Homily for the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Who Is Your Spiritual Guide?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Jesus is the definitive and eminent spiritual teacher par excellence. He is the Good Shepherd we the sheep must follow. He is the divine Voice we all should listen to. But in today’s Gospel (Luke 6:39-45), which is the end of his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus speaks about other spiritual teachers and guides we might choose after him. We live in an era where everybody is, for the most part, a journalist. If you have a smartphone and know how to use it, you are a journalist. You can record your own speeches and post them online. You can also record other people’s speeches, take pictures of events, record live-videos of events and post them on your social media page. Now, as good as this is, it has also provided a platform for many ignorant and mischievous people to weigh into matters and issues they have absolutely no idea about. The other day, a young lady, a Nigerian-British writer and podcaster, Chidera Eggerue said while speaking to people who have the patience to listen to her, “Encouraging women to get married is like encouraging them to step one inch closer to their death because men are women’s apex predator.” Imagine such a fallacious hasty generalization. Surprisingly, this young lady has an audience that listens to her. On social media— Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok etc. you find a lot of people claiming to be guides, teachers, gurus, moral and spiritual guides. As a Christian, how do you find someone trustworthy? If you are looking for a spiritual teacher and guide, someone to follow and listen to, how do you discern and then decide on whom to listen to? St. Paul speaks about discerning the spirits. So, be careful who you listen to in every issue— be it social, moral, cultural, political, and spiritual. 

In his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus asks a very important question, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” If you are spiritually blind, you don’t know where you are going, the worst person to choose is someone who is as blind as you are. He is not going to lead you to safety. Common sense tells us that. Isn’t it? If you follow a wrong teacher, they can actually lead you to spiritual death. As I said before, Jesus is the definitive spiritual teacher and guide. From his lips we hear, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Before you choose someone to be your spiritual guide and teacher, the first question you should ask yourself is: has this person surrendered to Christ? Is she a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? Now, I am not saying there are no truths in other religions and spiritual traditions. At the Second Vatican Council, the Church avers there are some truths in other religions. But if you are looking for the fullness of truth, and not some truth, the Catholic Church is your destination. If you are looking for the light and not the rays of the light, Jesus Christ is that light. He is the light of the world. And those who teach in his name and follow his path, they are the ones you should follow. 

The second question to ask is: who do I want to be like? If you want to be like Jesus, then find a teacher whose life conforms to that of the Lord. You should not listen or follow on social media someone who has not entrusted his or her life to Jesus. If you follow a conman, a fake prophet or prophetess faithfully, you will become like them. So, look for someone who is clearly a disciple of the Lord. 

The third question to ask is: does this man or woman speak and act like someone who needs a Savior? I tell you, a good spiritual teacher or guide is someone who acknowledges his own need for a Savior. The person who can best lead you to Christ is someone whom Christ has saved, and the person knows that he or she has been saved. If you want to be saved, if you are looking for salvation, if salvation is your top priority in your journey, then follow someone who has been saved and knows it too. We often speak about evangelization. What is it? It is one starving person telling another starving person where to find bread. That means the best evangelizer is someone who has been evangelized, who was lost and then was found, who was starving and then found food. That’s the person you want to follow and listen to. 

Do we need spiritual guides in our life? Yes! We need teachers, preachers, guides, spiritual directors, priests, faith formators etc. But make sure it is not someone who has a huge beam in his or her eyes, but now wants to remove the splinters in yours. Make sure it is someone who’s been saved and knows it. Make sure it is a sinner who knows he is a sinner still in need of salvation and has found it. Make sure it is a starving person like you but has found bread. That’s the person you should trust and choose as your spiritual guide. 

God bless you and give you his peace!