Remember the Poor and the Needy

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Paul the Apostle Church

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Today’s gospel taken from Luke 14:1, 7-14 can easily be divided into two sections: In the first section, Jesus warns against sitting in the place of honor at a wedding banquet. In the second section, he asks us to consider extending invitation to those who may not be able to invite us in return- that is, the poor and vulnerable. So in this gospel, Jesus gives us an instruction on how we should behave when we are a guest to a party, and when we are a host of one. But his words in this gospel are not just a moral lesson or about etiquette (good manners). What Jesus is saying today goes beyond social occasions; it’s meant to shape the entire life of a Christian. His teaching is the basic Christian virtues of humility and solidarity with the poor.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.” We all want to be recognized. We all want a place of honor. We want a place of comfort and safety. But Jesus cautions us to be mindful of how we go about searching for it. He urges us to refrain from crowning ourselves kings and queens. In most societies, the king or the queen is chosen. No one confers the honor on herself. The place of honor is given and not taken.

“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or your wealthy neighbors (alone) in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather... invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” Rather than limiting our guest list to people who are like us, people with whom we are comfortable with, who do not threaten us or bother us with financial request, Jesus wants us to expand the list. When you throw a party, invite the poor around you. If you live in an exclusive neighborhood where the poor are hardly seen, consider giving some money or other material things to organizations that cater for the poor, for example, the Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul Society, etc. 

The Lord’s teaching in today’s gospel appear difficult or even impossible. But do you know what Jesus is essentially saying here? He wants us not to forget the poor. In the enjoyment of life, in the celebration of life, even at the peak of our careers, do not forget the not-haves. The Catholic Social Teachings emphasize making a deliberate option for the poor and vulnerable. The poverty of the poor, the wretchedness of the poor does not strip or deprive them of their human dignity. They are still humans created in God’s image.

So today’s gospel is a basic moral test on how the most vulnerable members of the society are fairing. In our society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, Jesus calls us to remember the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. “When you hold a lunch or a dinner….” remember the not-haves. When you are hungry, remember those whose daily experience is that of daily hunger. When you buy new clothes in order “refresh” your clothes closet, remember those who wear the same clothes almost every day with little or no hope of buying a new one. If you are able to save some money in your bank account after all the bills are paid, think of those who never went to the bank because they have no bank account and have nothing to save. If you were affected by the recession, remember those whose daily lives is a life of recession and depression. Jesus wants us to enjoy the fruits of our labor, but he also wants us to remember the pains of those who are not as fortunate as we are. Remembering or thinking or considering the poor is not merely having them in your thought. It is not just a mere feeling of sympathy for them. It is rather an active compassion or a compassionate action, the type that brought the Good Samaritan to the side of the man beaten mercilessly by robbers as he walked from Jerusalem Jericho (Luke 10:25-37).

And you know what? Jesus did not tell us to do what he did not do. Throughout his earthly ministry, he lived for others. Repeatedly, he avoided comfort zones instead made choices for the benefit of the poor. Everything that Jesus accomplished on earth was for the salvation and well-being of others. He opted out of the comfort zone in order to make others comfortable. And he invites us to do the same.

Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Do Not Take Your Salvation For Granted

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sisters and brothers in the Lord, once again, we have all gathered together to worship a faithful God, the Only who alone is good. Today, we celebrate our first ever T-shirt Sunday and at the end of the Mass, we shall also bless our new HVAC units. On the front-view of our shirts are the inscriptions: “I love St. Gerard Majella Church” and “When God made me, he was showing off.” Now, we may have different reasons for loving this church, but I want to believe that the main reason, the chief reason why we love this church is because it is associated with God, God who was showing off when he created us. We love this church because it is associated with Jesus. We love it because it is the House of God. It is our gathering place of worship and when we gather together here to worship the Triune God, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is here. We love St. Gerard Majella Church because in this place, in a special way, we are fed with the Word of God and with the Finest Food of all- the Eucharist, Jesus’ precious Body and Blood. 

Today, the God we come here to serve, the God we come here to listen to, the God that loves us exceedingly, the God that showed himself off when he created us says to us: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” Today’s gospel from Luke 13:22-30 tells us that as Jesus was passing through towns and villages, teaching and heading towards Jerusalem, someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” His response to the question was: “Take your salvation seriously!” “Do not take your salvation for granted!” 

God’s Kingdom is a free gift to all. It is offered to all people. People from all nations- the north, south, east and west will be part of it. Jesus did not answer the question of whether it will be few or many that will accept the free gift of the Kingdom and be saved. And he does not want us to concern ourselves with who and who would be saved, but rather to concern ourselves with being saved. Don’t spend your time thinking or wondering whether Mr. Spark would be saved. Don’t spend your time wondering whether Ms. Lizzy who have died has been saved. Don’t spend your time wondering whether people of other religions would be saved. Instead of asking: “Will a Muslim or a Buddhist be saved” ask yourself “Will I be saved?” There are Catholics who think they can ignore the important things God wants of us and still feel confident they are going to be saved. But today, the Lord tells us that if we want to be saved, then we must strive, we must make effort to enter through the narrow gate. Why? Because many people will attempt to enter through it, but will not be spiritually strong enough to squeeze themselves in. Having a loose or distant relationship with Jesus will not be able to keep a seat for us in the kingdom. Visiting the Lord once in a while is not enough to guarantee us a place in the Kingdom. Jesus says that on the last day some will stand and knock on the door of the Kingdom saying: “Lord, open the door for us.” But they would be told: “I do not know where you are from.” Then they will insist: “But we ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets?” But they would be told: “Depart from me, all you evildoers.” Yes, we may have ate and drank in the company of the Lord, but some of us would still not be saved because right after that, they never followed the Lord again. Right after that, they did not take the Word of God and put it into practice. Right after eating and drinking with the Lord, they went away doing what the Lord abhors. Even when they are in the house of God, they are in a haste to leave. Some in this church find it hard to spend few minutes after receiving the Eucharist to say a prayer. They just cannot wait till the end of the Mass; as soon as they have received Communion, they head to the exit door. They just cannot wait till the priest says: “Go in peace, the Mass is ended.” But I have never seen anybody leave the movie theater before the end of the movie. I have never seen anyone walk out of a restaurant without first finishing the meal. People go to football games and spend hours cheering their team. But spending just one hour out of the many hours of the week for the Lord is too much. When it comes to managing our time, it is always God’s time that is often reduced and cut short. God is the one that often “suffers.” And after being ungenerous with our time for the things of God, we still convince ourselves that we are still on track, that we are headed to the right direction, that we will make heaven, that we are heaven-bound. 

Today, our wonderful Savior tells us not to take our salvation for granted. He urges us to make strong and consistent effort to enter through the narrow gate- the gate to the Kingdom. There are so many people trying to enter it, but it is only those who have a lively and living relationship with Jesus that will gain entrance. For those of us who believe that because they belong to a particular race, or particular group or a particular religion and therefore have a guaranteed place in the Kingdom of heaven without making effort to gain entrance, today’s gospel calls each of us to think again. We may still be in the church but are already out of the track. Take Jesus seriously! Take the Word of God seriously! This call is an urgent one. Time is running and may be running out! If you haven’t made a decisive decision, do it today. I do not want to scare any of you. But I also do not want to stand before Jesus and be told that I did not do a good job of telling people what they should have been told from the pulpit. Once again I say, “Do not take your salvation for granted.” In Philippians 2:12, St. Paul says: “...work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Never assumed that your salvation is assured and guaranteed. Remember, it is not over until it is over!

Homily for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

“I Have Come To Set The earth On Fire”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Sisters and brothers in the Lord, once again, we have gathered together to worship the only true, living and faithful God. Today’s gospel taken from Luke 12:49-53 begins with a shocking declaration of our Lord Jesus Christ: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished. Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No! I tell you, but rather division.”

You know, to those who have been taught and who were learning to see Jesus as the Messiah, God’s anointed one, these words would come as a profound shock. It would shock them because the Messiah is supposed to be the conqueror and the king of the earth, and his rule would usher in “the year of God’s favor”, that is, the golden age. His reign is supposed to be a reign of bliss, peace, reconciliation forgiveness and harmony. But in today’s gospel passage, Jesus says he has come to set the earth on fire. The Jews considered fire almost always as the symbol of judgement and punishment. When a city sinned so much, it was destroyed by fire. So, when Jesus says that he has come to set fire on the earth, does it mean he has come to destroy the earth? Not at all! Fire is also a symbol of purification. This purification is made possible by the action of the Holy Spirit working through the words and deeds of Jesus. It is a revolutionary purification that takes place in the life of a believer who accepts the message of Jesus Christ. This fire is to purify each of us just as gold is purified by fire. It is not a fire of destruction like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is the fire of love, the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit that sets the heart of a believer aflame and ablaze to become a firebrand disciple of the Lord. It is this fire that drove St. Paul to say: “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  

Some Christians will not associate “fire” with God. Whenever the word fire is mentioned, their first thought would probably be hell-fire, the Lake of fire or Sodom and Gomorrah. But then, the word “fire” and its attributes of light and heat speak more of God and his goodness than of a destructive force against God’s enemies. It is true that the writers of the Bible employed the use of fire in many different ways; however, when it comes to spiritual use of fire, it is usually attributed to God. God manifested himself in various forms of fire on many different occasions. Christians who allowed the fire of God to enter into their lives will see it as being purified, corrected and cleansed, rather than being utterly destroyed by it. God’s fire brings forth from within a love that desires to bring healing and restoration to all humankind. 

Jesus says he has come to set the earth on fire and that he yearned that it was already blazing. There are many Christians today who yearn for God to judge the earth by destroying it with physical fire. Was that the yearning of Jesus? There are some Christians who implore the Holy Spirit to set their enemies on fire- that is, to destroy them completely. Was that the yearning of Jesus? Not at all! Yes, there are evil people around us. There are people who make life very uncomfortable for us and for others. There are people who have vowed not to relent until they either harm us or destroy us. But even when we have correctly identified our haters and enemies, is it Christian to call down fire of destruction over them? Jesus’ prayer for his executioners was: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” When a Samaritan town refused to allow Jesus and his disciples to pass through their town, James and John were upset. And in their anger, they asked Jesus: “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus rebuked them and went through another town. We all wish there are no bad person on earth or around us. We all wish everyone would love us. We all wish there would be no haters or crime committers. But we have them around us! Each of these categories of people present us amazing opportunities to practice our faith, to be like Jesus, to forgive, to love, to heal and to reach out. 

MOTHER MARY, MOTHER IN A MILLION

Solemnity of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mother Mary

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Dearest in Christ Jesus, today’s gospel taken from the gospel of Luke 1:39-56 speaks about two great women- Elizabeth and Mary. They were great women because of their holiness, simplicity and abiding faith in Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And because of their virtues God chose them for different vitally important roles in the redemption of humans. They were faithful to God; they were servants of God. Because of their close relationship with God, Elizabeth even in her old age still became the mother of the forerunner of Jesus Christ- John the Baptist; Mary was chosen to be the wonderful mother of the Savior of humanity- Jesus. To be chosen by God so often means one and the same time a crown of joy and cross of sorrow. The painful truth is that God does not choose a person for ease and comfort and selfish joy. God chooses a person for others. God chooses a person in order to use the person. Elizabeth and Mary were chosen to become sorrowful mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus respectively. Their choice was a magnificent blessedness, but there was also sorrow and grief that followed the hatred and the rejection of their sons by the society and the tragic way they died. John the Baptist left home to become a recluse in the wilderness. His message made the leaders uncomfortable; he was eventually arrested, detained in prison, and was beheaded. Jesus too suffered lots of public embarrassment by the leaders; he was scorned, despised, rejected, arrested and crucified like a common criminal. The experiences of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ obviously brought deep sorrows to their mothers (although it is possible Elizabeth died before John the Baptist was beheaded. But the Bible did not say anything about that, so we assume she was still alive when John was killed.) So the blessedness of Elizabeth and Mary is paradoxical because in their magnificent blessedness was attached exceeding sorrow and grief.

 But today’s gospel essentially is about the Blessed Mother Mary. Today, we the Church celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now the Sacred Scripture does not say anything explicitly about the Assumption of Mary body and soul into heaven. But from what the Bible says about our Blessed Mother, the Church was able to come to a conclusion that the Mother of Jesus Christ after death was assumed into heaven body and soul. Now, it is important to understand that the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary is a development of the doctrine of Immaculate Conception. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary states that Mary was conceived and born without Original Sin and remained free from all personal sin throughout her entire life. God gave this privilege only to Mary because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.

Mary was born without the stain of Original Sin for the sake of Jesus. She was preserved from sin by God because of Jesus, because she was going to be the Ark of the New Covenant. Within Mary was conceived the New Covenant God was making with humanity. Within Mary was the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The first dwelling place of God cannot be messed up by sin. It is important that the “holy of holies” be spotless in actuality. It is necessarily important that the spotless Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Second Person in the Trinity be enfleshed in a spotless womb. Mary is the Vessel of honor. She is the uncontaminated Vessel that bears the Ark of the New Covenant. So it is absolutely necessary that the Vessel remain uncontaminated, because if the Vessel is contaminated, the Ark will be also. Mary is also the Ark of the New Covenant. The Ark of the Old Covenant contained the following:

The Manna (the symbol of the Jesus’ Body- John 6: 31-34)

The blood of sacrificed victim (symbol of Christ’s Blood that was shed for our sins).

Aaron’s rod (symbol of Christ’s priesthood).

The covenant itself, i.e. the 2 stone tablets (the symbol of Christ as the New Covenant).

Wednesday, August 14, 2013To non-Catholics who argue that the Ark which is Mary is not really relevant, I want to remind them of the power of the Ark of the Old Covenant. First, when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant after defeating Israel in a battle, they placed it before their god Dagon, the next day, the god Dagon was facing downward before the Ark. After the statue of Dagon was restored to its place by the people, it was again found prostrate the next morning, and this time, it had also been broken. Again the people of the several part of the Philistine’s territory that the Ark was moved to was suddenly afflicted with boils (1 Samuel 4; 1 Samuel 5-6). In 1 Samuel 6:19, 70 men died because they looked inside the Ark (1 Sam. 6: 19); Uzzah died for touching the covenant box (2 Sam. 6:6-7). These show the holiness and the power of the Ark, which is the symbol of Mary the bearer of the New Covenant.

 Because Mary was preserved from every stain of sin, because Mary obeyed completely, because she submitted to the complete will of God, it becomes reasonable to believe that her body which was not stained or corrupted by sin in life, was also not corrupted even in death. The scripture says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Since she knew no sin, the wages of sin could not come upon her.

 Mary was a woman of honor. She obeyed God till death. Among all those called by God she stands out. Consider Abraham. When he was called by God, he accepted the call, and a son was promised to him. But he felt that God was wasting time, he slept with his maidservant who bore him Ishmael (Gen. 15: 4-6; 16: 1-14). Moses was also called by God to lead God’s people out of Egypt. But at Kadesh he disobeyed the Lord and was not able to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20: 1-13; Deut. 32: 48-52). Miriam was also called but he doubted that God was speaking to and through Moses and she was punished (Num. 12: 1-12). Zachariah was a priest of God in the temple of Jerusalem, yet he doubted the prophecy of the angel who said that his wife Elizabeth will be a mother and he was punished with temporary blindness. David was a man of God, yet he committed the sin of adultery. King Solomon, the son of David was a man of great wisdom, wealth and power. God blessed him with enormous wisdom and wealth, yet his sin of idolatry and unbelievably and indescribable quest for women turned him away from God. What about Job? He was described as a blessed man who lived righteously. Yet, he questioned the wisdom of God when struck with suffering. Judas was an apostle of Jesus. But he was the one that sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Peter was chosen by Jesus. He was the leader of the Apostles. Even after vowing that he would never desert the Lord, he did desert him when Jesus was arrested, so did all the Apostles. They fled in fear. Mary was with Jesus till he expired on the cross.

Today we celebrate the glorious Assumption of our Mother Mary into heaven. Her Assumption also reminds us of our eternal goal. Beloved in Christ, heaven is our target; heaven is our goal; heaven is our home. Today we celebrate a Woman who suffered so much pain, yet she did not give up on God. From the moment Mary said “Yes” to God, from the moment she sang “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” (Luke 1:46) she knew sorrows. No wonder we call her “Our Mother of Sorrows.” Today we celebrate the blessedness of a Woman who received the most sorrowful prophecy from Simeon “A sword will pierce through your own soul” (Luke 2: 35), yet she did not give up on God. Her steadfastness and unyielding love, faith and hope in God merited her a glorious assumption into heaven.

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Readiness To Meet The Lord Begins Today

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Beloved in Christ, as the people of God, the family of Jesus crucified, we have all come together again to praise and to worship an awesome God. We have come, not only as citizens of the earth but also as citizens of heaven. We are children of the Kingdom, God’s Kingdom. Each of us has a dual citizenship: citizens of the already realized kingdom, that is the earth, and citizens of the not yet realized Kingdom of God. Therefore, to be able to make heaven, to be able to be part of the “not yet realized” Kingdom of God, we must live a good life; we must live a life of faith- faith in God. We must live a life of active demonstrable faith- that is, the kind of faith that speaks volumes and loud. Our very lifestyle here on earth must be Christ-centered if we have any chance of being part of this Kingdom of God. 

Today’s gospel stresses living a good life and being ready to receive the Lord when he comes again. Now, today’s gospel can be interpreted in two ways. In one way, it can be interpreted to refer chiefly to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ; but in another sense, it can be given the interpretation of the very moment when God’s Word enters into the life of a person and transforms the individual for good and prepares the person to meet the Lord. In the gospel, Jesus urges us to be ready for the Kingdom. The people of Jesus’ time expected the kingdom soon. The Early Christians also expected it soon. From time to time, certain individuals have also “prophesied” the exact day and time it would take place- that is, when Jesus will come and bring the world and all other earthly existence to a closure. But in the gospel of Matthew 24:36, Jesus says: “But concerning the day or hour (when the Son of God will come), no one knows, not even the angels of heaven...” Since no one knows when the end will come, since no one knows the day or the hour when eternity will invade time and accountability is demanded of us, we have to be ready at all times. We would like the Awesome Savior to find us with our work completed. In John 17:4, Jesus himself said to his Father: “I have accomplished the work which you gave me to do.” Therefore, do not let any good work be left undone. As you clean up your house and rid your garage of several years of junk, get rid of those junks in your life that are preventing you from growing in the Lord. Do not wait any longer! Get rid of that jealousy! Rid yourself of malice and hate and bad talk and lies. Don’t you want the Lord to find you at peace with all people? It would be a tormenting experience to pass through this world being bitter with someone. St. Paul, in Ephesians 4:26 warns us not to let the sun goes down on our anger. Certainly, we would like God to also find us at peace with himself. To be at peace with God is heaven and heavenly.

To stress the importance of being ready to meet the Awesome Lord, Jesus uses the example of a master who had servants- some of them were wise, while some were foolish. As soon as the master left the house to attend a wedding celebration, the unwise servant said to himself: “I will do what I like while my master is away.” But he forgot that the day of reckoning would come. Do you sometimes see yourself in this unwise servant? If you don’t, I do! There are many times in my life that I think of God, that I am aware of his presence, that I know that he is present. There’s a part of me that often times reminds me that God is watching me from a distance. But there is also a part of me that tries to rationalize and explain my wrong actions away. This part of me tries to make me to forget God, and when I wrestle with it, it tries to tell me that “God understands and he will understand my foolishness and wrongdoing.” Surely, God understands how weak and vulnerable we are. But he also understands how powerful and effective we could be in doing his will when we lean and cling onto him. If we really know what Christianity is all about we will know that there is no part of life where God, the Master is away. If God appears to be physically distant, he is never spiritually absent. He is spiritually present at all times.  

The part of us that often times tries to justify our wrongdoings, that tries to convince us not to think of God, that tries to make us to think that he is away or distant is the part that drove the unwise servant to also say: “My master is delayed in coming...” He allowed that part of him convince him that he has plenty of time to put things right before the master returns.  This is the fatal mistake that many young people make today. They keep postponing active relationship with God to later years of their lives. Going to church on Sunday and being active witnesses of Jesus Christ are considered to be old folks things. But there is nothing so fatal as to think that one has plenty of time. There is nothing absolutely wrong in serving God from youth. St. Augustine of Hippo had great enthusiasm for the created things of this world and it held him back from having a lively relationship with God. But in his thirties, he finally yielded to baptism and faith in God. And having breathed the fragrance of God’s Truth and Beauty, having found the peace he so desperately sought, St. Augustine exclaimed: “Late have I loved you, Beauty so Ancient and so New!” Having found God and experienced a great deal of satisfaction, fulfillment and peace, St. Augustine wished he had found him earlier in his life. 

In the gospel of John 9:4, Jesus says: “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming when no one can work.” I have often said that one of the most dangerous suggestions a believer can hear in his or her mind is: “You are doing too much in the church; you have done enough for God and for the Church.” Such thoughts hardly come from the Holy Spirit. When you hear such thoughts, resist it. The Evil One is trying to slow you down and ultimately overtake your life. When a child of God begins to give flimsy excuses why he or she cannot go to church on Sunday or why he or she cannot be active member of the church, something has gone wrong spiritually. One of the most dangerous days in a believer’s life is when he or she begins to use the word “tomorrow” and constantly apply it in matters of God. Remember, tomorrow never comes!