THE BEGINNINGS OF A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

 Reflection for Friday of the 19^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Ezek 16:59-63; Mt 19:3-12)

Every great and successful marriage has its humble beginning. It passes through phases to reach maturity. This too is the story of Israel and her relationship with God. Ezekiel narrates Israel’s humble origin in the land of Canaan. She was like an abandoned baby at birth. God picked her up and made her to live. She grew to maidenhood to the age of love, and God covered her nakedness. Then God said, “I pledged myself to you and entered into covenant with you and you became mine.” Her status is now elevated; God anointed her, clothe her with silk and linen, adorned her with ornament, bracelets, gold and silver, put a beautiful crown on her head and fed her with fine flour and honey. Thus, Israel became exceedingly beautiful. Surprisingly, she forgot how it all started and who brought her up but trusted in her own beauty! In her pride, Israel played the harlot with other gods but God said, “Yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant, that you may remember and be confounded...When I forgive you all that you have done."

God’s ‘marriage’ with Israel remained unbroken because of His faithfulness, though Israel broke her own side of the covenant. But instead of ‘divorcing’ her, God promised to renew the covenant. Yes, every marriage requires renewal not divorce. But the Pharisees approached Jesus with the question of divorce. They knew divorce is a contradiction to what marriage stands for. “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” they asked. Jesus’ answer tells us what causes divorce and the secret of a successful marriage.

“Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female?” Jesus said this is why a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they become one. “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” Marriage is God’s design, but man has been struggling over the ages to redesign and wrestle it away from God’s hand. It is in marriage that our freedom of choice is mostly expressed, and at the same time, it is here that it is summoned to surrender. We are good to go when in marriage our will and choices shine out. But sooner or later, the couples discover that they have to individually and collectively surrender to God and accept each other, and their union, as God’s will. What authority is above human will and freedom? Hence, only the authority of God can unite and sustain man and woman in marriage.

Again, Jesus said that ‘hardness of heart’ leads to divorce. This is a heart that will not allow God’s word to penetrate. It is a proud and selfish heart, which exalts itself and will not yield to God. One who does not submit to the authority of God may not be able to surrender to the authority of love in marriage. That is why religions that do not accept the merciful and loving One God permit divorce and/or polygamy. The prophetic blessing from God’s ‘marriage’ and faithfulness to Israel is now instituted in our homes through Jesus Christ. God saw all He had made, and indeed it was very good (Gen 1:31). And it remains good and beautiful, growing from a painful and simple beginning to a sublime and great dynasty. May God bless your family with peace and unity + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Friday August 14^th, 2020.
Memorial of St Maximilian Mary Kolbe.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

 

THE REBELLION OF UNFORGIVENESS

 Reflection for Thursday of the 19^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Ezek 12:1-12; Mt 18:21-19:1)

God asked Ezekiel to make a mock exile journey as a demonstration for the people and the princes of Israel. Since they were a rebellious house who refused to listen, maybe they would learn the lesson for themselves. Ezekiel was to move from his place to another location like one going into exile. He packed his baggage in the evening before all the people, dug through the wall like one escaping from intruders. “In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.” This was how Ezekiel demonstrated to them that their rebellious lives would lead them to exile.

In the Gospel, we see how such rebellious heart refuses to forgive. Jesus continues the discussion on forgiveness, which is not conventional. Peter perceived the complications and asked, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” ‘Counting sin’ is natural to us. We easily remember past hurts, add it up to the present hurts and deny forgiveness both in the present and in the future. But from Jesus’ teaching, we should treat each offence as it comes and apply forgiveness immediately. So He answered Peter, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

He explained deeper with the parable of the unforgiving servant, whose master cancelled his huge debt but he refused to give his fellow servant some time to pay him. Meditating on that story, we notice that the master of this servant was exceedingly generous with mercy. By justice, the servant and his household ought to be sold to pay the debt. This servant knelt down and asked to be given some time for him to raise the money and pay. But the master had pity on him and cancelled out all his debt. He was set free. With this unmerited grace and the freedom given by the master, this servant met his fellow who owed him very little compared to what the master cancelled for him. He started torturing this servant by seizing him by the throat and asking for the money. This fellow servant did not just kneel down, but fell down and pleaded for some time to pay. “He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.

Then the master summoned him again and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?” The master treated him the same way he treated his fellow servant: with anger, jailed him and made him pay back what he owed. Then Jesus said, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

God has given us a living example of compassion and abundant mercy in Jesus Christ. He cancels out our sins and sets us free as His Children. Therefore, forgiving those who hurt us becomes our way of appreciating God. We cannot forgive more than God Himself. Yes, only a generous and appreciative person forgives easily. Unforgiveness is a form of rebellion against God’s mercy; it is a way we show that we do not deserve and accept God’s mercy. Ezekiel had demonstrated what happens to rebellious people: they are exiled from God’s compassion and driven to bondage. The strength to forgive comes from God, and the glory of forgiveness goes back to God. If our hearts dwell in the sublime mercy of God, we will not have time to count costs. Each hurt we forgive, though it may be a moment of the Cross, it shall draw us deeper into the overwhelming mercy of God and increases our freedom as children of God. May Almighty God bless you and heal your every hurts + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Thursday August 13^th, 2020.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE MARK OF FORGIVENESS

Reflection for Wednesday of the 19^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Ezek 9:1-7; 10:18-22; Mt 18: 15-20)

Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of today talks about the preservation of the righteous and the destruction of idolaters and supporters of evil. The cleansing of the city was done in the same way as during the Passover in Egypt (Ex 12:23). The good people were identified with a mark. “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” All the others were to be killed, “But touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.”

This prophetic vision of the 'saving mark' upon those who rejected abominations becomes a visible reality in the Cross of Christ. This sign becomes an indelible mark given to believers during baptism. So, we carry in our mortal flesh the death of Christ that we might live with Him (Rm 6:4-7; 2Cor 4:10-11). That means the way we live and relate with others will definitely bring to light this saving sign, hidden in our souls. Hence, Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of today about forgiveness and the gathering of the brethren exemplifies the uncommon way of life of those marked with the saving sign of the Cross.

Forgiveness is a bold step; it is a responsibility for every believer. In fact, it is a command from Jesus. Forgiveness is not to ‘wish away’ the hurt, but it is to ‘confront’ the issue and resolve it. It is ‘instantaneous’ but to resolve the matter takes some steps, which might take short or long time. The purpose of forgiveness is not to shame anyone or to find someone guilty, but it is simply for reunion. If you do not want ‘reunion’, your ‘forgiveness’ is not complete.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” This is the most difficult; it is only when the one that was offended had forgiven and wants reunion can he ‘go out in search’ of his brother. Each must open up his hurt and the matter resolved among them, respecting and protecting the integrity of each other. However, if this most important step fails, the other secondary steps become even more difficult. If these other steps fail too, then, he becomes a ‘missionary ground’, where the believer is sent to convert him to the fold like a Gentile or a tax collector.

Union with Christ Jesus is the ultimate motivating factor. It is ‘Christ among us’ that gives life to our human relationships. Yes, ‘two or three may gather’ but if Christ Jesus is not in their midst, that gathering will not survive the day of cleansing; it has no saving sign on it! Again, if the togetherness of our families, friends, colleagues, Churches, etc is not in the name of Jesus Christ, they will not survive like those who were destroyed in the vision of Ezekiel. Thus, the first step towards unforgiveness is a worldly life. That is why we should not center our lives together on pleasure or material things, because when hurt comes, only the saving grace of Jesus will redeem us. The saving sign of Jesus brings unity. And He assures us that it is prayer answered: “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven.” Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Wednesday August 12^th, 2020
St Jane Frances de Chantel
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

HUMILITY IN HIS WORD

  Reflection for Tuesday of the 19^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Ezek 2:8-3:4; Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14)

Our prophetic blessings this Week shall come from the scroll-eating prophet, Ezekiel. His prophetic oracle came at a difficult time, i.e. during the Babylonian deportation. He was among the Exiles, and the word of the Lord came to him along the way, on the banks of a river in Babylon (Ezek 1:1). It was not easy for Ezekiel to minister to people who were already displaced from their homeland. His Book contains prophecies about Jerusalem, against the foreign nations, hope of restoration after the fall of Jerusalem, and vision of the new temple and new Israel.

Today’s reading focuses on the vision in which Ezekiel received the word of God. The Spirit  gave him the scroll of the word and asked him to eat it. “Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” This unique way of delivering the message of God to Ezekiel indicates the tough job ahead of him, and to give him courage to carry it out. “Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.” The scroll of the word of God would ‘dwell’ in him as part of his body, such that he could not deny or fail to deliver any of it. We shall see how the mission of Ezekiel unfolds in days to come.

In Jesus, the Word of God took flesh of its own and dwelt among us. Now, we are ‘taken up’ into His abiding presence. So the life of the Word is ‘mingled’ with ours. Imagine the great humility with which we stand before God through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The deeper we ‘soak’ ourselves in Christ Jesus, the more we ‘die to ourselves’, put off our pride and with the courage of Ezekiel, witness with our lives to Jesus. When the disciples asked, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Jesus answered, “Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The humble are God’s little ones. They may appear vulnerable but God cherishes them. He is their strength; He protects them and brings them back if they go astray. “So it is not the will of my Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” It takes great humility for one to abide in the word of God, swallow it, digest it and assimilate it. What came to Ezekiel as a vision has become a way of life for us in Jesus Christ. The prophet’s mission might be tough, but our way to righteousness and eternal life is narrow. In humility, we must make the word of God our home in our hearts (Eph 3:17). This is where our greatness in life lies; this is our foretaste of heaven on earth. And may the abiding presence of Jesus Christ be with you + in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Tuesday August 11^th, 2020.
Memorial of St Clare.
 www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

REACHING OUT TO HIS OUTSTRETCHED HAND

 Reflection for the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
(1 Kg 19:9, 11-13; Rm 9: 1-5; Mt 14:22-33)

The Prophet Elijah lodged in a cave at mount Horeb, where he waited for the Lord to appear to him. A great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then came the earthquake and the fire, but the Lord was not there. Finally, a still small voice came. It was there that the Lord visited Elijah!

Meditating on this popular story of how Elijah encountered the Lord at Horeb, we could see the calmness, the serenity and the attentiveness necessary for a Divine Encounter.  Within that still small voice, unlike the other scenes, Elijah had to listen attentively. This would require ‘projecting himself’ towards the voice in order to hear it. In this way, the ‘still small voice’ draws him from himself towards itself. This is the internal silent movement of the heart towards God; this is how we become ‘docile’ to the word, which is alive and active. Remember, it is first the gentle coming down of the ‘still small voice’ that wakes up the heart, and attracts it through active attentiveness. Hence, no one hearkens to the word of God without denying himself, i.e. coming out of his selfish self. Thus, when Elijah heard the voice, “He wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”

In the Gospel, we see Jesus going up the hills to ‘meet’ the Father in prayer. As Elijah would move from this encounter to his mission, Jesus came down from the silent hills of prayer and walk on the water towards the disciples as they battled with the storm. They thought it was a ghost. But the ‘still small voice’ of Jesus came to them: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” Hearing His voice, and while the storm was still raging, they shifted their attention from the destroying storm to the saving Jesus. Like Elijah that came out to ‘meet the voice’, “Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” The storm was still blowing strong and great. Peter shifted his gaze from Jesus to the storm. He forgot that it was his gaze of faith upon Jesus that kept him ‘walking on top of his problems.’ Immediately, his heart broke to pieces, his legs shook like the earthquake and the fire of fear consumed him. And Peter began to sink. But he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.” Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt”

They all got into the boat and the storm ceased. Just as at Horeb, ‘the great and strong wind, the earthquake and the fire’ gave way to Jesus, the Still Small Voice. With Jesus in the boat, all became calm. The boat became serene like the cave of Elijah when he encountered the gentle voice. This, too, is our story when we welcome Jesus into our lives, our family, work, business, Church, society, etc. He comes gently, walking towards us as we battle with the storms of life. Our hearts must go out to meet Him in attentiveness to His word. And our ‘feet’ must step forward with courage where he calls, like stepping into the storm of hurt with the feet of forgiveness.

Like Peter, Let us call out on the Lord with ardent prayer life. Jesus’ saving hand is outstretched towards us. Imagine that ‘boat’ to be something very important to you today but going through turbulence!  You can never sink in the ocean of life if your eyes of faith remain focused on Jesus. And we will join our voices to say to Him, “Truly you are the Son of God.” As you have shared in this meditation, May Almighty God bless + you, The Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Sunday August 9^th, 2020.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

THE TOWER OF FAITH

Reflection for Saturday the 18^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A
(Habakkuk 1:12-2:4; Mt 17:14-20)

Today, we make a one day stop over at the prophetic school of Habakkuk. He is one minor prophet that many people do not know what the Book is all about. His name is rarely heard, and his book is seldom quoted. With just three chapters, you have to scroll through the contents to locate his hiding place in the Bible. The name ‘Habakkuk’ means “To embrace.” He was the one who delivered food to Daniel (Dan 14:33-39). His oracle was quoted three times in the New Testament (Rm 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38). Habakkuk’s prophecy came around the time the Babylonians were heavily against Judah, sometime during the reign of Jehoiakim.

He complained to God, cross-questioning Him about the violent injustice among the people in Judah. “You who are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wrong, why do you look on faithless men, and be silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” Habakkuk describes himself as a watchman on the tower, looking for God’s response, which would mark the deliverance of the righteous ones from the hands of wicked men. God answers that His response to all the complaints shall come. It might delay, but it will come at its time. “If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, he whose soul is not upright shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

So, we climb the tower of faith to look out for God’s deliverance from all our adversity. Faith looks into the vision of God; faith envisions God. The righteous man, surrounded by all sorts of difficulties, just as the Babylonians besieged Judah, stands on the tower of faith to look forward God’s salvation, and he begins to attend to those difficulties with the joy of salvation. Faith does not look at problems, but it contemplates the power of God, which surpasses those problems. Faith is not a ‘battle’ with the enemy, but it uploads us into the glory of God, where the enemy cannot dwell. This is the life of the righteous.

Why could the disciples not cast out the demon? Jesus said, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Yes, because nothing is impossible with God. Faith connects the believer with God, such that the prayer of faith already rejoices in the answers given, even when, like Habakkuk, we still stand on the tower of faith, envisioning God’s response. The faith itself is answer to prayer. Therefore, in faith, every demon is cast out, and every problem receives its answer. With the prophetic blessings of Habakkuk, may God strengthen your faith, and may your faith answer you, through Christ our Lord. Amen.  St Dominic, Prayer for you.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Saturday August 8^th, 2020.
Memorial of St Dominic.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

THE CROSSROAD OF THE CROSS

 Reflection for Friday of the 18^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

 (Nahum 1:15; 2;2; 3:1-3, 6-7; Mt 16:24-28)

Today, we make a ‘stop over’ at one of the Minor Prophets that are difficult to locate and rarely quoted in the Bible: Nahum. He seems to be neglected such that people rarely name their children after him. With three short chapters, covering only two and half pages, and squeezed between Micah and Habakkuk, you have to flip the pages several times before you can locate Nahum. The name ‘Nahum’ means “The consoled one.” His oracle was basically addressed against the great Assyria, which colonized many kingdoms. The capital of Assyria was Nineveh. It was a selfish City, which fed by plundering other Kingdoms. Prophet Nahum brought a message of restoration and consolation to Israel by proclaiming the destruction of Nineveh, and thus, the end of Assyrian domination.  

In the Gospel, Jesus said to His disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Listening to Jesus, we come to understand that being His disciple is the most responsible act ever, and turning down the invitation is the most irresponsible act too. Refusing to follow Jesus does not ‘save’ one from his cross. To ‘deny himself’ implies that, in approaching his responsibilities or difficult situations, a disciple does not exult his human principles or capabilities over the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, even when his human powers are at work, it is to the glory of Christ. Often times, it is not that the cross we bear is ‘too heavy’ but our ‘selfish’ self is always an obstacle in allowing the grace of our Lord Jesus to lighten our burden. Then stress and frustration surface.  Thus, by ‘losing oneself’ for the sake of Christ, the disciple finds himself in Christ Jesus. That is why Jesus added immediately, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Today, we live so selfishly like the people of Nineveh; consuming ourselves and not sparing others. A life without cross becomes the heaviest cross! How can we be Christians but not disciples? We are always at the ‘crossroad’ of the Cross; the choice to put aside selfishness and take up the enduring side of life has already been made for us by Jesus when He mounted the wood of the Cross. So, when we begin to create ‘new principles’ for running ourselves, relationship, marriage, business, etc, then we have chosen to save ourselves and be lost. But, “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?” This was how Nineveh ended in ruins during the time of prophet Nahum.

Therefore, whenever we find ourselves at the crossroads of life, faced with difficult decisions and challenging tasks, the Cross of Christ is our source of inspiration and strength. Do not expect your life to be without cross, but ask for the grace to carry it and follow Jesus. At the feet of Jesus, we surrender all. 

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Friday August 7^th, 2020.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com