THAT MOMENT WHEN IT SEEMS ALL HOPE IS LOST

HOMILY FOR THE 10TH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C  Rev. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

♫♫ When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know, it is well, it is well with my soul. (Chorus) it is well (it is well) with my soul (with my soul), it is well, it is well with my soul ♫♫ 

The song we have just sung has a history. Spafford Horatio lived with his family in Chicago. He was a lawyer and lived well with many investments in the city; but in 1871, he faced tragedies. The family was struck by economic and personal tragedies in a way that could render one hopeless and faithless in God: the only son died and the investments were destroyed by fire. However, the family carried on. About two years later, they decided to take a trip to Europe for a program. Mr. Spafford sent his wife and the four daughters ahead on the journey, being held back by business matters. The trip turned tragic when their vessel was struck mid-voyage by a large industrial ship taking the lives of 226 passengers including the four daughters of Spafford. However, the wife survived and finally arrived in England from where she sent a telegram with only two words: saved alone. It would be two years before Horatio Spafford would sail to England to rejoin his wife. As he was on the voyage across the ocean, he was shown the very spot where the accident happened. There he penned the fateful words to the beloved song; it is well with my soul.

Each one of us at one time or another must have had experiences that did appear that all hope is lost. Many have experienced moments of exhaustion, failures, injustices, excruciating pains and displeasure. I would not know the particular experience that you have had that made you experience some moments of hopelessness. However, we must continuously grow in the consciousness that even in the midst of these experiences that challenge our hope, God is present. Yes, God is there, God comes; all we need do is to be calm and discover from where he comes. Some have experienced amazing favour at some moments of exhaustion. Some students may have surprisingly seen themselves having high grades in a course they had lost the hope of passing. Some persons seeking for justice have amazingly been justified in the Law Court even amidst corrupt lawyers, judges, rich accusers, and a failed juridical system. Some people have been astounded by an outburst of wealth after years of poverty. Some may have experienced moments in which people had given up on them on account of ill health, and suddenly the health became restored.

The Gospel of today (Luke 7:1-11) presents to us an example of what it means to lose hope and how God is present in our travails. There was a woman from the city of Nain. She was a widow and had an only son. This only son died. The woman had practically lost hope on his son as he was been carried out, most probably for burial. Now, the Jewish culture was a patriarchal one; and for a woman to have lost her only son in a patriarchal society meant that she was without any male agency. Her fate was grim and harsh; her status would become all the more degenerated. Losing an only son is like losing all that you have; all that makes you happy, and the only person you can rightly call yours. Little wonder in another pericope of Luke, the man from the crowd had to beckon on Jesus to heal his only son (cf. Luke 9:38). Jesus seeing her condition had to help this woman even though this woman never pleaded for help.

We must also be aware that there was no specification of what actually led to the death of this her only son. All that matters here is the handiwork of God; what God can do irrespective of what caused the death. God knows her condition, and knows what led to the death of the young man. Hence, Christ needed not to lead her to more sorrows and grief as telling the story of his death may open old wounds. Again, in Numbers 19:11 is a law of ritual purity which forbids people to touch corpse. Even in the presence of such a norm, Christ’s compassion for this woman in such dire need bypasses this law of ritual purity. This compassion was expressed in the consoling words of Jesus to the widow: do not weep. At these words, Jesus raised the son and gave him to the mother, and the people glorified God. This is why we must extol the Lord who continues to raise us up (cf. Psalms 30: 1).

The words, he gave him to the mother immediately links us to the story of the First reading (1Kings 17:17-24), about Elijah restoring to life the son of the widow of Zarephath. As the Gospel talks about rising to life after the death of the physical body, the First Reading deals on restoring to life after the weakening of the physical body exemplified as the ceasing of breath. Yet, both concern widows and their sons, and the divine intervention in their conditions. The Zarephat woman was already trying to lose hope due to the death of the son as she thought that God was trying to punish her because of her sins. The woman approached the Prophet Elijah whom she had housed and lamented on his son’s death. When Elijah stretched his hands and cried to the Lord, the Lord answered him. Elijah then gave him to the mother who glorified God and grew more in faith. The Lord through the instrumentality of Elijah consoled this widow and helped her to regain her hope and faith. Hope comes from the Lord; faith too comes from Him. Even the courage and strength with which we work for God are also God’s gift. The courage and strength with which Paul worked was as a result of the revelation received from Christ Jesus Himself. Paul recognized this too well that he saw Himself as an instrument of God. He became an instrument that gingered the hope of the people. He became an instrument that encouraged people to live in Christ, for life in Christ can never be hopeless, but hopeful. We must go home with these lessons.

1. The Lord is present when we are in the greatest difficulty. He comes to remove dejection which is the great challenge to hope. When the door closes, and there seems to be no escape route, the Lord shows us light through a window from which we can actually be liberated. Be hopeful. The Latins say: dum spiro spero (while we breathe, we hope). Inasmuch as we are breathing, we must be hopeful. Breathing should be a pushing factor towards hopefulness. Tell me, why do you give up so easily? Why are you giving up on God? See how the woman of Zarephat made Elijah to talk to his God. See how she recognizes the connection between the Prophet of God whom she housed and the son’s illness. The Lord does not forsake his people. We must grow in that consciousness. However, it is sometimes the case that even when we face difficulties, it becomes hard to see God. Even when we pray hardest, we see what we pray for not come to fruition. Hence, we tend to be demoralized, forsaking God and losing hope and faith in Him. I tell you to keep hoping even in such situation. Kindly read through this second point.

2. It is true as it is said that we do not know what we have until we lose it. Hence, when we lose that which we cherish most or when at the verge of losing that which we cherish most, we tend to become despondent and hopeless, being moody and fearful about how to survive. However, it is even more true that we do not know what we miss until it comes. When we see ourselves losing that which we hold dear, let us always focus on that with which the Lord comes. The Lord comes with success, with deliverance, with revival, with restoration, with resuscitation, with resurrection, with good health, with the most beautiful, with the most authentic and truthful; yes, he comes with everything good. The widow at Nain, and her associates had already carried the dead man to be buried. But they never knew that the Lord was coming to visit them in that situation. If they had stayed at home, crying and lamenting, they may have lost the opportunity of encountering Jesus. They had accepted the condition and were looking towards the future. That greatly facilitated the wonder of God in the life of their son. Never lose focus of the future due to your stubborn cleavage on the past. The windshield of a car is large and the side mirrors small; this is to tell the driver that what matters more is the future. Look straight but having the past as moments that made you grow in experience and knowledge.

3. As humans, even when we have our own troubles to grapple with, we must show compassion to others we meet. Never you say: I have many problems, or does he/she know what I am passing through? You should rather say: even though I have my problems, I can still be helpful. Humanity can only smile when each of us even in our travails helps each other to bear the loads of life. Christ had his own problems; problems concerning the crowd that was following him, problems concerning his mission and how he would be betrayed and crucified. Yet, he continued to show compassion to the people he met. We must learn this spiritual act of mercy. We must make out time to visit the sick, the downtrodden, the prisoners, and the mad people. Show compassion to those we meet. Actually, a little smile towards others can raise their hopes. Dear, we must learn to smile to others. Smile connotes acceptance, solves problems and raises hope.

In the face of hardship, never lose hope; in the face of hunger, never lose hope; in the face of ill health, never lose hope, in the face of the death of a loved one, never lose hope, even when things appear to have finished, never lose hope. Tell yourself that it is not yet over. God is there. Yes, Deus ibi est.

May God continue to be present in our difficulties, may our hopes never fail us, and may we experience compassion from people when we need them. For all this I pray as I wish you a blessed week ahead. GOD BLESS YOU.