THE URGENCY OF LOVE

{Reflection for the 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 1 Kg 19:16, 19-21, Ps 16; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Lk 9:51-62}

No time to waste! This seems to be the attitude in the readings today. Elisha sacrificed his yokes of oxen, “Then he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.” As Elijah would not accept any delay form Elisha, so Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Though “The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head”, those called to follow him in freedom must “Leave the dead to bury their own dead.” There is an urgency to announce the good news to the whole world. 

Yes, because the Kingdom of God is close at hand (Mt 3:2). And the response to the call must carry the same sense of urgency. This sense of urgency is embedded in the call because the dawn of the Kingdom in Jesus has become the first in our scale of preference. The Kingdom of God has come so close that it touches every aspect of our lives and is now our highest treasure (cf. Mt 13:44ff).

 

Therefore, the call to follow Jesus is a call to freedom; a call to achieve our highest aspiration. St Paul describes it in the second reading as an opportunity to love and be servants of one another. “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” Love becomes the way we sustain the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. It becomes our evidence that we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. 

Touched by the Gospel, our hearts burn with love of God along the way (cf. Lk 24:32). Love warms our hearts and gives us a sense of urgency for the beloved. The immediacy of the Kingdom carries our love along! Love is urgent. We should not delay nor postpone our love for our neighbor. The love of God poured out in our hearts impels us to love one another—to forgive them, to tolerate, to help out, etc. Hence Jesus rebuked James and John for trying to call down fire against the Samaritans that opposed them. Revenge is always selfish!

St Paul warns us that self-indulgence slows down and restricts the free flow of love. The result of which is slavery. We must align ourselves with the promptings of the Holy Spirit in order to maintain the frequency of love and the freedom it gives. By calling us to follow Him, “Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Let the love flow;Love is our vocation.

Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

Maryville, Ugwogonike,

Enugu, Nigeria.

26/06/16

Compassion and Supplication

[Reflection for the 12^th Sunday in ordinary Time Year C Zech 12:10-11;13:1, Gal 3:26-29, Lk 9:18-24]

The prophet Zechariah gives an uncommon prophecy, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication...” This will enable them to raise their hearts and mourn for “him whom they have pierced.” The mourning to be evoked would be great as in the plain of Megiddo. Compassion of heart implies that they will associate themselves with the Pierced One, and allow his agony to pierce their own hearts. Then there will be an internal flow of cleansing, “a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem...” Thus, The Pierced One becomes the answer to their supplication as their hearts melt before Him.

So we are all heirs of this great promise since we have all been joined with Christ, we mourn for Him as one weeps for an only-begotten son. With our heads raised to His pierced side, we have become one people, drinking from the same fountain and sharing the same promise as Abraham’s offspring in faith. Our compassion and supplication has a common meeting point in Christ. On the Cross hangs the heart of every Christian! “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5). We see from the second reading that The Pierced One has become the fountain of unity. His wound has healed our brokenness and disunity. 

A gaze at the Cross, full of compassion and supplication, is the right disposition we need to answer the question, “But who do you say that I am.” Unless our hearts are melted before Him as in the plain of Megiddo, there is every tendency to misinterpret “The Christ of God” as the one who saves through the cross. The Cross is the defining moment, the meeting point!

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Ironically, we are living in a society that is so much laden with many crosses, but which vehemently rebels against the idea of a cross! How can their wounds be healed? From which fountain will they be satisfied? Jesus announces, “The Son of man must suffer many things...” And all who lift up their hearts, who mourn with Him by accepting their daily crosses shall have the prophecy of Zechariah fulfilled in their lives—they shall drink from the fountain!

Therefore, our compassion and supplication become a participation in His Cross and Resurrection. By His wounds we have been healed (1 Pet 2:24). Our internal groaning, compassion and supplication, which is evoked by the Cross of Christ, brings healing and answers to our prayers. Yes, Jesus saves us from within! Our daily crosses, joined with Christ, now have a new meaning; they dispose us to drink freely from the fountain.  We cannot go through life without bearing one inconvenience or the other. If we have nothing to suffer, we have nothing to offer. 

The Cross of Christ is not the cause but a remedy to suffering. If we associate our pains with His—mourning for Him as in the plain of Meggido—we shall reign with Him (cf. 2Tim 2:12). Here we draw strength to carry on. Our compassion is deepened and becomes genuine, and our supplications are as heirs according to the promise made to Abraham’s offspring.

Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Immaculate Heart Catholic Church,

Magodo, Sangotedo

Lagos, Nigeria.

19^th June, 2016

GOD'S LOVE SUPERSEDES

[11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2Sam12:7-1013; Ps 32; Gal 2:16-19-21; Lk 7:36-8:3]

Prophet Nathan exposes David’s sin. In his subtle but firm approach, he unveils the logic of sin. God favoured David, showed him so much love and made him king. “And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more.” Then, “Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?” We come to see that David’s sin was a withdrawal from the love of God or lack of appreciation of God’s love and blessings. ‘Love’ is always the first victim of sin. We cannot sin if we are hanging on the love of God. Yes, God is love! So the Master says, “Remain in my love” (Jn 15:9-10). “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). The second logic is this; though David hurt Uriah’s family, it was God who took the offense! Sin is not just a human mistake or hurt against someone. It despises the Lord. In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me (Mt 25:40). The King confessed, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

God’s mercy surprises us. How could he allow David to get away with so much atrocity! Furthermore, this mercy of God is now more readily available and accessible in Jesus Christ and through the Church. According to St Paul in the 2^nd reading, faith in Jesus unveils this mercy and we are justified. Jesus is visiting…

At the meal in Simon’s house, “A woman of the city”—a popular for her sins—came to Jesus, who was equally popular as a prophet. At the feet of Jesus, she did something unpopular; “she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.” It appears to sin is popular but contrition and repentance are not. With those gestures, she regretted her past, poured out herself and expressed the desire to share in the holiness of Jesus. Above all, she loved Jesus, and sacrificed her expensive perfume for Him. Often times, we have to do the “unpopular” thing in order to come out of our sins, e.g, queuing for confession, etc.

Simon, the Pharisee, a man who admired Jesus and invited Him for a meal, became suspicious; “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” But Jesus patiently demonstrated to him that He knows both the woman’s heart and his own secret heart. Jesus knows our hearts. He is in touch with the heart of man, even our hidden sinful thoughts. “I, the Lord, search the heart, test the motives, to give each person what his conduct and his actions deserve” (Jer 17:10). “God, Sabaoth…observer of motives and thoughts” (Jer 20:12). We remember Simeon’s prophecy, “So that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare” (Lk 2:35). If we like the Pharisee, try to probe the minds of others, we end up judging and condemning them. That is why there is so much gossip in our societies today. Only Jesus judge and purify our consciences. Yes, “we believe in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ.”

Then, Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” This disturbed those at table and they began to ask, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” He is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). “He bore our sins in His body on the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live for uprightness” (1Pet 2:24).  He is the Good Shepherd who came to bring back the lost (cf. Mt 18:12). And he continues to absolve our sins through the ministry of the Church in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (cf. Jn 20:23). We cannot cancel our own sins, neither can we cancel the sins of others even if they hurt us. Ours is to forgive! Sin is an offence against God—a crucifixion of Jesus! You crucified Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Acts 2:23ff). If we realize that sin is primarily an offence against God, it becomes easier to forgive, since we cannot probe the heart no matter the extent of the hurt.

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Sin cannot be the final word for those in Christ Jesus since the love of God has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rm 5:5). Faith in Jesus is the key. We live by faith, not by sight (cf. 2Cor 5:7). Yes, the righteous shall live by faith (cf. Heb 10:38). “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

And they went with Him. Those forgiven should not go back to their old ways, but they follow Jesus to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God—the manifestation of God’s mercy in Christ Jesus. Therefore, God’s mercy overrides the logic of sin, “For his faithful love endures forever” (Ps 136).

Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu,
Nigeria.
Sunday, June 12, 2016