to tell everyone that God is still in this neighborhood. Jesus is still present in 70805 zip code. Our goal is to reach out, to touch, and to invite our neighbors to our Church. We want these tiny seeds of the Kingdom to reach everywhere in this community. Yes, what we are doing is as small and tiny as the mustard seed; but it is God who will do whatever he wants to do with our work. Our task is to spread these tiny seeds of the Kingdom and then allow God to nurture them to fruition. God has a way of turning this around. This community, this neighborhood in the eyes of many, especially the faithless, may be falling apart, but God will bring everything altogether. I believe that when things are falling apart, they may be falling together anew. A grain of wheat cannot germinate unless it dies. And when it dies, it germinates and produces new plant. This community cannot be saved by the police alone. The watchful eyes of the police cannot save anybody. Only God can save! When people accept the message of Jesus Christ, their lives will be different. Their views will change; their lifestyles will change; their values will change; their orientation will change. In the long run, they will reject violence and all forms of criminality. And the society will be safe again. 

I know that this is a very daunting task. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus used the parable of the mustard seed to teach us not to be daunted by small beginnings. We should not allow the enormity of the task to scare us. Our task is to spread the seeds of the Kingdom and leave the rest to God. What we have started doing, at the moment may not even produce any significant effect, but if we stay on course, and refuse to give up, God can cause these tiniest seeds to spring up and become shrubs. 

So, if you believe in this project, please join me. If you believe that our parish must reach out to our neighborhood, please join me. If you believe that we need to increase our membership, please join me. If you believe in evangelization, please join me. If you are truly a disciple of the Lord, then join me in this task of spreading the mustard seeds of God’s Kingdom. Jesus wasn’t a sanctuary priest. He went about spreading the good news of God’s Kingdom.  The call to evangelization is a call to every Catholic- clergy and laity. In the Gospel of Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nation, 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.” 

Fr. Marcel’s Bulletin Message on the Solemnity Of The Most Holy Body And Blood Of Christ 

Dearest beloved, today we celebrate the reason for our gathering together each week. Today we celebrate the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Today we celebrate the Lord’s gift of himself to us. Today we celebrate the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus manifests himself to us. He manifests his Real Presence in the Bread and Wine which he offered to the Father. The Holy Spirit takes possession of the bread and wine so they become the Body and Blood of our Lord. Just as the Holy Spirit made him to become flesh in the womb of Mary, the same Spirit transforms the bread and wine so that the Body and Blood of Jesus become really present on the altar of the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist.

Brethren at every Mass, our Lord Jesus Christ is really present. He is present to nourish our lives with his teachings and with his Body and Blood. He feeds us with his Body and Blood in ways that are beyond our expectation and imagination. The Bread of Life that Jesus gives us does not just renew our bodies. It gives us a new body by making us the body of Christ itself. For we become the body of Christ when we eat the Body of Christ. The Eucharist brings us into union with Christ and with on another.

The Body and Blood of Jesus is the most precious jewel of inestimable value. It is the ultimate and supreme fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to be with us until the end of time. The Eucharist is an Epiphany. Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus to the whole world. As our Epiphany, Jesus manifests himself to us in the form of bread and wine. And when we receive him in the right disposition, we enter into communion with Christ, we become like Christ, and we become what we receive. The rice, steak, lobster, barbecue ribs, spaghetti, chicken sandwich etc we eat, only blend with our body; but in the case of the Eucharist, we become what we eat, we become the body of Christ.

It has been said that to live is to experience suffering in some degree, and to survive is to find the meaning of suffering. But to find the meaning of suffering is to overcome it, to overcome suffering is to be healed, and healing can be real even when it is not seen. The Christian finds the true meaning of suffering when he or she enters into intimate union with Jesus. For Jesus in his own suffering answers the question of the meaning of suffering. And what brings us into intimate union with Jesus is the Eucharist. By bringing us into union with Christ, the Eucharist brings meaning to human suffering; by bringing meaning into suffering, the Eucharist brings healing into our lives, even in our suffering. Whoever eats the Body of Jesus and drinks his Blood, the power of Christ lives in such a person. That is the greatest healing you can get. That is why whoever eats this bread, even if he dies he is healed, because even if he dies, he shall live forever.

The Gospel of Luke 24:13-35 tells us how the Apostles on the way to Emmaus recognized Jesus at the breaking of Bread. Let’s recognize him in the Eucharist. When the three Apostles recognized Jesus, they pleaded with him to stay with them. Like them, may we be able to say “Stay with us Lord for it is evening.” When Jesus was manifested to the Magi, they paid him homage, and also gave him three things: gold, myrrh and frankincense. Like them, let us always pay homage to our Savior and also offer him three things: time, talent and treasure.

May the Body of Jesus Christ heal us of all infirmities; may his Blood wash away our sins.