What is the Whole Essence of Celebrating Easter?

Homily for Easter Vigil Mass, March 31, 2018.

“Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here.” Mark 16:6 

I had the chance of listening to a man on radio last week saying it is wrong to celebrate Easter. He argued that the word “Easter” comes from the name of a certain goddess called “Ish Tar” who had the shape of an egg and so on and so on. I laughed because all my life I have been celebrating Easter but have never for once heard about this neither have I ever done any form of homage to her. Jesus has always been the focus of Easter.

For over 40days now, we have fasted, we have prayed, we gave alms, we partook of the stations, we kissed the cross, we have so far tried to draw close to Jesus as much as possible, why should someone now get up and begin to talk about goddess? I mean, does the name “Easter” even matter? You see, the point behind all these is that we can actually miss the point! Yes, we could become so involved with liturgical accuracy, historical jingoism, Biblical scholasticism, just name it, that we end up like the women looking for Jesus in an empty tomb.

Dear friends, what matters is not how many days Jesus spent in the tomb, it’s not whether or not God said we should celebrate this Feast, it doesn’t even matter what name we call it; whether Passover, Resurrection, Sabbath or Easter. No, no, no! What matters is what becomes of our lives henceforth after having heard all these readings and participated of all these activities since that blessed Valentine’s Day that so happened to be Ash Wednesday. So, what exactly has happened to us in all of these? What has changed about us? St. Paul answers in today’s Epistle:

“We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again… So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:9-11. That is it! That is why we are here. The whole essence of Easter is how we can put sin away from our lives. All these readings, all these many prayers, all these singing, all these movements; everything we have been doing comes down to just one point: SIN.

Easter is not about eggs. When we celebrate Easter, we are celebrating our death to sin and our new life in Christ Jesus. That is why we do baptism on Easter Night. Watching these catechumens wearing white coming forward to receive baptism reminds us of what our life should be; white, spotless, pure as the seventh psalm sings. We ought to be moved to tears watching them make their profession of faith, (renouncing Satan, his empty works and promises) when we look at our own lives and see how we have failed.

Sin is the one word that connects all our readings today. In the beginning when God created the world, he saw that everything was good. Sin spoilt it all. God chose Abraham and from him began a race to which we are members by virtue of our faith. This new race was supposed to be in covenant with God; living above sin to be a light (example) to the rest of mankind but then, this people kept falling back again and again into sin. Even when God saved them from Egypt by mighty works of valour, this people seemed to trust sin more than God.

God did not give up on them; he sent the Prophets all of them with just one message: WALK AWAY FROM SIN AND EMBRACE TRUE LIFE. Yet, they remained hardened. Isaiah speaks of God as the beloved husband wanting to give water, money and comfort to a wife (we) who is lost, hungry and penniless but as Baruch puts it, this woman does not understand, she doesn’t want to accept wisdom, she despises the law. Ezekiel delivers God’s message: the voice of the husband saying: Come back to me; I will sprinkle clean water upon you, I will cleanse you from you dirt; your love for sin; I will change your heart; I will be your God and you my people.

Dear friends, the summary of our celebration this night is simple: Die to sin. I don’t want to know the meaning of Easter but I will continue to celebrate it so long as it makes me hate my sins; die to my sins; love God and live according to his commands.

Jesus is Risen; rise with him, rise from immorality, rise from impurity, rise from bad habits, from everything and anything that is foul, polluted and deadly. Jesus rose two thousand years ago, Jesus is not rising again tonight; we are the ones rising from the death of our sinfulness; our celebration only becomes real when we leave our graves.

Become a changed person. Rise from evil, rise from corruption, rise from wickedness, rise from unforgiveness, rise from hatred, rise from lust, rise from greed. Arise! Arise!! Arise!!!

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, create in me a pure heart. May my life from now on be new and different, strengthen me in the battle against sin. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Easter Vigil. Year B. Bible Study:Gen.1:1-2:2, Gen.22:1-28, Ex.14:15-15:1, Isa.54:5-14, Isa.55:1-11, Bar.3:9-15, 32-4:4, Ez.36:16-28, Rom.6:3-11 and Mark 16:1-7).

Do As I Do, Says Jesus Christ.

Homily for Evening Mass, March 29, 2018.

“For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” John 13:15

Our liturgy this evening is packed full with so many symbols that it barely needs any homily. I would simply invite us to watch carefully and allow the events speak to the innermost depths of our hearts.

Actually, today is a very special day, it is a day that connects both the Old and the New Testament. Today is Passover day. As contained in today’s first reading, God gave the people of Israel instructions regarding the Passover. Every family was to gather to eat a lamb whose blood will be sprinkled on the door posts of their house. They were to eat the flesh that night roasted with unleavened bread, loins girded; sandals on their feet and in haste.

The whole essence of the Passover is contained in that line: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you.” Exodus 12:13. Jesus Christ also partook of this Passover meal but on this particular occasion, a night before he was arrested, he replaced the Old Sacrifice with the New; he offered his very body and blood in place of the lamb.

If the blood of ordinary lambs could save the Israelites that night from the death of their first born sons, how much more is the blood of Jesus capable of saving and redeeming us from all that enslaves us, oppresses us and destroys us.

This night, we shall not all eat the Passover meal (the body and blood of Jesus Christ), we shall spend time to adore Jesus. I beg you, please during adoration, take your time to Thank Jesus for this great gift of himself; thank Jesus for paying the ultimate price for us and for making himself available to us in the form of bread and wine.

Honestly, if I was Jesus, I will be jumping out of the ciborium to slap and knock those who treat me badly; people who do not believe in my real presence or people who receive me when not in the state of grace. Don’t you think Jesus is just too humble? The truth is that it is me who is too proud; it is me who needs to seriously learn from Jesus’ humility.

The humility of Jesus in Holy Communion is further buttressed in Jesus’ act of humility at the Last Supper; how he brought himself to the level of slave by washing the feet of his disciples. As you watch your priest washing people’s feet, try to look beyond the person of the priest; try to see Jesus as the one washing your very feet despite all your sins, despite your past, your unworthiness, your worthlessness. Jesus, wash my feet? No way. Who am I? But Jesus is doing the washing all the same.

Even in my imagination, I wish I can just kneel down, carry water, ask Jesus to sit down let me wash his feet instead but then it dawns on me that Jesus is only washing my feet so that I took can wash his feet in the poor, the homeless, those who offend me, those who do not measure up to my standards in life, those who are nothing and good for nothing. If I can recognize Jesus in such persons, I must start washing their feet today.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, deepen my gratitude for you ultimate gift and grant that I may be z gift to others especially the poor and needy. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Holy Thursday Evening mass of the Lord’s Supper. Bible Study: Exodus 12:1-14, 1^st Corinthians 11:23-26 and John 13:1-15).

Do not Deny Christ For the Sake of Riches.

Homily for March 28, 2018.

“What will you give me if I deliver him to you?’ And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.” Matthew 26:15-16.

It is one thing to recognise the sin of Judas Iscariot but it is more important to examine how we often commit the same sin of Judas in our own lives every day. There are two ways we betray Jesus today; one making money by taking advantage of our knowledge of /closeness to Jesus and secondly by denying our knowledge of Jesus in the name of money.

Do you remember a man called Gehazi in the Old Testament? He could rightly fit into the title of the Judas Iscariot of the Old Testament. Gehazi was the servant of Elisha. In the second book of Kings, we read of how Naaman the Syrian was cured of leprosy by God after bathing seven times in the Jordan river following the instructions of Elisha the prophet.

To prove to Naaman that it was God who cured him, Elisha refused to accept any gifts from Naaman. “’As the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will receive none.’ And he urged him to take it, but he refused. Then Naaman said, ‘If not, I pray you, let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for henceforth your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD.’” 2 Kings 5:16-17 

In verse 22, we read of how Gehazi went after Naaman and lied in the name of Elisha saying “My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; pray, give them a talent of silver and two festal garments.’”

Gehazi couldn’t withstand how a rich man of Naaman’s calibre would just come to church and receive healing without dropping a dime as thanksgiving. In the end, for telling lies to obtain wealth by association with the man of God, God blessed him with the same leprosy that Naaman washed off.

Peter refused to accept money from Simon the magician who wanted to buy the ability to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit. (Read more in Acts 8:9-20). Today, everything is for sale in the church! Even the very message we claim comes from God is recorded and sold in various formats. Inspired music is for sale. Just name it…

We ask people to give tithes, seeds and offerings to God yet we use church money to establish businesses in our own name such that the church itself does not benefit from such businesses but our personal pockets. We literally sell God. We are no better than Judas.

On the other hand, when we deny our knowledge of Jesus by going against our conscience, committing sin for the sake of making money, we also fall into the category of Judas. If making money for you entails having to make people suffer or even lose their lives, yet you claim to be a Christian, you are betraying Jesus for money.

Recently, I saw a short drama of a business man who wanted to obtain NAFDAC approval for a drug he imported into the country. He was asked to wait for six months for the drug to be tested but he said he couldn’t afford to wait for so long. He was hoping he would be asked to pay a bribe but the only bribe demanded from him was that he himself would have to take the drug for three days under doctor’s supervision. Immediately, he took to his heels.

Dear friends, it is easy to condemn Judas Iscariot but the truth is that money is a god struggling for my worship and the truth is that I cannot serve two masters. Matthew 6:24. I better examine my conscience today and repent lest I end up like Judas.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, free me from greed that I may serve you alone and not money. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the Holy Week. Bible Study: Isaiah 50:4-9 and Matthew 26:14-25).

Jesus Knows Everything.

Homily for March 27, 2018.

“So, after receiving the morsel, he immediately went out; and it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified.” John 13:30-31 

One thing that is so clear from today’s Gospel passage is that there is nothing we can hide from God. Not only did Jesus predict the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, he also predicted that Peter would deny him three times.

One might ask, if Jesus knew these would happen, why do they still deserve blame? By mentioning it at all, Jesus was giving the last chance to Judas Iscariot to repent. Perhaps by openly telling them that one of them would betray him, Judas should have thought twice about it.

However, Judas joined in the chorus of denial. He also asked: “Is it I, Master?” Dear friends, this is not something unique to Judas, when we make up our minds to do something evil, we continue living in denial until we have done it.

You are about to leave the house to attend a friend’s party and yet you are asked, “Where are you going?” You tell a white lie that you are going to the Church to attend Holy Week Choir practice and you further qualify the lie by saying the practice might last till late in the night since there are so many activities for Holy Week. Unknown to you, your mum who is asking you where you are going was also invited.

We are told that as soon as Judas ate the morsel of bread, satan entered him. When God gives us a chance to repent and we ignore God, determined to proceed with evil, satan takes over. We reach a point of no-return! Just as satan entered Cain after God had warned him to control his anger but he refused and went ahead to murder Abel.

Jesus knowing fully well what would happen is not depressed at Judas’ decision to proceed with betrayal instead he speaks of glory. If I knew my best friend was about to betray me, would I be thinking of glory or of possible revenge? Will I be happy or sad? Jesus was able to talk about glory because his mind was fixed on the final end – the joy of heaven.

When we fix our mind on our final destination, heaven, we can afford to overlook petty insults and betrayal. It is easier to forgive when we know that we are going to a place where a record of past hurts is totally unnecessary.

Dear friends, God knows everything. He knows the innermost thoughts of our hearts but each moment, he keeps giving us chance to repent; to change our mind; to decide to do good instead of evil.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may I never be susceptible to satan’s suggestions. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the Holy Week. Bible Study: Isaiah 49:1-6 and John 13:21-38).

Be a Person of Integrity: Stop trying to fight the Truth.

Homily for March 26, 2018.

“This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.” John 12:6.

It is very easy to lie to people, to give a false impression of yourself, to make people believe things that are not true but this is not what we are called to be as children of God. The life of Judas Iscariot as recorded in the Bible teaches us to be people of integrity because no matter how we try, the truth will eventually be known.

While the Gospel of Mark does not mention the name of the woman who anointed Jesus with an expensive ointment, John’s Gospel tells us that this woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead. Again Mark did not mention how she used her hair as a rag to wipe the feet of Jesus but John gives a more vivid description of what took place.

Now what does this tell us? While Mark was reporting what he heard from Peter (Mark was not one of the twelve disciples but he was the first to write a Gospel and he got his material orally from Peter’s sermons as they went from place to place preaching), John on the other hand was one of the twelve. He was there when everything happened.

Hence John was able to tell us that it was Judas Iscariot himself who made the comment about Mary wasting the ointment that could have been sold and used for charity. Listening to Judas, one would immediately get the impression that he was a man that actually cared for the poor; a good man; a philanthropist. However, as John tells us, he was a thief and he used to help himself with money that was under his care.

Now the question is: “who was Judas Iscariot trying to deceive?”

Dear friend, learn from Judas to be a man or woman of integrity. Life shouldn’t be all about making impressions about yourself. Don’t just be seen to be holy. Be Holy. Be a person of integrity. Speak the truth and live out the truth. Don’t pretend to be an advocate for the poor when in fact, you only use the poor to enrich yourself.

On the other hand, there were some persons planning to kill Lazarus who had just been raised from the dead since on account of him, many Jews were coming to believe in Jesus. They could not just stand the truth that Jesus was really the Messiah, the one who has power over death and life. Instead of embracing the truth, they were planning to kill the innocent man.

Two things happen when we try to fight the truth. One, we remain forever frustrated because we can never succeed in removing the truth. Secondly, by fighting the truth, we block our chance of receiving healing, renewal and salvation.

We do not know whether the Chief priests succeeded in killing Lazarus but tell me, weren’t they trying to prevent a handful of Jews from believing in Jesus? Today, two thousand and eighteen years later, billons of people continue to believe in Jesus. We can never fight truth. We may succeed in destroying the evidence, we may succeed in eliminating people but truth can never die.

Stop giving a false impression to the whole world; face the truth, admit your errors, be humble enough to accept you are wrong and ask for help. Stop forming Mr or Mrs Perfect when you know you are something else behind closed doors. So long as a sick patient refuses to visit the hospital, no doctor will be able to help him or her. We are not what we say we are, rather we are what we do.

Imagine if Judas had simply admitted his love for money to Jesus Christ as well as to all the other disciples. Don’t you think he would have been healed? Could Jesus who raised a man from the dead not have been powerful enough to cure Judas from his greed and materialism?

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, heal me O Lord from all forms of self-deception. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the Holy Week. Bible Study: Isaiah 42:1-7 and John 12:1-11).

The Passion of Jesus Christ Tells the Human Story.

Homily for March 25, 2018.

“The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Isaiah 50:5-6. 

The best way to read the Bible and indeed the only way to read the Bible is to read ourselves into it, putting ourselves in the shoes of the characters within the Biblical stories thereby making the Bible become our examination of conscience. When we try to place ourselves in the characters of today’s Passion Narrative, we cannot but see how real the story becomes and how it contains so many lessons for us even today.

Our people say that it is the rat inside the house that goes to inform other rats outside that there is food in the house. The enemy outside cannot succeed without the permission or cooperation of the enemy inside. Again, in pidgin, there is the saying: “na who know man nai dey kill am.” All these boils down to the person of Judas Iscariot. But wait, before you begin to judge him, why not ask: “Haven’t I betrayed my close friends in the past?” “Don’t I sit down to gossip about people very close to me using the secrets I know about them against them?”

Our people also say: “Money talks, bullshit walks.” What was Judas’ motivation for selling Jesus? Money. The love of money is no doubt the root of all evils. 1^st Timothy 6:10. Money by itself is good but the love of money is very bad. The greatest commandment and indeed the summary of all the commandments is to Love God and our neighbour as ourselves. Mark 12:30-31. Our love for money should never greater than our love for God and neighbour otherwise we would do worse than Judas Iscariot.

Always remember that on the day of your birth, you brought nothing to this world and the day you die, you would take nothing with you. Let this thought never leave your heart. all your efforts to grab, accumulate and possess which sometimes lead you to fight others, keep malice, insult or keep enemies are useless because in the end, you will have to watch and see how every dime you have will go away. Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. How much of that money did he spend?

Learn from the woman who anointed Jesus with a very expensive ointment. She represents those who give their very best to God; choristers who sing for free every Sunday not minding the huge sacrifices they make to practice; men and women who give themselves to the work of God serving in various capacities, contributing their quota for the church to grow and so on. Of course, they never find it easy, like this woman, you will be ridiculed for wasting, insulted and called names but don’t stop because nothing shall go with you on the day you die. Someone once visited the seminary and upon seeing a crop of handsome, young, intelligent and energetic men willing to offer their lives as priests, she exclaimed: “What a waste!”

Jesus gave us his very body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. This was the height of his generosity. Why am I so stingy with things that I didn’t even bring to this world in the first place? If after reading today’s Passion Narrative, I still find it difficult to give and share with the poor, it means something is wrong with me. Jesus not only gave, he taught us how to live. Because he gave of himself, he would every ground to judge us at the end of our lives for refusing to give. “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Matthew 25:41-43.

Jesus took the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray but instead, they started sleeping. How deep and serious is my prayer life? Am I able to watch for one hour with Jesus every day? By the way see how Jesus prayed: “Abba Father … remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Mark 14:36. Doesn’t this teach me how to pray? Why do I try to command God in my prayer? Wouldn’t it be nice if I add this clause whenever I make a request of God; to do not as I will but as He wills instead?

When our prayer life is weak, we cannot withstand the enemy. Like the disciples who ran away at the arrest of Jesus, we flee from the devil out of fear. We become so scared that we even deny Jesus like Peter who denied Jesus after boasting. This week is called holy. Use this week to the fullest that it may become for you a call to a deeper prayer life. The richer our prayer life becomes, the more we live above sin, above evil and above fear.

Pilate knew Jesus was innocent “for he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.” Mark 15:10. But just like you and me, he was more afraid of the crowd than the truth. He acted against his conscience to please the crowd and to secure his job. If I was Pilate, what would I have done differently?

In conclusion, the Passion Narrative teaches us a lot about ourselves. The bitter truth is humanity has not changed at all since the time of Jesus. We are still ruled by money, we still betray one another, we are still stingy, we do not pray well, and we often act to please the crowd, in short we are often crowd people, we do things not because it is right but because everyone is doing it. Like I once noted, if Jesus were to come back again as man, we would still kill him again. Do not repeat history. Change today. Become a better person.

 

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, free me from the love of money and the desire to please people. Increase my love and devotion to you especially during this holy week. Amen.

Happy Palm Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Palm Sunday. Year B. Bible Study: Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11 and Mark 14:1-15:47).

There is Enough Room for Every Star to Shine.

Homily for March 24, 2018.

“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on thus, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” John 11:47-48. 

The chief priests and the Pharisees upon hearing the report of many Jews who had come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah felt greatly threatened.

What was their fear? They feared that if everyone comes to believe in Jesus as the Messiah; the Son of God; the King of the Universe, people will no longer show allegiance to the Roman authorities anymore. This fear is concretely summed up in John 19:12 “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend; everyone who makes himself a king sets himself against Caesar.”

What was their solution? They held a meeting among themselves and concluded that it was necessary for Jesus to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed. The chief priests and the Pharisees knew the Romans would not take lightly the news of a rival king in Isreal and they wanted peace so the only solution they could think of was to kill Jesus.

They did not realize that the Kingship of Jesus was not of this world. Like Herod who killed all the male children born at the time of Jesus, the chief priests and Pharisees conspired to spill blood out of unfounded fear.

How effective was their solution? The year 70AD is one the Jews would not forget in a hurry. It was the year the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and to this day, that temple has not been rebuilt. In other words, even after killing Jesus, the Romans still destroyed their holy place and their nation.

Dear friends, what lesson do we learn from this? Do you sometimes feel threatened by the progress and success of others? How do you react when you hear news of people in your field of expertise doing far better than you?

There is enough room for every star in the universe to shine. Killing others out of fear or jealousy will not create more room for you to shine neither will it prevent your fears from coming to pass. There is no need for us to make enemies in this world.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to love others as you loved us and gave your life for our sake. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 5^th Week of Lent. Bible Study: Ezekiel 37:21-28 and John 11:45-56).

Keeping God’s Word brings Everlasting Life.

Homily for March 22, 2018.

“You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” John 8:57-58. 

If someone were to advertise a certain lotion to you saying that this is the lotion of life and that if you apply it on your body, you will never die again, I am sure you will be more than happy to buy it regardless of the price.

That lotion is available; it is the word of God. Jesus tells us today that “if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” John 8:51. In this way, Jesus re-echoes what he earlier said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever.” John 6:51.

Of course, in both instances, the Jews did not believe him and we cannot blame them too much because they had nothing to prove the Divinity of Jesus. However for us who have the privilege of living in this age and time who have come to know that Jesus is truly God, we would have ourselves to blame seriously if we also do not believe.

In the course of his interaction with the Jews, Jesus said: “Before Abraham was, I am.” Just as God revealed himself to Moses as “I Am” in Exodus 3:14, Jesus was simply telling them: “I am God.” By saying “I am” instead of “I was” Jesus meant to say He always is and will be forever.

The Jews who had not seen the resurrection just couldn’t take it; they picked up stones to throw at him. The reaction of the Jews is a reflection of how we sometimes react to the truth. Instead of embracing it, we try very hard to fight it.

Abraham did not react this way when God entered into a covenant with him. Even though he did not see God face to face, he accepted God’s word as truth. He believed everything God said to him. Even without having a child yet, he accepted the change of name from Abram (which means ‘exalted father’) to Abraham (which means ‘father of multitude’).

Unlike the Jews, Abraham believed the impossible and did the unthinkable. No wonder Jesus said Abraham is not their father.

Dear friends, the questions for us today are: Do I really believe Jesus is God or is it the case that I am still doubting like the Jews? Do I believe that by keeping the words of Jesus, I will live forever?” And since I desire to live forever, what stops me from keeping the words of Jesus? Why am I constantly disobeying the word of God by committing sin?

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, bless me with the kind of faith Abraham had. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 5^th Week of Lent. Bible Study: Genesis 17:3-9 and John 8:51-59).*

Fr. Abu.

True Freedom is Living Above Fear.

(Homily for March 21, 2018).

For some days now, our Gospel passages have been rather dramatic. Jesus is not having it easy with the Jews and they are prepared for a show down with him. One by one they present to him the issues for which they feel he deserves to die. Jesus responds to them trying to make them see reasons why they should accept him.

As we read in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus said to them: “If God were your father, you would love me… for I came not of my own accord but he sent me.”

Since Jesus knew he came to this world to die, why did he still try to talk sense to them? Why didn’t he just say: “Alright, come and kill me, I am ready to die?” This shows that so long as one is fully human, love for life is one’s greatest instinct. No matter how painful life on earth may be, no normal human being wants to die.

Jesus, in his fully human nature tried to preserve his life to the best of his ability. His death was not suicide. Even Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego did not want to die, they too loved their lives.

However, there is an extent to which our natural love for life becomes a form of captivity. That is, we could actually become SLAVES of evil, SLAVES of fear, SLAVES of other gods all because of our instinct for self-preservation.

Just as slaves follow the command of their master, we could find ourselves following the people of the world out of fear. Unlike Shedrach, Meshach and Abegnego we bow to the gods of flesh, we bow to the gods of money, we bow to the gods of power and so on.

Jesus says it all: “Truly, Truly, anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” True freedom is living above fear. True freedom is being able to do what is right at all times regardless of what anyone would think or say. True freedom is to be prepared to die if that is what is needed to do the right thing.

The words of Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego are words of people who have found true freedom:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18.

About those who will enter heaven, the book of Revelation states clearly: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES EVEN UNTO DEATH.” Revelation 12, 11. 

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, let not my love for life enslave me to sin. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 5^th Week of Lent. Bible Study: Daniel 3:14-28 and John 8:31-42).