THE COST OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST

HOMILY FOR THE 24^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

St. Patrick, the Patron saint of Ireland told the story of the greatest convert he made in his missionary activities in Ireland. A pagan chieftain eventually accepted to become a Christian and be baptised. During the baptismal ceremony, the man was seen losing his breath. All of a sudden, all could see him turn from white to yellow and to red. At the end, he fainted and collapsed on the floor. Only then did the people notice that all through the ceremony, the crozier of the Bishop was resting on his left foot and was piercing through it. When the man was eventually revived, he was asked why he did not complain when he noticed the discomfort that nearly cost him his life. He replied: Sir, I thought it was part of the ritual. And he is right to the point. The Christian life involves pains and sacrifices that may not be totally comprehensible. The cross of Christ is part and parcel of the Christian identity and lifestyle.

In the Gospel (Mark 8:27-34), we are marvelled at the boldness and confidence with which Jesus corrected the mentality of his disciples, as it were, of saving the world without dying on the cross. Having led his disciples to the discovery of the identity of the Christ, what is then left is to make them understand the way of that Christ. The man Jesus who loved to speak in parables had to depart from his regular parabolic style. His being so direct is to make sure that there could be no possibility of misunderstanding him. If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  

In this sentence are three conditions of coming after Jesus (οπισω μου ελθιεν): 1. Self-denial (απαρνησασθω): This is not just a denial of oneself from pleasure, but a disowning of oneself, in such manner that the person believes and lives it out that God is his owner and not himself.  2. Taking up the cross (άρατω τον σταυρον αυτου): The cross here is strictly the transverse beam (not plank) placed at the top of the vertical part. Each criminal carried his own cross and moved towards crucifixion. So, everyone is expected to carry his own cross, not the cross of another 3. Followership (άκολουθειτω): This is not simply to follow from behind, the preposition used in Mark 1:17 and 8:34 (οπίσω) denoting to come after. This means to accompany side by side, an accompaniment in which the persons interact verbally with one other (άκολουθειτω, having the same root as άκουω, I listen). Hence, the bearer of the cross must walk side by side with Jesus conversing with Him as a friend. It is in that conversation that he can find energy and courage to continue. With Jesus, our crosses become much lighter. Surely, everyone has got a cross to carry, but the question remains: are we walking with Jesus?

Jesus placed much emphasis on this. This emphasis is much more evident when we render these three implications in Greek: απαρνησασθω εαντον, και άρατω τον σταυρον αυτου, και άκολουθειτω μοι: let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow me. In our study of the figures of speech, this is what is called an anaphora; that is the usage of a specific word or clause at the beginning of each sentence to demonstrate serious concern, to evoke sentiments and to lay emphasis on the concern. However, apart from the fact that the statement was of great concern to Jesus, the emphasis is focused on the person who is carrying the cross. It is not the cross that carries us. We carry the cross. Jesus is interested in the person bearing the cross, no matter what the cross may be. Thus, we reciprocate by being interested in Jesus, and not merely the crosses that we carry. Trusting in Jesus truly helps. The First Reading from the oracle of Isaiah (Isaiah 50:4c-9a) tells us: the Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.

The identity of the Christian is the identity of the cross. Following and knowing Christ entails passing through the cross of suffering; and sticking out our necks to be tortured for the sake of Christ. That is the demand of discipleship. Christianity without the cross is mundanity. If there is no cross, there will not be any crown. Christ suffered and then entered into the glory of the Father. We must be encouraged by the words of Romans 8:17: provided that we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified with Him. A cross-less Christianity is a Christ-less Christianity. In the cross of Christ is salvation (In crucis Christi salus es).  

The cross of Christ is CENTRAL to the Christian faith. The Christian ought to maintain this centrality of the cross in his/her life, and should never decide to leave Jesus during the hard times. If the Christian fails to do this, then he/she will grow tired, weak and depressed have no future. But if he/she does this conscientiously, then he/she can survive and be strengthened by God.

The cross of Christ is REDEMPTIVE. Through the cross God showed His omnipotence. The Christian must put his whole trust in God, and not in any other thing or even in oneself, knowing that only God redeems and ransoms. If the Christian fails to do this, then there is bound to be failure, but if he/she adheres to this,then can he/she redeem and change the world.

In the cross of Christ is a radical OBEDIENCE. The Christian must turn away from worldly message and desires and must not shy away from the world in a purported spirit of asceticism, but must live in the everyday world, and be inspired by the radical obedience of love towards God’s will. If we tend to forget to whom our obedience is due, we end up enslaving and enchaining ourselves. But if we do everything in total obedience to God, then can we become free; free in imitating the  service of Christ, the service of God by which you can truly serve others.

In the cross of Christ is SERVICE. The Christian ought not to present himself as an earthly king or governor; knowing well that the kingdom of Jesus the Christ is not of this world (cf. Luke 18:36). Our role must be a spiritual diakonia; that is, service. If we fail to do this, then we may loose our dignity and rank and the very justification of our existence. But if we do this without pump and majesty, we will find in our service our true greatness, which is in the cross of Christ, for only in losing your life can you regain it.

The cross of Christ is SAVING. It is a saving event for sinners. The Christian message is the message of salvation, the joyful good news, and the message of peace. Remembering the very words of Christ that it is the sick that needs the doctor (cf. Matt. 9:12-13), we must be ever ready to be there for the sinners and the godless men, and hence must forgive, heal and save. If we fail to recognise that we too are sinful and exists, then we find ourselves growing hard-hearted, self-righteous and without compassion, deserving neither the mercy of God nor the confidence of men. But if we recognize and do this, then can we have the grace of holiness and righteousness. Yes, the CROSS.

Yes, one can imagine how hard these teachings are. And so, co-relatively, we can imagine the feeling the disciples had after that message of the cross from Jesus. The feeling of disappointment might have been shown on their faces. Their zeal for fellowship may have been punctured. However, the resurrection faith was there afterwards to sustain them. This is the same disappointment we encounter today when we suffer from pressures around us. We tend to ask why God is so far from us. We become prisoners of our thoughts, and tend to alienate ourselves from others, thereby quarantining ourselves as if we are banned from associations. Those ones are not the necessary crosses meant for us. Ours is the cross of faith; that faith that works as St. James puts it (James 2:14-18) in the Second Reading. That is the necessary cross to bear. It is time to get up (even when we know the cross is still there) with the firm hope that those troubling issues make us stronger. Drop those unnecessary crosses of worries, and pick up once more the necessary cross of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, the cross of the Christian is the crucifix. The cross makes no meaning if it has no image of the Christ. The cross was the symbol of death, criminality, shame, disgrace, and infidelity but with the death of Christ on it, it became the symbol of life, sainthood, fame grace and faith. The cross then is meaningless without the person -Christ- who made it meaningful. May our strength not fail us. Amen. God bless you and Happy New week.

EPHPHATHA!!! BE OPENED

HOMILY FOR THE 23^RD SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Gospel (Mark 7:31-37) tells us the story of how Jesus cured a deaf man. After his encounter with the Syrophoenician woman in the region of Tyre, Jesus returned to the region of the Decapolis through Sidon. While he was there, people brought to him a man who was deaf and dumb and pleaded with him to cure him. He took him aside and having performed his ritual uttered the word “Ephphatha.” Immediately, the man became whole again and the people continued to proclaim the incident even when Jesus had ordered them not to talk about it. They kept on saying: He has done all things well; this is because he brings restoration to the human body/senses. This same restoration was prophesied in the oracle of Isaiah in the First Reading (Isaiah 35:4-7a) concerning the signs that would follow the people’s return back to Zion. This promise of restoration is not only limited to their going back to their land, or the revival of their land, but also the restoration of their physical bodies. An this is exactly what Jesus did when he uttered that powerful word: EPHPHATHA.

Ephphatha is according to the evangelist, the actual word addressed by Jesus to the deaf man (Mark 7:34). It is an Aramaic word, translated in Greek as meaning ‘Be opened.’ It is one of the characteristics of Mark that he uses the very Aramaic words which fell from our Lord’s lips. (cf. Mark 3:17; 5:41;7:11;14:36;15:34). This word has become a very popular word that is used by many Christians to show the power of God over stagnant realities that need to blossom. To utter the word is to get ourselves reminded that God is above every ailment and that He is able to open all closed doors affecting the joy and livelihood of the children of God. However, ephphatha can be very much personalized if we realize that the heart is the seat of faith. And if there is a place within us that needs to be opened, it is the heart. This is why people talk about having a large heart; one that is open. This is the point of St. James in the Second Reading as he admonishes all Christians to show no partiality or distinction based on the riches of the world. A heart that is closed up within itself is prone to this vice, but a large heart shows no partiality. Such a heart needs to hear Jesus as he speaks to him that most piercing word -EPHPHATHA.

Ephphatha implies and has the goal of inclusiveness. It is so amazing to notice the precedents to the use of this word by Jesus. The first concerns the route taken by Jesus in v. 31 which is intriguing. It has been called a roundabout route by some commentators. He took a circuitous route passing north from Tyre through Sidon and then Southeast across the Leontes, continuing south past Ceasarea Philipi to the East of Jordan, and thus approached the lake of Galilee on its East side within the territory of the Decapolis. This movement is like going from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Perth or going from Lagos to Aba via Abuja and Portharcourt. It seems incredible; yes, but there is an explanation to this. This journey which was largely through Gentile towns may have been intended by Mark as an anticipation to the Church’s mission to the Gentile (remember, Mark’s audience were the Gentiles). Hence, through such a circuitous route, Jesus’ redemptive trip ‘opened up’ mission to the Gentile world. It was a sort of Ephphata to the Gentiles.

On arrival to the Decapolis region, the people brought to him a deaf man. Notice that the deaf man did not go on his own; he was brought to Jesus by others. These people wanted their brother to be well again. This is how the Church presents her ailing members to Jesus for healing. It is important to go to Jesus and to talk to Him as a community. Having heard the voice of the community, Jesus had the compassion to heal the man. Through our presentation by the community of faith, we are saved individually. The community becomes the foundation for individual redemption. The Church should therefore ‘be open’ to present her sick to Jesus. He took him aside in private. A deaf man could not hear. So, Jesus related with him in the language that he would understand: put his fingers into his ears, spat and touched his tongue. For whatever is received is received according to the mode of the receiver. The effort God makes to save us is equal to none. He identifies with us in our situation. And He relates to us according to our situation. Jesus by this showed a very tender consideration for the feelings of a man for whom life was very difficult.

Ephphatha implies divine re-creation and restoration. When we hear that Jesus touched and opened the sense organs of this man, we are reminded of the act of God in creating man out of dust (Gen. 2:7). He breathed into his nostrils the breadth of life, and the man became a living being. He opened the closed door, as it were, and life was born. This can be regarded as the primordial ephphatha which was the unlocking of the many organs in the body of man that he started existing. Here in the Gospel, Jesus unlocked the ear and the tongue that man may be restored to that initial wholesomeness. Jesus discontinued the man’s former mode of existence as he initiates completeness. This is revolutionary; a continuity in discontinuity. Beyond the physical opening is a spiritual opening in Christ. At the very final rite of the Sacrament of Baptism, an ephphatha is performed. Just as Christ who touched the deaf man, the minister touches the child’s ears to receive the word, and the mouth to proclaim the faith. This becomes the opening of the ‘door of faith’ which enables us to open the ‘door of mercy.’ Our minds easily go to the spiritual benefit of the holy doors opened during the year of mercy (2015-2016). The opening of those holy doors signified that the obstacles between God and men are removed and that a special pathway to Christ without the blockade of sin has been opened; ephphatha.

Indeed, he has done all things well. This was the people’s attestation to the healing work of Jesus. This reaction is also revelatory; in it the people opened up and declared that Jesus indeed has done all things well. This is like the verdict of God upon his own creation in the beginning: and indeed, it was very good (Gen. 1:31). hence, Jesus’ act of restoration and recreation was the beginning of a movement that has the goal of placing everything back to that initial goodness that man spoilt. Jesus desires to bring back the beauty of God to the world which man’s sins had rendered ugly. We too share as the new people of Christ in this mission to restore the beauty of creation. We bring our ailing members to Christ and beg him to heal them. We thank Him too when he heals them and so having restored our wholesomeness, we herald with one another in the Church: he has done all things well; because our hearts and minds have been opened; ephphatha. I wish you the grace of ephphatha; and may all the closed doors that should have been opened for you before now be made open this week and always. Amen. God bless you.

GOING BACK TO THE VOICE OF GOD

HOMILY FOR THE 22^ND SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The law that comes from God comes with the purpose of love to help humans live well with fellow humans and to aid them to be close to the untainted intention of God for mankind -that mankind will come back to him after the life here on earth. This law of the Lord is always perfect and aims at the goodness of mankind. However, many times, this law suffers from mutilation, misinterpretation, and undue exaggeration in the hands of human beings. Since the laws are meant for us human beings, some of us claim that we have to adapt them according to the way they soothe us, while others claim that these laws have become anachronistic and ought to be discarded, while others still believe in a strict adherence to the dictates of the law. And sometimes, we do feel that the God who gave the law ought to be present to give us an interpretation that is ad rem to His initial intention. But few of the times, we come to discover that God did not leave the laws for us to interpret them the way we want but to simply make sincere effort to apply them for our good. These laws of God are founded in love to help man to live freely in the society.

There was a call by Moses in the First Reading (Deut. 4:1-2, 6-8) on the Israelites to the importance of obedience to the law of the Lord. The law demands obedience. If the people refuses to obey the law, then the law is meaningless. The law is respected when it is obeyed, and the obedience to the law is an obedience to the giver of the law. Moses as the lawyer calls the people to simply and carefully observe the commands of God without adding or subtracting from them. This is the problem of mankind. We tend to add or subtract from the reality of how things actually are. Think about the great harm done to the society by some media homes who add or subtract from their news relayed to the world. Think about the tension created by the social media where additions or subtraction to real life experiences and happenings are replete. Think about the rift created in relationships when there are unnecessary additions or subtractions regarding what has been said or done. And if we may ask; what could be the major cause of this inclination of man not to present reality as it is? Surely, the causes may be very diverse, but it starts from somewhere.

The situation whereby man tries to take the place of God is the foundation of the cause. When a man does not make effort in humility to read and understand the laws of God well for proper application, and goes ahead to believe that whatever explanation he/she offers to it would become acceptable to others, he certainly starts to breed a confused society. He sets others towards the pathway of missing the target; and this is the real meaning of sin -missing the target God sets for us. The consequence of this is that mankind moves from the misinterpretation of God’s laws to making of his own laws while still hiding under the cloaks of the divine law. At this juncture, mankind’s law becomes more exalted than God’s law. And in fact, anyone acquainted with the new movements of our post-modern society would see an epoch that has completely disregarded God’s law and had taken man’s law to be their God. This is why the world would continue to experience great tensions and pressures. We have added and subtracted from the law of God. Moses’ warning is a proof that he was aware that men’s addition or subtraction to the commands of God will lead to tensions and problems in the human society.

This is the type of tension we meet in the Gospel of today (Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23). This is a situation where mankind has missed the mark of proper interpretation to God’s law and has taken her tradition to become the law of God. The Jews had a tradition of ritual cleansing. We must spell it out from the onset that a people’s tradition can only be termed sacred if it aligns with the intent and dictates of the law of God. The problem of the scribes and Pharisees who were the interpreters of the law for the Jews was that they became so confused at what point their tradition was trying to replace God’s law.And at that point, such a practice becomes superficial and hypocritical. No wonder Jesus called them hypocrites. The Pharisees substituted human ingenuity for the law of God. As good as such a ritual cleansing may appear to the Jew, it cannot be regarded as the law of God. So, Jesus had to correct them in this occasion. But what was the actual problem of this tradition which Jesus tries to correct?

Without delving into the complicated nature of this ceremonial cleanness, one thing stands out clear about it. They saw spiritual uncleanness as the consequence of physical uncleanness. They took physical cleansing as a sign of spiritual cleansing. This tradition mattered to the Pharisees and the scribes so much to an extent of taking them as religion. Soon, it was such ritual, ceremonial and regulations like that which they considered to be the essence of the service of God. To observe them was to please God; to break them was to sin. This tradition was what Jesus was against. Those ritual, ceremonial, rules and regulations were not what constitutes religion. Religion is constituted by the love of God and fellow men. True religion can never be the products of man’s philosophies and thought patterns. It must always come from simple listening to and accepting the voice of God. And what is this voice of God? According to St. James in the Second Reading (1:17-18, 21b-22, 27), the religion that is pure and undefiled before God is to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. This is what practical relevance of listening to the voice of God.

By this interrogation with the Pharisees, Jesus condemns some excesses in religion which may also be applicable to us today. Jesus condemns the religion that places tradition over human needs. For the Pharisees, the disciples of Jesus broke the rule of washing the hands before eating a meal. Thus, in their eyes, the disciples were unclean in the sight of God. If Jesus were a true Rabbi, he shouldn’t have allowed such deviation from his disciples, they must have thought. Here, we see how the interrogators of Jesus placed their tradition above the human needs of the disciples. Therefore, if religion desires to purify itself, human spiritual and physical needs must take precedence over the traditions which guide her. Jesus condemns the religion that places deceit over authenticity. The consequence is that there is more ostentation and lip-service than genuineness. If any religion desires to be purified, she must remember always the words of Jesus concerning hypocrisy, and learn not to merely honour God with lip service, but also to have their hearts in God, and at same time knowing that it is the thing that comes out of a person that defiles him/her.

Jesus condemns the religion that places doctrine over discipline. If any religion desires to purify herself, she must constantly grow in the consciousness that her teachings should not be mere rules taught by men, but rules given by God and lived by men. Jesus condemns the religion that places man-made commands over God’s command. The consequence of teaching merely the tradition of men is to loose focus of God’s norms. So, is any religion desires purity, she must place first and regard the highest the commands of God, such that the man-made ones flow directly from the god-made rules. And lastly, Jesus condemns the religion that places self-image over contrition. Self-image is important, but a contrite heart is what is needed in religion. It is expected that it the development and enhancement of a contrite spirit (a heart that does not harbour evil) which diffuses out to the world and then can it give the real image which every religion should seek. When self-image is regarded as more important than a contrite heart, religion looses its purity. It is from within that our self-image can be built and made stable. And this is what it means to go back to the voice of God; the God who continues to reveal Himself to us. May our response to his revelation have its take-off point from the heart and not from our human brains. Amen. Happy new week. God bless you.

TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

HOMILY FOR THE 21^ST SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

A group of primary school children were once on an excursion with their teachers in a distant place. At a point when the visibility was so reduced, the bus broke down. The driver came out, and started fixing the vehicle. So much time had passed now that it was getting darker. Due to this difficulty, the children in the bus were scared. There was a festival of cries as the children were almost uncontrollable. Many food and drinking stuffs were offered to them by their teachers to pacify them, all to no avail. But there was little Alfonso who was in the bus comfortably seated. He was happy and having fun with those food and drinking stuffs that the others had rejected. Afraid that the commotion had gone into his brain, and made him loose his senses, and since it was abnormal for someone to be happy in such a situation, one of the teachers approached Alfonso and asked: why do you seem to be happy amidst this troubling situation? Are you not scared and frightened like the rest? The little boy replied: why should I be scared? The driver is my father. If we take ourselves as this little Alfonso, think then how often we cry and lament even when we are sure that the driver of the bus is our father. In the face of an uncertain moment, what reason would you have to continue to hang on?

It is almost human to be scared and to look for another solution when the times turn tough, and especially when the expected turn out to be unpleasant. More to this is when that tough situation demands one to make an instant decision. And we can all imagine how tough it can be to make a decision when under pressure. This is the picture with which we can use to understand the situation in the First Reading (Joshua 24:1-2a, 15 -17, 18b) and in the Gospel Reading (John 6:60-69) of today. The situation was tough for Joshua who having seen that he was getting old and would join his forefathers became afraid and uncertain whether all the tribes of Israel would continue to keep the covenant God made with their fathers. He needed them to renew this covenant; thus he summoned them. Most probably, having perceived how the culture of the land (Amorites) where they have occupied may influence them negatively and having recounted all that the Lord has done for them, he dared them to make a decision to serve the Lord. To make his points very piercing, he used himself and his household as a point of contact: but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. In this statement, Joshua rededicates not only himself and his household to God, but also the whole tribes of Israel. His statement ever since has become one that represents strong decision for God in the midst of social pressures that present themselves harmful to the Christian faith. This is also what the statement of Peter in the Gospel does for us.

Peter who was the leader and the spokesman of the apostles (just like Joshua) answered Jesus: to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life. We must not forget that this answer of Peter had some backgrounds. The consequence of Jesus’ teaching of Himself as the bread of life in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John met with series of oppositions. Something interesting about these oppositions is that it began with the Jews (John 6:41.52) and ended with the disciples (John 6:60.66). As always said, a man’s greatest enemy are those of his households. It is much easier to understand pressures from the externals than the pressures that are in the internals. This is what we meet in the Gospel. Many of Jesus’ disciples (surely not only the twelve) who have been witnesses to the arguments that went on between Jesus and the Jews finally took their stand. They said: this teaching is difficult; who can accept it? They were complaining/murmuring. As if their complaints were not enough, they made up their minds to leave Jesus for their formal ways of life. They left Jesus and no longer went about with him. Let us briefly assess these two reactions of the disciples.

The first is that they murmured against Jesus and His teaching. To this reaction, Jesus leads them into another deeper reality and mystery of himself. He forecasts ascension and tries leading them to a life of the spirit. His thesis is that on the day they will see him ascend to heaven, it will be clearer to them to accept the difficult teaching. It does not end in difficulty. There is also ascension. This implies that the ascension into heaven would be the most astonishing moment of encounter with Christ, which also would serve as the guarantee of the claims of Jesus as the bread of life from heaven. His ascension would become a sort of a vindication of his claims. The bread they were searching for surely was meant for their flesh, but he offered them the bread for their spirit. Little wonder he said that the life giving power is the spirit; the flesh is of no help. To understand this in a simple way. This is not to relegate the human body which is an instrument towards realizing all the divine potentials in us. The real value of any thing depends on its aim; that is, the spirit in which it is done. We do not eat just for the sake of eating. We eat to stay healthy and alive. When we eat without the appropriate spirit (gluttony), we may end up doing ourselves more harm than good. This is the same in sports. We do not just play soccer or jog for their sakes; otherwise it becomes a waste of time. We engage in sports to keep fit and to live on. Thus, the things of the flesh gain their value from the spirit in which they are done.

The second is that after this deeper awareness from Jesus, the disciples still went on their ways. Most probably, it became clearer to them that the “free material food” they were seeking was not going to be offered again. They may have followed Jesus for what He could offer to them, and most probably to be providing free food and easy wealth, but having discovered that there was something else Jesus was trying to lead them into, they resigned to their former ways. Their initial intention was not to meet a man who would be talking to them about some heavenly mysteries, but someone who would simply make them to belong to the group of the wealthy.  They defected. This is a great sign of disloyalty. This is then an eye-opener that these people were never loyal to Jesus. They were fair-weather followers. Well, we can also today see ourselves in these people. No one can actually give so much as Jesus, but if we come to him simply to get and never to give, we will certainly turn back. There is something we need to forego of ourselves when we decide to follow Jesus.

There came the great profession of faith by Peter. Peter and the other apostles were determined. This reply was a great show of loyalty. Through it, they rededicated themselves and reassured Christ of their continual discipleship. This profession served to show that the apostles had begun to perceive Jesus as the messiah. This profession was not that the twelve had understood Jesus so well. It was that they had faith that following Jesus, the Messiah is better than their confusion or difficulty. They believed that Jesus was greater than that particular situation or difficulty. For Peter, Jesus alone had the words of eternal life. No one else. Here is an undivided attention to Jesus. They realized just as Robert Schuller had titled one of his books, that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. It is always good to realize that the driver of the bus remains our father.

A certain jogger once slipped and fell into a cliff, while embarking on his usual early morning habit. He was however lucky to grab a protruding stone as he fell. The cliff was about a hundred feet deep, and there was no way he could have made it out without external aid. In agony and out of fear, he cried out: is there someone out there? No answer came for a time. He shouted all the louder the second time. After some brief moments of silence, a voice came thundering out from the blues: This is the Lord. Frantically, the man yelled: well, if you are the Lord, make haste then and rescue me. After another brief moment of silence, the voice came back: let go off the stone, and I will come and save you. Again, there was some moments of dead silence, after which the jogger screamed all the louder: is there anybody else? Is it not true that it appears difficult to understand why the Lord must tell our jogger to hands off the stone so as to save him? Is it not also interesting to have seen how the jogger simply neglected that voice that dares him to hands off? This is how it is when we hold on to our beliefs more than we give God some chances in our lives. To hands off from the stone is to act like Peter and the other apostles that even in not being certain of the future, the Saviour would keep their hearts with Him. The driver is their father; yes, the driver is our father. When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you will catch her. That is trust. Keep trusting in the Lord as I wish you a blessed week ahead. God bless you.

I THINK, THEREFORE I EAT; I EAT, THEREFORE, I AM

HOMILY FOR THE 20^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME OF THE YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

I remember the famous philosophical proposition of Rene Descartes which he thought to be the foundation of all knowing: Cogito ergo sum (I think, I am). In such line of thought, the philosopher placed thinking as the fundamental and necessary aspect of existence. Thinking becomes a condition for proving and assuring that one exists. But there is another proof and assurance for life and existence which Jesus’ own philosophy presents: unless you eat the flesh of the son of God and drink his blood, you have no life in you (the Gospel according to John 6:53). And so, borrowing Descartes construction of his thesis, our own thesis based on Jesus’ proposition becomes:  cogito ergo manduco (I think, I eat). The consumption of the body and blood of Christ becomes then the proof of thinking and of knowledge, which can then be rendered as wisdom. Eucharist then becomes the food for the wise. It does not surely stop at being the food for the wise; it is also the proof of true life and existence. Thus, we move from cogito ego manducare to manduco ergo sum (I eat, I am). The body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist is then the assurance for life temporarily and eternally.

The two readings that preceded the Gospel give a clear examination of our first thesis: I think; I eat. The First Reading (Proverbs 9:1-6) speaks of wisdom as a person. In personifying wisdom, the author talks of wisdom as preparing a banquet and calling on people who are willing to come and partake of it with these words: let whoever is simple turn in here. This gives us a clear hint that the banquet is for the simple; the humble hearted. The opposite of simplicity is complexity. Wisdom does not call on the complex people, nor as it is the proud hearted. It is a meal for the humble. Wisdom calls on the simple to come eat and drink so as to grow more in knowledge and advance in understanding. This is what the Eucharist does. The more we eat, the more He (Jesus) increases. He must increase, but I must decrease (cf. John 3:30). And so, the more we eat, the smaller we become. God (the omniscient) invites the simple to partake of the Eucharist so as to grow more in humility and understanding. The Eucharist is a sure way for greater wisdom.

A wise person is that one who even in the wideness of his knowledge still finds himself/herself as one who should aspire for more knowledge. The person is humble to learn more, and by so doing grows in wisdom and understanding. The higher the person climbs, the simpler/humbler the person becomes. But the foolish person would just know a little and would think he/she has got the knowledge of everything. The person grows pompous and failure starts to creep in. Pride goes before a fall. Greater consciousness should then be encouraged to decipher the direction towards which we move; simplicity and complexity? And this is the exact warning of St. Paul to the Ephesians (5:15-20) in the Second Reading: “watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons, but as wise, making the most of the opportunity…” Wisdom is here again connected to life. So, the wise person grabs the opportunity of partaking in the Eucharist, and so the person lives. When we live in wisdom, we truly live. And true wisdom consists in partaking of the Eucharist, and so in eating, we truly exist.

The Gospel (John 6:51-58) gives us a clearer view of our second thesis: I eat, I am. The writer started by narrating the confusion of the Jews based on the teaching of Jesus on the bread of life. They questioned: how can this man give us his flesh to eat? In his reply, Jesus unravels the results of partaking of the bread of life. Each of the following verses gives a result of partaking of this bread.

1.      Eternal Life (v.54): “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” To eat here means to eat zealously and with pleasure; just like the picture of one who is hungering for Christ and eagerly desirous to feed and feast on Him.

2.      True Satisfaction (v. 55): For my flesh and my body are real foods. The word ‘real’ implies true as opposed to falsehood. Worldly pleasures and satisfaction are not real; they leave people somewhat empty and insatiable. True satisfaction comes from receiving Christ into one’s life. Receiving Christ is very nourishing.

3.      Supernatural Intimacy (v.56): “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” To remain is to abide and dwell, and never to leave. This intimacy entails fellowship and companionship which does not exclude the care and watchful eye of God in looking after us.

4.      Meaningful Life (v.57): “The one who feeds on me will live because of me.” Receiving Christ entails a life lived because of Christ. Such a life is meaningful and purposeful. It is because we are sure that we live for Christ that we can profess tomorrow.

5.      Incorruptible Life (v. 58): “The one who feeds on this bread lives for ever.” The body and blood of Christ that we eat is an incorruptible food received into our hearts, and in turn energizes life for ever. It is this living bread which preserves this life from decaying unlike the manna that was eaten in the desert which never assured incorruptibility.

Jesus presents his body and blood as a condition for life. If anyone wants to live, let him/her eat and drink. Anyone who refuses to eat and drink is a dead man spiritually and eternally. Physically, such a person lives in the realm of death. Spiritually, such a person has no life with God; the person has no true and real relationship with the true and living God. So, partaking, eating and drinking of Christ is absolutely essential in order to truly live; in order to have a life that lasts. It is the food for the humble. It is the food for the wise. It is the food that conditions life hereafter. It is the Eucharist. Think of how lovely it will be if every person in the world partakes of this meal and allows his/her life to be led by the demands of this meal. May we continue to feed and feast on Christ who is really and truly present in the Eucharist. Happy new week. God bless you.

HOW DO I PARTAKE OF THE BREAD OF LIFE?

HOMILY FOR THE 19^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The story of the ministry of Jesus (John 1:19 – 12:50) in the Johannine Gospel can actually be read under the optics of oppositions to revelation. The first opposition is seen in the fifth chapter where there is a witness to the harassment of Jesus by the Jews on account of the cure of a sick man at the pool of Bethsaida. This happened in Jerusalem. The next chapter would be another form of opposition in Galilee which borders on the discourse of Jesus as the bread of life (chapter 6), after which we witness the great rejection (chapters 7-10), the decision to kill Jesus (chapter 10) and the movement of Jesus towards his death (chapters 11-12). And actually, we must mention that these oppositions did come as a consequence of Jesus’ miracles and wonders. And so, one can then be left to place the Gospel of today (John 6:41-51) in its proper position: another form of opposition to revelation, where the Jews began to murmur/complain to one another and raising questions that were meant to contradict the claim of Christ that he is the Bread of Life. Jesus corrects them and inadvertently offers them (and us) the way to respond to the Bread of Life which He is.

Jesus’ first reply to them was tough and direct: STOP COMPLAINING TO EACH OTHER. The murmuring against the teaching of Jesus refers to the discontent that arises from a crowd that is upset and confused. We are left to imagine that such a crowd is one that misunderstands, rejects and opposes a speaker. They were radically disagreeing with Jesus that he had come down from heaven. They questioned his origin because they were ignorant of the incarnation and his mission. The stark appeal to the crowd to stop complaining is an invitation to listen. And this links us to the first verse of the Shema prayer of the Jewish Liturgy: Listen, O Israel (Deut. 6:4-5). Traditionally, this prayer is recited with hands placed over the eyes, most probably to emphasise that the first approach to divine revelation is not to see but to listen. The invitation to revelation calls for listening without which its response would be impaired. As long as they murmured, they would never be willing to listen to the truth. Murmuring impedes our ability to pay attention to God and to others. If we need the Bread of Life, we must pay attention. And this is the first approach in partaking of the bread of life.

Jesus further said to them: NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS DRAWN BY THE FATHER WHO SENT ME, which he further explained in the exceeding verses. For there to be that initial motion, a person must be drawn by God. But this is not to suggest that there are persons who are not originally drawn by God, as there may be an inclination to argue that some are predestined to be drawn towards salvation, while others are not. We all are drawn, but only those who accept to be drawn by the Father have the potency of believing in Jesus. God has to draw man because we are prone to resistance, and man’s resistance is chiefly seen in the word ‘draw.’ The word has the idea of constraint and resistance; for instance, the same word is used for the pulling in of a net loaded with fish as this involves both the actions of pulling and resistance (cf. John 21:6). One can also understand the sense of the word ‘drawn’ in terms of divine initiative. Yes, we do get this spark of divine initiative to come to Christ. But, remember, God can draw men, but a person’s resistance can defeat God’s pull. We can also be drawn by God by teaching which may come from the voice of a preacher, the observation of nature or a myriad of other sources. And this is a very vital way of partaking in the bread of Life; being ready and docile to be drawn by God.

We can then actually grasp what happened to Elijah in the First Reading (1 Kings 19:4-8) from this wavelength of God’s effort to draw us to himself and our stubbornness to resist such a draw. Elijah’s life was under threat by Jezebel, and for this reason the prophet fled for his life to the desert. He ran away from his mission. He was wishing himself dead, but the Lord never wished him dead. He fed him with food and drink, and getting back his strength, he moved on to the mountain of Horeb. This divine visitation was a reawakening message, a kind of a push to Elijah not to give up. It was this message passed in the form of a food that sustained Elijah and rejuvenated his zeal for the journey and his ministry. This can be likened to why we must partake of this bread. When we consider ourselves weak and hopeless, then it is the best prescription for us. It is a food that sustains us even when we are trying to give up. It re-enkindles our spiritual strength to move on in our firm decision for God.

Jesus’ explanation was further made solid with a very striking truth: EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES HAS ETERNAL LIFE. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. And this is a very important way of partaking in the bread of life; we must believe in Christ. Believing in Christ would imply four things: 1) believing that Christ is the Bread of Life; the bread that feeds and nourishes man spiritually, and that saves and gives life, 2) believing that Christ came down from heaven to deliver man from death; the bread that gives us an assurance for heaven, 3) believing that Christ is the Living Bread; the bread that gives life eternally/forever 4) believing that Christ is the Life-sustaining bread; the body of Christ given for for the life of the world. And so, would it not be true to say that in refusing the offer of Jesus, one is prone to miss life in this world and in the world to come? Everyone who believes has eternal life. It is this eternal life that we seek. We pray it becomes our portion after here on earth. Amen. Happy new week, and God bless you.

FROM “BREAD FROM HEAVEN” TO THE “BREAD OF LIFE”

HOMILY FOR THE 18^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

It is in the passage of the Gospel of today (John 6:24-35) that we notice the terminus ad quem of the importance of bread in the salvation history. The expression used for the bread has gradually been shifted away from the Old Testament “bread from heaven” first to “bread of God” and now in connection with the claim that the “bread of God” gives life to the world, to “bread of Life.” This is indeed a spiritual movement leading us to something so spectacular, eschatological and salvific. The God of Jesus Christ leads us to go beyond the mere satisfaction that the “bread from heaven” can give to the life that the “bread of life” gives.

The First Reading (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15) shows to us the importance of the “bread from heaven” in the exodus story of the Israelites. Having heard about the complaints of the people, the Lord told Moses “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.” When the bread finally came, the Israelites not knowing what it was inquired among them: what is it (manna)? That became the name of the bread from Heaven. And actually, the question (manna) which turned out to become the name of the “bread from heaven” was indirectly pointing them to the Christ, the “bread of life” who they would need to discover as the source and summit of their livelihood on earth and in heaven, and as the point to which all other importance attached to bread pointed.

1.      Bread has a universal character. Bread was an all-important commodity of the ancient Near East. From ancient times, the word “bread” was used for food in general; for instance, the account of the punishment given to man after the fall that he would labour for ‘his bread’ (Gen. 3:19) and the admonition given to the foolish and lazy in Proverbs 6:8 concerning how the ant gathers ‘its bread’ during the summer. Bread enjoys the pride of place among other foods that every culture of the world is familiar with it.

2.      Those responsible for bread were important officials. Kings of the ancient world had their personal bakers. It was an important position. This is why the king of Egypt was annoyed with his baker (Exodus 40:1).

3.      Bread was used in sacred meals. Melchizedek, king of Salem brought bread and wine (Gen 14:18).

4.      Bread was included in certain offerings. For they shall offer the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be called holy (Lev. 21:6). Above all, it had a special place in the sanctuary as the bread of the presence. Here, bread assumes a specific character of offering and a conscious application to holiness.

5.      The manna became the meal that sustained and satisfied the Israelites in their physical journey towards their promised land. In Psalm 105:40, the manna was referred to as the heavenly bread.

6.      And in the New Testament, our Lord referred to himself as the bread of Life, which would now become the meal that sustains and gives life to every person in our spiritual journey towards our promised land, heaven. He later chose the same bread of the Passover to be the symbolic memorial of his broken body; the Eucharist.

Jesus had fed the 5000. And it was so incredible that some were still asking for a miraculous sign to help them believe He was who he claimed to be. The people in the Gospel started seeing Jesus as an artist who had come to entertain them. They needed some sort of concert in order to believe. Thus, they brought up the manna their forefathers ate in the wilderness as the context of their inordinate plea. Their reference to manna even after the miracle of multiplication implies that they saw the incidence of manna as higher than what Jesus had done. Most probably, the bread that fed the 5000 had begun in earthly loaves and was also issued in earthly loaves. So, the manna became for them something totally different from what the miracle of multiplication. Some of them may probably be thinking that since they had witnessed “feeding from something,” they now need to witness “feeding from nothing.” This was the transitional test they needed Jesus to pass.

Jesus answer to them was two-fold. 1) He reminded them that it was not Moses who had given them the manna; it was God. 2) The manna was not really the bread of God. It was the symbol of the bread of God. And so, Jesus puts them right that the manna was meant to be a model of the messiah. The bread of God would become the Christ who came down from heaven to give men life, and not mere satisfaction. So when Jesus said “I am the bread of Life,” it then means that without Christ, life cannot be sustained. And so, whoever partakes of him will no longer know spiritual hunger,

But what is life? Remember, the manna gave satisfaction whereas the Christ gave life. Surely, this life must be beyond the physical existence.

1.      Real Life becomes the new relationship we share with God

2.      That relationship is made possible only by Jesus; without whom, there may be satisfaction and existence, but not life.

3.      If Jesus then is the essential of life, his title as the ‘bread of life’ remains and it’s non-negotiable.

.In Jesus then, the restless soul is at rest, the hungry heart is satisfied. In him, our thirst is quenched. As for our thirst, we must recall how Jesus told the woman at the well that the water He offered would cure her thirst for ever (John 4:13-14). Jesus does not offer bread alone to quench hunger; he also offers some liquid to quench thirst. Little wonder the Gospel in talking about the “bread of life” ended with those similar words “and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Therefore, we are compelled to repeat with the Psalmist “as the deer pants for running streams, so my soul pants for you, O God.” It is virtuous for us to continue to hunger and thirst for this “bread of life” which Jesus, together with his blood offers us in the Eucharist. Jesus has really made himself the bread of life. So, anyone who wants to grow in life should try to come back to the Eucharist. Everyone who sought the manna found it; so anyone who seeks Jesus would find him. Happy new week. God bless you.