Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The Strict Logic Of Love

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, November 3, 2024

In the Judaism of Jesus’ time, there were hundreds of commandments, laws, rules, regulations that governed almost every aspect of Jewish life. So, it was a common practice among the rabbis to inquire from one another what is the greatest, the central commandment, and the organizing principle of the law. Sometimes to ensure clarity and succinctness, a rabbi was compelled to offer this summary while standing on one foot. Following this custom, a scribe in our Gospel today (Mark 12:28-34) comes to Jesus and asks, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” He is basically asking the Lord to identify, from all the many laws they have, the first commandment. What does Jesus say? He answers with what the ancient Israelites referred to as the shema: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” I tell you, this requires a closer examination of conscience. In fact, whenever you are preparing to go to confession, begin the examination of your conscience with this first commandment that Jesus gives: Is God the one Lord of my life? Is God the organizing principle of my life? Who or what is competing for my attention? Who or what are God’s rivals for my attention? Who or what is my ultimate concern? You can also turn the question around and simply ask: Does everything in my life absolutely belong to God? 

I can guess what’s going on in your mind right now. You are probably saying to yourself, “But God is a Spirit being. How can I give myself to a reality that I cannot touch or see? This is where the second command that Jesus gives comes into play. When the Lord was asked by a scribe which commandment is the first, he responds with the shema, but then he places a second commandment alongside it, which is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” After that, he intensifies the inseparability of these two loves by declaring, “There is no other commandment greater than these.” Why does Jesus do that? By the first century AD, there was already in Judaism a recognition that these two commandments— (love of God and love of neighbor) summarized the two tablets of the Decalogue—the Ten Commandment. If you look at the first three commandments inscribed on the first tablet— prohibition of idolatry, prohibition against taking the Lord’s name in vain, and keeping the Sabbath holy, they are all commandments orientated towards the love of God. In the second tablet of the Ten Commandments— honor your father and mother, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t bear false witness, don’t covet your neighbor’s possessions or wife—these commandments are orientated towards love of neighbor. So, what Jesus is essentially doing is condensing the Ten Commandments down to their essence and to their core, and then linking those cores to the two passages of the Scripture: Deuteronomy 6 (love of God) and then Leviticus 19:18 (love of neighbor) which is not part of liturgical prayer, the Shema. 

But why are the two commandments so tightly linked in Christianity? Because of who Jesus is. Our Lord is not simply a human being, and he is not simply God; rather he is the God-man, the one in whose person divinity and humanity meet. So, it is conclusively and definitively impossible to love him as God without loving the humanity that he has, in his own person, embraced. The strict logic at work here is this: when you really love someone, you tend to love, as well, what they love. What does God love? He loves everything and everyone that he has made. God loves your enemies, your haters, your political adversaries. He loves people of other tribes, races and religions. So, if you want to love God, and you find the move difficult because God seems so distant to you, love everyone you come across for the sake of God. Finally, what does this intertwined love of God and neighbor look like? To answer this question, we have to turn to the saints— St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Oscar Romero, servants of God, Sister Thea Bowman and Dorothy Day and on and on and on. From each of these saints, we learn what it means in practical sense to love God and neighbor.

May God give you peace!

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Enduring Lessons From The Narrative Of Blind Bartimaeus

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 27, 2024

The story of blind Bartimaeus is a simple but powerful narrative of one man’s determination to be healed. In Mark’s Gospel (10:46-52), we hear that as Jesus is leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, who sits by the roadside begging, begins to call out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Think about this! Even before he had personal contact with Jesus, he already believed Jesus to be the Messiah. While the Pharisees are portraying Jesus as fake, casting serious and damaging doubt over his authority and aligning him with Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24), a blind roadside beggar has accepted Jesus to be the One, the long expected Messiah. “Son of David,” which Bartimaeus called Jesus is the title that Matthew used in the opening line of his Gospel to prove to the Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:1). The title is a reference to the Messianic promise in Isaiah 9:6. The Messiah would be a descendant of David whose kingdom would last forever. 

As Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, the crowd tried to shush him. But he kept calling out more and more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” This time he got the attention of Jesus. “Call him,” the Lord said. Some people went to Bartimaeus and said to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” I tell you, those others who told him that Jesus was calling him are like the Church, they are like missionaries and evangelists. Telling someone that Jesus is calling him or her is essentially the work of each one of us. Upon hearing that Jesus is calling him, the first thing he did was to throw aside his cloak, which was something of great value to him. He cast aside his old life, just as Peter, Andrew, James and John did. When Jesus called them, all immediately left their fishing nets, their fishing business and their old life to follow him. After casting aside his cloak, Bartimaeus sprang up to his feet. He did not dither, rather, he acted. From the time of throwing aside his cloak to springing up, he did not allow any temptation of doubt to enter. In the presence of Jesus, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He told Jesus his greatest desire, “Master, I want to see.” Without delay Jesus speaks the word that completely changed his life: “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” The Lord did not have to touch him for him to receive his sight. His faith in Jesus has already triggered the restoration of his sight. 

Now, there are a few lessons we can learn from the story of blind Bartimaeus. First lesson. Knowing the real identity of Jesus is vitally important. If Bartimaeus knew Jesus as one teacher among the many teachers in Israel, he wouldn’t be motivated to cry out to him for healing. If all he knew about Jesus was merely a nice and gentle figure, Bartimaeus would probably ask Jesus for money or food, after all, he was on the roadside begging. If Bartimaeus’ notion of Jesus was that of a moral teacher, a sage, one of the great figures around, I don’t think he would bother reaching out to him. Our notion of Jesus determines how we relate to him. Bartimaeus called Jesus “Son of David” a title which we hear from the lips of Jesus is an inadequate depiction of himself (Matthew 22:41-45), but what Bartimaeus lacks in his view of Jesus, he makes up with the show of great faith in Jesus. 

Second lesson. Don’t let anyone silence your voice or dampen your passion when you are speaking or chasing after Jesus. Today, our society has increasingly become very secular. People including Christians prefer to talk about sports, entertainment, weather, climate, food, politics and world affairs. Speaking about Jesus, about faith and religious issues have become so rare. Why? Because many religious people have allowed the noise of secularism to silence them. We are now afraid or ashamed to mention the name of Jesus in our conversation. We are even intimidated to utter the blessing words, “God bless you” to someone we want to express gratitude to. It has become more convenient  to talk about great sports men and women, about pop artistes, about celebrities, and about individuals who have done well in the country. But what about Jesus? In Mark 17:37, we hear that people who live in the district of the Decapolis (ten cities), while speaking about Jesus, said, “He has done all things well.” Jesus has not only done all things well, he has significantly altered the course of history. He has impacted everything from western culture and ethics to social structures, due to his teachings on love, compassion, forgiveness, and the worth of every individual. Jesus has taught us what really matters and what really endures. As such, he deserves to be spoken of every day and every time. So, don’t allow the voices of secularism, of godlessness, of consumerism and the undue glorification of science to silence your passion for Jesus. 

Third lesson. Obstacles will be put in your way. Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to cast aside every obstacle as we run the race that lies before us. Like Bartimaeus, we have to make a decision to run to God even when things get in our way. The story of blind Bartimaeus should be our story. As many people around us run away from God, we should run towards him regardless of what others say to us. The desire to be with God should be so high and so great that we don’t allow any obstacles to be in our way. Bartimaeus did not let anything— his blindness, the hostile crowd— prevent him from getting to his Savior. 

Fourth Lesson. Stop paying attention to the crowd. Stop listening to the majority. The crowd is hardly correct. The crowd hardly gets it right. At the trial of Jesus, it was the crowd that shouted “Crucify him, crucify him.” But was Jesus guilty? Not at all! Yet, the crowd condemned him. Remember Barabbas. During the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate, after examining the case against Jesus, found him innocent. Since it was the Jewish custom that someone is released from prison at the Passover feast, he inquired if Jesus should be released. The crowd again chose Barabbas over Jesus to be released by Pilate. So, stop paying attention to what the crowd is saying. They hardly get it right. In the story of Bartimaeus, the crowd tried to silence him. Had the crowd had their way, Jesus would have walked past the blind man. The crowd is always changing. They usually respond to external stimuli which are prone to change. If you are going to follow your purpose, you cannot base your decisions on a standard that is constantly changing. God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Our actions should be based on what he says rather than what the world dictates. 

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Be Careful What You Ask For

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 20, 2024

The idiomatic expression which says, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” is often used to warn people to think deep and hard before they say what they want because if that request is granted, it might not make them happy. It is a cautionary tale that encourages us to think properly, to consider the pros and cons of our request before we make it, because what we want may have unexpected negative consequences. It was the great Saint Teresa of Avila who said, “More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.” For example, someone who wants to be a manager at work may find that the job has too many responsibilities and he no longer enjoys it. A couple may want and pray for twins without knowing the cost of having twins. About two weeks ago, a young priest said to me over the phone, “Father, you did not tell me this is what my life will become.” This priest was recently installed as a pastor. This is his first time being a pastor. Before then, he had worked as an associate and a hospital chaplain. Previously, he had told me he would like to be made a pastor, and I had actually warned him that if I were him, I would prefer to stay in the hospital as a chaplain. Now, he is a pastor and he is dealing with the different intricacies that come with the work. 

Today’s Gospel readings (Mark 10:35-45) begins with two of Jesus’ disciples grasping for greatness, as they understand it. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, want to sit at Jesus’ right hand and his left when he comes into his glory. Approaching Jesus, they said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” After their first request, Jesus indulges them, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They make their second request, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Now, from their vantage point as Jews, their request makes sense. At this time, the two brothers are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. And the Messiah is meant to be the king who is going to reign over the twelve tribes of Israel, and by extension, he is going to be the Lord of all nations. That was the expectation of every Jew, and it was also the expectation of these two brothers. Simply stated, James and John want to be Jesus’ prime ministers when he begins to reign as the king of Israel. But they clearly don’t know what that means. And if Simon Peter or any of the Apostles knew the true cost of what the two brothers were asking, they would have said to them, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” Jesus offers them a path to greatness, but it is a very different path than the one they had in mind and had imagined.

What is the supreme irony of this story? The two brothers wanted a place of power and honor when Jesus comes into his glory. When does Jesus come into his glory? On the cross where he wears the crown of thorns. James and John wanted the glory of sitting next to Jesus, but what they did not know is that Jesus’ glory is not glory as we know it. They did not understand that Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). They came to Jesus asking for privileged positions in his anticipated success, his power and glory. But Jesus’ success, power and glory will come through his self-abandonment, passion and death. His success would be to die in order to give us life. Jesus came into the world for that very purpose: to die. That is what he meant by “the cup that I drink” and “the baptism with which I am baptized.” James and John asked for earthly glory, but they would get something far greater than all that is in this world— a far higher kingdom and power and glory, namely, heaven and holiness. They would become saints, not Caesars. They would attain true and permanent happiness and joy, not one that comes and goes. They would be remembered globally long after they lived and died, not just for a time. 

Sisters and brothers, it is okay to have ambitions. It is okay to seek privileged positions. It is okay to aspire for places of honor and power. But seek them for the sake of God. Seek honor for the greater glory of God. Seek for power in order to use it to do the will of God in the world. Do you want power and honor? Ask for them as long as you want them on Jesus’ terms, and not yours. And before you make that request, think properly about it. Be careful what you ask for. Your request may actually be what you don’t want. 

God bless you!

Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The Highest Adventure Of the Spiritual Life

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, October 13, 2024

The great French Catholic philosopher Blaise Pascal, made a distinction between the goods of the body, the goods of the mind, and the goods of the heart. The goods of the body are those things that money can buy—a nice place to live, nice car to drive, nice clothes to wear, good and healthy food to eat. In themselves, they are good, but we are not meant to be stuck at that level. We must move towards the goods of the mind which transcend any of the goods of the body. And what are those? Blaise Pascal says they are philosophy, metaphysics, mathematics and higher sciences. Why are these important? He said they make you more refined and bring you to a more refined world. But Blaise Pascal said that beyond the goods of the body and the goods of the mind are the goods of the heart. What are they? They are those values, those things associated with God.

Today’s Gospel is the narrative of a rich young man. This story must have struck a strong cord for the authors of the Gospels because it appeared in all the synoptic Gospels. Matthew wrote about it. He says the man was young and rich. Luke wrote about it. He says the man was an official and rich. Mark also wrote about it. He says the man was rich. This unnamed man has four things to be admired of— money, political power, social power, the energy and enthusiasm of youth. These four things, in themselves are good, but without wisdom, knowledge from on high, they can be misused, abused, and idolized and can become addictions. In every way, this young man is a good man. Mark says that as soon as he sees Jesus, he runs to him, kneels before him and then asks the most important of all the questions anyone can ask in this life: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” I tell you, there is something absolutely right about this young man, something spiritually alive, something so powerful that it should never be ignored, and that is his profound desire to share in everlasting life. He is looking for what Blaise Pascal calls “goods of the heart,” those things associated with God. 

Look at it this way. He has the goods of the body. The Gospel says he is wealthy, which means he can afford all the pleasures of this world. He also has the goods of the mind. How do we know that? This is evident from the fact that he called Jesus “good” and “teacher.” Obviously he has been listening to Jesus’ teaching. He has been taking it all in. The Lord’s teachings have evidently refined his mind and thought. Now, he wants the goods of the heart, which are those things associated with God. And where can he get them? Not from the world. Not from his vast resources. Not from the company of fellow rich people, not from his social status, but from God himself. So, he comes to Jesus. Although he has all the goods of the body and the goods of the mind, he implicitly knows they are not enough. If they were enough, he would not bother an itinerant preacher. He knows that the goods of this world, no matter how great they are, are not eternal. They don’t and can’t satisfy the deepest longing of the heart. 

How does Jesus respond to his crucially important question? He takes him to the commandments. Jesus enumerates many of the commandments. The rich young man considers it, and then replies, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” He has covered the basis; he has eliminated the fundamental violations of love. This is a sign that this man is spiritually serious. Reading his heart, Jesus senses he is being honest, and with love he says to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have. Give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” Actually, this is the pivotal moment of this story. This is the rising or falling point of the story. The young man is a good man. He has good instincts. He has the goods of the body, but he is not stuck at that level. He is seeking for the highest goods, the goods of the heart. He comes to Jesus in search of the goods of the heart. Jesus looks at him and sees that although he is a spiritually serious young man, he is still too drawn, too attached to the goods of the body, the goods of the world. He still has the tendency to switch back to the goods of the body— power, wealth, honor and pleasure. So, Jesus invites him to set aside those things and to follow him to the height, to the height of spiritual life. He invites him to a great spiritual adventure. Jesus points to him what it would take for him to inherit eternal life. What does the rich young man do now? 

At this point, we hear one of the saddest lines in the whole Bible, “…his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” You know, it is so rare in the Gospel that Jesus calls someone and the person does not respond. When he called Matthew, Matthew got up and followed him. When Jesus called James and John to follow him, they left everything including their father and followed him. When Peter said to Jesus, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man,” Jesus did not depart from him, instead he called him to become a fisher of men. As for the rich young man, he went away sad. He is looking for eternal life, but at a decisive moment, he tragically balks. He decisively refuses to comply. He allows his many possessions to possess him. What is this young man lacking even though he keeps all the commandments? What is going to prevent him from entering eternal life? Two things! First, his attachment to his wealth. Second, his unwillingness to follow Jesus as a disciple. The Lord is basically saying that you not only have to keep the commandments, you also have to detach yourself from your possessions and then come and follow him as his disciple. Following Jesus, so to speak, is the eleventh commandment. Detachment is actually freedom. We are enslaved to whatever we cannot part with that is material. We need detachment from everything that is not God. My late mother used to say, “That which you think is greater than God, don’t give it to me. I don’t want it.” So, it is all about detachment from the goods of the body and then giving ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ. The Buddha did not know of Jesus, but he knew the human race very well. He taught that the source of all human misery and suffering is attachment, “grasping” or greed, or selfishness. In Luke’s version of the Beatitude, Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor.” Is Jesus glorifying economic poverty? Not at all. He is basically saying, “How lucky you are if you are not addicted to material things.” Authentic freedom does not come from clinging to things, but by detaching from things. What is your attachment? Are you willing to let it go and to follow Jesus? 

God bless you!

Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Biblical Anthropology And Christian View Of Marriage

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, October 6, 2024

The central themes that run through this weekend’s first reading (Genesis 2:18-24) and the Gospel (Mark 10:2-16) are biblical anthropology, that is, who we are in the presence of God and the Christian understanding of marriage. In the opening line of the first reading we hear, “The Lord God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.” I tell you, if you sit and meditate on those words, you will discover it is one of the most fundamental statements of biblical anthropology. God has created Adam, but God immediately realizes that it is not good for the man (Adam) to be alone. The implication here is that we belong in community; we belong together. After the creation of Adam, God brought forth to Adam all kinds of animals and Adam named them one by one. Although Adam was not literally all alone, he was surrounded by many animals, but none of these animals could function as a proper partner to Adam. None of them was a suitable partner to Adam because they are not co-equal to Adam. What Adam needs is not someone he can dominate but someone that can respond to his intelligence, to his emotion, to his creativity, and to his depth of personality. Adam was basically a lonely man. To solve this problem, God puts Adam into deep sleep, and from his rib God creates Eve. Now, don’t read this as a symbol of a woman’s inferiority. It is rather of a woman’s radical co-equality with the man. She is not like the other animals that God brought before Adam that Adam dominates and controls. This is the reason why upon seeing the woman, Eve, Adam joyfully says, “This one, at last, is the bone of my bones and the flesh of my flesh.” In other words, his co-equal partner. Long ago, Aristotle said that you can only have authentic friendship with someone who is your co-equal. And he’s so correct. You can only have authentic friendship with someone whose gaze meets your gaze, whose intelligence meets your intelligence, whose curiosity meets your curiosity, whose capacity for love meets your capacity for love. So, in Eve, Adam finds his friend, the one whose bone is his bone, and flesh his flesh. 

In the last verse of our first reading, we hear, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). What a truly loaded statement. Three things mentioned in that statement that we should not ignore are leaving, clinging and becoming one. For those who are married, if you want to know how your marriage is going, use the three to assess it. For those who are single, if you want to know how your relationship with Jesus Christ is going, you can also apply those three things. Those three things relate not only to Jesus’ relationship with us but also our relationship with Jesus. For those who are married, it relates to your relationship in holy matrimony. If there is any problem in your marriage or in your relationship with the Lord, it is in one of these areas or in all of them. 

The first is leaving. In a marriage relationship, it is very important that the man and woman leave their past behind. It is important they detach from friends and sometimes family members that are affecting their relationship in a negative way. It is also important that you leave behind your spouse’s past ugly life behind and begin to see her or him as a new person. Oftentimes we leave our own past behind, but then we find it very difficult to leave our spouse’s past behind. In general terms, if we are serious in following Jesus, we need to leave the philosophies of this world behind. We need to leave secular views and start listening to Jesus. We need to leave false idols— power, wealth, honor and pleasure of this world behind and then give ourselves completely over to the Lord. Interestingly, Jesus left heaven and came to earth in order to pursue us. We need to leave sin behind and follow the Lord. In our last weekend Gospel, Jesus uses  exaggerated language to urge us to cut off anything or anyone that is hindering and blocking our salvation. So, in your relationship with the Lord, have you left everything behind and follow him? The second thing is clinging. In a marriage relationship, the husband and wife are to cling to one another. What does that mean? It means they are in a sense vigorously pursuing one another, trying to outdo and beat each other in the expression of their love, affection, and in every aspect of their life. As for all of us married or single, being a Christian is often described as a journey out of the world of sin into the world of love. In John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that even though we are in the world, we are not of the world. And to be not of the world will require clinging tenaciously to the Lord. In Jesus of Nazareth, God came to the world to pursue us. So, rather than run away from him, we should run towards him and cling to him. 

Finally, the third thing is becoming one flesh. Husbands and wives are literally called to become one flesh. What does that mean? They are to have one vision, one dream, and one plan on how to raise their children. The Bible says that two people cannot walk together unless they agree. Husbands and wives should have one aspiration. Both should love God and pray together. And if you are single, you are called to become one flesh with the Lord. He leads and we follow. If you want a healthy relationship in your marriage, you have to leave many things behind, you have to cling unto each other and when you do, you will become one. If you want a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ, you have to leave the world, cling to Jesus and become one with him, especially by attending Mass regularly and receiving the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the most real and profound way we are christified and become one with the Lord and with each other in the Body of Christ.

God bless you!