WHY MUST WE REJOICE?

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The period of waiting can really be boring or exhaustive. To wait needs patience. A friend once narrated his ordeal as he waited for a guest who failed to come at the scheduled time. Both friends had scheduled the arrival time. The guest had cancelled every other appointment he had, for he decided to be at home to welcome his guest so as to accord him the respect for their friendship. Along the line, something inhibited the guest from arriving at the agreed time. The host got disappointed and regretting having cancelled his appointment decided to leave to attend to some other pressing issues. He was annoyed due to the boredom he witnessed as a result of the time wasted. He locked up his house and off he went. He had thought to himself to pay back his guest in his own coin. He must wait for me, he reasoned, whenever he arrives to feel the pains of waiting for another. Sometimes, preparation and eager waiting can be met with boredom and anger if on one hand, the strength and the zeal of the one waiting dwindles, or on another hand, the waiter gets the impression that the preparation and waiting may finally be in vain.

The Advent season is a period of waiting eagerly for the saviour. It goes with various preparations and alertness. However, we are exhorted never to lose focus of patience as we wait. We are not permitted to nurse the impression of relaxing or even giving up on preparation. This is why it is necessary to pause a while and refuel our souls for the spiritual preparation and look-out for the coming of the king. This is why we must rejoice. This is why we must guide against any form of boredom or interest killer. We have to live in joy. This is the message of this Sunday which is properly called Gaudete Sunday. The three Readings all contain this singular message of being joyful. The First Reading (Is. 61:1-2a.10-11) went personally to state that “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God.” The Second Reading (1 Thes. 5:16-24) came in the form of a strong admonition: “Rejoice always.” The Gospel Reading went ahead to give us a very powerful reason why we must rejoice: it is because among you stands one whom you do not know. These readings call our attention to the fact that we must live in joy, and never let anything or reality to dampen our spirits. Why must we live in Joy? The readings unravel three reasons for us.

1) We must live in joy because we have been anointed to do God’s work. God does not send us on a mission without empowering us. The Prophet Isaiah enumerated the mission that goes with our anointing. We are anointed to bring news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. We are heralds and emissaries sent for this. And as messengers, we need to bear faces that can attract people to buy our message. We must be joyful. Pulling long faces can only make people scared of us. When those who are on this mission live in joy, the people that encounter may live in the imagination of how joyful they are. Then can they desire to identify with that message that gives joy.

2) We must live in joy because it is the will of God. Every lifestyle has its code of conduct. Every group has its own constitution. Our constitution is the will of God. We must live in joy and never despair because God wants us to be joyful. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians who were almost giving up on hope based on the preaching on the second coming of Christ. people had stopped working and had abandoned their daily pursuits to wait for the coming with a kind of panic-stricken expectancy. So, Paul had to write to them to be calm and not fearful and to go about their normal duties. He gave them series of advice. The Thessalonians were imagining the fate of those who died before the second coming, and that led them into panic. Paul had to give them three major features of knowing a true Church. The first is that it is a happy church: hence they must rejoice. Christianity must make us feel uplifted and not depressed. The second is it must be a praying Church; hence they must pray. Christianity must make us realize the importance of prayer individually and communally. The third is that it must be a thankful church; hence, they must give thanks. Christianity must make us realize that here is always something for which we can give thanks to God.

3) We must live in joy because Christ who we are waiting for is already in our midst. He is among us already. We need only to make effort to discover who he is and where he is. This is why John the Baptist in the Gospel told the people that in their midst already stood the messiah, the one the thong of whose sandals he was unable to untie. He was not even fit to be the slave of the Messiah. Since he is in our midst, our salvation is with us. We must focus our attention on the Christ just as John has directed us to him. John redirected all those who thought him as the anointed one. One of the things that can distract us from focusing on Christ is an improper focus or misleading information. Our livelihood in joy is that we were not misled and are not mislead. We have been shown the Christ, and so must rush to embrace Him and work so that the kingdom of God reigns forever.

May the celebration of joy lead us into its fullness during the Christmas season. God bless you.

MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT

HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The person of John the Baptist is a fascinating one. He is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. In the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, mysterious happenings surrounded his birth. It started from the announcement to Zechariah by the Angel Gabriel, the Old age of the Parents, the dumbness of the father, the divinely chosen name, and the recognition by the unborn John of the presence of the unborn Jesus. These circumstances re-echo some prominent figures in the Old Testament. The events that surrounded John the Baptist recall the story of Abraham, the father of faith and place side by side the personality of the child with Isaac, the son of Abraham. The formula of announcement and the divinely chosen name of John re-enacts the announcement of the birth of Isaac and his divinely chosen name (Gen 17:19). The old age of the parents of John reminds us of the old age of the parents of Isaac (cf. Gen 21:1-7).

Some other OT personalities come to mind. The announcements of the birth of Samson (Judges 13:1-25) who possessed the same ascetic lifestyle with John; and that of Samuel (Sam. 1:1-20) contain admixtures which express analogous narration with that of John the Baptist. The stories of these personalities express through symbolism of the plan of God in the economy of salvation. Abraham and Isaac were chosen to establish a new people of God with a different mission. Samson was born to raise a person who can console the Israelites against the intimidation of the Philistines. Samuel had the mission to correct the errors of the children of Eli and to inaugurate a model of priesthood through another line. John the Baptist himself was born to become the forerunner of Jesus and to fulfil the message of the prophet Isaiah to make the ways of the Lord straight. John is that messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord (Mal. 3:1) and his voice is that voice in the wilderness crying out and calling the people to repentance (cf. The First Reading, Isaiah 40:3): prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.

A careful study of the Gospel Reading of today has led us into selecting five major guidelines from the life and message of John for our journey towards proper repentance and preparation of the way of our Lord.

1) The Wilderness

Isaiah wrote that a voice cries in the wilderness. He wrote this during the Babylonian exile. The people were in despair; so Isaiah spoke of a new exodus that reminds the people of how they were led out of Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land. So, also, God would lead them out to Jerusalem through the wilderness. So, the wilderness here signifies a passage for freedom. It signifies a place where the people of God pass through out of slavery, hunger, intimidation, suffering, and cries to freedom, plenty, love, glory and joy. However, the wilderness is very significant in the life of Israel. It was there that God tested the people, the people rebelled and sinned, and it was there that God saved them again and again. The wilderness was indeed a crucible where the people became a nation. It was a route to their nationhood. It was a place the people sinned and where they also got repentance to restore their relationship with God. It is in this that we see why the message of John was heard from the wilderness.

The wilderness played special role in the liberation of the people. And this provides an answer to those who are tempted to ask why John must cry out from the wilderness. Another answer is that John the Baptist was an embodiment of Elijah who associated with the wilderness (cf. 1 Kings 17:2-3) and the Scripture promised the return of Elijah (Mal. 4:5). John’s cry from the wilderness is a clarion call to go back to our root and to remember how God saves us as a people. So, it is a place of reminiscence that reminds us to never forget the wonders God has done in our lives. Make yourself to hear this cry sounding from the wilderness. Remember how good the Lord has been to you, and be quick to repent. In like manner, remember how good that person whom you have offended has been to you, and be ready to make amends this period.

2) The Congregation of John

The Gospel recorded that people came all the way from Judea and Jerusalem to receive the baptism of John which called for repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is significant. Remember, from the biblical history, before the coming of John, it has been more than three hundred years since a prophet was active in Israel. So, the people thought that the era of the prophets is gone. So, learning of John the Baptist, they flock to him. They have indeed longed for a prophet. The people of Jerusalem are clearly drawn in mass towards John who appeared unexpectedly. John’s location in the wilderness identifies him, not only with Israelite history, but also with the freshness that makes it possible for people to repent and to rid themselves of sins. Ironically indeed, the people who go out to the city for its excitement have again regained the real excitement through the life of a prophet. We need a prophet. Our era needs a prophet who can attract people and tell them the truth of their salvation.

Not only had that people gone to the wilderness to hear John. The wilderness was part of the attraction. Many a time, the challenges of Urban settlement make us dream of our rural areas. Drawn to the city by the promise of money and excitement, people find themselves yearning for that which they left behind –fraternal neighbourhood, realistic friendliness, and an unpretentious living. This is what we do this Christmas period. We live the noise and distraction of the city for our indigenous homes. But one question remains: What is it that attracts you to go back to your village for the celebration of Yuletide? I pray you find your attraction in the call for repentance and going back to the root to make peace with all your family members and to share with them.

3) The River Jordan

John was baptising in the river Jordan. Here, the river Jordan is the river of baptism. Baptism means to immerse, dip or plunge. So, the method of John’s baptism was immersion into the river Jordan. This immersion/baptism was done for repentance (a metanoia, change of direction) for the forgiveness of sins. There are two traditions which reflect this type of baptism: one was the ritual bathing of the Qumran community. This was done for spiritual purification. And John was alleged to have been a member of this community. The second was the cleansing of Proselytes (Gentile converts to Judaism) by immersion into water. This was performed as a sort of initiation exercise. Clearly, John’s baptism was different. It was not only for Gentiles nor only for ritual bathing, but also for the forgiveness of sin.

The river Jordan is the place for this baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It becomes a place where both Jews and Gentiles can come and be baptised; a place of the foundation of a new people bound together by the repentant spirit, and not by their ethnic divisions. This is a preparation for the reign of the one coming after John who is the king of all, and who knows no division. Where is our river Jordan today? Where is that place that we can be called to forget our ethnic and racial differences and focus on the important matter, which is repentance? That river Jordan can be your home. It can be the church. It can be your shop. It can even be in your office. It can even be in the means of transportation. You are charged today to become a founder of the river Jordan in many places you find yourself.

4) John’s Clothing and Food

John was clothed with a camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. This leads us to recall the description of Elijah (2Kings 1:8) as a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist, and Daniel (Dan 1:8-16) who rejected the royal meal and demanded for vegetables and water. John was an ascetic. He sacrificed the pleasures of clothing and food for his mission. What do you sacrifice for your mission? What will you give away to put smiles on the faces of some others this Christmas? What will be your contribution in making sure that the repentance does not end in you, but becomes contagious in the sense that people desire it because of the contact they have made with you?

5) The Message of John

John preached saying After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit. The people flocked around John but he redirected them to the one coming. John shows himself very humble by admitting that the one to come is more powerful than himself. The task of loosening someone’s sandals is considered so menial that anybody can do it. In Israel, only slaves do that for their masters. So, John establishes that the gap between a slave and a master is even closer when compared with the gap between him and the Christ. The point here is that Jesus the Christ, the King we await has an amazing importance and pride of place.

Jesus is the dispenser of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He would fulfil the oracle of Isaiah concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa. 32:15; 44:3). In John 1:33, it is on Him whom the Spirit descends during the baptism that would baptism with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a softener of hearts. He waters the heart for repentance. And so, the message of John leads us to the import of the messiah who is to come. The messiah would bring absolute reconciliation between us and God. His mission would bring about lasting peace. In his days, peace shall reign forever (cf. The Resp. Psalm, Ps. 72:7). As we prepare for the way of the Lord and making his paths straight, we pray for a spirit of endurance to remain repented during this season and even afterwards. Amen. God bless you.

SHE IS FULL OF GRACE

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception holds that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was free from original sin from the very moment of conception. There have been traces of this belief as a pious one until the 15^th Century in 1476 when Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484) approved it. The Council of Trent of the 16^th Century also excluded Mary from its decree on the universality of original sin. The interest in the doctrine waned as it did not gain much adherence until early in the 19^th Century when on December 17, 1830, St. Catherine Laboure claimed to have had vision of the Immaculate Conception, standing on a globe and ray of light emanating from the hands and spreading to the earth.

The vision was surrounded by an oval frame on which appeared the words: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. A voice then commanded Catherine to have a medal struck depicting the vision. Miracles were attributed to this medal and it ignited renewed interest in the doctrine; it was called miraculous. In 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the decree: the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by the singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin, that this is revealed by God, and therefore, firmly and constantly to be believed by all the faithful  (cf. Ineffabilis Deus, 1984).

The feast we celebrate is a feast that singles out the Virgin Mary from all of human race. We see this outstanding character in the protoevangelium of Gen. 3 which is the First Reading (Gen 3:9-15, 20) of today. The protoevangelium is the first good message of salvation immediately after the original fall of the first parents. The word of God to the serpent concerning the future relation between it and the woman presents a total defeat and subjugation of the serpent by the all-powerful fruit of the salvific woman. In this passage, Mary is intended implicitly to bring about the victory over the serpent. In Eve, one sees a figure of Mary. Eve is the mother of all the living according to nature, as Mary is the mother of all by Grace; the mother of all those who will be healed by her son. St. Paul tells the Romans that for as all die in Adam, so all be made alive in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15). Thus, from the protoevangelium to the final victory, Mary rose up to her identification as the new Eve, and totally associated to the new Adam, Jesus Christ, in the definitive victorious war against the serpent of perdition. Mary as the second Eve was conceived without the original sin caused by the First Eve so as to have the spotlessness to combat the dirtiness of the former Eve.

We confirm Mary as the mother of all by Grace in the Gospel Reading (Luke 1:26-38). The divine grace on Mary to accomplish the salvific mission is encapsulated in the salvific word that transmits the mission: full of grace. She is full of Grace because of her mission in the mystery of salvation. She was preserved right from conception. The Lord God impresses someone to his service in order to act and do what he designs to do with the person. Being full of grace implies that Mary was protected whole and entire from original and actual sin....let us briefly look out the import of grace. The first is that Grace saves; Grace saved her from original sin. The second is that grace is the antithesis of sin and gives us the power to be holy and sinless; Grace inhibited every bit of sin from encroaching into Mary. So, to be full of grace means to be fully without sin. And so, Mary was full. And so, Mary was full sinless.

The son to be borne by Mary ought to be sinless. So, the blood he should possess should be sinless. The blood that can wipe away our sins ought not to be the same tainted blood. It must be untainted. This is why Mary must be untainted. In fact, the words ‘full of grace’ in Greek lead us to a better understanding. Kecharitomene means “having already been graced.” It is permissible in Greek grammatical and linguistic grounds to paraphrase Kecharitomene as completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace. This usage here suggests a perfect state; a perfection which was not got by the person who is perfect. This perfection is passive in the sense that it was given. Kecharitomene shows completeness with a permanent result. The grace is complete in Mary and must yield a permanent result which is the total defeat of the serpent. Hence, the usage of this term for the Greeks shows that Mary was immaculately conceived. May the Feast of Immaculate Conception create in us completeness, perfection and total restoration, Amen. God bless you.

BE WATCHFUL!!!

HOMILY FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Advent season is a period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The word ‘advent’ (‘ad venire’ in Latin which means to come to) means arrival or coming. It is a period we remind ourselves consistently about the second coming of Jesus Christ in glory at the end of time. There are ingredients that show preparedness on the part of anybody who is expecting to welcome a renowned visitor. One of those important ingredients is watchfulness. A driver once lost his job on account of the lack of this virtue of watchfulness. His boss had informed him about the arrival time of the flight he was about to board. The driver arrived the airport on time, but the flight did not land at the expected time, due to some weather conditions that made it hover around in the sky before it could land. When this was happening, the driver lost patience, and went back into the car, and off he slept.

After many minutes of his restful sleep, he woke up. He discovered the flight later on landed after few minutes into his sleep. His boss had annoyingly taken an airport cab home. He then knew that the case was finished. To remain there was redundant. To go home was to go and face his punishment. He lost his job, because he was not watchful. While others were on the look-out for their loved ones, he was inside the car that was not even his, sleeping. Similarly, such experience can happen to anyone of us. While some others are on the look-out for our Lord Jesus Christ, others may be inclined to be inside their cars (i.e, the world, lifestyles, comfort zones, sinful life, and indifferentism) that is not theirs and ought not to be even theirs. Such persons will be taken unawares at the arrival of the master.

A spectacular look at the Gospel (Mark13:33-37) of today leads us to a very powerful discovery.  Each of the verses has something to do with the word ‘watch.’

• ·       To be on guard! Be alert (v.33)
• ·       To keep watch (v.34)
• ·       To therefore keep watch (v.35)
• ·       Not to be caught sleeping (v.36)
• ·       What I say to you, I say to all: Watch (v.37)

To watch is keep awake, to stay alert, to be sleepless and vigilant. It includes being focused and attentive upon a particular thing, endeavour or goal. Paul advised the Thessalonians never to be asleep but to be alert and self-controlled (1 Th 5:6). He also admonished the Corinthians to be on their guard, standing firm in the faith and to be men of courage (1 Cor 16:13).

The injunction to be watchful and alert is not a call for fearful and hysterical expectation. It only means that we should recognize that we live in the shadow of eternity. Our scheduled daily work of faith must be completed, and never to be left out. By so doing, we can claim to so live in vigilance that it no longer matters to us the hour our Lord comes, since we are always ready. It implies being ready at all times. With this in focus, our lives become lives lived in consciousness of the Lord.

There are two major and practical reasons the Christians must constantly be on his/her guard: 1) No one knows the time of the return of the Lord. Had it been any knows the hour, we can live the way we want and then prepare when the hour draws near. The driver in our lead story slept off because he became ignorant of the arrival time. Therefore, every one of us must keep watch because of our ignorance of the hour (cf. Mk 13:32). 2) We all have some work we are assigned to do. In our lead story, that man was assigned the work of a driver. Today, you have your own work. What is that work/duty? Just do it well. This duty must be completed for the arrival of the Lord; otherwise the race becomes out of track.

Similarly, there can be two tragic things that can happen to a person who is watchful for the day of the Lord. 1) The person may get weird and tired. Monotony kills interest. The Christian may find very boring the repetition of his/her duty and may get to the point of neglect of duty. The person will now start to sleep on duty, and growing drowsier. He/she has at this point grown tired of waiting and has failed to wait long enough. 2) The person may delay, postpone of suspend his duty for some time. He/she may try to convince himself/herself that there is still time. If ever since, the Lord has not come, he/she can imagine, then now-from, the Lord may still not come. The feeling that a little sidetrack or rest here and there will not affect much will set in. The thinking that there is time to correct or finish the work follows. And hence, sinful life gradually forms itself into a habit.

That was the case for the Israelites during the time of the prophet Isaiah. The First Reading (Is. 63:16d-17; 64:1.3b-8) was a lamentation over the reckless life lived by the people. The people were living as if here was no God. And so, the anger of God rose against them. The prophet as the mediator was bent on intervening for the people to calm their anger. The consequence of sin is that it blocks our vision of God. Actually, God did not hide his face from the people. It was sin that blocked their vision of the immensity of God’s love. When we fail to be conscious of alertness, we slack into the oblivion of sin. In that sin, we become blind to see God. For this reason, Paul admonished the Thessalonians (1 Thes. 3:12-4:2) in the Second Reading to walk and please God in all things. Walking in God and pleasing him is an antidote to combat any form of spiritual slot. It is now time again to fight against the lives we have lived that contradict this command of Jesus to us today –to be watchful. Be ready. Watch and pray that you may not fall into temptation (Matt. 26:41). I wish you all a prosperous new liturgical year of the Church. God bless you.