Homily for the Sixth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year A

God Respects Our Freedom

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, February 12, 2023

In our culture today, any conversation about the law is usually controversial. We see the law as a restriction, a constraint upon freedom. Although we agree that law is important, although we know that having laws is vitally important, we see it as a necessary evil. Deep down, most people wouldn’t want the law. They would prefer to do whatever they want. But for biblical people, the law does not constrict or restrict freedom. It is rather the very ground of freedom. What is the purpose of the law, God’s law? Among other things, the law is the means by which God helps us to make the right choice. God’s law or commandment is a kind of lure held out to freedom, not as coercion. It is rather the lure or invitation to choose what is right. The law is given to us but we have to choose it. It must be our choice. In our first reading (Sirach 15:15-20), the author of Sirach says, “If you choose to keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.” God respects our freedom so much that he allows us to choose either life or death, good or evil. And the good and the bad news is that whatever we choose, that’s what God will give to us. Going further, the author Sirach says, “Before you are life and death, good and evil, whichever you choose shall be given to you.” The idea of God punishing us or seeking retribution is completely off base. What we choose is what we will be given. As I said in a previous homily, salvation is free but not cheap. It must cost you something. You must choose it. Basically, there are two choices left for us: salvation or damnation. God wants us to choose life. God wants us to choose the good. 

The great St. Pope John Paul II taught that free acts always accomplish two things: first, they determine what someone will do in a particular situation. Although I am assigned to celebrate this Mass, I still have to choose to celebrate it. I could have chosen to be in another parish. Secondly, they contribute to the formation of the moral agent himself. What does that mean? In each of the choices I make, I am also choosing the kind of person that I am becoming. The choices we repeatedly and consistently make eventually help to form and determine the kind of person we become. If you choose the selfish path over and over again, you are going to become a selfish person. If you choose the violent path over and over again, you are forming yourself into becoming a violent person. If you choose the corrupt path over and over again, you are going to do all kinds of bad thing, but more importantly, you are going to become a corrupt person. On the other hand, if you consistently choose the path of love, you do all kinds of good thing, you are going to become a loving person. If you consistently choose the path of forgiveness, you are forming yourself into becoming a forgiving person. If you consistently choose the path of non-violence, you will become a peaceful person. Pope John Paul’s idea here goes way back to the great ancient philosopher Aristotle who said that character develops over time as one acquires habits from parents and community, first through reward and punishment. The word “character” comes from the Greek word “kharakter” which means “brand.” By forming your character, you are getting branded, a permanent mark is being placed upon you; that means you are going to belong to somebody. When something is branded by the owner, it means the owner is claiming it. So, who do you belong to now? Who branded you? 

In the light of all this, sisters and brothers, I invite you to think about eternal life in a new way. Sometimes we think about heaven as a great price that some people will get and some won’t get. I also think about heaven that way. In a previous homily, I described heaven as a reward for righteousness. But I think it is best to think of heaven as a way of life, a way of being, namely the divine life of love. Think about heaven, not so much a price or reward, rather the way of being, the way of living. So, God cannot simply place us in heaven as though he is placing us in pleasure Island or an amusement park. The deep truth here is that we have to choose our way. Since heaven is a life of love, and since love is always a choice, we are the one to choose it. I am not undermining grace here, after all, grace is God’s gift, God’s offer. But what God has given and offered has to be chosen and accepted by us. It is never imposed or forced down our throat. Grace is not coercion. It is God’s free gift which must be freely accepted. Some might ask: why can’t God just put everyone in heaven? The reason is that God respects our freedom to choose life or death, to choose light or darkness, to choose salvation or damnation, to choose heaven or hell. We are here on earth so that we might be prepared for the life of heaven. This means we are here for character formation under the influence of grace and through the discipline of the law. What’s the best way to prepare for heaven? Love now! Love each day! Love every moment! Choose the path of love everyday, every moment and you will become the kind of person fit to live in heaven. 

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Be Salt, Light And A City Set On A Hill

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, February 5, 2023

After delivering what we have come to know as the Beatitudes, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares his disciples to three things: salt, light, and a city set on a hill. Note that all three things exist not for themselves, but for something else. Let us look at salt. In Jesus’ time, salt was used to season and to preserve meat. Before refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative. It was also used to render earth infertile. When a conquering nation wanted to completely eliminate an enemy city, they will tear down its walls, burn its buildings to the ground, and then salt the earth so that nothing could ever grow there again. Rome did this to Carthage, an ancient city on the coast of North Africa near the present day Tunis. On its own, salt is not that valuable but it is valuable for what it does, and how it affects other things. On the other hand, light is not so much for itself, but we see things by it. It illuminates things to shine. In the ancient time, before maps, navigators or GPS, a city on the hill was a pointed navigation. Travelers used it to make their way to the land. But in our privatized and individualized culture, we tend to see religion or spirituality as something personal designed to make one’s life richer and better. There is a sense to which that is true. Religion does make our life richer and happier. But from a biblical standpoint, religion is like salt, light and a city set on a hill. Christianity is not a privatized or individualized religion. Yes, it is meant to transform an individual but it goes beyond the individual. Christians are called to be holy, but they are not meant so much to rest in their own holies. Their holiness is meant to be salt, light and a city set on a hill. We find salvation for ourselves precisely in the measure that we  bring God’s light to others. We followers of Jesus are meant to be salt in two ways: one, we are to preserve and enhance what is best in the society. Two, we are to undermine and destroy what is dysfunctional in the land. 

Are you wondering what your job in the world is? It is to preserve, highlight, and season what is best in the culture; and also to get out of the way what is radically dysfunctional in the culture. It is to be light even in the darkest places; it is to enlighten dark paths and be a conduit by which all, especially those dwelling in darkness eventually come to light. As disciples of Christ, our role ultimately is to lead people to God through the deeds of our life, and when necessary, through words. The world is in so much darkness; many people are losing their way. Authentic hope is fading; true love is disappearing; unconditional faith in God, faith in the Church, faith in Christianity etc. is diminishing. But by the integrity and quality of our life, we can point and lead people to the indispensable God. By the very integrity of our life, we can shine a spotlight on what is beautiful and highlight what is dysfunctional in the society. The clear implication is that without vibrant Christians, the world is in a much worse place. More to it, our job in the world is to be the city on a hill. How come? Without the guidance of Christians, we may not know what we are meant to be. We may not know what God wants. 

Is there anyone here who does not know that Christians are called by Jesus Christ to be salt, light and a city on the hill? If there are Christians who do not know of this, they are likely going to be in the minority. That means the vast majority of us know that we are called to be salt, light and the elevated city. The very important question then is this: how come some of the worst elements in the society were allowed to flourish among us? Look at the war in Ukraine. When Russia invaded its neighbor, Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church and some others in that region did not hesitate to throw their support behind Putin’s bloody war. Here in the US, some evangelical Christians, for some political reasons, are not forcefully speaking against the war. A good number of people who stormed and attacked the US Capital on January 6, 2021 are Christians. Some even went there with their Bibles. We must admit that Christianity in some sense has become so weak, so un-compelling that great evil is allowed to flourish. People have lost their way. How was slavery ever allowed to flourish especially here in America? To think that many Christians went to war against the US government in their desperate attempt to keep their slaves and to continue the evil of slavery is shockingly unbelievable. These and many other evils flourished simply because the vast majority of Christians allowed them or just didn’t care. A vibrant Christianity would have been salt robbed into the earth of those monstrous ideologies. A vibrant Christianity would have been light shining in the dark corners of slavery, racism, and dangerous ideologies. A vibrant Christianity would have been  a city set on a hill guiding those who want to know the right path. 

Think about the sad reality of gun violence that happens everyday around America. Think about the regular occurrence of police brutality. Think about the increasing racial tension in the land. Why is a vibrant Christianity not actively getting in the way in this affront to human dignity? Why is Christian Churches not rubbing salt to the earth of these evils? Why isn’t vibrant Christianity functioning as a city set on a hill? People take guidance from all sorts of places, so, why are they not taking guidance from Christian churches? Why is Christianity not strong enough to function as salt and light? In  today’s Gospel, Jesus’ important question: “…if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?” should really bother us a great deal. A weak Christianity is a disaster not just for Christians alone but for the world. When salt loses its taste, Jesus says it is of no good. Our responsibility as Christians is to impact the culture as salt, as light and as a city set on a hill. Is this challenging? Yes indeed! But don’t forget that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). 

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year A

What Is Worth Boasting About? 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, January 29, 2023

When you look around you and listen to people talk, what do you hear? A lot of boasting and bragging! In one on one conversation, people brag and boast. In a live television interview, they boast. In the work environment, they boast. In meetings, conferences, conventions, retreats, and even in religious gatherings, they boast and brag. In bars, on dates, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media, they brag and pump their chests. Bragging has become part of our daily life just as brushing your teeth, taking a shower and dressing up. We boast about the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and even boast about our ability not to boast while we are boasting and bragging. While we can talk about certain things about us for informational and educational purposes, many other things we boast about should be talked about a little less. What are the things we brag about? Some men brag about how much alcohol they can drink. They boast about the number of bottles of beer they can consume in one sitting. Men, listen to me! Do you know the point you are making when you brag about how much you can drink? You are basically saying, “I can destroy my body way faster than anybody and the best part is that I will barely remember doing it.” People also brag about restaurants they have eaten at. Who cares! I can make my own meal, a healthy meal and at least know what I am putting in it. Some young men boast about their athletic prowess. Hear this now: if you are not a professional sports player, your athletic prowess has little value. Maybe, some girls and ladies may admire you and want you, but generally speaking, it does not add more worth to your existence. And by the way, in a few years from now, all those six or nine packs will disappear and you will be struggling to keep your belly flat. Some people, worldly people boast about how many sexual partners they have had. Men and women who engage in this kind of boasting are simply telling their listeners that they are loose street dogs who are unable to control their sexual appetites. What they are communicating to their listeners is, “Hey guys, I don’t have self-control,” which is a very vital virtue and quality to possess. They are saying that they are not in control of their lives. They are saying that they are not reliable and trustworthy. We also have some people who boast about how much worse off their exes are now without them. Really? If your former girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife is not doing well in life, if the men or women they later married are less accomplished than you, who said you are not partly responsible for what they have become? People boast about how much they know. They brag about the school they attended. Great! It is good to know and to be a nerd. But do you have integrity? Are you a virtuous person? Does all your knowledge lead you to the Logos of God? Does it lead you to the Truth, Jesus Christ the Lord? Does everything you know take you to the direction of God who is the Source of all knowledge? If it does not, then you haven’t known what exceedingly matters the most. All true and reliable knowledge must lead us to the indispensable God, the creator of all things.

What other things do we boast about? Oh! We love to boast about fights we have won. That’s good! From time to time, we fight for what we believe. We fight for our values. We fight to protect our existence. We fight for our family. We fight for the nation. We fight to retain our jobs and be promoted. And the more we fight and win, the more our ego is inflated and the more we are tempted to brag about it. But brothers and sisters, don’t spend a minute bragging about fights you won. Don’t forget that the most important fight is not physical. It is not carnal. It is spiritual. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, St. Paul says, “Although we are in the flesh, do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh, but enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses.” People also brag about their personal success in life and the successes of their family members. I always maintain that it is good to be successful. Be successful in your job, in your career, in your businesses, in your family etc. But don’t forget that the greater success, the most important success is making heaven. We also brag about the success of our favorite sports team; we brag about being successful parents, about our nation or ethnicity. We brag about our jobs, our wealth, and the power we wield. A lot of women brag about their looks, how beautiful they are, the number of men making advances at them, the length of their hair, their designer clothes, shoes, jewelries and where they buy them. 

Sisters and brothers, you might be thinking, “well, if no one notices me, if no one commends me, if no one celebrates me, I will do it myself.” But when you do that, you become the proverbial lizard that fell from a tree, and upon realizing that no one was praising him, decides to praise himself. As people of faith, does it mean that we should not boast at all? What does the Bible say about boasting? In our today’s second reading (1 Cor. 1:26-31), St. Paul says, “Whoever wants to boast, should boast in the Lord.” Christianity, I continue to maintain, turns the values of this world upside down. What we consider very significant may not be so for God. What we think is the greatest value, the greatest treasure, before God might be utter rubbish. Our boast should not be based on the amount of wealth, power, honor and pleasure that we have. Our boast is in the Lord. Do you want to boast? Boast in the Lord! Boasting about the things of this world is meaningless and foolish. How come? Because they don’t last, and we don’t take them to eternity. It is not surprising that at the very heart of each of the beatitudes is the virtue of humility. Humility is seeing God as the only true and indispensable good and treasure. It also involves seeing others as your equal and treating them as God would treat them. How does God treat us? He treats us with love! Be humble, everybody! In today’s first reading (Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13), we are told that it is the humble that takes refuge in the Lord. No one can find true, lasting and reliable refuge outside the true and living God. So, if God is your only true and indispensable value and treasure in life, you are a candidate for heaven. 

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year A

The Most Reliable Refuge Is In The Lord

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, January 29, 2023

One of the keys of becoming a faithful and holy follower of Jesus Christ is to find your life hidden in Christ. The more you align your life to that of Jesus, the more you become like him. In today’s first reading, we see the key to becoming more like Christ. This key is not something popular, rather something difficult for a lot of people. As New Testament people, we often rejoice that we are not doing what the Old Testament people did. But a close examination shows that in the New Testament, the bar has been raised. In today’s first reading (Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13), we are told that it is the humble that takes refuge in the Lord. Whatever it is that you are going through today, I urge you to focus on taking refuge in the Lord. What does this mean? It means that in the battles of your life, in all the pressure that is going on today in your place of work and at home, you need some refuge. And that refuge is in Christ. No one can find true, lasting and reliable refuge outside the true and living God. 

Christianity, I continue to maintain, turns the values of this world upside down. What we consider very significant is not so for God. What we think is the greatest value, the greatest treasure before God might be utter rubbish. Some might think that if Jesus really wants to grow his Kingdom, then he needs to bring popular people, people with great influence into the Church and use them to advance the Church. But what we see in today’s second reading (1 Cor. 1:26-31) is just the opposite. In his letter, St. Paul is not talking about powerful people with wide-ranging influence. He is not talking about people who are larger than life. He is not talking about people who sit in powerful positions in society. He is rather talking about people who were unwise, who were not powerful, who were not born into noble homes, who were weak, who were lowly, despised, and who count for nothing. They were reduced to nothing, but by the grace and magnanimity of God, they have been raised in Christ Jesus. In the calculations of the world, we are nothing. We are not powerful. We are not counted. We are easily dismissed. But here now is the good news: in Christ Jesus, we are more powerful and stronger than all the forces of this world can muster and can throw at us. Because we are in Christ, Christ has become our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Our boast is not based on the amount of wealth, power, honor and pleasure that we have. Our boast is in the Lord. Do you want to boast? Boast in the Lord! Boasting about the things of this world is meaningless and foolish. How come? Because they don’t last, and we don’t take them to eternity.

In today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12a) popularly known as the Beatitude, Jesus insists and affirms that it is not the wise or those who are particularly talented that God uses but those who humble themselves before the Lord. When you live in Christ, your life takes on a whole new texture, a whole new aroma and a whole new flavor. The Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount tells us all about it today. Jesus going up to the Mountain is very similar to Moses going up to Mount Sinai and receiving the Law. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is now the new law. Seated on the mountain and surrounded by his disciples, Jesus opens his mouth and declares: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit is not poverty of spirituality or poverty of spiritual things. It is rather humility. At the very heart of each of the beatitudes is the virtue of humility. Humility is a virtue. It means seeing God as the only true and indispensable good and treasure. Humility also involves seeing others as your equal and treating them as God would treat them. How does God treat us? He treats us with love! So, if God is your only true and indispensable value and treasure in life, you are a candidate for heaven. 

The new year 2023 has just started. Are you looking for a new attitude to cultivate? Look at the Beatitudes. It is often said that the Beatitudes are the attitudes we should adopt in our lives. But it must go from attitudes and deep into action. It must go into the way we live our life. The Beatitudes are really a description of Jesus. So, by walking this way, we become more like the Lord. And when we become more Christ, we will reap the reward mentioned in each of the Beatitudes. Generally speaking, in the Old Testament, the reward is on the outside— gold, silver, land, being the head and not the tail etc. all of which are good. But in the New Testament, the reward is even greater. It is greater than silver, gold, land, power, fame, wealth, honor, pleasure etc. It is greater than that which the world considers as the greatest. It is Jesus Christ himself. As we begin this year, I encourage you to take refuge in the Lord and begin to walk the way of the Beatitudes. Do you want to be happy? Adopt the Beatitudes. Do you want to be successful? Look at the Beatitudes. It is the way. It is the reward that is waiting for us, and it is Jesus Christ. 

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A, 2022

Make Your Expectations As Extravagant As God’s Generosity

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 18, 2022

In almost every other religion in the East and West and across the ages, God or the gods are considered powerful forces that must be begged, pleaded with and sacrificed to in order for human beings to get what they want. Worshippers of these gods believe that their gods are distant, difficult, and reluctant to grant favors. So, to make them give to people what they want, the gods have to be greatly persuaded by embracing extreme moral views, by practicing all forms of excessive mortification like fasting and mutilation of the body. In some situations, making animal and human sacrifices are adopted just to appease and motivate these divinities to give something they are not willing to give out on their own. But the Bible presents an entirely different picture. The Bible is not the story of our quest and longing for God. It is rather the story of God’s quest for us. What we see in other religions is the quest of human beings for God. What we find in other spiritualities is the human person’s search for God. But the Bible is not that story. It is not the tale of our extravagant invocation to God. It is the story of God begging us to ask more of him. I know this sounds strange; it is counterintuitive. But that is just what it is.  

In today’s first reading and the Gospel, we find this interplay in full display. In the first reading (Isaiah 7:10-14), we hear of Ahaz. Who was he? He was a young and inexperienced king who found himself in a very difficult situation. At that time, the powerful Syrian army was marching towards Israel, and Israel’s allies and enemies were forming various kinds of agreements, and the young Ahaz was in the middle of it all. He was confused and didn’t know what to do. Then Isaiah the prophet tells him to put his trust in the Lord, but Ahaz hesitates. The prophet encourages him, “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky.” What does this mean? The young king was told to dream big, to aim higher, to trust unreservedly, and to ask God for something extraordinary. Unfortunately, Ahaz dithers and says, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!” Check this out! God is not demanding more excellence from the king. God is not giving him a list of things to do before God can give him what he wants. God is simply telling him to dream big, aim higher, ask for something mighty and extravagant. Ask for something extremely huge. Ask for a crazy sign if you want to. Let it be as high as the sky and deep as the netherworld. In other words, God wants to do something great for Ahaz if only Ahaz will be open to it. God never hesitates to give us grace; we are the one who hesitate to receive it. What is fantabulous about this story is that even though Ahaz refused to ask for a sign, God still gives a sign anyway: “…the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” What’s Emmanuel? God is with you! 

After about seven hundred years, the prophetic declaration of Isaiah was fulfilled in a little town of Nazareth in Galilee, and precisely in the simple home of Joseph. Today’s Gospel  (Matthew 1:18-24) says that after Joseph the carpenter had engaged a young girl named Mary, he later received devastating news that the woman was pregnant. The implication is that she is not faithful to Joseph. As would be expected, Joseph was heartbroken. The young girl he loves has betrayed him. The life he had planned with her has been shattered. In his community, this very act of infidelity will humiliate Joseph; and if the law of Moses is applied to the letter in this case, Mary will be stoned to death. Sad and disappointed, Joseph resolved to divorce Mary quietly so as to save her life and reputation. What does Joseph and Ahaz have in common? First, they were both young men. I know we often assume that Joseph was an old man, but there is nothing in the Bible that suggests such. Two, both were under immense pressure. Three, they were also confused. It must have been so difficult for Joseph to fall asleep the night he realized that Mary was pregnant. Did he ask God for a sign? We don’t know. In the entire New Testament, no word of Joseph is ever recorded. But the Gospel says that night Joseph did receive a sign in his dream. And it is something he could never ever have imagined: “the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph’s despair and confusion has turned into a profound joy.

Sisters and brothers, as the season of Advent comes to a close, it is important to remember that what was promised to Ahaz, what was promised to Joseph is also promised to us. God wants to give us life. He wants us to dream big. He wants our expectation to be as extravagant as his generosity. Christmas is coming. God is becoming one of us. The greatest act of humility in human history is unfolding before us. God who created one hundred billion galaxies, and each galaxy has one hundred billion stars created us in his image and likeness. And once we got into trouble with original sin, he came to be with us. We are not talking about faith like the Greeks and Romans where God is above the clouds and occasionally they do come below the clouds to take advantage of the people. In the Bible, our God comes down below the clouds to love us, to save us and give us the greatest gift of eternal life. The implication of St. Augustine’s assertion, “If we praise God, God is not made any greater. If we don’t praise God, God is not made any smaller. But if we praise God, we become greater and if we don’t praise him, we become smaller,” is that God does not need us. God is self-sufficient. God is blessed within himself. However, God wants us. God wants you. Christmas is all about God desiring us, wanting us to be with him in a covenant relationship. When the virgin conceived and gave birth, the child is called Jesus, which means God is my salvation, and that is God’s greatest gift to us. At Christmas, we celebrate the stubborn fact that God has pursued us. God wants us. God wants to adopt us as sons and daughters. God has not left us as orphans to figure things out ourselves. Christmas is so much more. It is not about Santa Claus, gifts, food etc. It is about being adopted. Christmas is about being pursued by God; it is about being overcome by his love. As Christmas draws near, let us prepare to meet God with an open and willing heart— a heart of a son, a heart of a daughter. 

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

Something Substantial Is Happening In Jesus Of Nazareth

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Upon his emergence on the public scene, John the Baptist announces and points to Jesus as the long expected Messiah. He addresses Jesus as “the one mightier than I.” He seems pretty clear in his proclamation regarding Jesus. But in our Gospel today, John  appears confused about the identity of Jesus. What changed? John is in prison at this time. He has been arrested by Herod Antipas for opposing Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. John’s public ministry has ended and he is within a few days or weeks to his execution. Evidently, John is receiving reports of Jesus’ own ministry from the prison. We can speculate that perhaps Jesus wasn’t exactly what John expected him to be. While John was a preacher of fire and brimstone, Jesus had a different style and approach. So, John sends his disciples to Jesus with a puzzling question: “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?” What is interesting is not so much the question, but the answer that Jesus gives: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” From that very moment to the present day, when the question comes up: “Is Jesus the Messiah? This is the answer always given. So, if you are asked if Jesus is the Messiah, this is still the right answer to give. 

Notice that the Lord’s answer to John the Baptist is concrete, and not a compendium of abstractions. It means that in Jesus of Nazareth something concretely huge is happening. There is a major difference between Jesus and people who are simply Gurus and spiritual teachers. Granted that Jesus is also a spiritual teacher, but he is like no other. There was and is none like him. Something substantial is happening in Jesus. And what is happening is exactly what prophet Isaiah said would happen when the Messiah comes, namely, healing and uniting together God’s creation. Sadly, for centuries, a lot of people including some theologians had tried to deny the miracles of Jesus. They said the stories of Jesus’ miracles in the Gospels are simply made up. They advocated for the elimination of all the Gospel passages that talked about the supernatural events in the life and ministry of Jesus. But any attempt to do that will leave us with just a few pages of the Gospel. Why? Because the witness of Jesus as a healer and a miracle-worker is littered throughout the Gospels. Jesus was a great preacher with a difference. Aside from his transformative preaching, he also worked miracles. In any town he visited, innumerable miracles accompanied his great sermons. It is so right to say that his teaching was taken more seriously precisely because of his healing. That’s why people came to listen to him. People saw him as a remarkable figure. 

But how come Jesus didn’t cure every afflicted person? With all the infinite power that Jesus possesses, how come he didn’t heal everyone of every disease? The right answer is that we don’t know. What we know clearly is that in Jesus’ ministry, something substantially concrete is happening; the kingdom of God has finally arrived and is making its way in human history and experience. Additionally, we also know that the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ, is continuing to be the means by which the Kingdom of God breaks into the world; the means by which the healing power of God comes into this world. Some of our great saints were healers. Up till this present day, the Church’s healing ministry still exists. And before a holy man or woman is canonized, miracles must follow. Prayers and petitions made through them must be accompanied by verifiable miracles of healing. Throughout my priestly ministry, I have heard and seen some priests and lay faithfuls who have the charism of healing. In the life of the Church, there are authentic healers who continue Jesus’ work of uniting creation together. Furthermore, in every Catholic hospital and clinics, people are effecting healing in the name of Jesus.  

Beloved in Christ, in the list of things that Jesus told John’s disciples he was doing, the last is “the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Who are the poor? All of us! What makes us poor? Sin! God is the Source of grace and life; so, all of us are poor inasmuch as we wander away from him via sin. What good news is being proclaimed to us? Forgiveness of sin! At the heart of Jesus’ work is the forgiveness of sin. To the paralyzed man, Jesus says, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” To John’s disciples Jesus said, “the blind regains their sight.” Jesus healed people of physical blindness, but blindness is also a classical biblical image of sin. Estranged from God, we wander in the dark, and lose our way. So, the forgiveness of our sins is a kind of light. It shows us the path and we know where to walk. Next, Jesus says “the lame walk.” Did Jesus physically cure lame people? Yes! But we can also view sin as a kind of paralysis. We are meant to walk towards God, but we don’t always do so. We are meant to make progress, but we are paralyzed. By freeing us of sin, we are able to walk again. We also hear that lepers are cleansed. Did Jesus really cure lepers of leprosy? Yes indeed! But leprosy in the Bible is always used as a symbol of sin. It compromises us, weakens us, and eventually kills us. So, with our sin forgiven, we are cleansed spiritually just as a leper is cleansed physically. Jesus also says, “the deaf hear.” Did Jesus cure deaf people of their deafness? Absolutely yes! But in our sin, it is as if we are spiritually deaf. We are unaware of the suffering and cry of those around us; we refuse to hear the voice of God. Finally, Jesus says, “the dead are raised.” Did he raise the dead physically? Yes! He raised Lazarus, the daughter of Jairus and the only son of the widow of Nain. But the ultimate symbol of sin in the Bible is death. Sin is nothing but spiritual death. Sin eats away our vitality until we succumb. But here now is the great good news: in the life and ministry of Jesus, through his death and resurrection, Jesus deals definitively and decisively with sin which is the greatest suffering that we have. More to it, through the ministry of the Church, Jesus continues to forgive us and heal us today just as he did during his public ministry. In this Advent season, as Christmas approaches, present your infirmities and weakness to the Divine Physician, Jesus. Present your blindness, your deafness, your lameness, your spiritual death before him and ask for his healing. 

May God bless you!

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A, 2022

Produce The Fruits!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Before the great ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates was born, no one foretold his birth. Prior to the birth of Buddha, no one pre-announced his birth and his message. No one predicted the day he would sit under a tree and receive enlightenment. The mother of Confucius, the birth of Confucius, the birthplace of Confucius were not recorded anywhere centuries before his birth and emergence. There were no predictions about the birth of Mohammed or any other significant figures in history. These figures only came and said, Here I am, believe me. They were men from men; they were men among men and not the Divine in human flesh. But with Jesus, it was different. His coming was not unexpected. For centuries, his birth, his birthplace and mission were foretold all throughout the Old Testament. Jesus’ birth was predicted from the beginning of the Book of Genesis. Aside from Genesis, the Books of Isaiah, Micah, Hosea foretold of his birth. As for his death, it was predicted by the authors of Psalms and Isaiah. What does all this mean? It means that those who say that Jesus is just one more religious figure among the many are dead wrong. If you say he is one inspiring human being among the many others, you are wrong. If you say he is the greatest of all the prophets, you are wrong. If you say that he is one of the many messengers sent by God, you are absolutely in error. If you say he is the symbol of God, you are completely and utterly mistaken. Jesus is himself God! In the Nicene creed, we affirm and declare that “He is God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God.” 

One great prophet of ancient Israel, the last Old Testament prophet to prophesy the Adventus of Jesus was John the Baptist. In fact, he was the one who identified Jesus and pointed to him when he appeared at a public scene. In today’s Gospel (Matthew 3:1-12), John is in the Jordan River preaching repentance in preparation for the coming of Jesus. He is also baptizing penitents. More to it, he is letting everyone know his own job description: “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance…” But right after that, he transitioned into speaking about the one he is sent to announce of his coming: “The one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John warns his listeners, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees who brag about being the descendants of Abraham that claiming Abraham as their father is not enough. He warns that for them to avoid the coming wrath, they must produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. John is encouraging them to prepare for the coming of Jesus the Messiah by repenting. And he ties it to fruit. He ties it to doing things in their life that are righteous and upright. 

In our first reading (11:1-10), Isaiah speaks about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit— the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, of counsel, of strength (i.e. fortitude), knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts have been given to us, hopefully to produce fruits. And that fruit according to St. Paul in Galatia chapter 5 are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The problem with the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees is that they were looking to their spiritual lineage as kind of their tickets to heaven. They are indeed children of Abraham. But John’s warning is that being children of Abraham is not good enough. They must produce fruit, fruit of repentance. In our own lives today, we can say, “Well, I have been baptized.” It’s good to be baptized. Baptism is the gateway to heaven, but we must produce the fruits of baptism to finally make it to heaven. Producing the fruits is how we prepare for the coming of the Lord. At every Advent, we memorialize Jesus’ first coming, pay attention to how he is coming to us today and then look forward to his second coming at the end of the age.

As we prepare for the coming of the Lord, it is important to ask ourselves the following questions: am I producing the fruits? Which of these fruits am I producing and which of them am I not producing? Am I turning away from that which is hurting me and preventing me from turning to the Lord? Interiorly, am I preparing for his coming? Is Advent just a period of putting up Christmas decorations? Is it about making our homes look more beautiful and smell more beautiful? Don’t get me wrong, doing all of that is good. But we should not forget the real house of God, which is you, your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. During this season of Advent, make it a project to turn your heart around. Consider those things that are hurting you right now. Think of those things that are detrimental to your spiritual growth, walk towards Jesus the Divine Physician and present them to him. Before you know it, Christmas will be here. If you want to celebrate Christmas with Christ, take this season of Advent seriously. 

God bless you!