FOR WE ARE BLESSED THROUGH HER

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Reading 1: Numbers 6:22-27

Responsorial: Psalm 66:2

Reading 2: Galatians 4:4-7

Gospel: Luke 2:16-21

When God willed to come to us in time and space as both fully man and fully God, He came to us through Mary. And now, as we step into the New Year, we in our humanity go to Him through Mary. Our blessed Mother Mary becomes the primary channel of our journey to God, just as she was the Ultimate channel of God’s journey into the world at the Incarnation. We celebrate Mary, herself conceived without original sin, as the woman who conceived and gave birth to Jesus. This means that the human flesh of Jesus was obtained directly from Mary. As the faith informs us, Jesus is a divine Person, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. In Him is one Person with two natures - human nature and the divine nature. Thus we can confidently assert that the full humanity and the full divinity of Jesus Christ are inseparable, non-divisible, as they are eternally united in the one divine Person, Jesus Christ. 

That said, we can deduce an easily perceptible syllogism from the two following propositions.

As

1. Christ is a divine Person (and therefore, God), while His human and divine natures are inseparably united, and as

2. Mary is the mother of Jesus, the woman through whom He obtained His human nature [God sent his Son, born of a woman (cf. Second Reading; Gal. 4:4-7)]

then it follows that

3. Mary is the Mother of God, since the two natures of Jesus cannot be separated or bisected or divided up; and while the Christ is a fully divine Person, He is simultaneously fully human.

This is the Solemnity that we celebrate today: that Mary is the Mother of God. It is entirely correct to venerate Mary as the Mother of God - but this apt title does not in any way imply that Mary is the source of the existence of the Second divine Person Who has existed consubstantially with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit from all eternity. Our Lady’s title, Theotokos (the ‘God-bearer’, the ‘bearer of God’), underlines that she is the Mother of God incarnate – the mother of the Christ both fully man and fully divine, the woman who is the great example to us all of how we should submit ourselves, offer ourselves totally, to God’s will.

And so, we must begin with her. We begin with Mary, because her example teaches us the virtues of patience and calmness. How come? Because by looking at her example, we can see that we are safely in God’s hands. We begin with Mary, because through her we find the route to salvation. The start of each New Year ought to remind us that a new era of salvation opened for us when God Himself stepped from eternity into time and space and took on full humanity. We begin with our Blessed Mother, because in going continually to her, we find the assurance of walking along the right path in life without stumbling.

The Gospel Reading (Luke 2:16-21) told the story of the birth of Jesus and the visitation by the shepherds, who had come to confirm the message that the angels had given them concerning the birth of the Messiah. The shepherds found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in a manger. As for Mary, she treasured in her heart all these amazing occurrences, and she gave them deep thought. Luke’s narrative attempts to show Mary’s reaction to the extraordinary experiences that accompanied Jesus’ birth, growth to adulthood, and ultimately to His earthly ministry. Luke used this same statement (in Luke 2:52) when he was writing about Mary’s reaction after finding Jesus in the Temple, the place of sacrifice. How quiet and peaceful the heart of Mary was. The humility and peaceful aura of Mary attracted God’s grace and blessings. On earth, she was a Mother to reckon with - never garrulous, but, rather, contemplative, with a total abandonment to the divine will. 

The gospel passage pictures Mary as having a humble and trustful heart. The happenings in and around her at that time, and the speed at which the sequence of events was happening, must have been almost overwhelming for her. From the message of the Angel Gabriel, followed by her visit to Elizabeth, the reaction of Joseph in accepting her pregnancy when he was not the father, the exhaustion of giving birth far from home, the lack of medical assistance, the need to wrap her baby in rags and place him in a manger instead of a cradle, and finally the visit of some scruffy outcasts of society with an incredible story about the manifestation of angels. These events seem to have been just too much for her to speak about at the time. We know that she took her time to come to terms with them as she pondered them in her heart. Sometimes, just like Mary, we too retreat into a quiet corner and find ourselves pondering silently, alone with our thoughts, when things in life get complicated. To live healthily, both spiritually and physically, it is absolutely essential to make time to be quiet, to take time out of our busy schedules, to reserve for ourselves some periods for contemplation and reflection. And doesn’t the New Year, with our New Year resolutions in the forefront of our minds, offer us a great opportunity to step up to achieve this with great joy, hope and love! 

Through the life, obedience and decision-making of Mary, the whole world was able to welcome the Saviour of mankind. Through her, we are blessed … blessed to face the troubling moments of human life as well as the joys. As our Mother, the Queen of Heaven at the right hand of Jesus to intercede for us, she cares for us and warns us if we are about to cause ourselves harm. Her maternal care, and the blessings that come with her warm embrace, can be clearly understood in the light of the blessings that 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 really ought to claim these blessings for ourselves, our friends, our families and our fellow parishioners. May we, through these blessings, become ever more firmly rooted in the Faith, and become truly rich in the Holy Spirit: rich in joy, rich in hope, rich in love, rich in service and rich in all things good. Happy New Year to you! May I wish you all the best for 2020, whatever challenges it may bring. God bless you.

TAKE THE CHILD AND HIS MOTHER, AND ESCAPE TO EGYPT

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The story of the Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family - Jesus, Mary and Joseph - reminds me of that lovely story (the stuff of legend) about their taking refuge in a cave. When Joseph and Mary were on their way to Egypt with the baby Jesus, as night fell they were tired and were forced to seek refuge in a cave. It was very cold that night, and the ground was covered in hoar frost. A tiny little spider spied the holy baby Jesus. The spider was so thrilled! He wanted so much to do something to keep his Lord warm on that cold night. What could he do? Well, he did the best thing that he could do: busily, he span his web, round and round, to-and-fro, up-and-down, right across the entrance to the cave, so as to make a curtain to keep the cold out and the warmth in. Along the path outside the cave, the tramp of soldiers could be heard approaching. These were enemy soldiers, belonging to the forces of cruel King Herod. The soldiers were under orders from the King to search out boy babies and toddlers and kill them on the spot. The soldiers approached the cave and were about to search it, when their captain noticed the spider’s web. That web, stretching right across the entrance to the cave, was covered in hoar frost. “Oh, look at that web!”, remarked the captain to his platoon, “It’s intact, so there can’t be anyone in the cave. If there were, they’d have bust the web getting in. Move on!” And so, the soldiers passed by, leaving the Holy Family undisturbed. The Holy Family was protected and left in peace, all because a tiny little spider had spun his web across the entrance to the cave in which they were taking refuge. And that, so they say is why, to this very day, tinsel is draped around our Christmas trees - for that glittering tinsel represents that spider’s web, white with hoar frost and stretched across the entrance to the cave!

Isn’t that a lovely story? There’s no gift which Jesus ever received that was forgotten. Today, we celebrate the Holy Family as the model for every family across the world to emulate, and we ask that the message of Christ may be received and welcomed into each of them. Our story of the spider and the web conveys so effectively the idea of protection, doesn’t it? So too does the story of the Flight into Egypt, where the primary intention is the protection of the Lord Himself, the baby Jesus. Both these stories highlight an important aspect of family life. Why Egypt? During the troubled centuries in the time before Christ, Egypt was a land of refuge for Jewish people. When tyranny and persecutions made life at home intolerable for the Jews, great numbers of them sought refuge in Egypt. Apparently, there were more than a million Jews in Alexandria, and at the time of Christ, every city in Egypt had a community of Jews. 

The angel said to Joseph in a dream (cf. The Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23): rise up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. This is key, because dreams in the Bible are always important theologically. The dream is there to tell Joseph that it was not the right time to put up a fight. Why not? Because the baby Jesus needed his family’s current protection to ensure the future protection He Himself was going to bring to the whole world. Joseph, good man that he was, immediately did as the angel instructed him. He took the family and sought refuge in another part of the Roman Empire, in Egypt, so as to protect the lives of the baby and the mother. Later, the Holy Family would return to their home country and settle in Nazareth. 

Now, at this juncture, has your mind made the link between the situation in the world back then and the situation in the world today? Can you see that certain governments past and present are guilty of making life unbearable for their people, so much so that people have to flee from their homelands? Isn’t this what we see happening today? What can we, as a faith community, do to help such people and nations? Pope Francis has been a front-liner in this by helping to resettle asylum seekers. There are several things we ourselves can do to contribute to peace and the protection of human beings and peoples. Perhaps the story of the tiny little spider and the web could help each one of us to see how we might contribute in practical terms, no matter how little that individual contribution might be. For a start, we can all remember in our prayers those families who are frantically seeking refuge in foreign lands, that they may find the support they need. We can also pray for governments with rulers as cruel as Herod, that the minds and policies of people in power may be changed.

Let’s go on to consider two particular virtues to cultivate in our family lives, as proposed in both the First Reading (Eccl. 3:2-6, 12-14) and the Second Reading (Col. 3: 12-21). These are the virtues of forgiveness and patience. 

We all make mistakes. We know that all too well. We excuse ourselves by saying that no-one is perfect. Sometimes we act badly out of anger or when we are prompted by spite. Most times, though, we behave badly out of sheer ignorance. The one fault which children apparently find very difficult to overlook in their parents, and which parishioners find hard to tolerate in their priests, turns out to be the vice of impatience. Almost any personal fault can be condoned or suffered to some extent - but continual displays of impatience will eventually drive children from the home, and people from the Church. The Readings today encourage us to give other people a second chance. Furthermore, in practising these virtues of forgiveness and patience, we do more than give people a second chance: we ourselves benefit from being introduced to a wonder hidden within them and within all of us together: “The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same”. 

Finally, we must always remember that the family should be the primary place of protection for each one of its members. Today, shouldn’t our individual families be fighting to protect and preserve for future generations the culture of Faith, the moral codes and the Christian discipline against the social pressures and unhealthy policies prevalent in our world? Shouldn’t we be fighting to protect the bedrock of society, the family, against such iniquitous pressures and policies? On the other hand, shouldn’t we wake up to the fact that there are times when, like the infant Jesus, we have to allow ourselves to be protected, guided and counselled by powers way beyond merely human ones? That there are times when we must surrender to flight, in order to allow the seeds planted in us by God to grow and to mature in God’s good time for use at the most appropriate time? It ought to seem clearer to us now that, in the struggles of present-day life, caution and restraint are needed. Don’t be inclined to respond to each slight provocation; don’t allow yourself to be easily provoked (cf. Eccl. 7:9). As each and every one of us cultivates the virtues of forgiveness and patience, collectively we can enhance the dignity of family life. May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph continue to inspire us today. Amen. God bless you.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Its finally Christmas Day! I am guessing that the bulk of the preparations is over, and that there’s now a pervading sense of peace and quiet in your household. For some people, this day seems to be no different from every other day; after all, the sun rose this morning and it will set this evening, and the pains of everyday life will still be raw. For other people, this day has dawned with a huge sense of hope, especially where there is a white Christmas. Yes, for them the pains of everyday life might still be raw - but they feel an overwhelming sense of healing and joy which mitigates the pain. The celebration of Christmas as the “Christ Mass” belongs to a chosen lifestyle which influences our attitude and response to the gift of life. Furthermore, this joyful, festive lifestyle comes with a message: the message of the Word made flesh.

St. John’s Gospel today opens with a vision of the Word as being present with God before creation (cf John 1:1-18). What Jesus was to be in the moment of His birth from the Virgin Mary, He was also from eternity before creation began. This is the eternal status of the logos (the Word). There never was a time that He was not, that He didn’t exist. However, His being born in our midst marks the beginning of the plan of God regarding our redemption from sin. According to the writer to the Hebrews (cf. Second Reading; Heb. 1:1-6): God has spoken to us through His Son in these last days as the completion and fulfilment of all the prophets and of all the prophecies of old. Through history, God has manifested Himself to humanity in progressive stages which reach the apex, the highest point, in Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Incarnation, when the Christ became flesh as a zygote in the womb of Our Lady, is the apex of divine revelation.  

It is St. John who illumines humanity with the truth that the Christ is none other than God’s creative, life-giving and light-giving Word. The Word is, as it were, the Mind of God, the power of God with which the world was created, and the reason behind the continued sustenance and functioning of the world. The gospel of John begins with the same wording with which the book of Genesis (Gen1:1) opened, with the words ‘in the beginning’. By this, John deliberately implies that the Word was not among the things that were created. The Word is eternal - in the beginning was the Word. There was never a time when the Word was not. There was never a time when the Word lived apart from God – ‘the Word was with God’. The Word has the full substance of God. The Word has every attribute that God has, in such a manner that everywhere and at all times, He is God – ‘the Word was God’. It follows that the Christ is perfectly consubstantial with the Father. In Him, we see perfectly Who God is and how He works (cf. John 14:10-12). 

With the Word of His mouth, the Lord made man, and breathed life into him (cf. Gen 2:7). At creation, the Word made all things. At the Incarnation, the Word became flesh, thereby making Himself the product of Himself. The omnipotence of the Word was manifested in the Incarnation. Having given life and order to creation, He made himself a creature in order to redeem everyone that He has created! The Word refreshes: The Lord sends out His word and it melts every hardened structure (Psalm 147:18). This Word guides: The word of the Lord is a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths (Psalm 119:105). This Word is pure and protects: every word of God proves true and is a shield to those who take refuge in Him (Proverbs 30:5). With poetic flair, Isaiah (cf. First Reading: Is. 52:7-10) visualised a herald heaping so nimbly across the mountains that only the footprints of the herald are visible. This herald, who disappears from sight faster than the sound of his voice, utters powerful words, words of glad tidings, peace, joy and salvation. At Christmas, we desire to hear such words, and our mouths must be ready to utter them, to articulate them, to speak them, to pass them on to others.

Now, in between these two births – the Word of God born from eternity, and the God-Man born at Bethlehem as the Child of Mary - St. John inserts a titanic battle between light and darkness: the light shines on in darkness, a darkness that did not overcome it. Every time that goodness was rejected, the battle between light and darkness was fought all over again. But light always triumphed over darkness, and the light of Christ continues to win to this day. Even when the light is not recognized, or even when it is rejected, it continues to shine in various ways. The light cannot but shine! That’s what light does. And this light continues to shine in our world today. This light warms us up, it gives us life and energy, and it illumines us to illuminate others and to shine on them. We have seen His glory; others too must be allowed to see His glory through us. 

It is Christmas. We shall return home to open our presents, to have our Christmas dinners, to visit friends and to have happy times. All too soon, though, the decorations will be put back in their boxes. A few of the Christmas cards might be kept back, but most will be sent for recycling. The holidays will come to an end. When these festivities are finally over, we must bear in mind that the reason behind what we have just celebrated will always remain with us. Christmas is a lifestyle. It never ends. Let us try, then, never to forget the love and joy we have shared throughout this season. Let’s continue to treasure the warmth of this day forever, and for our hearts to glow with that same warmth and joy. Merry Christmas! God bless you.

THE NEWS OF GREAT JOY

HOMILY FOR THE MIDNIGHT MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

When it comes to family matters, everybody knows that the birth of a child is no childish matter! The entry of the new-born baby into the world will have an impact upon every member of the family in one way or another. Not only will the child wield some influence upon his or her parents and siblings through his individual needs, desires and demands, his character, temperament and disposition, his challenges, difficulties and accomplishments, but the child himself will also absorb some of the virtues and prejudices, talents and wisdom, culture and tradition of the wider family. 

Tonight, families of the world come together to focus upon the birth of the wondrous Child, Jesus the Christ. This is the night of contrasts when, according to the prophet Isaiah (First Reading: Is. 9:1-7), the people that walked in darkness saw a great light, and when the people who lived in sorrow and distress experienced great joy. Here, Isaiah is speaking of ‘darkness’ in the context of the experience of anguish and destruction as a direct result of the deportation of the Israelites from their homeland in the Northern kingdom. Foreigners were deliberately brought in to resettle the area. Although the Israelites were going through a horrendous experience at the time, Isaiah prophesied that the situation would not last for ever, and that the People of God would see a great light and experience great joy. How come? Because it was this land, this country and culture of the Israelites, that would ultimately produce the Saviour of the whole world. Tonight, the Saviour is born for us. He is the Christ, the Lord; and, as St. Paul wrote to Titus (Second Reading: Titus 2:11-14), the grace of God in Jesus has been revealed to the world to make possible salvation for the whole human race! Salvation is freely available to everyone – including you and me, if we choose to opt in – because sin and death have been overcome by Our Lord Jesus. The birth of the Holy Child marks the beginning of our redemption from sin and death. 

Have you ever wondered why the Lord was born in Bethlehem? The name ‘Beth-le-hem’ in Hebrew means ‘house of bread’. Bethlehem was (and is) a town associated with food. Our Lord was born in the ‘house of bread’ specifically to counteract the original sin of the human race’s first parents who took and ate of the fruit of good and evil (Gen. 3:6). Our Lord was laid in a manger to indicate that He gives us Himself to eat. Our Lord gives us Himself to eat whenever the food of the Eucharist - His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - is confected for us in the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah, comes to replace the carnal insatiability of mankind with souls longing constantly for God. St. Augustine knew that feeling so well when he said, “my soul is restless until it finds its rest in Thee”. How well each and every one of us knows that feeling.

When a child is born, he can see a bit, but his visual powers are not yet fully developed and he can’t discern much. He cannot yet make sense of what his eyes are telling him. It must be rather like being in the dark. The experience of Christmas is rather like that for us: initially we may be surrounded by the darkness of secular life. This darkness might be due to lost hopes, individual pressures, family problems or social politics. However, to continue with the analogy, within the experience of darkness, the child will still be born and alive. Neither the decree of Caesar Augustus nor the hostile situation that surrounded the birth of Jesus (cf. The Gospel: Luke 2:1-14) could prevent history from taking its course and prevent Him from being born; correspondingly, neither the events and politics of the world, nor our individual experiences, can hinder the birth of the Babe, the God-Man, in our midst and in our hearts. 

We ought to imitate the example of those shepherds in Bethlehem, who went out into the darkness of the night to meet the brightness of the new-born King. Their vigil at the manger caused the glory of God to shine on them. They were given the news of great joy by the angel, news to be shared by all. This is the news of great joy which is given to each one of us today: the Messiah has been born. He is here! Nothing can hinder God’s will. The New Adam – the Christ- has taken human flesh in order to restore the sanctity of the First Adam. The New Eve – Mary - has by her fiat and obedience corrected the gullibility and disobedience of the First Eve. The Word, Who spoke creation from nothing, took flesh in the Incarnation. God, who has the power to make man out of dust, has made Himself subject to human powers by taking flesh.

I’d like to share with you some more words of St. Augustine of Hippo, this time from one of his sermons on Christmas Day: “For your sake, God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man. You would have suffered eternal death, had He not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had He not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for His mercy. You would never have returned to life, had He not shared your death. You would have been lost if He had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had He not come.” 

Dear friends, Christmas, being the feast of children, speaks directly to the child within us, to our ‘inner child’. Tonight, by His birth, each and every of us is freed from our personal fears and prejudices, and from our personal sorrow and distress. Tonight, by His birth, hostile situations, mundane politics and ideologies will no longer victimize us and will no longer prevent us from giving birth to goodness, mercy, peace and joy. Tonight, with Jesus, we aspire to renewed sanctity and holiness. Tonight, like the Infant Jesus, we possess once more a childlike innocence and hope. Let us, then, invite this child within us, our ‘inner child’, to absorb the virtues of the Infant Jesus, to be on our guard against prejudice, so that we may influence the world around us with our talents, wisdom and selflessness. “Let it glow, let it glow, let it glow!” It is Christmas! May I wish you all the compliments of the Season. God bless you.

THE SIGN OF EMMANUEL

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

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Every serious event is preceded by an announcement, isn’t it? According to African cultural tradition, whenever a ruler is about to deliver a message to his people, it is customary for his messenger to get people’s attention by sounding a gong. The people hear the gong before they hear the message. Today we are metaphorically hearing the sound of the gong and listening to the announcement about the birth of the Messiah. This is the last Sunday of Advent; we are standing on the threshold of Christmas. During this Advent season, we have heard the crescendo of joyous expectation regarding the coming of our Lord and Saviour. Today we join our voices to those of the prophet Isaiah and the Angel Gabriel to announce to the world that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call him Immanuel. The Child will be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. His mission is to save the world from her sins. This is indeed the apex of all theophanies throughout history, the zenith of all miracles and the ultimate liberation from slavery, sin and fear. 

The First Reading (Isaiah 7:10-14) champions this glorious announcement. The context is that Isaiah exhorts the earthly king to place his trust in the Lord who, to gain that trust, will show him any sign he chooses. Ahaz, the king of Judah, is in a tight spot. Syria and Israel have invaded Judah, but so far have been unable to capture Jerusalem, the capital of the Judean kingdom. Ahaz has made the decision to ally his country with a pagan nation (Assyria), both in order to protect his kingdom and to preserve the dynasty of David. In doing so, Ahaz has disregarded Yahweh (God). Ahaz himself lives a wayward lifestyle and has sacrificed to pagan idols, even to the point of sacrificing his own son. Isaiah foresees doom in this political alliance of Judah with Assyria, and opposes Ahaz. Isaiah reasons that the Davidic dynasty can only be preserved by the power of God, and certainly not by a secular political alliance. Only the power of God can be relied upon to save the king and his kingdom. Then Ahaz is instructed by the Lord to ask for any sign that would convince him to place his trust in God’s promises, but Ahaz doesn’t want to go there. He has a hissy fit, throwing God’s own offer back in His face on the spurious ground that he doesn’t want to ‘put the Lord to the test’. The Lord Himself patiently insists on giving him the most wonderful sign possible: the sign of Immanuel. 

The sign of Immanuel is given to confirm the words of the prophet about the will of God, rather than to astonish King Ahaz. Thus, God’s will is revealed: Immanuel will be born into the earthly dynasty of David as the fulfilment of God’s promise to David that his dynasty would be eternal. Transcendent God will become Immanent God - God-with-us. God will assume human flesh and will allow Himself to accept earthly maternity, paternity and lineage. This extensive dynasty will be sustained by God Himself. 

That was the sign given to Ahaz. And at one time or another, we too might find ourselves as faithless as Ahaz whose experience of war led him to lose such faith as he had. He lost confidence that God could and would save the kingdom of Judah; and, having lost that trust, he chose to rely solely upon human efforts including his own. The outcome was his political alliance with Assyria. It is, of course, indisputable that the impact of horrendous life experiences upon us may serve to undermine our faith and shake our trust in God and in our friends. We do, however, slide even deeper into pain and error whenever we harden our hearts and block our ears from listening to that inner voice, that inner voice which calls us to put our faith and trust in God because God is in control. That insistent inner voice urges us to place our confidence and trust in a power infinitely greater than our own, in total submission to the will of God. The earthly dynasty of David, which Ahaz was fighting for, was that from which God had already willed Himself to be born. God knows everything. God knows the best way forward for each one of us. Yes, He knows what is best for you and for me. Why, then, should we hesitate to place our confidence and trust in Him?

The promise of the Emmanuel re-emerges in the Gospel (Matthew 1:18-20). St. Matthew’s Infancy Narrative focuses on the person of Joseph (unlike St. Luke’s, which is built around the person of Mary). St. Matthew presents the fascinating character of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who respected both God and men. Joseph did not want to disgrace Mary who, after her formal betrothal to Joseph, had been found to be expecting a baby. According to Jewish custom, if after betrothal the prospective bride was found to be pregnant, divorce was permitted. The divorce had to be finalised in public in order to make plain to the community the reason for the divorce. But Joseph perceived that such publicity would heap disgrace upon Mary. He made the decision to preserve Mary’s dignity and honour by secretly sending her packing. It would have taken the intervention of God to overturn the decision, had He willed it. Why didn’t He? Because this inspired decision of Joseph helped to reveal to the world the vital aspect which was not apparent in Isaiah’s prophecy – the vital aspect that is the Virginal conception. The Child, the Emmanuel, the God-with-us, would be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Mary’s pregnancy resulted from the action of the Holy Spirit. The impossible was made possible. God became incarnate. Mary and Joseph were now confronted with the great mystery of conception without consummation. They both, by their fiats, demonstrated the obedience of faith - the sort of faith spoken of by St. Paul in the Second reading (Romans 1:1-7). Without faith, we cannot please God (cf. Heb. 11:6). Unlike King Ahaz, Joseph did believe the Angel of the Lord. In so doing, Joseph counteracted the infidelity of Ahaz through his fidelity to God and by placing his absolute trust in God. Joseph, then, played a major part in the magnificent plan of God for the salvation of mankind. Remember that Mary, in her capacity as the Mother of God, could just as well have nurtured and raised the Holy Child as a single parent - but that wasn’t the will of God. Our Lord wanted to live and grow up on earth in a family, in a family of three - Jesus, Mary and Joseph - having been united in heaven in a single substance of the three divine Persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The mission of the Child who was to be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit was to save humanity from the wages of sin.

The Virginal conception would mark the beginning of the restoration of the original order that was in place at creation. In Gen 1:2. the Spirit of God was moving upon the face of the waters. This Spirit brought order to the chaos that initially existed. When the Lord sends forth His Spirit, they (the creatures) are created (cf. Psalm 104:30). Never was the Spirit of God so operative and efficacious than He was in the Virginal conception. To restore the order of peace, hope, and joy, which was reduced to chaos by original sin, it was the Holy Spirit Who caused the Virginal conception from the spark of Divine Love. In the Virginal conception, the move to recreate the human soul that was damaged by the disobedience of Adam was manifested in concrete terms. This same Holy Spirit recreates each one of us even today (cf. Isaiah 42:5): ‘I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live’ (Ezekiel 37: 5). Today the Holy Spirit even can enliven the soul that is dead in sin, revitalizing and empowering it to launch a vigorous and radical assault against sin, and then enrapturing that soul in the life of grace. Only divine love makes all this possible. May we continue to live in the love of God. Amen. God bless you.

HOW CAN WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER? YOU ARE HE!

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

How do you feel whenever a particular expectation of yours is not met? Disappointed? Upset? Fed up? Do you simply put the disappointment behind you and look for another way forward? Do you ask questions in order to discover why you’re so disappointed? Well, these are examples of reactions that we might have. When we consider how John the Baptist might have felt when he was left to rot in prison, it would be a mistake to go along with the notion that his question to Jesus in the Gospel Reading (Mt.11:2-11) arose from a feeling of disappointment – disappointment that his expectations about the Messiah were not being met. We too might feel similarly about being kept waiting for something we are anticipating, about being kept waiting and waiting for something that we expect to happen. Like John, we might  feel disappointed that our prayers are not being answered in the way we hoped they would be. Like John, we might feel disappointed that things and events are not playing out the way we want them to. But, by the end of our reflections today, like John we will have discovered that the episode in today’s Gospel goes way beyond a mere expression of disappointment.

Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else? John had been thrown in prison and was already a ‘dead man walking’. Nothing could have made him happier than to die in the knowledge that the man he introduced to the world as the Messiah (Mt. 3:1-17) was actively accomplishing the work that the long-awaited Messiah was prophesied to do. Confirmation of the Messiahship of Jesus would validate John’s own mission as the forerunner of the Messiah. If, however, Jesus was not the Messiah, then John’s message and mission would have been in vain. John’s imprisonment and execution would have been no more than great personal misfortune. John needed to have his own mission affirmed as true; that would give him the strength to go on in the face of death. We can imagine the renewed zeal that energised John upon receiving the positive response of Jesus to his question. Yes, Jesus was indeed the Christ. And we can go on to elicit for ourselves further meanings from this scenario. Reminding ourselves of the work of the Messiah can really refresh us spiritually and enhance our spiritual growth. 

Let’s go on to consider this episode from the point of view of the disciples of John the Baptist. It is probable that John’s disciples found themselves wondering whether Jesus really was the Messiah, and questioned John about Jesus’ status when they visited John in prison. In response to the queries raised, John might well have said to them: if any of you has doubts, let him go and ask Jesus himself. The question would then have become a vehicle for redirecting them to the Messiah, which was the objective of John’s mission. The question would serve to open a channel of conversion to those who were having doubts, and to be a platform for the disciples to brainstorm how to react effectively both to critics and to those who were yet to believe in the Christ. The best response to the question of how to discern God - how to get those first fingertips latched onto His existence - is to go to Jesus, to surrender our life to Him, and to wait and see what He will do with us. The supreme argument in favour of Christ is not via intellectual debate but through a personal experience of His life-changing power. Why not try it and see for yourself? I guarantee that it will completely convince you!

Jesus’ response to John the Baptist’s disciples confirmed His mission as that of the Messiah, the Christ. In his reply, Jesus made reference to the messianic passages in the Hebrew Scriptures. For those held captive physically, mentally or spiritually, there is abundant liberation to be had. The woman said to him: I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am He (John 4:25). Jesus is the Saviour. He comes to bring us new life and to infuse us with new zeal. In the First Reading (Isaiah 35:1-6a.10), the prophet sees the desert blooming with new life, as the eyes of the blind are opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed, and everyone returns singing to Zion.

We must not forget that Jesus spoke about John with deep admiration. His comments portrayed John as an extraordinary man who was sought-after for the rare gift he possessed; a spiritual man, who was neither materialistic nor moved by the things of this world; a preacher of the word, who was interested solely in the repentance of the people; a great prophet, who showed the people the Way (for the sole Way is Christ Himself). John the Baptist is the great prophet about whom other prophets spoke: behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord. (cf. Mal. 4:5); He was a special herald of God, the greatest of human beings. 

Jesus also said that John was the least in the Kingdom of heaven, and that the least in the Kingdom of heaven was greater than John. But why did Our Lord say that? What a conundrum. Let’s try to unpack it and offer some explanations. Firstly, remember that Jesus is the Kingdom of God Himself. This is key. Jesus is the auto-basileia. To experience Christ is to experience the Kingdom of heaven. To be with Christ is to be with the Kingdom. To know Christ is to know the Kingdom. To preach Christ is to preach the Kingdom. This is what Christians have now. John himself never did. John pointed out Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, but even though he was His cousin, John never experienced a close relationship with the God-man. John was like a signpost pointing the way to the destination, the destination which was the Christ. Of course, those who reach their destination have actual knowledge and experience of it, while the sign or person who merely points the way to it does not. A signpost does its job effectively: it indicates the way to the destination. Its job as a signpost gives it zero experience of the destination itself, while the people who get there do enjoy that experience. John showed Jesus to the world, but personally he witnessed neither Jesus’ mission nor His redemptive acts on earth. The apostles and the disciples of Jesus were privileged to experience the Christ, and to see and hear what the prophets all dreamt about seeing and hearing, but never did John. To paraphrase Jesus’ words: ‘John prophesied about My coming and pointed to Me as the Messiah; but now there are those who live with Me, preach Me to the whole world, make converts to Me, live holy lives for My sake and die for Me. All these people are greater than John, even though John is the greatest of all the prophets before him’.

Now, we have discovered that the question of John to Jesus was all about Jesus’ Messiahship; in no way was it about doubt or feelings of disappointment. Reassured and encouraged by Jesus’ response, John continued his mission as the forerunner while he was in prison. The goal of the conversation reported by the Evangelist, St. Matthew, is to lead us too to the discovery of the nature of the mission of Jesus Christ and to solid faith in Jesus as the Anointed One, the Messiah. During this season of Advent, then, this message is in place to remove any doubts we might harbour within us concerning the Messiahship of Jesus as we prepare for His coming at Christmas. We are called to supersede any feelings of world-weariness or disappointment we might have with deep joy - joy in longing for the arrival of Our Lord. In the Second Reading (James 5:7-10) St. James emphasises the patience that every farmer has, and offers us a way of enhancing our joy by emulating that patience. The farmer plants the seed and waits patiently through the early and late rains for the crops to begin to grow in season. Such patience will be required from us today. Be patient and wait until the Lord comes. May the joy of expectation fill us today and evermore. Amen. God bless you.