Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C - April 3, 2022

Homily of Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C, 2022

Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 1-6; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-8

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. As we draw nearer to the Holy Week, the readings of today encourage us to confront and free ourselves from whatever keeps us in sin and bondage, so as to welcome the new things God is doing.

The first reading is Isaiah’s prophecy to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. God was going to do a new thing: to liberate them and return them to their own land. The prophecy was fulfilled when God used Cyrus, king of Persia, to free the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 1:2-4). Isaiah prophesied God’s plan. “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” The immediacy of God’s plan is reflected in these words, “Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19). 

It is in the spirit of such freedom that St. Paul declares in the second reading, “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him… Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit towards the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8).

I consider that this Sunday’s readings and reflection are a continuation of the theme of last Sunday’s readings and reflection. The last Sunday’s gospel was about the prodigal son who was able to rise from the severe famine stricken country, and the wretched state he landed himself into and returned to his father. He is an inspiration to many of us to rise from sin; to rise from the events of the past; to rise from things of long ago; to rise from what lies behind; and go forward to freedom; go forward to something new; go forward to what lies ahead; go forward to a new life in Christ. What sin, what events of the past, what things of long ago have I clung to? Last Sunday, we read from 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: old things have passed away, behold, new things have come.”

The scribes and the Pharisees had judged and condemned the woman caught in adultery. The woman committed adultery with a man. Where was the man? We see this type of ‘selective injustice’ all around us. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy when he said to them, “Let the one who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. … And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” We see this type of hypocrisy all around us. We see all kinds of prejudice and humiliation against women in many cultures and institutions. Unfortunately, though, some women bring themselves low by the things they do by themselves and to themselves.

Jesus freed the woman by saying to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” Jesus Christ is the new King Cyrus who set us free from ourselves, from others, from the world, and from the evil one. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Let us come to him for transformative power.

A story is told of a child who threw his coin into a bottle-neck vase. He put his hand into the vase and picked his coin. Lo and behold, he couldn’t bring out his hand. His father came to his aid and tried, but in vain. His father was thinking of breaking the vase but realized that the child’s hand cannot come out as long as the child held the coin. The father said to him, “Drop the coin, free your fingers, keep your fingers straight and bring your hand out.” The child replied, “No, dad, I can’t let go my coin.” The father said, “Son, listen to me; let go the coin and free yourself!” Many of us are trapped like this child as long as we can’t let go.

Isaiah prophesied to the Jews as we read in the first reading: “Thus says the Lord, who opens a way in the sea… I am doing something new… In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers…I put water in the desert and river in the wasteland for my chosen to drink…” Today, this prophecy is for us. May this prophecy be fulfilled in us and in many helpless cases. Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent Year C - March 27, 2022

 Homily of Fourth Sunday of Lent Year C, 2022

Joshua 5:9, 10-12; Psalm 34:2-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday (Sunday of Joy). 'Laetare' Latin word, meaning ‘Rejoice’ is the first word of today’s Mass entrance antiphon, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast” (Isaiah 66:10-11). Laetare Sunday is a glimpse of the hope and joy that awaits us at Easter as we continue our Lenten journey.

On arrival in the Promised Land, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. Before the celebration of the feast of the Passover, God commanded Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise Israel… None of those born in the wilderness during the journey after the departure from Egypt were circumcised… When the circumcision of the entire nation was complete, they remained in camp where they were, until they recovered. Then the Lord said to Joshua: Today, I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:1-9).

The circumcision is a sign of reconciliation with God. It made the entire nation new to celebrate the Passover and to settle in the Promised Land. The Israelites went through physical circumcision before the Passover and before they settled in the Promised Land. In the same way, we are required to go through spiritual circumcision, that is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as we journey through the Lenten Season and as we prepare to celebrate Easter. If physical circumcision was capable of removing the “reproach of Egypt” and sanctify the nation of Israel; even more so the Sacrament of Reconciliation is capable of obtaining forgiveness and removing the reproach of our sins. The power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is as stated by St. Paul in the second reading: It makes us new creation in Christ, old things pass away, and new things come. St. Paul continues, “All this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation…”  Therefore, the ministry of reconciliation is God’s creation, not the Church!

God said to Joshua, “Today, I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” We stand on this word of God and pray that the same declaration is made on us. Let us present to God our various ‘reproaches’ inflicted on us by difficulties of life. We pray that God removes them as he removed that of the Israelites. Amen.

We have a lot to learn from the four individuals in the Gospel reading.

The servant is obviously hasty with his response to the enquiry of the older brother. The servant’s emphasis on the slaughtering of the fattened calf did not help the matter. “Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf…” He was not asked about the fattened calf. Proverbs 10:19 says, “Where words are many sin is not wanting.”

The older brother represents the Pharisees, the scribes and the chief priests who did not believe that there was hope of salvation for tax collectors, sinners, and the Gentiles. Like the older brother, they were “angry and refused to enter the house…” In our time, the older brother represents people who write off others. He is also an example of people who work very hard but are very unhappy, full of complaints, envy, resentment, anger, and grudges.

The prodigal son’s father never gave up on the prodigal son. “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” He celebrated his son’s return and restored him to his former princely position. He put on him the finest robe, which means restoring the son’s royalty. He put a ring on his finger, which means renewing the father-son covenant broken by the son’s departure. He put sandals on his feet, which means restoring the son’s lost confidence. He granted his son unconditional forgiveness. God does not give up on us. He forgives us unconditionally when we make a true contrition. And Jesus teaches us, to forgive others as God forgives us (Luke 11:4).

The prodigal son represents the tax collectors, the sinners, and the Gentiles who came to believe in Jesus and followed him. The prodigal son’s ability to come to his senses, rise above shame and guilt, and return to his father is very remarkable. A person can only be written off if the person writes off himself or herself. The prodigal son encourages and inspires us not to remain where we have fallen, or remain in the sin of the past, or the mistakes of the past, or the guilt of the past, or the wounds of the past, or the past setbacks.

We are in the Season of Grace. It is a time for spiritual circumcision. It is a time to come to our senses and rise up from where we have fallen. It is a time to return to God. It is a time to reconcile with fellow human beings. God’s grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent Year C - March 20, 2022

Homily of Third Sunday of Lent Year C, 2022

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9

The first reading tells us about the call of Moses. Moses had fled from Egypt to Midian. There, he was tending the flock of his father-in-law. While in the region of Mount Horeb he was called by God in an extraordinary way. Moses saw a fire flaming out of a bush, but the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. Moses decided to go and see why the bush was not burned. When Moses came near, God called him from the bush, ‘“Moses! Moses!’ He answered, ‘I am here.’ God said, ‘Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. …’” God, I AM, then, gave Moses the mission to go and get the Israelites out of Egypt.

God said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and I have heard their cry of complaint … I know well what they are suffering.” We need not wait for God to call us in the extraordinary way he called Moses. The Spirit of God may be ministering to our heart and sending us to a mission to free someone who is in affliction. Our excuses and reluctance are the ‘sandals’ on our feet. Some of us are wearing really oversized and heavy ‘sandals’ that prevent us from lifting our feet and move to help those who need our help. When the Spirit of God minister’s such call in our hearts, let us not reject the call. Let us, rather, pray for the grace to carry out God’s command. St. Bernardine of Siena writes, “This is a general rule that applies to a rational creature. Whenever divine grace selects someone to serve a particular grace, or some especially favored position, all the gifts for his state are given to that person, and enriches him abundantly.” Simply put, when God gives us a mission, he gives us the grace. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 2:9).

‘Sandals’ on our feet are our sins and weaknesses that prevent us from coming close to God. During the Lenten journey, we are invited to remove them. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great opportunity. “Who may go up the mountain of the Lord? Who can stand in his holy place? The clean of hand and pure of heart, who has not given his soul to useless things, what is vain. He will receive blessings from the Lord, and justice from his saving God” (Psalm 24:3-5).

The Gospel reminds us that although we are sinners and unworthy, yet God gives us opportunities to return to him, or opportunities to become what he wants us to be, or opportunities for greater heights, or opportunities for progress, or opportunities to break new grounds, or opportunities to bear fruits. Let us not waste such opportunities because such opportunities are not available all the time. A proverb says, “Make hay while the sun shines.”

Today’s gospel is also a reminder that we need to be patient with ourselves and with one another and support one another in every way possible. Someone writes, “Be patient with slow growers, late bloomers, and those unseeing.” Barbara Lee wrote a book she titled, “God Isn’t Finished with me Yet,” where she encourages us that God does meet us with unexpected grace where we do not foresee it, and when we do not give up. There are many testimonies of eleventh hour blessing or last minute blessing. We read in the parable of Workers in the Vineyard: “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too’” (Matthew 20:6-7). The workers received eleventh hour blessing because they did not despair and did not give up.

Lastly, St. Paul warns us in the second reading, “Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). There is the danger of fall in any area of life including spiritual life because of being carried away by overconfidence, pride of successes and achievement, and the mistaken comfort and feeling of “I have arrived” or the misjudgment of “I know it all.”

We are challenged with various invitations on this third week of Lent. Some of us are invited to remove the oversized and heavy ‘sandals’ on our feet in order to come nearer to God, or move to help those in need, or make progress in our undertaking. Some of us are invited not to despair or give up, but wait for the eleventh hour blessing. Some of us are warned to take care not to fall.

Do you find yourself in any of the invitations?

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Augustine Inwang, MSP - Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent Year C - March 20, 2022

                                      Readings: Ex. 3:1-8; 1Cor. 10:1-6; Lk 13:1-9 

Repent or Perish

1.      There is a story told about a man named Bill. He was a prominent contractor. In time, the pressure of his business caused him to turn to alcohol. Before long, he separated from his family, and his business went bankrupt. One day Bill was walking down the street. He happened to look down. There, on the sidewalk, was a bent rusty nail. Bill thought to himself, that nail is a perfect picture of me. I'm rusty and bent out of shape too. I'm good for nothing but to be thrown away, just as that nail is. Bill stooped down, picked up the nail, and put it in his pocket. When he got home, he took a hammer and began to pound it straight. Then he took some sandpaper and removed the rust from it. Next, Bill placed the nail alongside a new one. He could hardly tell the difference between the two.

 

2.      A thought flashed through Bill's mind. His life could be straightened out and sanded clean again just as the nail was. But it wouldn't be easy! Could he take the hard blows and sanding? He decided to try. Today Bill is reunited with his family, and he is back in the construction business. He owes everything to that old rusty, bent nail that he found on the sidewalk at just the right time in his life. To this day, he keeps the restored nail in his wallet. (From Sunday Homilies by Mark Link, SJ). Today's liturgy reminds us that our God is a God who gives a second chance to his children. In the revelation of his name to Moses, he assured the children of Israel that He is God of the living; he is always present and accessible to his people. He is "The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity" (Ex. 34:5-7). In the first reading, God revealed his name as 'Yahweh,' translated as I am who am, "This is my name forever, thus am I to be remembered through all generations." According to the Psalmist "The Lord is kind and merciful." God, the great I am, is a merciful God. He loves us so much that he doesn't judge us as we deserve but gives us a second chance when we mess up to come back to our senses and return to him.

 

3.      Jesus encourages us in the gospel to make use of the many opportunities God has given us to change our minds. Those who died in tragic circumstances were not worse sinners. Their death should help us repent and believe the gospel. That was what we promised on the day of Baptism: to reject Satan and all his works and to believe in God. Through the natural and political disasters of His time, Jesus illustrates the fragility of life and calls for a life of repentance. He uses the gardener to highlight God's patience and offers us precious opportunities to be saved. "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down." (Lk. 13:8). The call to repentance is not merely for us to turn away from our sinful ways but also to produce the fruits of good living and be holy. God's mercy is infinite, but we are finite beings. We do not have eternity to change our minds. "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Ps. 95:7-11). If we don't bear fruit, listen to what may happen: "For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but found none So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" (Lk. 13:7). The unproductive fig tree was exhausting the soil and depriving productive trees of nourishment. It should be cut down so that others may be enriched as they were nourishing the people's lives. If we are not nurturing the lives of others, we are draining them. If we are not adding, we are taking from them. We must decide whether to be givers or takers.

 

4.      Repentance means a change of heart, a change of attitude, and a change of mind. We can change our minds in both small and big things. We can change from being inactive to being active, from not praying to pray, from being uncharitable to being charitable, from being sinful to sinless, from being unmerciful to merciful, from not attending Mass regularly to finding a reason to always come to Mass; from not bringing your children and grandchildren to church to making sure they are here with you. Lent is not only about receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday and Palms on Palm Sunday. It is not only about fasting and abstaining from meat and eating fish on Friday. It is all that and more. It gives us a golden opportunity to change our minds. 

 

5.      At one point in our lives, we were like the fig tree. We were in danger of being ejected and rejected as useless. But God's mercy, the Great 'I am' took pity on us and gave us a second chance. Like Bill, we must be grateful to God for our second chance. Let us receive God's mercy and stop complaining about the misfortunes of our lives, for Christ made it clear that accidents and sickness are not punishment for sins but a great opportunity to repent and change our minds. As God gives us a second chance, we must also give a second chance to people around us and help them grow in love, hope, and trust. May we see the bigger picture of God's plan in our lives and worship him in spirit and truth! Amen.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent Year C - March 13, 2022

 Homily of Second Sunday of Lent Year C, 2022

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14; Philippians 3:17-41; Luke 9:28-36

In some ancient cultures, including the Aramean culture where Abram belonged, when two parties or individuals made a covenant, they cut an animal into half, arranged the halves on two sides, and the parties or the individuals who made the covenant passed through between the animal parts. This ritual sealed the covenant. Passing through between the animal parts arranged on two sides was a way of swearing that what happened to the animal might happen to anyone who went against the covenant (Jeremiah 34:18). This ritual seems, partly, to be what is described in the first reading. “Abram brought [God] all these, split them in two, placed each half opposite the other…When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the Lord made a covenant with Abram…” The smoking fire pot and flaming torch which passed between the animal parts can be said to represent God’s divine presence. We can, also, assume that Abram might have passed through between the animal parts before the trance fell upon him.

The first reading is not a study of ancient Aramean’s way of making a covenant. It is a reminder of our various covenants with God. For instance, in baptismal covenant, we are initiated as followers of Christ. But many times, we fall short of our baptismal promises: to renounce sin, evil and Satan; and to believe in God, in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit. We are, therefore, called during the holy season of Lent, to renew our baptismal covenant with God.

Very importantly also, the Lenten season draws us deep into the mystery of Christ’s passion and death. Christ’s passion and death is beautifully demonstrated by the Stations of the Cross which we are encouraged to attend during the Lenten season. Abram sacrificed animals, but Jesus sacrificed himself. His blood he shed on the cross is of eternal covenant for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 13:20). It is wonderful to behold heroic sacrifices of people who help others. What sacrifice can I make for the sake of others?

In the gospel, while Jesus was on the mountain and praying, “his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” In the church building where we are gathered is our own mountain; let us pray for our own transfiguration, that we may also dazzle. May we transfigure in such a way that whatever holds us spiritually or physically from dazzling be removed; and our faces be radiant (Psalm 34:5).

May I invite us to pray this Litany of Transfiguration:

We pray to transfigure from sin to repentance, from weakness to strength,

from fear to courage; from bad health to good health,

from ugliness to beauty, from disappointment to satisfaction,

from failure to success, from sorrow to joy,

from disharmony to harmony, from enmity to friendliness,

from lack of faith to strong faith, from inactivity to activity,

from apathy to action, from condemnation to blessing,

from darkness to light, from blindness to sight,

from stagnancy to freshness, from dryness to fruitfulness,

from emptiness to fullness, from crises to peace,

from hate to love, from jealousy to admiration,

from unforgiveness to reconciliation, from exclusion to inclusion,

from defeat to victory, from shame to honor,

from hidden to revealed, from ignorance to knowledge,

from poverty to riches, from losing to finding,

from destruction to restoration, from anger to calmness,

from bondage to freedom, from problem to solution,

from injustice to justice, from misfortune to fortune,

from despair to confidence, from fall to rise,

from danger to safety, from defenseless to protected,

from mourning to gladness, from incompletion to completion,

from lies to truth, from foolishness to wisdom,

from pride to humility, from disobedience to obedience,

from disagreement to agreement, from loss to profit,

from decrease to increase, from low to high,

from sealed to unseal, from closed to open,

from death to life, from helplessness to miracle. (You may add your own prayer.)

In today’s gospel, “from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to him”’ (Luke 9:35). Jesus confirms the transformative power of his words in Matthew 7:24-25, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” Jesus also says, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

O Lord, may we be listeners and doers of your words. Amen. That is the greatest transfiguration!

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP