Reflection on Matthew 8:23-27

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

In today’s Gospel we see a classic example of the humanity and divinity of Jesus at play almost simultaneously. After Jesus gets into a boat, he is followed by his disciples. As they sail to their destination, a violent storm begins to rage in the sea. It is so strong and powerful that the disciples feared that either they are swept away by the sea or their boat will sink. Their lives are under a serious threat. Meanwhile, as they struggle to use their fishing trade to steady the boat, Jesus is sitting in one corner taking a well deserved rest. He is sleeping— an indication that he is tired and therefore a human being. After waking Jesus up, the disciples exclaim, “Lord, save us. We are perishing!” Surprisingly Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith and describes their faith as being little. Then he gets up, speaks and rebukes the winds and the sea, and immediately there is, not calm, but great calm— an indication that he is not merely a human being. He has full and total control over the forces of nature. He is God. Seeing what has just happened, the disciples wonder aloud, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and sea obey?” To answer their question, Jesus is the very incarnation of Yahweh. He is God in human flesh who is moving among his people. 

This gospel teaches us that even when Jesus is in the boat of our life, the sea can still rage; some ugly events can still shake our lives; temptations can still happen; we can still experience difficulty in life; our very existence can sometimes be threatened. Being his disciple does not exempt us from the storms of life. Being a member of the Church is no guarantee of smooth sailing. As we live our lives as members of the Church and await “the day of the Lord” and the end of this age, storms will occasionally occur. At times it may appear that Jesus is asleep, doing nothing, not helping us to calm the troubles that are affecting our lives. But in the face of any difficulty, let’s imitate the disciples of Jesus. Yes, their faith was little, but it was enough to take them to Jesus. Yes, their was little, but it was enough to believe that Jesus is able to do something to secure their lives. Yes, their faith was little, but it was enough to wake Jesus up from sleep. Yes, their faith was little, but it was enough spur them to act and shout, “Lord, save us! We are perishing.” 

Beloved in Christ, Jesus wants us his 21st century disciples to be with him wherever he goes, sharing his life and enduring the hardships of this present age. Nothing we face on earth should deter us from following him because what awaits us is far greater than what we face at the present. No matter what storms rage, remain resolute and determined to follow him. Jesus is Lord. He deserves our loyalty, worship, praise, adoration, and our very life. 

  

Reflection on Matthew 16:13-19

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Monday, June 29, 2020

At a certain point after his emergence on the public scene, Jesus traveled with his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi. It is important to point out here that only few Jews lived in Caesarea Philippi and its surrounding villages. So, Jesus may have gone to this region with his disciples so that they could have some time by themselves. Don’t forget that Jesus was often followed by a huge crowd in Jewish areas. After settling down with his disciples, he asked them a a peculiar question; “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” He has been spending time teaching and healing people, now he wants to know the people’s perception of him. Surprisingly, Jesus did not ask what people think of his teaching or miracles or what impression he was making. He was interested in knowing who people think he was. You know, no other religious figure would focus on himself. Buddha said that there is a way I discovered and I want you to know it. Muhammad said there is a revelation I received and I want you to know it. Confucius said there is a path I found and I want you to know it. Then there is Jesus. His question is: “Who do you say that I am?” Buddha did not focus on himself. Muhammad and Confucius did not talk about themselves. As for Jesus, he talks about himself and in the process reveals his identity. And the whole gospel hinges on that point—who is Jesus? Jesus identity is all it is about. We know that throughout the gospel, Jesus speaks and acts in the person of God. To discover the true identity of Jesus will definitely compel one to make a choice of accepting him as personal Lord and Savior. 

People’s impression of Jesus is both a good and disappointing one. It is a good impression because they likened him to John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Great and godly men revered by the Jews. However, their opinion of him is a disappointing one because Jesus is the creator and sender of these prophets. Each of them foretold of his coming. Each of them is a messenger. Jesus is Lord. He is incomparable with any human being. None of these great prophets comes close to being his equal. And combined together, they are not his match. Jesus is what Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To say that Jesus is the Christ is to declare that he is God’s Anointed One. It is to affirm that he is King. He is the new King of the Jews and of the world who has come to establish the reign of God

Who is Jesus to you? Who do you proclaim him with words and deeds to be? Bear this in mind:  your view of Jesus will determine how you relate with him. It will determine whether you worship him or use him. It will determine whether you ignore him or embrace and accept him as your Lord and Savior. If Jesus is your King, you will submit to him. If he is just one among the many religious figures, you will ignore him, his teachings, ignore his Church, and ignore his gift of salvation. But if Jesus is the Lord, the real King of your life, you will submit to him and make him the centre of your life and existence. To those who will say and do what Peter said and did, Jesus will say to you, “Blessed are you.” 

Put Jesus Ahead Of Everyone

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, St. Paul, MN

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Jesus grew up in obscurity. We know almost nothing about his first 30 years. It is believed he was trained as a carpenter. He was not a member of any rabbinic school. He was not a scribe or a Pharisee or a temple priest. He was basically a layman. But in 30 AD, he emerged at the scene in a most extraordinary way. In the hills of Galilee, he began to preach with unprecedented and alarming boldness. He claimed personal authority over the Torah itself which was the divine law considered by every faithful Jew as the court of final appeal. He also performed great miracles of healing and demonstrated a mastery over the forces of nature. Consequently, multitude of people came to him from all sides. While some came to be healed by him and to receive all manners of favor from him, others came to listen to the uncommon wisdom that emanated from his mouth. But there were those who came to him just to find ways to pull him down. Regardless of their motives for coming to Jesus, most of them did wonder just who this man was. 

One of the problems facing us today is the domestication of Jesus. People see him as a nice and gentle figure. They claim they understand his moral teaching, that he is like many other great religious figures. That he echoes what other religious figures had said.  The moment that happens, everything else false apart. And after that, they simply forget about him. Jesus was in his own lifetime and after the resurrection a deeply unsettling figure. He was a disruptive figure. In today’s Gospel (Matt. 10:37-42), we see one of the many classic examples of the unsettling and disruptive nature of Jesus. While speaking to his apostles, he said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Other religious figures would say, “Unless you love God more than your very life…” But for Jesus, he says, “Unless you love me more than the highest good in life.” Those declarations can only be made by someone who is God and not a mere religious figure or philosopher. And throughout his entire ministry on earth, Jesus speaks and acts like God. He compels a choice in a way that no other religious founder does. He says, “It is either you are with me or against me.” Jesus is Lord. He is God. So, we have to give up our whole life for him. He must be the center of our lives. 

But what does whoever loves father or mother or son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me means? Jesus is speaking to those who may face a choice between being his disciples and clinging to family ties. He is speaking emphatically that they must put him first ahead of everyone else if they wish to be his disciples. Honoring one’s father and mother is commanded by the Torah, a command that Jesus himself upholds. Loving one’s neighbor which of course includes sisters, brothers, sons, daughters etc is also commanded by the Torah. Again, Jesus upholds it too and even broadens its meaning. But in this case, Jesus, the Lord of life, the giver of our parents, children, friends etc wants to be the principal neighbor we must love above all others.  He wants his disciples to love their parents, children, friends, everyone but we are to love him even more. If he commands us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44), he certainly expects us to have a greater love for him. Being his disciples does not mean loving others less; it rather means loving others more and loving Jesus most of all. No friendship or relationship or attachment should be greater or deeper than our love for the Lord. Relationship with Jesus is far more important than any other relationship. Anyone who thinks otherwise, Jesus says is not worthy of him, meaning that the person does not deserve to be his disciple. 

Reflection on Matthew 7:12

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Today’s Gospel is part of the Sermon on the Mount wherein Jesus continues to teach his disciples how to live under the reign of God now so as to be part of the Kingdom of God when it is finally established in full. In this Gospel passage, Jesus refers to what is commonly known as the Golden Rule: Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. The Golden Rule is the injunction to treat others as you want to be treated. Now, centuries before the emergence of Jesus, different versions of the rule had been formulated in a negative sense and circulated around. One of them is found in the book of Tobit 4:15: “Do not do to anyone what you yourself hate.” Shortly before Jesus was born, a prominent Jewish teacher called Hillel, had taught, “Whatever is displeasing to you do not do to your neighbor; that is the whole Torah, the rest is the explanation.” The problem with the negative formulation or composition of the Golden Rule is that it might be taken as self-interest. It may seem that the reason why you should not harm another is to prevent being harmed in return. And if that is the case, then it cannot be the entire law and the prophets. Moreover, the negative formulation of the Golden Rule has some degree of passivity in it. Christians are doers of the word; action people, people who have expertise in the virtue of love and compassion.  

Jesus’ reference to the Golden Rule is framed in a positive sense: “Do to others…” It is not enough to be passive and avoid doing hateful and harmful things to others. Authentic disciples of Jesus take initiative and act for the good of others. We are not called simply to avoid sin but to do the good. Avoiding sin is good, but not good enough. We are called to be doers of good deeds. Jesus is very much interested in how we treat others. It is not surprising that he said that our final judgment will be based, not so much on how much sin we avoided, but on how much we treated the other (Matthew 25:31:46). 

So, the proper rule, the most Golden Rule is to Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. We all know how we like to be treated. We want to be respected, loved and valued. If we err, we want to be forgiven. If our best efforts are not good enough, we want others to be patient with us. If we are really angry about something, we want those around us to understand and reason with us. If we experience injustice, we want the society to know about it and to speak up on our behalf in order to stop the injustice. If we cry, we want to be heard. If we fall through the cracks, we want others to give us a helping a hand. If we are hungry and can’t get food, we hope and pray that someone  remembers us. If we or our children or grand-children decide to live overseas, we want the government and the people of their host nations to be kind and neighborly to them.  If we are in the midst of people who are of different race, ethnicity, gender, religion etc. we want them to be respectful and to treat us as fellow human beings. If we are stopped by a police officer, we want to be treated nicely, respectfully, and the reason or reasons why we were stopped resolved amicably without being shot and killed. Guess what? All of these and many other treatments we want from others, Jesus challenges us today to do likewise to others. Treat others as you wish to be treated. It is such a simple rule but a sweeping one for that matter. If we don’t treat others as well as we want to be treated, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ invites us to accept metanoia— (change of mind).

On the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Friday, June 19, 2020

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30), Jesus invites us to receive his revelation of God and the joy it brings: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Lord’s call, “Come to me” has the same meaning as “Come after me.” It is an invitation to discipleship, to being with Jesus, to sharing his life. And what is the reward for going to Jesus? REST! The rest that Jesus promises us should not be mistaken to mean “laying on your couch, watching TV, eating potato chips and enjoying a drink after a day of labor.” The “rest” here has the same theological meaning with “Shalom,” (Peace)— which is Jesus first utterance to his disciples when he appeared to them after his resurrection. Rest or peace was God’s original intention for the human race. And it means well-being in every aspect of life. It is wellbeing in your spiritual life, wellbeing in your emotional life, wellbeing in your social life, wellbeing in your relationships, wellbeing in every facet of life. 

Sisters and brothers, everything that Jesus accomplished for us flows from his Heart that is spotlessly Sacred. His heart is the Ocean of Mercy— unimaginable mercy; mercy that is, so to speak, “reckless.” Lavished mercy. Boundless mercy. His entire ministry on earth was defined by mercy. He offered mercy to those who deserved it and to those who didn’t. He offered mercy to those who asked for it and to those who didn’t. At the zenith of his pains, anguish and humiliation on the cross, what did Jesus do? Unleash mayhem and terror to his haters? No! As Jesus hung on the cross, writhed in pains, what were his executioners doing? They were jeering him, mocking him, teasing him, ridiculing him. They were doubling down his humiliation and basically saying to all: look at the one you believe in. Look at your savior. If he cannot save himself, how can he save you? The public ridicule of Jesus was meant to shame him to the highest degree and to the highest degree discourage anyone who would dare believe in his name. It was meant to portray him as a total failure, as someone that should be cursed and then forgotten. It was all part of the ploy to relegate him to a mere footnote in the world history. 

But as all these were playing out, Jesus’ ability and mastery over the forces of nature was not damaged. With a spoken word, he could order all the soldiers and everyone mocking him to drop dead or disappear and it would have happened. But he never took that route, instead he took the way of mercy: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” 

Only a heart filled with pure love could have done such. Only a heart deeply sacred, profoundly spotless, and essentially compassionate could have offered mercy at the pinnacle of excruciating pain and disgrace. No wonder in the 17th Century, Jesus appeared to a French Nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and asked us to celebrate a feast in honor of his Sacred Heart. The Heart of Jesus is the heart of mercy. He invites us to come to him, to adore him, to be with him, to be refreshed by him, to be nourished by him, to be strengthened by him, to be changed and transformed by him, and to be saved by himself.

What are your burdens? What troubles you the most? What is it that keeps you awake at night? Even as we are in church right now, what is it that makes you absent minded? Your body is here but your mind is elsewhere. What are those things that burden you? Is your ego so elevated and so puffed up? Are you trapped in habitual sin and it seems you don’t know how to break the chain and the cycle of falling into sin and falling deeper into sin? Learn to spend time with Jesus. He has a heart that is indescribably sacred, patient, merciful and compassionate. He will welcome you and also listen to you. His “Yoke is easy, and burden light.”

Reflection on Matthew 5:43-48

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. Just like Moses, Jesus goes up to a mountain. Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah from Yahweh. Jesus on the other hand, goes to Mount of Beatitude, not to receive the law but to claim personal authority over the Law (Torah) itself. On the Mount, he gives deeper meanings of the Torah by laying out series of new teachings. It is not a breaking news that throughout Jesus’ public ministry, he speaks and acts like God. His sermon on the Mount may have been on the mind of the Jewish elders and the people who said at his trial, “…he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God” (Jn. 19:7). The unnerving thing is that whenever Jesus speaks and acts, he does so with an unprecedented authority. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus boldly says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But (now) I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:43-45). In the Old Testament, one’s neighbor meant a fellow Israelite. The command to love one’s neighbor in the Old Testament was basically a command to love one’s fellow countrymen and women. But in his sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares that this notion of love and neighbor is limited and insufficient. He therefore removes the boundaries that limit our love. As we already know, Jesus used the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” With the same story he also reveals the true meaning of love— which is the sheer act of willing the good of the other and doing something about it. 

Sisters and brothers, the Lord enjoins us to love our neighbor, our friends, our enemies, and also to pray for those who persecute us. If you are finding it hard to love your enemy, start praying for them. If you are finding it difficult to forgive your persecutors, start praying for them. I must say here that it is much easier to love one’s friendly neighbor than a nasty and difficulty one. It is much easier to love those of the same faith tradition with you than love let’s say Muslims. It is much easier to love one’s own race and tribe. It is much easier to love those you have blood relationship with you. But here is the problem. If that is how we love, if our love is only limited to those we have some affinity with, we are not going to be called “children of your heavenly Father.” If our love is so limited to those of our households, religion, nation, race, political party, nation, etc. today’s Gospel said we are not any different from tax collectors and pagans who also love their own kind. So, if you only love persons of your kind, your love is insufficient. To be called children of our heavenly Father, we must be prepared to love saints and sinners, friends and enemies, lovers and haters, neighbors and strangers, believers and pagans. Is this easy? No! But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). 

Reflection on Mark 12:28-34

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Thursday, June 04, 2020

Beloved in Christ, in today’s Gospel Jesus summarized the entire law into two: loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. So, to love your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment. In the end, an authentic love of God is expressed and found in the love of one’s neighbor. It is not possible to truly love God while at the same time hate the other. That brings me to the question of love. What is love? 

Love is the act of willing the good of the other and doing something about it. Love is not a feeling. It is not an instinct. Rather it is radical self-gift. It is the authentic giving oneself to the other for the sake of Jesus Christ. To be kind to another so that they might be kind to me is not love. To be nice to someone in my neighborhood so that they might be nice to me is not love. To be helpful to the needy so that when I am in needy they will also be of help to me is not love. To treat a fellow human being justly so that in turn I might be treated likewise is not love. Such attitude is nothing else but an indirect self-interest. It is an indirect self-love. To love honestly is to travel outside of one’s own self-centeredness. It is to resist the diabolical force that compels one to obsessively focus on himself or herself— the I, the me, the mine and the myself. 

The notion of love as the sheer act of willing the good of the other and doing something about it is very much what God did. God created us in love, and when we messed up he redeemed us in love. To continue his act of loving and redemption, he established a Church and left us wonderful sacraments particularly the sacrament of confession and reconciliation through which he continuously forgives us and restores us to grace. 

What else is love? Love is to delight in the existence of another. The Book of Genesis 1:31 tells us that after God looked at everything he had made, he found it very good. Now, at the top of everything God made is human beings. In essence, each of us is very good to God. This explains why the Lord takes delight in his people (Psalm 149:4). If God takes delight in his people, who are you to despise them? God delights in the existence of all people— black, white, and brown. Therefore to despise someone due to the person’s ethnicity or race is fundamentally a mortal sin. It is a deadly sin that violates the theological virtue of love. 

Sisters and brothers, my reflection today won’t be complete if I fail to say something about what happened in our city of Minneapolis 10 days ago. Many of us have been saddened by the violent death of George Floyd. The manner with which his life was squeezed out of him has caused me so much distress and anguish. It has made me question if we are really making progress as a people, as a society, as Christians and as a Church. What is the deeper cause of the killing of Mr. George Floyd? It is nothing but racism. Racism has bedeviled our country for 400 years since the slave trade. Since the year 1600, this evil from the pit of hell has been a problem for this nation. I know that some progress has been made over the centuries. Yet, even after 400 years, that is four centuries, there is still way too much racial hatred and racism both systemic and in the hearts of too many people. For all those who are called by the name of Christ, who profess love for Jesus Christ, who go to church regularly on Sunday, I want each one of us to think about this: For all those 400 years of slavery, slave trade, racism and racial hatred, the overwhelming number of people in this country have been Christians who have heard and read today’s Gospel time and time again. What does that tell us? What does that say about the way we have been fulfilling our mission? What does that say about us? I know that we are all sinners and we are not going to eliminate evil totally. However, what does it say that after a long 400 years, racism is still thriving in our country? What this tells me is that we are not living our baptismal calling. A lot of us have not been authentic. Our view of love is either incomplete or erroneous. The reason why racism is still much of a problem in America is because there are still lots of racists in the church. Let me sound provocative here: racism is still a big problem today partly because some bishops, major superiors, priests, religious men, religious women, pastors, preachers, evangelists, and some church members harbor racial hatred in their hearts. Simply put, there are still way too much racists among Christians. It is a very sad reality that continues to negatively influence quite a number of people in the church. Racism has compromised and corrupted people’s faith, eroded their authenticity and put a heavy break on the mission of the Church. Racism divides the Body of Christ; causes the oppressed to lose faith in the Church and to ultimately abandon the Church. 

In case you don’t know, racism or racial hatred is a mortal sin and it could cost you heaven.