Fr. Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie, MSP - Homily for Palm Sunday Year B - March 28, 2021

PALM/PASSION SUNDAY

Mark 11:1-10

Isaiah 50:4-7

Phil 2:6-11

Mark 14:1-15:47

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

Today we begin the celebration of the most important event of human salvation. It is the most important season in the Catholic Church as God died so that man will be saved. This week is called holy week because henceforth till the day of Easter, we are going to concentrate more closely on the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,  the event by which he wrought our salvation.

In the reading of yesterday, we saw that as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the scribes and pharisees concluded that he must die because he was getting too popular among the people. The disciples warned Jesus that the Jews, especially the scribes and pharisees have been looking for him to put him to death. In the gospel readings during the weekdays since last Sunday, we see how they have been looking for various ways to catch him and kill him, but he had kept eluding them. Jesus was therefore warned by his disciples not to go near Jerusalem, except he was ready to die.

In the gospel reading of today, we see that Jesus, willingly entered Jerusalem despite the dangers that awaited him. He did not even sneak into the city, but decided to announce his coming by climbing a donkey as a king. It will not be long that he will enter the country that the news will go round and false accusations will be coming in, just in the quest to get rid of him. When this will happen, all those who are welcoming Jesus as King, will turn and ask that he  be crucified.

In the first reading of today, we see how the prophet Isaiah describes the suffering servant who is Jesus. He willingly gave up his life to die, though he did not do anything wrong. All false accusations were brought against him, but he did not say a word, and he did not defend himself. He willingly gave up his life because he knew that it was the only way he could save us from our sins and take us back to our God.

In the second reading, St Paul tells us that Jesus is God, but for our sake, he became man. Instead of claiming equality with God and asserting himself on earth, he emptied himself and looked like a slave, like a common man. Even when Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king today, he identified with the common man by using a donkey which is meant for the poor, instead of the horse which the rich use.

In the long passion narrative, we see, just as we will see in the coming days, how Jesus gave up his life so that we will win back our life.

We are therefore called to be more serious with the meaning of our salvation as we approach the Easter season. The week is a holy week and it should be kept holy. Our salvation is closer to us now than before.

May we benefit graciously from the mystery of this season, so that we may experience the joy of Easter.

 

Lord, you willingly entered Jerusalem to die for my sins, may I by the help of your grace, truly repent from my sins and look up to you. Amen.

Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Palm Sundy Year B - March 28, 2021

Homily of Palm Sunday Year B, 2021

 Mark 11:1-10; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 1-15:47

 Today is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and it is called Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord. It commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, days before he was crucified. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. The Passion narrative from the Gospel of Mark invites us to participate in the passion journey of Jesus Christ.

 Almost all Jewish prophets prophesied the coming of the messiah who was to redeem Israel from her oppressors. At the time of Jesus, Israel was governed by the Romans. Jesus’ disciples were convinced that Jesus was a political messiah who would lead a rebellion against the Roman colonial rule and drive out the Romans. On arriving in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, he was given a rousing and heroic welcome: “Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!’” (Mark 11:8-10).

 I don’t think that the people would have given Jesus such a rousing and heroic welcome if they knew he was not a political messiah. A few days later, the same crowd shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” I guess that the people were frustrated and disappointed that Jesus did not fulfill their expectation. If Jesus had overthrown the Roman leadership, everyone would have stood behind him. He would not have been crucified. Do we do as the Jews and the crowd did? We get very disappointed, and frustrated, and upset when our expectations are not met, or when we fail to get what we want. Then, we become aggressive, destructive, or even murderous.

 As we read in the gospel, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt (a young donkey). Jesus chose to enter into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a horse. He identified himself with a donkey which is a beast of burden, thereby fulfilling Isaiah 53:54, “He took up our pain and bore our suffering.” As a donkey carries load, Jesus carries our pains and sufferings.

 During Jesus’ time, horse was the means of transportation for the rich, the high and the mighty, while donkey was the means of transportation for the poor. By riding on a donkey, Jesus identified himself with the poor and the lowly. Jesus teaches us to do the same. He wants us to identify with the burdened, the needy, the sick and the suffering. And by riding on a donkey, Jesus teaches us the importance of detachment and humility. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says, “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart.”

 What do the palm leaves symbolize?

In some cultures, in times of crisis or misunderstanding, carrying or presenting palm leaves is a symbol or a gesture of peace and reconciliation. Therefore, the palm leaves symbolize Jesus as the King of Peace. We are, therefore, invited to peace and reconciliation with one another. Blessed palm is not to be thrown around or discarded as trash. It is kept reverently until next year when it is returned to the church to be burned and the ash is put on our forehead on Ash Wednesday.

 

In some cultures, palm leaves symbolize sacredness and victory. Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the Sacred Lamb of God, came to bring victory over evil. In Hebrew, ‘hosanna’ means, ‘save us now.’ We pray to God to ‘save us now’ from our burdens.

 In some cultures, palm leaves symbolize eternal life. Jesus is the way to eternal life. Jesus says, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

 Today’s celebration becomes even more meaningful if Jesus makes a triumphal entry into our lives, grant us peace, victory over evil, salvation and eternal life. Let our sins not stop Jesus’ entry into our lives. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelations 3:20).

 Lastly, St. Andrew of Crete writes, “Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet him, not scattering olive branches or garments or palms in his path, but spreading ourselves before him as best as we can with humility of soul and upright purpose … It is ourselves that we must spread under Christ’s feet…”

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B - March 21, 2021

 Readings: Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 5:7-9; Jn. 12:20-33

The Death of a Grain of Wheat

1.     When I was young, I was very curious about things. During planting season one year, I told my mom that I wanted to plant peanuts. I got my seed and off to the garden and started planting. I wanted to see the seed grow so bad that I kept digging it up. Needless to say, I did not allow the seed to die in order to grow. My mom told me to stop digging the seed up but to keep watering the seed and give it time to grow. The lesson: if the seed does not die – germinate - it will not grow and bear fruit. This is the message of the gospel reading of today. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” This is the paradox of life that speaks to every situation we encounter on earth. Something must be given for something else.

2.     The first reading is about the new covenant that God entered into with the children of Israel. “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant.” (Jer. 31:31-32). Because that covenant was broken due to sin, God initiated a new way of dealing with his people. According to the letter to the Hebrews, “When he speaks of a “new” covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. And what had become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.” (Heb. 9:13). The new covenant will need no middleman or an intermediary like Moses, it will be based on individual and personal relationship with God. “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the Lord. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:34). This new covenant is marked by God’s forgiveness and man’s obedience to the will of God. The letter to Hebrews states that even the “Son of God learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Heb. 5:9).  

3.     During Lent we acknowledge our need for God by dying to ourselves so as to live a new life of grace. We must be the grain of wheat that must let go of its life so as to bear bountiful fruit to feed the hungry of the world. Forgiveness is the new law written in our hearts. God’s forgiveness is the new thing that God is doing in the world. Hence, Isaiah tells us “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it.” (Is. 43:19). This is reechoed in Hebrews, “For I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sins no more.” (Heb.8:12). We die to ourselves each time we forgive hurts done to us even as we bear fruit that will endure.

4.     We feel differently when we experience forgiveness either from God through the sacrament of reconciliation or personal friendly forgiveness. This is a liberating, exhilarating and transforming feeling. It is the grain of wheat in us dying to give life to the world. God the Father died in sending his Son into the world. The Son became the grain of wheat when he gave his life on the cross and was lifted up so that we may look at him and live. “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (Jn. 12:32). At our baptism, we died to sin, like the grain of wheat, and rose up to share eternal life of grace with God. When we go to confession, we pray with the Psalmist, “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” (Ps.51:12-13). We die to our pride, confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness. We become a new creation and begin to inject goodness, kindness and forgiveness to our world.

5.     So dear friends, like the Greeks who went to see Jesus in the Gospel, let us seek the company of Jesus during the remaining part of this Lenten season. May we not be afraid to die to ourselves. This means letting go of the past and embracing the here and now. We must die to ourselves if we are to live for Christ. What is holding you back? Past hurts, strangulating relationship, broken heart or relationship, lack of motivation, failed marriage or death in the family? Could it be sickness of parents and loved ones? Are you stuck in the past and find it difficult to let go and let God? We will not experience a new life with Christ if we do not die to ourselves. Yes, it may be hard to move on. But who said it will be easy? It was not easy for Christ. Look at Him in the garden of Gethsemane. “He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.” (Lk. 22:44). Yet He died to himself so that we may have life in him. “For our sake God made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor. 5:21). May God give us the grace to die to ourselves so that we may live for God and others. Amen.

 Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Fifth Sundy of Lent Year B - March 21, 2021

Homily of Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B, 2021

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-23

 Jeremiah was sent by God to prophesy to the Jews at a time when political and religious leaders offended God so much. There were a lot of corruption and injustice in the land. The political and religious leaders did not care nor believed that corruption and injustice could make them lose favor with God and bring destruction to their land. They prided themselves on the temple, and the covenant God made with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.

 The old covenant was sealed with animal sacrifices and animal blood. For instance, in Exodus 24:8, “Then Moses took the blood and splashed it on the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.’”

 Then, Jeremiah prophesied to them that the temple would be destroyed and the old covenant would no longer hold. Jeremiah prophesied the nature of the new covenant as we see in the first reading, “But this is a covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 13:33). The new covenant was no longer going to be sealed with animal sacrifices and animal blood, and the law written on scrolls and tablets of stone; but it would be sealed with the Blood of the Lamb, and the law written on the hearts of men and women.

 The Book of Hebrews affirms, “For this reason, [Jesus Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). During the Last Supper (the institution of the Eucharist), Jesus took the cup, gave it to the apostles and said to them, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many” (Matthew 26:27-28). This new covenant, hereby, replaces the old covenant.

 The Jews prided themselves on the temple and the covenant God made with their fathers, while condoning corruption and injustice in their land. In the same way, some people pride themselves on their church, their position, their ministry, or their organization; but in their hearts are evil desires of murder, adultery, immorality, theft, lies, and slander (Matthew 15:19).  Jesus quotes Prophet Isaiah for such people, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

 Each of us is invited to a spiritual checkup during this Lenten Season to examine the state of one’s covenant with God. God says, “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” How does this apply to me? A finance company advertisement asks, “What is in your wallet?” The question for me is, “What is within me?” “What is written upon my heart?” “Is the law God placed within me still there or have I excreted it out?” “Is God’s law written upon my heart still there or have I erased it?”

 In today’s gospel, Jesus invites us to renew ourselves by dying to our sinful selves. He says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25). Jesus, further assures us, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me” (John 12:26).

Jesus, further says in today’s gospel, “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. He said this indicating the kind of death he would die” (John 12:32-33). His passion, crucifixion, death, and glorification made him the mediator of the new covenant and “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (second reading, Hebrews 5:9). As he draws us to himself, let nothing pull us away from him. Let us obey him in order to preserve our life for eternal salvation. Amen.

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Fourth Sundy of Lent Year B - March 14, 2021

Homily of Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B, 2021

 2 Chronicle 36:14-16; 19-23; Psalm 137:1-6; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

 The first reading tells us what happened to the people of Israel when they continued to sin and turned away from God. They refused to listen to the prophets God sent to them. “All the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple…The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent messengers to them … But they mocked the messengers of God, despised their warnings, and scoffed at his prophets …” The result of this was that they moved away from God and fell into the hands of their enemies who conquered them. “Their enemies burned down the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all the palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans …” After seventy years, the Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire, and surprisingly King Cyrus of Persia released the people of Israel to return to their land.

 The consequence of the rejection of God by the people of Israel, as we have read in the first reading, happens to anyone and any people who turns away from God. The person or the people falls into the waiting arms of the Evil One. This explains the reasons for so much disintegration being experienced in our homes, society, and world. We do not expect, in this modern time, that a country is conquered by another, and the citizens of the conquered country carried off into captivity, as happened to the people of Israel. However, many people, families, communities and countries are in spiritual captivity and enslavement caused by infidelity upon infidelity, abominations, corruption, and criminal pollution of all kinds. The crises in political, judiciary, economic, health, education, religious, social systems, and so on in many parts of the world are as a result of sin and turning away from God by the rulers of those countries. At the root of underdevelopment, poverty, hunger, sickness, and destitution in some parts of the world are the sins and turning away from God by the rulers. God has not designed or ascribed any people or part of the world to be impoverished and stagnant. Unfortunately, corrupt rulers and their accomplices demonize, persecute and eliminate God’s messengers who dare to denounce them. We continue to pray for the conversion of corrupt rulers and God’s deliverance of his afflicted children.

 The Book of Wisdom 1:12-16 cautions us,

“Do not court death by your erring way of life, nor draw to yourselves destruction by the works of your hands. Because God did not make death nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being, and the creatures of the world are wholesome. There is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of Hades on earth. For righteousness is undying. It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it; because they deserve to be allied with it.”

 In today’s gospel, Jesus, also, cautions us not to prefer evil to good. He says, “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works are evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works might not be exposed” (John 3:19).

 

Jesus is the new King Cyrus, who has redeemed us and set us free from captivity and enslavement caused by sin and evil. In the fourth week of Lent, we are invited to examine ourselves to know whether we are, in anyway, held captive and enslaved by sin; and turn to Jesus to free and liberate us. St. Paul in the second reading says, “God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us [his handiwork], even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ…” (Ephesians 2:4). St. John tells us in today’s gospel, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).

 The following passages are worth reflecting upon: “And my people who bear my name humble themselves, and pray and look for me, and turn from their wicked ways, then I myself will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their land” (2 Chronicle 7:14). “I do not want the wicked to die but rather that they turn from their evil ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Emmanuel Megwara, MSP - Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent Year B - March 7, 2021

DATE : 7/3/2021

 EVENT : The Third Sunday of Lent

 COLOUR:Violet

 READINGS : Eco. 20:1-17; Resp. Psalm 18:8-11; 1Cor. 1:22-25; John 2:13-25.

 THEME: DO NOT DESECRATE YOUR BODILY TEMPLE

         Greetings beloved people of God. I welcome you to "My Catholic Homily Digest". On this Third Sunday of March, I wish to reflect with you on the theme: " Do Not Desecrate Your Bodily Temple ". Beloved, today being the third Sunday of Lent, The Church has put before us the readings of today so that we can  take a deep look at our hearts and discover those areas which require urgent cleaning, cubwebbing, sweeping, mopping and complete overhauling. But, we cannot adequately do this if we do not know or have the  righttools by which we can measure or determine our filthiness.

     In the first reading of today, Exo. 20:1-17, we head how the Lord God, out of love for his people, offered them his ten commandments, which will enable them to serve him better and also to live peacefully with eachother. We must recognise that whatever God does, it is targeted towards our eternal salvation. Just like the Psalmist sang today, 'God alone has the message of eternal life'. And if we keep his commandments faithfully, we can be sure of obtaining the reward of his redemption. However, we must also consciously have it constantly in mind that the ways, thoughts and commandments of God, is somewhat different from the reasoning of the world. This is because the world as we know it, is being controlled by the evil one. And the evil one's ways are antagonistically opposed to that of God the supreme good. Hence,  to live in and love God is to set yourself at loggerheads with the world. And unless you are made of tough skin, you may shudder and fall. This is why St. Paul already told us through the second reading, 1Cor. 1:22-25, that as Christians who are followers of a crucified Christ, the world sees us as foolish people. Thus, whatever you do or say, makes little or no meaning to the world. Hence, we must ignore the allures and distractions of the world and not allow it to rub off it's stint in us.

       Beloved,, one question that I am often asked is this: Father, how can I remain sinless in this world where wrongdoings is commonplace, with my emotions welling up, with inviting temptations beckoning on me and with my needs constantly unmet? Child of God, as a Catholic priest, I know that many of us are making sincere effort to purify our hearts and to keep our bodies which is the temple of the Holy Spirit pure and spotless. So let's keep struggling for we can truly be holy. But, like the Gospel reading of today, John 2:13-25, where Jesus cleansed the temple from all unnecessary activities being carried out within the walls of the sacred space. Many of us have filled our lives with rubbish and harmful activities. And unless we get radical enough like Jesus, we may not be able to clean up the mess that is in our lives. Child of God, ask yourself today, what are the essential things you really need to live a decent and holy life. Identify those things and do away with the remaining ones. Ask yourself, do you really need to keep all the friends and acquaintances in your life? If no, then curtail your relationships. Do you really need to attend all the programs you have planned for, if no, then miss it. Do you really need to comment and reply to all the messages that you get or that come to you, if not, then speak on the essential ones only. And let the temple cleansing continues.

 

    Beloved in Christ, God has chosen you as the apple of his eye, he has called you by a new name, he has given you his commandments, which will serve as your compass and to help you to navigate through the cheap tempations of the evil one. He has deposited his Spirit within you, to make of y…

Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent Year B - March 7, 2021

 

Readings: Ex. 20:1-17; 1 Cor. 1:21-25; Jn. 2:13-25

Stop Making my Father’s House A Marketplace.

1.     The first reading this morning presents us with the 10 Commandments – the Decalogue. This law of love from God, we are told, was written by the finger of God. “When the Lord had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God’s own finger.” (Ex. 31:18). St Thomas Aquinas defines the law as “Ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated.” Therefore, this law was given for the proper direction of the people of God. “The Decalogue must first be understood in the context of the Exodus, God’s great liberating event at the center of the Old Covenant. Whether formulated as negative commandments, prohibitions, or as positive precepts such as: “Honor your father and mother,” the “ten words” point out the conditions of a life freed from the slavery of sin. The Decalogue is a path of life: If you love the Lord your God by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply.” (CCC 2057). The gift of the Commandments is the gift of God himself and his holy will. In making his will known, God revealed himself to his people.

2.     The full meaning of the ten commandments will be revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore, when he was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the laws and the prophets.” (Mt. 22:37-40). The commandments: “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:9-10).

3.     The Gospel reading is seen as the violation of this law of love, which provoked righteous indignation from Christ. Why this action? How could Christ have been so angry as to destroy things, beat people and knock down their tables and spill their money? We are told that Christ arrives at the Jerusalem Temple for the Passover. The Temple had been under construction for 46 years. To gain access into the Temple one had to pay half a shekel. But if one comes from outside Jerusalem, from Rome or other places, you will have to convert your money to shekels. But those working in Bureau de change were bandits. They charged more than was expected, thereby, cheating the people of God and making it difficult for them to have access to God. This was stealing in the name of God. There were too many abuses, corruption and manipulation going on in the temple of God. And Jesus could not stand it. Jesus had to clean his Father’s house and restate the purpose of the sacred space reserved for the worship of God. My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a marketplace. Isaiah the prophet reminded us of the universal call for all people to come to the house of the Lord. “Them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; Their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Is. 56:7).

4.     On this third Sunday of Lent, we need some house cleaning. If the Lord comes into our heart, our home, or our Church, what condition will he find them in? Don’t you think some cleaning needs to be going on as we speak? If the Lord came to do an inspection of your heart today what will he find? Will he find anger, bitterness, hatred, lust, immorality, unforgiveness, jealousy, pride, arrogance, laziness, gluttony, indulgence, or deceit? We may hide these indiscretions from people, but our hearts are open before the Lord. What about our spiritual poverty? Will the Lord have any need to call you to pray more? Will he remind you that you are lacking in charity? What about your sacramental life? When did you make use of the sacrament of reconciliation last? Don’t you think you need to approach his throne of grace and ask for forgiveness? Perhaps you do not pay attention in church or you do not help to keep the church clean. What do you think he will say to you then? How respectful are we in Church? Do we see in church a place to fraternize and renew our friendship with one another, or a place to deepen our love for God and one another? May be Christ is asking you to look at your anger. What really infuriates you? Are you upset when the poor are abused and deprived of the basic necessities of life, just because they have no voice? Do you stand up and speak for them? Are you upset with the way people use God to further their own ends?  Dear friends, Christ wants to help us clean out the mess and the clutters of our lives. He wants to change us into men and women who keep the commandment of love. May we never turn his house into anything but a house of prayer. Be blessed.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Third Sundy of Lent Year B - March 7, 2021

Homily of Third Sunday of Lent Year B, 2021

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19:8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

 In the first reading, from the Book of Exodus, the Israelites had left Egypt, and were no longer under Pharaoh and the laws of Egypt. God did not leave his people lawless in the wilderness. Scripture tells us that God revealed the commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17). The commandments were to guide the Israelites’ relationship with God, and relationship with one another. The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the commandments as follows:

 1. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have any gods before me.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

 The Ten Commandments are called the Decalogue (Greek: deka – ten, logos – word). The first three of the commandments guide relationship with God, while seven of the commandments guide relationship with neighbors. The Ten Commandments have become the basis and foundation of many organizations’ and countries’ constitutions and laws. During our 40 days of the Lenten Season, which represents the 40 years of Israelites’ journey in the desert, God draws our attention, again, to the commandments, to guide our relationship with him and our relationship with one another. The Ten Commandments are one of the Church’s teachings handed on to us as soon as we reach the age of reasoning and understanding to guide our spiritual and temporal development. Today, God invites us, to remember our very beginning, what we have forgotten, what we have neglected, how we no longer care, and how we have fallen shot.

 By God’s grace, may I cherish the words of the Psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye” (Psalm 19:8-9).

 In the gospel reading, the Jews showed no regards to the commandments. The vicinity of the temple of Jerusalem which was supposed to be a serene place of prayer was turned into a business place. Jews who came from all over the world for the feast of Passover were made to pay a special tax each year for the upkeep of the temple. But since Roman and Greek coins were stamped with images of their gods and emperors, these coins could not be used to pay the temple tax. Thus, money changers stayed in the temple area and exchanged pagan coins for Jewish coins. The money changers cheated the people by offering them very low exchange rates. It was the same case with those who sold sacrificial animals for temple sacrifice. They also sold the animals to pilgrims at exorbitant prices. The people who did business in the temple vicinity were cheating and stealing in the name of God. Hence, Jesus “made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, ‘Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace’” (John 2:15-16).

 St. John remarks that Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. In the same sense, St. Paul reminds us, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). St. Paul also asks, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19). During this Lenten Season, I am to reflect if my temple area has become a “marketplace,” and invite Christ crucified, “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (second reading, 1 Corinthians 1:25) to cleanse me. I pray with the Psalmist, “Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:9). Amen.

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP