Homily for Palm Sunday, Year A

“The Master Has Need Of Them”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sunday, April 2, 2023

On every Palm Sunday, two Gospel readings are proclaimed to us. Today, my focus is not on the Passion narrative but on the Gospel proclaimed just before the procession with palms. In that Gospel (Matthew 21:1-11), we are told that Jesus sent two of his disciples into a village to bring him “an ass tethered, and a colt.” He also told them, “…if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The Master has need of them.’” Allow those words “The Master has need of them” to sink in. Every baptized person should say to himself or herself, “The Master has need of me.” After all, baptism is a character sacrament. When a young man entered the Roman army, he was branded with a “character,” and the brand marked him as a member of the Roman army. In some tribes in Nigeria, when a child is born, he or she is branded in a unique way indicating the tribe he or she comes from. So, when a baby or an adult is baptized, they receive a brand, a character, that says, “I belong to Christ. The Master has need of me; my whole life is about him, not about my projects and plans.” 

Now, when it comes to need, don’t get it twisted. God does not need anything. God is the Lord of the whole universe. God is the sheer act of being itself. God is the creator of all things. So, God does not need anything, and does not even need our very existence. God does not need our good works. God can accomplish what he wants on his own, however, God delights in allowing us to cooperate with his providence. The most enduring truth is that God can accomplish anything on his own. None of us was there when God laid the foundation of the earth. None of us gave him counsel or aided God in any way. So, God can accomplish anything he wants without our aid. But he delights in letting us participate in his plan and purpose. Actually, it is a unique privilege for us. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the dignity of causality, which means that we can act as instruments or secondary causes for God’s purpose. In the strict sense, God does not need us, but he needs us in the sense that he wants to draw us into his work. Once we get this fact, once we understand this principle, everything in our life will change dramatically. 

Usually, we think that the talents, capacities and abilities we have belong to us for the purpose of making our life better and more accomplished. We think we can do whatever we want with them. But then, those natural endowments we have are gifts, not things we earned or deserved. They are given to us by God so that God can use them for his salvific purposes. If you are an academically brilliant person, you did well in school, you have got advanced degrees, you are articulate and can get things done, have you ever asked yourself the question, “how come I can get things done?” “How come I am so smart?” Why do I have such capacities? Here’s the answer: it is to serve Christ and his purposes. So, give your great mind to Christ that he meant use it. Great saints like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II etc. gave their great minds to Christ. They used it to serve Christ’s purposes. They knew that the Master had need of their minds. If you are really good with people, you are the sociable type, people are fond of you and you are popular with the people, you can use your popularity and likability in a superficial way to serve your own purpose, or you acknowledge that what you have is a gift from God and then allow God to use you to accomplish something greater than showing off. You can give it back to the Lord. You can use that gift to be an evangelist. You can use that gift to serve the needs of others. If you are good at organizing events, making phone calls, making delicious meals, speaking effortlessly and being able to convince people, give it to Christ. Allow him to use your gifts to further his kingdom. If you have the gift of courage, don’t just use it to defend yourself. In fact, it is properly a gift when it is used to serve the other, the little ones of Christ. Christ gave you that gift so that you can use it for his purposes. Look at the saints up and down the centuries who were called to do dangerous and difficult things. Think about St. Alphonsus Liguori who gave up his law profession and career, became a priest so as to serve the poorest of the poor. Think about the marvelous courage that enabled him to do what he did. That courage you have, that academic prowess of yours, that ability to accomplish what others can’t etc. has not been given to you for your advancement. It has been given to you because Christ wants to use it to do sometimes dangerous and difficult work. If you are a good teacher, maybe Christ wants to use your teaching skill to teach young people our faith. If you have profound sympathy for the poor, something that not everybody has, maybe Christ gave it to you because he wants you to give it back to him in the service of the poor. Trust me, the way you look at our life will radically change if you allow this principle to sink in— the Master has need of it.  

Check this out, everybody! It would have been a different story if the owners of the animals had refused to give them up. Interestingly, the Gospel did not give us their names. But does it matter? What matters is that they were kind enough to let Jesus use their much valued animals. And by so doing, they contributed something that enabled Jesus to ride into Jerusalem and complete God’s assignment for him. Mind you, it is this accomplishment that has brought us victory in Christ, friendship with God, grace in the Spirit, salvation through faith and accompanying good deeds. 

Let me wrap up by focusing on these words of the Lord, “untie them and bring them here to me.” A tethered animal is stuck; it is in one place and can’t move. The sad news here is that there are many people who are tethered. They are tied to the goods of this world, to their own projects and plans. They are tied to their own petty reputation, ego and pride. They are tied to wealth, power, honor and pleasure. They are tethered and tied to these things. It is therefore amazing that two of the Apostles of the Lord came and untied these animals. The grace of Christ wants to untie us and set us free from these attachments that we have so as to be of service to him. When you serve the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not a kind of servitude or enslavement. In fact, it is a liberation. So, on this Palm Sunday, identify with these animals. Look at your whole life and say, “The Master has need of it,” and then give your life over to him. 

God bless you and welcome to Holy Week!

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A

Why Did Jesus Weep?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A

St. Bridget Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

In recent years, there has been a tendency to reduce Jesus to the level of a great teacher or a great prophet or guru. Non-Christians and disappointingly some Christians try to domesticate him, and present him merely as a moral teacher or philosopher. But that is not how the Gospels present him. The most fundamental thing to know about Jesus is that he is God. Jesus is the God-man. Although there is a hyper stress on his humanity, and yes, Jesus is human, but the most important thing to also know about him is that he is divine as well. As God-man, he came primarily as a cosmic warrior whose final enemy is death. He has come to do battle with those forces that keep us from being fully alive. The great St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human person fully alive.” God wants us fully alive, and those forces that prevent us from being fully alive, Jesus came to battle with them. 

Our Gospel for today is the raising of Lazarus. Lazarus is a friend of Jesus. When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters, Martha and Mary sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” Upon hearing the news, Jesus waits for two more days before going to Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus. By the time he arrives in Bethany, Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. But while Jesus was still on his way, the sisters of Lazarus heard about his coming. The older sister, Martha, unable to wait until he arrives at their home, storms out to meet him. Standing before Jesus, Martha laments, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” With hopeful and assuring words, Jesus replies, “Your brother  will rise again.” But Martha thought he was talking about the final resurrection of the dead. Then Jesus makes the most fundamental statement upon which the whole of Christianity rests upon, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, they will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). After that, Martha returns and tells her sister Mary that Jesus wants to see her. By this time, Jesus is yet to enter their village. Maybe the crowd accompanying him is slowing down his journey. After all, the town of Bethany is not far from Jerusalem where the Jewish leaders are plotting to put Jesus to death. When Mary meets Jesus, she falls at the feet of Jesus and says to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Overtaken by grief and emotion, Mary begins to weep. Seeing Mary and the Jews who accompany her weeping, Jesus is deeply moved by their grief, and he weeps with them. Jesus then proceeds to the tomb of Lazarus. There, he asks them to remove the stone that covered the hillside burial place. Once that is done, Jesus looks up to heaven, prays to his Father and then commands, “Lazarus, come out!” From eternity, Lazarus hears the voice of Jesus, comes out of the tomb. Immediately Jesus commands, “Untie him and let him go.”

The narrative of the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a long one. There are several spiritual and theological themes to explore and preach about. Because of time constraints, I will limit my homily to the question, “Why did Jesus weep at the grave of Lazarus?” He knew he had the power to raise Lazarus, so why did he cry? By the way, this question has been a subject of debate among theologians, preachers and everyday Christian. For St. John Henry Newman, Jesus wept because “Their tears touched him… (just) as their miseries had brought him down from heaven. His ear was open to them, and the sound of weeping went at once to his heart.” In other words, Jesus wept because he cared. In every way, he was touched and moved by human misery. Jesus was and is not an indifferent, detached, unfeeling and stoic Savior. He is not indifferent to our reality. Jesus wept because he identified with the anguish of Martha, Mary and the Jews  and understood their sorrows. That’s what friends do. They cry when you cry. Add to it, Jesus wept because he hated to bring Lazarus back from heaven. He knew he was going to interrupt the heavenly bliss of Lazarus. He was about to interrupt the perfect joy and peace of his friend, Lazarus. He was about to cut short Lazarus’ perfect union with God and the saints. Lazarus was already having a great time in heaven, and now, all of that would stop at least for a moment. Jesus knew that heaven is the most wonderful place to be. It is the utmost desire and longing of the human heart. He wept for cutting short Lazarus’ full participation and enjoyment in heaven. Jesus also wept because right at the grave, he saw once again the consequences of sin. It is sin that brought about death. God wants us to be fully alive. The glory of God is the human person fully alive, so whenever we are not fully alive, God weeps. 

The shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” (edakrusen ho Iesous in Greek) reveals the humanity of the Lord. He wept over the death of Lazarus; and the bad news is that he still weeps. Jesus still weeps over the destruction of human lives around the world. Look at Ukraine! Because of one man’s insanity and obsession, a once peaceful nation is facing a total wipe out from the face of the earth. Jesus wept and still weeps over the way we treat each other. He weeps at the fading of real love, sacrificial love. What we mostly see today is transactional relationships or what is today known as “situational dating” or “situationship”, and not true love. Genuine love is fading, and our world is becoming cold, inhospitable and intolerable. Jesus weeps over the growing religious apathy and indifference. He weeps for the increasing loss of the sense of the sacred and God among many people. He weeps for the spread of secularism and secularist ideology that tells people that they don’t need God to be truly happy, that all they need to be happy is more money, more power, more wealth, more honor, and more fame. Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus and he still weeps over the death of humanity in many people. Humanity is the condition of being human. To be human is much more than being in existence and being alive. Being able to eat, talk, engage in activities and move around tell you you are still alive. According to one of the giants of Russian literature, Leo Tolstoy, “If you feel pain, you’re alive, (but) if you feel other people’s pain, you’re a human being.” Jesus weeps because the human being in us is fading. 

The world population today is about 8 billion. That means we have 8 billion people, but how many of this huge number are human beings? This makes Jesus weep. Jesus wept and still weeps for the death of many dreams, death of faith, and the death of God in many hearts, homes, families and nations. Jesus wept and still weeps over the abuse of the wonderful things he has given to us. Food and drinks are being abused and being turned into idols. He weeps over substance abuse. A lot of people are controlled by food; their life is dictated by food and harmful drugs. Jesus wept for the death of Lazarus and he still weeps for the death of many people due to hunger, poverty, treatable diseases and neglect by their government and society. Jesus weeps for the division of our world into belts of prosperity and belts of poverty. He weeps for the division of the world into two rooms. In one room, things go to waste; in the other room, people are wasting away due to abject poverty. In one room, people are dying from excess and surplus, and in the other room, God’s children die from penury, poverty, destitution, misery, and deprivation. Jesus weeps that in one room, people are concerned about being overweight and obese, and in the other God’s beloved children are begging for charity. Jesus is aggrieved that poverty and deprivation are disfiguring his children. He weeps that untold suffering is assaulting and damaging the dignity of many. And why does Jesus cry for these situations? It is because each of these conditions prevents us from being fully alive. And the glory of God is the human person fully alive. When we are not fully alive, when we are not thriving at every level of our life, God is not happy. God is not glorified. Jesus is saddened. When people, under the weight of suffering, lack, and dehumanization weep, Jesus weeps with them. But each of us can lessen the tears of the Lord by bringing relief and new life to others. There are many Lazarus out there lying in their graves and waiting for another Christ— you and me, to bring them out of the grave. Individually, collectively, as a church we can speak like Jesus, “Lazarus, come out!” When the biblical Lazarus emerged from the grave, what did Jesus say to the people around? “Untie him and let him go.” The central mission of the Church from the time to Jesus to the present day is about untying and setting prisoners free. Remember the ongoing Synod in our Archdiocese. It is about evangelization. And evangelization is about bringing the wandering ones to Jesus. If you are not personally involved in the synod, you can pray for those who are currently being trained to return to their parishes later to inject fresh fuel that will kickstart the mission of untying the bounds. 

God bless you!

Reasons To Not Trust Any Human Being Absolutely

Reasons To Not Trust Any Human Being Absolutely 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Thursday, March 16, 2023

“Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

In ordinary human conversations, we often hear the expression, “Don’t trust anyone,” or “No body can be trusted.” As we can see, the assertion to not trust any human being is biblically based. But does it mean that I cannot and should not trust even my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, close friends, fellow priests, my staff in the office? Does it mean that married people cannot trust themselves? Does it mean that parents cannot and should not trust their children and vice versa? Not so fast! Aside from family members, we have met people who are indeed trustworthy; people whose yes is yes and whose no is no. We have friends and colleagues at work that have proven to be reliable and worthy of trust. So, there are human beings out there who can be trusted. But the Bible is laying a curse on anyone who trusts in human beings. What does it mean? It means do not trust any one absolutely, perfectly and unreservedly. The person worthy of such a trust is God alone. 

Why is absolute trust in any human being a serious error in judgment? I have two reasons: one, existential reason, and two, the moral factor. Existential reason is the fact that we come and go. In his Five Ways to Prove the Existence of God, the great St. Thomas Aquinas writes in the Third Way, which he terms, Possibility and Necessity, “We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be:” contingent beings.” He adds, “It is impossible for contingent beings always to exist.” The human race, like all created things, are contingent beings. It is impossible for us to always exist. Describing the nature of our earthly existence, the Apostle James says, “You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears” (James 4:14). We are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Because the human person is a puny creature, it cannot and should not be trusted absolutely. Because we are not able to achieve immortality, none of us can be trusted absolutely. We are here today and tomorrow we are gone. During my mother’s earthly existence, I relied a lot on her prayers. I trusted in her prayers because she prayed for me endlessly. As a priest, I would kneel down before her and she would lay her hands on my head and say lengthy prayers for me. Even if I wasn’t praying as much as I should, one thing I assured myself of was that my mother was praying for me. I built my confidence and hope on the very fact that my mother is mentioning my name and offering me to God whenever she prays, which is a lot. But one day, I got a call from my elder brother and the heart wrenching news was, “Father, Mama has died.” The thought of her not being around anymore to support me with her prayers deeply hurt and bothered me. I know she is still praying for me in heaven; the communion of saints tells me she is still praying for me, however, it is by faith that I accept such. Obviously, it is not the same as kneeling before her and hearing her voice as she prays for me with her two hands placed on my head. 

There is no earthly immortality for anyone. The man or woman you are building your earthly edifice upon, could be no more. If they are in powerful positions and use their power and connection to protect you from getting into trouble, they could lose such positions. They could be transferred to another position. They could retire. They could die suddenly. Things can quickly change. When that happens, all the mighty edifice you erected upon them will come down crashing. Trust people, but not absolutely!

Moral factor is the second reason why trusting a human being extremely and thoroughly is a very wrong move and a bad idea. Even a saint can stagger, wobble and fail.  The consequence of Original Sin is real. Our nature is wounded due to the sin of our first parents— Adam and Eve. According to the great scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas, Original Sin produced four wounds: the wound of ignorance, the wound of malice, the wound of weakness, and the wound of concupiscence. All of these make it onerous for every human being to be sinless and spotless in every single way. The inclination to the good of virtue is diminished in each of us. In some persons, the will to do the good is hardened by evil thereby making it more difficult for them to engage in good actions. 

Moral factors are a strong reason why no one should be trusted absolutely. Stories abound of parents who murdered their children and children who murdered their parents. There are lots of stories of people who betrayed their friends. What about people in marriage? Marriage is the most intimate relationship, yet, married people don’t always keep the promise they made to each other. Human nature is hunted by Original Sin. A good example of betrayal is that of Julius Caesar and Brutus and Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. Consider the words of Caesar to his friend Brutus: “Et Tu Brute.” Imagine the emotional pain and the indescribable shock of Caesar. In the famous literature from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar play, a group of murderers- including Brutus- ganged up to murder Julius Caesar. As they were stabbing him, Caesar saw his friend, Brutus and staggered towards him, appealing to him, but Brutus stabbed him. In his infinite shock, Caesar said, “Et Tu Brute, which means “You too Brutus?” Afterwards, he fell to the ground and died. 

Don’t trust any human being absolutely. Why? Because we don’t persist in existence. We don’t live forever here. We come and go. So, don’t absolutely trust someone you are going to lose one day. The person can either die leaving you behind, or you can die leaving the person behind. The fact that we are all wounded is another reason to not trust anyone absolutely. Ambition, quest for power, honor, pleasure, and wealth have driven many to murder, give up, and betray even the most intimate of all relationships. Once more, the person worthy of absolute trust is God alone. God is immortal. He does not die. He does not wear out. He does not grow old. He is unchangeable. Secondly, God is incorruptible. More to it, God is love. His essence and nature is love. Eternally and infinitely, God wills the good of the other— you and me, and has already done something about it. To a certain degree, trust people who have proven themselves trustworthy, not absolutely. Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob deserves such trust. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Have faith in God and also have faith in me.” Another way of saying it is, “Trust God and God’s Son, Jesus Christ to the highest and greatest degree. As for those you love, you can only trust them relatively. 

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A

“I Do Believe, Lord.”

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, March 19, 2023

The story of the man born blind is the summary of the spiritual life on full display. His story is the story of the human race. What happened to him is what happened to all of us. He is every one of us because in original sin we all are born blind. How come? In the Bible, blindness is a symbolism of sin. It is used as a spiritual metaphor to describe the spiritual condition of someone who is unable to perceive divine revelation. 

In our Gospel for today (John 9:1-41), John says “As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.” As the Savior of the world, Jesus responds by doing something strange and weird: he makes a mud paste and rubs it on the blind man’s eyes. After that, Jesus tells him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man comes back able to see, his neighbors and the Pharisees struggle to recognize him. Confused and mystified, some of them wonder if it is the same man, maybe it is just someone that looks like him. Others cautiously say it is the man born blind. Now, what is staring us in the face in this biblical narrative is that once a person puts on the Lord Jesus Christ, they are changed in every aspect of their life. When you allow the Lord of life to reign supreme in your life, people who used to know you will wonder and ask “What happened to him?” “Are you sure she is okay?” They will think you are odd and different from what you used to be. But don’t worry about being called odd, weird, strange, medieval, out-fashion and old-fashion. Centuries ago, one of our ancestors in faith, the great St. Paul writes, “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).  

After Jesus has healed the man and restored his sight, you might think that the story is over. In fact, in John’s narrative, the story takes a dramatic turn. The Pharisees question the healed man because Jesus healed him on a Sabbath day. In an attempt to undermine the person and ministry of Jesus, the Pharisees state, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” They are basically telling the formerly blind man that the man who cured him is using a dark and demonic power. But the man isn’t having any of their arguments. Beautifully he throws a question to them, “How can a sinful man do such things?” His question injects division among them. In their desperate effort to subvert and compromise the work of Jesus, the Pharisees ask the man, “What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?” (Jn. 9:17). He replies, “He is a prophet.” Still not convinced, the Pharisees involve his parents. When his parents refused to be dragged in, they said to the formerly blind man, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” In his response, the healed man notes cleverly, “I do not know if he is a sinner. But one thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” Amazing words! In those words, he states the simple spiritual fact, that we come to vision through Jesus Christ. 

But why did the Pharisees use every trick to undermine, ridicule, and impede what Jesus did for this man who was born blind? Why are they attributing this miracle to dark powers? The clue might be found from the very beginning of the story. At the beginning, Jesus’ disciples had asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” That is, who is responsible for his predicament? Can we blame him? Can we blame his parents, his family, his ancestors, his lineage, past or present generation? The disciples are looking for a scapegoat whom they can blame. The Pharisees are also playing the same game. They see themselves as disciples of Moses and as the good ones. Are we totally free from this behavior? No! Sometimes even without knowing it, we define ourselves by pointing out someone who is outside our group, someone who is worthy of blame, someone shameful. By restoring this man’s sight, Jesus does the following: one, he absolves him of being the cause of his blindness; two, he restores him back into the human community. The Lord wants him involved and fully alive. Three, Jesus mocks the attribution of misfortune to personal sin. Lastly, in a phenomenal fashion, he announces the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Like the disciples, the Pharisees wanted the healed man blamed and excluded, but the Messiah who has come to gather the tribes, heals the man so that his expulsion and exclusion from the community will end. 

In furtherance of their effort to exclude the man born blind from the community, the Pharisees threw him out for refusing to accept their conclusion regarding Jesus: that he is a sinner and not from God. Having been thrown out, Jesus locates him and asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He responds, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Upon realizing that the man who restored his sight is the Son of Man, he declares, “I do believe, Lord.” And immediately he worships him. Whenever we recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostles Creed, we declare, affirm, and state our faith in God the Father, in God the Son, and in God the Holy Spirit. We unapologetically say that we believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Like the Samaritans, we categorically say that Jesus is “truly the Savior of the world” (John 4:42b). The challenge now is to do every day what the man born blind did when he came to the knowledge that Jesus is the Son of Man— that is, to worship him. Speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus says, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.” What does it mean to worship? It is to put every ounce of your trust in the Lord. It is to de-center your ego and re-center it on Christ. To worship is to make every aspect of one’s life all about Jesus. 

God bless you!

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A

Christ Is The Rock And The Gushing Water 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, March 12, 2023

The book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible that narrates the exodus and liberation of ancient Israel from slavery in Egypt in the 13th century BC. Before their historic escape, they were slaves in Egypt. And during those long years, they experienced unspeakable suffering in the hands of their host, the Egyptians. They were subjected to hard labor and harsh treatment. As a result, they lamented all day, and cried all night. After 400 years of grueling and bruising anguish, God stepped in. He became personally and intensely involved to set things right and to right the wrongs. To set their freedom in motion, God chose a young Israelite man, named Moses. At the time when Moses was chosen by God, he was running away from Egypt. Why? Moses was born when the enslaved Jews were forbidden from having male children. Any male child born, according to the rule of Pharaoh, was to be put to death. Moses was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh, and was raised in the environment of power, favored position and great opportunities. Despite his privileged position, the heart of Moses was with God’s enslaved people. As a true Jew, Moses was interested in the welfare of his fellow Israelites. One day, upon seeing an Egyptian beating an Israelite, he attacked the Egyptian and killed him. To save his own life, Moses fled the land and went to the land of Midian. Towards the end of his 40 year sojourn in Median, Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s flock (Jethro by name) near Mount Horeb when he was amazed to see a thorn bush flaming with fire but not being consumed. It was there that he encountered God who now informed him that he, Moses, has been appointed as the deliverer of his people. 

Under the leadership of Moses, the Israelites escaped from Egypt. On their way to the Promised Land, they found themselves without water and immediately began to complain to Moses saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and livestock?” Because of momentary thirst, they forgot that the same God who performed great miracles through his servant Moses as they were making their exit from Egypt is also able to provide their immediate need of water. Because of thirst, they actually preferred remaining well fed slaves to hungry free people. Because of surmountable thirst, they quickly forgot that the great mighty God of battle is also a great provider (Yahweh Jireh). 

But the God of Israel is faithful. He will not bring you out of trouble and then abandons you halfway. If God is leading you through the dark, he is not going to abandon you halfway in the journey. His light will not cease. If it appears that his light is fading or has faded, it is you who moved, not God. God is a faithful God. In 2 Timothy 2:13, St. Paul says that “Even if we are not faithful, God remains faithful because he cannot be false to himself.” So, the shifting spiritual position of Israel did not affect God’s kindness and compassion. Once Moses prayed to God and said, “What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me,” God answered him. God does not disappoint. When God sends you on a mission, he does not leave you all by yourself; he follows you. He accompanies you as you carry out his injunction. Instructing Moses, God said to him, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” Here is the watchword, “This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.” With this, God demonstrated again to the Israelites that his name is Yahweh Jireh, God the great provider. 

Sisters and brothers, the rock that Moses struck represents our Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking about Jesus, Peter said he is the living stone rejected by the people as but chosen by God and precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 2:4). From this rock will come forth springs of living water. From this rock will burst forth the fountain of life. From this rock will emerge a new life, a new era, a new dawn, a new history and a new experience. Jesus is the Rock. He is also the water that bursts forth from the rock. Jesus is the water of life. In the Gospel of John 7:37, Jesus declares, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink” (John 7: 37). Jesus is indeed the Rock. He is also the living water. Are you thirsty? Are you vulnerable? Are you standing on a sinking sand? You need Jesus desperately. 

Christ is my rock, my refuge, my stronghold

Firm as the tree’s root that clutches the land

He who has faith builds without worry, not like the man who builds upon sand

I set my house on a solid foundation

Christ is my rock, the root of my soul’s recreation.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

Become A Member Of The Family Of Abraham

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, March 5, 2023

In the book of Genesis 3:1-7, we see the biblical account of the disastrous fall of our human progenitors— Adam and Eve. Their fall from grace to grass, from innocence to guilt, from perfection to imperfection happened precisely because they stopped listening to the voice of God. They fell because they listened to the voice of the tempter and to the demands of their own desires. What followed from their disobedience? After they stopped listening to God, what happened next? Dysfunction! Disorder! Tohu-va-bohu! And it came in different ways, from jealousy to rivalry, from hatred to cruelty and murder etc. Adam and Eve were punished; the tempter was cursed; Cain murdered his brother Abel. The human race was poisoned. What began with two people impacted and affected the entire creation showing us that sin is contagious. It could begin very small but could very quickly spread through an entire community. At the beginning of creation, there was Tohu va-bohu, that is the primal watery chaos, out of which God brought order. But through disobedience, through sin Tohu va-bohu has returned. 

Did God abandon our first parents to their misery? Not at all! He came up with a backup plan. Our first reading (Genesis 12:1-4a) for this week is the account of the beginning of God’s great rescue operation. It is important to know that God is able and capable of setting things right from outside. But our God is a relationship building God. He wants to set things right from inside and with our involvement. He wants to save us but with our cooperation. So, God chose Abram, formed a holy people, a people set apart, Israel, so that they might become a new healthy and contagious family. And from them will spread God’s way of thinking, God’s way of being, God’s way of acting. God chose Israel so that they might become a light to the rest of the world. Check this out! Trouble began when God’s human creatures—Adam and Eve refused to listen to God’s command. The solution began when one humble man, Abram, as a new Adam, listened to God. God does not want us trapped and stuck in sin. He wants us fully alive. To put it in human language, God is pained with our lack of life. So, God launches a rescue operation with the choice of a simple man, Abram from Ur of Chaldeans. God chose him not because he was great in the eyes of the world. God could have chosen someone with great military background, someone with impressive political and cultural influence. But God did not. Rather, he chose Abram, an insignificant man in the calculations of the world. More to it, Abram was not a young man. He was already 75  years old when God called him. Is it not surprising that this man’s mission started at 75 when he was supposed to have retired from anything active? Yet, he was the one that God called and said, “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” Abram’s response is one of the most important lines in the Bible: “Abram went as the Lord directed him.” 

Now, in that seven lettered phrase, we find what makes all the difference. The human creature’s troubles began when they refused to listen to the divine command. The solution began when one human being, Abram, listened. Did Abram have the temptation to stay in his father’s house and in the land of his people? You betcha! He had family, livelihood, friends, familiar surroundings, and he was already an old man. The natural tendency would be to stay and not follow a strange command from a strange voice. But he pushed his needs and desires aside and followed the voice of a higher power. And this higher power took him on an adventure. It is not easy to leave one’s comfort zone. It is not easy to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar and to make it familiar. But centuries after Abram, St. Paul, a spiritual descendant of Abram said, “The power of the almighty is working in you, He can do anything you can ever imagine.” What’s the implication? Trust him! Trust him! Trust him! Beyond your ego, there is power already working in you. This power can do anything you can ever imagine or ask him. All you have to do now is to trust him. Listen to him. Trust him. Leave that which you are familiar with. Leave the settled way of sin and go on an adventure with God. Leave your familiar environments, go on an adventure and become a member of the family of Abraham. He is our father in faith. Right? Faith is openness. It is willingness to listen and to do what our father in faith, Abram did: he went as the Lord directed him. On the other hand, sin is a kind of faithlessness. It is a refusal to trust. It is a refusal to listen. By listening, you become a member of the family of Abraham. You become part of the solution that God continues to present to the sinful world. And here is the most delicious part of it: Abraham’s blessings shall be yours too. 

God bless you!