Homily For Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 16th June 2024

 

Reading: Ezek. 17:22-24; Ps.92; 2Cor 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF GOD’S KINGDOM

 

Using simple stories and parables to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson is one of the characteristics of Jesus in the Scriptures especially when addressing the people regarding very important things. So, by couching his teaching in parables, Jesus made certain points much clearer to his audience. This is evident in our Gospel passage today where he told us the parable of the mustard seed and used it to describe the nature of God’s kingdom which he came to establish in the hearts of humanity.

 

In this parable, Jesus said to the crowd:  “A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how he does not know”. Then he continued, “What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade”. In a similar way we heard the Lord in our first reading saying: “From the top of the cedar, from the highest branch I will take a shoot and plant it myself on a very high mountain. Every kind of bird will live beneath it, every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches”

 

Here, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed growing from the Word of God spoken to the hearts of his few disciples which will grow and spread to the hearts of all humanity. This analogy focuses on the size of the seed that grows to become a mighty tree that gives shelter and salvation to all. Here also, Jesus is not just speaking of the size of the mustard seed, but the size of the faith of the people as that of a mustard seed. Telling us that just as the mustard seed responds to the word of God and grows into a mighty tree, so will the faith of the people grow into great vessels through hearing the word and doing the will of God.

 

More so, this analogy of the mustard seed symbolizes the humble beginnings of the Christian faith which is well watered by the Holy Spirit to grow and give life and hospitality to all the people of the world. However, God has given humanity the freedom to choose whether to hear his word and embrace the faith so as to bear the fruits of the kingdom or to reject it and perish. For God knows that there are many bad seeds present in this world to deceive people from listening to his word, seeds such as fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, unforgiveness and all others of sinful actions.

 

Those who embrace these bad seeds follow the dictates of their hardened hearts and will soon be thrown away as good for nothing because they have not listened to God’s words. Hence, we can hear St. Paul telling us in our second reading that whether we are living according to the will of God in the body or exiled from it, we must make it our highest priority to please God. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and each of us will get what he or she deserves for the things done in the body, good or bad.

 

Dear Friends, what is your understanding of the Kingdom of God? How best can you explain to people about the Kingdom of God? Today we are told that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which is different from every other seed because of its unique nature. So we can model our life and faith like that of mustard seed. No doubt that in our world today, we have different kinds of seeds good and bad. But the question remains, what kind of seeds are we embracing and watering in our lives today?  So, are we watering the valuable mustard seeds of faith and love or weeds of fear, regrets, doubt, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, greediness, lying, gossip, impurity, wickedness, unforgiveness and all kinds of sinful deeds that will destroy us?

 

Remember, whatever healthy seed you water grows and the seed you quit watering will eventually die and go away.  So, today we are called to quit watering these weeds because that's what the enemies want and we must not fall into their traps. Rather we are called to water those valuable mustard seeds of faith, love, holiness, hospitality, obedience, and charity and make them our values of life. When we feed and water such values, we will grow stronger like the mustard tree where people may find solace and so build up God’s kingdom.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, as you sow the seeds of your word in our hearts today, give us the grace to water and grow it into the mustard tree of faith, love, holiness and hospitality that will usher us into your kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Happy Sunday and do have a fruitful week ahead.

Homily For Saturday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 15th June, 2024

 

Readings: 1Kings 19:19-21; Ps. 16; Matt. 5:33-37

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Onyia

 

WHY DO WE FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SAY “YES” OR “NO” WHEN WE MEAN IT?

 

I swear to say the truth nothing but the truth is the word we often hear people say in the courts, in the streets, in the market places and even in the Church to express and affirm what they want to do or what they want to say. But I wonder why we don’t really mean what we say or fulfil what we promised.

 

This very ugly attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel reading today, when he said: do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’

 

Here, Jesus is referring to the ceremonious way in which the Pharisees took oaths. It was one of the things in the culture of their time. That is, people swear oaths with impressive-sounding words before the congregations without fulfilling them.

 

But what are the words of these oaths anyway? They were forms of words designed to impress people. They were not indications that the person swearing the oath had any power over the things that the oath mentioned. It was just using words to impress and so gain the acceptance of things in relation to the oath, when in fact this is completely fraudulent because the persons taking the oath, do not intend to keep the promises or commitments that they were confirming by taking that oath. They were just fooling the people. And Jesus is saying in essence, that we should not let this foolery ever be part of us because it is hypocrisy and Jesus is against hypocrisy in all its forms, especially when it has to do with taking the name of God in vain.

 

To take the name of God in vain means to invoke His name unnecessarily or profanely, to use it without humbly acknowledging the holy character of the One whose name we are invoking. To invoke the name of God in an oath or vow when our statement is false, inconsequential or when we do not intend to honour our words is a direct violation of the third commandment of God. Therefore, the issue Jesus is addressing here goes to the very core of our character as Christians, to the heart of what it means to live as a child of God, especially in a society like ours, where deception and falsehood are the order of the day.

 

Dear friends, Jesus calls us today to be sincere in everything we do or say. That is why he commanded us not to swear an oath, rather we should say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no, so as not to become hypocrites and liars. Let us learn to be sincere, and courageous and stand for what is right.  This wonderful attitude is what we see in the life of Elisha in our first reading today for when Elijah threw his cloak over him. Elisha left his oxen and ran after him and sincerely became his servant. He did not pretend rather he courageously followed Elijah.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, give us the courage and a firm faith to say no when we mean no, and yes when we mean yes, and by so doing, change our society positively through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a peaceful weekend.

Homily For Friday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 14th June 2024

 

Reading: Kings 19:9.11-16; Ps. 27; Matt.

5:27-32

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN SEXUALITY IN THE LIGHT OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT 

There is no doubt that humanity has lost the dignity of the gift of human sexuality as a result of our sexual irresponsibility at different stages of human development. Human sexuality as we know encompasses all the physical and integral attributes of our sexual identity as male or female. It includes all our thinking, feeling, acting and interaction that emanate from our maleness and femaleness. 

It is a very important aspect of humanity that must not be neglected. Because it enriches human relationships in ways that are basic to God's nature and plans as it offers humanity the grace to participate in the works of creation in partnership with God. Little wonder, sexuality is one of the first human attributes to be identified when scriptures say in Gen.1:27: God created man in his image… Male and female God created them. 

So as a result of this great privilege in relation to human sexuality and procreation, humanity is to be truly responsible with the gift of their sexuality. This responsibility is guided by two fundamental principles that is, love and covenant. Hence, any intimate expression of sexuality especially in form of sexual intercourse, which is the most bonding of all human relationships, must be guided by these two fundamental principles of love and covenant in a marital act. 

Therefore to emphasize the importance of this sexual responsibility, the sixth commandment of God states that thou shall not commit adultery. This reveals to us that God wants us to live chastely, justly and charitable in our relationships with one another and this is exactly what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today.

Here, Jesus emphasized that this sixth commandment forbids not only the acts of adultery and fornication but all appetites to them, all lusting after sexual objects, for this is the beginning of the sin. The lust of conceiving it is a bad step towards the sin, for as far as the heart can do it, there is nothing but a convenient opportunity for the sin itself to be carried out. 

So all approaches toward the gratification of this sexual appetite such as: touching and feeding the eye with the sight of it where further satisfaction can be obtained are forbidden. Because such looks and behaviour are very dangerous and destructive to the soul Jesus said that it is better to lose the eye or the hand than to give way to this sin and perish eternally for it. 

Dear friends, today there are so many things that are leading us into this sin and we are so much attached to them because the world has sexualized almost everything around us. The television, the social media, the internet, the music, movies, cartoons, and even our social and religious activities are corrupted by these sexualization motives which drive or tempt us to commit the sins of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism and masturbation. Because we have lost control of our responsibility towards our sexuality, which of course is the cause of the increase in rape, incest, divorce and all forms of gender transformation going on in our society today.

The main point here is for us not to indulge in sins that will ruin our souls. Rather we should strive for perfection, by living a life of mortification and keeping a constant watch over our hearts against the rising of lust and corruption in and out of our conscience, by avoiding the occasions of sin as much as we can, by resisting it from the beginning and reject the company of those and things that expose us to this sin. Anything at all that leads us to this sin must be cut off in our lives and environment, if not we will keep on falling into it. It is a radical decision we must make today no matter who is involved and the cost or sacrifice that may be required.

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, our human sexuality is your great gift to humanity, give us the grace to be responsible with our sexuality, especially in this time when the world has lost the true meaning and value of human sexuality, and as a result so many lives and families are being destroyed, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. God bless you.

Homily For Thursday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 13th June, 2024. The Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua

 Reading: 1 Kings 18:41-46; Ps. 65; Matt.5:20-26

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike  Onyia

 

LIVING AN AUTHENTIC VIRTUOUS LIFE

 

Most of the time, we often find it difficult to understand the way God operates, especially as regards his relationship with humanity. This is because humanity has failed to understand how God’s mercy and justice are applicable in our relationship with him and with one another. Hence, Jesus in our Gospel passage today, calls us to a deeper virtue, when he said to his disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven.

 

This is because the Scribes and the Pharisees always enforced a strict interpretation and obedience to the Law, its rules and regulations, and yet, failed to truly practice nor understand and appreciate that the Law of God is meant to lead God’s people to him and to teach them to practice love in their lives.

 

Thus, we ought to be faithful and follow the Lord more faithfully than the Scribes and Pharisees for their religious piety is mainly superficial because their practising of the laws does not truly come from their heart. Their actions and obedience to the Law are motivated by what they want to gain in order to sustain their pride and desire for worldly glory and praise.

 

So, we should not be like them, we should rather get rid of our pride and excess desires for honorific positions. We should strive to deepen our virtue towards righteous deeds. We must become agents of peace and reconciliation. We must be symbols of God’s mercy and justice in a world full of corruption and greed, Just like Elijah showed to Ahab in our first reading today when he said: Go and say to Ahab, “Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops you. This is because Elijah had said to Ahab that there would be no rain for years until he said so.

 

Dear friends, we are called today to embrace the virtue of humility and readiness to reconcile with those who have offered us, knowing that the mercy and justice of God regulate all things. We have to be vigilant always and strive to be righteous before God and man. Today, we must be ready to make a fundamental choice to live a holy life and never to return to our sinful ways of life.

 

This is the attitude and disposition of St. Anthony of Padua whose memorial we celebrate today. For he made us know that we can prove we are God’s servants by our courage, patience, holiness and kindness; though looking most miserable and poor, yet we make others rich, and even when it appears we have nothing, yet we have everything in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, we must struggle every day to grow in righteousness and never give up no matter the situation we are passing through now. We should strive every day to remain faithful to God’s commandment of love and peace. 

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle every day towards holiness and perfection, may we through the intercession of St Anthony of Padua be guided by the Holy Spirit and strive to remain towards the path of righteousness and ever to go back to our sinful and ugly ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.

Homily For Wednesday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 12th June, 2024

 

Reading: 1Kings 18:20-39; Ps. 16; Matt. 5:17-19

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

ARE YOU BREAKING THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND TEACHING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME?

 

Today, Jesus reminds us that he did not come on earth to abolish what had already been revealed but rather to fulfil them. He came into the world in order to reveal to humanity what true Law really means and to purify the Law to its original meaning and purpose, which has been corrupted through human manipulations. He came to fulfil the entire Law and not to destroy it, contrary to what the scribes and Pharisees accused and think about him.

 

This same notion was critical for Jewish converts in the early Church and also to some people in our own time. The response of Jesus is still very relevant for us today, especially when he speaks of "fulfilling" rather than "abolishing" the law of the prophets as we have it in our Gospel passage today and he added that: “the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven, but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Here, Jesus points out that keeping and teaching the commandments of God is the sure way to achieving greatness not just here on earth but also in heaven. This is exactly what we see in the life of Elijah in our first reading today, who decided not just to keep the laws and commandments of God, but to teach the people who have abandoned the true God over idols, as he challenged four hundred and fifty priests of Baal at the Mount Carmel. It was a great moment of reckoning, as he confronted King Ahab for his continued worshipping of Baal the pagan idol. 

 

Consequently, the victory of prophet Elijah in this battle was essential to remind the king and the people of the need for them to obey the Law of God, for it is the obligation of all the faithful to worship and serve only the One and True God of all. The king and the people had not obeyed these laws, instead, they chose to follow the false ways of the foreign pagan gods and idols, committing great sin before God. So by keeping and teaching these commandments, Elijah was made great before God and the people through his victory. 

 

Dear friends, today we are reminded that true greatness is found in keeping and teaching the commandments of God, of which Jesus tells us that the greatest of these commandments is to love God and love our neighbour. Therefore, true greatness is rooted in our love for God and our neighbours and Jesus emphasises that it is bad enough to break one of these commandments, but to teach someone else to do the same is a terribly evil thing to do.

 

Thus, we should ask ourselves today, am I breaking these commandments and teaching others to do the same through my attitude and way of life just like Ahab? Do I follow my own opinions contrary to the commandments and laws of love which Jesus has taught us by his way of life? Am I keeping and teaching these commandments through my attitude and by way of life? 

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, from whom all good things come, grant us the grace to keep and teach your commandments by our way of life and so obtain the Joy of true greatness in this world and your heavenly kingdom through Christ our Lord. Amen. Peace be with you.

Homily For Tuesday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 11th June, 2024. The Memorial of St. Barnabas

 

Reading: Acts.11:21-26.13:1-3; Ps. 98; Matt.10:7-13

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

BE A SOURCE OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS JUST LIKE ST. BARNABAS
 

Have you ever been in a difficult and ugly situation where you felt like giving up or quitting and pulling out of a noble project, career or goal in life, and then you heard someone telling you not to give up, don’t pull out, keeping pushing, keeping going for it will soon be over? Such words and behaviour give one great confidence and renewed energy to stagger towards achieving the project or career.

 

This is because there is great strength and renewed energy in us whenever we know that someone believes in us. It feels right and changes our disposition towards difficult and ugly situations. This act of giving someone support, confidence, hope and persuasion to do or to continue doing something is known as an act of encouragement, which is a branch of the virtue of courage, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit brings encouragement where it is needed by giving this gift to someone near a person whomever he is pleased to encourage. Thus the act of encouragement has a great impact on human relationships. For when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit to encourage people, we become the instrument through which God is letting them know that He has seen what they have done, and by extension, believe what they will be able to do in the future; and that improves their belief in themselves and their potential towards achieving their goals.

 

This great attitude and gift of the Holy Spirit is what St. Barnabas whose memorial we celebrate today is known for among his fellow Apostles. Barnabas is one of the most important figures in the history of the early Church, his real name was Joseph, but the apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” This is a pure summary of his entire personality, for he was someone who encouraged others, believed in them and helped them to respond to God with enthusiasm, because of his helpful and optimistic nature.

 

Barnabas sold a field he owned and laid the proceeds at the apostles’ feet, an obvious sign of his total commitment to Christ and total trust in the apostles. Such a great gesture, common among the first disciples, would have certainly inspired the other members of the Church to courageously do the same. But we see his encouragement more especially in his interaction with St. Paul in our first reading today where the Holy Spirit speaks to the young Church in Antioch, and there the disciples were first called Christians. And the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

 

Here the Holy Spirit inspired them to go on the first great missionary journey in the Church. In this mission, Barnabas was inspired by the gift of Courage and he was able to encourage Paul and also the entire Church to recognize Paul’s gifts and talents. For without Barnabas’ intervention, Paul would have probably remained silenced in Tarsus by other disciples. But because of Barnabas’ courageous and encouraging interventions, Paul was able to become the greatest missionary in the history of the Church. It was Barnabas who saw the great potential in Paul and chose to make him his collaborator, vouching for him before the Apostles who did not trust him because of his past life of persecuting Christians.

 

Dear friends, are you passing through difficult and ugly situations because of your past mistakes? Are you feeling like giving up the noble project and goal you have begun because of some challenges?  Does it seem as if your great potential, dreams and talents are being neglected? Please don’t give up, for today St. Barnabas “the son of encouragement” comes to us as he did to Paul and other disciples to encourage us and to get involved in our struggles. He also wants us to be sons and daughters of encouragement to others just like him.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, as we struggle daily towards our mission and goal in life, may we be encouraged by the virtues of St. Barnabas so as to be another Barnabas to people we encounter in our journey of Life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.

Homily For Monday Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 10th June, 2024

 

Reading: 1Kings 17:1-6; Ps. 121; Matt.5:1-12

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

THE BEATITUDES AS THE INTERIOR LIFE OF TRUE CHRISTIANS

 

Each day of our lives is a struggle for perfection, we grow from one level of understanding and knowledge to another. But what really gives value to this growth is the fundamental principles we follow. Because the fundamental principles of life help us to be focused and determined to achieve our goals. Therefore, Jesus knowing the value and importance of the faith he has come to offer humanity, laid down the fundamental principles that will guide his disciples in the new way of life which he is offering humanity.

 

These fundamental principles are what we have in our Gospel passage today in the famous Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus, which is also known as the Beatitudes. This famous Sermon opens to us the interior life of Jesus: poor in spirit, gentle, merciful, hungry for justice, pure in heart, a peacemaker, yet prepared to grieve and suffer persecution for the cause of right.

 

These are guiding principles to a new life he has called us to live. Here Jesus gives eight characters of blessed people, which stands as graces to the fundamental principles of the Christian life. Each of these Beatitudes is a statement of an ideal way we ought to live and be in close contact with God.

 

These fundamental principles talk about the poor in spirit which brings to mind the low condition of mankind that looks up to a Redeemer and the glory to come. Those who mourn are blessed, for their true repentance, watchfulness, humble mind, and continual dependence on the mercy of God through Christ Jesus shall be comforted. The meek are blessed, for being patient, silent and submissive to the will of God and so are comfort even in this world. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed, for their desires of spiritual blessings shall be satisfied.

 

The merciful are blessed, for their compassion, help and pity on the souls of humanity who are in sin and need mercy. The pure in heart are blessed; for they shall see God since their hearts are made pure in holiness and are capable of seeing God. The peace-makers are blessed, for they love and delight in the peace which Christ is offering to humanity. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are blessed, for victory is theirs since they understand that, there is nothing in our sufferings that can be compared to the victory of eternal life.  This is exactly what God reassured prophet Elijah in our first reading after hearing the punishment due to the wicked, he was assured of God’s providence as a reward for his faithful.

 

Dear friends, we are called to embrace these fundamental principles of Christian life. For we are truly blessed when we are poor in spirit and when we mourn for our sinfulness, gentle, hunger and thirst for holiness. We are blessed when we are, merciful and peacemakers in a world that is full of wickedness, greed and corruption. Today, we are called to live our lives in these virtues and when we encounter challenges, difficulties, persecutions and troubles, we should remain faithful to the end for none of these tribulations shall be compared to the victory of eternal life.

 

 LET US PRAY: O God, from whom all good things come, grant us the grace to live out these fundamental principles of our Christian life and overcome this sinful world, so as to enjoy the beatific vision of eternal life in You, through Christ our Lord. Amen. As you begin your task this week, may the glory of God inspire you and elevate you to greater heights, do have a blessed week.