TREASURE HUNT

                                                                                         (Reflection for Wednesday, 17^th week in Ordinary)
                                                                                                           Jer15:10.16-21,Mt13:44-46 

                                                                                                                     

In the first reading, Jeremiah, the Suffering Servant of Yahweh, continues to lament the persecution he encountered in his mission. With a tone of despair, he argues with God, reminding Him how he took delight in His word and how he kept himself away from wayward life. Then he asks, ‘why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? The Lord tells the Prophet to return to Him and He will restore him, and make him triumphant over his persecutors.

In the Gospel, Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. ‘...In his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.’

My Treasure, My Joy!

The kingdom of Heaven is a treasure: This means we must value it, and take pleasure in searching for it. But because it is HIDDEN, we must search for it. It is only those who search that can find it. Actually, this is what the human heart is yearning for. But often times, we direct the energies of our heart to worldly treasures that cannot satisfy it.

Which a man found and covered up: Because it is valuable, it must be protected. Like any other treasure, if we do not guide it, we may lose it. The life of righteousness—the life of the Kingdom—must be assiduously guided. In guarding this treasure, we equally guard the joy that comes from being in contact with it.

In his joy he goes and sells all that he has...! Yes, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10 ). The joy of heavenly treasure surpasses all others. It may not be easy given up old stocks, but fresh breath of the Kingdom smoothens the sacrifice. The given up of other treasures comes, not as a punishment, but as part of the ingredients of the joy the man had in his process of possessing the Kingdom. The fact that he is able to sell off his old stock joyfully to acquire the greatest treasure increases his joy for the heavenly treasure. In other words, any sacrifice made for the Kingdom increases the joy of the Kingdom and helps to sustain it.

...And buys the field. He makes it his own possession. We are not called as tenants in the Kingdom, we are co-heirs with Jesus. We are adopted Sons (Rm 8:17). We must relate to the affairs of the Kingdom of God as our own personal possession. It is within this personal commitment that we begin to savour the sweetness of ecclesiastical communion.

THE TRUE MERCHANT

Reflecting still, we see in Jesus one who, in a way, sold off His glory in order to purchase us (cf. Phil 2:7). Seeing the potential in us as inherent images of God, though marred by sin, He left His heavenly glory, gave away His life and purchased us at the price of His own blood.  ‘‘You have been bought at a price’’ (ICor 6:20, 7:23). Therefore, we are precious in His sight, his own personal possession (cf. Is 43:4, IPet 2:9).

Therefore, the parable of the hidden treasure, inspires all those who have found Jesus, their hidden treasure, to sacrifice worldly treasures in order to possess the Lord who has possessed us; to own the One who owns us. In this way, our joy will be secure.




Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
National Shrine of Our Mother Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria.
Wednesday , 30 August, 2014.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE PARABLE

Jer 14:17b-22, Mt 13:36-43

THE QUESTIONING...

The first expresses the plight of the people of God in the face of the great drought. The prophet Jeremiah echoes out their suffering before God in the form of questions: ‘‘Have you rejected Judah altogether? Does your soul loathe Zion? We looked for peace, but no good came...’’ At the end, he acknowledged their wickedness and sinfulness, begging God not to reject them. Jeremiah affirmed their faith in God who sends rain: ‘‘We set our hope in you, for you do all these things.’’

In the Gospel, the apostles, Seeing that Jesus taught the crowds in parables but never explained it to them (Mt 13:34), on entering the room questioned Jesus about the meaning of the parable of the weeds in the field. Jesus did not hesitate to unravel the hidden meaning of the parable to his little ones (cf. Mt 11:25).

UNDERSTANDING THE PARABLE

Sometimes our lives unfold like a parable: the events in the story are familiar but the hidden meaning propelling it is elusive. We seem to be in control of our actions/lives but cannot determine its outcome. At other times, turbulent situations may make us feel isolated, even from God. At such moments, one may begin to question like Jeremiah if God still hears prayers or if one is saying the right prayers. Our hearts yearn for answers; we hunger to understand the deep meaning of the parable of our lives.

It is then that we follow Jesus to the quiet room of our hearts and seek for deeper meaning. We will always find the reason and meaning about our parables once we listen to the Lord. His ready answer reveals God's plan for us.

 

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.