LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

HOMILY FOR THE 17TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

One of the important aspects of every Spirituality lies in its model of prayer. The mode of Prayer distinguishes different schools of Spirituality from one another. The Master/Founder together with the members/followers/disciples of these schools compose prayers modelled after their Spirituality and Mission. Religious Orders and Communities of Apostolic Life design prayers which form an exclusive aspect of their spirituality. And they are known by them; for instance, ‘we adore you’ of the Franciscan Order. This was also obtainable for the Jewish Schools of Spirituality. It was normal for every Rabbi to teach his disciples a simple form of prayer which they might have off by heart and could habitually use it. And today, most families and pious groups have developed forms of prayer unique to them. Indeed, the style of prayer is a mark of identity. John the Baptist did the same and taught his disciples how to pray. This might serve as the background of the request to be taught how to pray by Jesus' disciples.

In the Gospel (Luke 11:1-13), one of the disciples made a request to their master, Jesus: Lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. This disciple  was very well aware of what he was asking for. Having their  own model of prayer would make them unique. And Jesus heeded to that request; in  it are five petitions. The prayer in general begins with the title: Our Father. Addressing God as our Father exposes His omnipotent, gracious, provident, forgiving, and protecting nature.

God’s omnipotent nature is evident in Petition 1: hallowed be your name. Here, we pray that the ever-present danger of apostasy be far from us, and that all the evils which defile God’s creation be removed, especially those in our hearts.

God’s gracious nature is evident in Petition 2: Your Kingdom come. Here, we pray that the unity, equality and love known as the foundations of God’s kingdom may be felt in our human society; in such a way that the boundaries that exist between the rich and the poor, men and women, saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles might be replaced by unity, equality and love.

God’s provident nature is evident in Petition 3: Give us this day our daily bread. Here, we pray for divine sustenance for both our material and spiritual needs. Bread here goes beyond quenching material hunger to encompass sharing with others (sinners included) at meals of reconciliation (the Eucharist) where-in the spiritual hunger is taken care of.

God’s forgiving (merciful) nature is evident in Petition 4: Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive every one indebted to us. Here, we pray for divine pardon for the many offences we have committed against Him. The condition for receiving this pardon is that Christ’s followers must forgive others who wrong them. The best of us is a sinful person coming before the purity of God. Hence, Christians who are adamant in forgiving others do not have a proper view of God, who is merciful to all. 

God’s protective (guarding) nature is evident in Petition 5: do not let us fall into temptation. For Pope Francis, it is not God who pushes us into temptation to then see how we have fallen. We are the ones who fall. Our father does not tempt us; he rather helps us to stand up to our feet. And so here, we pray that God preserves us from anything that endangers our faith, or that tries to draw us away from him, or that challenges our spiritual integrity and fidelity.

Therefore, we must be ready to ask for we are sure to receive, to knock for we are sure that the door would be opened, to seek for we shall find. In the parable of the determined borrower, Jesus teaches us a great lesson about his fatherhood. If  men as hardened and perverted as they might be could borrow to their friends and supply their children’s needs, what more of God who is a loving Father? God wants us to trust him and to believe that He is a Father and capable of caring for His children. As children that we are, we need to be ever ready to speak to our father in prayers and never to despair when asking for our needs. Our Father listens and cares.

The story of the First Reading (Gen. 18:20-32) is the story of Abraham’s petition and supplication for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleaded for the people who had rejected God by their evil ways and deeds. In the conversation, Abraham met with the two men (angels in Gen. 19:1) who had gone to investigate Sodom and Gomorrah by God. And the mercy of God would be showcased only if he could find just ten faithful ones. The bone of contention was: will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Abraham dared to bargain to the point that only 10 righteous people would suffice to avert destruction. Perhaps, a fascinating idea about God here was that He would be ready to save a multitude of wicked people for the sake of a handful of just people. Again and similarly, a handful of just people would not be punished even for the sake of punishing a multitude of the wicked.

But how often does this happen in our world? I remember while growing up as a secondary school student; how the whole class would be punished on account of a few noisy students. It is also true in some homes; how some parents would punish all their kids when a valuable cup gets broken and nobody owns up of doing so. It is also true in matters of international relations; how a people would stereotype another people on account of a very few criminals. It happens also in war situations; how millions of lives are lost on account of a few people considered as traitors. This is the human trait in us, and many times, it happens just easily that we might think these are the right or just way to live. However, God would never resort to that. God would never punish a whole class on account of a few noisy students, or would he punish everyone at home when no one owns up to a mistake, or would he stereotype a people because of one criminal, or would he destroy a race because of one or two apostates. Imagine how terrible it feels to be punished for what you did not do. God would never be part of such a system. Instead he would want to save many because of a few. God’s ways are not our ways.

God was ready to save everyone if there were just ten people. Ten became the natural limit in Abraham’s questioning; below that number, God would only save the one individual -Lot- within the city. It would take Christ to be that singular person that could save all. God would no longer need ten to save; only but one would be enough to save everyone once and for all. Our baptism clears this pathway to be enrolled as one of the many that would be saved by this one singular person -Christ. Through baptism, we are inserted into His death and resurrection; we die to a sinful life and rises to live a new life. From the side of the petitioner, what Abraham could not achieve, Christ actualized; from the side of righteousness, what the righteousness of one -Lot- could not achieve, Christ actualized so as to declare every one of us righteous. Yes, Christ is the one that brought us to life having forgiven us all our sins and having nailed every embarrassments and disappointments we caused God on the cross (The Second Reading Col. 2:12-14). The cross becomes now the source of our liberation. Hence, for the sake of Christ, we are forgiven; no longer for the sake of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 or even 10. His blood pleads more insistently than Abel’s. He pleads on our behalf.

Therefore, Jesus is the answer. He alone is able to teach us how to pray, and how to save. He alone can lead us to the Father. We must remind ourselves that no prayers goes unanswered. We might not get the answer we desire, but we must be certain that God knows who truly needs an answer. God could also be shaping and reshaping us by our prayers. There is the story of a man who was so sad about his wife that he even wished her dead. And just like us who might not really know what we want -today, we want one thing; tomorrow we want another thing-, he kept on pestering God to find a way of removing her from his life. God allowed him to make three wishes. He then made his first wish that he wished the wife dead so as to get another suitable wife. His wish was granted. But at the funeral, he was startled at the number of people who praised his deceased wife. He never realized she had so many admirable qualities. He realized his mistake immediately and then made his second wish; that God should bring her back to life. It was granted, of course. This left him now with just one wish. As he could not afford another mistake, he found it very hard to make the third wish. Should he ask for money, or for good health, or for immortality? Unable to decide, he asked God for advice. And God laughed at him and said: “just ask to be contented no matter what life brings to you.”

O Lord, teach us to pray for we do not know how to pray neither do we know what to ask for. Make us contented no matter what life brings to our desk. Amen. This is our prayer as I wish you a lovely week ahead. God bless you.

The Grace of Mary Magdalene

Fr Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

We might want to look at the amazing life of this lady apostle, Mary Magdalene in these three levels: She moved from sinfulness to discipleship and then to a missionary.

She has been associated to be the sinful woman who washed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.  And this notion about her led many traditions to view her as a symbol of penance and contrition, of mercy and grace; a sinner turned saint.

As a disciple, she traveled with Jesus and helped to support his ministry (cf. Luke 8:2-3)

As a missionary, she witnessed and was sent by the Lord himself to tell the story of the resurrection to the disciples. 

We too might experience these stages in our journey of faith, from sinfulness to discipleship and to mission and ministry. And sometimes, these stages might crisscross. Thus, the celebration of this great feast reminds us that God's grace is always at work within us to turn us as sinners that we are into disciples of Christ and then into ministers in the Church for the Church and for the society. And so as we live our lives as ministers, we must constantly remind ourselves of those very words of Mary Magdalene: I have seen the Lord. One can imagine how excited Mary was as she told her testimony to the apostles. So too, we experience great excitements in our journey of faith. Surely, our target is to live always like people who have seen the Lord, making our faith felt by others. Yes, faith might be compared to a WiFi. It might not be visible but it is powerful and useful to connect us to Christ and to one another. And this is what we need. We desire to be connected always. I pray we all stay connected.

God bless you. 

LORD, DO YOU NOT CARE…?

HOMILY FOR THE 16TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

There is a Chinese proverb that says: a man without a smiling face must not open a shop. The manner we welcome people would determine the way they remain attracted to us. In the First Reading (Gen. 18:1-10a), Abraham and his wife Sarah received and hosted three men who were total strangers; they did this in an outstanding manner. And they got their blessings. The Lord had appeared to Abraham in the form of three men; and recognizing them to be God, he rose, ran towards them and bowed before them. This is a gesture of worship. He beckoned on them to rest and get refreshed before they continued their journey, and pleaded that they wait for a little water to be brought to wash their feet. And realizing that there is no traffic jam along the extra miles, he went an extra mile to prepare a fine meal for them. This show of hospitality did not go unrewarded as Abraham’s family was instantly blessed by God. He was given the promise of a son. The Lord showed that he cared that he had no son; that he was ready to provide for him. Hospitality attracts God’s favours. Those three men did not reject Abraham’s invitation; and this shows how God does not reject the invitation of those who call on him. He is always ready to honour our invitations. When the customer comes first, the customer will last; when God comes first in our lives, God remains.

To recognize God as he passes, we need a compassionate heart that freely desires to show hospitality. We need the spiritual eyes to recognize God in the various events and situations in our lives, but the easiest ways to do this is to see God in the poor and suffering, going extra miles to put smiles (and not ‘wrinkles’) on people’s faces, and seeing the needs of others as more important than ours. A miraculous story is told of a man who was walking down the Street and met a homeless woman with her child hopelessly sitting on the pavement by the road. He had listened to a sermon about “carrying the cross of Christ” and had seen this as an opportunity to share in the cross of Christ. He then invited this woman and her child to come and spend the night in his apartment. On arrival, he showed them around, gave them the keys and walked away. This man had a terminal sickness linked with the lungs that would allow him only but few hours before he would pass on. So he had thought the lives of these people to be more useful than his. He went and spent the night on that pavement beside the road. This worsened his sickness as it landed him at the hospital where he was confirmed dead. Just after some minutes, this man became alive again with his illness totally cured. He narrated his testimony on how he had heard a voice that told him: because you have shown love and hospitality, go back and show more. The more we show hospitality and accept one another, the more we attract God’s favours.

In the Gospel Reading (Luke 10:38-42) is the famous story of Mary and Martha. Just as Abraham and Sarah, Mary and Martha were hosts to Jesus. As Mary showed hospitality by listening to the words of Jesus, Martha tried showing hers by running around in service. They showed hospitality in their different ways. But Martha could not understand that Mary had left her to do all the services while she was with Jesus listening to him. And she asked: Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Now, it has to be pointed out that Jesus was on his journey to Jerusalem just like the three men of the first Reading were on a journey. He came into the house of his friends to rest for a while. He might have been very pre-occupied about this journey and its outcome -his passion and death. At that point, material food did not matter. What mattered was someone that would listen to him. Of course, Martha was innocent of this. She was doing that which for her was necessary, and rightly so. Mary ought to have helped, but she was also being hospitable in her own way -listening. Hence, as Martha was doing a good thing by showing hospitality, Mary was doing another good by listening to Jesus. However, Christ reminded Martha how she was so worried about service, and commended Mary for making a choice of a better part. This means that both ladies might have done something good, but Mary’s goodness as it were, was needed more. And that was the art of listening.  

Why was Martha shown the better part? Martha had complained about her sister’s attitude. The role of Martha is good so long as it does not turn into a complex. Yes, she was doing something good but one might say that her goodness was twisted the moment she wanted Mary to leave Jesus and join her in service. Who would then do the good -listening to Jesus- if Mary had joined her in service? Each of us has got our good deeds and areas where we might be outstanding. Being focused at perfecting ourselves in our own areas without complaining about how we are left alone to do the work or why others must join us should be our interest. The feeling or the desire to incite others to leave their good deeds so as to add greater force and weight to ours might be regarded as the Martha-complex. People with such a complex might be very hard-working, hospitable and caring, but would always end up with the feeling that they have not done any much, or would always get hurt when they do not get helping hands. They might be happy to work and sacrifice, but might end up hurt when they do not get the support they wanted or were not appreciated for their services. They might not want to give others the opportunity to serve and to render help to them and might believe that they must render the services themselves for things to go on well. They might end up becoming slaves to their jobs. Thus, people with the Martha-complex must learn to be capable of receiving services, open and tolerant, becoming focused in their good deeds, and adding cheerfulness to their services. In general, they ought to constantly remind themselves of those gracious words of Mary: let it be done to me according to your words in total openness to the skills and talents of others and in total resignation to the will of God for them. There is the need to decipher what is most needed at each time and to recognize that there can be various routes to the same destination. And as we might have got this complex at one time or another, it is then necessary to think about making the first things first and setting our priorities right.

Two persons had gone to Lourdes on pilgrimage with a singular purpose: to receive healing. The first person immediately forgot the main purpose and started rushing around to see the sights. On her way to pray, she was intrigued by the fast moving crowd, and would pause to take photos. She also saw souvenirs and cards. She might have as well buy them now in case there might not be time later. And being very careful not to leave any stone unturned, she bought them. She might as well post them immediately. Off she went to the post office; after which she heaved a huge sigh of relief. Now, I must go and say some prayers, she said. But by now, she was just about ready to be exhausted. She went to the grotto but was so weak to pray. And later returned to her lounge. The second person passed by the same way and saw the souvenir and card shops. They could wait, she said. She remembered why she had come, and made her way straight to the grotto where she recollected herself and sought to assemble the fragments of her scattered life and laid them before God. She saw how peaceful and refreshing the experience was. She went back to her lounge feeling healed and looking forward for similar experience in the later days. We can now see how two persons would be on the same bed, and one would be taken and the other left (Luke 17:34). It revolves around prioritizing our needs, and listening more to Jesus. For it is through listening to Jesus that we can get more energy and instructions for the services we render to Him and to humanity. The Lord always cares especially when we set our priorities right. Should our priority then as Christians not be God, which is then shown in our hospitality and care for others? Have a lovely week ahead. God bless you.

GO AND DO THE SAME

HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Faith is an encounter. It is an encounter between God and man. It is an encounter that has the form of a dialogue. And just like many conversations could begin with a question, so too our encounter with Jesus could begin with a question. Longing for truth, we run to God. And surely, Christ is our light shining in the Church and in the world. Indeed, the questions we might ask and the feeling that goes with expecting an answer from the Lord help to lubricate our relationship and enhance our communication with God. Was it not Albert Einstein who was quoted to have said: “the important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing”? To not let our curiosity die is a profitable way of maintaining our awe about God. Dialogue is a tool of faith. Reminding ourselves of this could make us view the Gospel Reading (Luke 10:25-37) from the angle of a dialogue between Jesus and a lawyer, and a possible dialogue between Jesus and us. The Gospel pericope has a structure that is beautifully arranged in the form of a dialogue: the lawyer speaks, Jesus listens and responds; Jesus speaks, the lawyer listens and responds.

a) The lawyer quests (v. 25); Jesus replies with a question (v. 26)

b) The Lawyer answers (v. 27); Jesus replies with the first commission (Luke 10:28)

c) The Lawyer quests more (v. 29); Jesus replies with the story of the Samaritan, but ended with yet another question (vv. 29-36)

d) The lawyer answers (v. 37a); Jesus replies him with the second commission (v.37b)

A clear look at the above arrangement reminds us of the socratic method of dialogue, whereby the questioner is led to discover the answer to his/her question by more questions from the person being questioned. This is called maieutics; in it the teacher acts like a midwife to the student who is led to discover the answer to the question through more questions. Jesus acted then as a midwife who helped the lawyer to discover what must be done to gain eternal life. One might say that the Evangelist employed this hermeneutic tool in his narrative to convey to his Gentile audience what it meant to seek eternal life. He ended with the story of the Samaritan to present to them how a non-Jew like them could care for a person who was in need. We might also think of ourselves as this lawyer. When we ask God questions, God might not be answering them directly but might be leading us to answer by ourselves. In numerous ways, we could be expecting to get answers from the Lord while the Lord is leading us to look into ourselves for the answers, so as to discover how to go and do the same like the Samaritan.

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. His intention might have been to test Jesus about his knowledge of the law of Moses and to discover what law he would favour as the most important; for only the most important law could lead one to eternal life. It is indeed surprising that this lawyer had allowed his motive  to have blinded him from recognising that the one he was talking to was himself the eternal life he sought. Of course, we know how the Gospel of John centres eternal life around Jesus; and this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3). Jesus knew he had knowledge of the law as the lawyer that he was and thus referred him instantly to the law. In his answer, the lawyer made allusions to Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. Jesus then commissioned him to do as the Law said: love God and love your neighbour. But there was something extra to be understood. And this would be discovered in the following question the lawyer would ask. He probed further: who is my neighbour? It would take Jesus the telling of a story –the famous story of the Good Samaritan– to lead him towards the answer, and to commission him to go and do the same.

In that story, Jesus presented three people; two of which were law-conscious people who believed in the letters of the law more than the spirit. The priest and the Levite had passed by the wounded man for fear of becoming defiled. By this, Jesus corrects the impression that sees only the law as the necessity for eternal life. Even though the knowledge and the observance of the law could be important for eternal life, discovering and living by the spirit of the law completes the legs two for the journey of our faith. The Christian application of the law is love; discovering how to apply the law to particular occasions. The pathway to eternal life starts as the First Reading (Deut. 30:10-14) from the obedience to the voice of God who reminds us that true religion is the religion of love rooted in the hearts and souls of all peoples.

Indeed, the entire story of the Good Samaritan could be read from the angle of our journey in life and the experiences we encounter. We might love to see ourselves like this wounded man who was making a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho. The location of his departure might suggest that he was from Jerusalem. And this would mean that his own country men had passed but were indifferent to him. It took a Gentile whom he might not have having desired to relate with to save him. Oh, the mystery of life. In life and in our journey of faith, there might be three groups of people we could encounter. The first group would represent the brigands who left the man half dead. The second group would represent the two people (the priest and the Levite) who were indifferent to the dying man, and the third group would represent the one person who cared for him. We are encouraged not to despair when we meet persons belonging to the first and second group, but to be encouraged by the persons who belong to the third group. We are all the more encouraged by Christ to imitate the one who showed love and to go and do the same.

Therefore, one’s neighbour includes the person with whom you might not share the same faith, race, opinion, gender or background. True Christians are called in a world that is becoming more exclusive to break those boundaries and reach out to the other in need. It was the Samaritan that understood this. He understood what it meant to break boundaries for love. With this story and the famous question that followed -which of these three was a neighbour to the wounded man?- Jesus turned the lawyer’s question on its head.

The lawyer would agree that the Samaritan showed himself a neighbour to the wounded person. He had now answered his own question. Jesus would then reply by commissioning him to go and imitate the Samaritan. What a lovely conversation/dialogue that ended with a commissioning to witness to love; for only through selfless love could one attain eternal life; for only through selfless love could one destroy social, cultural and racial boundaries!!! Remember, it took Jesus’ selfless love to make peace by the blood of his cross (cf. Second Reading; Col. 1:15-20). Is it not how our conversation with Jesus Christ ought to lead us to more love and better ways of practising charity? And should this not also inspire the conversations we engage with people; one that motivates, pardons, and evangelizes? Fruitful conversations inspire evangelization and deepens spirituality. Could this not be why Christian spirituality encourages all Christ’s faithful to have spiritual direction; someone with whom one could discuss his/her spiritual needs and concerns? Spiritual direction requires trust, humility, and obedience. Trust gives the courage to approach, humility gives the strength to listen, and obedience gives the power to act according to the direction -go and do the same. Do have a lovely week ahead; God bless you.                            

                           

HE SENT THEM OUT TWO BY TWO

HOMILY FOR THE 14^TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

There was a forest. In that forest was a very mighty tree that actually was the mightiest and the oldest of all the trees. This mighty tree was fond of intimidating other trees and reminding them how powerless they were; that they could only feed from the rains, the sunlight, and the soil after she must have fed. Hence, they were only able to feed from her left-overs. The others continued to condone this until one day when the mighty tree said something that broke the camel’s back. In that meeting, she said: You are because I am. Whenever the winds come, you are protected because of my mighty branches and leaves. You do not experience erosion because my roots are deeply rooted with very many fibrous roots scattered all around the forest. If not for my sake, this place could never be respected as a forest. If not for my sake, you all would have long been cut down and perished. So, I demand that every morning, you all must bow down before me. The others felt humiliated and devastated at these words. There was a huge silence, until a tiny blade of grass who was touched by such an audacity of the mighty tree said quietly to the other trees: why don’t you relocate to another area and see whether what she has told you is true?

Those words encouraged them; they all agreed to leave and relocated to another area; but there was one who pitied this mighty tree and remained. When the caretakers came and saw the deforestation that had taken place, they wandered and wanted to use the remaining two for wood production, but someone suggested: would it not be better to give these two trees another chance and care for them, for this may attract the others that left to return? The mighty tree was still unable to learn from this and be humble; rather she continued to oppress her remaining ally until this tree decided to join others in their new habitat. The mighty tree was now left by herself. When the caretakers returned, they saw that the mighty tree was now left alone. And since a tree cannot make a forest, they immediately cut it down to put it into another use; so ended the forest.

A tree cannot indeed make a forest. It requires two to Tango, just as it required two (Adam and Eve) to fill the earth and multiply. There is power in the number two (2) for livelihood, for survival and for success, and of course for mission.

In the Gospel ( Luke 10:1-12.17-20), the Lord sends out his seventy disciples “two by two” and gave them authority over unclean spirits with some more instructions so as to avoid giving the impression that they might be working for their own economic gain. This number ‘2’ could be taken as the foundation for every mission and every Christian community life. Perhaps, the prior question about this episode should be why these disciples were sent out in pairs. 

In the time of Jesus, there was a great importance that every ordinary Jew attached to testimony. Testimony for the Jewish law consisted of testimony by eligible witnesses to a court authorized to render decisions. There were qualities which could make one an eligible witness. He must never be deaf, mentally or morally unsuitable, or too young. Also, women are in most cases not eligible. For the witness of the gospel to be eligible then, Jesus sent persons who are free, matured enough, mentally and morally sound. For the Jews, two witnesses provide conclusive proof of reality, but one witness does not. The testimony of two witnesses is equal in force to the testimony of three or more witnesses.

For instance, when two witnesses testify to the occurrence of an event, and one hundred witnesses do the same, the groups of witnesses are considered to contradict one another, but no more weight is given to the larger group. In betrothal ceremonies, two witnesses are required to perform the action. Even a divorce case requires still two witnesses to sign the document or see the delivery. Recourse to the scriptures makes this case vivid. In Deuteronomy 19:15, only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three shall a charge be established. In Numbers 35:30, only on the evidence of more than one witness shall a murderer be put to death. In the Gospel of Matthew 18:16, it is by the evidence of two or three witnesses that a charge can be established. In John 8:13, the Jews had to make reference to this law when the Pharisees told Jesus: you bear witness about yourself and so this testimony is not true. In 2 Cor. 13:1, Paul reminds the Church of the Jewish law that every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. In 1 Timothy 5: 19, Paul admonishes Timothy not to admit a charge against an elder unless on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Therefore, one might be free to see Jesus’ approach of the mission in pairs as a response to the culture of his time and for an easier receptivity of the message.  

Those to whom Jesus sent his disciples required the testimony of two. The testimony of two disciples would carry the much weight required for the transmission of the good news. Therefore, the evidence of two disciples carries much weight. Two challenges and encourages unity. Two makes mission interesting. Two enhances strength and promotes knowledge. Hence, to regard the number 2 as the number for missions would not be a wrong thing to do. And indeed, existence stands because of the reality of two. A recourse to the Scriptures and through our daily cultural experiences would buttress this point.

In the Old Testament, the power and the importance of the ‘two-reality’ stand out clearly. The very first verse in the bible says, in the beginning, God created heaven and earth (Gen 1:1). The hagiographer continued that the days of creation saw the creation of light and darkness (Gen 1:3-5), dry land and waters (Gen 1:10) till the day he made humans; male and female he created them (Gen 1:27). The very first offspring of Adam and Eve were also two (Cain and Abel). However, the events of Gen. 4 when Cain killed Abel, and of Gen. 27 regarding the two sons of Isaac (Esau and Jacob) suggested a distortion of the power of two, which would later contribute in making ‘2’ be seen as representing division. Using two then as a mission strategy in Christ would now become a restoration of the ‘two-reality’ which was set in motion in creation.

In the New Testament, the two-reality continued to be in play. It was the divine will that Joseph be the foster father of Jesus. Christ was born in the family of two –Mary and Joseph`s (cf. Matt.1:18-25) even though Mary did not need Joseph for the conception of the messiah. In the wake of his ministry, Christ called his disciples in pairs: Simon and Andrew (cf. Matt 4:18) and James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Matt 4:21). He also sent his twelve disciples on mission two by two (cf. Mk. 6:7).  In the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit chose Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2).

Enough of this long lecture on the scriptural importance and significance of two!!! The relevant question now should revolve around how we can make a deep meaning out of it.

No doubt, we are a new creation as Paul tells us in the second Reading (Gal. 6:14-18). We are a new creation founded on unity and community life. Our mission is to work as a team and to succeed as a team. Our collective vocation is to serve as a team and succeed as a team. Building a team spirit is our collective duty. The disciples were sent in pairs to ensure that their mutual sharing and caring would witness to charity ever before they spoke of it. Their innocence and gentleness should reflect that of the lamb, and their greeting should be of peace; and so should we. Their words about God must first be rooted in their deep trust in Him; and so should we. They were to carry no purse or haversack in total trust that God and the people would take care of them. Their lives should be able to proclaim a God who is very sufficient to our needs, trustworthy and whose love is real; and so should we. They would be agents of God’s power to heal and restore peace; and so should we. Wherever peace is, there is joy. Writing after the return from the Babylonian exile, the poet in the First Reading (Isaiah 66:10-14) likens Jerusalem to a mother who nurses her children at her breast - a moving image of peace and love. The divine purpose is restore peace and joy on earth by our collective voice and deeds.

Thus, every Christian is sent together with others by Christ to become a messenger of hope, peace and joy to the world. The world here might mean the area in which we live, our places of work, and the people we encounter daily. To go through with this, we certainly need each other. The woman needs the man; the man needs the woman. The Government needs the citizens; the citizens need the Government. The employer needs the employees; the employees need the employer. The clergy need the lay; the lay need the clergy. The priests need their bishops; the bishops need their priests. God needs us; and we need Him; God’s grace is first of all operative, demanding our cooperation.

There are indeed practical benefits of serving God as a team. We are corrected by our counterpart when we err. We are advised when confused. We are encouraged when despaired. We are loved when downtrodden. It helps us to speak the mind of Christ, not our own. Working as a group helps us to draw more persons to God. We are assisted in the face of difficulties. We develop better thoughts when we share them with our counterparts. We achieve more as a group. It is in praying together that we experience Christ better, for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there (cf. Mtt. 18: 20). It is in working together that we experience Christ the more, and that others see Christ in us (cf. Acts 11:19-26). May the Lord renew us, and may our service to God be ever renewed in our hearts. Amen. God Bless You.