Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Spiritual Prosperity is Greater

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, July 31, 2016

An unnamed man from the crowd wanted Jesus’ intervention in a land dispute between him and his brother, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” It seems his older brother had refused to give him what he felt was due to him. The law of inheritance in Jesus’ day stipulated that the older brother would receive a double portion of the legacy, then whatever remains will be shared by the rest. For whatever reason this man was feeling cheated, and wanted Jesus to deliver a judgment that will favor him. But Jesus did not come to settle land disputes, so he refused to be dragged into it. Instead, he used the occasion to address those with great riches and those with little.

He told a parable of a rich man whose land produced abundant harvest. Today, we can say that the man’s business ventures are very successful. His stock has risen. His investments have doubled. His liquid cash in multiple banks have tripled. By every standard, he is a very successful man. Everything he touched had become a goldmine. After a particular year of incredible turnover of wealth, he began to think, “What shall I do with all this wealth? I have made so much money. There is no big company out there that I did not invest in. What shall I do with all I have?” As he was asking himself those questions, he quickly provided a bizarre answer: “You know what, since I have built an enduring business empire, since I have invested huge sums of money in so many great companies, since the stock market is really doing so well now, and I have lots of stock there, since I owe 15% shares in companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Boeing, eBay, Amazon, Coca Cola, Samsung etc, since my real estate business has gone economically viral, since my farms are really doing well now, I think I will retire, used the remainder of my life resting, eating, drinking, traveling and making merry.” But even before he settled down to begin his life of debauchery, he was summoned by God to come and give an account of his stewardship on earth: “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” 

Some of us may say, “But that’s unfair. What wrong has he done? Doesn’t a man deserve to enjoy his wealth after working so hard? Didn’t Jesus say that a laborer deserves his wages? What’s wrong with what he had planned to do?” If that’s your thinking, your questions are not out of place. The rich man deserved to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He deserved to rest, eat, drink, and make merry. But God also deserved to be praised and thanked by him. He deserved appreciation and gratitude from him. It is also deserving of the rich man to think beyond himself, but he never did. What mattered to him was himself alone. After stacking so much wealth, more than he actually needed, he never thought of giving back to the community. He never taught of sharing with others. He never thought of showing appreciation to God, the Source of everything that is good. Rather than finding joy in giving and sharing with the haves not, he was simply satisfied to “rest, eat, drink, and merry.” Due to his refusal to acknowledge God and think of the little guy, instant judgment was pronounced on him: “…this night your life will be demanded of you.”

Is Jesus anti-riches? Not at all! He is not against the rich. The book of Haggai 2: 8 tells us that “Silver and gold belong to God.” Although we claim ownership of what we have, the truth is that, “The earth and everything in it belong to God” (Psalms 24:1). God is not against riches or rich people, but he is against greed, pride, arrogance, narcissism, ingratitude etc. exhibited by the rich man in today’s Gospel (Luke 12:13-21). God wants us to be generous and share with others, especially the less privileged ones. He wants us to appreciate and acknowledge him, the Giver of all we have. The book of Deuteronomy 8:18 says “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth…” Our intelligence, application of it, and our successes according to Psalm 118:23 are God’s doing. Farmers plant God’s seeds in God’s earth, and rely upon God’s rain and sunshine to ripen them to harvest. Auto-makers rely on God’s raw materials that produce steel, glass, rubber, plastic, oil, gasoline etc to make cars. Medical doctors, nurses, teachers, bankers, financial consultants, craftsmen, machinists, electricians, etc. use and apply the intelligence and skill given by God. Check this out! The silver and copper in our coins, the wood pulp in our paper currency, all come from God’s earth. So it is fair enough to show gratitude to him by thanking him for what he has given and giving back to the community.

In this parable, Jesus warns against being poor in what matters to God. The rich man never saw beyond this world. He made all his plans on the basis of life here but forgot the words of the Collector of Wisdom (Qoheleth), “Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.” According to my high school Literature teacher, “Man and his labor end in the grave.” Now, quotes like these appear too pessimistic, but they are true. We brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it. A Praise and Worship singer, Don Moen, in one of his albums has these lyrics, “When it’s all been said and done; all my treasures will mean nothing, only what I have done for love’s reward, will stand the test of time.” That’s what matters. Material prosperity is good, but spiritual prosperity is greater. Earthly achievement is good, but attainment of heaven is greater. Earthly enjoyment like resting, eating, making merry are good, but the enjoyment of God is greater. Whatever we do, let’s remember always these undying words of St. Augustine, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him is the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.”

God bless you all!

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Why Pray?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Prayer is the lifting up of the mind and heart to God. It’s a conversation with God, meaning, we talk to God and we let God talk to us. Prayer is touching God the source of grace and everything that is good. Those who pray always as Jesus taught, will always be connected to God. Prayer is the lifting up of an empty cup to God and saying to him, “Fill it up, dear God.” In fact, in Psalm 81:10, the Lord assures us, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Egypt (that is, slavery). Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” In prayer, we thank God for what he has done for us and praise him for who he is. We talk to him about our needs, concerns and worries, like, health concerns, financial challenges, spiritual and moral struggles etc. We ask him to be merciful to us because we are sinners. We ask for his help to do better, to improve our relationship with him and with others. We pray for the protection of our lives, property, community, and our nation. People who pray often, do all these and even much more.

Abraham’s dialogue with God recorded in Genesis 18:20-32 is a form of prayer, an intercessory prayer on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. The twin-cities were deeply sinful, corrupt and immoral. Prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah attributed their destruction to widespread injustice (Isaiah 1:1-10; 3:9), oppression of the poor (Ezekiel 16:46-51), and corruption (Jeremiah 23:14). But long before they gave their verdicts, Abraham, the father of nations, had noticed that the twin-cities could be destroyed by God to deter other nations against choosing the path of unrighteousness. Like a good father, Abraham began to pray and intercede on their behalf. In his dialogic prayer, he appealed to God’s mercy. He tried to persuade him to consider sparing the cities for the sake of a few righteous people. Abraham was convinced that Sodom and Gomorrah, although deeply sinful, would definitely have fifty or thirty or twenty, or even ten innocent people. So, he pleaded with God to spare the whole of the cities for their sake. God, being merciful and compassionate promised Abraham that he would spare the cities if only he can find a few number of innocent people. Abraham knew who God is. He knew that he would never sweep the innocent away with the guilty. He therefore applied his knowledge of God into action—interceding for a sinful nation. God was going to listen to his plea for mercy. Unfortunately, there was not even a single upright person in Sodom and Gomorrah, except a foreigner, Lot, the nephew of Abraham, whom God eventually asked to flee to avoid the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

The Gospel (Luke 11:1-13) tells us that after Jesus had finished praying, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” I refuse to believe that prior to this time, none of the disciples of Jesus had prayed. I don’t think they did not know how to pray. Previously, some of them were disciples of John, who as noted in this Gospel passage, had taught his disciples to pray. I think Jesus’ disciples had prayed previously, but this time they wanted to pray like Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray like you.” They wanted to pray as Jesus prayed. They wanted to know the format or formula of his prayers. They wanted to know what Jesus said when he was at prayer. Their request was granted. And this is what Jesus taught them:

Begin your prayer by acknowledging that you have a Father. Pray that his name will be greatly revered and respected. Pray for the coming of his kingdom, that is, the establishment of his kingdom on earth. Ask him for your daily provisions of food and drink. Since you are all sinners, do not forget to ask for forgiveness, of course, that’s after you have forgiven your offenders. Finally, ask him to deliver you from temptations that are difficult to resist. This prayer commonly called “Our Lord’s Prayer” is a formula for prayer. In it, Jesus lays out for us, the formula to be followed when we pray. It does not mean that’s the only prayer we are to say. He was also teaching us to be simple and direct when we pray. There is no need to multiply words. What makes a prayer efficacious is not the amount of words used, rather, the amount of persistence and insistence. Jesus wants us to be simple and persistent in prayer. If you have asked before, and it has not been granted, ask again, and again and again. 

Now, if you have ever wondered what the role of prayer really is, if you are asking yourself right now if prayer changes the mind of God, you are not the only one. I have been there before. Like you, I have wondered why certain petitions I made to God are yet to be granted. I wondered because in today’s Gospel, Jesus said “…ask and you will receive, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” But I want us to know this, God does answer every prayer, but we may not always get exactly what we asked for. Like a good parent, he knows what’s the best for us. A good parent does not hand a child a razor blade. Children are generally attracted by the shinny and bling nature of objects like a razor blade. But when a child cries aloud in order to have it, a good parent does not hand it over to him. Why? Because the parent knows what would definitely happen when the child gets hold of it. That’s how God deals with us sometimes. Like I said before, God answers our prayers. When we pray and ask for something, God’s response could be “Yes,” or “No, I have something else for you,” or “Not yet.” Prayer is not an information. When we pray, we are not informing God what he doesn’t already know. God is omniscience. Psalm 139:4 says, “Before ever a word is on my tongue, you know it O Lord, through and through.” Even before we ask, he knows about our needs. Nevertheless, Jesus wants us to ask because by praying, we develop trust in the Lord. By praying, we become more patient, waiting for the Lord’s answer. By praying, we dispose ourselves to accept whatever God eventually gives to us. God is unchangeable. Therefore, prayer does not change him, rather, it changes us to accept God’s will, i.e. whatever God turns out to give to us. Let me tell you what prayer does for me aside all I have said already, it makes me spiritually confident. When I have prayed and committed my life and everything to God, I become more confident, not proud, that I am in the hands of the Greatest of all. I become less fearful of the unknown because I believe I am with the Majority. And God is the majority.  

At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they REPENTED at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here (Matthew 12:41)

If I were given the opportunity to go around the country, visit various communities and speak to folks, the central message I would deliver is that we all need to repent. We need a personal repentance and a national repentance on how we view each other, think about each other, talk about each other, and relate with each other. I will say it over and over again that each of us needs to repent from our overall attitudes towards each other. We need to repent from those hidden biases we have in our minds and hearts about each other. We need to remind each other that we are a family. Of course, we belong to the same family—the American family. We belong to one race—the human race. We are one people— God’s people. We need not only to remember always the words of our Constitution “All men and women are created equal,” but be willing, at all times, to allow those words to impact the way we see and treat each other. 

Sisters and brothers, this is America— America the beautiful; the light that shines on the hill; the beacon of hope for the rest of the world. This is the greatest nation on earth. What makes this nation great is not just the amount of wealth that lies here, but the amount of care, love and respect we have for each other. In America, we are each other’s neighbor. In America, we have each other’s back. That’s what makes this nation great. That’s why people across the world want to come to this country. But in the past few weeks, it seems we are sliding back to our nation’s original sin. The killing of two African American men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota by police officers, which appears to have led to the killing of seven police officers in Dallas and three in Baton Rouge, seem to be unleashing the worst in us. These unfortunate events have surely touched some nerves. Some of us are beginning to wonder if we are still a family. Mutual suspicion has taken the center stage. Distrust of those who don’t look like us has risen. Some politicians, instead of helping to unite us, are taking advantage of these ugly situations to score cheap political points. But history has shown us that whenever we turn against each other, travel on the path of bitterness and hatred towards one another, we have regretted it. This is not the time to turn against one another. This is not the time to highlight the worst in us. This is not the time to suspect one another. This is not the time to listen to those who want to divide us. This is the time to remember the words of Jesus that, “If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). This is the time to appeal to what we share in common—our humanity. Instead of fighting against each other, let’s fight together to root out the things that divide us. Instead of rising up against each other, let’s rise up together and condemn what is dividing the American family and hurting us all. Instead of pointing an accusing finger at each other, let’s together point out those ills in our society that harm everyone of us, then work together to root them out. The moment we stop caring for one another, feeling for one another, fighting for one another, looking after one another is the moment we lose our humanity. And once we lose our humanity, we lose that which makes us different from lower animals. If turn on each other and tear each other apart, then we may have succeeded in doing to our American family what our haters out other, such as ISIS and other terrorist groups, have failed to do to us. In this trying and most challenging time, we have to stay together as one family and one nation. 

The men of Nineveh will not rise up and condemn our generation if only each of us will repent. We need a personal repentance and a national repentance. We really need to repent from how we see each other. We need to repent from those bias and divisive private conversations we do have with our friends and families about others who don’t look like us. We need to repent from hidden animosity against others who are of a different heritage. The other day I preached about being mindful of the contents of our hearts and minds. I said to all of us that we need to be careful and watchful of the things we harbor and entertain in our hearts and minds. Jesus tells us that, “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). And what the mouth of a person frequently talks about is most likely what he or she is going to do. What we think about others and say about others behind their backs, will without a doubt, have an impact on the way we relate with them. Let’s strive to purge from our hearts and minds all forms of hatred, racism, bigotry, division, hateful name calling etc. Divided we are weaker. United, we are stronger. Let’s endeavor to entertain those thoughts that our children would be proud of if they know about them. Let’s become better each day. Becoming better each day is what repentance is all about. Let every day we live be a step closer to the good God and a step closer to each of us. 

Rev. Marcel Emeka Divine Okwara, CSsR

Morning Mass Reflection

Monday, July 18, 2016

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, 2016

Become both Martha and Mary! 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, July 17, 2016

If Jesus were to visit you and the rest of your family unannounced, what do you think you are likely going to do? If the door bell rings, and upon opening the door, you realize it is Jesus, what would you do after welcoming him in and offering him a seat? As you think about what you would do, let’s reflect on what the two sisters—Mary and Martha did when the Lord came to their house. 

Martha and Mary lived with their brother, Lazarus, in Bethany. Jesus often made a home at their residence. Their home offered him a place of relaxation and rest. Jesus loved Mary, Martha (John 11: 5), and their brother, Lazarus, and they also loved him. When Lazarus was sick, the sisters sent a word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill” (John 11: 3). Their brother was the man that Jesus raised from the dead as recorded in John 11:1-44.

In today’s gospel, Jesus was, once again, a visitor to the family of Mary and Martha. As soon as Martha welcomed him in, she hurriedly went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for him. As she was slicing onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, other veggies, and getting every ingredients ready for this meal, her younger sister, Mary, was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him speak, just like a true disciple would do. Her failure to help in the kitchen got Martha all worked up. She could not endure it any longer; so, she came to the sitting room and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Instead of ordering Mary to join Martha in the kitchen, Jesus smiled and in a friendly response said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” It is important to understand what happened here. None of these two sisters loved Jesus less. The action that each of them took was their own way to demonstrate their love for him. Martha wanted to fix a meal for him, and there is nothing wrong with that. But her sister Mary, like a first time lover, wanted to spend every second with him. For Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to him and forming a relationship with him were more important. For Martha, taking care of Jesus was more important. It will be wrong and unfair to present Martha in a bad light. She loved Jesus as intensely as Mary. Both sisters were interested in him, and both wanted to please him. The difference in the two is the manner in which they went about trying to please him. Let’s not forget that previously, Jesus had visited them and I believe they had fed him. So, when he came around this time, Martha wanted to feed him again. To her, Jesus was hungry and needed to be fed. But Jesus came this time, not to be fed, but to feed them— with the word of God. Mary was the one that noticed it. She was the one that figured out that what Jesus needed this time was companionship/relationship. When Jesus came to their home, he wanted just their attention. Martha did not get it. Mary did! The Christian life is about doing good and being good, but it is also about having a close relationship Jesus Christ. This Gospel is not an invitation to choose between Mary and Martha. A disciple of Jesus needs to be both Martha and Mary. This Gospel is not an endorsement to do nothing. Jesus is not promoting idleness and laziness. He too, was a hard worker. In John 5:17, he says, “My Father is always working and I too, am working.” Jesus wasn’t going to reject Martha’s meal. He was only calling her attention to the worry and anxiety her busy schedule is costing her— that they were distracting her from what matters most.

Many of us are like Martha. We make “doing for Christ” more important than what he seeks to do for us. Jesus came to the house of Martha and Mary for rest and nourishment, but he brought much more than that. Because Martha was so busy and so distracted by her cooking, she was going to miss what Jesus brought— words of everlasting life. On June 30, I celebrated the 9th year of my priestly ordination. As I was reflecting on my journey so far, I said to the Lord, “Awesome God, I hope I’m not doing such a terrible job.” I was looking at my priesthood from the point of view of what I am doing for God. Immediately, I realized that, “My joy comes, not from what I am doing for God, but what he is doing for me. My strength comes, not from what I am doing on his behalf, but what he is doing in my life.” It’s good to be busy for Christ but don’t let it replace your personal relationship with him. It’s good to be busy for the family, but don’t let it detach you from your loved ones. Let’s strive to become both Martha and Mary by finding the right balance of our time. Some parents think that as long as they are providing the material needs of their families, that they are fantastic parents. They provide material needs but don’t provide themselves to the family. The worry and anxiety of providing for the family become a distraction. With time, they become less present and more unavailable for the children to enjoy their love, company and attention. But in the thinking of such parents, the material things they provide for the family is a demonstration of how much they love their family. But experience has shown that it is only a matter of time before things get out of hand. As you run around in the kitchen of the world trying to provide for your family, remember that if you do not make yourself available, your relationship with your family could be fractured. There are times that all your family needs is your presence. Jesus needed both Martha and Mary to chat with; your family needs you to stay around. Our faith teaches us to do good, but one of the good things we are called to do is to slow down some times, hear the Lord’s words of life and spend time with our family. By doing too much, being too busy, we could be distracted from what matters most in life. 

The gospel, therefore, challenges us to set our priorities right, to see that fellowship and relationship with Jesus, spending time with him in prayer, and hearing his Word, especially at Mass, are crucially important. The gospel also challenges us to remember the words of the Teacher/Preacher, “There is a time for everything under the sun…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

What Kind of Neighbor Am I?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifteenth  Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, California 

Sunday, July 10, 2016

A boastful lawyer walks up to Jesus, not really with the intention to gain the knowledge, understanding and wisdom needed to inherit eternal life but to test him: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus quickly directs the question back to him: “(Tell me) what is written in the law? How do you read it?” The lawyer answers by quoting the “Great Commandments: ”You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus acknowledges his knowledge of the Law, but immediately points out that the knowledge of the law of God is not enough, it must be followed by obedience to it: “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” Not done with Jesus, the lawyer seeks to justify himself, that is, he feigns ignorance of what he already knows and asks “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus is not in the mood to give a dictionary definition of the word “neighbor.” So, he tells him a simple story that demonstrates who a neighbor is:

A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him… 

At the end of the story, Jesus asks the learned man: “Which of these three, in your opinion was neighbor to the robber’s victim?” “The one who treated him with mercy,” he replied. Then Jesus gives the injunction: “Go and do likewise.” You know, mercy or compassion is practical. It’s not just a mere feeling of sorry. Telling a needy person “You are in my thoughts and prayers” is not enough. Feeling sorry is not enough. The priest and the levite obviously felt sorry for the wounded man. It’s possible they said prayers for him as they walk away, but then, they did nothing. For mercy or compassion to be real, it has to be demonstrated in action.

Beloved in Christ, the lawyer wants to define neighbor in reference to others. But Jesus defines it in reference to him. As far as Jesus is concerned, neighbor is not the object of the sentence, but its subject. Henceforth, the question changes from: “Who is my neighbor?” to “What kind of neighbor am I?” What kind of neighbor are we to the man on the roadside, the woman on the margins of the society, the unchurched members of our families, the drug addicts, the runaway members of our family, the unforgiven son or daughter, the needy ones in our community? What kind of neighbor are we to those who have injured and hurt us? What kind of neighbor are we to those around us and those we meet? What kind of neighbor are we to those who depend on Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Daughters, St. Mary’s Place, Salvation Army, Soup Kitchens etc for their daily needs? When there is a call to help these organizations better serve the poorest of the poor, do we give our widow’s mite? When we stop at a traffic light and see someone standing beside us with a sign, “I am hungry and homeless” and we have some money to spare, what do we do? Do we look away and convince ourselves that the person may be a fraud? If we suspect that every beggar on the street is a fraud, we may never know when the real needy person will show up before us. And Jesus does show up from time to time, but not like a man or woman fancifully dressed, but in rags. 

What kind of neighbor are we, especially to the neighbor within us, that is, the voice of God and voice of the conscience? It is not only the man on the roadside or the woman on the margins of the society that needs our neighborly attention. We are not neighbors only to those who live around us. We are not neighbors only to those who need assistance from us. We are also neighbors to the voice of God. We are also neighbors to the voice of the conscience. The conscience is the sanctuary of the human person where God speaks to us. If we can possibly avoid the neighbor outside, the one we see with our physical eyes, we may not be able to run away from the neighbor within us- the voice of the conscience. It is the neighbor within us that urges us to compassionately and selflessly pay attention to the neighbor outside. A complete disobedience or shut out of the neighbor inside will ultimately impact our response to the plea of the neighbor outside. Those who pay attention to the neighbor within, often times carry out its injunctions. It’s the neighbor within us (the voice of the conscience) that ultimately urges us to treat each other with respect and to love one another as Jesus loved us. It is the neighbor within that urges us to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. It is the neighbor within that calls our attention to the final appeal of Jesus to the lawyer in today’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37), “Go and do likewise.” It is the neighbor within that teaches us how to be good neighbors. It teaches us the virtue that makes us neighbor; namely, “mercy.” Mercy is the attribute of God that makes us like him. We can only love our neighbors as ourselves if we have merciful hearts. When an outside needy neighbor says to us: “Please help me,” the neighbor within urges us: “Please help him/her.” But the fundamental appeal of the neighbor within us is: “Do good, and avoid evil.” If we listen to the voice of the neighbor within us, we would most likely listen to the voice of the neighbor outside us that seeks our attention. Moving forward, the question ceases to be “Who is my neighbor?” rather “What kind of neighbor am I?” Treating others with mercy is what determines the kind of neighbor we are.