Run The Heavenly Race Without Looking Back 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church 

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Jesus spent a whole lot of his life in the region known as the lower Galilee. Apart from his birth in Bethlehem, and his family’s visit to Egypt, he grew up, lived and worked in a place so near to the Sea of Galilee. He only relocated to Capernaum when he began his earthly ministry. From Capernaum, he would go out to preach, to heal the sick, and to deliver those troubled by evil spirits and demons. But he never went too far away to live. From Capernaum, he would go out and then return home by the sea. But a time came when he had to take his message to the very heart of Jewish faith, to Jerusalem, and to its center, the Temple. He knew what was ahead for him, yet, he started his journey with courage and determination. He knew he would be killed there, but he was not deterred.

The main objective of the Gospels is to lead us to Jesus. Jesus’ chief objective is to lead us to God, and God’s objective is to bring each of us to our everlasting home of uninterrupted peace and joy. Jesus is the most loving and most tolerant person ever lived. He was determined to go to Jerusalem. He sent some messengers ahead of him to see if a particular town would receive him and allow him passage through their town. But they refused to welcome him. In frustration, James and John sought permission from Jesus: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” But Jesus rebuked them and continued his journey through another village. 

Who are the Samaritans in our life? Who are the people we would like to get rid of if we could? Is it possible for us to have the same tolerant attitude as Jesus, desiring to avoid vengeance and retaliation, ever-ready to forgive, looking for ways to find peace? Hebrews 12:14 says: “Strive (make effort) to live in peace with everyone and be holy; for without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

Today’s gospel pictures Jesus as an easy-going and tolerant person but not “an  anything goes person, do whatever you want, live anyhow you want, in the end, everyone will get to heaven kind of person.” Jesus is the most tolerant person to ever lived in this world, but when it comes to matters of God and everlasting life, he is not a wishy-washy, negligent and indecisive person. As he was proceeding in his journey to Jerusalem, someone approached him and said: “I will follow you wherever you go.” But before throwing a party at the possibility of having one more follower, Jesus straightforwardly described the sacrifices that are involved in following him. “Before you decide to follow me, just count the cost” he indirectly told him. The early Christians made lots of sacrifices in order to stay faithful to our Lord, even to the extent of sacrificing their own lives. There are some places around the world where people still suffer terribly and even die for being Christians. America is not one of those places (Thanks be to God), still, many people find it hard to sacrifice an hour for Sunday Mass or to pray during the week, not to mention the sacrifice involved in keeping Jesus’ law of love. Being a Catholic is more than saying that we are; it is more about living the way Jesus wants us to live. 

As the Lord continued his march towards Jerusalem, he met two other people he wanted to follow him. He called each of them as he called us: “Follow me!” The first replied, “I will follow you but that would be after I had buried my father.” The second said: “I will follow you but first permit me to go home and say farewell to my family at home.” To the first, Jesus seemed to have said to him, “There is no time.” “Devotion to God should come first before devotion to those dearest to us.” To the second, he seemed to have said, “Run the heavenly race without looking back to what you had left behind.” There are many people out there who are saying right now: “When I get this and that done, then I will start going to Church more;” “I will go to church only when I have accomplished this or that;” “I will give some money to the church only when I have enough.” Everyone is busy, but it is where we choose to spend our time that tells what is important to us. Do not fall to the Devil’s temptation that tells us: “you have lots of time. Just relax a little. You are too young to serve God. You are doing a lot for God already. You have been going to church all your life, it is now time to rest.”   

The beginning of our life as Christians is to always seek what the will of God is. When the world tells us to weigh the pros and cons, to place all options on the table, we remember that Jesus says “Seek you first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and other things will be added unto you.” When the world tells us to choose the safe thing to do,” we remember that God wants us to choose the right thing and to do it. Christian life is all about doing what Jesus wants us to do.

Jesus was “resolutely determined” to go to Jerusalem because of his determination to obey the will of God. He never allowed anything to stand in his way. Not even the Samaritan people were able to stand in his way. He was focused. The Samaritan people refused to welcome him because he was going to Jerusalem through their city. The direct way from Galilee to Jerusalem led to through Samaria; but Jews often times avoid going through it because of an old quarrel between Jews and the Samaritans. It was therefore very unusual for Jesus to take that way. But he took that route for a purpose. Jesus followed the direct route that led to Samaria because he wanted to extend a hand of friendship to a people who had been enemies to his people. He wanted to tell them “It’s alright now. Let us reconcile.” He was going to Jerusalem to reconcile humanity with God by his death on the cross. He wanted to begin by reconciling people with people. 

Jesus was resolutely determined to go to Jerusalem. He never allowed anything to stand in his way. In doing so, he profoundly fulfilled God’s plan of salvation for humankind. The same Jesus calls us today not to look back. Keep your hands on the plow and keep moving. Run the race looking forward. Run the race looking straight. Run the race looking unto Jesus. Run the race well so that when the sunset of your life is near you can also say with St. Paul: “I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Our knowledge of Him Determines How We Serve Him

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Sunday, June 23, 2013

During one of the most crucial moments in his life and ministry, Jesus asked his disciples a crucial question that deserved a crucial answer: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” He asked this question not because he didn’t know himself who he was. He was certainly aware of who he was. His words and actions showed that awareness as he taught with authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, forgave sins, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, calmed a raging sea (storm), walked on waters, fed thousands of people with five barley loves and two fish, broke and disregarded racial and discriminatory laws that divide people. The Gospels picture him as a person who is convinced he can speak and act for God, with a power that went beyond ordinary human experience. Jesus certainly knew who he was, but when he asked: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “But who do you say that I am?” he wanted to find out if there was anyone, from the crowds to his disciples who was beginning to understand, through his teaching and deeds, who he was. He was not expecting a full comprehension of who he was. But he expected someone or some people to have a hint of who he was. From the testimony of Peter: “(Your are) The Christ of God” he had an idea of who Jesus was, but his knowledge of Jesus was still at the beginning stage. So, the Lord strongly urged them not to tell anyone yet. They had much to learn before they could start teaching others. As for the crowds, they thought that Jesus must be a reincarnation of one of their respected dead prophets like John the Baptist, or Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. 

Christ was not Jesus’ last name. The word Christ (Christos in Greek) means the “Anointed One.” In Hebrew, the word for “Anointed One” is Messiah. The Jewish view of the Christ was a powerful and gifted king or a cosmic judge of the earth or a great high priest who would teach the undiluted word of God. He would also liberate God’s people and save them from the Roman occupation. The disciples of Jesus, like all other Jews had grown up expecting from God an all conquering king who would conquer the world. But Jesus was the King, but not the type of king being expected. Peter and the other disciples were filled with excitement of being associated with the messiah who will conquer the world. But Jesus shocked and disappointed them when he told them that the God’s Anointed One had come to conquer nations but not with weapons of mass destruction but with the weapon of mass salvation- that is the Cross. He has come to die upon a Cross so that people of every nation, language, tribe and tongue might be saved.

After disappointing his disciples of the fate and the destiny of the Anointed One, Jesus shocked them more by declaring: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he (she) must deny himself (herself) and take up his (her) cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his (her) life will loose it, but whoever looses his (her) life for my sake will save it.” But what does it mean to deny oneself? To deny oneself means making one’s life less about him or her and more about God. It is about making a daily effort to primarily please God in everything that one does or says. As long as God and God’s matters do not come first in our lives, we are yet to deny ourselves. God and matters of God should come first, second and third in every aspect of our lives. A life deeply and primarily centered on God knows it is not all about him or her, but all about Jesus. Any believer who achieves this feat will always say with St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus also enjoined his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him. To take up our cross means to be prepared to face and confront the difficulty associated with being loyal and obedient to Jesus. To take up our cross means being ready to endure the worst that people can do to us for the sake of being true to him. It means being ready to refuse to be intimidated by those who persecute us because we belong to Jesus. It means saying no even when it is most difficult to say so to those who want us to betray him. Being true to Jesus will bring some rejection and castigation. Those who hate your simplicity, your honesty, your faithfulness and your tidy moral life will come to paint you bad. It is usually said “If you cannot beat them, join them.” But if you refuse to join the bandwagon, they will come after you. But refusing to join the bandwagon of immorality instead preferring the castigation and hatred is part of the cross.

“Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it…” God has given us life, not to horde it or to keep for ourselves. We are given life to spend for others. Therefore the question is no longer “How much can I get,” but “How much can I give?” It is no longer “What is the safe thing to do? but “What is the right thing to do?” Life is not only about me, but about others. But ultimately, it is all about Jesus the Lord of life. And there is a connection between giving our life to others and giving our life to Jesus. There will be a glorious reward for doing that. If we are true to him in time, he will be true to us in eternity. If we follow him in this world, in the next world, he will count us as one of his people. But if we disown him here on earth by the way we live, even when we confess him with our lips, he will disown us.

Jesus knew that his followers would sometimes endure some discomfort and risk their lives in order to be his true followers. That is still the case today- fortunately though not in our country at this period in time. The greatest suffering or sacrifice most of us have to deal with as Jesus’ followers is to keep his law of love and to give up one hour a week to go to Mass. Still, many people find that too hard. They look for a reason not to go to Mass on Sunday. On two different occasions when the air conditioner in the church did not run, some people who came to Mass on Sunday could not endure the momentary discomfort and stay till the end of the Mass. Some walked out of the church with the Eucharist still in their mouth as soon as they received it. They did not even have the time to sit for a few seconds and to thank the Lord for the gift of himself. The heat was simply unbearable to them. Some did not even come to Mass at all. It’s possible they went to another parish church around. But what’s the reason? Probably  to avoid the little discomfort that was no fault of anyone. But what would such Catholics do if they were threatened with arrest or confiscation of their property, or even death because they were Catholics? None of us like to think of such things, but some Christian martyrs we honor and celebrate today endured all that. They understood that the way of the cross is the way of the crown. If there is no cross, there will be no crown. 

“If you never felt pain, then how would you know that Jesus is a Healer?If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?If you never felt sadness, how would you know that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter?If you never were in  trouble, how would you know that the Lord will come to your rescue? If you never had a problem, how would you know that Jesus is the Burden-Bearer? If you never had any suffering, then how would you know what the Lord went through? If you never went through the fire,  how would you become pure as gold? If God gave you all things, how would you appreciate them and depend on him? If your life was perfect, you may never need God! “

Think about these!

Great Remorse Obtains Great Forgiveness

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, June 16, 2013

King David was a man of contrasts. He was devotedly committed to God. He was a great king who loved the Lord. Yet, like every human person, he was not perfect. He was a great military conqueror, but he could not conquer himself. He conquered nations but could not conquer his emotions. He allowed the beauty of Bathsheba to conquer him. Just one night of lust over Bathsheba, the great King David was conquered and brought to his kneels. Bathsheba became pregnant! By this time, Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba was away fighting and defending King David and his kingdom. King David recalled Uriah, and tried to set him up with his own wife Bathsheba. After all his tricks failed, he sent Uriah back to the war with a letter to the General asking him to send Uriah to the fiercest front of the war, and that he should retreat after doing that. This resulted in the death of Uriah. King David killed Uriah in order to cover his wrongdoing. But God was watching! Nathan, God’s prophet at the time, was given the mission of confronting David. On learning about his wrongdoing, David fell to his kneels and declared: “I have sinned against the Lord.” 

In today’s Gospel (Luke 7: 36-50) St. Luke tells us that Jesus was a guest at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, at the instance of Simon himself. It was a dinner party. In Israel, it was the custom that when a Rabbi was at a special meal, all kinds of people would come in to listen to his words of wisdom. In this case, the Rabbi was no other person but Jesus Christ, the Lord of life. As soon as Jesus settled down to eat, something noteworthy happened. A woman commonly known in town as a bad and notorious woman came in, and sat at the foot of the Jesus. She had a sense of sin. Realizing how greatly she had sinned against herself, against her parents and siblings, against her community, against humanity, against God, she broke down in tears. She cried with intensity that her tears were enough to wash the feet of Jesus: “Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment (An alabaster flask of ointment).” Her action stunned Simon who said: “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Simon’s unspoken opinion was not only a judgment of condemnation on the sinful woman, it was also a serious question mark and doubt on the character of Jesus. The unspoken thought of his mind highlights also his own self-righteousness. As far as he is concerned, he is sinless. The sinful one is the woman, and Jesus too must be a fake prophet. He wrote her off, concluded that she wasn’t the right kind of person to be seen around him or around Jesus. For him, she was a hopeless woman incapable of repentance, incapable of changing her ways, and changing her lifestyle. He judged her cruelly and concluded she is finished in every sense of the word. He also wondered why Jesus, the so called prophet would not dissociate himself from such a sinful woman: Why can’t he send her away? Why is he letting her touch him? Why is he not furious that a prostitute is interfering with his dinner meal? He must have said to himself.

In order to expose Simon to his own error, Jesus told him a parable: There was a banker who loaned money to two of his customers. To one, he loaned $50, 000 and the other $5, 000. When it was time to pay back, they were unable to do so. The banker, out of his magnanimity forgave both loans: “Don’t bother to pay me back again. I have written off the debt.” Then Jesus asked Simon “Which of them will love the banker more?” Simon answered “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” “You have answered rightly” responded Jesus. Then Jesus reminded Simon of his failure to provide him with water to wash his feet, a practice so common in Israel then. Because the roads were dusty and rough, when a guest visits, his feet were usually washed and soothed by a servant who stands on the doorpost. This was a sign of warm welcome. What Simon failed to do for Jesus is now done by the sinful woman. Jesus also reminded Simon that when he entered his house, he Simon did not give him a kiss of peace which was also a common practice in Israel that showed hospitality; again what he failed to do is done by the sinful woman. Simon also did not anoint the feet of Jesus, but the sinful woman has done that with a costly ointment. Because she has done all those, Jesus offered her total forgiveness “Your sins are forgiven.” 

 This gospel story reveals an amazing truth. The level of a person’s devotion to God usually corresponds to the level of forgiveness one has received. The more a person experiences forgiveness, the more his or her devotion. This gospel story shows why some people experience forgiveness and why others don’t. The woman in the Gospel story had a deep sense of sin. She was conscious of her many sins. She convicted herself a sinner. She went to the One who can forgive sins and her many sins were forgiven. The greatest sin is to be conscious of no sin. What opens the door of God’s forgiveness is having a sense of sin and a sense of need for mercy and forgiveness. One thing that is capable of shutting a person off from God is self-sufficiency, but a sense of need will open the door to the forgiveness of God, because God is love.

In the parable of the debtors that Jesus narrated to Simon, where are you? Are you the one that was forgiven a great deal of debt or the one that was forgiven little? Some people including Christians think they have been forgiven little. You hear them say: “I am not really such a sinner.” “I’ve never killed anyone.” “I’ve never stolen anything.” “I have never cheated on my tax or my spouse.” “I don’t take advantage of others.” “I don’t indulge in immoral behaviors.” “I am actually a good person and an obedient servant of the Church.” “I don’t drink too much or eat too much.” “I am not as bad as others.”

But no matter what you may think of yourself, we are all great debtors. When it comes to our relationship with God, there is no one who owes little. We all are great debtors in God’s books. We owe God more than we can ever pay. We can only be forgiven if we like the King David would say: “I have sinned against the Lord.” God will completely wipe out our sins if we like the sinful woman in the Gospel would go to the feet of Jesus and say: “Be merciful unto me O Lord for I have sinned.”

 God Has Indeed Visited His People

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Faced with the reality of death, we all are helpless. No human invention and scientific advancement has been able to prevent death. In one sense, death is a tragedy because it is the end of human life. In another sense, it is healing because it frees the dead from all pains, sufferings, frustrations and disappointments. But no matter what sense we view death, it is always a painful experience- but not to the dead but the living. The death of a beloved person creates a vacuum. And nothing hurts more than the death of a young person. When a family mourns the death of a young man or woman, all we can say to them is: “Take heart;” “Take courage;” “I am so sorry;” “Accept my sympathy.” That’s all we can do- to offer our support and encouragement to the bereaved family.

The Gospel of today’s Mass taken from Luke 7:11-17 is the story of the death of a young man. He was the only son of a widow. The woman’s tragedy was double. She had already lost her husband- the love of her life and the breadwinner of the family. And when she taught that her only son would be able to learn a trade or get a job, make a living and support her financially, he was snatched away from her by the cold hand of death. What a pity? The news of the death of the young man was told far and wide because he was the only son of the widow and because of the fact that she too had already buried her husband. As such, a large crowd from the city came to be with her and to sympathize with her. The young man’s death is one of those deaths that touches and pains the heart and its pain goes so deep to the bone marrow.  

But as the lifeless body of the young man was being carried out in a procession to the cemetery, Jesus, the true and the best friend in need and in deed showed up. With a voice laden with compassion and confidence, he approached the widow and said: “Do not weep.” Common Jesus! Do not weep? Did you say to a woman who had already buried her husband and is about to bury her only son not to weep? If she doesn’t weep, should she be laughing? What is there to laugh about? But the good and compassionate Lord has a back-up plan: “He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you, arise!” 

Jesus’ compassion is life-giving. His love and kindness give life. His pity for us, especially for those who experience disappointment, frustration and suffering gives life and ushers in a breath of fresh air. The pity he felt for the widow was so deep that he was willing to thwart the course of nature. Since the Fall of our First Parents, death has become natural to humans. And once someone dies, we don’t sit around and wait for the dead person to rise; we bury the remains of the deceased. But the compassion of Jesus for a lonely widow was so profound as to move him to derail the course of nature. He felt  her pain and loss. He put himself in her shoes. He made her sorrow his own sorrow. He did not stand idly by and try to blame the young man for being the cause of his own death or to blame the widow for being responsible for the tragic deaths that had occurred in her family. He knew he could do something; he knew he has power to do something; he knew he can make a difference and he did it.  Compassion led him! Compassion made him to! 

When the dead man sat up and began to speak, fear, shock and awe seized the people, but it wasn’t a dispersing fear. It wasn’t the kind of fear that usually make people to take to their heels, rather, the kind that causes people to want to know more. The kind of fear expressed by the people does not cripple, it leads to praise, thanksgiving and glorification. It does not cause harm but joy. In summary, it is called “wonder!”

Having been seized by wonder-fear the people exclaim: “A great prophet has arisen in our midst,” and “God has visited his people.” Yes indeed God has visited his people! When they said “God has visited his people” I am sure they did not understand fully what they were talking about. They made those comments referring to a far distant God, not knowing that God has already migrated and is living like them and with them. God has come to visit his people. He is with his people. He is with us! Is the Lord’s name not Immanuel- God is with us? 

Sisters and brothers, God has indeed visited his people, but in what ways have we seen this happen? Has the power of the word of God in the Bible ever touched us? When we read the word of God or hear it proclaimed at Mass, do we take it as God visiting us and speaking to us? Are we even aware that God is constantly visiting us through his word in the Scripture? When we encounter those who mourn and grieve, those who suffer, those who need our attention, does their living condition and pain draw out of us the kind of compassion that Jesus showed the widow in today’s Gospel? Let’s be clear! When we give water to the thirsty, God has visited his people. When we feed the hungry, God has visited his people. When we clothe the naked, God has visited his people. When we assist the homeless find shelter, God has visited his people. When we visit the sick, the imprisoned, the bereaved, the poor, God has visited his people. When we offer financial assistance for the care of the poor, when we give to Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul Society, The Salvation Army etc., God has visited his people. When we give generously our time, talent and treasure in support of our church and its ministry, then God has visited his people through us.

God is with us to save us! He is with us to comfort us. He is with us to accompany us. He is with us as our Way. He is with us as the Truth; he is with us as our Life. The Lord is with us performing so many miracles, but more often than not, they are not dramatic ones like the one in today’s Gospel. But God still works miracles in our lives. So often they take place in the heart of a person, with no crowd to witness them. But when we look around us, there are always miracles of life, miracles of hope, miracles of peace, miracles of grace, miracles of comfort, miracles of care, miracles of restoration, miracles of thanksgiving, miracles of faithfulness, miracles of victories and successes, miracles of healing, miracles of life turned around, miracles of liberation from addiction, miracles of recovery from sickness, miracles of new thing emerging after a period of frustration, disappointment and failure. God is with us working miracles and wonder. Psalm 46:7 tells us: “The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”