Homily for the 7th Sunday of Easter,Year A

*HOMILY FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (Year A)*

READINGS:
Acts 1:12-14
1 Peter 4:13-16
John 17:1-11a

*THEME: WHAT IS ETERNAL LIFE?*

Beloved in Christ, on this special Sunday, Mother Church invites us  to reflect on what eternal life is. This is important because some Christians tend to think of eternal life as meaning life without end. However, in the gospel of John, eternal life is not about the duration of life but the quality of life.

Beloved, it is a life of perfect happiness and peace with God which cannot be diminished neither in duration nor in satisfaction. This is what John 10:10 says,  is the life that Jesus gives.

Consequently, Jesus tells us in John 17:3 what we are to do in order to inherit this life, namely; to know
(a)  the only true God,
(b) Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Beloved, the verb "know" as used in this context denotes the biblical sense of an intimate experience of someone. It is a personal, intimate relationship with that person and not an intellectual knowledge. This knowing is borne out of a relationship. (Gen. 4:1)

Dear friend, our knowledge of God must move away from the level of the intellect to the level of an experience so as to have the desired impact on our lives. In this way, prayer becomes the raising of our hearts and minds to God and the Christian life as a sharing in the life suffering of Christ for the glorification of the Father in heaven.

Let us therefore resolve to see our prayer as an expression of our faith in God so that as a community, we will devote ourselves in supporting one another and not gossip about each other. In this way, we can count it all joy if we are to share in the suffering of Christ.

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6th Sunday-Easter YR A

HOMILY FOR THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

READINGS:

ACTS 8:5-8, 14-17

1 PETER 3:15-18

JOHN 14:15-21

THEME: LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS

Beloved in Christ, today we gather to celebrate the 6th Sunday of Easter with a call on us to prepare for the coming feasts of Ascension (Jesus’ return to the Father) and Pentecost (the descent of the Holy Spirit).

Therefore, to help us in our preparation, Jesus makes a very strong statement – “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”(cf John 14:15).But unfortunately, most people tend to see love in terms of feeling. For instance,  a married couple would  want to be separated from their partner  because the feeling of love  is no more. But today, we are told that it is when the feeling is no more that is when  we are obliged to love. For love is a verb and the feeling is a fruit of love. Beloved, love then is not just what we say; it is beyond words. It is not what we feel, it is beyond feelings; it is not what we sing but rather what we do. Therefore, for love to be love, it must have a foundation in God because God is love (cf 1 John 4:8).

Beloved, talk then is cheap and words are without meaning unless expressed in deeds. Love is not simply a nice feeling, for it becomes real in the decisions we make and what we do. It is in actions, actions from our choices. Hence, the deeds are more important than the words.

Dear friend, loving Jesus is not just something emotional; it means changing our lives and overcoming our sinful habits. Sin then is a lack of love and it means we love something or someone else more than Jesus. For if we  love Jesus more than anything else we will keep ourselves free from sin for Him. But sadly there are Christians who explain sin away on grounds that Jesus understands that we are human. The truth is if we love Jesus more than anything, we will put Jesus first and take sin out of our lives.

Finally, no matter our love for God or the lack of it, God still loves us unconditionally. He first loved us, and our obedience to His commandments would portray our love for Him. May our lives of obedience to God be evident that we appreciate the love that He has lavished on us and continues to bestow abundantly on us.

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5th Sunday of Easter, Year A

HOMILY FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

READINGS
Acts 6:1-7
1 Peter 2:4-9
John 14:1-12

*THEME: THE CHALLENGE OF OUR CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE*

Beloved in Christ, this morning Mother Church invites us to reflect on who we are as Christians and the challenges we face in trying to live out this identity. This has become necessary because most Christians are losing their sense of identity

Peter therefore reminds us in the second  reading that through baptism, we have become a holy nation, a chosen race, a royal priesthood; a people set apart to sing the praises of God. Our lives therefore should honor the name of Christ which we bear as Christians. Thus for Peter, we are not to neglect who we are. We are thus obliged to live in a manner worthy of or proper to our christian calling. For just as Israel was called to be holy, so God expects us also to be holy.

Beloved, the effect of this is that we are not to allow the mundane to distract us from our mission and vocation.  We are called to balance our spiritual and material needs. God makes provision for both our spiritual and physical needs.

As Christians, this places a responsibility on us not to take the social or material needs of our communities for granted. That is why the church always admonishes us to perform spiritual as well as corporal works of mercy.

Beloved, in the gospel, Jesus invites us to trust in God and to trust also in Him.

Even though physically, Jesus is about to leave His disciples, He tells them that He's going to prepare a place for them. This is a promise Jesus made to His disciples to keep their hope alive. The hope of being together with Him in the Father's house and enjoying the Father's presence in eternity.

My dear friends, today also we celebrate our Mothers for what they mean to us; sacrifice, love, protection, care, etc. For some of us, our lives and our relationship with our mothers  have brought joy to them. However, some of us have also filled our mothers with tears and pain because of our relationship with them.

As we celebrate mothers today, may we learn from the example of Mary, the mother of our Lord and strive to imitate her faith, obedience and love.

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3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A
Reading
Acts 2: 14, 22-33
1 Peter 1: 17- 21
Luke 24 : 13-35
Theme
THE RESURRECTION AND WHAT WE HAVE BECOME

Beloved in Christ, this morning as we gather to celebrate the third Sunday of Easter , Mother Church invites us to reflects on the resurrection of Jesus and who we have become ; namely sons and daughters of God.
For this reason, St. Peter in the first reading says we are sons of God because of God's infinite mercy, which is manifested in the Father sending his only Son to us as our own brother.
Beloved, we are therefore obliged to behave as true and loyal sons during our time of exile on this earth. For God will judge each of us impartially according to our deeds. We need to respond to the resurrection with a life of holiness. But sadly most Christians today that think holiness is only for the clergy and the religious. Also some Christians think being able to pretend makes one holy; no wonder there is so much hypocrisy among the Christians of today.

For this reason Lumen Gentium says;  we are made holy by the grace of God. And we must then hold on to this holiness and live it out in our concrete lives( c.f. LG n.40).

Consequently , for Pope Francis, Holiness,  “is not the prerogative of only a few: holiness is a gift that is offered to all, without exception, so that it constitutes the distinctive character of every Christian.”

Dear Friend, the crucifixion and the  resurrection was part of the plan of God. For while they invite us to a life of penance and conversion; they also represent God's great act of mercy and love which needs to be reciprocated.

In the gospel of today we are told that filled with disappointment and sorrow the two disciples of Jesus decided to abandon the way of Jesus. They were overpowered by disbelief. For they had hope that Jesus was the one to redeem Israel (  Luke 24:21). The cross for them represented defeat and they could not comprehend the empty tomb. In the words of St. Augustine of Hippo, they were so disturbed when they  saw him hanging on the cross, that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection and failed to keep his promises in mind.

Beloved, they abandoned the way of Jesus for their expectations were not met. Today some people become Christians and they want God to work based on their timetable for  life. We are charged today to look beyond our disappointment and also remain faithful to the Lord for He has the final say.

Beloved, the two disciples learned to tell their story and they found a remedy. And they told their story to the Lord and He helped to them understand their situation. Remember, Jesus did not take away the problem but he help them appreciate that they  can still cry and laugh. We are not to make the situation of our life the condition of our relationship with God. For God has a purpose of everything that happens in our life.

Let us resolve to be  loyal and faithful to God no matter the situation of our life , for God is bigger than the problems of our lives.
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Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A

*HOMILY FOR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY*

READINGS:

Acts 2:42-47
I Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31

*THEME: THIS MERCY IS BOUNDLESS*

Beloved, this Sunday we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. A commemoration of Jesus' revelation to a Polish nun, Sr. Faustina Kowalska on the Divine Mercy. It was Pope St. John Paul II who on 30th April 2000 granted it to the Universal Church and fixed its  celebration for  the 2nd Sunday of Easter.

Beloved, what we celebrate today is the "mercy" of God; we don't get the condemnation that we truly deserve for our sinful actions and inactions, but we are granted compassion and pardon by a merciful Father.(cf Titus 3:4-5)

For Pope Francis, God's mercy is always connected to the sacrament of reconciliation as it celebrates the undeserved forgiveness of God for our sins.

Let me share with you a story Pope Francis shared on his first Angelus;

Bergoglio (B) : But if you haven't commited any sins...

Woman (W) : All of us have committed sins...

B : But perhaps the Lord does not forgive them...

W : The Lord forgives everything.

B : But how do you know that?

W : If the Lord didn't forgive anything, the world would not exist.

B : ... Let's not forget these words; the Lord never tires of forgiving us, never.

W : And so, Father what is the problem?

B : Ah. The problem is that we grow tired; we don't want to ask, we grow tired of asking for forgiveness. He does not grow tired of forgiving us but at times, we grow tired of asking him for forgiveness.

Beloved we are not to grow tired of asking God for forgiveness and in return let us not delay in showing mercy to those in need.

We are reminded that God extended His mercy to us by allowing his son to pay the ransom for our sins, we too must extend this mercy to others. For we are called to be apostles of mercy. We do this by  performing actions that extend God's mercy to those in need.

We are charged to perform the corporal works of mercy (attending to the material and physical needs) namely; feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead.

And we are to perform the spiritual works of mercy as well (attending to the emotional and spiritual needs) namely; instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offences willingly, comfort the afflicted and pray for the living and the dead.

Let us resolve to be merciful to one another and also appreciate the gift of the sacrament of reconciliation in the Church so as to appropriate to ourselves the effects of God's mercy.

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Palm Sunday homily, year A

HOMILY FOR PALM SUNDAY, YEAR A

READINGS:

Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14-27:66

THEME: THE JESUS EXAMPLE OF SUFFERING

My dearly beloved, (1)why did Jesus not rebel, or turn back? (2)Why did Peter, James and John  not keep watch with Jesus? (3)Why did Judas hand Jesus over? (4)Why did Pilate think Jesus was innocent? (5)Why did the people call a ferocious curse on themselves?

Beloved, Today is Palm Sunday and the Church celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to accomplish His paschal ministry (passion, death and resurrection). This celebration invites us to reflect on the ordeal and the humility of Jesus Christ.

The celebration has two parts, namely, procession with palm branches and the holy mass (in which the passion narrative is proclaimed to us.)

Beloved, Palm Sunday is also a celebration of symbols. The green palm is a symbol of peace which Isaiah 11:1-9;9:6 says "He shall be the Prince and King of Peace. It also stands for royalty and restoration. The crowd on the other hand stand for both praise and denial. For the same crowd singing hosanna today will soon shout "crucify him". The donkey is a mark of the total humility of Jesus Christ (Zac. 9:9) This is what St. Paul talked  about with great excitement. (Phil 2:6-11)

My dear friend, in the first reading, Isaiah talks about a servant of God who  listens to God and proclaims His word even in opposition, insults and spittle. The servant did not avoid his ordeal but faced it bravely because God is his help.

In fact, Jesus Christ did not violate rules because he was Lord and King but unfortunately a practice is developing in this country where because of political affiliation, some people think the rules must treat them different and the laws of the land must be disregarded.

Think about the montie 3 saga, the Delta force issue and the galamsey menace in this country, and you will come face to face with the evils of our party politics. What is wrong is wrong no matter your party affiliation.

Beloved, the gospel also depicts the humble and peaceful character of Jesus' Kingship as something that we are to learn from. Let us remember, that suffering is not reserved for sinners and that the innocent also suffer. However, we need to remain resolute in the face of suffering to our christian convictions.

Again, this celebration reminds us that Christ did not suffer to wipe out suffering from our lives but to teach us how to suffer. For Jesus, suffering will always accompany true love; hence anyone who wants to follow him must take up or carry his cross daily(Mtt 16:24).

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5th Sunday of lent year A

HOMILY FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A.

READINGS:
Ezekiel 37:12-14
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45

THEME: GOD, WHO RESTORES OUR HOPE

Beloved in Christ, gradually the season of lent is coming to an end; we are invited to intensify our preparations for the celebration of Easter through fasting, alms giving and prayer.

Therefore, the prophet Ezekiel tells us to hope in the midst of hopelessness, to have faith in the midst of despair and to have life in the midst of death. For Ezekiel, God intervenes to restore, recreate and to raise up, thus no human condition is beyond the power of God, not even death.

Ezekiel therefore linked those in exile to those in the grave or the dry bones and described them as a people with no hope but despair and hopelessness; for the temple was destroyed, land wasted and the people taken into exile. However, God promised that he will change their situation by restoring them to their homeland. The dry bones will live and possess its land for the Spirit of God will make His home in them. (Psam 104:30) Hence, from the graves, new life will emerge(Ezekiel 37:12)

My dear friend, affirming that not even death will stop God from carrying out his promise, John also recounts to us the raising up of Lazarus from the death. And this miracle significantly took place on the fourth day after Lazarus had died. I refer to the timing of this miracle as significant because the traditional Jewish belief had it that the soul of a dead person remains within the body for three days, then on the fourth day the soul finally departs the body for corruption to set in the body.
(eg ;Jesus rising on the third day meant his body did not experience corruption).

Beloved, the response of Martha in John 11:9 meant the situation was hopeless.
Consequently, in the words of  G. K. Chesterton -"hope means hoping when things are hopeless or it is no virtue at all". Hence,the story of Lazarus challenges us to never give up on hope even in hopeless situation for it is never too late for God to intervene and restore hope. For this reason, Martha brought her sadness to the Lord and her sadness was transformed into a faith experience that her brother was not death but alive with the Lord. But sadly there are people who see their disappointment or pain as a stumbling block to faith.

Again, the story of Lazarus tells us that God will not do by a miracle what you can do by obedience. Hence according to  C.S. Lewis -"God seems to do nothing of himself which he can  possibly delegate to his creatures.

Therefore, resolve not to be discouraged by your past failings but in obedience , let us cooperate with God who can restore our life from the pit of failure, disgrace and disappointment.
Hence, like the people of Israel and like Martha and Mary we are to look beyond our present suffering, hardships and struggles. We are not to be discouraged by the present but we are to be encouraged by what the future should be  when we allow the grace of God to work in us for the glory of  God.
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