Homily For Monday Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 26th August 2024

 

Readings: 2Thess.1:1-5.11-12, Ps. 96, Matt.23:13-22

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

STOP SWEARING UNNECESSARILY

 

Oftentimes, I hear people say: I swear to say the truth, nothing but the truth. These are the words 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 mean what we say or fulfil what we promised.

 

This very ugly attitude is what Jesus is addressing in our Gospel passage today, where the Scribes and the Pharisees, who had the responsibility to lead people to the Kingdom of Heaven, have become an obstacle for they neither enter nor allow those who want to enter to go in.

 

Thus, Jesus called them hypocrites and blind guides because they misused the gift of leadership entrusted to them. For they say, “If a man swears by the Temple, it has no force; but if a man swears by the gold of the Temple, he is bound.” But Jesus said to them you fools and blind! Which is of greater worth, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred?

 

Therefore, when a man swears by the altar he is swearing by that and by everything on it. And when a man swears by the Temple he is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And when a man swears by heaven he is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there.’

 

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 swearing oaths with impressive sounding words before the congregations without fulfilling them like our politicians today. But what were the words of these oaths anyway?

 

They were forms of words designed to impress people. There were no 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 produce 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. 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 we mean yes and no when we mean no so as not to become hypocrites and liars. So, today, we are called not to be hypocrites or blindguideses but good leaders who are committed and responsible with whatever we are entrusted with.

 

Little wonder St. Paul, in our first reading, tells us to stand firm and keep the traditions that were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, oftentimes we have been hypocrites, blind guides of the things you entrusted to us. May we never take your name in vain or tired of doing what is good. And may we be guided along the path of truth, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful week ahead.

Homily For the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B, 25th August 2024

 

Readings: Jos.24:1-2.15-17.18; Ps. 34; Eph. 5:22-32; John 6:60-69

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

WHAT SHALL WE DO WHEN OUR FAITH AND LIFE SITUATIONS SEEM DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?

 

Life is about making good choices, and every day of our lives, we make choices that we think are good for us. But sometimes some good choices are very difficult to make. However, the root of any choice we make in life comes from the fundamental option we have made as human person. Our fundamental option is the option we make for or against God, to love or to be selfish, to be good or evil, to be holy or sinful. This option has a way of influencing any other choices we make in life.

 

Today, in our Gospel passage, we heard how people reacted when faced with hard choices on account of the teachings of Jesus. For as he ends the discourse on the Bread of Life, he said to them: whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. So, hearing this hard teaching, many of his disciples decided to walk away. Then Jesus asked the twelve: will you also go away? Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.

 

Following these responses, we can see how important it is for us to make the fundamental option for God if we want to follow him. As we heard that most of the followers of Jesus left him behind after he spoke of himself as the Bread of Life. Thus, many of them refused to believe in such hard truth and teaching. This may be a result of their ignorance, impatience and inability to accommodate difficult moments and realities that are beyond them.

 

This same choice is what Joshua placed before the people of Israel in our first reading today when he said to all the people, ‘If you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’

 

St. Paul, also in our second reading, presents the same choice for us when he commanded us to be subjected to one another in reference to Christ in choices that we have to make, especially husband and wife. He said Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything.

 

Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; that is the way Christ treats the Church because it is his body – and we are its living parts

 

Dear friends, every day we are called to make this fundamental option between God the Creator and the creatures who have made themselves gods. This is the reality of our faith in Christ, so the Christian faith we have is not something we should take for granted, as we may often find it difficult to remain faithful, especially when we are confronted with arguments and realities that are opposite and in contrast to our faith. Yet, at the same time, we are called to continue to be faithful and dedicate ourselves completely in obedience to the teachings of Christ. We are called today to develop a divine way of understanding the mysteries of God, but not rejecting them because we do not understand them.

 

Thus, when the articles of our faith or our life situations seem difficult, we are called to come to Jesus and remain faithful to him. We are called to believe in him who came from above and bears testimony of heavenly things. We are called like the apostles to say, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life. We are to bear witness to these things through the power of the Holy Spirit, knowing that our choice for God is a choice for love, and a life of love is a sacrificial life neither easy nor comfortable.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, our hope is all in you when in difficult moments of decision-making regarding our faith in you; give us the grace and courage like St. Peter to bear authentic witness to the faith we have found in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Happy Sunday and remain blessed.

Homily For Saturday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 24th August, 2024. Feast of St. Bartholomew

 

Readings: Rev. 21:9-14, Ps. 145, John 1:45-51

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia

 

CAN YOU BE THAT PERSON OF INTEGRITY  LIKE ST. BARTHOLOMEW?

 

Reflecting on the ugly situation in our society today, where morals and virtuous actions are no longer valuable and fashionable as the society seems to be living, promoting and celebrating artful deception, dishonesty, corruption and fraudsters. Integrity has become a virus to be eliminated as quickly as possible while heroes of deception and fraudsters are honoured and celebrated.

 

Today, we are called to change this ugly attitude and learn from St. Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today. A man of integrity whom Jesus, in our Gospel passage, gave a great compliment when he met him and said, “Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile.” For there was no deception in him. Jesus could see right away that he was forthright, honest, open, plainspoken, straightforward, innocent and unpretentious.

 

Bartholomew is commonly known as Nathaniel in the Gospel according to John. A name which means “gift of God” and tradition has it that he preached the Gospel to Armenia, where he embraced martyrdom by being skinned alive before being beheaded. He is now known to be the patron of butchers, plasterers, and tanners, and he is also invoked to intercede in cases of convulsions.

 

Bartholomew thought that nothing good could come out of Nazareth, but when he encountered Jesus, he exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the son of God”, Jesus acknowledged his faith and promised him that he would see the heaven-opened angels ascending and descending. This can be like what the angel revealed in our first reading, saying: ‘Come here, and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.’

 

We heard that the spirit took him to the top of an enormous high mountain and showed him Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven. It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond.

 

This teaches us that we should not underrate people because of their humble background. But like Phillip, who introduced Jesus to Nathaniel, we are called to share our experience of Jesus with those we encounter in life, no matter their background and ideology.

 

Dear friends, the world needs people of integrity like St. Bartholomew, for we are called to imitate him. So, let us be that sign of integrity in a world full of corruption and deceit. Let our everyday encounter with Jesus help to transform us, and by so doing we can transform the ugly situation in our societies and the world at large through our witnessing.

 

Therefore, let us, like Bartholomew, be courageous and exemplary in our actions so that, living by our faith and doing what the Lord has commanded us to do, we may become great instruments that will win more people and save many more souls for the Lord.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, today we are reminded of the need to live a life of integrity in a world full of deception and corruption. Grant us through the intercession of St Bartholomew, the grace to embrace your word and experience your presence in our lives and so change our ugly and sinful ways of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Wishing you uncommon favour from the Lord this weekend.

Homily For Friday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 23rd August, 2024

 

Readings:  Ezek. 37:1-14, PS.107, Matt. 22:34-40

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT OF GOD?

 

As human beings, we always desire to know what is required of us in this life. This is even more serious when we are faced with the realities of life, then we wish to know the things that should be our priority. What should be the most important thing to focus our energy on? What should become the foundation of all the things we need to do?

 

This is the deposition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in our Gospel passage today, who came together and asked Jesus questions concerning which commandment is the greatest. In response Jesus reminded them of the 'Shema Israel' - שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל, the prayer that they knew and recited from their earliest years from which they learned that the most important thing in life is to love God with all their heart, and with all thy soul, and with all their mind; that is, with all the powers and the more noble faculties of the soul, the mind, the understanding, judgment, and will. Jesus then added that to love one’s neighbour is the second priority.

 

In other words, loving God with all our heart, with all our understanding and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves is what is required of us and it is the foundation of all the things we have to do. Jesus set the standard of love not just by the love he was able to show but also by the depth of love which he showed by dying and rising for our salvation.

 

An event that prophet Ezekiel prophesied in our first reading talking about the rising of the dried bones, which represents the ugly condition of the great soldiers of the chosen people of God, who are saying, our bones are dried up, our hope has gone; we are as good as dead.” But the Lord says I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of life again.

 

Dear friends, the question we need to ask ourselves today is: do we truly love God and our neighbours? This is important because love is the centre of all the teachings of Jesus, for love is a gift from God to humanity. It is like the stream water, so innocent and pure. True love is not hidden; it radiates from the innermost being of a person who experienced it. If we love God, then, we will see him in others and treat them justly and honourably. We will not hurt our neighbours but do our utmost best to live in peace with them.

 

The truth is that the absence of love is the cause of all the problems in our world today, as most families exist by grace and not by love. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all loved one another. How I wish we could invest our time and resources in ensuring love and unity in our dealings with one another. Believe me, we will not only be fulfilling the first and greatest commandments of God, but we will be building a happy community.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, in you we found the fullness of love, for you made us to share in your love. Grant that we may truly love you and our neighbours and so conquer the world full of hatred, self-centeredness, greed and corruption, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day

Homily For Thursday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 22nd August, 2024. The Memorial of the Queenship of Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Readings: Ezek. 36:23-28, Ps.51, Matt. 22:1-14

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

DON’T BE TOO BUSY TO RESPOND TO GOD’S INVITATION TO HIS HEAVENLY BANQUET

 

 A songwriter, Miriam Therese Winter composed one of the hymns in our hymn book entitled 'I can not come to the banquet, which gives us the summary of our Gospel passage today and the chorus and the last stanza of this hymn says:

 

CHORUS:

I can not come!

I cannot come to the banquet, don't trouble me now,

I have married a wife, I have bought me a cow,

I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum,

Pray hold me excused, I cannot come!

 

Now God has written a lesson for the rest of mankind,

If we're slow in responding, He may leave us behind,

He's preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day,

When the Lord and master call us, be certain not to say.

 

In this life, we are so busy with so many things that if care is not taken, we will miss out on the essence of our existence. Today, the streets are full of people struggling and bobbling, the markets are full of people buying and selling and people rising very early in the morning and coming back late at night. This shows us how much effort people put in every day just to earn their daily bread; I thought we could sincerely put in such an amount of effort in order to catch up with the train of eternal life which God is inviting us in today’s Gospel passage.

 

For today, from the parable of the marriage feast, the Lord offers us again an invitation to the banquet of heaven. An invitation which is God's free act of kindness, as He wishes to dine with us. No one deserves it anyway, and He is not obliged to invite us nor are we compared to honour his invitation. Hence in the parable, those who think that they deserve to be invited are too busy to enter the banquet hall. But the poor in spirit and the humble who know that the love God has for them is completely gratuitous accepted his invitation with joy.

 

Dear friends, what is our response to God’s invitation to his heavenly banquet? Are we so busy with the things of this passing world? We are called today not to be too busy to come to our heavenly banquet. For God’s banquet is his Church, good and bad, saints and sinners are invited, for the Church is made up of saints and sinners. The bad are expected to become good while sinners are expected to repent and put on a new garment of holiness and love.

 

As Christians, today we are reminded of our wedding garment, the new suit we put on on the day of baptism. Therefore, we cannot go on wearing the old garments of sins of pride, greed, adultery, fornication, theft, drunkenness, selfishness and unforgivingness which will throw us into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen.

 

Thus, we should put on our wedding garment of love and holiness and open the doors of our hearts to the poor, the marginalized and those rejected by society. For God, through the prophet, Ezekiel in our first reading, promised to gather us together from all the foreign countries, and bring us home to our land and shall pour clean water over us in order to cleanse us from all our defilement. He will remove our hearts of stone, give us a new heart, and put a new spirit in us to make us keep His laws and sincerely respect his observances. Then, we shall be his people, and He will be our God as we see in the life of Mary, whose memorial of her Queenship we celebrate today.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, every day you invite us to your heavenly banquet. As we honour your invitation today, just like May, may we never be distracted by the vain glory of this passing world? We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a successful day.

Homily For Wednesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 21st August, 2024. The Memorial of St. Pius X

 

Readings:  Ezek.34:1-11, PS.23, Matt. 20:1-16

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

WHY ARE YOU STANDING IDLE ALL DAY? YOU GO INTO MY VINEYARD TOO

 

Oftentimes, when we are passing through the dark moment of life, it seems as if all hope is gone. We put up all our energy and enthusiasm struggling and hoping for a better and brighter moment. Sometimes it seems as if that brighter moment won’t come. The truth is that our time of favour and success is not determined by how long or strenuously we have struggled but by our disposition towards God's time of grace and generosity, for God alone decides how to reward us for our efforts. All we need is to be disposed to do his will at all times because life is all about being ready and present for your time and turn, so we have to wait for God’s time and our turn.

 

This is what the parable of the vineyard labourers in our Gospel passage today is teaching us, especially as regards our disposition towards embracing the kingdom of God. So from the Gospel, the landowner went beyond justice, for motivated by compassion, he employed labourers at different times and in the end, he decided to pay them the same wages as agreed with those who were hired first, of which they felt bad for the landowner’s generosity towards those hired last.

Here the human mind suspects injustice, while the heart of God sees only an opportunity to be generous. This generosity of God calls us to be generous, too, but out of envy, we often selfishly consider ourselves more deserving than others.

 

However, we can identify three kinds of persons from this parable: First, those who are like the landowner who hires people to get a job done but with sympathies for those to be employed. Secondly, the unemployed are waiting desperately in the marketplace and thirdly, the labourers who consider themselves more deserving than others.  Thus, we all need to ask ourselves, among these three groups where do I belong? This is important because the way workers and labourers are being treated in our societies these days is appalling. For those who are meant to lead and shepherd, the people are taking advantage of the people they are called to shepherd.

 

Hence, God, through the prophet Ezekiel, in our first reading, addressed the shepherds who ought to guide and feed the sheep, but are now feeding on the sheep, scattering them in order to select their choice and feed on their milk, wear their wool, eat their flesh, enriching and fatling themselves from their products. While treating the sheep harshly and brutally, abandoning the sick, the weak and the strayed.

 

This shows us how the leaders of our society have betrayed their mission. Instead of promoting a just society in accordance with the plan of God, they are using their authority to enrich themselves while oppressing the people entrusted to them. Therefore, let us imitate St. Pope Pius X, whose memorial we celebrate today, for as a loving shepherd, he is known for his love for God and his neighbours in simplicity of heart.

 

Dear friends, today, the duties neglected by our leaders are going to be taken over by God himself, who is the Good Shepherd. He assures us that even though we are the least, the nobody and most neglected in the eyes of the world, He will not forget us, for He has time and plan for everyone and will continue to provide for our daily needs. But warns the leaders that they should change their greedy and sinful ways because when the Lord’s time comes, the last will be the first and the first, last. For in his kingdom, there is time and plan for everyone with equal grace and equal status.

 

LET US PRAY: Almighty God, today you promised to take good care of your sheep yourself as you warn us to change from our sinful, greedy and corrupt ways of life. Help us to change and be more caring and loving and to always be disposed to doing your will. As we go about our daily activities, may your favour follow us even to the last hour, through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a fruitful day.

Homily for Tuesday Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time Year B, 20th August, 2024. The Memorial of St Bernard

 

Readings: Ezek.28:1-10, Deut.32:26-36, Matt. 19:23-30

Rev.  Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO BE HUMBLE AND DETACHED FROM THE MATERIAL RICHES OF THIS PASSING WORLD

 

The rate at which people illegally acquire and are attached to material things of this passing world is so alarming, and this has serious consequences towards the well-being of the common man in society. However, material possessions are gifts from God, and he alone gives us the right to them. But what we possess is meant to help us grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours, not to separate us from them, because if we are not careful, too much love for material possessions can be an obstacle on our way to God’s Kingdom.

 

Little wonder Jesus, in our Gospel passage today, says:  “I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven”. When the disciples heard this they were astonished. And they said, “Who can be saved, then?” Jesus gazed at them and said, “For men, this is impossible; for Go,d, everything is possible”.

 

Here, Jesus tells his disciples about the need to live a life of detachment. They saw how the rich young man was so sad when Jesus demanded that he should share his possessions with others in order to acquire treasures in heaven by following him. Thus, there is a need for us to be pruned from our excess love for material possessions because, for a camel to enter through a narrow gate, it must kneel in order for its load to be taken off. We, too, must learn how to be humbled and detach ourselves from excess attachment to material things of this passing world.

 

The fact remains that material possessions in themselves are good, for we would not survive for long without them, but excess attachment to them at the expense of eternal life is grade-one suicide. No doubt, it is difficult to give out or share our possessions, but the ones who give up everything are the ones who receive more in this life as well as in heaven. And prophet Ezekiel, in our first reading, warns us concerning the issue of pride, for most of us, like the people of Tyre who, because of their possessions, are being swollen with pride, see ourselves as gods, while we are nothing but a mere instrument in God’s hands.

 

Dear friends, what is your attitude towards the material things of this passing world? How have the material things of this passing world distracted us from God?  Are we still detached from the material things of this passing world? How willing are we to detach and share what we possess with others, especially the poor? This is a sure way to find life, peace and happiness.

 

And Jesus is telling us that it will be difficult for us to enter his kingdom when we choose to attach ourselves to the riches of this passing world. Though material possessions are gifts from God and he alone gives us the right to have them as his manners. However, what we possess as managers is not meant to separate us from God; rather, it should help us to grow in our relationship with God and our neighbours.

 

LET US PRAY: Lord God, we are living in a world where materialism is the order of the day, help us through the intercession of St. Bernard to learn how to live a life of detachment and prune us always from the sin of pride, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Have a blessed day.