The Heart, the Secret Place of God

                                                                                                Wednesday 18 June 2014.

(1kg 2:1.6-14, Ps 31 Mat 6:1-6, 16-18)

‘...Let me inherit a double of your spirit’

The first reading of today narrates Elijah’s ascension to heaven by a whirlwind. Before he was taken up, Elijah told Elisha his servant to; ‘ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.’ The young Prophet replied, ‘I beg you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’

 Seeing the great works of his master, Elisha desired a double of his power. And his heart desire was granted. Returning with a relaxed mood of accomplishment, he got to the river Jordan and struck it with the cloak saying, ‘where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?’ The water parted and Elisha crossed over.

In the Gospel Jesus warns against the outward show of piety. This makes religious exercise an end in itself and of course, its own reward. He talks about the secret place where we encounter the God who sees in secret and who rewards us. ‘But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’
 ‘...Your Father who sees in Secret will reward you.’
Such a piety, which is in touch with God who is in secret and sees in secret, must flow from the secret place where God dwells—the heart. Thus, the heart, the secret place of piety must be made available for God through desire. Like Elisha, we should desire a double of the spirit of Elijah. By desire, the heart is inclined to God, ready to welcome Him and also allow Him to see through it.

Nevertheless, our desires can be multifaceted. Hence, it becomes necessary that we shut doors of our hearts, blocking off ungodly desires and distracting inclinations, which tend to pull us out the secret place of God and make our piety a public show. But is it really possible that we desire only God and nothing more?


Following the footsteps of Elisha, we shall come to understand that desiring a double of Elijah’s spirit implies that that desire is greater than any other. Though we may be tossed by other desires, we cannot place them side by side with the desire for God as if they are equals. A double share implies it is the desire that consumes our whole heart. And God grants it immediately.

Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, who pondered over the word of God in her heart, reflecting and interacting with the word of God in our hearts draws us deeper into the secret dwelling place—our inner heart—where God sees and hears us.

 

Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Mother of Perpetual Help Shrine,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu,
Nigeria.

 

THE HIDDEN PLACE OF NOURISHMENT!

                                                                                                                            Monday June 9th, 2014.

(1Kg 17:1-6, Ps 34, Mt 5:1-12)

The Story

Prophet Elijah had just pronounced to King Ahab the impending drought. At once, God warned Elijah to flee to the brook Cherith in the East of the Jordan for safety. There God had already arranged for him food and water--ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening. This reminds us of the words of the Psalmist: "our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

In the Gospel of today, Jesus proclaims the beatitudes. His presence on the hill, the gathering of the disciples and crowd around Him portrays for us the image of a new Moses who pronounces the new law, the new way of life; the pathway to blessedness.

The Place of Nourishment

In silent meditation I began to place the experience of Elijah side by side with the beatitudes. A new illumination began to emerge. I came to perceive the Beatitudes as the New Brook Cherith, where God is assuring us of blessedness and a sure supply of nourishment. Thus the beatitudes have assumed a visual form, uniquely located but visible only to those in search of it.

As a place of refuge, the Brook Cherith is not located in the open nor can it be accessed by passers-by. In the same way, the beatitudes, as the hiding place, is visible to the poor in spirit, the mourners, the humble, those who hunger for God, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peace lovers and those persecuted for righteousness.

Therefore, as Elijah ran to the brook Cherith and received a sure supply  of nourishment, so shall we be constantly renewed only if we embrace and hide our lives in the beatitudes; our New Brook Cherith.

If we find ourselves running dry of spiritual nourishment and lacking the assurance of blessedness, then it could imply that we are not in the place where God has already ordered that we should be fed.

Coming back...!

Having been away for more than a year, I'm making a journey back. Back to where? To my blog, of course. My 'silent cogitations' have remained in the womb of their conception. Now, I'm making a determined effort to bring them to live so that you can interact and share in them. I apologize to my friends who have met this page dry and lonely! Still, the journey is not promising to me smooth. Our destination appears to be far away, just in case I pause along the way...! 


I hope to make available here some of my daily reflections and homilies, both past and present. This is my 'spare time assignment.' My present pastoral work is time consuming. Thus, I'll try to squeeze out time, and horridly update this page...The journey back is now looking promising though 'home' appears far away!



GOD’S SECOND SMILE

                                                                                                                                                        FEAST OF BAPTISM OF THE LORD 2013

                                                                                                                                                            (Lk 3:15-16.21-22)

Today’s feast marks the end of the Christmas season. We observe that all through the events surrounding the Nativity of Jesus, a cloud of silence covered the new born Jesus. He lived in serene silence till this day. After His baptism, He will be moving from place to place and we will hear His voice. In other words, Jesus’ baptism marks the inauguration of His ministry. Among other symbolic gestures noted in the history of theology, Jesus’ baptism can be seen as the clearest explanation of the necessity of baptism for salvation. It becomes Jesus’ ratification of our baptism and, in a way, of His internal involvement in our baptism. Hence, our participation in the ‘one baptism’ (Eph 4:5) becomes a sharing in the ‘one body’ (1Cor 12:13-14) of which Christ is the Head. Thus, He goes ahead of us as the Good shepherd to direct us to this fountain of grace (cf. Jn 10:4). Now, let us reflect on what happened after the Baptism as given in the Gospel of today.

The Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove and the joyful voice of the Father came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you’ (Lk 3:22).

This event takes our mind back to the very dawn of creation. Then the Spirit, the divine wind descended and hovered around as God called things to existence (cf Gen 1:2). God looked at His creation and saw that it was good. By certifying His creatures as good it implies that God was pleased with creation. It equally means creation was beautiful and God took pleasure in it. In other words, creation increased the joy of the Lord (Neh 8:10) and spread His glory abroad.

But not for long! Sin unexpectedly interrupted the beauty, fear emerged and God’s displeasure reigned. Immediately, God initiated the process of reclaiming His pleasure in creation, of restoring His creatures to goodness and beauty. This process of salvation found its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

Today as Jesus stepped out of His baptism, God is smiling again; He has regained His pleasure in creation. In Jesus, creation is renewed; once again it is good and beautiful, reflecting God’s glory. The Spirit descends, not just as hovering wind, but in concrete form; now as a dove, at another time as tongues of fire (cf Lk 3:12, Acts 2:2-4). The seal of the Spirit will always be the mark of this new creation (cf. 2Cor 1:21-22, Eph 1:13-14).

In His pleasure (cf. Eph 1:5. 9) God’s voice echoes again in creation as it was in the beginning when God communicated directly with man and walked hand-in-hand with him in the garden. His voice radiates joy—a confident smile. So in Jesus God is smiling again!

Brothers and sisters, God will also smile at us if we remain faithful to the one baptism we share. Through baptism we have become God’s adopted children. If we remain firm in our baptismal grace, God takes pleasure in us. It is not that the joy of the Lord is dependent on us. Already God has had His full pleasure in Christ Jesus. But if we are in Jesus we spread and multiply this joy. And this should be our primary ambition: to please God.

If we target to please God, the joy of the Lord will bounce back to constitute an inner strength and freedom for us. We become partakers in His joy. In fact, we have no other joy other than rejoicing in the Lord through Christ Jesus. God is pleased—He smiles again—anytime we strengthen or renew our baptismal life in Christ Jesus.

Fr. Jude C. Nwachukw, C.Ss.R

St Anthony’s Catholic Church,

Jabi, Abuja.

13^th Jan, 2013

THE GIFTS TO PAY HOMAGE

                                                                   SOLEMNITY OF EPIPHANY 2013

                                                                                   (Mt 2: 1-12)

Today we reflect on the visit of the wise men from the East to the new born Baby Jesus. We journey with them as they depart from Herod’s palace, gradually tracing the trail of the bright star down to the little town of Bethlehem. At least, the evidence of the chief priests and scribes had given them convincing assurance that the star was moving in the right direction. We follow them in silence and contemplation, watching them keenly with closed eyes but open hearts, hoping to learn from them how to be wise and pay homage to Jesus.

The joy on their faces was overwhelming as the star halted. How come following the star to an unknown destination brought such delight to them? (cf Mt 2:10). Obviously, their delight lies in what the star was leading them to and, having arrived, their joy knew no bounds. We come to realize from this experience that such a journey to meet with Jesus carries some spark of joy even when it appears to be heading to an unforeseen destination.

Watching from a close distance as they enter the manger, we see their eyes gazing on the Child Jesus and His Mother Mary (Cf Mt 2:11). This simple and quick act of these nomadic sages immediately passes a message: the eye that beholds Jesus will equally recognize his Mother, who is always at the service of her Son. Mary does not take the homage, but her presence gives the wise men some sort of prompt to pay homage to Jesus. Indeed, wise men behold Jesus and Mary!

Suddenly and dramatically they fall on their knees… (Mt 2:11). We look at them and give a half smile; these men do not look a bit like the modern man. After such a long and weary journey they should be relaxed in a comfortable cushion and express their homage or, at least, remain standing. Is it not the heart that matters? However, as we watch them in silence with a modern disposition, we wonder why they did not flaunt their expensive gifts first but bent their knees before Jesus. Looking at them on bended knees, it dawned on us that they did not just come to present gold, frankincense and myrrh but to acknowledge Jesus and offer themselves. This self-offering would be symbolized by their gifts.

Now, they are laying down their gift of gold. Its sparkles dazzle our inner eyes. We can behold its durability, glamour and beauty. Yes! Gold is the king of metals, and it is a gift fit for a king. It is not a surface metal; it is hidden at the heart of the earth. Learning from the wise men, our homage must not be empty and it must recognize Jesus as King. What then shall be our gold every time we come to pay him homage? Our hearts! It is here that we recognize His kingship and allow Him to rule over us. Our hearts are the precious gold, deep within, full of glamour and beauty. If we do not lay before Him our golden hearts, we will be like Herod who, in his frustration, perceived the new born King as an opposition.

As the sages unfold the second treasure, the calm fragrance of frankincense filtered around the manger. Deep within we are still wondering what these men are up to. Why are they offering this liturgical perfume used by the priests to Baby Jesus? These men must be exceptionally wise to have been able to project through their offerings what their faith grasps about Jesus! The presence of this priestly perfume deepens our contemplation to see in Jesus our eternal priest and mediator (cf ITim 2:5, Heb 9:5), the God among us. Here is the one through whom our prayers are granted (cf Jn 14:13-14). Therefore, we must always come before Him with the frankincense of our prayers:  praise, adoration, thanksgiving, petitions, etc.

While wrapped in the soothing fragrance of the frankincense, the scent of another perfume intervenes. Looking up, we can see the wise men laying down their gift of myrrh! This balm was used in anointing dead. The sages are giving the message: this child is born to die. He would offer His life in sacrifice. In paying Him homage, wise men (of all generations) do not forget this saving sacrifice. So they will always come with myrrh, the balm of sacrifice. And the myrrh we present to Jesus today are our sacrifices for one another i.e. the moments we lay down our lives for others (cf. I Jn 3:16). The ingredients making up our myrrh include our little acts of charity, kindness, forgiveness, patience, etc. We cannot come to pay Him homage empty handed. That would be foolishness.

Now we have learnt the lesson. The nomadic sages are the best teachers in this regard. In paying homage to Jesus there is nothing else to bring other than our gold, frankincense and myrrh i.e. our hearts, prayerfulness and love of neighbour. If we do this, God will speak to us (cf Heb 1:2) as He did to the wise men from the East. And He will direct our steps away from the wicked Herod (Mt 2:12), opening for us a new pathway that will lead us to our eternal home.

Fr Jude C. Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

St Michael's Catholic Church,

Kado, Abuja,

Nigeria.

January 6th, 2013.

THE INESTIMABLE VALUE OF COMPANIONSHIP

(Reflection on 27th Sunday Yr B. Gn 2:18-24, Heb 2:9-11, Mk 10:2-16)

When I first came across the readings of today, my mind centred on marriage. It was a good topic, rich and easy to get by. However, I wasn't too excited talking all about marriage to a congregation of married and singles, who were not seated for a wedding. While battling with this dilemma, two questions from the first reading obstructed my flow of thought: 1) Why was it that Adam himself never complained of being alone, but it was God who identified Adam's loneliness and solved the problem for him? (cf Gen 2:18). 2) How can God declare Adam alone in the midst of all the beauty, resources, animals, trees, etc of the Garden of Eden?

Reflectively, God as Trinity of Persons is the source of communal living. The implication of God identifying man’s loneliness is that human togetherness, the family, my neighbour—comes from God as a gift. This gift forms part of God’s plan for man’s completeness and happiness. On the other hand, it is obvious that God created man with a latent inclination to companionship. This inclination appears open ended. Then comes my neighbour, ‘‘flesh of my flesh’’ (Gen 2:23). With this, the question of man’s inclination for companionship finds its immediate answer. This answer finds its most concrete expression in the human family (cf. Gen 2:24). Immediately we observe that the moment the human person begins to turn away from his family, ‘my neighbour’, ‘flesh of my flesh’, alienation and loneliness set in.

However, inasmuch as God himself implanted this inclination for completeness, human companionship cannot fully resolve it. It is fully resolved only in God. Therefore, the moment man begins to separate himself from God, he experiences a deeper alienation and loneliness, which in turn affects his capacity to establish genuine and lasting communion (cf. Gen 3:10-12). Isn’t this what played out at the fall of Adam and Eve?

Jesus, the New Adam, goes ahead of us to form a new human family. He sanctifies and brings to perfection our broken human communions, forming us into one family, one stock with Him (cf. 2^nd reading). Jesus comes down to us, made lower than the angels (cf. Heb 2:9) to lead us as one family with Him into that perfect union and completeness which becomes the bedrock of our human communion. So in Christ Jesus we are able to build up our capacity for genuine and lasting union. Then we need a docile heart to receive Jesus like little children (Mk 10:14-15).

Here we find the root of divorce. It comes from a stubborn heart (cf Mk 10:5); a heart unlike that of a child! The ingredients that cook divorce are prepared in a heart that is not docile to the friendship that Jesus offers. The broken humanity must go back to God in order to go back to one another.

The second question almost answers itself: 'my neighbour' has no alternative. The Human need for companionship, solidarity and support cannot be replaced by pets, trees, wealth, etc. Unless we embrace one another in love, we remain lonely even in the midst of all the wealth of the earth. And such loneliness bespeaks of fear and vulnerability. Engrossed with material wealth, the human person may live in delusion of false completeness (cf Ps 49).

Dear brothers and sisters, we must wake up to a renewed appreciation of our families and one another as God's gift. But this is just the beginning. We must grasp Jesus' hand of Communion to achieve the completeness that our souls desire, and to overcome fear and remain secure. Communing with my neighbour gives concrete expression to that inner quest for transcendence which the grace of God makes possible.

Fr. Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

St. Michael's Catholic Church,

Kado, Abuja.

07/10/2012

THE COMMON IDENTITY OF CULTURES

(5^th Sunday of Easter Yr A. Acts 6:1-7, 1 Pet 2:4-9, Jn 14:1—12)

Gathered here this morning some of us are looking like local chiefs. This shows our diversity.

Each culture can be said to be a response to God’s call in Gen 1:28 to be fruitful, multiply and subdue the earth, and be masters of creation. Cultures arise as man forms repeated adaptive behaviours in thought and action to master his environment. So we see how cultures can be different as environments and societies vary.

But we have gathered here, not to celebrate our diversity but our unity and oneness. We are here today as a people with different thought systems but a common purpose; a people with different languages but a common message. There is something that transcends each unique culture that has dragged us here today.

We see this in the first reading of today where there was quarrel in the community resulting from cultural differences. Earlier in Acts 2:42—44 we were told that the whole believers who came from different cultures were united together in the breaking of bread and the apostles teaching. So when signs of division appeared in today’s reading, the apostles insisted that they must remain focused on that which unites, which transcends all cultures and gives new life to all cultures—the word of God, the life of Christ proclaimed.

Culture gives us identity. In Jesus we have a common identity within the diversity of our cultures. In Christ we move and have our being; in Him we become masters of ourselves and masters of the earth; in Him and through Him we achieve the purpose of our creation. Therefore, Jesus is the life; He is the truth that every culture tries to capture and he is the way to the Father; the ultimate purpose for which we were created. When I am lifted up, I shall draw all peoples to myself.

Brothers and sisters, our celebration today becomes a celebration of the identity we have in Christ, given to us through our diverse cultures. Therefore, our cultural expression must not negate this unique identity we have in Christ, who sanctifies human culture by sharing in it. As Jesus challenged the wrong understanding of culture and tradition of His time, He still challenges us today to remove in our lives the culture of death, sexual immorality, bribery and corruption, and  tribalism.

Let us develop the culture of prayer and of communion with Christ through the Word and breaking of the Bread like the apostles. He says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

GIVEN ON THE OCCASSION OF REDEEMER HOUSE CULTURAL DAY CELEBRATION,

IBADAN.

22/05/2011