FOR WE ARE OVERCOMERS OF TEMPTATION

HOMILY FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR B

 

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Temptation is a reality. We are tempted daily. The more we overcome temptations, the more we become stronger as humans and as Christians. Temptations can have a positive connotation –they are tests from which we emerge better persons and fighters of God. When we are tempted, we are given the opportunity to prove our strong faith and steadfastness in God. And the more we do better as regards overcoming temptations, the more we must expect heavier challenges. The more we overcome heavier challenges, the more we rise in faith. Today, we are told a very concise story of the temptation of Jesus in the Gospel according to Mark.

The Gospel (Mark1:12-15) relates how Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit where he remained for forty days, and then was tempted by Satan. Forty here is a significant number, and ought not to be taken literally. We must recall that in Exodus 24:18, Moses spent 40 days with God on top of the mountain. In 1 Kings 19:8, it was in duration of 40 days that Elijah went in the strength of the meal the angel had given him. And so, in juxtaposition of all these, 40 here signifies most probably the period of divine sustenance, divine encounter and retreat. It is a period of spending an ample time with God and abandoning ourselves to the protection and sustenance that ensues from the divine majesty. Jesus had spent a good time with God, alone and in prayers to such an extent that natural food was no longer the issue, because the divine meal had become his career. Developing a relationship with God requires patience, endurance and perseverance. We must give God a good time. We must not rush to leave the presence of God. We must make it our abode with the conviction that our ever-presence in God’s sight makes him ever-present in times of our temptation.

Satan tempted Jesus. It was not God, nor the Spirit that led him through the desert. He was tempted by a being who works so hard to thwart the will of God for humanity. This is the Satan. The conception of Satan and the development of the terminology in the Bible is an interesting one. There are two major perspectives we see concerning this term in the Old Testament: an Adversary and an accuser. An adversary is an opponent who stands in the way of someone. An adversary serves as an obstacle to one’s progress. So, the Satan who came to tempt Jesus was trying to block Jesus who was on the way to our salvation. When we see the light in others and desire to quench it, or even work towards frustrating them from achieving their aims, we become the Satan. An accuser is one who pleads a case against a person. Satan is the accuser of Christians. He tried to accuse Job in front of God (cf. Job. 1:7). He pleaded against Job. His task was to say everything that could be said against a man. The devil continues to work so that we appear evil before God. When we ourselves nurse the intent of misrepresenting others to pull them down and to make them seem evil before others, we become the Satan.

In the New Testament, the Satan is the devil. The word devil comes from the Greek diabolos, which literally means a slanderer. The devil is a slanderer. Satan continues to work against God. He is God’s adversary. Satan is the essence of everything that is against God. However, the Satan was not victorious nor did he succeed in his plans. Jesus was victorious. He showed us the way of victory. As the result of his victory, the angels came and ministered to him. Our victory draws our angels to us. When we are victorious, we draw people to ourselves; victory is contagious. Victory makes many to look up to us and to see us as motivators in their own times of temptation. It is steadfastness and fidelity to God that guarantees this victory. No one may set out to be victimized always by the forces of darkness, but we really do when we do not allow God into our lives to guide and show us our mission. A discovery of mission helps in overcoming temptation. Jesus knew his mission, and so he knew the devil has nothing to give him. Little wonder then the last lines of the Gospel spelt out the content of the message of Jesus: repent and believe in the good news. His mission served as a motivation for his victory over temptation, and he remained faithful to that mission. When we become victorious over temptation, the clarion call to become more steadfast and faithful becomes more intense.

Overcoming temptations recreates us. It is not only that we help draw people to God because of the victory we have gained; it is also the case we ourselves are recreated, and are made anew. We are washed. We become cleaner, more pure and closer to the perfect nature of God. It is this subject matter of recreation that we see in the First Reading (Gen. 9:8-15). God was to recreate the earth having washed her clean in the waters of the flood. Noah is the subject of this recreation, and of this fresh covenant being established as a result of this recreation. God wishes us to be recreated always. He recreates us. Purity is his nature. To maintain this purity, we must avoid sin. It was sin that necessitated the initial cleansing of the earth. However, the covenant God made with Noah was that humanity will not again be destroyed by the waters of the flood. The waters would no longer be for destruction but for purification. He is a merciful God. He does not want us to be destroyed by sin, but to be saved by grace.

The Christian baptism of cleansing which was instituted by Christ assures us of this grace. The same purpose of leading us all to God was the reason for which Jesus Christ suffered to get us all into the ark of salvation, which is no longer like the ark of new where eight persons were saved, but the ark of the Church where uncountable will be saved. This is the message of the Second Reading (1Pet. 3:18-22). Our lives should become a life of imitating Christ in his victor over temptation and sin, up to the point of dying so that we too might become victorious over temptation and sin. We are overcomers of temptation. Try hard during this Lenten season to be conscious of the devil’s tactics, so as to beat him down in his own game. May the new week be a blessed one for you. God bless you.  

THAT LEPER BESIDE YOU

HOMILY FOR THE 6^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

A boy became so uncomfortable with his peers in school that he refused coming to school. He was a one-eyed boy, and for this defect, he was constantly being mocked by his fellow students. No one in the class came near him, or even showed the desire to have him as a friend. He became a loner. The mockery led him into being a recluse and not having the desire to talk to anyone in the class. He constantly buried his head on his desk, and would want to take any position that ostracizes him from the others. This continued to happen until he finally stopped going to school. Such a boy requires healing; one that can place him back to the company of his fellows. He needs someone whom he can approach to help him; a person who would be ready to listen to him and heal him of this sickness which the action of the human society has imposed on him. Such was the action which the human society imposed on those who suffer from the disease of leprosy during the time of Jesus.

The Gospel (Mark 1:40-45) tells the story of a leper who was healed by Jesus. Leprosy was a dreaded sickness of the ancient world. The leper was seen as the most unfortunate person whose must be ostracized, as this must be advertised by the leper himself. Leprosy was thought to be as a result of a terrible sin. To make matters worse, no known cure for this disease was known. Thus, the healing of the leper by Jesus demonstrates the power of the Christ over every disease and ailment troubling man, whether curable or incurable. Let us then take the verses one by one to demonstrate this power of Jesus over leprosy and its impact in our daily activities.

A leper came to Jesus (v. 40)

This man who was suffering of leprosy with the body covered with sores came to Jesus himself. Most probably, somehow, somewhere, he has heard about the power of Jesus, and decided to make a trial. We must not forget the rule guiding leprosy. The First Reading (Lev. 13:1-2, 44-46) exposes these rules to us. The leper is not permitted to live with the others in the neighbourhood. He must dwell alone in a habitation outside. He must not relate with any person, and must proclaim himself unclean as he moves around. He must wear torn clothes; clothes that must make it visible that he is abnormal. Other people are not allowed to mingle with lepers, even family members. So, the leper broke these rules. He went to Jesus and was unconcerned about these restrictions.

This man made his way to Jesus when he found Jesus where he was. He was so desperate on seeing Jesus that he forgot about the laws requiring him to come no closer than six feet. He forgot about the crowd that was with Jesus. He was bent on Christ; neither seeing nor thinking of no one. It was his desperation that gave him access to Jesus. When we have been made lepers, or ostracized on account of one thing or the other, the onus lies on us to seek for help. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Break the rule, jump the fence, and tear down every obstacle to get healed. You are the only one who knows how it pains you, and where it pinches you. If you rely on waiting for others to come to you, you may end up not getting any help. He went to Jesus and knelt down. He worshipped Jesus. Going to God requires great humility. In searching for God, we must be humble. Also, when we are seeking help from our fellows, we must show provable signs of humility and dependency. We must never be proud.

Jesus was moved with pity (vv. 41-42)

Jesus was moved with compassion for the leper. His compassion led him into reaching out and touching the man he should not have touched according to the law. He went ahead to speak to the man some consoling words to the plea of the leper: I am willing, be clean. Immediately, the leprosy left him. Jesus wills to make us clean. All we need do is to learn to go to Jesus. Jesus’ words healed the man; and in healing the man, he showed his care for us, his power, and his superiority to the law. When people approach us for help, we are bound in conscience to assist them. We must be moved with pity. We must lend our helping hands to people who need us.

Just like Jesus, we are to seek the welfare of others. In the Second Reading (1 Cor. 10:31-11:1), St. Paul establishes that he does everything for the glory of God and for the salvation of all. Thinking about the good of others leads us into having a more compassionate spirit. Compassion and pity is the first step of healing. Every healer has compassion as his sure start.

Jesus sent him away with some instructions (vv. 43-44)

Jesus sent the leper away and warned him sternly. The strong warning is a threatening phrase which suggests a severe warning to the man (cf. Jn. 5:14). He gave him a dual instruction: make sure you do not tell anyone about this, and go, show yourself to the priest. The first instruction is a warning against boasting, pride and the feeling that you a favourite of God above others. Christ may have seen that there is something in this man that might lead him into pride. His attention was to be upon Jesus, not on himself. It is God that gives the grace of healing, not our specialty. The second instruction was a call on the man to obey the law, since he was already known to have disobeyed from the start. He was enjoined to obedience. Jesus taught him the law and the obedience to the law.

In obedience, we witness to Christ. There is no real faith apart from obedience and work. St. James warns us that faith without good works is dead (James 2:17). The man who is healed must be acknowledged as cleansed by everyone. People would not accept him until the priest pronounced him clean. Everyone needs to bear testimony in the gathering of the faithful concerning what God has done for him. Just as the priest would certify the healed clean, so also the head of the worshipping community needs to testify to the divine power of God. It was believed that only God could heal leprosy. By declaring the man cleansed, the priest would be declaring the power of God who heals.

He went out and spread the good news (v. 45)

The man went away and proclaimed to everyone he saw what Jesus did for him. In actual fact, this was an act of disobedience. He was declaring himself healed, and relegating the work of the priest. He was earlier on warned against disobedience. He has again failed. Due to this act of disobedience, Jesus was forced to withdraw because of the enormous crowd. When we disobey Christ, Christ is forced to withdraw. His presence may no longer be felt by us or others around. Many others may not get to be helped for this singular withdrawal of Jesus. Think of others who needed healing but could get it because Christ has withdrawn to a lonely place. Even when we claim we do not understand the command of the Lord, we must obey. He knows the best for us. He sees the future. Disobeying his command may be disastrous and terrible and may lead to a lack of help for others.

We must also allow other lepers to be cured. We are not the only ones who need healing. Some others need it too. We need not allow our disobedient testimonies to inhibit others from an access to Jesus. Obedience creates access to Jesus, while disobedience reduces it. That leper beside you requires healing. Accepting ourselves and giving others access to get their healing is a Christian mandate for all. We must try to live out this mandate. Happy new week. God bless you.

CONVERTING SUFFERING INTO OFFERING

HOMILY FOR THE 5^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

We do not see suffering in the sacrifices we make or in the experiences we pass through as Christians. What we do see is service and offering. When we suffer, we see in those sufferings an offering for the sake of who we believe in (God) and for the sake of others. The awful experiences we encounter, the moments that make us to cry, the people that make us to grief, the things that cause us to sob, and the words that break our hearts are all geared towards one purpose –to toughen and position us on the right plane. Nothing escapes the gaze of God. Consider that joyful position you find yourself today, and think back on the past horrible ones; crosscheck then whether you will be in the present joy if you had not passed through the past sorrow. Sufferings are meant to be accepted and offered up as offerings to God. No one sees the future. And so, why must you seem to give up if you expect to do Law in the University, and you see your score amongst those doing Public Administration? What you should be concerned with is praying to God to accept that suffering of yours as a fitting offering for your salvation.

The First Reading (Job 7:1-4. 6-7) presents to us the grief of a suffering man, Job. Job lamented over his condition. It affected him so much because he was not used to such a condition. He may have forgotten that some people were actually born in that suffering condition he has found himself for some little time. If he had remembered this and weighed the duration such persons had put into suffering and his own duration, it may have led him into appreciating his former condition and making sure he lifts others out of such condition if he sees himself out soonest. This is what it means to convert suffering into offering. If you see yourself in a position that makes you weep, learn to think about some persons who have occupied such position ahead of you, and may remain there after you. Learn to be appreciative, and practice some form of offering for those persons.

Job experienced sleeplessness, emptiness, misery and hopelessness. These experiences made him to understand the shortness of life and its vanity, coupled with its ugliness. Some people tend to see every good in life without knowing that some others are crying and lamenting over series of bad experiences. Some tend to cry over the inability to build houses, while some others are dying of malnutrition. Some are weeping that they owe school fees, while some others are just praying to survive a particular terminal illness. Learn to be grateful, and convert those suffering moments into offering for those you are better off than. Sufferings must teach us. Job’s suffering later on led him into the omnipotence of God and the fragility of humanity. Suffering must humble us, and should never make us more proud. We have to accept our position as human beings who are created and whose knowledge cannot be limitless.

St. Paul in the Second Reading (1 Cor. 9:16-19,22-23) understood well how to be humble in suffering and how to offer suffering up for the sake of Christ and his Church. In his writing, he exposes that he has suffered for the Gospel through his preaching in many places. This however does not make him boast, since he is a preacher of Christ. He has rather seen himself as a slave to all. He makes himself weak to save the weak. He does not believe that the demonstration of his strength is a way of saving the weak. That would be intimidation, and such a gospel of intimidation does not last and cannot be in the real sense an offering for others. Paul offered himself up for the sake of the gospel, and saw in his sufferings, a channel to save others. He denied himself of a luxurious life for the sake of working to see that more people encounter the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ actions in the Gospel (Mark 1:29-39) becomes an eye opener of one who is skilled in the act of seeing offering in suffering. He lives his life for the sake of others. He considers others first, even when such consideration leads him into denying himself of certain rights and privileges. Jesus went straight to the home of Peter’s mother-in-law after the worship session in the synagogue. According to the tradition of the Jews, the major meal of the Sabbath came immediately after the synagogue service, at the sixth hour (12:00 mid-day). As many people were going home to rest and most probably to take their Sabbath meal, Jesus was concerned with going to a home to continue the work He was sent to do. As many were thinking about themselves and their wellbeing, Jesus was thinking about another and her wellbeing. Jesus has the right to rest after the exhausting synagogue service, but he did not.

Another concerns the person who was healed. Peter’s mother-in-law was ill and immediately she was healed, she started to attend to her visitors. She did not relax as a newly recovered person; rather she used her recovered health for a renewed service. We are saved to serve. Paul was saved to serve. Christians are saved to serve. Do not see yourself as a king or queen to be served; rather see yourself as a servant whose service will help to bring salvation. Do not be selfish in your life of service. That service might be your moment of suffering. Yes, service involves suffering. However, service is service only if it offers. And never believe that the service you are rendering makes no meaning. Do not belittle those moments of service, for they are the most precious moments of your life. Even when it is forcefully appealing to you that such suffering is not any form of service, do not dance to such an appeal; rather convert such an appeal into a persuasive encouragement that humanity is being saved by you.

Do not see hopelessness where actually you should be very hopeful. Do not see failure where actually is your way to success. Do not see punishment where actually you are corrected for the better. Do not weep or grief over suffering; instead reap the suffering and plant anew the seed of offering. Learn to convert your suffering to an offering for the sake of others. If you have found yourself in prison when you have done nothing illegal, convert those hard punishments into an offering for the suffering Church in purgatory. If you are undergoing some setbacks based on the wickedness of mankind, convert those setbacks to step racks for another direction, and offer it up for all those who may suffer such in the future. If you are maimed and destroyed for a course you do not know about, convert them into a warning against future misdeed and offer it up for the sake of others who have no one to adjudicate for them.   

One last thing is that we ought to accompany our offerings with silent moments of prayer. The Gospels are replete with the action of Christ who always has time for prayer. After healing many persons today, he withdrew to pray. The prayer of Jesus is a sure proof that he never disconnected himself from heaven. Hence, the Christian must even as he/she offers up his/her suffering to God back them up with prayer. It does not end in offering; it continues in constant prayer. May we be more encouraged and energized in our struggle, and may our offerings be acceptable to God when we offer them up to him in prayer. Amen. I wish you a happy new week. God bless you.