MARY, THE MOTHER THROUGH WHOM WE ARE BLESSED

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

When God willed to come as a human being, He came through Mary. And now, as we go into the year 2019, we go through Mary. Our blessed Mother Mary becomes then the first channel of our journey just as she was the Ultimate channel of God’s journey into the world at the incarnation. We celebrate Mary who was the woman that gave birth to Jesus. This means that the human flesh of Jesus was gotten through Mary. But remember that according to our faith, Jesus is a divine person, the second person in the Blessed Trinity. In him is one person but two natures - the human and the divine. Thus, the humanity and the divinity of Jesus Christ are inseparable as they are eternally united in the one divine person, Jesus Christ.

Here comes the easily perceptible syllogism which goes this way: 1. If Christ is a divine person (and therefore, God), but has both inseparably united human and divine natures. 2. And Mary is the mother of Jesus, the woman through whom He got the human nature. God sent his son, born of a woman (cf. Second Reading; Gal. 4:4-7). 3. Then, Mary is also the mother of God since one cannot bisect the two natures neither can one disregard Christ as a solely divine person. This is the solemnity we celebrate today; that Mary is the Mother of God. But this does not in any way imply that Mary is the source of the existence of the second divine person who existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit from all eternity. Her title as the Theotokos (mother of God) implies that she is the mother of the God incarnate; the woman who taught us how to abandon ourselves to God’s will. And so, we must begin with her. We begin with Mary because she taught us the virtues of patience and calmness. We begin with her because through her we got saved that each new year ought to remind us of the new era when God stepped into time and space in human form. We begin with our Blessed Mother because in her is an assurance of walking in the right path and not stumbling.

The Gospel Reading (Luke 2:16-21) told the story of the birth of Jesus, the visitation by the Shepherds who had come to confirm the message the angels had given them concerning the birth of the Messiah. They found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. As for Mary, she treasured all these amazing things in her heart. Luke’s narrative tried to show Mary’s reaction to the astonishing experiences that came with the birth and growth of Jesus. He also used this statement while writing about the reaction of Mary when Jesus was found in the temple in Luke 2:52. This showed how quiet and peaceful the heart of Mary was. She is a mother to reckon with; never garrulous with her speech, but always contemplative in total abandonment to the divine will. The humility and peaceful aura of Mary attracted God’s grace and blessings to her.

The picture this passage presents of Mary is the one of a humble and trustful heart. Even though she knew that she would give birth to the messiah, the awful happenings in her and around since the message of the angel Gabriel have been so overwhelming; starting from her visit to Elizabeth, the surprising reaction of Joseph in accepting a pregnancy that was not his, the exhaustion of giving birth without the best medical and human attention in a manger, and now to the visit of some haggardly dressed shepherds with an incredible story of the appearance of angels. These were just too much on her to begin to speak about. She only pondered in her heart what was happening. Sometimes, do we not ponder without much words and worries like Mary when things in life seem complicated? We must reserve for ourselves some periods of contemplation and reflection for a healthy life. The questions that easily come to mind here are: have we made our new year resolutions? Have we reflected on how we lived our lives this year? Have we reflected upon the mistakes we made this year? Have we tried to count the blessings of God this year? Answering these questions can really make us step into the new year with even more greater joy, courage and hope.

Through the life and decision of Mary, the whole world welcomed the saviour. Through her, we are blessed; blessed to face the troubling moments of life. As a mother, she carries us and makes sure we do not bring harm to ourselves. Her maternal care and the blessings that come with her warm embrace can be clearly understood in the light of the blessing God gave to the household of Aaron through Moses in the First Reading (Numbers 6:22-27). It is a three-fold blessing: the Lord bless you and keep you; may He let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, and may he be kind to you and give you peace. In the spirit of the new year, we must claim these blessings for ourselves, our friends, our families and our parishioners. May we through these blessings be unstoppable in the faith we share and be truly rich in the Holy Spirit; rich in joy, rich in hope, rich in love, rich in service and rich in everything good. Happy new year. I wish you all the best that 2019 has got to bring. God bless you.

LOST AND FOUND IN JERUSALEM

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF HOLY FAMILY, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

When God willed to come in the form of man, he came through the family. He could have wished to come in solitude; but for Him to complete the work of salvation for humanity, he subjected himself and bore our human nature, lived in a family, trained in a family, and worked in a family. As we know, Jesus lived a hidden life of thirty years with his family and worked for three years in the public eye. That means for every year in public life, he spent ten years in family life. Here we meet the import of family life and work to our collective life in the world. The feast of the Holy Family commemorates the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as it focuses on natural family life. The Feast Day was officially instituted by Pope Benedict XV in 1921, and was then moved from being celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany to the Sunday after Christmas in 1969. The feast of Holy Family is not celebrated to prove the shortcomings of our natural families. It does not intend to make our various families feel less in dignity. It is celebrated to inspire our natural families and to show us the importance of family life. The family remains the nucleus of every society; it is the domestic Church.

In the Gospel (Luke 2:41-52), Jesus was a twelve year old boy who went to the feast of Passover together with his father and mother. This feast must have been relevant for the growth of the boy Jesus in his life as a Jew. It must have meant a lot for the twelve year old boy. Remember, twelve is the number of years a Jewish boy must reach to be regarded as bar mitzoah which would mean becoming a son of the law. Most probably, the feast of Passover attended by the family of Jesus that year must have also been a way of celebrating the growing boy who would become the son of the law. But is it not surprising that the child would figure out his own way of marking his celebration? He who was the fulfilment of the law subjected himself to the celebration of himself as the son of the law. In Luke’s story, the boy Jesus stayed back in Jerusalem after the feast was over. The parents assumed he was in the caravan, but discovered after they reached home and after series of searches that the boy did not come home with them. The boy was lost. They had to go back to Jerusalem to look for him. Lo, the boy whose unknown where-about must have caused some tension in his parents was found sitting in the midst of doctors, listening to them and asking them questions. His intelligence was astonishing.

The doctors were the teachers of the law. Yes, since he had attained the age of the law, what is it that would debar him from sitting with the legal teachers, the boy Jesus must have thought to himself? The astonishing experience of people who listened to the boy confirms his extra-ordinary knowledge, and the fact the law was having its fulfilment in him. The picture of the boy sitting together with doctors shows the convergence the law would have in him. The parents found him, and as anyone would think, Joseph (as the man of the house) may have been trying to figure out the best way to punish the boy. And Mary, the mother quickly asked: son, why have you done this to us? Why have you given us the psycho-emotional pains of having to look for you? Now, you can just imagine the answer of the boy. It was an answer that had the undertone of trivializing the pains the parents had passed through. And by this answer, the boy gave the impression that the parents were disturbing him. Of course, which parent can understand such a boy? Mary and Joseph did not understand him.

However, one can also understand that the boy was trying a new thing, meeting others and may have desired the best way of celebrating his bar mitzoah as it would remain significant in the redemptive work for which he had come. He would liberate humanity from the slavery the law had caused and would envelope her in his law of love. That Jerusalem where he listened to and questioned the teachers of the law would also become the place where the law of slavery would condemn and crucify him so that the law of love would emerge and resurrect. Yes, the boy’s response far from being naughty pointed to something supernatural; it was deeply theological. And Luke added, the boy went back and he lived under the authority of the parents, as the mother continue to store those things in her heart. Surely, any child who goes under the authority of the parents would continue to grow in wisdom and God’s favour would reside with him. Honour your father and mother so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth (cf. Eph. 6:1-3). Jesus honoured the parents, and through teaches us the lesson of respect in family life.

Should that not the basis of our natural families; love and respect? For Jesus, the family was his greatest Academy. It is in the family that one develops concern for others, trust in others and sacrifice for others. In the family, we learn that living with people demands the harmony of the ability to give and to receive. In between these acts of giving and receiving is love. Thus, the mechanics of the family life prepare us for entering into the eternal movements of the inner life of God, whose children we are. Being the children of God signifies having a family with God. In this family, the Father lavishes his love on us (cf. The Second Reading; John 3:1-2,21-24). We ought to see ourselves like Samuel who was devoted to God for the rest of his life (cf. The First Reading; 1 Sam. 1:20-22,24-28). Every one of us belongs to this family of God, and ought to allow our divine family to influence the various natural families of the world. We are happy to be part of this family of God. Happy Feast Day to all of us. God Bless you.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The very first sentence of the Gospel Reading (John 1:1-18) summarizes the eternal status of the logos (the word) who is Jesus Christ. This means that the Christ born in our midst has been right from the beginning. There was no time he was not. However, His advent into the world marks the end of the beginning of the definite plan of God towards the redemption of humans. This is why the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (cf. Second Reading; Heb. 1:1-6) could say that Christ, the Son of God is the last prophet of the last days who the Father sent to finally speak to us. God has spoken to us through His Son in these last days as the completion and fulfilment of all the prophets and prophecies of old. God’s manifestation of Himself to the people has progressive stages which has its highest point in Christ. Hence, Christ, the Word became flesh is the highest of all revelations.  

It is John’s great idea that Jesus is none other than God’s creative, life-giving and light-giving word; the power with which the world was created and the reason for which the world is sustained. The sentence in the beginning was the word can be placed side by side with the very first sentence in the Bible: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen1:1). By using the same formula (in the beginning) as of the first sentence of the Bible, John tries to make us understand that the Word was not part of the created things. The word possesses the character of eternity. This Word which is uncreated never existed apart from God. The Word was with God. There was never a time when the Word separated Himself from God. And if there can be any person to tell us about and to lead us to the Father, that one person is Jesus the Christ who has never lived a life apart from the Father. The Word was God. This same Word that never was separated from God has every attribute that God has, in such a manner that anywhere and at all times, He is God. Thus, Jesus is so perfectly identical with God. In Him, we perfectly see what God is like. To have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father. When Jesus works, it is the Father that works (cf. John 14:10-12). And because Jesus is everything as the Father, He is a Creator.

What does this mean? By the word of mouth, the universe was created according to the Genesis account of creation. The powerful Word that brought forth material creation is the same that was made flesh. In creation, the spoken word made all things. In Incarnation, the Word made itself the product of itself. This signifies that the omnipotence of the Word reached its highest level in the Incarnation. He does not only end in giving life and flesh to nothingness (I.e, creation), He became flesh like that which he created, in order to redeem what He has created. In natural science, we have seen how gases can turn into liquid (i.e condensation) and from liquid into solid (I.e freezing). We can actually employ this physical change to understand this eternal mystery of how the word can be made flesh. We know how temperature can have some effects on the state of a substance. At high temperature, substances boil and change their states into gases. But as temperature lowers, the momentum of the particles reduces and the particles begin to slow down. As they slow down, they begin to come together and stick to one another. Hence, a liquid is formed. This process is called condensation. When the temperature is lowered more, the particles stick more to one another to form a solid. This process becomes freezing. If we then consider the word of our mouth to be gaseous, then we can imagine that they too can be made solid through this process.

A practical instance would be the experience of seeing our breadths at low temperatures. In actual fact, nothing has changed about the way we speak. What changes is that the movement of the gases let out by our words has been made to slow down as a result of the low temperature, making them visible as vapour, and furthermore can become solid when all the more acted upon by lower temperatures. Does this not mean that the gases from the words of our mouth and the breadth of our nostrils can be made solid? Then, how about God? Yes, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God’s word made the world. God’s word was made flesh in Jesus Christ. The word is so powerful. The Lord sends out His word and it melts every hardened structure (Ps. 147:18). With this omnipotence that lies in His mouth, the Lord made man, and breathed into him (cf. Gen 2:7).The word of the Lord also guides and protects us. Psalm 119:105 unequivocally stated that the word of the Lord is a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths. Proverb 30:5 states: every word of God is pure. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Hence, the word made flesh is pure and was actually made flesh to direct us, guide us and protect us.

From this physical changes, we can grasp the spiritual changes that lies hidden in our words. Many people have failed to understand the power that lies in the words of our mouths. The human being is the image of God, and so his/her word has powers too. We need only to be conscious of this as we ask ourselves: How many times have we uttered bad words with our mouths? How many times have we cursed people with our mouths? Being conscious of this can really help us to control the words of your mouth. The very best we can do is to utter words of blessings to people. Remember that the word made flesh is a blessing to all of us. Jesus is the best thing that ever happened to humanity. The Word made flesh who is born for humanity today has come to show us the way and protect us as we journey towards the light.

It is the visibility of this word made flesh that we celebrate this Christmas season. Christmas is the feast of merciful love. The love of God was made palpable through the nativity of Him who as son is God. We must imitate our Lord by loving God as He loves us and loving our neighbours as ourselves. Let their be joy in the air, let us rejoice in the birth of Christ. And in the spirit of the joy at our redemption of the First Reading (Isaiah 52:7-10) and borrowing some leaves from Adolphe Adam in the famous Christmas song: O Holy Night, we cannot but say: Yes, the weary world rejoices, because his law is love and his gospel is peace. With his birth, chains shall be broken and all oppression shall cease. Let us be joyful for Christ is the Lord. We shall continue to proclaim his power and glory. It is Christmas. Happy Christmas. God bless you.

THE BABY LYING IN A MANGER

HOMILY FOR THE MIDNIGHT MASS OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

It is Christmas. We congratulate ourselves for sustaining the hope of expectation. Now, we can sing the Gloria. It is the night of nights, the night celebrating the birth of the Lord. It is the birth that marked some continuity in discontinuity in the history of humanity. What do I mean by that? Socio-economically, the birth of Jesus inaugurated a fresh calculation in the global calendar. Thus, without any breakage in history, emphasis was shifted to Anno Domini. The birth of the Lord became an epicentre of the global history. Spiritually, the birth of the Lord marked a palpable step by God towards the liberation of humanity in the hypostatic union (the divine-human union in Christ). The oracle of Isaiah was fulfilled. Our victory over sin and death has received an insurmountable appearance. Humanity has indeed received the omnipotent back-up. She has received her greatest privilege of having God in the form with which he made us. This is Christmas.

It was a silent night as Mary and Joseph were on their way to register for census (cf. The Gospel; Luke 2:11-14). The most honourable man of the world, Caesar Augustus’ decree from Rome had affected the location of an insignificant couple living in Nazareth to move to their home, Bethlehem in Judaea. So, this decree initiated the movement that put Mary into labour. No one knew that that decree and the movement of this couple would bring about the most important meetings. On that night, a meeting of heaven and earth was made. God and humanity embraced. The child was born in a manger. And this resulted into a heavenly chorus by the angels. An angel had to appear to some shepherds to proclaim this news of great joy that Christ has been born. The shepherds became the most privileged as the status of their career would be borne by this king. The child would later call himself the good shepherd. God’s ways are always amazing to us. He chooses the weak, the poor, and the marginalized to make very important messages known to all. Most probably, this must be a divine effort to teach human beings the importance of equality and respect of all regardless of earthly level.

The angels sang and the shepherds hurried to discover the great news. Surely, they did the same thing the angels had done earlier: they went back praising God for such revelation. Yes, the King has been born. The silence of the night has been been shattered by the heavenly and an earthly chorus. The hypostatic union has been visible effected. Yes, the Light has been born to dispel the darkness of the night. The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light. With these words, the First Reading (Isaiah 9:1-7) ushers us into the spirit of Christmas. It is the season of light and beauty. The righteous reign of the coming king has finally come. No more sorrows, no more weeping and no more depression. The light has come to dispel the sorrows of darkness and to illumine us with its powerful rays. And as Paul wrote to Timothy (cf. Second Reading; Titus 2:11-14), God’s grace has been revealed to such an extent that salvation is now available for the whole human race. And as those who have found the most precious pearl, is it not time to give up everything that distracts us so as to embrace this salvation? Thus, Christmas has to be celebrated then for what it truly is.

Christmas uplifts. The season of Christmas is here to initiate such grace of importance and elevation. Christmas initiates a paradigm shift in the life of all; it raises a nobody to somebody, the rejected to most welcomed, the disregarded to most regarded, and the forsaken to most visited. It is not for no reason that the first witnesses of the nativity of Christ were the shepherds. Shepherds were those looked down upon, and they were not respected. Yet, they were the first witnesses of the nativity.

Christmas signifies a defeat of sin and shame fanned by the arch enemy of God, the devil. Christ is born in our midst to save us and to ensure that the devil is completely destroyed. We must conform our lives to that of the king for a total crush of the enemy and for the holistic salvation of our body and souls.

Christmas makes us reflect on the great mystery of the God-man’s nativity which has the foundation of God’s love for humanity. We must develop serious love for humanity and for the earth. We must care for the earth and must show some charity to our neighbours.

Christmas must make us to glorify God. We must glorify and thank God for the super opportunity He has given us in Jesus. So, Christmas should never pass by without our offering great words of blessing to God for this singular favour. We can as well learn through this act to thank those who were of help to us in the past. Saying thank you does not cost us anything, but even adds more to what we are. We say thanks to all who remembered to wish us a merry Christmas. Let joy be felt everywhere around us.

Happy Christmas, dear Friends. Felix Navidad. May the Christmas season usher new tidings, joy, peace and love to our homes and our lives. God bless you.

LIKE MARY, WE TOO ARE PREGNANT OF JESUS

HOMILY FOR THE 4^TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

We are in labour. Yes, just like Mary, we are now pregnant and are about to go to the delivery room. And one can say that this pain of child-bearing is on its topmost gear. These preparations can indeed be very exhausting and energy sapping due to the busyness of the season. And one may be inclined to think: But why should we not just work and rest as we normally do; why subject ourselves to fatigue for Christmas? It is simply because in this weariness lies joy and gladness. Sometimes, it seems that unless we feel worn-out from the daily preparations for Christmas, the later would not have been duly celebrated. There is joy and expectation that enshrouds us as we prepare for the birth of Jesus. Even when we get tired, we desire to push more. It is as if that the more we complain of distractions, the more we are attracted to labour for Christmas, sending Christmas cards, organizing family visits and meals, sharing gifts and pleasantries, etc. All these energy-sapping events are characteristic of this season, no doubt. And so, It is from these angles of exhaustive preparations coupled with the story of Mary’s pregnancy that we can understand why it has been said that we are pregnant of Jesus. The first angle would be labour as connected to childbearing, and the second angle would be labour as connected to the exhaustive preparations and readiness for the very D-day -the Christmas Day. What do we make out of both labours?

The Gospel (Luke 1:39-44) speaks about the amazing pregnancy of Mary that transmitted the power of the Holy Spirit to the miraculous pregnancy of her cousin sister, Elizabeth. After the visit of the angel to Mary, Mary set out to visit her sister. On arrival and as she greeted her, there was a great divine experience in Elizabeth. And one could imagine the power of joy and anointing being let out from the child Jesus in the womb through the mouth of Mary and straight through the ears of Elizabeth down through the umbilical cord into the child John as soon as Mary offered her good-day greeting to Elizabeth. These sense organs of speech and hearing became the media that transmitted the divine power in Mary within a twinkle of an eye, moving through into Elizabeth. Oh, what an incredibly fast divine chemical reaction; one that beats hands down the timing of the chemical reaction of diffusion. Mary carried in her a highly concentrated divine power ready to be delivered. And the first woman that embraced her was so lucky that she got this power of the Holy Spirit in her. When power is diffused, there is a blasting occurrence. In this case, Elizabeth gave out a loud cry. And here in this story, Elizabeth is not only important because of her blood affiliation to Mary, but also because of those prophetic words she released unto Mary. The phrase “exclaimed in a loud cry” when understood from its Greek origin would signify one who shouts as if he/she is talking through a mega phone; that is, an out-door cry or a mega voice. These words of Elizabeth to Mary were prophetic. And just as Elizabeth spoke them to Mary, she also speaks them to us today, for we too are now pregnant of Jesus. We carry great power in us.

But why do we regard those words of Elizabeth as prophetic? It is because they were prompted by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Mary had barely said any words to Elizabeth before she exploded with those words. Mary was yet to give her the news of her pregnancy, yet the words of Elizabeth implied that Mary was pregnant: and blessed is the fruit of your womb. We are grateful to Elizabeth for such prophetic words; declaring Mary and her unborn child the most blessed, and understanding Jesus to be her Lord who effected an unusual and divinely-inspired movement of the child in her own womb. We are grateful to Elizabeth for giving Mary through her prophetic words the baton that produced Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat (cf. Luke 1:46-56). Therefore, we are very optimistic today to be disposed as Mary, allowing ourselves to be used as channels of God’s grace and letting out songs of praise at the sound of the greetings of one another, especially during the kiss of peace. We must resound in our lives as the Second Reading (Heb. 10:5-10) proposes: Here, I am! I have come to do your will. As pregnant as Mary that we are now, we must also be as loudly joyful as Elizabeth in our greetings of one another, looking at the beautiful faces of one another, and not removing our faces unless we have given out a smile. Jesus transmits vibrancy, joy and peace. In the womb of Mary, he transmitted joy into Elizabeth. In our womb today, he also transmits joy. Thus, we are expected to allow ourselves remain channels of joy to the people we meet.

Something very important that we must be ready to remind ourselves during this season that we labour heavily and seriously for Christmas is the relevance of joy. Any form of labour that does not tend towards the production of joy in people ought to be avoided. If we are preparing for Christmas, we must prepare in joy and allow this joy to be felt by others. Remember, you need not be sad over your inability to acquire certain material things you think you need for Christmas. Remember too that there are so many people who are praying to have, even if it be that little that you currently have. In the face of all these, a few important questions which can be personalised arise: Should my acquisition or lack of material things hamper in me the joy of Christmas? Why mount on myself unnnecessary pressures which are not even prerequisites for the faith I express in Chritmas? So many are materially poor, and yet they are ready to celebrate the birth of Christ in joy. There are many who have been made to live apart from family and friends, for the reasons of work or civil unrest, and yet they are celebrating Christmas in joy. We need only be  contented, accommodating, and never to bear forth sadness or the feeling of rejection in others.

There is this story of a rich lady who sat beside a poor elderly man on an air plane. She alerted the air hostess immediately upon taking her seat to find another seat for her. But as the attendant told her the economy cabin is all booked, the rich lady replied: I’m sorry, but I am not going to travel beside a worthless bum. Do something.’ while the elderly man starred in disbelief, the attendant excused herself to go and talk to the pilot about the situation. A few minutes later, she returned and said: “Luckily, we found an open seat in business class, and the pilot has allowed us to use it.” The rich proudly stood out of her seat, but the attendant quickly reached out her arm to the man and said: “Sir, will you please follow me; there is a place for you in business Class.” At this point, there was a round of applause in the air plane. There was joy. As that rich lady was trying to give birth to sorrow for the other, God turned the table around and gave the elderly man joy and a pride of place. We must allow ourselves to be envoys of joy. Being pregnant of Jesus implies putting to bed joy, peace, love, justice, unity, and selflessness and to putting out of bed rancour, injustice, selfishness, hatred, division and war prevalent in our world today. We continue to hope for the actualization of the Lord’s word through the prophet Micah in the First Reading (Micah 5:1-4); to be in a world where total abundance, security, and peace are made available to all. And we pray that being now in labour to deliver Jesus to the world that needs her would also mean for us individually to help in whatever little ways that we can to deliver abundance of food and drink to our hungry neighbours, ensuring security for warring nations and instilling peace in our depressed society. All these we hope to deliver through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy New Week of Christmas.. God bless you.