Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Seventh Sunday of Easter Year C - May 29, 2022

Homily of Seventh Sunday of Easter Year C, 2022

Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 97:1-2, 6-7, 9; Revelation 22:22-14, 16-17, 20; John 17:20-26

The trial and the death of Jesus and the trial and death of Stephen have some resemblance. Jesus was falsely accused: “The chief priests and the whole Council tried to find some evidence against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they were unable to find any. Even though many came up to speak falsely against him, their evidence did not agree. At last some stood up, and gave false witnesses… even so, their evidence did not agree” (Mark 14:55-59). Stephen was falsely accused: “Some men came forward… As they were unable to face the truth, they bribed some men to say, ‘We heard him speak against Moses and against God.’ So they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the Law; they seized him… and brought him before the Council. Then they produced false witnesses [against him]” (Acts 6:8-15). The soldiers led Jesus outside the city, a place called Golgotha, which means the Skull, where he was crucified (Mark 15:20-22). Stephen was thrown out of the city, and stoned to death. Jesus prayed on the Cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Stephen prayed while being stoned, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Jesus prayed as he died, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Stephen prayed as he died, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Jesus and Stephen put before us the cost and rough path of discipleship. Whether false accusation, false witnessing, torture, cast out, and death, we are to pray for our detractors and forgive them. We are to commend ourselves into God’s hand. Like Stephen, we are to look up intently to heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus at the right hand of God. That is where our spiritual strength comes from. In Acts 7:54-55, while Stephen’s killers were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him, Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit and fixed his eyes on heaven!

John chapter 17 is one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament because Jesus helps us to understand that Christians and non-Christians should live in unity and peace. Jesus prays, “Holy Father, I pray not only for them (Christians), but also those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may be one.” Jesus also says, “I have other sheep which are not of this fold. These I have to lead as well, and they listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, since there is one shepherd” (John 10:16). “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Therefore, whoever speaks truth and lives truth believes in Jesus. That is why the Catholic Church relates peacefully and cordially with members of all religions that speak truth and live truth, because the truth they speak and live is Jesus. For this reason, Christians are to preach unity and oneness, and witness Jesus to everyone in all nations.

Unfortunately, there is so much religious persecution in many parts of the world. We pray that the Spirit of Jesus touches the hearts of perpetrators of religious persecution to seek unity and oneness which Jesus prayed and preached. We pray for unity and oneness in the Christian fold where there are so much bitter divisions, disagreements, unhealthy criticisms, castigations, and rejections among churches and sects. We pray for unity and oneness instead of division, disunity, false accusation and false witnessing, throwing of stones, and crucifying of one another in our homes, work places, communities, groups, parishes, countries and the world.

In the second reading, Jesus declares, “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” … “I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star. … Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water” (Revelation 22:12-17). We pray to Jesus to fulfill his word; for there is so much turmoil and violence in our lives and in our society. The situation in Nigeria and many other parts of the world are helpless. We are, indeed, thirsting.

We conclude with an Advent hymn, “Come Lord Jesus, the light is dying.”

Christ come quickly, there’s danger at the door,

Poverty a plenty, hearts gone wild with war,

There is hunger in the city and famine on the plain.

Come Lord Jesus, the light is dying,

The night keeps crying, come Lord Jesus.

What demands a hearing in far many lands,

The sick go untended, death deals a heavy hand,

The dreams of men are empty, their cup of sorrow full.

Come Lord Jesus, the light is dying,

The night keeps crying, come Lord Jesus.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

 

 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Ascension Thursday Year C - May 26, 2022

Homily of Ascension of the Lord Year C, 2022

Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53

The idea that Jesus was a political messiah never left Jesus’ disciples until the ascension of Jesus. They gave him a heroic welcome into Jerusalem believing that he had come to overthrow the Romans. Then he was arrested, crucified and buried. When Jesus reappeared, the disciples’ conviction was even stronger that he was certainly going to overthrow the Romans at that time. We read, “When they had gathered together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?’” I guess that Jesus’ reply surprised them further. Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The disciples might have wondered, “What’s this man about? We are talking about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, and he is talking about the Father and the Holy Spirit. What’s the connection?” Probably that was why when Jesus disappeared into the cloud, in bewilderment they stood and gazed intently at the sky until the angels came to minister to them. Then, they returned to Jerusalem and remained together and gave themselves to constant prayer until they received the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised them (Acts 1:12-14).

What does the Ascension of the Lord mean to us?

First, Jesus ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of God interceding for us. St. Paul confirms this, “Who will dare condemn them? Christ who died, and better still, rose and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us?” Jesus himself says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  The Book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus, “Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Also, 1 John 2:1, “We have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One.”

Second, Jesus says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am” (John 14:3). The two angels who appeared to the disciples when Jesus ascended into heaven said to the disciples, “This Jesus has been taken up into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” The Preface 1 of today’s Eucharistic celebration says, “Mediator between God and man, judge of the world and Lord of hosts, he ascended, not to distance himself from our lowly state but that we, his members, might be confident of following where he, our Head and Founder, has gone before.” We are, therefore, to be ready for his return and going with him. The Lord speaks of his coming in the Book of Revelations, “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed” (Revelations 16:15).

Third, Jesus is no longer physically in the world. As his followers, we are to continue his good deeds by witnessing him to the world. He says, “You shall be my witnesses.” Let us witness Jesus in such a way that at our last moment he will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things… Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:23). Jesus is no longer physically in the world; but he remains in the world through us, his disciples, his ambassadors, his witnesses. We are his mouth, his hand, his feet, and his heart.

Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

(Teresa of Avila)

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Sixth Sunday of Easter Year C - May 22, 2022

Homily of Sixth Sunday of Easter Year C, 2022

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Revelation:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29

From its very beginning to the present, the Catholic Church convokes and holds various types of councils, synods, assemblies, and meetings to discuss important matters that affect the wellbeing of the Church and humanity and make necessary decisions for going forward. The Council of Jerusalem, in the first reading, is the first of such Church gatherings. The reading tells us why the Council was convoked and held, and its outcome.

The Christian communities of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia were made up of Jewish and Gentile converts. The communities were in peace until some over-zealous preachers from Judea came over and contradicted Paul and Barnabas by instructing, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” The dissension caused by this made the apostles and elders to meet in Jerusalem. After the meeting, the Council sent the following mandate to the Christian communities, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriages.” The Council was not interested in mosaic circumcision of the foreskin, but spiritual circumcision of the heart and mind. The spiritual circumcision addressed by the Council can be summarized in the following words: refrain from idolatry and from sexual immorality. These were the major problems plaguing the Christian communities at that time.

This message is very relevant to us today, because as St. Paul writes in Romans 1:25, many people nowadays “exchange the truth about God for a lie, and worship and serve created things rather than the Creator.” Idolatry is the worship of something or someone other than God as if it were God. A question that can help us in self-examination is, “How much attention do we pay to ourselves and worldly things, and how much attention do we pay to spiritual life and relationship with God? If we pay more attention to ourselves and worldly things than to God, we are, therefore, committing idolatry.

The high rate of sexual immorality in our world is a great concern. We know all kinds of sexual sins beleaguering our society and causing great harm to our society’s sexual sacredness, sanity, and morality. Unfortunately, it appears our world seems to be at the mercy and spell of forces against sexual sacredness, sanity and morality. Let us not be among those under the spell of sexual evil forces. Parents and guardians have greater responsibility nowadays to guide their children to the right direction since young people are under siege from peer pressure, media, and ideologies that promote sexual recklessness and freedom.

Men from Judea came with their teaching which caused dissension, upset and disturbed the peace of mind of the Christian communities. There may be “men from Judea” in your life at the moment, causing dissension, upsetting and disturbing your peace of mind. Jesus knows this and he says to us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” The peace Jesus gives is the inner peace which makes us calm and strong in the face of “men from Judea’s” discord, stress, dissension, upset, and disturbances. We pray with St. Francesca Xavier Cabrini, “Lord, fortify me with the grace of your Holy Spirit and give your peace to my soul that I may be free from all needless anxiety and worry.” Amen.

On the other hand, let us not be “men from Judea” in other people’s life. Rather, let us strive to become channels of God’s peace by our words and actions. Let us pray with St. Paul, “Let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts, since as members of one body [we] were called to peace” (Colossians 3:15).

We conclude with praying the last part of the second reading (Revelation 21:23): O God, at the end of our earthly journey, admit us into the new holy city of Jerusalem, where there is no need of sun shine and moon light, for your glory gives light, and the Lamb is the lamp. Amen. 

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C - May 15, 2022

Homily of Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C, 2022

Acts 14:21-27; Psalm 145:8-13; Revelation 21:1-5; John 13:31-35

Today’s readings draw our attention to the virtues that help us to live a good Christian life. The virtues are faith, hope and love. Let us locate the virtues in the three readings:

First reading: Paul and Barnabas “strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, ‘It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.’ They appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.”

Second reading: “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.’ The One who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I will make all things new.’” The reading is an invitation to hope and to look forward to the blessings God has in stock for his faithful ones.

Gospel: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Faith, hope and love are called Theological Virtues because they are “gifts infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life” (CCC 1813). Without faith, hope and love we are incapable of living out the other virtues: wisdom, courage, justice and self-control. These others are called Cardinal Virtues. The measure in which we receive faith, hope and love from God is the measure we practice our Christianity. Good input brings about good productivity. Low input brings about low productivity. Bad input brings about bad productivity. Whereby there is no input at all, there is zero productivity. Our Christian witnessing follows the same rule.

Paul and Barnabas spoke the words we read in the first reading to strengthen the disciples who were persecuted because they were Christians. Our faith in God is tested by difficulties and hardships. Paul and Barnabas speak the same words of encouragement to us: “Persevere in the faith.” The Lord speaks to us in Hebrews 10:38, “My just one shall live by faith and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.” May we not draw back. Amen. St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

For those whose hope in God remains unshaken in times of trials and hardships, God promises in the second reading to wipe every tear from their eyes, and make all things new. St. Paul teaches us the power of hope in Romans 5:2-5, “We boast in the hope of the glory of God… We even boast of our affliction, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.”

Jesus says in the Gospel, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). We can only know that we have received God’s love that is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit when we show that love to others.  St. Paul writes, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you [may be] rooted and grounded in love…” (Ephesians 3:17). And in 1 Corinthians 13:8 & 13, he writes, “Love never fails… So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Jesus challenges us with these words, “As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” Jesus’ love is sacrificial, which resulted in his death on the Cross. Jesus’ invitation means that some of us will be called to pay the supreme sacrifice for love of neighbor. This is a reality we need to bear in mind, and pray for the grace to accept the call if God wills it so.  But all of us are called to die to self for the benefit of others since Jesus died on the Cross for the salvation of all.

With so much fears and anxieties within and around us, we bless ourselves and one another with these words of Jesus in today’s gospel (John 14:27), “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C - May 8, 2022

Homily of Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C, 2022

Acts 13:14, 43-52; Psalm 100:1-2, 3,5; Revelation 7:9, 14-17; John 14:23

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. The first reading narrates the experience of two great shepherds in the early Church, Paul and Barnabas. At that time, their work of evangelization was very successful. “Many Jews and worshippers who were converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas… When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.” The Jews, further, “incited the women of prominence who were worshippers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory.”

Even now, some shepherds have the same experience of rejection and expulsion. Let such shepherds be strengthened by the experience of Paul and Barnabas, and also follow the footsteps of Paul and Barnabas when it becomes necessary. “So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” This is important because, sometimes, some shepherds, unwisely, think that shaking off dust from their feet and going somewhere else is a sign of weakness and a sign of accepting defeat. Jesus says, “When they persecute you in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel till the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 10:23). Let shepherds be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit and be guided by the word of God.

It is helpful to pay a little more attention to this line in the first reading, “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.” Jealousy is an unhappy feeling of wanting to have what someone else has. It is a feeling of resentment against a rival or against a person enjoying success or advantage. Jealousy is a dangerous spiritual disease. It drains up joy and peace, and leaves whomever it possesses downcast. It causes spiritual blindness to whom it possesses, and prevents the person from seeing God’s beautiful work in other people. It poisons the mind and body, and weaponizes whom it possesses to inflict harm on its target. It is Satan’s dangerous weapon of destruction and murder. Let us flee from this spiritual disease.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, says in today’s gospel, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” Jesus speaks to us every day through the Scripture. If we listen to the Scripture and do what the Scripture says, we will receive eternal life and not perish. The Evil One speaks to us too and tries to lead us astray. We pray for the grace not to listen to the Evil One but listen to Jesus, the Good Shepherd. St. James advises us, “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8).

We also pray for the grace of good and attentive listening. Good and attentive listening means setting aside our own agendas, pay attention, hear and take in what is being said. We may not like what we are hearing. But it is important to listen since God does not appear physically to speak to us. Many times, God speaks to us through our fellow human beings. But often, our own agendas block our listening. Listening has become increasingly a difficult task for men and women of our generation due to so much noise and distractions. Philosopher Epictetus says, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” We pray for good and attentive listening between the priests and the faithful.

As we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, let us call to mind Pope Francis’ appeal to priests and the faithful in 2013. To priests he says, "This is what I am asking you, be shepherds with the smell of sheep, so that people can sense the priest is not just concerned with his own congregation, but is also a fisher of men." "A good priest anoints his people with the oil of gladness, by preaching the Gospel with unction, that is with the soothing, comforting words of God." "If people leave Mass looking as if they have heard good news, then the priest has clearly done his job well." To the faithful Pope Francis says, "Be close to your priests with affection and with your prayers, that they may always be shepherds according to God’s heart." Indeed, it is very important that the faithful pray for the priests because it is a more difficult task to care for the spiritual needs of the faithful.

Finally, priests are not the only shepherds. Everyone is a shepherd wherever the person has a responsibility. Let us all imitate Jesus and be good shepherds in our various responsibilities.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP