Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

THE LEPER WAS NOT THE UNCLEAN

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Parish, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Sunday, February 15, 2015

At the time of Jesus, no disease was more dreaded and avoided than leprosy. It was considered repulsive and unclean. The fate of a leper was hard and disastrous. The person who contracted it was excluded from his family, friends, and from his familiar environment. The person was considered unclean, unworthy and incapable of God’s holiness and blessings. As far as the Jewish people were concerned, leprosy was a punishment for sin, and the leper must be treated as an outcaste. A Leper was therefore, a very lonely person. He had to live alone outside the camp; keep his garments rent, and his head bare. As he went about, he had to warn those coming from the opposite direction and those coming behind him of his polluted presence with a cry, “Unclean, unclean!” 

In today’s Gospel, one of such men approached Jesus and said: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Looking at him, Jesus was moved with profound compassion and said: “I do will it. Be made clean.” Jesus was moved with pity for the following reasons: one, the number of years this man had suffered the physical pain of leprosy; and two, the number of years he had been shunned and abandoned by all. He had carried his pain all alone with no support from anyone. Coming to terms with how badly a child of God had been treated by all, Jesus was moved with pity for him. After all, the leper too was a child of God. His disease did not strip him of his dignity which was rooted in the image of God.

This leper broke the law of exclusion when he approached Jesus. But what did he hear about Jesus that prompted him to have the audacity to approach him? He heard that this Man, Jesus, was a friend of sinners. He heard that he raised the dead. He heard that Jesus opened the eyes of a blind man. He heard that Jesus made the cripple walk. He heard that he caused the deaf to hear. The leper heard that Jesus caused the mute to speak. He heard that he caused the paralyzed to walk. And because he heard the report of what Jesus had done and what he was doing, faith and courage were aroused in him. With that, he approached Jesus and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Looking at him, Jesus was filled with pity for him: You bet! “I do will it. Be made clean,” He said to him.

Jesus too broke the law by touching the leper. He did not care about keeping a law of segregation. What is the law compared to the life of a child of God. Any law that forbids us from reaching out and taking care of the least of our brothers and sisters should be broken. Any law that forbids love and charity in any way, form and shape to the most vulnerable in our society should be violated. Any law that hinders us from being humane, especially to the weak among us, should be disregarded without any afterthought. Jesus broke such a law when he touched a leper, healed him, restored him to his human family, and also restored his human dignity, pride and self-worth. He showed him compassion that no one else was ready to show him. As far as Jesus was concerned, the man was not unclean. When he looked at him, he did not see uncleanness, rather a child of God in desperate need. The unclean was not the leper. The unclean were all those who shunned, ignored, showed no compassion, and treated him with disdain and as an outcaste. Anyone who looked the other way upon seeing the leprous man was the unclean. Those who don’t communicate with a brother or sister, but separate themselves from them are the unclean. If you fail to see the person but only see the disability, then you are the unclean. If you fail to see the person but only see the skin color, you are unclean. If you don’t stand up for the right of all persons, then you are the unclean. If you cannot hear your brother’s or sister’s cry for justice, then you are the unclean. Our overall attitude towards others, especially the poor and the vulnerable may be our biggest uncleanness. The unclean were all those who rejected the leper and all those who believed that God had rejected him. The unclean were his parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors, friends, priests, religious and political men and women, the entire society who abandoned him to languish in his misery. The unclean today are all those who neglect, ignore, shun and avoid the poor, the vulnerable and the other. 

Having cleansed him, Jesus sent him to fulfill the prescribed ritual: “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” Jesus obeyed the law only when it is necessary to do so. He did not recklessly break human law. With the leper healed, he sent him out with a don’t and a do. Don’t tell anyone. But go and show yourself to the priest and to offer the needed sacrifice. But as soon as the man left the sight of Jesus, he could not hold his excitement and joy. He could not hold to himself the mighty work that had been done for him. He just could not resist telling anyone about Jesus and what he did for him. And do you blame him? I don’t! He spread the word. His shout was no more, “I am unclean, I am unclean.” For the first time in a long time, he was able to declare proudly, “I am clean, I am clean.” Who cleansed you? Jesus of Nazareth! Who healed you? Jesus of Nazareth! Who forgave your sins? Jesus of Nazareth! Who restored you? Jesus of Nazareth! For the first time in a long time, the former leper would sit among people, chat with them, eat with them, and make his residence among them. Who did it? Jesus of Nazareth!

Sisters and brothers, we are not lepers. We don’t have leprosy. But what leprosy does on the outside is what sin does in the inside. What leprosy does physically is what sin does spiritually. Leprosy isolates a man or woman from the human society. Sin isolates a person from God and from the people of God. Leprosy kills! Sin also kills. Sin fascinates, but then assassinates! The leper needed Jesus to be healed, we also need Jesus to heal us. The leper needed Jesus for restoration, we also need Jesus for restoration. The leper went to Jesus with a prayer request, “If you want to, you can make me clean.” We too need to go to Jesus and ask him to make us clean and whole. Jesus sent the leper to the priest who will officiate the celebration of his restoration to the human family. We too must go to our priests who on behalf of Jesus officiates the sacramental celebration of our pardon by Jesus. 

Enjoy God! Stop Using God!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church, Baton Rouge, LA

February 8, 2015

The Synagogue service has just ended, Jesus, together with his friends arrived at Peter’s house. He wanted to enjoy the Sabbath meal with Peter and also to rest. After all, it has been an exciting and also an exhausting day. He needed some rest! But once again, his compassion was appealed to. Simon’s mother-in-law was down with a fever: “They immediately told him about her. He approached her, grasped her hand and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” 

You know, Jesus has every right to claim the right to rest. After all, he had been in the Synagogue all day dealing with humans and evil spirits. He was exhausted, but his attention was needed. In this situation, he  could have said, “No, I am tired; I need some rest.” Instead he stood up immediately they told him about the ill-health of Simon’s mother-in-law.  On getting to where she lay, Jesus picked her up. That’s what the Lord does for his people. Remember those times you were down, it was the Lord that picked you up. And when you are up, he keeps you up and running. Whenever you are knock down by ill-health, by misfortunes, and by the problems of life, remember to tell Jesus about it. Do not lay there on your bed and grieve about it. Take it to the Lord in prayer. I always say, “If you ask Jesus for a favor in the morning and he doesn’t answer you, seek for it from him again at noon. But if he doesn’t answer you at noon, knock on his door at night. But if after all your asking, seeking and knocking, he still maintains silence, remind him of the promise he made in Matthew 7:7-8. Talk to him day after day and time after time. Do not let up! Do not give up. Do not be tired of talking to him. Two friends in love never get tired of talking to each other.” Peter’s mother-in-law was sick, they informed Jesus about it. Tell the Lord about your own case. 

As soon as Peter’s mother-in-law was healed, she got up and attended to the needs of Jesus and his disciples. Her service was a way of saying, “Thank You!” She did not concern herself with personal things she hasn't been able to do for herself when she was sick. Instead she used her renewed strength and recovered health to attend to the material needs of Jesus and his disciples. She was one of the few persons in the Gospel that showed appreciation for favors and blessings received.

Early in the morning of the next day, Jesus went to a deserted place where he prayed. He loved going to a quiet and deserted place to pray. Do you know why? Because it is in the silence of a deserted place that he can have a more meaningful discussion and conversation with his Father without any interference. A deserted place can offer us silence and serenity. A deserted place can offer us peace and quiet. A deserted place can provide us the ample opportunity to hear God’s voice. In a deserted place, we can speak to God and God in turn can speak to us without any interference or interruption. In a deserted place, we are able to hear God clearer. In today’s noisy world, we can still make our homes “deserted places” by turning off the TV, radio, cell phones, iPad, computers, video games, musical appliances, etc and talk to God. 

As Jesus was praying, Simon and others who had been looking for him found him in a deserted place praying. Instead of joining him in prayer, they distracted him with a message, “Everyone is looking for you.” Yes, everyone is looking for Jesus but not everyone wants him. Everyone is looking for him, but not everyone wants the message that he brings. Everyone is looking for the good things that Jesus offers (miracles, healing, breakthroughs, deliverance, signs and wonders, protection etc.), but not everyone is looking for the goodness that he is. Everyone wants something out of Jesus, but not everyone wants to surrender to him. Everyone is looking for Jesus, but not everyone is looking for him to worship and adore him. They were looking for him to use him just like many people do today. In days of prosperity, very few prayers are said. But in the days of adversity, more and more prayers are said. Some people never prayed when the sun is up but would begin to pray when cold sets in. God, to such persons, is a crisis affair. It’s only when their life is in a mess or when the wind of life begins to blow against them that they remember God. Such people want God to show himself a merciful Father, but never bothered to show themselves obedient sons and daughters. We must go to Jesus in season and out of season; in good health and in ill-health, in prosperity and in poverty. God should not be used. He is not someone to be used in the days of misfortune and then overlooked in times of fortune. God should be loved and enjoyed and not used. St. Augustine made a distinction between enjoyment and use: “Some things are to be enjoyed, others to be used....The things which are to be enjoyed make us blessed. Those things which are to be used sustain us as we move towards blessedness...To enjoy something is to cling to it with love, for its own sake. To use something, however, is to employ it in obtaining that which we love, provided it is worthy of love. The only “thing” to be enjoyed for its own sake is God.”

Only Jesus…!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Alphonsus Liguori Church

Greenwell Springs, LA

Sunday, February 1, 2015 

Today’s gospel (Mark 1:21-28) tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue and taught on the Sabbath day. As he taught, his audience was astonished because he taught with authority and not as the scribes. Jesus spoke from his heart. He taught with conviction because his message was the truth. He spoke of what he knew and testified to what he had seen (John 3:11) His teaching was derived from his personal and intimate relationship with the Father. It wasn’t a memorization of the litany of rules and laws, or derived from theological debates that were meaningless to the people. It was a simple teaching that can be summarized as follows: God is love; God loves you and God yearns for you. The scribes on the other hand got their knowledge from their long study of commentaries on the Law. Their teaching was not derived from their personal relationship with God. It was from the head and not from the heart. Jesus’ teaching brought about a positive change of heart and life. His message changed not only people’s lifestyles but also their conditions. The scribes, like the Pharisees would attempt to explain human suffering with no sense of compassion for the sufferers. The suffering persons might even be blamed for being the cause of their condition: “Either you or your parents have sinned” they would argue. But Jesus was only interested in setting children of God free. In John 10:10, he declares, “I have come that you may have life, life in its fullness.” In Luke 19:10, he says, “The Son of Man has come to seek (that is, to look for) and to save (that is, to heal and alleviate) the lost.” For these reasons, he performed healing and exorcism together with his teaching to show that his primary concern was to change the human situation not just to explain it.

Jesus’ power, goodness, righteousness and holiness are not hidden realities from evil spirits. The Devil and his demons know about Jesus. In today’s Gospel, they even called him by name: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God?”  During Jesus’ earthly ministry, it wasn’t the Devil that gave him a tough time. It wasn’t the demons or evil spirits that gave him a bad time. When Jesus showed up, they simply vacated. When he showed up, the demons fled from his presence. Wherever Jesus appeared, the demons disappeared. Light and darkness do not stay together. There is no meeting point between holiness and evil. 2 Corinthians 3: 17 says, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. “ Those who gave Jesus a bad time were the religious people. Those who were resistant to him were the religious know-it-alls. The more they realized that Jesus of Nazareth was really who he claimed to be, the more they attempted to destroy him. The more they realized that he was the Son of God, the more they tried to get rid of him. The more they understood that he was the Holy One of God, the more they tried to kill him. As for the Devil and his cohorts, they leave when the Lord enters a place. 

Today, many people try to get rid of Jesus by simply ignoring him. But the danger of ignoring him is equivalent to the danger of ignoring a doctor, or the instructions on a drug prescription, or ignoring the directions on how to fly an airplane. Others try to get rid of Jesus by believing that he was just another interesting guy in human history. Some say he was just another prophet like all other prophets that existed. They just cannot see that Jesus is the Holy One of God. He’s the only One that causes the demons to tremble when he shows up! Only Jesus rebuked the demons with words: “Quiet! Come out of him!” Only he could say to the leper, “Be cured,” to the cripple, “Rise up and walk!” to the deaf and dumb man, “Be opened” and to dead Lazarus, “Come out,” to the blind man of Luke 18:42, “Receive your sight!” Only Jesus said to ten lepers in Luke 17, “Go and show yourself to the priest,” and on the way, ten of them were totally cleansed. Only Jesus rebuked a raging sea to the astonishment of his disciples who declared, “Who is this that even the wind and seas obey him?” (Matthew 8:27). Only Jesus could say to a sinner, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only Jesus could pick up a loaf of bread and a cup of wine and say, “This is my Body, this is my Blood.” Only Jesus died and resurrected after three days. 

Folks, we are not serving just one of the greatest men that ever lived. We don’t just have a relationship with one of the prophets or one interesting guy. We serve the Holy One of God. We serve the Light of the World. We serve Jesus, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. We serve true God from true God. And, “At the mention of the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). We serve the One who alone can save!

We Lose Nothing Following Him!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

St. Gerard Majella Church

Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

January 25, 2015

In today’s Gospel taken from Mark 1:14-20, Jesus called Simon, his brother Andrew, and the Zebedee brothers- James and John to abandon their fishing trade and to follow him. They were fishermen who usually spend long hours on the sea looking for fish. But Jesus changed all that with an invitation to follow him. He changed their occupation and also their destiny. Sometimes, our occupation in life can determine our destiny. Sometimes God can change our occupation in order to change our destiny. Simon, Andrew, James and John were called to abandon their occupation of fishing in the sea to become fishers of men and women on the land. Jesus called them to leave everything behind and to follow him. He asked that they become his disciples and fellow workers in the vineyard. As soon as Jesus called, they did not make excuses like: “Master, we are busy with our careers now, when we are done, we may follow you;” “Rabbi, we are already tired. We need to go home, rest, eat, refresh and then think about following you.” They did not even ask for the cost of following him: “Rabbi, what is there to follow you?” “How much are we going to earn if we decide to follow you?” The Gospel tells us that Simon and his brother Andrew abandoned their nets and followed him; James and John left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. And by responding to the Lord’s call, they never spent long hours in the sea, rather, in the Lord’s vineyard.

Sisters and brothers, Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel taken from Mark 1:14-20: “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” is also addressed to us. The call is both universal and personal. It is universally addressed to every human person; but it is particularly and personally addressed to each of us here. It’s an invitation first, to follow him; and then, to convince others to follow him as well. If you have been saved, bring others to the Lord. If you have tasted the Lord and found that he is good, bring others to him. If the joy of the Lord is your strength, invite others to also come and experience his power. If you have seen the light of God, convince someone living on the fringes of light to come in and experience the liberating power of God’s light. Heaven is big enough for all of us. The task of making disciples for the Lord is not exclusively reserved to bishops, priests, religious, deacons, catechists etc. It is a universal call that deserves a personal response from you and me. The call “to leave the boat and fishing” is a call to make room for God, to build up God’s kingdom instead of building up our own kingdom. 

Now, making a decision to follow Jesus should not scare us. We should not be frightened by what may happen to us if we decide to wear the shoes of witnessing. We should not be nervous of the change of lifestyle and of philosophy needed to follow him faithfully. The thought of making mistakes should not discourage us from witnessing for him. Do not listen to the voice of the Evil One telling you that you cannot make it, that you are too prone to fall and disappoint the Lord. The disciples that Jesus called were not immune to failure and disappointment. In the gospel of Matthew 26: 69-75, Peter denied Jesus thrice. In John 20:24, Thomas doubted the resurrection of the Lord: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” In John 14:8, Philip did not know Jesus’ Father: “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” In Matthew 19:13, the apostles were unreasonably upset at the little kids that came to see Jesus. In Luke 22:24, they quarreled and disputed among themselves as to which of them was considered the greatest. In Luke 22:45, they slept off at Gethsemane when Jesus expected them to stay awake and pray with him. In Mark chapters 14 and 15, they ran away and abandoned Jesus as soon as he was arrested. 

From all these references, we can see that the disciples were not always perfect in all their dealings. They had some shortcomings, like every one of us. But their abiding and unyielding faith in Jesus was unquestionable. Their devotion and commitment to him and his mission came first in their lives. Some of them later shed their blood for their faith in him. That should be our attitude too. Do not worry about making a mistake; do not be discouraged by your weaknesses. Psalm 138: 8 says, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose and plans for you and me.” Philippians 1: 6 says, “…he who started the good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Peter denied Jesus thrice but he ended up as the first pope, the first leader of the church, the man that Jesus handed the keys of heaven to. Instead of getting agitated, think about what the Lord can do for you, with you and in you. Think of his grace that is helping us. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Lord assures us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Those who follow Jesus faithfully lose nothing, instead they gain everything. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Walking in the footsteps of the Master makes you a master as well; you become a master of yourself, your emotions and your passions.

Permit To Heaven

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Shortly after his election as the pope in 1958, Pope John XXIII spoke of the shock he felt at being elected to the papacy. But within few hours of becoming Pope, he told his advisors that in a matter of days, he would like to visit the large prison, Regina Caeli, on the outskirts of Rome. On getting to the prison, the Roman Pontiff told his prison audience: “I have come to you as Joseph your brother. I want my heart to be close to yours; I want to see the world through your eyes.” Today those words of the Servant of the Lord are found inscribed on a plague in the prison chapel. It wasn’t just what the Pope said that endeared him to the prison inmates and to the rest of world; it was the very fact that he was there, that he had come among them as one of them. His presence and his words touched the hearts of many in his congregation. There were tears in the eyes of some of the prison officers, as well as in those of the prisoners.

Today, we celebrate the baptism of the Lord. We celebrate God’s own Son’s further identification with us. We celebrate his association with us, sinners. At his baptism, the creator submits himself to the hands of a creature to be baptized. He plunges himself into the waters of Jordan, shoulder to shoulder with sinners, and with that shows himself as our redeeming Lord and compassionate Savior.

At first glance, today’s feast seems an odd one because baptism is necessary for the remission of sin, i.e. Original Sin and personal sin. But Jesus did not inherit Original Sin, and he lived his entire life without sinning. So, he had no need of baptism as we do. Yet, he humbly submitted himself to the baptism of his cousin John the Baptist. By so doing, he set an example for the rest of us. If he, who was without sin could submit himself to baptism, then we, as sinners, should have no reservations of submitting ourselves over and over to this blessed sacrament. After all, his submission was an act to identify himself with us.  

I want us to understand that baptism is not all about forgiveness of sins. Baptism marks a dividing line between the old life and the new life, between waiting for the Messiah and finding him, between living with guilt and living in freedom, between living in a community of law and living in a community of love and grace. By baptism we enter into a relationship of love with Jesus Christ. Baptism initiates us into a life-giving relationship with God. Through it we become adopted sons and daughters of God, members of Christ’s body, and temples of the Holy Spirit. By baptism, we become the people of God; our gathering becomes a gathering of God’s people. We become the family of God, and enjoy fellowship with him. Baptism makes us a new creation. It imprints an indelible spiritual mark of ownership. We no longer belong to ourselves, but to God.

At the Lord’s baptism, he was not alone; the Father and the Holy Spirit were present. The Father’s voice was heard from heaven testifying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit was also present “descending like a dove and coming upon him.”  They testified of the specialness of Jesus. They were present to tell the world, “I have given you everything; I have given you my all.”

Dearest beloved, at our baptism, we too were not alone. Apart from the priest and God’s people who were present, the Triune God Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, were also present. The day of our baptism was the day of our divine recognition. The Father’s voice also sounded from heaven, “This is my beloved son; this is my beloved daughter with whom I am well pleased.” Hence baptism is our official recognition as children of God. On that day, we were set aside for God and for God’s matters. God declared how special we are. He claimed ownership of us. We became God’s servants, God’s children, God’s friends, and God’s special treasures. We became God’s jewels of inestimable value. On that day, the Holy Spirit dwelled upon us. We became God’s voice speaking and bringing justice to the nations. We became God’s representatives, so, whoever encounters us, ought to encounter, not us, but God living in us.

Baptism is our permit to heaven. It’s our visa to the Kingdom of unlimited and boundless peace and joy. Our birth makes us citizens of the earth, but it is our baptism that makes us citizens of THE PLACE. The place is God’s own eternal city. Over there, there is an uninterrupted peace, joy, and good life. Down here, our peace is often interrupted. Down here, our joy is sometimes obstructed and impeded. Down here, good life can suddenly turn to bad life and bad luck. Down here, there is good luck, but there is also bad luck. But over there, joy is constant. Peace is steady. Good life does not run out. It is joy, perfect joy; peace, perfect peace, love, perfect love.  It is good luck all the way. Nothing bad alters our life. It is spiritual fun eternally. 

Do you consider yourself a citizen of the Kingdom? Have you joined the bus for the upright? Do you consider yourself a messenger of God? Do you think your words and actions glorify the Lord? If not, what and who are you waiting for before you change your life? If you are already baptized, do you renew your commitment to the Lord daily? If you are not baptized, what and who are you waiting for?

Homily on the Solemnity of Epiphany of the Lord

What's Your Gift to the Lord?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of Epiphany of the Lord 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Dearest beloved, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ. A few days ago, we rejoiced and celebrated the incarnation; we celebrated the birth of our Redeemer in Bethlehem. On that day, the angel of the Lord led us to the manger. Today, we celebrate the Epiphany. The Epiphany of the Lord is the manifestation of the Son of God to the nations of the world. Today, we celebrate the Son of God who came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a Woman, put on humanity that we might put on divinity. We celebrate Jesus, who became the Son of Man that we might become sons and daughters of God. The Son of God manifests himself as the Son of Man. God shows himself as a human being. The King of kings and the Lord of lords shows himself a subject. The giver of all things manifests himself as needy. The owner of all riches shows himself a poor child.

Today’s Gospel, taken from Matthew 2:1-12, tells us that the Magi from the East came to Jerusalem looking for Jesus, the newborn King: “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” Jerusalem was a beautiful city. It was a great city of trade and commerce. But when the Magi arrived, they were not interested in beholding the beauty of Jerusalem; they were not interested in trading their treasures for money; all they cared to know was where the child was. They were desperately not looking for silver and gold; they were looking for the owner of silver and gold. They were not looking for the critical people in the city- the Lords, the scholars, the lawyers, doctors, the priests, the Levites or even the prophets, they were looking for the Lord of Lords; they were looking for the King of kings; they were looking for whom scholars called the Logos; they were looking for the one lawyers debated about; they were looking for the one all the true prophets spoke about. They were urgently looking for the Savior and their salvation.

When Herod heard that a new King had been born, he was greatly worried. But when the Magi heard that a King had been born, they were incredibly excited and wanted to see him. Finding the child with Mary, his mother, they prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They offered the Lord the gift of gold. Gold was a symbol of his kingship and power; the newborn child will be a king. They provided him frankincense. Frankincense is a particular kind of incense used in religious ceremonies and worship to give honor to what was considered holy. Frankincense was a symbol of his priesthood. The newborn child will be a priest. Finally, they offered him myrrh. Myrrh is an ointment which was used to heal wounds, and to also embalm the bodies of the dead. Myrrh symbolized Christ’s death on the cross. The newborn child is going to die on the cross to bring about the healing of God’s people. Myrrh was used to heal; it was given to Jesus, showing that Jesus is the healer of the world.

There is something about this Bible passage that is easily overlooked or not even considered. We always talk about the Magi's homage, the gifts they offered, and the significance of those gifts. But we hardly talk about the sequence of what was given. The first thing the Magi gave to the Lord was the offering of their lives. Prostration is a concrete sign of surrender and adoration. Prostration is a symbolic act of total self-giving. It is an honest gesture of total abandonment. When they saw the newborn King, the first thing they offered him was not their material treasures. They provided him first what he most desired and cherished- the offering of their lives. St. Paul in Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God to offer your bodies (your lives) as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” The best gift we can offer to God, especially at the beginning of this New Year, is the gift of our lives. The Magi offered themselves first before offering their treasures. And in the real sense of it, God does not need gold; he doesn’t need silver; he does not need any material things, but he needs us. He needs something, and that is you and me. God is love. He needs us to show him our love. He also needs us to love him in return.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Mary, the Model of Saying Yes to God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

December 21, 2014

Our Christian Faith teaches us that only God saves, and only God can save. When it comes to our relationship with God, God always takes the initiative. He always takes the first step, not because God needs us to survive but because we need him to survive. I dare to say that God needs us, but not to survive but to love. His love for us is so profound, so indescribable, so unconditional and boundless that he became one with us. None of us would want to do what God did. No matter how much we love our dogs, our cats and other pets, we may never want to become one of them just to save them and relate with them. But that’s precisely what God did. 

In today’s first reading taken from 2 Samuel 7:1-5, David wanted to build God a house. He wanted to do something for the Lord. Like us, he forgot that it is God who always does something for us, not we who do for him. In essence, it is we who are needy. God has no material or spiritual need. God’s only need is us—you and me!  We cannot do God any favors. But some of us, in our moments of greater generosity, think that we are doing God a favor. When we give more money to the church, some of us think we are doing God a special favor. We forget that we are only giving to the church from what God had given to us.  Our God, through the prophet Nathan, in the first reading, reminds us that our salvation is his initiative. Salvation does not come from the human person but from God. Psalm 127:1 tells us that “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain.”

Therefore, for nine months before the first Christmas, God initiated the salvation of the human person when he approached a certain young girl, unknown outside her village, showered her with unmerited favors, proposed a plan as outrageous as the Incarnation to her, and made its realization contingent upon her freely given consent. It was God, who first approached Mary. It was God who first proposed the plan to her. And it was God who saw this plan to its total fruition. The only thing God demanded from Mary was her cooperation. And the only thing God demands from us too is our cooperation, our yes. God has this ‘bad habit’ of respecting the free will he gave us. From the beginning he has invited, not compelled our collaboration. What we need to do then, is to form our own ´habit´ of always saying ‘Yes’. When it comes to forming the habit of saying yes, the Blessed Mother Mary is our super model.

Brothers and sisters, do we know that in the entire history of humanity, no decision, no response, no consent, no surrender can compare both in drama and import with the one that Mary was asked to make? Our salvation, the new order, the new beginning, the new dawn, God’s entrance into humanity, the migration of the creator from heaven to earth, the relocation of God from eternity to time, from heaven to our neighborhood hung upon Mary’s answer and acceptance. And the circumstances were hardly reassuring. She was just a young teenager. She believed God wanted her to remain a virgin, even in marriage. She lived in a cultural backwater, in a hinterland. She probably had a minimal education. Even as a faithful and religious Jew, I don’t think she understood God’s proposal. I don’t think she understood very well what God was asking from her. When the angel Gabriel said, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” I don’t think she understood what that meant. Yet, in spite of her limited understanding of what was happening, she still yielded: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” The fact that Mary came through in spite of her circumstances and difficulties stem from four basic attitudes: She has unlimited trust in the will of God; she does not first demand understanding, before accepting God´s ways; she has no predetermined personal plans that are non-negotiable and to which God´s plan must be adjusted; and lastly, knowing and doing God’s will is the hinge on which her life turns. As soon as she said yes, the Son of God began to inhabit her womb. God became one of us. With that, our human nature was raised to a new, incomparable dignity. This little Hebrew girl did more for us than all the other great lights of humanity combined.

This Christmas, all we need to do is to recognize that it is God who gives gifts to us, rather than the reverse. We should therefore ask, during this Christmas, the special grace to have the necessary dispositions to become his ‘co-workers’ (1Corinthians 3:9), like Mary. Let’s also ask him for the ability to put-off our own plans, when it’s clear to us that God wants something else. Let’s ask him to help us accept his word preached and taught through the Church – even when we don´t fully understand or it doesn’t make sense to us. 

During this Christmas, why not ask God for a Christmas gift that is more spiritual?