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

Threefold Movement Of Discipleship

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

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

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, September 3, 2023

We Christians love the juicy and delicious aspect of Christianity. We love to hear about Jesus’ mastery over the forces of nature. As I was coming of age, his great miracles of healing and deliverance were hyper-stressed in sermons. As you would expect, this hyper-emphasis on the miracles of Jesus gave birth to a new teaching that presents Jesus as a wealth creator, an investment banker, as someone you must go to if you want to be rich. Do you want to be wealthy? Come to Jesus, prosperity preachers will say. And when you come, sow hefty seeds and hefty tithing. Embarrass God with your large donations. Shake the kingdom of God with your offering and then watch as God opens the heaven and allows wealth to rain on you. This deviant theology teaches that God rewards faith and hefty tithing with financial blessings and riches. Two American televangelists, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker are the fathers of this kind of theology. Till date, prosperity gospel is still part and parcel of many charismatic movements in Christianity. What’s wrong with prosperity theology and preaching? Among other things, the idea of self-denial and the cross is hardly talked about. It over-emphasizes financial blessing, worldly comfort and physical wellbeing. Material riches and wealth are seen as proof of a person’s uprightness. If you are wealthy, it means you are upright and God is blessing you. But if you are not, something must be wrong with you. 

But in today’s Gospel, Jesus says something that counters the central claim of prosperity theologians and preachers, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Prosperity theology is not about denying oneself, rather about gaining everything. Prosperity preaching is not about carrying the cross, rather it is about avoiding it, and going after the crown, cheap crown as I call it. It is about using hefty tithing and seed sowing to avoid the cross. I get it! The issue of denying oneself is almost a foreign term to us. We don’t think in terms of denying ourself. We think in terms of denying ourself of something. That means, I can’t have candy, I can’t have drink etc. But to deny oneself is to make God, and not self, the absolute center of one’s life. Jesus is not asking us to deny “what we are,” but “what we have become.” Each of us is an image of God, that means we are something very good, as God himself said immediately after creation. We are wired for God, so said St. Augustine. We are created for God. God created us to know him, love him and serve him in this world and live with him forever. Sadly, we live as if we are created for pleasure, prestige, wealth, power, and fame. Our human dignity is contingent in the very fact that we are created by God. Unfortunately, we are resting our dignity on worldly goods. Therefore, what we must deny is not “what we are,” but “what we have become.” We are not to deny that which God has made, but that which we ourselves have made by misusing our freedom— the evil tendencies like pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy and sloth. St. Paul calls this disfigured image, “the earthly image,” in contrast to the “heavenly image” which is the resemblance of Christ. 

Denying ourselves is not a work of death, but one of life, of beauty and of joy. It is also a learning of the language of true love. Think of two young people who love each other. But they belong to different world views, two different nations, and speak completely different languages. If their love has any chance of growing and surviving, one of them must learn the language of the other. Otherwise, they will not be able to communicate and their love is most likely not going to last. This is how it is with us and God. We speak the language of the flesh, God speaks that of the Spirit. He speaks the language of love, and we speak the language of selfishness. For us to truly live, we must speak God’s language of love. Denying oneself is learning the language of God so that we can communicate with him and communicate with each other. You won’t be able to say yes to the other unless you are willing to say no to yourself. You lose nothing good denying yourself. Your being increases in the measure that you give it all away. 

What does it mean to take up one’s cross? Believe me, we have a very cosmetic view of the cross because we have seen it for so long as a religious symbol. But for the first nine centuries of the Christian dispensation, artists couldn’t depict the cross, because it was so gross, so gory, and too brutal. The extreme violence we see in Mel Gibson’s movie titled, “Passion of the Christ” only came close to the actual nature of the cross and crucifixion, but never the accurate depiction of a Roman crucifixion. Oftentimes people likened the cross to an illness, or to a bad marriage, or financial problems or to any difficult situation they are into. They attribute any heavy burden they are carrying as the cross. But that’s not what Jesus meant. The way of the cross is the way of death. It is to die to that image of yourself you have invented. It is to die to that image that is not the image of God. It is to die of that image you have become— selfishness, pride, arrogance, hatefulness, divisiveness, unforgiving soul, morally bankruptcy, larger-than-life-view of the self etc. and rising up with Jesus, through Jesus and in Jesus our Lord. Your cross is not about things; we are not talking about hurts and pains. We are talking about the willingness to die to self in order to find life again in service of God and others. At the Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “…not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Carrying your cross is letting the will of God be done in your life. What do you think is God’s will? What does God want from us? Relationship! But not for God’s benefit but ours. God does not need anything. 

Far from seeking power and position— I’m going to be the head and not the tail; far from pursuing wealth— I will be the giver and not the beggar; far from running after honor— let my enemies live long and see what I will be in the future; far from seeking the reward of pleasure— I am made for divine health and will never suffer; far from chasing after a destiny changer, discipleship involves a threefold movement: denial of self, taking up the cross, and following after Jesus.

God bless you!

Homily forThursday, August 31, 2023

“Stay Awake!”

In his book, Confessions, Saint Augustine wrote what is indisputably considered as one of the most quoted phrases in our Christian tradition, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” I tell you, I have read this quote in Catholic and non-Catholic literature. Why is this St. Augustine’s prayer so famous? Every Christian and I add non-Christians understand the stubborn fact that we are wired for God. Our hearts are truly restless until they finally find rest in God. Whether we know it or not, whether we realize it or not, God is the deepest hunger of the human heart. Nothing can finally satisfy this hunger but God alone. But if for whatever reason someone finds a phony rest in what St. Thomas Aquinas called the four false substitutes for God—wealth, power, pleasure and honor, the person is in the condition of what the Bible calls spiritual sleep or spiritual slumber. Spiritual slumber is dangerous; the cost is often abject spiritual poverty. When you are spiritually asleep, your ability to produce and yield the fruits of Christianity and be useful is significantly tarnished and diminished. 

In our Gospel for today, Jesus says, “Stay awake!” (Matthew 24:42) What does it mean to stay away? It is to persistently and relentlessly find rest and refuge in God. It is to form the habit of resting in God. It is to see God as the Summum Bonum, the highest Good and the greatest pursuit of one’s life. Now, this does not stop you from living your ordinary life. This does not prevent you from having other interests like getting married, raising your family, going to work, going to the grocery store, shopping, going out with friends and colleagues for lunch or dinner, hanging out with others and playing Bingo game, being interested in entertainments (sports and movies), in politics, in community organizing, in advocating for justice and peace etc. Christianity is not a sad and depressing journey. As humans, we are definitely going to be interested in other things aside from going to church, but if the organizing principle of your life and activities is God alone, then you are spiritually awake. You are staying awake. If Jesus is at the center of everything you do, if he is the Governor and the commanding General of every aspect of your life, then you are an awakened disciple. 

Is it possible to find happiness in the goods of the world? Sure! Worldly goods can give some excitement, some comfort, some ease, some pleasure, some confidence. But it will eventually wear off. With the passage of time, it will fade away. They are fleeting and transient items. There is no permanent rest in the goods of this world. Check this out! In the opening prayer of the Mass, for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary time, we hear, “O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.” Honestly, this prayer summarizes what it means to “stay awake!” Staying awake, therefore, is to finally realize that the true and lasting happiness is in God alone. It is to habitually fix your heart, mind, soul and being in that place and in God where true gladness is found. 

What can help us stay awake? Forming the habit of going to Mass at least every weekend, making personal prayer the fulcrum of your daily life, using the sacraments, studying the Bible, reading pious, spiritual and theological articles and books, joining a society in your parish that can help deepen your relationship with Jesus, being a hearer and doer of the Word of God, surrounding your life with discipline etc. If something is so important to you, if fixing your heart on that place where true gladness is found is of great importance to you, if you really want to stay awake as the Lord exhorts us, you will surround your life with discipline. What does that mean? It means the formation of good character and habits. Even when you are tired of praying, you will endeavor to pray. When you are emotionally not in the right place, and it is Sunday, you will get up and go to Mass. If some friends are inviting you to an event that may jeopardize your faith, expose you to an intense temptation, or that may scandalize another, you say no. When you eat, drink and dance, you do them with moderation. Even your speech and thought-patterns will be trained in the Christian way. You will control the words of your mouth and the meditations of your mind and heart. Making these the habit of your daily life and having your eyes fixed on our Jesus Christ is what it means to stay awake. 

God bless you! 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Thursday, August 31, 2023

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

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

Who Do You Say That I am?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

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

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, August 27, 2023

The practice of conducting opinion polls in political, economic and socio-cultural fields can really help us understand the Gospel of Matthew 16:13-20. In this Gospel passage, we are told that after his emergence at the public scene, Jesus travels with his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi. There, he conducts an opinion poll about himself. Turning to his disciples, he asks, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples say, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Like any celebrity, Jesus had generated a buzz of interest. People are wondering “Who is this man?” There are many opinions and interpretations being bandied around about him just like in our culture today. But what all these popular opinions had in common is that they are dead wrong. 

Having heard the results of his opinion poll, Jesus turns to his inner circle, the Twelve, and asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter speaks, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter could have said, “Your are the Messiah,” that is, “the anointed one” who would gather the tribes of Israel, cleanse the temple and defeat Israel’s enemies; but he added that astonishing phrase, “Son of the living God.” So, even at the early stage of Jesus’ public ministry, Peter knew that Jesus was much more than a prophet or rabbi or seer. He knew there is something qualitatively different about his Master. Responding to Peter’s amazing confession, Jesus makes one of the most extraordinary declarations in the New Testament: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Neither the crowds nor the aristocrats knew who Jesus was— only Peter knew. And Peter knew not so much from his intelligence or from the great education he had. Peter wasn’t well educated. He was a small business owner and fisherman. His knowledge of Jesus is purely a gift from God, a special charism of the Holy Spirit.

Now, it is important to note that Jesus did not ask what people think of his teaching or what impression he is making. His question is about his true identity— Who do people say that I am? By the way, no other religious figure focused on himself. Buddha said there is a way that I discovered and I want you to know it. Muhammad did not focus on himself. He said there is a revelation I received and I want you to know it. Confucius did not talk about himself, but about the path he found. As for Jesus, he asks, “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?” To answer Jesus’ first question is easy. It does not require a personal experience of Jesus to answer it. The reading of the Bible, the hearing of the good news, meditation, prayers, Mass attendance, participating in the sacraments, membership of the Church, lively faith, pursuit of holiness, working for peace and justice, practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy etc. are not needed to answer it. A person does not necessarily need to have an ongoing relationship with Jesus to attempt to answer it. To answer it, what a person needs is to simply look around and listen to public opinion, to gossip, to what people are saying about Jesus. But to be able to answer the second question, one must look inward, listen to a completely different voice, a voice that is not of flesh and blood but that of the heavenly Father. The answer we give to Jesus’ second question will be determined by how each of us relates to him. Is Jesus someone you make out time to visit and speak to in prayer? Is he worth your time on Sunday, on Holy Days of Obligations, and even during the week? Is he someone you can trust? Does he deserve your love? Is Jesus worth falling in love with? Do you see him as someone whose love and compassion for you is exceedingly profound and whose forgiveness for you is matchless? Do you see Jesus as someone who has the authority to tell you how to live, what to do, what not to do, how to relate with others, and how to honor God? Is Jesus your numero uno? Is he someone you are enthusiastically looking forward to spending eternity with? If you haven’t been in touch with him, do you miss him? And do you think he misses you?

Like the Apostles, we could also tell what the crowds are saying about Jesus. That’s alright! There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s the starting point. Our relationship with him most probably started with what others told us about him. But we have to move beyond that. We have to move beyond what others have told us about him in order to know him more personally and more intimately. How can a person know Jesus personally and intimately? The same way we get to know a person personally. If you want someone to be your friend, you have to meet the person and talk to the person. After that, the two of you must continue to talk either face to face or via the telephone. The conversation must be ongoing. You are also going to spend time together. Now, talking and spending time with God and with Jesus is called prayer. There is no other way to personally know Jesus except by prayer. There is no shortcut! As Catholic Christians, we should not be satisfied knowing what others have said about Jesus, we must know and encounter him personally. An encounter with Jesus changes and transforms lives. It was such an encounter that prompted St. Augustine to declare: “Late have I loved you O Ancient Beauty. Late have I loved you. You were with me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you…I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst more.” The Psalmist felt so comfortable in the presence of the Lord that he proclaimed: “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord God of host” (Psalm 84:1).

God bless you! 

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Amazing Faith And Amazing Grace

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Theresa of New Hope

Sunday, August 20, 2023

The biblical God is an electing God. He is a choosing God. Of all the people in the world, he chose Abraham and from him formed a great nation. Between two brothers, Esau and Jacob, God chose Jacob and not Esau. Among the twelve sons of Jacob, God chose Joseph and not his brothers. Of all the people in the ancient world, God chose Moses to be a great liberator of an enslaved people— Israel. Of all the nations of the world, God chose Israel and not Egypt, not Rome, and not Persia. Israel was chosen not because it was a great nation or the most upright nation. Israel’s election by Yahweh was purely by grace, an unmerited gift and choice of God so that it would be a vehicle for the salvation of all. 

With this in mind, let’s look at today’s Gospel passage. Matthew says that Jesus is in a pagan territory. He is traveling with his disciples when an unnamed Canaanite woman calls out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” This woman represents the yearning of all of us, the longing of the world for justice, mercy, healing, favor, break-through, peace, ease, freedom, safety, and the love of God. Like all of us, the Canaanite woman may have sought help elsewhere but didn’t get it. She may have been promised by other sources and other powers that her daughter will be well; but rather than get better, her daughter’s condition worsened. Seeing Jesus pass by, she senses correctly that this is where her daughter’s only hope of healing and deliverance lies. So, she begins to cry out for help. What is Jesus’ first response to her prayer? Silence! The Lord’s responses to this needy woman ranges from silence, to an indirect rebuke, and to an outright insult. When Jesus kept silent to the woman’s request, his disciples beckoned on Jesus to send her away. Responding Jesus says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In those words, the Lord reaffirmed the election of Israel. Once again, Israel is chosen and elected by God not because of their justice or the integrity of their heart (Deuteronomy 9:4-6). Israel was chosen for service. God wants to use them to reach out to the whole world. 

Although Jesus echoes the election of Israel and the very fact that he is primarily sent to them, this woman is not discouraged one bit. In fact, she doubles down. She moves closer to Jesus, worships him and pleads further, “Lord, help me.” Even after being told that it is not right to give to dogs the food meant for the children, she was not discouraged. She rolls with Jesus’ punches and responds with faith that pleases the Lord. With this, Jesus says to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her troubled daughter was instantly healed and set free from demonic possession. But why did Jesus delay giving the Canaanite woman what she asked for? Why does God delay in answering prayers? Many preachers will say that Jesus is testing the woman to know her faith. As plausible as that answer appears, it is actually not true. The Gospels present Jesus as someone who has access to the minds of people. He knows the secret thoughts of people. So, he does not have to test the woman to know her faith. As the very incarnation of the God of Israel, he knows the minds, the hearts, and the dispositions of people. He already knew the faith of the Canaanite woman. Jesus tested the woman in order that she might just know how great her faith is. This was St. Augustine’s explanation for why God sometimes says no to our repeated prayer. And this is why perseverance in prayer is so strongly recommended in the Christian tradition. 

In my pastoral ministry, I have heard people say, “I never knew I had that courage until I was pushed to the wall.” “I never thought I was that strong until I was tested.” “I never knew how strong I was until I had to forgive someone who wasn’t remorseful and never apologized.” It was the great Reggae singer, Bob Marley who said, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” That’s the Canaanite woman. Jesus tested her, pushed her to the extreme wall in order that she might discover and know how great her faith is. Some of us would have given up asking if silence was the response given to us. If we don’t give up at the silence stage, some of us will give up at the indirect rebuke stage when Jesus declares that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I can imagine many of us concluding at this point, “Well, I tried” or “This man is mean and unfair!” or “This man is discriminating against me; he is not a good person. He is not a prophet.” And those who were not put off at the second stage of indirect rebuke, may most likely frown and walk away at the final stage of insult. I can see the quick-tempered ones among us, the aggressive ones gearing up to throw their own insults and walking away. But not the Canaanite woman. She was stretched. Her faith was tested. In the end, she demonstrates the great faith she has. With her daughter under the captivity of Satan, she understands that the only choice she has is to stay strong in her faith. Eventually her persistence pays off. Does she deserve God’s grace? Not at all. But that’s all of us. None of us deserves the grace of God. Jennifer Hudson, in one of her songs captures this theme beautifully, “I am not perfect, but he loves me anyway.” 

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Keep Your Eyes Fixed On The True Son Of God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, August 13, 2023

The divinity of Jesus Christ is something we cannot possibly be overemphasized. How come? In recent times, there has been a disturbing tendency to turn Jesus into an inspiring spiritual teacher and one religious founder among the many like the Buddha and Mohammed. There is a growing movement in our culture to reduce Jesus to one inspiring teacher among the many. But if that’s all he is, then let us all go home. If Jesus were just another inspiring spiritual teacher, let us stop praying in his name, stop praying to him, stop evangelizing in his name. If he is nothing more than an inspirational teacher, then our ancestors in faith who died for him were at best reckless and fools. But the good news is that the Gospels are not content with such a reductive description of Jesus. Though Jesus is presented as a teacher— he taught a lot like the sermon on the mount, the parables, the Eucharistic discourse etc., the authors of the Gospels know that he is infinitely more than that. There is something else at stake in him and our relationship to him. 

In today’s Gospel passage, we are told that after miraculously feeding the people, Jesus instructs his disciples to get into a boat and head to the other side, while he dismisses the people. Once everyone has gone, he goes to the mountain to pray. As the boat is heading to the other side, a whirlwind ensues. As this is going on, Jesus comes to them walking on the sea. What is the implication of this? God’s Lordship over the sea is one of God’s unique characteristics in the Old Testament. By walking on the sea, Jesus embodies Yahweh’s Lordship over the elements. More to it, the Book of Genesis tells us that in the beginning, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the surface of the tohu-va-bohu, that is, the primal chaos, the stormy water. By hovering over the chaotic water, Yahweh’s Spirit, his breath brings order out of chaos. I tell you, no first century Jew experiencing this event or reading this story would miss that Genesis overtone. Jesus walking on the water is the very incarnation of Yahweh bringing peace and calm. We are told that when the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were utterly terrified. They thought they had seen a ghost. Reassuring them, Jesus says, “Take courage; it is I; do not be afraid.” That little phrase, “It is I,” is the English translation of the Greek, “Ego emi,” (I am). “Ego eimi” evokes Exodus 3:14 when Moses asks God, “What is your name?” Responding, God says, “Ego eimi ho on” (I am who I am). So, when Jesus walking on the water says “It is I; do not be afraid” he is declaring that he is the presence of Yahweh, the Creator and Redeemer of his people in the flesh. 

In the narrative, we are told that Peter and the other disciples were in the boat. Whenever the Gospels speak of Peter and other disciples in the boat, that’s the symbol of the Church. It is all of the disciples of Jesus making our way through the stormy waters of time. Don’t forget, we are on a journey. Like Peter and the disciples, we are heading to the other side. We are in the same boat. We are all sea-sick. We are haunted by all manners of storms— trials, temptations, tests, injustice, health problems, social, cultural, religious and economic unrest, corruption, moral failure, death of a loved one, joblessness, insecurity, mass shooting, political upheaval, threat to democracy, lack of trust etc. Everyone is facing some kind of storm. Like the disciples in the boat, we are mortally terrified. But from the lips of Jesus our Divine Master we hear, “Do not be afraid.” You know, Jesus is the only one who can truly assure us that we don’t have to be afraid. Anybody else in this world— politician, social activist, philosopher, cultural leader, spiritual leader, musician, physician, etc. is incapable of giving us this real and final assurance. Why? Because they are also in the tohu-va-bohu with the rest of us. At best, they can give us a kind of mitigated peace, they can hold off our fear for a time. But none of these figures, and nobody in the world can give us peace that lasts, peace that reaches down to the bottom of the heart and soul. Who alone can give that? God! This is why the divinity of Jesus matters so much. If he is, as many have said, just one more spiritual leader, he can give us some interesting insight, but not the final, soul-transforming peace. Nobody, except the Divine One can possibly give us such assurance and confidence. 

Notice that the moment Peter looks away from Christ the Divine One and pays attention to the waves, he begins to sink. When we put our confidence in anyone else, in anything other than Jesus, we will sink back into the tohu-va-bohu. This is a great spiritual lesson to learn. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Christ, as long as he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, he was able to share in his divine power. Peter is able to walk on the water. Notice also that the waves didn’t stop. The chaotic water didn’t become still, calm and peaceful. As Peter kept his gaze upon Jesus, the storm continued but he was able to walk over it. He didn’t sink. The powerful force of the waves didn’t blow him away. The water did not consume him. But the moment he looks away, takes his eyes from Jesus and concentrates on the stormy water, he starts to sink. Do you know that the sacraments give us a share in the divine life? We can participate in what Jesus has by nature. We can walk on troubled water too— the water of failure, the water of sin, the water of fear, the water of ill-health. We can walk on them only if we can keep our eyes fixed on the Divine One, Jesus Christ our living Lord. But if you put your faith in power, wealth, pleasure, honor, fame, money, the latest technology, the latest ideology or philosophy, the reigning thing in the world, you will sink so fast to the bottom of the tohu-va-bohu. 

In conclusion, it is not by accident that as soon as the boat got to the shore, the disciples of Jesus worshipped him. They didn’t just thank him. They didn’t just say, “Oh, thank God you showed up when you did.” They didn’t just say, “What a great thing he did for us.” No! They got it. They worshipped him. The disciples in the boat understand who Jesus is. They know he is not just a mere spiritual leader or one more inspiring teacher. They know he is more than that. That’s why they confessed: “Truly, you are the Son of God.” And up and down the centuries, that remains the confession of the Church. When we stop making that confession, we stop being the Church.

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

When God Speaks, He Whispers! 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, August 13, 2023

To truly understand Elijah, you must among other things, examine the meaning of his name. In Hebrew, it is Eliyahu, which means, “Yahweh is God.” The meaning of your name could define and explain what your identity and mission are about. Elijah means “Yahweh is God,” and in many ways it generates a great spiritual question: Wh0 or what is your God? By God I mean “ultimate value, ultimate concern, final preoccupation.” At the end of the day, what matters most to you? What are you finally about? In itself, family is a great thing. But if your family matters most to you, you are a family person. In itself money is good, but if money matters most to you, then you are a money person. In itself, pleasure is not evil, but if pleasure matters most to you, you are a pleasure person; you are Epicurus. Epicurus was an ancient Greek philosopher who said that the greatest good was to seek for pleasure and freedom from fear and bodily pain. If sex matters most to you, then you are a playboy. If business matters most to you, then you are a busy company person. What matters most to you tells you the kind of person you are. And that which matters most to you is actually what you worship. It is your God, your highest value. As for Elijah, he is a Yahweh man. God is his final preoccupation. It is the reason why he challenged the king of his time, king Ahab, because the king has abandoned the true God, Yahweh, and gone after false gods. That’s why he challenged the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. In the contest, Elijah said to them: call upon your gods and after you, I will call upon my God to see who answers with fire. The prophet’s name is Elijah. He is a Yahweh man. He is a man of God through and through. 

The first reading (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a) for this weekend is a continuation of the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal. In the contest between Elijah and the priests of Baal, Baal utterly proved itself unreliable, impotent, and deaf. But the moment Elijah, the Yahweh man called upon Yahweh, Yahweh answered with fire, thereby showing himself as the only true, living and most reliable God. Caught in the excitement of his victory, Elijah slashed the throats of the fake priests. When Queen Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab, the king of Israel at the time heard what Elijah had done, she sent the troops after him. To save his life, Elijah fled the land. After a long journey, he settles on mount Horeb, also known as mount Sinai, the mountain of God. It is the same mountain that Moses received the Ten Commandment. On this mountain, Elijah was told that God will be passing by. And what follows is an impressive display of natural power: “A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord.” There was an earthquake and a great fire. Those are terrifying forces. Some years ago when I was in Memphis, Tennessee, I remember seeing on television the powerful and destructive effects of natural powers like tornadoes. When it landed in Joplin, Missouri, it destroyed and flattened cell towers, damaged 75% of the city and destroyed 20% of its buildings. It was so devastating. Imagine how these forces must have impacted ancient people who didn’t have any means of protection. 

Now, let’s read these impressive natural disasters symbolically. The wind, the earthquake, the fire stand for those mighty and impressive goods of this world that beguile and impress us— money, fame, prestige, political power, family, nationalism, tribe, etc. We really want them and we want them now. But as impressive as these are, we are told that “the Lord was not in the wind or in the earthquake or the fire.” The Lord, the true God, Yahweh is not similar to any of the great powers of this world. He is not identical to those values, forces, and institutions that catch the attention of our minds and imaginations. After the impressive display by those natural forces, we are told that “…there was a tiny whispering sound.” And when Elijah heard it, he knew that was God. Elijah was not preoccupied with the affairs of the world no matter how impressive they are. He knows that the true God can only be heard with ears that are finely attuned. He knows that God’s voice can be heard through the sounds of a roar, but not any sounds of the roar. God’s presence can be discerned in all things but God is nothing in the world.

Elijah’s great virtue is that he is able to discern the difference. He is not distracted by the impressive values of the world. Rather, he listens, waits, discerns and is able to give himself to the true God alone. This story of Elijah is a very powerful one. His experience is so important especially for our time when secularism is spreading like a wildfire. What’s secularism? You can characterize secularism in a number of ways. But in the light of this reading, I will describe it as the culture’s incapacity to hear the tiny whispering voice. Secularism is a complete surrender to the powers of this world like pleasure, money, power, fame, prestige, institution, domination etc. A secular man or woman is someone who has utterly surrendered to them. What does our secular culture need? Many armies of Elijahs! Elijah criticized the king of his time for surrendering to a false god. Do we have people today who can criticize a political figure even if they voted for him and still like him? Our culture has gone into all sorts of worship of false gods. We need people with the spirit of Elijah who can discern the tiny whispering voice, the voice of Yahweh. 

In our great Gospel of today (Matthew 14:22-33), we find Peter and other disciples in the boat. That boat stands for the Church. Peter and the disciples in the boat are all of us. As they are making their way to the world, they are met by a great wind and a mighty storm that threatens their lives. This echoes Elijah’s experience too. Just as we can be defined by the things we seek and love, we can also be defined by our fears. What are you afraid of? If you answer honestly, you have done a very important spiritual work. Maybe you are afraid of losing a family, losing your health, losing your wealth, losing your position in society, losing your good name, or losing your life. These are real and okay. We all have those fears. But problem comes when we become defined and determined by these worldly fears and worldly aspirations. In the midst of the storm, Jesus comes walking on the waters. Jesus is the God who transcends anything that frightens us. At his best, Peter keeps his eyes on Christ and for that moment is able to walk on water. But when he looks away, and identifies with what frightens him, that’s when sinks. Don’t identify yourself with what frightens you. Rather keep your eyes on Christ just as Elijah kept his ears attuned to the tiny whispering voice. If you do this, you will find the capacity to overcome even your greatest fears.

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Today, we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord. The story begins with Jesus taking three of his disciples— Peter, James and his brother, John to a high mountain, and right before them, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling and brilliant as light. But before the disciples realized what was going on, two great figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah appeared to them and began to discuss with Jesus. Moses was the supreme law-giver of Israel; the one who received the Ten Commandments. Elijah was regarded by many as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. He was seen as the prophet who brought the very voice of God to his people. In Jesus, Moses and Elijah saw the consummation, the fulfillment of all that they hoped, longed for and looked forward to.  

What do you think would be the reaction of the three disciples? Look at it this way! Their master who took them to the mountain has suddenly changed in appearance. More to it, two strange figures who were originally not part of the team unexpectedly appeared and took over their time out with Jesus. What would be their reaction? My guess is that they would be terrified and dumbfounded. But just like in other situations, Peter, the impetuous one, ended their speechless bewilderment with these words: “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” In St. Luke’s account of the Transfiguration we hear, “He (Peter) did not know what he was saying.” Well, as Peter was saying something he did not know, someone said something he knew perfectly well, something that is true and indisputable: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Those are the words of the Father. They are words of testimony and confirmation. The Father knows what he is saying. He is telling Peter, James, John, me, you, the human race that Jesus is the hope of humanity. It is through him, and with him and in him that salvation can be attained. It is “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts. 17:28). The appearance of Moses and Elijah, to a great extent, did confirm that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews and that of the world, but their confirmation wouldn’t have been powerful enough without that of the Father. So, from the cloud, the Father revealed and confirmed loud and clear the true identity and mission of Jesus. Simply put, the Father is declaring that salvation is possible only by listening to Jesus. 

Jesus grew up in obscurity. We know almost nothing of his first 30 years. But in 30 AD, he emerged on the public scene in a most extraordinary way. On the hills of Galilee, he preached with unnerving boldness. The Gospel of Mark tells us that the first message out of his mouth is “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). In our culture, when we hear the word “repent,” we frown at it. Some of us consider it “too judgmental.” Others quickly conclude, “Well, I have nothing to repent from. I am a good person.” But even a saint repents everyday. The word “repent” in Greek is metanoia, which literally means “Go beyond the mind you have.” That is, change your way of thinking; change your way of seeing. How do you assess the world? What is your priority? If your priority is not God, change your mind; change your mentality; change your perspective. Why is the changing of our minds so important? Jesus says it is because “the reign of God is at hand.” God is now here, not in a distant land far away, not in the mountain or in a desert. He is here with us, among us and in us. 

In the course of his public ministry, Jesus taught about love too. To his followers, he says, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35). How did Jesus love us? Take a look at the cross! To love is to will the good of the other as other. Love is not a feeling, although it might include feeling, but it goes beyond it. Love is a selfless and sacrificial project. We are to love until it hurts, without counting the cost and even when it is very difficult to do so. Of course, none of us will be able to do this without him who called us to live this way. As branches of the true Vine, we can only bear fruits of sacrificial love if we remain in him because “Cut off from me, you can do nothing” Jesus says (John 15:5b). What about prayer? Jesus says we should pray always and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). What about the poor among us? Jesus says, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:40). What about the greatest gift of himself? Jesus says, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” (John 6:53). What about forgiveness? Jesus says, “When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions” (Mark 11:25).

Brothers and sisters, it is impossible to be a faithful and fruitful disciple without listening and obeying Jesus. As we listen to him, our human nature is transformed into the likeness of his divine nature. As we listen to him, we become more and more like the One we are listening to. We become more transformed and transfigured, and our lives definitely will radiate and reflect the glory of the Lord. I leave you with this question: Whose voice are you listening to?