MAKING A LEAP OUT OF ANCESTRAL CAPTIVITY

HOMILY FOR THE 6^TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR, A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

It was always the case that many believe so much in the old good days and in the old good dictates, old good cultures, old good meals, old good mode of worship, old good culture of respect, old good community spirit, old good festivals and festivities, etc. I ask you: do you also believe in the old good system of transportation, old good fashion/dress code, old good human sacrifices, old good inter-village wars, old good system of communication, old good ancestral worship and curses, old good habitation/shelter, etc? Already, I can imagine where your mind is heading to having read these few lines with which we have started. Many times, we are so conservative that we lose focus of the good that is coming with an imminent novelty. We are so tied to the old ways of doing things that our eyes are blocked from seeing things in a new and different perspective. Yes, the old is good; no one doubts that. But the new can also be better. Give the new its chance to prove its goodness and so you can weigh it with the old. By so doing, you will not be captivated by the only way your ancestors said and did it.

An old man was so conservative that whenever he comes to Church, he does not worship but complains. He grew up when the early missionaries were still around. He enjoyed the Latin and the sober way of worship. The priest backs the people of God. There was no musical instrument. No dancing in the Church during offertory. Every now and then, he would always recline to the old pattern and question: why must today’s worship not be celebrated according to how Fr. Kettle did it? He kept on complaining to almost every priest he met. One day, he met me and presented his complaints. I began my answer to him with a simple question: And why must today’s worship not be celebrated under a mango tree or udara tree with children putting on pants and appearing bemused? One can imagine the discouragement that was shone on his face as he looked frustrated. That was not what he expected from me, I sensed. However, he has lost the sight of the moving with the signs of time because he was an extreme conservative which led him to pay deaf ears to the good new ways.

The Gospel of today (Matt. 5:17-37)which is a very long one can be understood as a unit only if we realize that Christ was releasing new teachings that actually was not meant to destroy the old, but was meant to make the old relevant and understood more by his contemporaries. People were already thinking that this man’s teaching was against what their ancestors believed, taught and lived. They thought he had come to abolish the law and the prophets, and then inaugurate his own totally new teachings that would annihilate the old. Jesus corrects this impression. He unequivocally stated: do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the Prophets. I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. He immediately exalted the importance of law. Law makes for order and peace. And anyone who works sincerely to create such order and peace is considered great in heaven. But we must have to go beyond the letters of the law. There is also the spirit of the law. Christ meticulously distinguished between the letters of the law and the spirit.

1. It was said to the men of old: you will not kill... (letter, v.21). I now say to you: anyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment... (spirit; vv. 22-26). This warns us against anger which is a capital sin that can lead us to murder. In this way, we go beyond the sin of murder to quench its cause and make a leap out of ancestral limitation to the sense of peace and order.

2. You have heard that it was said: do not commit adultery (letter; v.27). I now say to you: everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart... (spirit; vv. 28-30). This warns us against the sin of lust which is a capital sin that can lead us to adultery and fornication. In this way, we go beyond the sin of adultery and fornication to quench its cause which is impure thought, and so make a leap out of the ancestral limitation to the sense of love and community spirit.

3. Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old: you shall not swear falsely... (letter; v.33). I now say to you: do not swear at all... (spirit; vv. 34-37). This warns us against the capital sin of pride which leads to the sin of lies, dishonesty and insincerity. In this way, we go beyond these sins to quench their cause, and so make a leap out of the ancestral limitation to the sense of truthfulness, honesty and sincerity.

It is in such a leap that we are declared blessed having walked according to the letters and the spirit of the law (cf. Ps. 119:1b). The First Reading (Sirach 15:15-20) exhorts us to keep the commandments for our salvation. Going beyond the letters of the law proves our trust in God. This new standard kills all pride, and forces us to Jesus Christ who alone can enable us to rise to that standard which he himself has set before us. Rising above old standards towards the new is a leap out of the captivity the old has put us.

What is that old way of living that is so hard for you to drop? What is that sin that has presented itself as a nagging issue in your life that it has become your way? Romans 7:6 makes us to understand that the new way has released us from the law having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not only the old written code but in the new life of the spirit. You must allow yourself to be liberated from this captive, for it was for your sake that Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives (Luke 4:16).

Do not believe that the old practices of your ancestors are affecting you negatively today. It starts from the mind. Even if such a practice was done, there is power that has destroyed the power and the influence of such in your life as a Christian. That is the power of baptism by which we are adopted as sons and daughters of Christ, cleansed from all sins, but original and actual, and engrafts us as members of the body of Christ, the Church. If you are member of Christ’s body, no power on earth can pull you out because the God of Jesus Christ is the omnipotent God.

Now, let us go personal and psychological. Most times, we are enslaved by our mode of thinking that we tend to lose sight of the perspective of the other person which we may consider immature. When we argue about a particular point with others, we tend to render superfluous the good points of the other since we are keen to forcefully insert our thought (which for us is the good and the better way) and make it accepted by the other person. If in case the other person shows signs of discomfort or rejection, we immediately pigeon-hole him/her as our enemy who has failed to understand with us. You, yourself, have you understood with the other person? My thought is not meant to abolish the thought of the other, but to embellish it. In that manner, we gain deeper understanding and better ways of saying and doing the same thing. Elders must take note of this. Your grey head does not mean that the youth cannot develop ideologies and systems that can develop your family, your business, your society and even your experience as an elder. Ancestral captivity strangulates novelty, trivializes sincere efforts, makes powerless the sense of positive thinking, and crumbles development. I pray we continually grow in our experience of God according to the signs of the time, while making a constant leap out of the old ways which tries to choke the new ways. I wish you this week a leap out of any ancestral captivity experienced in your life. Happy Sunday. God bless you.