Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - October 3, 2021

Homily of Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 128:1-6; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16

Today’s readings address marriage and family which are two very important areas of our existence. Marriage and family issues concern every one of us since we all came into existence through the union of man and woman, and each one of us belong to a family.

The first reading is the story of how God created the first family. The reading concludes, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). In the Gospel, Jesus repeated this line and added, “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mark 10:9). The first reading and the Gospel show that the Sacrament of Matrimony is the first of the seven sacraments and that the institution of the family is the most important and the foundation of every other divine and human institution. Whatever affects the family, negatively or positively, consequently affects human existence in the same way.

After creating the union of man and woman, God did not create any alternative to such a union. The prophets did not provide alternatives. Jesus did not suggest any alternative. Instead, he confirmed the union of husband and wife as God made it to be in the beginning. The New Testament epistles do not suggest any alternative. It means that the absence of alternatives to the union of man and woman is not an omission. God made it so. Human biology, physiology and the reproduction system are naturally designed to enhance the union of man and woman.

But, we do not dismiss the reality in our world today that men and women have alternatives to what the readings of today present to us. The alternatives are recognized by some governments and some countries. This does not change the Catholic teaching on marriage which is based on the Scripture. It is important that we know what the Scripture says, and what the Church teaches. Then, we are responsible for the choices we make and we are accountable to God.

Another problem affecting family system is that some people do not believe that marriage is a covenant. They see marriage as a contract that can be terminated with time. Jesus says, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mark 10:11-12). In Malachi 2:16, we read, ‘“For I hate divorce,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel.” For this reason, the Catholic Church does not encourage or facilitate divorce. Rather, after all necessary inquiries, the Church can annul a marriage which means that the marriage was never legally valid.

Speaking at The Budapest Demographic Submit, September 2021, the former vice-president of the United States of America, Mike Pence, laments, “We see … a crisis that strikes at the very heart of civilization itself: the erosion of the nuclear family marked by declining marriage rates, rising divorce, widespread abortion and plummeting birth rates.”

Here in St. Francis of Assisi Church, we a tradition of inviting couples who celebrate wedding anniversary for special prayers and blessing before the end of the Sunday Eucharistic celebration. By so doing, we recognize the beauty of married life and encourage couples that stable and lasting marriage is possible. Marriage and family, as important as they are in human history and existence, must not be trivialized as some people do.

The Gospel concludes with the following, “And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.’ Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them” (Mark 10:13-16). Some countries and some governments do not allow religion to be taught in government owned schools, thereby undermining the importance of faith and religion in the children’s development.  Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of parents to teach their children the importance of spiritual life. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it.”

Unfortunately, some parents are not committed to the responsibility of bringing up their children. They ‘make babies’ and walk away thereafter. Also, some parents have no religious affiliation, and have nothing to teach their children concerning faith and religion; which is why we are beginning to have a God-less and faith-less generation.

We pray for a better understanding of the sacredness of marriage and family. We pray for fidelity, love and respect that enable lasting marriage among couples. We pray that parents will embrace the task of training their children in the way of God. Finally, we pray that our children may discern properly in their decision concerning marriage and family.   

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - October 3, 2021

Readings: Gen. 2:18-24; Heb. 2:9-11; Mk. 10:2-16 

It is Not Good for the Man to be Alone

1.     Vima Dasan, SJ, in his book ‘His Word Lives’ writes, “Questioning the children before Confirmation, the Bishop asked one nervous little girl, “What is matrimony?” She answered, “A place where souls suffer for a time for their sins!” “No, no,” said the parish priest, “that is purgatory.” “Let her alone,” said the Bishop, “She might be right, what do you and I know about it?” It is obvious that priests, apart from what they read and hear during counseling and marriage preparation do not know much about the actual life of married couples. Some may have some idea, good or bad, based on the married lives of our parents. That is about all they know. Today’s readings present us with, first, the intention of God concerning man and woman, and second, the causes for divorce.

2.     The first reading from the book of Genesis tells us how God felt about man after creation. God felt pity for man’s loneliness. “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God then worked hard to fix that problem. “I will make a suitable partner for him.” But the problem could not be fixed by animals and things, none could take care of man’s loneliness. Only a human being can solve a human problem. When a woman was brought to man his problem was solved. “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” Case closed! Right? Not so fast. A woman was taken from a man’s side not to lord it over him but to be his friend, his partner, his companion, his helper, and his wife. The man on the other hand, is not to lord it over his wife or to be her master. He too is to be a friend, a helper, a companion and a partner to his wife. The marriage bond between a man and a woman will endure if these conditions are met.

3.     The Church sees in marriage “a covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life and which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children” (Cannon 1055). It is, therefore, important that any person who wants to enter into marital covenant must be free to give consent to a life-long commitment to the other. “If their free consent is missing or seriously flawed, there is no marriage. In such cases, marriage tribunals may issue a declaration of nullity (an annulment). An annulment does not make a marriage invalid; it simply declares that it always was invalid, despite appearances to the contrary.” (Archbishop Terrence Prendergast SJ, ‘Living God’s Word’). It follows therefore, that any marriage that was validly entered into with consent freely given and accepted cannot be dissolved. It is in perpetuity till death. It is binding and enduring and remains so for the good of the spouses and the well-being of children. Compatibility and communications, finances, trust, commitment, fidelity, patience, and endurance should be painstakingly discussed and stressed during marriage preparation. When these issues are not properly treated before the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony, spouses may look for an easy way out by way of divorce, with the excuses that they were not well informed before they gave their consent.

4.      Jesus addresses the question of divorce in the today’s gospel. They asked him, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” He asked them, “What did Moses command you?” They replied, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.” Married life is not a bed of roses. It is a covenant between two individuals, with their personalities intact, who try to live a life of happiness and bliss together. It can only be possible through tolerance and endurance. St. Paul tells us how the marital bliss can be achieved. “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over to her to sanctify her. So husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church.” (Eph. 4:21-32).

5.     If husbands and wives must live together in peace and harmony and avoid divorce and the resultant harm and hardships on the children, there must be a conducive atmosphere for love and peace to reign. Since marriage is a sacrament, God will always supply the graces needed by the couple to thrive. But they must ask for it. Prayer and the faithful reception of Christ in the Eucharist at Mass must be cultivated. Selfishness must be avoided like corona virus. Husbands and wives must respect themselves and approach the challenges before them with trust in God and their abiding love for each other. They must avoid external influences that may corrupt peace and harmony in their homes. They must take their problems to God first before their neighbors. This will ensure a lasting and peaceful coexistence between them. May God guide and protect all married couples now and always. Amen.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

     

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - September 26, 2021

 Homily of Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 2021

Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 19:8, 10, 12-14; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

A brief background of the first reading will help us appreciate the message the reading has for us. At a point on their journey, the Israelites complained bitterly against God and Moses: “But now we are famished; we have nothing to look forward to but this manna …” “When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved.” Moses cried to God, “… I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face my distress” (Numbers 11:1-15).

Then, God directed Moses to appoint seventy elders of Israel. God said to Moses, “I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will confer it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself” (Numbers 11:16-17).

In the first reading, God took some of the spirit that was on Moses and bestowed on sixty-eight elders who were gathered, and they prophesied. Two elders, Eldad and Medad “were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp…. Yet, the spirit came upon them also, and they prophesied in the camp” (Numbers 11:24-26). Joshua objected, “Moses, my Lord, stop them.” Moses refused and replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all” (Numbers 11:27-29).  

In the gospel, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him…”

Unfortunately, there are ‘Joshuas’ and ‘Johns’ almost everywhere who hold on to philosophies of exclusivity and entitlement who insist and deny those who do not belong to them or belong to their group equal rights and privileges. These attitudes are ungodly.

Also, God can choose anyone according to his good purpose. If God chooses someone I do not like, or choses my enemy, or someone outside my group for his good purpose, then, so be it. I must not go to every possible extent and use every possible weapon to stop God’s plan. Let us not have a discouraging spirit or jealous spirit that tries to stifle God’s plan. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 St. Paul writes, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances.” The Holy Spirit blows wherever he wills and uses whoever he wishes (John 3:8).

In today’s gospel, Jesus strongly condemns all forms of abuse and molestation of children and minors. He says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42). In the same vein, whoever causes hardship on the vulnerable, the voiceless, the powerless, and the defenseless, “it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

The entire second reading, strongly, condemns those who take advantage of others to advance themselves or enrich themselves. “… You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts…. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance” (James 5:3-6). Helplessly, we watch these sins committed around us and in many places and in many countries.

 For this reason, St. Paul invites us, “First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions… for kings and for all in authority, that [they] may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior…” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

To conclude, Jesus has something for each one of us to reflect on. Jesus advises us to cut off hand, cut off feet, and pluck off eye if they cause us to sin. We know how important and dear these parts of the body are to us. It means that we must cut off from persons, relationships, associations, occasions, places, and the things we may hold dear but they lead us astray or lead us to sin. Such daring and radical action requires a lot of discipline and sacrifice which we can only undertake by God’s grace. Let us pray for the grace.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - September 26, 2021

 Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Jas. 5:1-6; Mk. 9:38-43, 47-48

They Are Not One of Us

1.     There is a story told about a young man who died and went to Heaven. As he was being conducted around Heaven, he saw many people around having fun and enjoying themselves. He would ask who the people were, and he would be told, those people there are Hindus, by my right there are Muslims; over there are the Protestants etc. etc. They came to a tall walled fence with people feasting and celebrating with dancing and music. He asked who those people were, and the angel told him not to make noise, that those were Catholics, they believed they were the only ones in Heaven. Whenever I think of this story, I recall the old belief that outside the Catholic Church there was no salvation. Some people still hold that belief till today.

2.     In the first reading we read about Eldad and Medad who were among the 70 elders appointed to assist Moses. They did not join others at the ceremony and yet, they too received the spirit and prophesied. Joshua wanted to stop them, but Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!” Also, in the gospel John approached Jesus and reported, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” To him Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” This brings in a powerful dimension on how we receive people of other faith.  

3.     We often find ourselves in a position of trying to prevent people from doing a good deed because they are not one of us. We like to put people in boxes and divide them into groups of those who belong to us and those who do not? We see people as foreign, strangers, international born. We see their color as brown, black or white, but of course ours is better. They are Asians, or Europeans, or Caucasians or Latin Americans, but we are Americans. They have an accent and do not speak like us. They are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents. They don’t like us, and we don’t like them, because we are better than them. This perception and way of thinking is sinful and scandalous. It is wrong! It makes it hard to accept people for who they are, sons and daughters of God, created in the image and likeness of God.

4.     St. James referred to this way of thinking and perception in his epistle. We rely on our self-importance, arrogance, and pride. He said, “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire.” This is because we see ourselves as deserving while others are undeserving. We are the ones who will go to heaven while others are hell-bound. Christ made it clear that all good deeds come from God. We cannot, on our own, do any good without the grace of God. Therefore, we should avoid giving scandal by how we live.

5.     We sometimes bring this perception and way of thinking to our ministries in the Church. We will not do anything that was done by another parishioner, for fear that we are doing their work. God has endowed us with gift of talent, time, and treasure, we must invest our gift in the building of the kingdom. No one is better than other. St. Paul captured it well in his letter to the Ephesians: “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy one for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Eph. 4:11-12). We are called, gifted, and equipped for ministry. Our gift is not for us alone but to be used for others and to build up the kingdom of God on earth. Therefore, we should not look down on anyone or think that others are not worthy of God’s call.

6.     Let us pray that we may rather die than sin against God and our neighbors. That we may never scandalize the young ones by our way of life and our perception of others. May we see everyone as a child of God, created in the image and likeness of God. Amen.       

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - September 18, 2021

Homily of Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 2021

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Psalm 54:3-4, 5, 6-8; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37

The first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, was a prophecy of what would happen to Jesus in the hands of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes and the Chief Priests. Jesus challenged and reproached them for transgressions and violations of God’s Commandments. For this reason, with revilement and torture they put Jesus to tests and trials, and condemned him to a shameful death. But God took care of Jesus and raised him from death. In the gospel of today, Jesus says of himself, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise” (Mark 9:31).

As the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Chief Priests took offense at Jesus, sometimes, we take offense at those who challenge us, and those who correct our ignorance and wrong-doing. As Jesus was crucified; in the same way, many people have lost their life because they challenged injustice in the system and in society. Many people have lost their jobs, positions, and relationships because they took the path of truth and justice.

Jesus’ story did not end with his death; it continued with his resurrection. This means that a messenger of truth and justice can be rejected, silenced, suppressed, punished, expelled, eliminated, or killed; but no matter how long it takes, truth and justice do resurrect; and many times come back to haunt the aggressors. Jesus encourages us, “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:26-28).

In the second reading, St. James names the reasons for the disorders, conflicts, killings, and wars in our world: “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice… Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war” (James 4:1-2). Wherever there are injustice, envy, jealousy, and selfish ambition, the evil consequences are disorders, foul practices, conflicts, killings, and wars.

Envy, Jealousy, and selfish ambition block the mind to truth, as it did with the apostles. They were so engrossed in their bickering on who was the greatest among them that they were not touched when Jesus spoke to them about his passion and death. In the same way, envy, jealousy and selfish ambition block the ears and hearts, and blind the eyes of many civil and religious leaders that they do not see the sufferings of the poor, or hear their cry.

In the gospel, Jesus took a child, “placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me’” (Mark 9:36-37).  A child needs help, protection, support and cannot be left by him/herself or to fend for him/herself. A child is defenselessly vulnerable. Therefore, the child Jesus speaks of are the sick, the weak, the hungry, the elderly, the frail, the lonely, the refugee, the prisoner, the homeless, and the needy. The greatest people are those who serve and provide for people such as these. Jesus challenged his disciples and challenges us, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

The danger with envy, jealousy, and selfish ambition is not only their evil consequences on the society, the vices are, also, destructive to those whom they possess and who possess them. It is, therefore, a helpful spiritual exercise to constantly examine the true motivations of our decisions and actions. Let us pray to have the courage not to proceed with our decisions and actions if we are motivated either by envy, or jealousy, or selfish ambition.

Let us, also, pray that we follow the paths of justice and selflessness, being considerate of one another, lifting up and building up one another. By so doing, being great and feeling great are not limited to a few privileged people, but to many people who are lifted up and many people who are built up.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP