THE ‘ZACCHAEUS ENERGY’

HOMILY FOR THE 31^ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

God is merciful to everyone; He can accomplish all things, even overlooking men’s sins so that they can repent. With these words, the Wisdom writer of the 1^st Reading (Wisdom 11:22-12:2) summarises the nature, love and desire of God to redeem the world He created. Yes, He is always ready to redeem us and to pardon our sins. The Gospel story (Luke 19:1-10) of Zacchaeus is a perfect example of the idea expressed in the 1^st Reading. God rescues the sinner. From the dust he lifts up the lowly. From his misery he raises the poor. The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down (Psalm 145:14). 

The Lord Jesus entered Jericho. As someone whose fame had spread to many cities and regions, He was well-known and the people of Jericho were excited to see Him. Every person in the crowd wanted to catch a glimpse of Him. Jericho was a wealthy town in the Jordan valley, with the river to the East and Jerusalem to the West. Imagine, then, what a wealthy, corrupt and hated tax collector would have felt like in such a town where there were many sources of illicit taxation. Zacchaeus was a senior tax collector, and so he was materially very well-off. Despite all his wealth, he felt an inner emptiness. The dramatic way that Luke tells the story of Zacchaeus’ conversion expresses the firing-up of an energy within him by which he was emancipated from the inner poverty occasioned by his ill-gotten gains.

In his efforts to see Jesus, Zacchaeus faced a BIG challenge … his diminutive height! He was a man of small stature and he couldn’t see over anyone standing in front of him. Worse still, there was a great crowd standing in front of him. Perhaps this is more than just a statement about his physical limitations. He could well have been ‘short’ of self-esteem due to the deservedly terrible reputation of tax collectors, which  would have left him with little hope of God’s favour. Interestingly, he managed to surmount this challenge in an action that a lot of people would consider infradig for a man of his social standing. He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. We can interpret this description as an ascent of faith. Truly, Zacchaeus did his part; it was for Jesus to respond. And sure enough, Jesus did go to him. This was one of those amazing moments when Our Lord reached out to someone in response to an invitation which disarmed all opposition. ‘Zacchaeus, come down! Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ Jesus embarrassed people because of the low personal opinions they held about Zacchaeus, and so they murmured and muttered under their breath. Their murmuring couldn’t make Jesus not save a soul. Through His gentle and loving approach, Jesus totally disarmed Zacchaeus, getting him to open up and give back his ill-gotten wealth to the poor and those he had cheated. Isn’t it true, then, that people are essentially good, but that this good has to be awakened and called forth? 

Being a host to Jesus gave Zacchaeus the opportunity to be saved. It led him to make a proper examination of his lifestyle and it gave him a strong purpose of amendment: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. This would imply that he practically gave away all he had because he encountered the salvation of Christ. Oh, what energy! He ran and climbed the tree; and then he gave away everything he possessed. Indeed, we need that energy in our world today, the energy that can push each one of us in search of Christ (even in a manner that other people might consider infradig), the energy that can stir us up to make a proper examination of conscience, and make us empty ourselves for the sake of others. God needs that energy from us. He sees into the deepest depths of our hearts. He knows who those people are who genuinely seek Him in spirit and in truth, and He goes to them, for the Son of Man came to seek out and save what was lost (Luke 19:10). 

Today, salvation has come to this house. Long years of self-deception, of leading a corrupt lifestyle and of unnecessary hiding melted away in a single moment of grace. Salvation is a gift and could only be given by the grace of God. God gives his salvation to the broken-hearted. Zacchaeus truly broke himself in pieces, and  in doing so he gained conversion of heart and salvation, and he went on to reinstate himself as a son of Abraham. Zacchaeus was made ‘clean’, which is actually what his name means – ‘pure’. As members of God’s chosen people, we too desire this salvation. We know our constant need to be cleansed. Is it then possible for us to allow Christ to speak to each one of us today with those words He spoke to Zacchaeus: ‘today, salvation has come into this house’? May we be refreshed, both in the coming week and evermore, with the experience of Jesus that energised Zacchaeus. Amen. God bless you.

“I SHALL LOSE NONE”

HOMILY FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Church is (as we well know) comprised of three groups: the Church Militant, the Church Triumphant, and the Church Penitent. The first group consists of Christians on earth who struggle on as soldiers of Christ against sin and the devil. The second group consists of those who enjoy beatific vision and who are now in Heaven. The third group (the group on which today’s Solemnity focuses, and which can be called both the ‘Church suffering’ and the ‘Church expectant’) consists of those who are in Purgatory and undergoing purification before their admission to Heaven. They are being purified in order to satisfy whatever portion of the temporal punishment due for their sins was not satisfied before their physical death. They are in the process of being purged of their imperfections before taking their place in the Church Triumphant in eternal beatific vision. It is the members of this specific group that we remember today.

All Souls’ Day commemorates the Holy Souls of Christians who have died in the peace of Christ. It is a day on which we remember the souls of all our brothers and sisters who were with us not so long ago and who are now no longer with us in the struggles of this world. We pray that they may rest in peace. Only in God can we really say that souls are resting in peace. The souls in Purgatory remain restless; yes, restless, due to their constant desire to see God face to face.

Hope does not disappoint. With these words, the 2^nd Reading (Rom. 5:5-11) simultaneously encourages and reminds us that Christ has paid the full price of our redemption through His Blood. Hence, inasmuch as these departed brethren died with Christ in Baptism, believed in Him and lived according to His precepts, we are confident that they are saved. The Christian hope can never be illusory because it is founded on God! When our hope is placed in God, that hope cannot turn to dust and ashes. That hope can never disappoint us because God has given us the final proof of His love. Through Jesus, our status with God has been changed. This status that has been changed is our justification. But not only has our status changed; our state has also changed. This state that changed is our sanctification. Justification ensures that we are no longer slaves to sin. Our faith in the Lord Jesus has liberated us from the chains of the evil one. But we need to work on this justification, and to do this, we need Jesus. The process of His intervention to ensure the maintenance of our justification is sanctification. 

Is it not Jesus Himself who tells us in today’s Gospel acclamation (John 6:39) that He will never turn away anyone who comes to him? The will of God is that none of us should be lost but, rather, be saved. If we believe in Jesus and do His will, we shall be granted eternal life. Sanctification is a process which starts on earth, but which does not stop until we attain to beatific vision. Hence it is Jesus Who continues to ensure that our brethren in Purgatory are being cleansed and sanctified until they are perfectly sanctified and admitted to Heaven. Indeed, the existence of Purgatory is a great manifestation of God’s love for humanity. He does not want any of us to be lost to Him for ever. He desires our salvation. 

The belief in the concept of Purgatory is traceable to the third century A.D., but the Church did not give it the status of official teaching until the Second Council of Lyons in 1274. The primary aim of the Council was to restore unity between the Western and Eastern Churches. Part of the discussions attempted to reconcile the beliefs of the two Churches concerning the status of the dead, and especially that of those who had died repentant sinners. The subject of a post-death process of purification for sinners came up for discussion again at the Council of Florence (1438-1439). Even though the efforts to reunify the Churches failed, this Council defined Purgatory as an official teaching of the Catholic Church. It was further defined at the Council of Trent in 1563.

To discover the Church’s teaching on Purgatory, it is clearly summarised in the Catechism of the Catholic Church §1030: all who die in God’s grace and friendship, but [are] still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joys of Heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. Simply put, the doctrine of Purgatory has three components: that purification after death exists, that it involves an experience of pain, and that the purification of the dead can be assisted by the prayers and the offerings of the living.

We can therefore say that it is noble to pray for the faithful departed. We are encouraged to pray for them, especially when we remember the practice of the people who prayed for their dead in 2 Mac 12:38-42. Here is the story of Judas who collected money and sent it to Jerusalem as an offering and expiatory sacrifice for the souls of the soldiers who died during the battle against Gorgias; and later, in 2 Mac. 12:43, we are told that this act of Judas was a noble and excellent one. Many of us today still offer money in expiatory sacrifice for the souls of our loved ones; this too is a noble act. In Sirach 7:33, we are advised to be generous with the living and cautioned not to withhold our kindness from the dead. Therefore, my dear friends, let us not forget to pray for our dear ones who have gone before us in answer to the call of faith. Jesus does not want to lose anyone. May the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. God bless you.

THEY HAVE WASHED THEIR ROBES WHITE

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

The Solemnity of All Saints peals the joyful bells of the afterlife. The saints are those who have been declared pure by God in Heaven. Having made sincere efforts to be pure on earth, God grants them purity in Heaven. Yes, we declare our Credal belief in the Communion of Saints. There are at least four meanings to the word ‘saints’:    

1) all those who have been justified by the grace of Christ, whether they be living or dead;

2) those who, having been justified by Christ on earth, have entered into eternal life;

3) particular figures, especially those featured in the Bible, who are examples of holiness;

4) those whom the Church - either through custom or formal canonisation - has singled out as members of the Church Triumphant so that they may be commemorated in public worship.

(cf. McBrien R: Catholicism pp. 1109-1110).

Today’s celebration focuses on the second group: those who, having been justified by Christ on earth, have entered into eternal life.

All Saints Day reminds us of the communion between the Pilgrim Church and the Church Triumphant. The 1st Reading (Revelation 7:2-4.9-14) speaks of the saints as those who have actually persevered in holiness while they were on earth; and, as a result, God has given them His grace of perseverance in eternal life. Thus, those “whom God has regenerated and effectually called to a state of grace, can neither totally nor finally fall away from that state, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved” (Berkhof L., Systematic Theology p.545). These people come ‘from all tribes and peoples and tongues’. The saints are without number, impossible to count, and have been gathered from every land. They are those servants of the Lord who have been marked with the great seal of the Lamb on their foreheads. This seal is their mark of identification with the sacrificial Lamb. Truly, most earthly societies are well aware of the importance of identification. Schools have badges, stamps, logos, mottoes, uniforms, and so on. Companies have trademarks and patents. Countries have flags, heraldry and coats of arms. These signs, images and trademarks are seals which express not only the vision and mission of each grouping, but are also the required insignia for authentication. Similarly, this is how the visionary of the 1st Reading perceived the greatest of all the seals on the foreheads of the saints. The seal authenticated their heavenly citizenship.

God will give the command. His command will be to delay the judgement of the great tribulation until every last one of the saints has received the seal. The seal here means the mark of possession, of ownership, of authority, power, protection and preservation. In ancient times, a king’s ring contained his seal. The king would stamp the mark of his ring on all official documents to indicate that their authority and power came directly from him. This is certainly one of the meanings that the seal in the 1st Reading bears. In Genesis 41:42, Pharaoh took his ring and put it on Joseph’s finger as a sign of sovereign power and authority (cf. also Esther 3:10, 8:2). In the case of Daniel, before the divine liberty of Daniel from the den, King Darius confirmed his proclamation with the mark of his signet ring on the stone that was laid over the mouth of the den (Dan. 6:17). In the New Testament, the Christian is sealed with the Spirit of God - the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of each believer is the seal that authenticates their life of blessedness. It is God Who has put His seal on us, and it is God Who has given us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22).

In John’s vision, these men who have been marked with the greatest possible seal praised God together with the angels and sang to His honour. They lived a life of blessedness while on earth (cf. the Gospel of Matthew 5:10-12). The word ‘blessed’, which is used in each of the Beatitudes, is a very special word. The Greek  word for ‘blessed’ is makarios which is only used to describe the gods. Its biblical usage for the saints implies that the saints are Godlike. Little wonder, then, that the 2^nd Reading (1 John 3:1-3) speaks of the children of God as Godlike. Makarios describes too that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the events, changes and challenges of life. Thus, the Beatitudes cover the glorious hope and reward that the believer can expect both now and in eternity. We can go ahead, then, to say that being declared eternally ‘blessed’ entails being marked with the seal of life. Thus, the people that have been marked with the greatest seal of all means that they have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb, and in doing so have made them white.

The picture of robes whitened by being washed in the Blood of the Lamb is paradoxical. This paradox is a way of saying that this victory and this purity were won by the power of the Lord Jesus and at the cost of everything the Lord Jesus did for humanity in His life and death. Those pictured in white robes, which stand for purity and perfection, are the martyrs who have given up their lives for the sake of Christ. Their status is purity. They have been made pure by God. God is purity Himself: and anyone and everyone who places their hope in Him, He purifies (cf. 1 John 3:3). They now enjoy perfection and beatific vision. In their perfect state, and in being united to Christ, the Lamb, they anchor the whole Church more firmly in holiness and they never cease to intercede for us with the Father. There is fraternal concern with us; and it is in this that our weakness is helped (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.956).

Do you wish some day to be among the saints that we celebrate today? If your answer is ‘yes’, then you must always be conscious of the presence of God and live out the life of the Beatitudes. Everyone who entertains this hope must purify themselves in their efforts to be as pure as Christ (1John 3:1-3). On this Solemnity, may we be invigorated to live the rest of our life as worthy of sainthood. Amen. May I wish you a Happy Feast Day. God bless you.

GOD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER

HOMILY FOR THE 30^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

St. Luke was methodical in the arrangement of his Gospel narrative. Last Sunday we read about the importance of persistence in prayer. This Sunday we are presented with recommendations of how to offer prayer properly. The first sentence of the Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) clearly spells out the reason that prompted the telling of the parable and the kind of people to whom the parable refers: to those who were so full of themselves that they were over-confident about their own righteousness while looking down their noses at other people. In this parable there are two characters who did the same thing in the same place at the same time, but in different ways. They did the same thing, when they went to pray at the Temple in Jerusalem. The devout Jew observed three periods of prayer daily: 9am, 12pm, and 3pm. Prayer was held to be especially efficacious if it was offered within the Temple courts, and so, at these hours, many went up there to pray. This outline gives us a general understanding of the context of Jesus’ story. 

ONE A PHARISEE

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus to himself. He came very near to the Holy of Holies (it is the location of the tax collector that suggests this), seeing himself as worthy to be in God’s presence. He did not pray to God. True prayer is offered only to God. Rather, he prayed to himself. The Pharisee was parading his goodness and piety before God. He exhibited pride, arrogance and self-righteousness. Looking at the content of his prayer, not only did he disregard God and the tax collector - he disregarded the rest of mankind. By “the rest of mankind” he meant those who were not Pharisees; worse, he perceived and dismissed the whole lot of them as thieves, adulterers, and unjust. Worse still, he contemptuously demonstrated his pride by comparing himself to the tax collector: I am not like this tax collector. Unlike the Pharisee, then, whenever we are tempted to compare ourselves with others, let us compare ourselves with none other than Christ Himself. 

This is the height of the manifestation of the Pharisee’s self-righteousness. Since he prided himself on his strict observance of the Law, he imagined that this practice elevated him to a higher plane in God’s sight. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get. Fasting twice a week was seen as going the extra mile in the observance of the Jewish Law. The Jewish Law prescribed only one absolutely obligatory fast, and that was on the Day of Atonement. However, those who fasted twice a week rumpled their hair, whitened their faces with ash, and went out and about deliberately dishevelled. They did this to demonstrate their piety to all and sundry, so that people would know what they were doing and respect them for it. This Pharisee also paid tithes on all commodities, even though the Law required him to pay tithes on only a few of them. Despite these outward acts of piety, he failed to demonstrate even minimal concern for the sinner behind him in the Temple. With this in mind, we can say that the Pharisee went on to inform God about how wonderful he was because he was keeping to the letter of the Law. His words were words of supererogation. He understood that he did more than was required of him by Law. He must have thought that he had succeeded in convincing God how pious and holy he was - without realising how shameful his words were. In justifying himself to himself, he felt himself to be in no need of God’s free gift of justification. He was mistaken: anyone who exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:11). Prayer, then, should not be used as a conduit for self-exaltation. Remember that any one of us could be guilty of being like this Pharisee; we tend to see the evils that abound in the world, and we are tempted to think that we are not participants in them. We pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves, ah, yes, thank God, I am not like all those others who rob and steal. The truth is, though, that exonerating ourselves from guilt does not make us any better or holier than anyone else.

THE OTHER A TAX COLLECTOR

The tax collector stood some distance away not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven, but he beat his breast… The expression ‘stood some distance away’ helps us to understand that the tax collector saw himself as someone unworthy of communicating with God. The fact that he dared not raise his eyes was an indication of his shame and contrition. He was beating his breast as a sign of his repentance. Then came his petition: God, be merciful to me, a sinner. His is the approach that the committed Christian should follow to approach God, an approach that is encouraged in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. His prayer demonstrated deep humility, repentance and dependence upon God. The tax collector received his longed-for gift of justification, because he recognised his need for God’s mercy and he showed sorrow for his sins. Remember: anyone who humbles himself will be exalted (cf. Luke 14:11). The acknowledgement of our sins in humility isn’t an exercise in making us out to be a worse sinner than anyone else, nor is it a belittling of our humanity, nor is it intended to dent our self-worth before God. What acknowledgement of our sins in humility does do is to make us conscious that attempting to be holy does not preclude our slipping and falling every so often. The journey to holiness requires us to get up after each fall, as Jesus did on the Way of the Cross, and never to give up trying to reach our goal. 

God’s justice and His free gift of justification is given to the lowly, and to those who recognise that they are poor and in need of help. He listens to the humble prayer of the just and the lowly, and He shows no partiality for the rich and the powerful (cf. The First Reading, Sirach 35:12c-14.16-18b). Our prayers, then, should exhibit humility and contrition. Any one of us can be tempted to think that they have done enough good things in order to merit a place in Heaven, but none of us should think that the good things we have done are enough to merit eternal life with God. The humble man’s prayer pierces the cloud [of Heaven]. This coming week and for evermore, I wish you to say the kind of prayer that pierces the cloud. God bless you.

PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER AS THE STAFF OF VICTORY

HOMILY FOR THE 29^TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

A girl accidentally tripped and fell into an ancient, dry well. She shouted for help, but help wasn’t forthcoming. There was nobody around to hear her cries. Dismayed, she looked around. Water was flowing continuously through a channel across the base of the well from one side to the other, rather than filling up the well. There were several blocks of stone on the floor. She noticed that there were open holes at regular intervals up the sides of the well which would prevent the flowing water to fill it up. It was clear that the stones on the floor were intended to fit into the holes and block them up, so that the flowing water would fill up the well to the brim. As the girl realised this, she smiled with relief. She thought to herself: if only I can slot these stones on the floor into these holes up the sides, then this water (which would then have nowhere else to go but up) will rise and lift me out of the well. That would be manageable, since she was a good swimmer and had learnt to hold her breath under water.

The task ahead of her would be tedious and would require much effort, persistence and skill. Every so often she shouted for help to see if any would come, but it never did. Eventually she decided to undertake the task before she died of hunger. She picked up the blocks of stone one by one and started shoving them into their holes. First of all, she blocked up the holes at the base of the well so that the water would no longer flow through it. As she did this, the water level rose and carried her up. On reaching the middle of the well, when all the holes had been blocked up, her work was complete. The water swirled and became more intense after the outlet holes were all filled-in. All she had to do now was to tread water and hold her breath. So it was that she survived. Her intelligence and struggles and persistence had all contributed to her survival. How often do we seek help from afar, when the Lord has already provided help immediately around us to assist us to rise above our difficulties? 

In the 1^st Reading (Exodus 17:8-13), Moses saw for himself how difficult it was to win the war against the Amalekites. Like the girl in my story, and inspired by God, Moses used his initiative to ensure the survival of the Israelites. Then he made a conscious decision to hold up the staff of God, the staff which signified power. Moses had learned from his experience of God just how powerful the staff was! He had this staff with him when he was negotiating the freedom of his people in Exodus 4:20. With this same staff, he struck the Red Sea and the waters were divided (in Exodus 14:16). With this same staff, he struck the rock (Exodus 17:5) and water gushed out. Thus, this staff was the palpable sign of God’s presence among the people on their way to the Promised Land. Then he trusted that this sign of the divine Presence would bring about the necessary victory: “...go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” As Moses held up the staff in his hands, the Israelites prevailed, but when he lowered the staff, it was the Amalekites who prevailed. On that day, God manifested His power to the Israelites. The staff became the symbol of power, of victory and of dominion. This staff remains available to us today if only we can hold up the staff and never let it fall. 

With the passage of time during the battle, the hands of Moses grew weary with holding the staff aloft continuously. Their failure would lead to the defeat of the Israelites. Something had to be done to help him. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. The staff in the hands of Moses became the reason behind their ongoing victory. The steadiness of those hands that held up the staff assured the Israelites of steady progress to winning the battle. We too need to remain steady and focused if we desire to be continual winners against the evils of our time. As a Christian who is always fighting a battle, what do you think is our staff of victory today? In a word, our staff is prayer. That is our weapon against the devil. We have also been provided with many instruments, such as devotional prayer, to help us sharpen this staff of prayer. The Bible too is a veritable instrument. In the Bible are writings inspired by the Holy Spirit and prayerful verses; as the 2^nd Reading (2 Tim 3:14 - 4:2) tells us, Scripture is inspired and is profitable in making us righteous men and women. Prayer remains the staff upon which we can rely. We must watch and pray that we may not fall into temptation (Mt. 26:41); we must pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) and pray for one another (Jas 5:16). As the staff signifies prayer to Almighty God, the support of the hands of Moses signifies persistence and solidarity in prayer. Today’s Gospel Reading (Luke 18:1-8) begins with beautiful words reminding us of the need to pray continually and never lose heart (Luke 18:1). Jesus told the parable of the Persistent Widow to teach us of the need to persist in prayer.  

Back to our story of ‘the girl in the well.’ Just as the girl did, we will face difficulties in life. These difficulties are not meant to dampen our zeal. They can be seen as opportunities for us to become more resourceful, to use our brains and to grow through experience. Yes, sometimes we are on the look-out for help and are disappointed when it doesn’t seem to come. Like this girl too, we might yell for help without realising that God has already provided us with the resources we need to overcome our difficulties. These resources might require us to employ our intelligence and skills, and to make an effort to use them, just as the girl used her intelligence and skills and made an effort to survive. And, like Aaron and Hur, we must help and support one another in prayer and holy charity. In addition to all these resources is God’s gift to us of His grace, which prompts us to put our minds to work. And how can we continue to tap into this grace if not by constant prayer and good works? Let’s not forget St. Paul’s words of exhortation to Timothy: I desire then that in every place every person should pray, lifting holy hands…(1 Tim 2: 8). I wish you all a prayerful week ahead. God bless you.

WERE NOT ALL TEN MADE CLEAN?

HOMILY FOR THE 28^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

REV. FR. EZEKOKA PETER ONYEKACHI

Here is a story for you about a boy who was blind. The boy used to sit begging on the steps of a high street building. He would place a hat by his feet and hold up a sign saying: I am blind. Please help me. The sign wasn’t effective in persuading people to give him their spare change. There were only ever a few coins in the hat. His life changed on the day that a certain man was walking past him. The man took a few coins out of his pocket and dropped them in the hat. Politely, he took the sign from the blind boy, turned it round, and wrote something on the back. Carefully he returned the sign to the boy so that everyone who walked by would see the new appeal. Very soon, the hat began to fill up with donations! Lots more people were giving money to the boy. That same afternoon, the man who had changed the wording on the sign stopped by to see how things were going. The boy recognised his footsteps. He asked, “Are you the kind man who changed my sign this morning? Tell me, please, what was it that you wrote?” The man replied, “Don’t worry, your message stayed the same, but I put it slightly differently. What I wrote was: Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.

It’s true that both signs informed people that the boy was blind and needed help. But the second version acknowledged that the boy was grateful for having been given a beautiful day, even though he could not enjoy it visually. This then became a message to passers-by about how fortunate they were to be able see the day for themselves. Should we then be surprised that the second sign was more effective? Why was it effective? Because it came from a grateful heart. This Sunday both the Gospel (Luke 17:11-19) and the First Reading (2 Kings 5:14-17) point towards a message of thanksgiving. Jesus healed ten men who were lepers, but only one returned to give thanks to God for the healing, and he was a Samaritan, an outsider. After Naaman was healed of his leprosy, he returned to give thanks to God through the gifts he wanted to offer Elisha, the man of God.  

In the culture of both Naaman’s and Jesus’ time, people with skin diseases were branded outcasts, and were isolated from interaction with other people. Sufferers were perceived to be ritually ‘unclean’ and were banned from participation in worship of God in the Temple, the place of sacrifice. Leviticus 13 and 14 give full details of how those with skin diseases were to be relegated from society and to be kept separate from everyone else (cf. Numbers 5:2-3). From these regulations, we can deduce that these afflicted people who were cured (the ten lepers and Naaman) had experienced the harshness of separation from their family and friends and the wider community. Beyond this physical healing, then, is the restoration of these people to their original status in society, the restoration of their daily work, and their reconnection with their families. This is indeed how Jesus heals us daily, and restores us to our original state of sanctity, peace and inner tranquillity. What is it, then, that you feel you need to be healed of, in order to be restored to wholeness? You need only to call on Jesus - as did the lepers - to have pity on you, and thereafter to wait patiently to experience your own healing and restoration in God’s good time.

Both Naaman and the Samaritan leper were exceptional in their acts of thanksgiving to God. However, it comes as a surprise that it was only the Samaritan, the foreigner (rather the other nine, who were Jewish), who understood fully what had happened to him and thanked God for it. By extension, his return to Jesus can be seen as resulting from a deep sense of conversion. We can go on to say that while the other nine were healed physically, their attitude indicated that spiritually they rejected conversion to Jesus Who is God-with-us, Emmanuel. Like the Samaritan, when we return to give God thanks for what He does in our lives, our own conversion and commitment to Him are deepened and strengthened. Gratitude to God paves the way for ever-deeper commitment, rooting it ever more firmly, and enhancing the heart. What has the Lord done for you? Do you consider yourself to be thankful enough to Him? Have you forgotten those moments when you were praying earnestly for what you are now or what you have now; let’s say, for example, your wife, husband, children, job, qualifications, skill, popularity, wealth, and so on? Might you have forgotten that you are benefiting right now from these gifts of God, and are currently praying for yet more gifts without having taken the time to thank God for his blessings to date? If so, may I remind you that the time has come for you to offer massive thanksgiving to God. You might want to think about keeping a personal diary of things in your life for which you are grateful.

A sure test of faith is gratitude to God for what He has done for us. ‘Where not all ten made clean? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praises to God except this foreigner?’ God actually expects us to show gratitude. He admires us when we are sensible enough to thank Him. Remember how you feel when you are expecting someone to thank you, but they never bother? Yes, you might not gain anything in material terms from someone expressing their gratitude to you, but somehow gratitude makes the giver happy that their gift is appreciated by the recipient. It is heart-warming to be appreciated. Whenever we express our delight about the gifts He gives us, God is happy. 

To conclude, may I remind you of what Jesus said to the grateful Samaritan: go, your faith has saved you. The man’s about-turn to offer thanks to Him convinced Jesus of his genuine love and conversion. Jesus went on to declare the man faithful which would lead ultimately to his salvation. Unlike the other nine, this man gained both healing and faith. Expressing gratitude to God produces more and more blessings. The Samaritan went home with a triple portion of blessing: he was healed, faithful and saved. The person who was not considered by society to be a chosen one, like themselves, secured for himself chosen status specifically through his gratitude. The Samaritan became the protagonist in this gospel story. It’s interesting how St. Luke highlighted the beneficiary in the narrative as being someone from outwith the chosen people of God, as Luke himself was. So, what counts with God is no longer the societal pride of place that the Jewish people occupied prior to the Incarnation, but the consistent effort of each and every one of us in adhering to his/her commitment of fidelity to God, to following Our Lord Jesus, and of giving gratitude to Him. ‘Work out your salvation with fear and trembling’ (Phil 2:12). If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him (2 Tim. 2:8-13), as the Second Reading says. Cicero, the Roman orator, declared that: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the mother of all the others”. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your multiple gifts which You shower upon us. May I wish you all a week filled with gratitude to God for His blessings. God bless you.

MY FAITH, MY Wi-Fi

HOMILY FOR THE 27^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Faith deals with - and faith requires - constant contact and connection with God. When this connection is strong, a person of faith can go through a furnace of trials without getting burnt. Walter Ciszek spent fifteen years in forced-labour camps in Siberia. Throughout those years, he belonged to the lowest of the low, doing the dirtiest work, digging foundations by hand, carving them out with picks and shovels, digging long sewer trenches through the frozen ground, loading and unloading heavy construction materials with his bare hands, crawling through tunnels in damp, dark mines where death was only one slip away. What was it that kept Walter Ciszek going? This is what he said: “Men died in the camp, especially when they gave up hope. But I trusted in God, and so I never felt abandoned or without hope. I owe my survival to my faith in God.” Such faith-related stories of survival abound; where a person’s survival is on the line, faith strengthens.

Each of the three readings today has something important to say about faith. The First Reading (Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4) is an account of how faith can open our eyes to a new vision of life, especially when life confronts us with excruciating challenges. The prophet Habakkuk expressed his worries about the apparent silence of God in the face of oppression, injustice, tyranny, outrage, violence and discord. The prophet seemed to be asking: ‘are you going to let all these evils continue, and yet you still claim to be God?’ And God’s answer led him to the clear understanding that evil will never prevail over good. The faith of Habakkuk led him to go beyond the ordinary experience of suffering to the temporality of evil. And at the end, he discovered that it was only faith that could help an upright person to live on. 

The second Reading (2 Tim. 1: 6-8.13-14) is an encouragement to keep the flame of faith burning. Paul urges Timothy never to slack in his faith and love for Christ Jesus. Faith here could connote the idea of ‘fidelity’. A Christian is someone who is ever true and loyal to his/her faith, never ashamed to show his/her identity as a Christian, and who never loses his/her confidence in God.

In the Gospel Reading (Luke 17:5-10), the Apostles - realising how weak their faith was, too weak ever to live the way Jesus was outlining - they asked the Lord to increase their faith. The Lord’s example of the sycamine (or mulberry) tree is helpful in the sense that the sycamine is a relatively large tree with an extensive root system. It would be difficult not only to uproot this tree, but also to grow it in salt water. If, then, this tree could indeed be moved by faith, then it follows that genuine faith can bring about desirable but unexpected outcomes. This genuine faith grows and flourishes with obedience. We are servants, servants who know that to obey God is a duty rather than an option. The gifts of faith are not meant to make us prideful, but to serve to foster and promote the will of God on earth.  

Faith is sustained and increased by maintaining a connection. Faith is very much like Wi-Fi. The closer the device is to the hub, the stronger and faster the connectivity becomes. Similarly, the closer you are to the source of faith (which is God), the stronger your faith becomes. To remain strong, connect to the divine Wi-Fi. Wireless Fidelity helps the device to connect to the internet and thereafter to upload and download files to/from the device. This is how divine fidelity - faith - helps us to access God, to upload our petitions and praise to Him, and to download His superabundant gifts. And again, in order to browse, you must connect to Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi helps to create connections between devices within range of its connectivity. Similarly, this is how faith both connects us to other people, and also assists us to share with each other and to encourage each other. And so, to chat, connect to your divine Wi-Fi.  But beware! Wi-Fi can be prone to attack when anyone who is within range of a network and who has access to the wireless network interface controller goes rogue! This danger is why we must continually encourage one another (cf. 1 Thess. 4:18) and, as Jesus did for Peter, pray for one another that our faith might not fail (Luke 22:32). I pray that all of us may be gifted with high connectivity of faith as the new week blossoms. God bless you.