How Much Does Your Faith Cost?

Homily for August 1, 2018.

_“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” *(Matthew 13:44)*_

If I were to offer you money in exchange for your Christian Faith, how much would that be? How much money would be enough just for you to denounce your relationship with Christ forever? If for instance, I offered you a million dollars just so that you can enjoy as much as you can here on earth but on the condition that you will spend eternity in hell, what would be your response?

I recall seeing a video clip on social media produced by the company known as Naij.com, a young man was asked if he would kill his parents for a hundred thousand naira and to the shock of everyone around, this young man said he would. It sounded funny, but it wasn’t at all. This young man valued money more than his very future.

Again, I saw another video not too long ago. It was actually a social test. A young man parked a very expensive car by the road and stood by the corner. He tried asking a lady out but she bluntly told him she wasn’t interested because she was engaged to someone else. He let her go while he walked towards his car. When the lady noticed he was the owner of the car, she ran back to him saying she was now interested. Another lady said she her wedding was coming up but ran after him when she noticed his car. These ladies valued money more than their relationships and future spouses.

Like these ladies and the young man above, many of us do not value our faith. When we find ourselves in such situations that we have to choose between money and God, we immediately go for the money. We are not yet fully converted unless we reach a point where all the money in the world is no longer enough to buy our faith.

If God is not a priority in your life, if you cannot afford to lose the whole world for the sake of God like the merchant who sold all his possessions just to buy a field containing a treasure (or just one fine pearl), we do not deserve to be part of that kingdom. The young man who came to Jesus desiring to inherit eternal life walked away sad because he valued his possessions more than God’s kingdom. He couldn’t imagine life for himself if he had to sell all he had and give to the poor.

I am sure the song that was on the lips of the merchant in Jesus’ parable was: “You take the whole world and give me Jesus, you take the whole world and give me Jesus, you take the whole world and give me Jesus, I am satisfied, I am satisfied.” Can I really say: “With Jesus alone, I am satisfied?” Am I willing to sacrifice all I have, all my friends and connections, all my possessions just for the sake of being part of God’s kingdom? Can I say with the psalmist today that “God is my refuge in the day of my distress?”

In the face of the persecutions Jeremiah suffered, God assures “they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you.” Do I have such firm confidence in God? Or is it the case that my bank alert gives me more confidence?

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Alphonsus Maria de’Ligori, the founder of the Order of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). He was an Italian Catholic Bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher and theologian. He was born on 27^th of September, 1696 and died on this day 1^st of August, 1787 at Pagini, in Italy.

Amongst his favourite quotes include: Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with Him, familiarly and with confidence and love, as to the dearest and most loving of friends. Your God is ever beside you - indeed, He is even within you.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to live a good life. Amen.

*Happy new month. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 17^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Jeremiah 16:10-21, Psalm 59:2-18, Matthew 13:44-46).*

The Fate of the Seeds and the Weeds.

*The Fate of the Seeds and the Weeds.*

(Homily for July 31, 2018).

_“They will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire.” *(Matthew 13:41-42)*_

In today’s Gospel passage, we see Jesus explaining the parable of the wheat and the weeds. In this parable, Jesus was not talking about non-Christians neither was he talking about anyone outside the territory of God’s kingdom.

On the day of our baptism, God admitted us into his kingdom and we now answered the name, Christian. However as time went on, satan succeeded in sowing very bad seeds into some of us and instead of bearing fruits, we became weeds (useless plants) growing within that same kingdom of God.

In all honesty, there are some Christians who are a real disgrace to the body of Christ. Not only do they fail to bear the right fruits needed, they prevent other plants from growing normally. These are the weeds that Jesus is talking about who will be gathered and thrown into the furnace of fire at the end of time.

The question we must ask ourselves today is: “Am I a weed in God’s kingdom?” Let us join Jeremiah in today’s first reading to ask for God’s mercy that we may no longer be weeds but good seed.

Today we remember St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits. Ignatius was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannonball shattered his leg.

Because there were no books of romance on hand during his convalescence (healing process in the hospital), he whiled away the time reading the life of Christ and lives of the saints. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began.

Ignatius was a true mystic. He centred his spiritual life on the essential foundations of Christianity—the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist. His spirituality is expressed in the Jesuit motto, ad majorem Dei gloriam—“for the greater glory of God.” He is the Patron of Retreats.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me to live a good life. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 17^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Jeremiah 14:17-22, Psalm 79:8-13, Matthew 13:36-43).*

Never Underestimate Little Beginnings

Homily for July 30, 2018.

_“It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. *(Matthew 13:32)*_

Just yesterday, we saw what Jesus did with the five little loaves and two little fishes. Today, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which at first is the smallest of all seeds but grows eventually into a tree capable of housing the birds of the air or like the little leaven which mixes perfectly three whole measures of flour.

What do these parables teach us? God wants us to change our understanding of “little” or “small.”

The distance between you and sainthood is just one little step in the right direction. A good act done today is like a tiny mustard seed that is sown upon the ground, or like a spoon of leaven capable of mixing a large quantity of flour.  

For instance, helping a poor little child with food this afternoon may seem like nothing but such an act is a seed. When you continue doing it, you may just become the next Mother Theresa of our time. Someone may be inspired by your action and this could become the beginning of a chain of positive actions. The child may never forget that experience and may eventually grow up to become a very generous person based on this little seed.

The first time you do something is always the hardest time. Beginnings can be very deceptive and discouraging. Hence, the parable of the mustard seed is one parable we must keep reminding ourselves of when we feel discouraged.

For instance, you have a bad habit and you become determined to replace this habit with a virtue. With this decision, the grain of mustard seed has been planted, the kingdom of God has started growing in that particular dark area of your life. At first, satan tries to snatch this seed, he gives you reasons upon reasons why it won’t work. The more you return again and again to that virtue, you become like one planting on different types of soil until you get it right.

Jesus told us that the kingdom of God begins like a mustard seed, he did not tell us how many seeds. You have to keep planting until it grows. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” said when he was told that “nine out of ten businesses do not survive their first birthday,” he became determined to start one hundred businesses in the hope of creating at least ten successful businesses.

Do not be discouraged by your failures in spiritual life. Keep planting. Keep applying your little leaven. You know, when we invert it, all these evils we see in our society today can be traced to some particular individuals. One day, one person decided to walk across the street naked and before you know it, all our young boys and girls are doing the same. What was once condemned has become the norm. If evil can spread, good which is more powerful can also spread like these wildfires happening in Greece, California and other parts of the world right now.

 In our first reading, God laments the level of moral degradation in the society. He told Jeremiah to buy a waistcloth (undies) and place it in the Euphrates in the cleft of the rock. When he placed it, it was still good but by the time he went back for it, it had become spoilt. When society places values in the wrong places, the total corruption of society as a whole is unavoidable.

Let us never be discouraged by little good acts. We may seem like small persons but we are always more powerful than we imagine.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, may I never lose hope in what is good. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 17^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Jeremiah 13:1-11, Psalm: Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 13:31-35).*

Thanksgiving Multiplies Your Little.

(Homily for July 29, 2018).

_“They gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.” *(John 6:13)*_

Last Sunday, our readings focused on the excesses of the bad shepherds and God’s judgement on those who failed woefully to care for their flock. Mark told us how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, despite his tiredness, did not send the crowds away but sat down to feed them by teaching them at length.

Our readings today are to some extent a continuation of that of last Sunday except for the fact that this time around, we are reading from the Gospel of John. Jesus, the Good Shepherd not only displays the qualities of a good leader (caring), He teaches us certain important lessons about life; gratitude, positivity, thanksgiving, sharing, management of resources, humility and Holy Eucharist.

*1. Care, Empathy and Compassion: Shining Qualities of a Good Leader.*

In the course of this last week, the top item on the news was “party defections.” If they truly cared about the common man, these politicians would simply admit their failures and resign from all public service. The good they couldn’t achieve with the broom, they wouldn’t suddenly miraculously achieve under the umbrella or with a combination of both. Did you listen to the reasons they gave for their defections? Was any mention made about the plight of the poor hungry man in the street?

In contrast, we see that Jesus, the Good shepherd thought first about the need of the people even before any of them came to complain to him. He saw the people were hungry and he knew that beyond their physical hunger was a longing for a deeper relationship with God. His ultimate aim was to feed them with his flesh (Holy Eucharist) and he began by feeding their hungry stomachs.

We see this same quality in Elisha in our first reading who ordered that a small quantity of food be used to feed a hundred men. Generosity is the essence of leadership. Show me a man who treats his servants (employees) like garbage and I will show you a man who can never be a good shepherd. A good leader is one who can feel his people’s pains. He is never removed from the ordinary situation of his people and is not selfish.

*2. Stop Complaining; Be Grateful for Little.*

The biggest thief, they say, is the ungrateful person. Too often, we only notice our lack, we feel overwhelmed by our mountains of problems, we never have enough, we just which we had more but we fail to realize there is so much power in the “little” which we ignore. Most of us are like Philip, we are very good at complaining, we know how to analyse things very well.

Do you notice how quickly Philip intelligently calculated the cost of feeding the multitude? Dear friends, there is only an extent to which intelligence can carry you. You need to step beyond the level of mathematics, into the realm where one plus one is equal one and where five plus two is equal to two hundred. On the level of intelligence, you believe the future will always resemble the past and so you panic. Mere intelligence without faith keeps you forever stuck in the complain-trap.

Andrew, unlike Philip took notice of the little boy with little loaves and little fish. He brought his “little” to Jesus thinking they meant nothing, not knowing that in truth, this little was more than enough. What is your little? What do you have? Why do you feel you need more when you already have more than enough? Have you thanked God for your little? Do you realize that what Jesus did with the little loaves and fish was to offer a prayer of thanksgiving first? John tells us: “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.” John 6:11.

Am I only focused on the cup half full? Do I only take note of my problems? How often and how well do I give thanks? Do I know the miraculous power of thanksgiving? Elkhart Tolle once said: “If the only prayer you said is ‘Thank you’ it will be enough.”

*3. Even Little Can be Broken: The Miracle of Sharing.*

The miracle of the loaves is one miracle that kept happening each time the little was broken. It was a miracle in motion. The more they broke apart, the more the loaves increased. The most common lie we tell others as well as ourselves is: “I don’t have.” We so underestimate our little to the point we begin to believe it is nothing. Until we break that little, we would never know how much it is.

Never assume, you are too small or that you can’t do much. Help one person today. Break a little from your little and watch what happens. God never asked you to end poverty in the world today. He only wants you to break a little bread for that your neighbour you saw on the street yesterday.

Recently I heard the story of a man who used to take long walks along the seashore. One morning, as he came for his walk, he noticed the sea had washed some little fishes on the sand. He knew that if the sun comes out, all those fishes would die so he took it upon himself to catch them one by one the throw back into the sea. As he did this, a passer-by came and laughed at him: “Sir, do you realize there are over a million of them out there? When are you going to finish this? No matter how many you throw back, it would still mean nothing in the end.” In response, this man picked one fish and said: “To these million fishes, I may mean nothing but to this one I am holding, I mean 100%” he picked another one and said “100%”, the next one “100%” and he continued.

As St. Paul says in today’s second reading, “walk in a manner worthy of your calling” even if you are the only one standing. Don’t follow the crowd. Your little goodness like these five loaves and two fish may appear like “nothing” but it means “everything” to five thousand hungry persons. No one is too poor or too useless in the hand of God.

*4. Wastefulness is Sinful.*

After everyone had eaten, Jesus said: “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.” John 6:12. This is very instructive, it is not God’s will that anything He gives us should be lost; in other words, wasted, left unused, thrown away or destroyed. God hates wastefulness. If your dustbin is richer than some people’s freezer, you really need to think twice. Your leftovers are not to be thrown away, they belong to other hungry persons.

There is a difference between being blessed and being wasteful. For many Nigerians, the definition of wealth is when one has enough to waste and is actually wasting it. While some cannot eat three square meals a day, some spend billions just for parties that do not last beyond a few hours.

*5. Every Miracle is a Sign; a Pointer to A Greater Reality.*

After the feeding of the multitude, the people were about to make Jesus a King. They were expecting that, henceforth, Jesus would be feeding them but that was not Jesus’ plan. He had not come to be a bread provider, a miracle worker or a food distributor, He had come for something greater; “that whosoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16. The food was just a sign; a symbol of the Eucharist.

Jesus would not allow them to worship Him on the basis of food, He withdrew from them and went into hiding. We shouldn’t seek God merely for the sake of miracles; we should seek God for His own sake. Just as Jesus withdrew from them, he withdraws from us when we reduce him to the level of bread provider, yet, this is one truth that prosperity preachers will never acknowledge. Today, our churches are filled with people who have come to ask for bread and are happy to hear messages which assure them of abundant bread (more than enough to waste), whereas in truth, Jesus did not die on the cross for the sake of bread. Jesus died that we may be saved from sin.  

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, deepen my love for you, make me a good shepherd and free me from materialism which often disguises as spirituality. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Year B. Bible Study: 2 Kings 4:42-44, Psalm 145:10-18, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 6:1-15).*

The Wheat and the Weeds: A Story of God’s Mercy.

Homily for July 28, 2018.

_“The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest...’” *(Matthew 13:28-30)*_

There is the story of a farmer who found an eagle’s egg and placed it among the chicken’s newly laid eggs. Eventually, the little eagle developed in the midst of the chicks not knowing it was different. One day, the eagle looked up at the sky and saw the giant Eagle soaring above and he said to its fellow chicks: “how I wish I can go up there” but in response, they said: “no, you can’t, you are not meant to fly.”

Dear friends, the constant challenge before us Christians is being able to realize our true potentials as wheat and distinguish ourselves from the weeds. It is not everyone who goes to the church that deserves the name “Christian.” And just as the wheat and the weeds look familiar, it is not so easy to distinguish between the genuine Christian from the nominal Christian.

It is not what we profess with our lips that matter but what we believe in our hearts. You are not what you say you are, you are not what you think you are, you are what you do! Actions speak louder than words, actions define our true character. This is the point Jeremiah clearly emphasizes in today’s first reading.

In those days, there were many persons who felt secure based on the fact that the temple was standing. They felt confident that with God’s temple, they are safe just like there are many Christians today who base their security on mere church membership. Jeremiah warns:

“Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ -- only to go on doing all these abominations?” Jeremiah 7:9-10.

Never base your relationship with God on human standard. Do not say, “so and so is doing it and they come to church, why shouldn’t I also do it.” Do not be like the eaglet accidentally placed in the midst of little chicks and grows up to believe it cannot rise above their level. Be careful about who you follow on the mere basis of ‘my church member, my church member’, you can never really tell the wheat from weeds.

Another lesson we must learn from this parable, as well as the parable of the sower, is that in the body of Christ, people are not all the same. It is very wrong to just use one blanket to cover everyone. It is very wrong to call everyone in church a weed just because all those you have met so far are weeds. Just as some are seeds among thorns, some are seeds on rocky ground, some are seeds on very good soil. And even among those on good soil, their outputs are different; some produce hundred, others sixty and some others thirty.

By the way, what is the basis for judging whether one is a weed or a wheat? Isn’t it the case that we are sometimes weed and sometimes wheat? Within us lies the power to either be true Christians or to be such as Jeremiah describes above. We have two elephants fighting seriously inside of us constantly and the one that wins is the one we feed.

Happy weekend, please as you rest today, find a few minutes to do a short act of meditation. Try to do a mental review of every activity you did throughout this week. Find out areas where you failed God and areas where you were actually a wheat. Right them down. If possible, go for confession. Set new spiritual goals for yourself and come back next week to check your list. Be a wheat, never assume you can never rise above the weeds you see all around.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, make me realize my security is not based on church or denomination but on sincere worship. Amen.

May the soul of Monsignor Paul Emonyon and the souls of all the faithful departed priests rest in peace. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 16^th week in ordinary time. Bible Study: Jeremiah 7:1-11, Psalm 84:3-11, Matthew 13:24-30).*

The Lure of Riches and the Desire for Heaven.

(Homily for July 27, 2018).

_“As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” *(Matthew 13:22)*_

Is there anything wrong with desiring the “good life” despite being a Christian? Is it a sin to be rich, wealthy and lacking nothing? After all, aren’t there so many things money can do in terms of advancing the kingdom of God? If as a Christian, I become one of the world’s richest men, wouldn’t I build churches, build hostels in seminaries and help the poor?

Dear friends, the above questions are not really for us to answer, they actually represent the thoughts and reactions of persons within the category Jesus described as seeds sown among thorns. If you have ever found yourself asking these questions and wondering where to draw the line between making riches or making God a priority in your life, then know that you are a seed among thorns. Do not feel ashamed because you are not alone.

A society like ours where leadership has woefully; where its government has failed to provide certain basics, being a Christian is like being a seed growing among thorns. When the man of God who ordinarily should direct the minds of people to repent of their sins now turns around to become the people’s economic messiah, then we should know that there is a problem.

It has even gotten to a point that the men of God in this country have formed such an alliance with politicians that we no longer know who is who. Men of God are now in government to do what the government has failed to do. Imagine Jesus Christ contesting for the office of the Governor in Nazareth!!! Or just imagine Peter and the twelve Apostles jostling for seats in the Roman House of Assembly!

What should even inform a pastor’s decision to run for the presidency if not for the fact thorns have so choked the word that he no longer realizes he belongs to a higher government above? By the way, haven’t we had pastors in power in this country recently? What impact have these men of God made?

You see, Jesus was right! The cares of the world and the lust for riches choke the word in us. This is our problem. No one can serve two masters; it is the voice of the master we respect more that we obey. On our lips, God seems to be our master but by our actions, money is our master. Religion has become just an outer garment we wear. Churches are experiencing massive expansions, people’s moral life are experiencing massive depreciations. We call ourselves Christians yet we steal money, we partake in very shady deals, we enrich corruption. The thorns are really having a better part.

To answer the question we began with, yes, there is something wrong with a Christian desiring the “good life” because in all honesty, that so-called “good life” does not really include God or rather, it doesn’t make God a priority, it tries to create a paradise here on earth and most often, achieving this “good life” involves bowing down to satan (dubious acts; stealing, lying, cheating, defrauding, wickedness, etc.)

It is true that with the power of money, churches can be built and so on, but money can never be more powerful than God who is Himself the master builder of His church. Let us stop “raising money” in God’s house and start “raising souls” instead. Let us seek first God’s kingdom and allow God to do the rest.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, help me re-order my priorities so that your word may truly bear fruits in my life. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 16^th week in ordinary time. Bible Study: Jeremiah 3:14-17, Canticle Jeremiah 31:10-13, Matthew 13:18-23).*

Saints Joachim and Anne: Models of Saintly Parenthood.

Homily for July 26, 2018.

_“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:16-17)_ 

Yesterday, we celebrated St. James the Apostle, and we noted how the mother of James brought her two sons to Jesus requesting for seats (assurance) in heaven. Today, we are celebrating the life of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even though nothing is said about Joachim and Anne in the Bible, one fact we cannot deny is that FAMILY IS IMPORTANT as far as human life is concerned.

The type of family a child is brought up goes a long way to determine the future of that child. When the family is solid, the child or children are solid. When the family is holy, the children grow up in holiness. When the family is worldly or when the parents are careless, the children are just at the mercy of God.

James and John were brought up in a God-fearing home, their mother was a prayer warrior and she acted out her prayer by coming directly to Jesus on behalf of her sons. I read somewhere that: “You can never get anywhere in life unless your mother’s prayers have gotten there already.”

Mary was the virgin that God found so pure, so holy, so strong, so generous and so humble and He decided to become flesh in her womb. Mary did not fall from heaven; she had a strong father and a prayerful mother; they both “cooked” their daughter to become blessed among all women.

Honestly, we are still a society that values male children over female children. For instance, it is only recently that a court of the land ruled to allow female children right to inheritance in Igboland. Investing in male children is considered normal but investing in female children is according to the popular saying “training a child for another person (her future husband).” From this perspective, we must praise Joachim and Anne for not neglecting their duties on the grounds that Mary was a female.

As a father or a mother, what efforts am I making to ensure my children (especially the girl-child) are as pure in heart as Blessed Virgin Mary?

Do I simply shout the hell out of my voice saying: “Do not do this, or do not do that,” without providing the necessary environment, the materials, time and friendship with my children so as to produce an overall healthy social and moral growth? Do they have spiritual instructional materials scattered around the playroom? What type of music do they listen to? Raising children is not easy but once you take serious responsibility as a father or mother, God does the rest.

Once upon a time, a little boy (about 8-10yrs) told me how he and his siblings were playing in the house one afternoon and they found a pornographic DVD carefully hidden in the most unlikely of places. It was like the feeling of Christopher Columbus upon discovering America! Dear friends, no one can give what he does not have. Don’t go complaining about your children not listening to your instructions when in fact, you do not practice what you preach! The question is: “who hid such there and why?”

Some children are being introduced to pornography directly from their parents’ phones. A child is trying to access the internet to check up a topic given in school only to discover the history pages on your phone and viola!!! Some children are even taught to steal by their parents like the case of a woman who brought her children to church and positioned them in strategic corners to pick pockets for her.

To be a parent is a blessing. To have a female daughter is a blessing. Even if all your children are girls, never for once wish for something else. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel passage: “Blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears for they hear.” Consider yourself lucky to know Jesus who was raised by a woman who happens to be raised by saintly parents.

Put your entire heart into raising your girl child; draw her close to God, teach her to pray. Who knows if your name will forever be remembered in world history because of this your female child? Be inspired by Joachim and Anne.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, grant that nothing may ever prevent me from achieving eternal life with you in paradise. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of St. James, the Apostle. Bible Study: 2nd Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalm 126:1-6, Matthew 20:20-28).*

Lessons from the Life of St. James the Apostle.

Homily for July 25, 2018.

_“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:25-26)._

As we celebrate the feast of St. James today, we are drawn to reflect on the remarkable personality of this great apostle who shared his blood for the sake of the faith. It so turned out that amongst the apostles of Jesus, James was the first to die a martyr’s death under the sword of Herod.

In the Gospel passage, we see the mother of James and John presenting her sons before Jesus to make a request: “Please permit that these two sons of mine may sit one at your left and the other at your right hand.” This is one lesson we learn from James and his brother; the fact that we must not only work and pray for our earthly needs, we must also focus our prayers on achieving heaven.

For them to bring their mother to Jesus, it shows they knew Jesus very well. They knew Jesus was close to his own mother and that Jesus never refuses whatever Mary asks. They didn’t want a “No” for an answer so they went as far as bringing their mother. Dear friends, we must be so determined to make heaven to the extent that we ask others to pray for us in other to be among those who would be found worthy of God’s eternal city.

When Jesus asked: “Can you drink of the cup? (suffering, persecution, hardship etc. that would follow), it was not the mother who responded but James and John themselves answered: “Yes we can!” This shows their faith and willingness to overcome any challenge in their ambition for heaven.

The phrase “yes we can!” was made popular not too long ago when Barrack Obama was contesting to become the first black president of America. Dear friends, nothing is impossible for the man who believes. Keep repeating the phrase “yes, I can” and new possibilities will always open for you.

Note that Jesus neither answered “yes” or “no” to their request, instead he said: “You will drink of the cup but as for seats at my right and left, they belong to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” This again is another lesson we must learn: You may be ready to do anything, even up to shedding your blood like James and John but never forget that it is not your ambition or your effort that would get you what you want, but the WILL of God.

Prayer is not a command, it is a plea, a plea that our will may align with God’s will. No matter how hard we pray, God’s will always prevail. This is the lesson we learn from Jesus’ response to James and John.

Finally as St. Paul says in the first reading, let nothing discourage you. Not even the fact that your prayers are not granted for “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

At the end of the day, the other disciples became indignant with James and John for coming out openly to express their ambition for heaven. It became an occasion for Jesus to teach them about servant leadership. We must never be like the pagans when we are placed in charge of others. Never boss over people; the greater you become, the humbler you should be. There is more glory in serving than in being served.

James eventually drank the cup. He died a martyr for the sake of the Gospel. As to whether he got the seat in heaven, we shall find out when we eventually get there. Nevertheless, in the meantime, let us ask for his intercession and learn from his determination and zeal to achieve heaven. Let us make heaven a priority.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, grant that nothing may ever prevent me from achieving eternal life with you in paradise. Amen.

*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of St. James, the Apostle. Bible Study: 2nd Corinthians 4:7-15, Psalm 126:1-6, Matthew 20:20-28).*