Resolve Like Mary, the Mother of God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Friends, today is the first day of the week; the first day of the New Year, 2017 and the first day of January. The name “January” is derived from the Roman god, Janus. Janus is the god with two faces—one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. It’s actually the time to look back at the year that ended yesterday and also to look forward to the new year which begins today. In case you haven't noticed, that’s exactly what people do that eventually leads to what we call, “A New Year’s Resolution.” Making a new year’s resolution is the end product of self-reflection and examination. After looking back at the life we lived in the course of the year that just ended, we resolve and promise to change and reform our lives moving forward. We resolve to make amends, to do things better, to right the wrong, to heal a broken relationship, to get back up in our relationship with God and with others. I am sure, many of us have already done our new year’s resolutions.  

Now, here is the most interesting part, and it is all good news. While we were doing our new year’s resolutions, our awesome God was also doing his own. But his resolution is not caused by error. It’s not a resolution inspired by God’s failing, weakness and imperfection. God is a spotlessly perfect being. There is no error in God. His new year’s resolution is inspired by boundless love and goodness. While we have a list of something bad we do not want do again, and something good we want to do, God’s list is full of amazing things he wants to do for us in this new year. In the first reading taken from Numbers 6:22-27, he says: I will bless you and keep you! I will let my face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! I will look upon you kindly and give you peace! And if you ever invoke my name, I will always bless you. 

God’s New Year’s resolution is to bless us beyond our imagination. As we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, the Church teaches us to look upon her as a model, that is, as a perfect exemplar, as someone to imitate. She is the model of a new life in Christ, the new life we want to live in this New Year. Like us, Mary too made a resolution. From the moment she declared, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), she never looked backwards. She was faithful to the end largely because she pondered and reflected God’s words to her. She wasn't the talking type. She valued the word of God so much, pondered and reflected over them in her heart (Luke 2:5). Her holiness is attributed to the grace of God, but that does not mean that she did not make effort to cooperate with the grace of God. 

God spoke to the blessed Mother through angels and through her own experiences. Today, God continues to speak to us through the Sacred Scripture, the Church and our personal experiences of life. But we need to make out time for God in order to hear him. One of our New Year’s resolutions could be spending time with the Lord. It could be that we stop making excuses as to why we cannot deepen our relationship with God. In the lists of what we intend to accomplish, God’s matter shouldn't be the item to be crossed out or be left at our most convenient time. Let’s begin this year with God, and like Mary, resolve to be God’s handmaid. 

My One Christmas Wish

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Friends, today is Christmas. On every Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the Son of God and the Redeemer of humanity, Jesus Christ. We celebrate the birth of love—divine love, God’s lavished and extravagant love for us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosever believes in him will not perish, but will have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Today we celebrate the greatest miracle of all—God becoming a human being, migrating from heaven and relocating into our neighborhood. Today, we celebrate the birth of peace, the kind of peace the United Nations cannot possibly give; we celebrate the birth of freedom, the kind of freedom that no human government can guarantee. We celebrate the miracle of salvation that no human deeds or words can fetch. We celebrate the birth of hope—hope like no other, hope that is real and attainable, hope that is based on God’s unconditional love for us.

Today’s Solemnity calls for a joyful celebration because God has made our earth an extension of his Kingdom. God’s Kingdom has come. God has come. God is with us, within us and among us. The angels of God, right now, are singing how blessed and highly favored we are. Last Sunday, I said in my homily that we are not damned people but blessed and delivered children of God. Because of love, God set aside the natural order of conception in order to give us a spotless Savior. Because of love, God did what none of us is willing and ready to do for the pets we love. For lovers of dogs like me, none of us, no matter how much we love our dogs will be willing to become like them. When I had my dog, Max, I loved him so dearly. I provided for him, cared for him, protected him, and made sure he received medical care from a licensed veterinarian. As much as I loved Max, there was no way I would have agreed to become a dog, sniff the ground, lick the floor and the skin of people, eat stuff thrown into a garbage. No way! I loved my dog, but I wouldn't go as far as taking his form and nature. But guess what? That’s exactly what Jesus did for us. One other thing, when I had Max, I tried to teach him to stay within our fenced property. I never wanted him to run out through the gate because I was concerned he may be hit by a car. But one day, Max ran outside into the street. I called him over and over again but he did not listen. I pursued him shouting, “Max, Max, Max, stop, stop, stop,”  he ignored my call and then ran into a busy road and was immediately hit by a fast moving car. I feared the worst had happened. He started groaning and crying. I was so sorry for him. I cried for his pain. But do you think if I was offered the chance to be hit by a car instead of my dog that I would have taken the offer? Oh no! Yet again, that’s what Jesus did. Amazing, isn't it?

I want to use this opportunity to thank all those who sent me Christmas gifts. I’m very grateful. Your gifts meant a lot to me. May God bless you. As much as I cherish those presents, I still want one Christmas gift. It’s not really a gift, it’s a wish. It’s a Christmas wish. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that we all live together in love as brothers and sisters. That’s what Jesus teaches us in John 13:34, “Love one another as I have loved you.” If I had one Christmas wish, it would be to establish peace—Christ’s peace all over the world. That’s what Jesus gives us: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you” (John 14:27). If I had one Christmas wish, it would be to end all wars, to stop bombs falling like rain. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that the people of Syria be safe and live in their homeland again. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be to end all terrorism. St. Paul urges us to live in peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that Jesus is accepted by all and his message lived out without hypocrisy. After all, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). The world is largely in chaos because of our refusal to believe and walk in his way. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be to eradicate all rivalries, divisions, hatred and racial resentments. Jesus came to reconcile us with God and with each other. He came that we may have life, life in its fullness (John 10:10). Rivalries, divisions, hatred and racial bias make it impossible for us to live a fulfilled life. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that all lives be respected and protected. That’s what Mary and Joseph taught us by their example. When the life of the infant Jesus was threatened by King Herod, they took him and ran to Egypt. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that at all time, we will appeal to our better angels, elevate them and bring out the best in each other. That’s exactly what Jesus did to the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8: 1-11). The men who brought her to Jesus had concluded that she was no good. But Jesus saw the angel in her. He saw that the woman has what it takes to be good again. For him to say to her, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11) means he believed in her. He saw that the angel in her can outshine the demon in her. He forgave her and gave her a fresh start. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be to end untold suffering and hunger in Africa, Middle East and everywhere. Jesus was interested in ending hunger when he multiplied five loaves of bread and two wish and fed a multitude (Matt.14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:1-15). If I had one Christmas wish, it would be a peaceful resolutions of all political crisis, sitting at the table of dialogue and resolving all differences. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus teaches us that if we are bringing our gifts to the altar and halfway we remember that we have something against our brother or sister, that we should leave our gifts there, then go and reconciled with them first. Peace and reconciliation are more important than the offering of material gifts. If I had one Christmas wish, there would be no strife, injury and hurt. God through Jesus came to bring us healing. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that you and I are happy, healthy, peaceful and saved. My one Christmas wish is that Jesus be born in the hearts and lives of everyone. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

He’s Looking For A Suitable Place To Be Born Again!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Friends, today we celebrate the Fourth and the last Sunday of Advent. In today’s Gospel (1:18-24), Matthew emphasizes the fact that Jesus was born through the action of the Holy Spirit. Mary became pregnant without the involvement of Joseph, whom she was betrothed to. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant, he planned to divorce her quietly. Why quietly? As an upright man, he did not want to make a public ridicule and spectacle of Mary. He did not want to expose her to shame, disgrace and possibly death by stoning. It was a terrible man’s world where women were hardly regarded nor respected. But before Joseph could carry out his secret plan, God intervened and saved the situation. Through an angel, God told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary into his home as his wife, that even though she was pregnant, her baby boy will save his people from their sins. The angel also communicated to Joseph the name the child should be given: “…you are to name him Jesus.” Matthew then adds that the birth of Jesus will fulfill what God said through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” 

In the ancient time, people believed that God was hidden and distant. They believed that God was unknown, his actions and involvement in world affairs were unknown too. In one sense, God is indeed hidden because he is a Spirit that cannot be seen physically (John 4:24). The idea of God as hidden and distant can even be seen in the Sacred Scripture: “Awake O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rise up! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face; why do you forget our pain and misery? For our soul has been humiliated in the dust; our belly is pressed to the earth. Rise up, help! Redeem us in your mercy” (Psalm 44: 24-27). In times of difficulty, we want to see, by sight, the glory and presence of God. But God is a Spirit Being that cannot be seen through the sense of sight. Only those who possess faith can see God. “Walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), St. Paul urges us.

Our faith teaches us that God is with us. The good news is no longer that God is coming, but that God is now here. The almighty God is with us. In Jesus, God has migrated from heaven to earth. In Jesus, God has manifested and revealed himself in human flesh to humanity. Through Jesus, he has made the earth, an extension of his Kingdom. In Jesus we see the love, the compassion, the mercy and the holiness of God. With the coming of Jesus, the time of guessing is over, and the time to believe has come. Jesus came to expose us to the truth about God. God is not distant. He’s not unknown and hidden. He is with us! 

What’s God’s mission on earth? Did he come to punish us? Did he come to act like a cop? Did he come to stare us in the face? None of the above. God comes to save us. The name given to his begotten Son is “Jesus” which means, “God saves!” We are not damned people. We are B.A.D people— Blessed And Delivered people. God comes to love us, not because we are lovely, but because he is lovely. Even before we love him, he has loved us. God is with us in every step of the way. We can never walk alone or be alone. He’s always with us to save us. But we have to let him! We should not keep him waiting. It was when Joseph and Mary went up to Bethlehem, the city of David, for census, that Mary went into labor. Unable to find a suitable place to give birth to her Son, they went into a place where animals were kept. It was there that Jesus was born. Today, Jesus is still looking for a suitable place— human hearts, where he can be born again. Are we going to make our hearts a suitable, pure and holy locus for the Son of God to be born again? The first place Jesus was born was not suitable at all. A place where animals were kept cannot be suitable for an adult to stay, let alone a new born child. The manger, where Mary placed him, after wrapping him in swaddling clothes cannot be comfortable too. But we can provide him a more suitable and comfortable place  to be born again— our hearts!   

Become The One We Are Waiting For!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Last Sunday Gospel was about the emergence of John the Baptist in the desert of Judea. He began his ministry by calling everyone to prepare for the arrival of God’s final rule, which he described as “the coming wrath.” With the message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” John called for a radical change of heart, attitude, and lifestyle so as to partake and be part of this emerging kingdom. He also created awareness that he himself was not the expected Messiah, rather, his forerunner. Now, John’s message has got him into trouble. He was in prison over his refusal to sanction the intended marriage of King Herod Antipas to Herodias, the wife of his own brother. From the loneliness of the prison, John had enough time to think about what he had been told about Jesus and his ministry. In the course of his ministry, John emphasized divine wrath, judgement by unquenchable fire, but up to this time, Jesus’ ministry has been a demonstration of mercy and healing. While the tone of John’s message was harsh, that of Jesus was more lenient and compassionate. This apparent dissimilarity made John to send a message to Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 

Jesus did not give a yes or a no answer, rather, he referred to the Old Testament Scriptures that envisioned and predicted the future salvation as a time of mercy, healing, wholeness, recreation and renewal of all things: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.” Jesus was simply pointing to John that the prophecy of the prophets especially the one we read today in Isaiah is being fulfilled: “Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense, he comes to save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be cleared. Then will the lame leap like a stag, and then the tongue of the mute will sing” (Isaiah 35:4-6). Jesus did not say yes or no, he let his actions speak for themselves. He also advised that no one should take offense at his ministerial activity. 

Despite his mild rebuke of John, Jesus taught his audience of John’s important role in the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation: “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind…someone dressed in fine clothing…a prophet?” To Jesus, John the Baptist was more than a prophet. He was a messenger of God sent to announce the arrival of the Messiah. 

Dearest beloved, Jesus has fulfilled the Messianic prophecies. He has left the remaining task to us. We are his hands, voice, and body. He has called us to be his love, mercy and generosity today. But are we? When others encounter us, will they see Jesus in us  or are they going to still be looking for him? A good Christian is a Bible. A good Christian is Jesus to others. A good Christian is the one the world is waiting for. He makes others want to believe in him. She makes belief in God meaningful and relevant. Let’s always strive to become the good we seek, the love we seek, the peace we seek, the common good we seek, the respect we seek, the dignity we seek, the peace we seek, the generosity we seek, the healing we seek, the mercy we seek, and the justice we seek

Brief Reflection on Matthew 11:28-29

Some of us think that the Gospel of Matthew was the first Gospel to be written simply because when they open their Bible and go to the New Testament, it is the first book. But it is not! The first Gospel to be written is the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Matthew is the second to be written. Scripture scholars tell us that the unknown author heavily relied on the Gospel of Mark and other source of oral and written traditions known as “Q” Source. Now, even though the writer of Matthew relied greatly on the Gospel of Mark, there are some passages in it that are unique to it. You cannot find them in the other Gospels. One of those passages is Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” 

Originally, Jesus gave this invitation to all those who found the interpretation and understanding of the Law as taught by the Scribes and Pharisees burdensome to come to him and embrace a new yoke. His warm invitation to embrace his new yoke will offer rest and easy path for those burdened by the heavy religious regulations and obligations. Jesus wasn’t lawless and he never advocated for lawlessness. But he went after laws that were discriminatory in nature. He attacked laws that divided people. Mostly through actions, he went after laws designed to perpetrate racial divisions and tensions. The only law that mattered and that still matters is the law of love. When Jesus extended the invitation to embrace his yoke, he asked the people of his time and generations after to embrace his love, which is easy and light. Love can be seen in every aspects of life. If we study the quality of the heart, we will see that the heart quality is a loving quality. I believe that it is easier to love than to hate. It takes a lot of energy to actually hate. Love is easier because it flows from the heart. It’s natural to the heart. It’s the natural quality of the human heart. 

Today, this warm invitation of Jesus has taken a broader meaning, interpretation and application. The people of his time wrestled with the overwhelming burden of the Law. Religious regulations weighed heavily on their shoulders. Religion, which supposed to be a liberating phenomenon, was used as an instrument of enslavement. But uncomfortable, irrelevant and nonsensical religious rules may not be your burden today. If you have any burden, this Gospel still applies to you. If you find your health, finances, relationship, marriage, family, job, politics etc. burdensome, the Lord is inviting you to come to him. Whatever it is that is making your life uncomfortable, take it to Jesus and remember to embrace the new life he is offering. A lot of people stop at taking their burden to him. After bringing their worries and sources of them to Jesus, they do not go all the way to accepting his new yoke. If you stop at taking your yoke to him, you may not be able to enjoy the new life of ease he offers. 

What are your burdens today? What do you find burdensome? Do not forget you can find rest in the loving arms of Jesus our Savior. 

God bless you!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Through the Stretchers of Prayers, Bring them in!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Monday, December 5, 2016

Every human person needs food, water and air. We need them for our survival. Without them, our life will come to a grinding halt. We need them to stay alive. And oftentimes we fulfill these primary needs without even thinking. But these are not the only things we need, especially if we are going to thrive. God wants us, not only to survive but to thrive as well. To be able to thrive, God and God’s matters must be central to the four dimensions of our lives—physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. When considerations are being made about these four aspects of our lives, God should be placed at the center, not on the sideline. When faith in God plays a key and crucial role in our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual lives, we move from simply surviving to thriving; we begin to blossom and bloom like a tree planted close to a never-dry river.  Jesus attests of God’s desire for us in these words: “I have come that they may have life, life in its fullness” (John 10:10). So, for us to really thrive in life, we need to be lovers of God. We need to constantly stay in touch with him by way of prayer and reflection. We also need to care about others because God cares about them too. 

Caring for others is what some men did for a paralyzed man as recorded in the Gospel of Luke 5:17-26. As Jesus was teaching in an unnamed place, some caring and faith-filled men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed to the scene. But there was no passage to bring him in and set him in the presence of Jesus due to the crowded nature of the place. The men were not ready to give up yet. They were resilient and persistent. If there was no way to bring a needy man to the Lord, then something desperate has to be done, their action seemed to suggest. Instead of saying to themselves, “Let’s go home and try again another day,” they climbed to the roof of the house where Jesus was teaching, tore the tiles open, and then lowered the paralyzed man right in the middle in front of Jesus. It wasn’t their house, but the house is nothing compared to the life of a child of God. When the Lord saw what they did, he was impressed by their faith, resilience and effort. With that he said to the paralyzed man, “As for you, your sins are forgiven… I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” With those words uttered, the paralyzed man was healed physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Physically, he wasn't going to be trapped in a mat anymore and only rely on others to move him from place to place. With this healing, he can now move around— go to the temple, marketplace, work, visit friends and relatives etc. Emotionally, he was not going to be tormented again by his plight and the state of his life. Think for a second what could be the emotional state of a paralyzed man. Jesus has changed all that. Intellectually, he was also healed. There is no doubt that his paralysis most certainly prevented him from making progress in this aspect. His knowledge of God, the world, life etc will be impacted by his predicament. His overall and general worldview will be affected and limited by his condition. With this healing, he is going to breathe some fresh air. His intellectual knowledge of God, human life, and the world have a chance of being deepened by this healing. Spiritually, he was also healed. The words of Jesus, “Your sins are forgiven” directly made that possible. It’s not a surprise that he “went home, glorifying God.” 

Brothers and sisters, who are the paralyzed ones around us? Some of them are our brothers, sisters, neighbors, friends, colleagues, former church and ministry members who have given up and no longer come to church. I am not talking about those who left our parish church to another Catholic parish closer to where they live. I am talking about individuals who used to worship with us, who used to be passionate about God, Church and faith, who once received the sacraments but are now staying home on Sundays. From year to year, they do not come to church. When you talk about church matters, they walk away or hang the phone. But when you ask them, “Do you still believe in God?” they quickly say, “Yes, of course!” Some of them claim “They are spiritual, but not religious.” They use the expression to explain away why they are uninterested about coming to Church. Some of us who still come to Church regularly do not want to get involved personally in the life and ministry of the church. We are satisfied at coming to Mass and hurriedly heading home afterwards. If the Mass ever lasts more than one hour, we get upset and irritated. Some of us leave before the end of it. Some who stay till the very end do so in order to confront the priest and air our mind, “Father, you preach well, but it is too long. Next time, please make it short.” Some of us, especially those who have disconnected from the Church may be paralyzed spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. We cannot bring them in stretchers to God, but we can do so through the stretchers of prayer. We can do what the unnamed men in the Gospel did for a paralyzed man in a different fashion— lifting them up in prayer regularly. 

The greatest disease ravaging the 21st century is not cancer, or diabetes or heart disease etc. It is not one of those diseases that doctors can diagnose. It is ignorance of God, indifference to God, and the lack of the sense of God. Cancer or diabetes may kill the body but it can never kill the soul of a servant of God. The souls of the just, according to the book of Wisdom, are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them (Wis. 3:1). We need to constantly pray for all our brothers and sisters out there who are cold to faith and indifferent to God. We need to constantly bring them to the presence of Jesus through prayer. It’s not enough to grieve over their reluctance and indifference, we need to pray for them. We need to ask God to touch their hearts. We need to “Bring them in from the fields of sin,” ignorance and loss of faith. We need to bring “the wandering ones to Jesus” through the stretchers of prayer and supplication. Some parents have complained to me, “Father, I brought my children to church when they were living with me; they received the sacraments. They even attended Catholic schools, but now, they no longer come to church, and they are not raising their kids as Catholics. They have given up. This saddens me a lot!” If you are one of those parents, I urge you to emulate the example of the men who brought a paralyzed man to Jesus. You can do what they did in a different way: pray for them always. Present them at the feet of Jesus regularly. I have seen a lot of people who returned to the Church after staying away for 5, 10, 15, 20, and even 30 years. Someone was praying for them!

God bless you!

Think Again!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, December 4, 2016

John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin and forerunner. He preached in the wilderness of Judea. His ministry began at a time when the Jews were complaining that they no longer hear the voice of prophets. They had gone for four centuries without a prominent prophet, and this promoted many to say that the voice of prophecy, which was the voice of God, do not speak anymore. But as this thinking was gaining ground among the people, John the Baptist emerged, and with a message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

John was a fearless preacher who denounced evil deeds wherever he saw them. When Herod entered into an illicit and unlawful marriage with his brother’s wife, Herodias, John rebuked him and told him that the Jewish Law did not permit such behavior. When he saw that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the religious leaders of his day were stuck in the letters of the law and paid little or no attention to the spirit of the law, John challenged them and berated their hypocrisy. When he saw that the ordinary folks of his time were living lives that were not consistent with the professed faith, John rebuked them. Wherever he saw anything bad- in the state, in the Temple, on the street, in the marketplace, John fearlessly rebuked it. His emergence became a light that lit up dark places. His voice became the voice of virtue, the voice of goodness, the voice of uprightness, the voice of holiness, and the voice of God. His voice became the voice of faith, morals and reason. As he preached, he urged his people: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” But John was not a prophet of doom. His message was not only about denunciation, repudiation and rebuke of evil. He did not only denounce the wrong that he saw, he also challenged the people to become what they ought to be and what they could be. 

Although John’s prophetic ministry started in the desert, but it never deter people, including the Pharisees and Sadducees, from going to him for baptism. All sorts of people were running to him, thinking he was the Messiah. But he humbly told them he was not the Christ: “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John pointed beyond himself. He knew he was not the center of attraction, rather, a signpost to God. He knew his assignment was to prepare people to encounter Jesus, who he described as “Mightier than I.” 

To those who had been baptized unto repentance, John urged: “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” John warned that it will avail to nothing to say that Abraham is our father when one’s deeds are not consistent with the faith that Abraham professed and lived out. It will amount to nothing to say that we are Christians if we are not following in the footsteps of Christ. A Christian is a professional lover. A Christian is a lover of God and God’s people. A Christian is another Christ in the world. It will amount to nothing, after receiving the sacraments- baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist etc, we still live in darkness. Claiming Abraham as our father in faith is not enough unless our faith is deeply rooted like that of Abraham. Proclaiming verbally that Jesus is Lord will avail to nothing if we don’t follow in his footsteps. Appealing to God’s mercy is not going to be enough if we don’t make effort to enjoy his mercy. Claiming to be children of the kingdom will mean nothing if we don’t live like redeemed and delivered children of the kingdom. John prophesied the coming of God’s Kingdom and also the requirement to enter into it— to repent. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia” which means “To be converted, to have a change of heart and to think again. 

Beloved in Christ, let’s think again about who we are, where we are, what we are doing and what we have done. Let’s think again about doing something good, being lovely and lovable, being hospitable, being kind, being compassionate, being merciful, being generous, being inclusive, being gentle, being humble, being truthful, being sacrificial, being understandable, being less difficult, being holy and above all, being Christ.