You Decide What You Become: A Reflection on Ezekiel 18

Ezekiel is one of the four major prophets along with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. He is one of the strangest and most theologically profound books of the Bible. Ancient Israel had an adage, which says “Don’t read this part of the Bible (i.e. Ezekiel) if you are not up to 50 years.” The reason is that anyone not up to 50 may not have what it takes to read a text as complex as Ezekiel. Having said that, journey with me as we reflect on Ezekiel 18, which I think represents a real breakthrough in the consciousness of the modern mind. You know, ancient philosophers like Socrates, Plato etc. represent great quantum leap forward. They are consequential figures who lived around 400 BC. As for Ezekiel, he operated around 580 or 590 BC. It means that nearly 200 years before Socrates and Plato, Ezekiel was already operating and writing. As I previously stated, the eighteenth chapter of Ezekiel represents an important breakthrough, and it begins by making a reference to a proverb that is evidently popular among the ancient Israelites: “Parents eat sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge?” (v.2). The implication is that after parents have eaten sour grapes, the children, grandchildren, and descendants of those who have done wicked things are punished for the wickedness of their ancestors. To this proverb, prophet Ezekiel says that God does not endorse it. Here is God’s objection: “As I live, says the Lord God: I swear that this proverb shall no longer be used in Israel” (v.3). 

Ancient Israelite like most ancient people and like most people in Africa thought not so much in terms of the individual. Unlike the western world where individualism is the order of the day, family identity, tribal identity and national identity was more important than the individual. So, if someone way back in the past had done some awful things, all the descendants are implicated because family lineage is unbroken. But God speaking through his servant Ezekiel does not approve this line of thinking. More than that Ezekiel says:

For all life is mine: the life of the parent as well as the life of the child, both are mine. Only the one who sins shall die! If a man is just— if he does what is right… (v4-5)… But if he begets a son who is violent and commits murder, or does any of these things, even though the father does none of them— the son who eats on the mountains, defiles the wife of his neighbor, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not give back a pledge, raises his eyes to idols, does abominable things, lends at interest and exacts usury— this son certainly shall not live. Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely be put to death; his own blood shall be on him (v.10-13). 

The point that Ezekiel is making here is this, if the son or daughter of a just man or a just woman is wicked, they cannot wrap themselves in the mantle of their parents virtue. A man’s virtue entirely belongs to him; a woman’s virtue belongs to her entirely as well. With regard to family or tribal terms, one can definitely benefit from the achievements of his or her ancestors here on earth. My family’s good name and reputable image can fetch me some respect, attention, and favor here on earth. But apart from that, it contributes nothing to my eternal destination. I must create my own path, live my own virtuous life, please God in order to be saved. In verse 18 of the same chapter, Ezekiel strongly affirms: Only the father, since he committed extortion and robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, shall die because of his sin!” And in verse 20, he says, The son shall not suffer with the guilt of his father, nor shall the father suffer with the guilt of his son. Justice (righteousness) belongs to the just, and wickedness to the wicked.” This is classic! 

What is Ezekiel doing here? Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he is helping us to understand that although family or tribal identity is real, although our moral acts always have implications, nevertheless, in the moral act, the individual gathers himself, defines his character, stands in a very real and important sense alone in the presence of God. In the moral act, I show God and the world who I am. I reveal the quality and integrity of my moral act by the choices I make. When making moral decision, we are defining the person we are becoming. The angelic scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas made a distinction between actus hominis (act of man) and actus humanus (human act). Actus hominis is the action that a person does without the need of thinking; it is based on instinct like sneezing. On the other hand, actus humanus is a human action or decision, whose source is in rational knowledge and free will. It is not in actus hominis (act of man) that a person gathers and consciously defines himself because it is an instinctual reaction like screaming or jumping from your seat when you are startled by someone or something. It is a sudden shock of reaction. However, Actus humanus (human act) involves the full engagement of the mind— a person knows what he or she is seeking and the nature of what is being sought— and full engagement of the will— he or she decides and chooses. Although the mind and will can be influenced by forces outside, nevertheless, at a decisive moment, when a person gathers himself or herself, knowing what he or she is doing, chooses consciously. It is in that great actus humanus, (human act) that a person stands before God, stands on his own two feet and defines his character.  

The decisive moment in the life of everyone is the moment when we stand up on our own two feet, not wrapping ourselves in the mantle of our parents, grandparents and ancestors virtues, not suffering from the wickedness of our friends and colleagues around us, but fully engaging our mind and will, fully engaging in actus humanus, we choose and we decide. It is in actus humanus (human act) that we know a person and where a person stands. The German Roman Catholic philosopher and religious writer, Dietrich von Hildebrand loved the three transcendentals— the good, the true and the beautiful. Speaking about the truth, Hildebrand said it is what every philosopher seeks. They are educated, read lots of books, think deeply and entertain people with their knowledge and high ideas. But if someone is uneducated, don’t have access to books and not able to speak eloquently, not able to speak with clarity and distinction, we usually say, “that’s sad,” “it’s unfortunate.” As for the beautiful, he said that if someone has a sense of aesthetic sensibility, appreciates fine arts, can even create fine arts, like Michael Angelo, we say “wonderful.” However, if someone is deprived of all that, never got aesthetic education, had talents that weren’t cultivated and developed, we say, “that’s a sad thing.” But in regard to the good, to the morally upright, if someone is incapable of such, fails in that regard, we don’t just say, “how sad,” we say, “It’s a calamity,”  “it’s a tragedy.” As a society, we are not going to blame someone for not being a great philosopher, a great artist, but we  are going to morally blame someone who does not cultivate the moral dimension of his or her life. What Hildebrand demonstrates is the primacy of the good, the primacy of the moral. In the light of prophet Ezekiel, it is the moral act that defines who a person really is.    

The great Pope and Saint, John Paul II in his moral philosophy says that every time we perform a moral act, we do two things: one, we effect the world in a particular way; two, but in a  deeper way, we are also creating the person we are becoming. There is a direct line from Ezekiel to John Paul II. When you make a moral decision, by this I don’t mean the decision to watch either a live soccer match or American football. It is a decision but not morally important decision. You can decide to eat steak or fried chicken, none of it is a morally relevant decision. In the presence of a moral choice— the choice of good or evil—knowing fully well what is at stake, fully engaging the will and mind, when a person performs such an act, they define the character they are becoming. Think of the moral act as a little brick in the wall, and with each of those acts, a person is building up the edifice of their own character. In the course of the day when you make a moral decision to either do good or bad, you are not wrapping yourself in the mantle of your parents and grandparents and you are not suffering because of what your ancestors or children might be doing at the moment, you are standing in a self defining way in the presence of God. This is why Ezekiel chapter 18 represents a great breakthrough in the consciousness all the way to Pope John II. As you live your daily lives and make moral choices, remember you are effecting your world and defining the person you are becoming, What you become is contingent upon you. 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Let’s Celebrate the Archangels: Saints Michael, Gabriel, & Raphael

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Beloved in Christ, today the Church celebrates the three Archangels mentioned in the Sacred Scripture— Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael; and all three have important roles in the history of salvation.

St. Michael is the “Prince of the Heavenly Host,” the leader of all the angels. He is mentioned four times in the Bible: in the Book of Daniel 10 and 12, in the letter of St. Jude, and in the Book of Revelation. The God we serve is not a match to Lucifer. When Lucifer and fellow fallen angels declared a coup d’etat in heaven, the meaning of his name in Hebrew “Who is like God?” became the battle cry of the good angels against Lucifer and his followers. St. Michael was asked by God to lead the forces that comprehensively defeated, humiliated and casted Lucifer and the evil spirits into hell. St. Michael is invoked for protection against Satan, all evils and evil spirits. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII had a prophetic vision of the evil that would be unleashed on the Church and the world in the 20th century, hence, he composed a prayer asking for St. Michael’s protection to be said at the end of every Mass. According to Christian tradition, St. Michael is invoked primarily to do four things: one, to fight against Satan; two, to rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death; three, to be champion of God’s people; and four, to call away from earth and bring people’s souls to judgment. If you think you are being attacked by the forces of darkness, you can make novena to St. Michael and ask God to send him to fight for you. 

St. Gabriel whose name means “God’s strength” is also mentioned four times in the Scripture. In Luke 1:9, he introduces him as “I am Gabriel, who stand before God.” He is the one who announced the birth of John the Baptist to his father, Zachariah, and the Incarnation of the Word in the womb of Mary. According to Christian tradition, St. Gabriel is the angel who appeared to St. Joseph and to the shepherds, and also the one who “strengthened” Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. St. Gabriel is known as the bringer of good news and transforming messages. If you are praying for something particularly significant, for good news, for something that will transform your life to the glory of God, you can make a novena to St. Gabriel, and ask God to use him to deliver the wonderful news you have been praying for.

Saint Raphael is mentioned in the Book of Tobit 12:15, “I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the Glory of the Lord.” Raphael means “God has healed” because in the Book of Tobit, God sent him to heal Tobias of his blindness. Tobit is the only Book in which he is mentioned. His office according to tradition is that of healing and acts of mercy. If you are in need of healing— surely, we all are, St. Raphael is the the Saint and Archangel to invoke. 

Sisters and brothers, through St. Michael, God demonstrates his almighty and matchless power to protect and preserve his creation; through St. Gabriel, God manifests his strength by altering human history and saving humanity through the instrumentality of a Woman; and through St. Raphael God shows off his healing mercy, kindness and compassion on us. May God’s name be praised, adored, worshipped, glorified for ever. Amen. 

Reflection on Matthew 20:1-16

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Sunday, September 20, 2020

This Gospel passage deals with unemployment, hiring, work contracts and wages— all of them issues that relate to the economy and social morality. However, it would be a mistake to read and interpret this Gospel according to these categories and classifications because it would encourage favoritism and laziness. Look at this Gospel for what it truly is— a parable about the Kingdom. 

Now, the main character in this Gospel is not the workers, rather the owner of the vineyard. So, the Gospel passage can rightfully be called “the vineyard owner in search of laborers,” laborers of faith, hope and charity. Of course, the Landowner is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is searching for collaborators, co-workers, co-creators, co-evangelizers, and even co-redeemers. He is looking for you; he is looking for me. He is inviting us into a relationship and partnership of love. 

The Landowner’s determination is remarkable for he goes out five times (six o’clock, nine o’clock, twelve noon, three o’clock and five o’clock) inviting all manners of people into his vineyard. The number of times he went out is significant. In biblical symbolism and numerology, the number 5 is a symbol of God’s grace, kindness and favor for humanity. At the end of the day, every worker received the same amount of pay. Jesus ends the Gospel with one of the famous one liners, “the first will be last, and the last will be first.” Who are the first and who are the last? The first are probably the Jews who bore the weight of the Torah. They were the chosen race, chosen by God not because of any special thing they did. They were chosen by God for all the nations of the earth. The Son of God was born among them, unfortunately many did not recognize him: “He came to his own, and his own rejected him; but to those who received him he has given the power to become sons and daughters of God” (John 1:11-12). The last are all those who accepted the message of Jesus through the preachings of the Apostles, missionaries, priests, nuns, catechists, evangelists, faith formators, teachers, parents, and guardians etc. “The first will be last, and the last will be first” could also mean that at the hour of judgment, there will be no difference. There will be no Jews or Gentiles; no slaves or freedom. Anyone who accepted the invitation of God will be accepted, while those who rejected it will be rejected. if there is one thing this Gospel teaches us is that there will be a moment of payment for job well done or for job not done at all. 

On the Feast of Saint Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13)

 Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Monday, September 21, 2020

According to the New Testament, Matthew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ; and according to Christian tradition, he was also one of the four Evangelists; hence, he is known as Matthew, the Evangelists. So, we are celebrating a man who was an Apostle, an Evangelists, and a Saint. But before he was called by Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector. In fact, he was sitting at the tax collector’s office when Jesus called him. Being a tax collector meant that he was deeply despised by fellow Jews for collaborating with the Roman occupation forces. To his fellow Jews, he was a public enemy number one for working with the enemies of his people to oppress and suppress them. As such, he was considered a traitor and a sinner. 

Immediately after his call, Matthew invited Jesus to his home for a feast. Upon seeing this, the scribes and the Pharisees complained and criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners, which prompted Jesus to say, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mk.2:17). Although Matthew was seen by many Jews prior to his metanoia as a renegade, he was one of the witnesses of the Ascension of Lord.  Thereafter, he preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea before heading to other countries. Matthew later died as a martyr. The once upon a time great sinner eventually became an amazing saint. His life did not end up in a tax collector’s office, in a place of fraud and deceit, in a place of lies and betrayal. He did “steal” from his fellow Jews through  a corrupt tax schemes, but he ended up offering his very life to the Author of life. He betrayed his own people, but became a co-redeemer of his people when he went to Judea to preach the Gospel to them. 

Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus “…saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post” and said to him, “Follow me” (Mt. 9:9). “Follow me” means “walk as I walk; think as I think; talk as I talk; choose as I choose; see as I see.” It means “walk in my footstep.” Upon hearing the call, Matthew “got up and followed him.” Now, the Greek word used for “got up” is anastas, the same word used to describe the resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus from the dead. What does this mean? It means that following Jesus is indeed a kind of resurrection from the dead because it entails the transition from a lower form of life to a higher. People who repented and converted after living terrible lives often describe their past lives as a time of death or as a time when they lived in darkness, and their new found life in Christ as new life and living in the light. Remember the father of the prodigal son. When his wayward son returned home, the father said, “This son of mine was dead, and has come to life again.” So, conversion and following Jesus is an anastasis, a rising from death. Though we are puny human beings, imperfect people, people conceived in sin and born in guilt, but if with the help of God we are able to rise above our tendencies to lie, to hate, to belittle others, disparage and discriminate against them, then we are risen with Christ. If we are able to rise above our inclinations to be greedy, selfish, egocentric, we are risen with Christ. If we are able to cooperate with the grace of God, by resisting the four false substitutes for God- wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, we are truly risen in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen 

God Always Takes the First Step

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, September 20, 2020

What’s the reason for the coming of Jesus? Why did he come and continues to come? Is it because God is angry? Is it because God wants to lord it over us? Is it because God needs something? No, not at all! Jesus comes to us purely out of love, out of God’s desire for us to flourish. Jesus comes in order to show us, teach us and help us live out the best version of ourselves. He comes so that the justice of the world might be restored. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s salvific intent, shown throughout the Old Testament. He comes to bring divine life even into the darkest places. Jesus wants to hunt us down and bring us into a wonderful relationship with God. Today’s first reading taken from the section of Isaiah’s prophecies called “the little book of consolation” (Isaiah 40-55) is a good example of God’s outreach to humanity. The prophecies contained in it are prophecies of hope and salvation. In it Isaiah announces to the people of Israel that even though the Lord has punished them for their centuries of infidelity by the loss of their land and exile to Babylon, that Yahweh the Lord still loves them so much. He insists that Yahweh has not abandon them. In fact, he followed them into exile and also returned with them to their land. Now that they are back to their land, Isaiah urges them to “seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thought; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving.” 

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16a), we see divine outreach in display. The Son of Man as the landowner goes out at different times of the day—five and six in the morning, and again at nine in the morning, then at noon, three and five o’clock. What is he looking for? He is looking for the laborers of faith, hope and love. He is looking for collaborators, co-workers, co-creators, and co-evangelizers. He is looking for you; he is looking for me. He is inviting us into a relationship and partnership of love. The Father sent his Son all the way into time, history and human condition. He sent him into our sin and dysfunction, and finally all the way down into hatred, violence, rejection, and death itself. He sent him down so that he can lift us up. 

Sisters and brothers, though Isaiah beckons on us to seek the Lord, but in reality, it is the Lord that seeks us out. God takes the initiative; God always takes the first, second and third step in his search for us. God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still scoundrels, our Savior dies for us (Rom. 5:8). However, as Isaiah notes, this is the time to accept the friendship of God, for it may not always be the case. One important lesson to learn from today’s Gospel is that there will be a time for payment and reward for everyone. Those who accepted the Lord will receive acceptance; while those who rejected him will receive rejection. It is what we sow that we reap. 

Fraternal Correction: Seek The Good Of Others

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara

Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, September 6, 2020

The theme of today’s Gospel is fraternal correction, which is the act and the art of constructive criticism of our brothers and sisters. Now, our society prides itself as a non-judgmental society. The worst thing anyone can be is to be judgmental of the behaviors of others, to criticize them for their wrong doings. Deep in our cultural DNA is the question: “Who are you to tell me what to do?” But at the same time we are a hyper-critical society. We critique each other for our political views, religious views, the way we look, the way we dress, the way we speak, the way we worship etc. Look at social media, it is mostly about criticizing others. You can post the most wonderful, beautiful and profound statement even from the Bible, and some people will still criticize you and the comment. Some of the most destructive criticisms you can imagine are littered on social media. On one hand we declare, don’t judge, be non-judgmental but on the other hand we are judging all the time. But what does the Bible have to say about this? What is the Bible’s view about being non-judgmental and being hyper-critical? 

The modern liberal viewpoint is to eschew judgment: be non-judgmental. But the Bible encourages us to engage in fraternal correction of each other. The first reading taken from prophet Ezekiel says, “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.” With those words, the Lord addresses a prophet. Is the Lord speaking to prophet Ezekiel alone? No! He is equally speaking to you and me. To every baptized persons, we are prophets. By the virtue of our baptism, we are priests, prophets, kings. So, the Lord is not speaking to Ezekiel alone or people like Ezekiel. He is speaking to you, me and every baptized person. The Lord has appointed you the watchman for the house of Israel, and according to St. Paul, we are the new Israel. However before you can be a good and effective prophet, you have to first know the will of God, the teaching of the Lord, and what the Lord desires. 

What we read from prophet Ezekiel is opposed to the modern liberal notion of “live and let’s live.” It is against the viewpoint that teaches and encourages a non-judgmental approach. It is a pretty direct command to confront in love those who are violating the commands of God. And the ground for this command is the divine law. When it comes to moral life, there is a clear objective norm of morality. There are lots of voices out there that insist that morality is a matter of convention: I have my values and you have your values, that’s why I don’t judge you and you should not judge me as well. But the Bible does not teach and encourage relativism and subjectivism and indifferentism. The Bible holds objectivity to moral value because moral value is grounded in the law of God which in turn is grounded in the very being and nature of God. It is not based on your private opinion and my private opinion.

Furthermore, we are not simply individuals in the biblical view of things. Israel saw itself in a very cooperate sense: the people of Israel. Then in the New Testament, St. Paul intensifies this picture with his view of the Church as the body, that comes up in the Catholic tradition in this idea of the Church as the mystical body of Christ. Christ is the head and we are the members of that body. What this means is that none of us can talk about “my living out my private spiritual life.” Each of us is part of this great organism of the Church. If a member is living an awful spiritual life, it is not their problem, but our problem. A healthy organ in the body cannot say to an infected organ in the body, “that is for you to worry about,” because in time it is going to affect the entire body. So, in spiritual order, we are on for each other. We cannot retreat to private subjectivism of “live and let’s live.” It is unbiblical! So, should we engage in fraternal correction? The answer is YES! That’s what prophet Ezekiel tells us today. But how should we fraternally correction the erring ones among us? In today’s Gospel (Mt. 18:15-20), Jesus lays out the steps to fraternal correction. He says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” One unfortunate instinct that we sinners have in common is that when we are wronged, the last person we speak to is the one that wronged us. We talk about our injury to everybody else, and complain about it except our offender. Some of us go to social media and complain about the injustice done to us but never to the one who wronged us. Is this easy to do? YES! But that’s not what the Lord said. He enjoins us to go and tell our brother or sister who sins against us— just between you and him or her alone. This is the first step, and how difficult it is to do it. I myself sometimes resist this first step, but it is a very constructive step to avoid telling the world about what has happened, rather to meet with the person in love. Telling the world does not accomplish anything glorious other than to attack the sinner and to undermine the person’s reputation. Go to him alone, the Lord says. Out of love and concern, not broadcasting it to the world, and see if you can find a resolution. Like I said before, this is quite hard, but when we do this, in many cases, we do make significant progress. We do address the problem positively and constructively when we go to the individual and point out what the individual had done or said that hurt really hurt us. In many cases, the individual acknowledges it and apologizes. With this, you win your brother or sister over; and you don’t advertise the problem to the whole world. What a beautiful step the Lord lays out for us. So, when you are offended— we are going to offend each other; we are all sinners living in the world of sinners, so we are going to offend each other. However, when you are offended, go to him or her alone and share the difficulty.

But what if our outreach approach to the person who offended us did not work out well? To be honest with you, there are times when you will approach an offender and complains to him or her what they had done to you, and they simply write you off. Some might even tell you, “Grow up!” Some may turn around and say, “Oh no, I did nothing wrong. It is your fault. You caused it. You got what you deserved.” What do you do? Go to the internet and complain about it to everyone? NO! What does the Lord say? He says, “If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Remember, it is one or two others into the conversation, not the whole world. Now, suppose the intervention of one or two others did not pan out well? The person stands up and tells you and the small invited group, “You are all crazy;” “You have no right to tell me how to live my life.” Do you now rush to the social media to complain and lash out? Absolutely no! The Lord says, “If he refuses to listen them, tell the church.” The church here does not you publish the incident in the parish website or on the bulletin. It does not mean standing behind the pulpit and announcing it to the whole church. It does not mean starting a gossip in the church about the person— you tell a few folks in church with the hope that they will tell others, and in a short period of time, the story has spread around in the church. The ecclesia here is about a small group of people in the church. It could be the person’s mentors or sponsors during baptism or marriage. It could be the leader of a group in the church that the person belongs to. I often suggest to people to speak to their priests not because only priests can resolve conflicts but because of the pastoral authority that priests have. Any priest who knows what he is doing will not inordinately take side. He will see that he stands in the middle and help to resolve the conflicts brought to him. Even if the offender is his brother or best friend, he will not take his side. His role is that of a a healer and reconciler. So, after bringing in one or two persons to resolve the issue and your brother or sister is refusing to listen, speak to the priest about it. He represents the church in the assembly. 

In the social teaching of the church, this approach of resolving issues locally rather than make a federal case out of it is called the principle of subsidiarity. This principle says that in the adjudication of difficulties (that is in political and economic order) always have a prejudice for the most local solution. Begin local, begin as small as you can. It is only when a problem cannot be adjudicated at the local level that you move to the next level. But do not go from the local community to the pope. Go step by step and always have a prejudice for a local solution. This gospel is a brilliant example of subsidiarity at interpersonal level. Jesus says go talk to the person. If that does not work, go the next highest level of bringing in two or three witnesses. If that does not work, then go to the church. This approach is indisputably good. 

Now, suppose the person refuses to listen even to the church, what do you do? Write an article on social media about it? Again NO! To that person, Jesus says, “treat him as you would a Gentile or a text collector.” What does this mean? Dismiss the person and move on with no hope of making contact with him or her? NO! This is not the  time to say, “I am through with you, we are done!” How did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors? Jesus always engage in the outreach to those who are on the margins. To treat the person as you would a Gentile or tax collector is to never give up on them. If you have followed this principle, these steps and it still didn’t work, never give up. Keep reaching out. Keep trying. Don’t just wait until they crawl to you. Keep crawling to them. It’s important to consider how today’s Gospel ends. It ends with the motif of prayer: “…where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” When it comes to fraternal correction, pray. Pray for that sister Gentile; pray for that brother tax-collector. You can invite two or three people from the ecclesia and pray for them. The Lord will be in your midst. 

Who And What Do You See When You Look At The Cross?

When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A man to be pitied? A man to feel sorry for and after that ignore him and move on with your life? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A Man who triumphed or a man who was conquered? Do you see a failed revolutioner or a Revolutioner of love, life and human history? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A man who claimed to be who he was not or a Man who made the marriage of heaven and earth possible? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A legend, a liar, a lunatic or Lord and God? When you look at the Cross, who do you see? A deceiver or the Truth himself? A Wasteful life or Life himself? A shut and impeded way or the Way himself?  

When you look at the Cross, what do you see? Defeat or victory? Curse or favor? Enslavement or freedom? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? Total rejection or total acceptance? Do you see the greatest unleashment of hatred or the greatest demonstration of love? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? The triumph of injustice or the fulfillment of God’s salvific intent displayed throughout the Old Testament? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? A display of wickedness or the restoration of the justice of the world? When you look at the Cross, what do you see? A triumph of hatred, violence and death or a victory of love, a story of love, and a history of love? 

When I look at the Cross, I see a sorrowful Man whose grief has offered me relief, whose anguish has brought me mercy, whose rejection has brought me acceptance. I see a Man worthy to be adored and worshipped by every generation. When I look at the Cross, I see a Man wrapped up in love and compassion for me. When I look at the Cross, I see a triumphant Man who conquered death with his own death, trumped hatred with his love for me. When I look at the Cross, I see the Revolutioner of love, life and human history. I see a Man who brought about the marriage of heaven and earth. When I look at the Cross, I see my Lord, my Redeemer and my God. He is the very incarnation of Yahweh. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

When I look at the Cross, I see historic victory, not defeat. I see and find favor, not curse; I find my freedom not chains. His rejection by the Jewish crowd is my acceptance by heaven and heavenly realm. His acceptance of the hatred unleashed upon him is also the greatest display of love he has for me. When I look at the Cross, I see the triumph of the Cross, the realization of God’s plan of salvation for me and humanity. When I look at the Cross, I see the healing and restoration of the world order. When I look at the Cross, I see love and find love. The Cross has changed my story and destination. Glory be to Jesus! Behold the Wood of Cross, on which hung my salvation and the salvation of the world. Thank you Jesus!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Monday, September 14, 2020

Why Is It So Hard To Forgive?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, September 13, 2020

“The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven” (Sirach 28:1-2) “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” 

Sisters and brothers, as young people, our parents, grand-parents, guardians, faith formation teachers, priests and even our school teachers taught us to forgive people who have wronged us because it is the right thing to do. As matured people now, you would think that we should have matured in the act of forgiveness. But we still find it so hard to forgive. Of course, what is right is not always easy to do. The right thing can also be the most difficult thing. The question then is, why is it so hard to forgive? Before we delve into it, let us figure out what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is the medicine of healing that heals not just one person but two and sometimes more. It heals the wounded one and the one who inflicted the wound. Its effect can also heal a family or society or nation. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner was you. So, why is it so hard to forgive? There are a number of reasons, but due to time constraints, I will reflect some of them with you. 

• It is difficult to forgive because the human consciousness has a hard time living in the present. The human mind is a roamer, as it roams, it brings back sad memories. It recalls the past that injured us, the way we were hurt by someone’s words or actions, it causes us to cling to such moments. With that, we become prisoners of the past. The more we think about the past, the stronger we hold on to it, thereby making forgiveness unattainable. Prayer and meditation can help us empty those unwanted thoughts that make us sad. Seek counseling too, and rely on God’s word as well.
• A closer look at human behavior suggests we may be wired to revenge and to get even when hurt. When our pride or self-esteem is injured, we want to retaliate. 
• We resist forgiveness because we wait for the offender to accept responsibility: “I will never forgive him because he does not want to accept responsibility for his action.”
• When we are hurt, we tend to assign causes or reasons for the behavior of the offender: “He does not love or care about me,” “She did it purposely to get me into trouble,” “He wants me dead,” “She does not like my tribe/race.” These judgments make it hard to forgive. 
• We are scared of being hurt again or the same behavior repeating itself, as such we shut ourselves away, put up defense mechanism to prevent being hurt again. Regardless of the benefits of this approach, its disadvantage is huge. 
• Believing that your offender deserves to be punished will make it hard to forgive. Holding a grudge against someone may be your own way of dishing our punishment.
• Lack of empathy for others makes it hard to forgive them. Empathy is the psychological highway to forgive another. Empathy helps us go beyond what has happened and to see if our offender has a problem that needs a professional attention.
• They have not apologized. 
• We want to satisfy our sense of justice: “They don’t deserve my forgiveness.” 
• We think that forgiveness is letting the offender off the hook without punishment. 
• We want to harm them as much as they had done to us.
• We find it difficult to forgive because we convince ourselves that the offender is incapable of repentance or change. We stop seeing any good in them.  

Reflection on Ezekiel 33:7-9

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Sunday, September 6, 2020

In the biblical world, a watchman or sentinel is someone who stands on the wall and blows his trumpet to warn the people of impending danger, especially in times of war. In this passage (Ezekiel 33:7-9), God appoints Ezekiel as the watchman for the house of Israel. His assignment is to warn God’s people—Israel, that unless they desist from their evil ways, the Babylonians will destroy their land. Of course, Ezekiel did warn Israel. He did deliver God’s message, unfortunately, Israel and Judah did not listen. They refused to acknowledge their sins, turn away from them, repent and begin again to obey God’s law. Consequently, they lost their country and were taken into exile in Babylon. But God is not through with his people yet. Through his servant, Ezekiel, God is repeating the warning that if they do not change, they are in danger of being cut off from him. God is also warning Ezekiel, the watchman of the house of Israel that if he does not warn and persuade the wicked to turn away from their wicked ways, the wicked shall die for their guilt, but the prophet will be held accountable for their death. The vocation of the watchman is to communicate the Lord’s will powerfully and convincingly so as to trigger a radical change of life and lifestyle in the people. The watchman’s own salvation depends on how he carries out his vocation of calling the people back to God.  

Sisters and brothers, you all will agree with me that today our society has become more and more a relativistic and subjectivistic one where each person makes up their own reality and truth. Objective truth is hardly believed or considered. Today, we seem to be building a dictatorship of relativism that does not acknowledge objective truth. Conspiracy theories, misleading statements, half-truths and outright lies are welcomed and cheered over indisputable truths even by religious people. The problem with this culture is that it creates a chaotic and confusing environment, making it very difficult for people to hear the warning message of the watchman of the household of God. Of course once God’s message is pushed out, enough room is made for aggressive forms of secularism, combative sound of politics with no morals, voices of cynicism, drumbeat of fear etc to take the center stage and rule the lives of many. As such, the fastest-growing category in polls of religious affiliations is the “nones.” Today, there are far more ex-Catholics than Catholics in the country. Obviously, there are other reasons why this is the case, but one reason we should not ignore is the drowning out of the voice and message of the watchman.  

Sisters and brothers, God is calling and inviting us to pay attention to his message. His message has been sounded out by the prophets; his message has been preached and demonstrated by his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father has even urged us to listen to what his Son has to say (Mt. 17:5b). His Son continues to speak to us through the magisterium of the Church, through the sacraments and through the Scripture. How much attention do we pay to God’s word? If we listen and obey, God says we shall not die, but live. We will live, thrive and flourish and not just exist. 

Reflection on Luke 4:31:37

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Jesus leaves his hometown, Nazareth, and travels to Capernaum. Capernaum was the hometown of the tax collector, Matthew; it was also the adopted hometown of  Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew. Although the two brothers were born in Bethsaida (city of fish), they had a home in Capernaum. Jesus himself either had a home in Capernaum (Mark 2:1) or he stayed in the house of one of his disciples. He did spend a great deal of time in Capernaum teaching and healing. According to today’s Gospel, after arriving at Capernaum, he entered the synagogue on a sabbath, and began to teach. Luke did not indicate what exactly he taught on this occasion but it was so powerful that his listeners were astonished at his teaching “because he spoke with authority.” 

Now, when we read that Jesus taught or spoke with authority, we would probably pass over it rather quickly. Based on what we know of the Lord today, we may not be amazed that he preached or taught with authority. But for first-century Jews, it was a big deal. It meant the world to them. Ordinary teachers of the law would definitely make references to their own teachers, to other authorities and scholars of the law, to Moses, the great law-giver, and definitely to the Torah when they teach in the synagogue. But on the Mount, Jesus does something quite unnerving. Although Luke did not specify exactly what Jesus said in Capernaum synagogue, but the sermon on the Mount presents us a brilliant example of Jesus’ authoritative teaching. He emerges as the new Moses. Like Moses who went to the Mount to receive the law, Jesus also goes up on a mountain, but not to receive the law but to deliver new series of laws. On the Mount, Jesus did what Moses could never do: he claims authority over the Torah. Talking about murder, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill, and whoever kills will be liable to judgement. But now I saw to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement…’” (Mt. 5:21-22). About adultery Jesus again referred to Torah, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart’” (Mt. 5:27-28.) About love, Jesus again refers to Torah, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…’” (Mt. 5:43-44).

What Jesus means is that even though they have heard it said in the Torah, he, the Holy One of God, God’s Anointed One born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth is the One everyone should pay attention to and listened to. With those words, Jesus claims authority over the Torah, and the Torah was the authority beyond which there was no appeal. Jesus is basically saying, listen and do what I am saying, for the prescriptions of the Torah are insufficient. This is why his listeners were greatly amazed by his teaching.