The Master is in Need

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, March 29, 2015

There’s a story of a preacher who got to the peak of his sermon as he was preaching. As he preached with passion and gusto, he was getting a boisterous feedback from his congregation who were elated and excited at his preaching. Towards the end of his sermon, he said, “This church should better start walking,” to which someone yelled from the back, “Yes, let the church walk, Reverend.” The preacher said again, “If this church is really going to walk, let it get up now, walk and even run.” Someone from the congregation shouted, “Yeah, let the church run, preacher.” Enjoying the feedback he was getting from his congregation, the preacher continued, “This church should not only run, but also fly.” Someone from the choir shouted, “Let the church fly; and I believe we can fly.” The preacher then used that opportunity to powerfully drop his message: “If our church is really going to fly, it is going to need money to do so.” Then, there was a cemetery silence. There was no feedback for a while until a young man who sat in front pew declared, “Let the church walk instead, preacher, let her walk.”

Beloved in Christ, this story perfectly explains the attitude of some of us in matters of giving. It describes and summarizes the response of some of us when it comes to giving our time, talent and treasure to others and to the church. In the church, we expect everything to run smoothly but wouldn’t lift a finger to help. We want light and air in the church but may not be so interested in giving more money to pay the bills. We want the church, its environs and the Rest Rooms to be clean and not littered but expect someone else to keep them clean. We want good singing in the church, but would not join the choir. We want the readings be read well at Mass and the Holy Communion distributed but wouldn’t care to join any of those ministries. We all want a well run church but want others to do the job. We prefer to be uninvolved, bench-warming Catholics who are often seen at Mass but never seen elsewhere contributing in the smooth operation of the church. When someone approaches you to consider becoming a member of a ministry of the church, you rule yourself out without the excuse: “I can’t do it.” “I am not worthy.” “I don’t have any talent.” “I don’t have the time.” My message to all of us today is this: each of us has a horse that the Lord can use. 

In the Gospel that we read outside before the procession (Mark 11:1-10), Jesus sent two of his disciples into the village to bring him a tied up young colt that no one has ever sat upon: “Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” The disciples did as Jesus said. It would have been a different story or no story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem if the unnamed owners of the tethered colt had refused to give it up. No matter how unknown or unrecognized you are, you can still play a significant role in the unfolding of God’s plan. Jesus needs something from each one of us just as he needed the unnamed owners of the tethered colt in the Gospel reading. We are not told who the owners are, but the fact that they did not ask, “But who is this Lord who needs our colt?” shows that they may be his secret disciples or admirers. The issue here is this: They generously allowed the colt to be used by the Lord. 

A young colt that no one has ever sat upon was a very big thing in those days. It was worth a lot of money. It was a brand new colt, which means its market value would be very high. It was the equivalent of a new car, a truck, and a tractor all in one. It was a car because it was a means of transportation, of moving around. It was a truck because it was used to carry heavy loads. It was also a tractor because it was used to cultivate the land. So, giving up their brand new colt that was worth a lot of money was a big sacrifice that the owners had to make. 

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, which recalls once again, our Lord’s triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, we are called upon to give up our own colt for the sake of furthering God’s Kingdom. Our colt may be our time. Spend more of your time for others. When the church needs help, show up. Our colt may be our talent. Each of us is created with some talents. God has given us some talents. Those talents can only be called gifts when they are used in the service of the church and society. Our choir needs more people to join them. We need more people to become lectors and Extra-ordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Our colt may be our treasure. Our church has bills to pay. As you already know, if there is no money, there may not be any ministry here. I urge every parishioner to give $1 more of what you usually give every weekend. Do not forget to pay your tithes too. Paying tithes is biblical. Tithe is one tenth or 10% of your annual produce or earnings. This is one Biblical text pertaining to paying tithes: Leviticus 27:30 says, “One tenth of all the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord.” Each of us has something in our lives that if given back to God could, like the tethered colt, move Jesus and his Gospel further down the road. Do as the owners of the colt did. Don’t hold back. Don’t be selfish. Don’t count yourself out. Sign yourself in. Whatever we have really belongs to God. Your time, talent and treasure are His. We are only stewards of all we have. Jesus is in need of your colt. Don’t refuse him!

Homily For the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

“I am Troubled Now”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily For the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

March 22, 2015

Jesus is well aware that his time on earth is coming to an end. He is aware that his days on earth are numbered. He is not ignorant of the events that are about to unfold, events that would shape the history of humanity and determine its salvation. Jesus knows that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” There were many times in the past that people had planned to entrap him and kill him, but he always escaped from their hands because it wasn’t yet his time. “His hour had not yet come” (John 7:30; 8:20). But now, his hour has come. In fact, he admits: “I am troubled now” but still adds, “Yet, what should I say? Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” 

In today’s Gospel (John 12-20-30), Jesus admits of being troubled. But what possibly could have troubled him? I believe he was troubled by the upcoming events. He was troubled by what may happen to his Apostles. He was troubled by the rejection and betrayal he was about to face. He was troubled by the cold-bloodedness of those who would execute him. Jesus knew that his hour had come; he knew that “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” He knew that by shying away from death when the hour has come, one only reduces one’s life and mission, whereas by giving oneself up to death when the hour has come, one enhances it. The Greeks who wanted to see Jesus may have come to alert him to the seriousness of the danger surrounding him and to suggest to him to flee with them to Greece. Jesus’ response shows that he chose to stay and face death rather than seek a way to escape it. He refused to seek any help to prolong his earthly life beyond his Father’s will. The voice from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again” confirms that his decision is indeed God’s will. 

Beloved in Christ, are we troubled by depreciating health conditions, financial situations, death, or family dysfunctionality? Are we troubled by insecurity, lack of health-care, over-policing, weight-gain, weight-loss, drugs, alcohol and food addiction? Are we troubled by what is happening in our state, nation and the world? Are we worried about our children and grandchildren, about parents and grandparents, about friends and foes? Today’s Gospel tells us that we are not the first to be troubled by the events of life. Jesus too was troubled! There are so many things that worry and trouble us. Some of those deny us of sleep at night, full awareness and consciousness by day, and rest by evening. Because we are troubled by them, we are not able to enjoy life to its fullest. We are not able to eat well, enjoy the company of others, and fellowship with God. We are oftentimes absent-minded because we are troubled. But the way Jesus dealt with his anxiety can help us deal with our own worries and fears. Although he was troubled, he completely yielded to the perfect will of God for him. We are in this world to do the will of God. We were created because it was God’s will. We live because it is God’s will. We ought to also surrender to his will. No matter what we yearn and desire in this world, no matter what we pray and fast to acquire and to enjoy, no matter what our prayer points and requests are, in the end, let us leave the window open for the perfect will of God to be done in our lives. God’s will is not always pleasurable. His will is not always what we want, but it is what we need. The all-knowing God knows our needs. In the end, let’s accept his will for us no matter how painful it could be. In fact, we should spend our earthly life praying for God’s will to happen in our lives, because his will is always the best. 

I will end this homily with the story of my mother’s last day on earth. As you all know, I lost my mother to God last year in October. A day before she died, she called my elder sister who took care of her, thanked her for all her sufferings, then prayed and blessed her. After that, she started saying parting words to her, telling her the things she should say to me and to my brothers and sisters. At some point, my elder sister said to her, “Mama, why are you sounding like someone who’s going to die. Please, stop saying the things you are saying. The doctors have said you are going to make a full recovery. Remember, we have been praying for you. Nothing is going to happen to you.” With that, mother looked at my sister and said, “But don’t forget that I named one of my sons God’s will. So, it is God’s will that will be done. Yes, we have prayed, but in the end, it is the will of God that will be done.” A few hours after that conversation, my mother passed away. She wanted to live much longer, but she still accepted that in the end, it is God’s will that will be done. Whatever may be our wishes, hopes and aspirations in life, we must subject all that to the perfect will of God. Those who love their life so much to the point of rejecting God’s will for them will lose it. But those who love the life God has offered them, even when it does not appear flashy will preserve it for eternal life. 

Be joyful and joy-giving!

If it’s not love, tell me what’s it?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

March 15, 2015

 Psalm 8: 4 asks the question: “What is man that you O Lord should be mindful of him?” Job asks: “What is man that you magnify him, and that you are concerned about him?” (Job 7:17). Considering the vastness of the universe, why does God, as it were, chain himself to us? Jesus answers these questions in John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” 

On this 4th Sunday of Lent, we are reminded once again of the greatest merciful act shown by God. We are reminded again why God gave us Jesus Christ. He did so because he loves us.  For centuries God was calling and inviting humanity to a relationship of love. He used different means, especially through the prophets to invite us to a covenantal relationship. God was very patient with us. To further demonstrate his deep love for us, he sent us a Perfect Gift, his Son who’s going to love us for life just as God does. Jesus came to us, not to condemn us, not to tell us how miserable and horrible we have been. He came not to write us off, but to offer his love, God’s love to us. He came to us, not as a stumbling block, but as the only perfect Way to salvation. Today’s Gospel tells us that all we need to do is just believe in him. 

There are so many beautiful verses in Scripture, but John 3:16 is the reason why we have those verses. John 3:16 is the entire gospel in a nutshell. It sums up God’s nature, God’s plan and God’s intention. God is love. God is offering us redemption. God wants us to be redeemed. While we were still sinners and unlovable God reached out to us. He did not love us because we are perfectly upright. His love for us is a decision; it is not condition based.

God’s love is not conditional. It is unconditional love. But for us, our love is condition based: “I love my dad because he gives me everything I want.” “I love my son because he is obedient and respectful.” God loves us not because we are amazingly spotless or righteously perfect. He loves us out of sheer love; he loves us because he chooses to. This is the type of love that won’t let go its object of love. He chose to love us despite who we are.  God loves us whether we are junkyard wrecks or showroom models.

In the Scripture, we read of Hosea who remained tied to his unfaithful wife Gomer. Despite the infidelity of Gomer, who was jumping from one bed to another with different men, Hosea continued to love her (This perfectly explains God’s love for us). Hosea’s love for Gomer is the type of love described in John 3:16.  God’s love is less affection, and more of a decision; less of a feeling, more of an action. Jesus did not love in order to get something from us, but to give everything of himself to us. He emptied himself to us and for us!

Brethren, our goodness cannot win God’s love. Our sinfulness cannot lose it either. But we can resist it! God loves us with an unexplainable love. You cannot win it by being winsome; and cannot lose it by being a loser. But we may be blind to resist it. No matter what you have done or said, God loves you still. When the most despicable things are done, some people tend to think that they have lost the friendship of God. You cannot lose the love of God. You cannot wear him out. Our God is ageless, so you cannot lose him. Our God is sinless, so you cannot corrupt him. If He can make a billion galaxies, he can make good out of you. You cannot win his love by being winsome, or lose it by being a loser or a failure. But you can resist his love. 

Do you feel left out, abandoned and rejected? Think John 3:16. Are you lonely and alone? Remember John 3:16. Do you feel unloved and unlovable? Remember John 3:16. To the demoted and demeaned, remember John 3:16. If you have been kicked out as Pluto was bumped out by a Committee of scientists for what they called “not meeting the solar system standard” remember John 3:16. Have you been voted out because of worldly standards? Consider John 3:16. If you feel inferior and excluded, just think of John 3:16. If past life is hunting you, remember John 3: 16. If you are carrying the guilt of the past, thinking that God is mad at you, remember John 3: 16. If you have lost everything including friends, consider John 3:16. To those who are greatly discouraged by what they experience and by what they see, think John 3:16. It is the numbers of hope. It is the numbers of assurance and confidence. God’s love is amazing. He does not love you because of what you have done, and he is not going to unlove you because of what you have done. God’s love is amazing, but it is real and true. His love explains why he sent Jesus! His love explains why Jesus came! His love explains why Jesus endured so much humiliation and a shameful death! His love explains why God claims you when others demote you.

Be lovely and lovable!

What's the Condition of God's Temple?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA, USA

March 8, 2015

Anger is not always a bad thing. It’s something like cholesterol: some anger is good, some bad. In today’s gospel (John 2:13-25), Jesus confronts wrongdoing in a very significant way, with a good anger. He had just performed his first miracle at Cana in Galilee and needed to go to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray. When he arrived there, he was shocked to find that the House of God, the House of Prayer was no longer being used for worship and prayer. He did not find people in prayer, or the Levites and Priests carrying out their ministries, or the choir rehearsing songs for worship. He did not see any religious activity in the Temple. Rather, he saw merchants, traffickers, money-changers, buyers and sellers, people who seemed interested in only one thing: amassing money. He became angered, not because of what they were doing, but because of where they were doing it. The old law required animal sacrifice, so the availability of the proper animals for purchase wasn't the issue, the issue was turning the act of worship into a commercial, profit-driven enterprise. The selling of sacrificial animals inside the Temple, for the purpose of making money made a mockery of a sacred act. 

Jesus was not against trading or making money. He was upset that the house of God had been turned into a marketplace. He was upset that the people he met there were not ready for any religious activity. Traders were selling their goods. Animals like oxen, sheep, and pigeons were being sold. Money-changers were also wrapped up in their own business of changing money. When Jesus saw all of this, he was so disappointed. When he looked at what was going on in the house of God, he saw cheating and deception; he saw lies being cooked and served to the unsuspecting people; he saw land-grabbers plotting to uproot and unsettle the widows. Jesus saw that evil and wickedness had entered the House of God. He saw that the religious leaders were drinking, toasting wines and getting drunk. He could not believe that the same Temple that took forty six years to build was now being abused and misused. The purpose and the sacredness of the temple was being undermined. If God’s house would be treated that way, what did it say about the people? Jesus was amazed at their irreligiousness and their lack of the sense of the sacredness and mystery of their house of worship.

Today, we no longer use animals for sacrifice, there is no more selling of animals for sacrifices on the steps of our churches, but the temptation to turn faith into a moneymaking and profitable venture is still with us. Today, as it was in Jesus’ time, there is wealth to be made in religion and spirituality. Unfortunately, some have used Christianity as a means of making money. Evidence abounds of Christian preachers who have inordinately enriched themselves—even sometimes at the detriment of their flock. They live lavish lifestyles, live in multi-million dollar homes, travel on private jets they bought for themselves and have ever-growing fat bank accounts. In their churches, they are among the richest. They use biblical texts to exploit their gullible congregation out of their hard earned money, just for their comfort alone. Even for those of us who don’t monetarily profit directly from our faith, there is still a pull to make coming to Mass on Sunday just another thing we do every week, instead of a true act of worship. Mass attendance should not be for the purpose of fulfilling a requirement, but a genuine act of worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God. And when we come to Mass, there is also the temptation of being distracted by worldly affairs, more concerned with what we or someone else is wearing. Some even slip out early from church, before the end of Mass so that they can get on with what they consider as “real life,” as if spending time in church with others to worship an Awesome God is something unreal and out of order. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us that the time we give to God needs to be given freely and fully and without being compromised by anything else. The time we spend at Mass should be the highlight of our week. The book of Psalm 84:10 says, “A day in the house of God is better than thousands elsewhere.”  King David in Psalm 122:1 says, “I rejoiced when I heard them say, ‘let us go to the house of the Lord.”

Sisters and brothers, God’s temple is not just the Church building where we gather together to worship. We are the Temple of God. In 2 Corinthians 3: 16-17, St. Paul says: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him (or her); for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 6: 19 also says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The temple of God is not only the common house of prayers, as a matter of fact, a church building can be sold. We can worship anywhere; we can worship in the outside, in the field, in soccer play ground, we can worship in a university auditorium. Since we are the temple of God, will Jesus find us watchful in prayer, spiritually alert and vigilant when he visits his temple? In what condition would he find us? Will the Lord find his temple chaotic, unkempt, and unready to receive him? Will he find us in the same situation he found those in today’s gospel? Will he find us buying and selling, merchandizing, getting busy with only the things of this world? Will he find us heavily occupied with our careers and professions and less interested in God’s matters? When he calls us, where will we answer from? What will be the state of our life? Is he going to find his temple habitable, pure and decent?