UPROOTING THE SEED OF SIN

3^rd week in Ordinary time, Year II; Friday.

(I Sam 11L1-10.13-17; Mk 4:26-32)

They were warned in I Sam 8. But they insisted. They wanted a King who would rule them according to their own desires—one who would fight with them at battle and make them feel like other (pagan) nations. That was how it all began. Now, at a time when other Kings were leading their people at war, David, the great soldier, who as a little boy fought bears and lions, decided to stay home...This little idea would magnify into adultery, drunkenness, lies, murder; a woman would lose her husband, and an innocent baby would die: excitement turned into anxiety, pain and misery.

This is how sin grows. It may begin with a little idea, misjudgment, misplacement of priority, etc. Sin multiplies itself and spreads its tentacles, involving more and more people. Therefore, it must be nipped in the bud.

Brothers and sisters, the good news is that as sins grows from a little seed of an idea, so the Kingdom of God grows like a mustard seed. And that is what Jesus tells us today, that once the seed of the Kingdom of God is sown, it multiplies itself. And Gal 5:16—26 tells us that the seeds of the Kingdom of God are always in opposition to the seeds sin and death. And St. Paul says in Rom 5:20-21 “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We are subjects of the Kingdom. The seeds of the Kingdom of God have been sown in us through our baptism: the seeds of forgiveness, self-control, patience, charity, prayerfulness, etc. These seeds can only germinate and grow in if we allow them to manifest in our daily lives. And we cannot comprehend the fullness and completeness of the harvest these will yield. Once we allow the seeds of the Kingdom of God to be alive in us, the seeds of sins and death cannot continue to multiply in us.

----our help is in the name of the Lord; who made Heaven and earth.

Chinwenwa J. N., C.Ss.R

Redeemer House, Ibadan.

29/01/2010

THE REASON TO FORGIVE

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

(Sirach 27:30—28:7, Rm 14:7—9, Mt 18:21—35)

1. The readings of today urge us to forgive one another. We must remember that Jesus was inserting His teaching on forgiveness within a culture that believes in “eye for eye” (Ex 21:21, Lev 24:20, Dt 19:21). If we follow this law, all of us here would have been blind by now. Revenge or retaliation displaces God’s forgiveness in human relations, and makes it difficult for the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection to be made manifest in our interactions with one another. So Jesus condemns this law in Mt 5:38ff "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...”                                                

2. Having listened to Jesus, Peter tried to upgrade this standard of an eye for an eye promoted by the Pharisees by asking, “How often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as 7 times? Why did he choose 7? It was because the Jews understood seven as a number that represented completeness or perfection: God completed His creation and rested on the 7th day; Noah took the animals into the ark by sevens (Gen 7:2) and 7 days after Noah went into the ark, the flood came; the Israelites marched round the city of Jericho 7 times. On the 7th day, the completed their marching by going round the city 7 times; Elisha asked Naaman to bath 7 times at the river Jordan to complete his cure; Jesus spoke 7 words from the Cross; the apostles ordained 7 deacons, etc.

So Peter was speaking from his own cultural understanding since seven represented completeness in Jewish tradition. Since he was speaking from his cultural background, he was speaking from the depth of his humanness—from his situation as man who feels the pinch of forgiveness. Hence, Peter’s question is saying that there should be a time when forgiveness is enough—complete—when one can no longer bear it.

3. But Jesus has a different understanding of forgiveness; He offers a new standard. He said to Peter, “Not seven, but seventy-seven times.” In a sense he was saying to Peter, you don’t stop forgiving until you yourself have reached completeness or perfection. And our perfection is in Christ Jesus. So Christ becomes the measure and reason for forgiveness.

We see how this played out in that story. God the Father is that mighty King, whom we, his servants, are indebted to through our sins and, we have no means of paying back. What can we offer to the Lord to appease Him? Our sins condemn us; we deserve damnation (If you Oh Lord should mark our guilt, who would survive Ps 130:3). But God, in His mercy and compassion, declared us free by allowing Christ bear the burden of our sins on the Cross.

4. Having received such mercy from God, we are bound to show forgiveness to one another. We learn from the story that forgiveness is sacred because it comes from and made possible by God’s grace—it is what we learn from our interaction with God, by being His servants. It is not based on human life or culture or power; not even on the pain we felt when offended. The Cross is our reason to forgive (2Cor 5:18—20).

Therefore, forgiveness is a way of appreciating what we first received from God through Jesus Christ. This entails that we must first absorb within us, through prayer and meditation, the forgiveness we receive, the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection. Another way of appreciating it is by frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.

Then we will come to discover that to forgive is a vocation; a call to imitate the King and to spread the good news of what the King has done for us. It is a way of spreading the Good News of the Cross. It brings us peace and joy, and enables us to enjoy the freedom of the Children of God. Forgiveness makes our heart like the heart of Jesus. So when we forgive, we are not so much doing favour to the other person as much as accumulating and solidifying within us God’s mercy and love.

Jesus is our reason to forgive; it is His forgiveness that we dish out to others. By not forgiving, we are at once rejecting God’s forgiveness. May God give us the grace to receive His forgiveness with generosity of heart and show the same mercy and pardon to our brothers and sisters.

Fr. Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

St. Anthony’s Parish,

Jabi, Abuja,

Nigeria.

September 11, 2011.

REFLECTION FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

                                      “Give me something to Drink”

In today’s readings, the holy Church presents to us our Lord Jesus as the one who thirsts and hungers for our salvation. Christ is the Living Water who alone can quench our thirst. In the story of the Samaritan woman we see how much Christ thirsts that we should thirst for Him so that He can satisfy us (cf Mt 5:6). The process of embracing Christ’s thirst for us is the process of conversion.

Give me something to drink, Jesus said to the woman. Jesus demanded ordinary charity from her. But this demand immediately exposes the Samaritan woman’s level of living. Her life was guided by human reason and propelled by selfishness and pleasure. She refused to “offer up” her water, arguing it out and blaming others (the Jews) for her lack of compassion and love. But Jesus’ thirst is more than ordinary water; He was thirsting for her salvation.


Our readiness to perform charitable works, to offer up something for Christ always indicates how much the Gospel message has taken root in our hearts. Charity puts faith into action and keeps it alive. Unlike the woman who was stingy with her water, our Lord Jesus is always willing to “offer up” His Living Water and desires that we thirst for it: “If only you knew...you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.”


Yes! She did not know: her earthly way of life has blindfolded her. Interestingly, it is at this level of her earthly way of life—a life of sin and human rationality—that Jesus offers her the “Living Water”! This gift of salvation is offered to us even while we were still sinners (Rm 5:6). Christ speaks to us in our various ways of life, not to leave us as we are, but to move us a higher level.


This Samaritan woman began to be fascinated by the offer of living water. She started thirsting for the water that Christ offers. However, her thirst at this stage could not embrace Christ’s thirst for her. Just like the seed of the sower that fell into thorns, her thirst for the living water was choked by life of pleasure (cf. Lk 8:14). So she began to ask for the living water with an unrepentant heart, and thus for the wrong reason: “that I may never come here again to draw water”. You cannot serve two masters (Mt 6:24). God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24). Jesus took her through the process of admitting and confessing her sins, which is the process of purification of the heart—of conversion.


Now she has seen the Light (Jn 9:5). She can now give Christ something to drink: her heart and those of her neighbours! Since Christ thirsts for our salvation, the drink we offer to quench His thirst is a contrite and purified heart. Lenten observance helps us to discover the real hunger of our souls, and embrace Christ’s thirst for us. Jesus is saying to each and every one of us this season, “Give me something to drink.”

The Moment of God's Will, the Moment of the Cross

REFLECTION FOR 9TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A

                           1st Reading Deut 11:18.26-28.32 2nd Reading Rm 3.21-25.28 Gospel Mt 7:21-27

The first reading reminds us how much we should bear God’s law in mind and heart just as the people of Israel were instructed by Moses to fasten the Law in their hands and forehead. Obedience to the commandments brings blessings. All the law, not some of it, must be observed. The law is here given as a sign of union with God.

The second reading tells that God’s justice that was revealed through the law has now been made known through Jesus Christ. How? Jesus became the sacrifice offered for our sins—our transgressions of the law. So where we failed through observance of the law, Christ came to remedy; to absorb our blame, and restore us to the dignity of the Children of God. So Christ is our reconciliation with God: He is both the restoration of our union with God and fulfilment of the law. The law is fulfilled when its purpose is achieved. And this purpose is made manifest in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, in Christ the law is no longer mere ten tablets, but a living person! Hence, our justification is no longer in following the law but in believing in the person of Christ. Since our faith is not in written words or ideas, but in a living person, then our faith also becomes the place of encounter where our human person encounters the person of Christ.

This moment of encounter, where the human person, his will and desires encounter the will of God in Christ is always a moment of the Cross. It is a moment of the Cross because its possibility is first and foremost made possible by the Cross of Christ—a moment of grace, of being open to the blessings first promised through the law but this time through the merits of the death and resurrection of Christ. Secondly, this moment of encounter is a moment of the Cross because it always involves self-emptying, where we allow our will to be assumed and consumed by the Will of God. It is a moment of self-sacrifice just as Christ cried out to the Father, let your will be done, not mine (cf. Lk 22:42).

Therefore, the person who does the will of God in his life as Jesus commanded in the Gospel of today is the one who carries around in his heart the imprint of the Cross of Christ so that the life of Christ Jesus may also be revealed in him (cf. 2Cor 4:10) just as Moses instructed the Israelites to carry around their body a piece of the law.

If the believer in Jesus is not a man of sacrifice, carrying around his body the Cross of Christ, he will only be shouting “Lord, Lord”, but cannot put his faith into action. Such a one is building on the sand of his selfishness and earthly foundations that cannot last, not on Christ the Rock (cf. 1 Cor 10:4). We should build our lives, behaviour, aspirations, etc on Christ the Rock.

Equally and definitely, the one who builds on Christ the Rock—who allows God’s will to triumph in his life—is a man of the Eucharist. The sacrifice of Christ, in its redeeming power, is made present and offered to us in the Eucharist. In this Eucharistic celebration, we receive anew the pledge of immortality. Just as Moses told the Israelites who were gathered at the foot of the Mountain that God will bless them if they keep the law, we have gathered around this altar to receive, not just blessings, but the giver of the blessings! In the Eucharist, we encounter Jesus Christ anew, allowing Him to influence all that influence us; be our consolation and protection, and the guide of our every relationship, etc. In this way, every expression of God’s will in our lives becomes a refreshing moment—a moment of grace—a triumph of the Cross.

Our help is in the name of Lord: Who made Heaven and earth!

Homily by Nwachukwu Jude Chinwenwa, C.Ss.R

Redeemer House Chapel, Ibadan.

Sunday March 6th, 2011.