Life is Worth Living

Those of us who are active users of the social media platforms like Facebook, twitter and the rest are much familiar with the word “follower” (e.g. a follower of a celebrity). Those of us who are lovers of sports and those who patronize the entertainment industry know what it means to be a “fan” (e.g. a fan of Man-UTD FC, BB Naija and so on). Now, the two words (follower and fan) as used within the context of sports and entertainment seem to mean exactly the same thing. In this case then, to be a fan or a follower is to admire someone or a group to the point of longing to be like them. A fan or a follower admires the success of a celebrity, and identifies with him or her. A fan or a follower may not be interested in the sorrowful aspect of the celebrity’s life; he may not care to embrace whatever unpleasant experiences the celebrity went through before he or she became famous.  Now, there is a difference between a “fan” and a “real-follower”. And this is what Jesus is trying to exp...

It appears many of us Christians have lost a bit of some consciousness of certain realities about our faith. When I was a kid, we were used to entertain fear of foreseen and unforeseen dangers or threats especially at night when there is darkness. But then, the feeling of fear vanished whenever we became aware that someone was with us. As a kid, I can’t remember ever stepping out into the dark without someone accompanying me. And the presence of that person is always assuring. Today, we are celebrating the feast of archangels (Michael, Gabriel and Raphael). These are angels; not only angels but archangels (the chiefs of angels). And as the name of their office suggests, they are messengers of God to us. Our faith teaches us that they are pure spirits and the scriptures are very clear on the nature of their activities and tasks: they defend, protect and guide. In the Book of Daniel, Archangel Michael is described as the great prince who defends Israel against its enemies. In the Book of...

Just like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the rest, the Book of Job is another book of the Bible that falls under the category of Poetry and Wisdom. Ecclesiastes tells us that material things or possessions are vanities: they are like grasses that blossom in the morning and withers away in the evening. The Book of Job narrates the story of a man whose material possessions vanished overnight. From that concrete life experience, it became clear to him that “all is vanity”. In humility, he exclaimed, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”. In these few words, Job accepted that material possessions are nothing; they are not his; even his own life; but God is all, and everything belongs to Him; He gave, He has taken away – Blessed be His Name!  It takes humility to adopt such an attitude and make such a faith declaration. It is only a humble person that can sincerely admit that “God is all, ...

When Jesus entered Jerusalem for His passion and death, He went to the Temple and drove out the money changers and all those who were buying and selling. As a reaction to that, the chief priests and the elders asked him, “What authority have you for acting in such a manner? And who gave you this authority?” By asking such questions, the chief priests and the elders projected themselves as if they have been truly obedient to God and presented themselves as those acting on God’s authority, as those who truly knew the mind and heart of God. It was within this tension that Jesus told them the parable (cf. Matt. 21:28-32) which we read today.  Jesus narrated a story of two sons whose father instructed to go and work in the vineyard: one said NO to the father but later did as instructed; but the other said YES but failed to act. Which of them did the father’s will? Is it the son who said “yes”, but did not go to the vineyard; or the one who said “no”, but repented and went to work? The c...

Every material thing has a lifespan: the length of time that something can be expected to last or function or be valuable. Beyond their life spans, things become valueless and disposable. Our material existence also has a lifespan often described as “lifetime”. When our lifetime ends at death, Ecclesiastes (12:7) tells us that the body goes back to dust (where it came from) while the spirit goes back to God (from whom it came). Life spans are supposed to be periods of active productivity. No material thing is produced to be hidden away until it expires. It is produced to serve its purpose. And when its lifespan expires, it is disposed. Yes, the material part of us will be “disposed” (return to dust) after our lifetime but the spiritual part of us cannot be disposed, it will return to God. In essence, we are not disposables: there is something in us with no limited lifespan which will last unto eternity. Our whole existence is not temporary; it is everlasting.    In and with Je...

Is the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes in today’s passage (cf. Eccl. 3:1-11) saying that “everything” must be done at its “presumed” time (as those verses are often interpreted)? Does it mean that there is also time for us to dish out hatred, for us to kill and fight, and so on? In my own thinking, the passage is descriptive and not prescriptive. The writer simply DESCRIBES the way reality is experienced in daily life. Despite the fact that we may have some, little or no control over time or the succession of certain events or things, the writer added that “God has made everything beautiful in its time”. So, as much as possible, we have to make time count.  We are not called to be passive spectators of the succession of things and events. Instead we are expected to actively influence the outcome of events. Yes, there is time for love and time for hate. But we can influence this succession to the point that the time for love can be long sustained, instead of passively giving room...

The Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth is a wisdom book of the Jews which asks a basic question: What is the value of life? The writer must be someone who had deeply reflected on life and seen that most of the things that man labors and “kills” himself for in life are all vanities. The value of life is not in material things; not in positions or power; not in the number of cars or houses we have. As the writer says, “Vanity of vanities, all of those things is vanity” (cf. Eccl. 1:2).  I could remember a certain time in history when everyone longed to have a bicycle. Today, who cares to own one? Some time in history, people so much admired a Volkswagen Bettle. Today, it has almost become a scrap. I could remember when Nokia 3310, Samsung R220, Bird 12X and other phones of that nature were the cynosures of all eyes. Then, people could do ANYTHING to have such phones. But today, it is very shameful to carry one around. This addresses the main question: What then is the value of life? Va...

Shortly before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said to His disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (cf. Matt. 28:19-20). From this command, two tasks are clear: sanctification and instruction. And these two are amongst the three tasks that are regarded as the principal tasks of a bishop or priest: to rule, to sanctify and to teach. The readings of this mass seem to point to one of these tasks: the task of preaching or teaching the Word of God.  The first reading (Prov. 30:5-9) reminds and warns all of us who preach the Word and listen to it that “every word of God proves true; do not add to his words, lest he rebuke and you be found a liar”. The gospel reading (cf. Luke 9:1-6) narrates the very event of Jesus sending out the Twelve to go and cure diseases, to heal and to preach the kingdom of God. In the two readings, we see that somethin...

With the proliferation of churches and religious movements, we should be expecting the world to be much better than it was many years ago. At every corner, there are churches. On Sundays, most churches are filled with hundreds and thousands of “active” worshippers all listening to the Word of God and singing praises unto His Name. At every moment, pastors are preaching and people are listening (or pretend to listen) to the Word of God. Some people openly and boastfully admit that they will never be tired of singing praises unto the Name of the Lord. All of this is beautiful and should be encouraged. But I am sure Jesus must be worried that there are VERY LITTLE CONCRETE ACTIONS that prove that people have been positively influenced by worship and by His Words. What happened in the Gospel Reading (cf. Luke 8:19-21) served as a very good opportunity for Jesus to make it clear that membership in His family is not determined by biological, religious, denominational or social ties or connec...

When I see a lamb, I am moved to reflect on TENDERNESS (by nature, a lamb is tender). When I see a dove gliding in the sky, I think about BEAUTY. When I look at myself and the entire created order, I see reflections of a BEAUTY and GLORY beyond all telling: THE BEAUTY AND GLORY OF GOD. The entire creation has one message: TO PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD. Yes, it is a calling that we can’t resist or avoid. We are ever called to reflect the beauty and glory of God. This is the message that the Psalmist (cf. Psalm 19:2-3.4-5) is proclaiming today as we celebrate the feast of St Matthew, the evangelist. Aware of this towering task, the task of reflecting God’s glory, St Paul teaches (in Eph. 4:1-7.11-13) that God has given each of us different gifts and graces: all in service of that common task of proclaiming His wonders and greatness. Some God has made prophets, some evangelists, some teachers, some pastors, some nurses, and so on: each working and building up the body of Christ to the grea...

The gospel reading (cf. Matt. 20:1-16) gives a message that may be very confusing to us: that the kingdom of heaven is like a householder/landowner who went out and hired laborers at different times of the day; and at the end of the day, he paid them equally. Let us bring the story closer to ourselves. Imagine having been hired by someone at 6am and sent to a field to clear grasses. At 9 am, another set of laborers joined you at the site to do the same job. At noon, more laborers joined you. At 3pm, more laborers arrived at the site. At 5pm, more laborers are sent there to work. Now, at the end of the day, how would you feel if you see the paymaster giving all of you the same amount of money as your wages? As human as I am, I would feel cheated and would see that very action of the paymaster as a stark act of injustice! Even if it is not openly expressed, the feeling won’t be different for many of us. What makes this story more interesting is that the seeming “unjust” action of the hou...

Talking about seed sowing, we have few things to learn from farming or agricultural practice. When seeds are sown, they go through the crushing experience of death and decay before they are finally transformed into a new life. Thus, between the seeding/sowing time and the germination time, there is an intermediary period of death and decay. And this intermediary period is not a period of “sweetness and joy” for the sown seeds. It is always a period of pain or suffocation which ultimately leads to death and decay. But all these will certainly give way for a beautiful life when a new life germinates or resurrects from it. In the first reading (cf. 1 Cor. 15:35-37.42-49), St Paul uses this agricultural analogy to explain to the Corinthians that the resurrection of the body is a possibility. For a new life to emerge (for resurrection to take place), there must also be a painful and crushing intermediary period of death and decay. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable....

Today’s reading (1 Cor. 15:12-20) is a sort of an elaboration of what St Paul introduced in the portion we read yesterday about the resurrection of the dead. As we were made to understand yesterday, some Christians in Corinth seemed to have found it difficult to believe in the doctrine of the resurrection because of the prevailing Greek belief that if the body is evil, the resurrection of the body is inconceivable. In order to help them make some sense out of the Christian belief in the resurrection, first St Paul made reference to the appearances of the Lord to his apostles and to many others. Secondly, St Paul made it very clear to them that if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. Our joy, our faith is that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep (who have died).  Take away “the resurrection” from our faith, everything c...

The Corinthian Christian community to which St Paul wrote seemed to have been inundated by a number of problems/issues ranging from moral to doctrinal. Now, in the 15th chapter of that letter (a portion of which we read this morning), St Paul appears to be resolving what might have appeared to be a doctrinal problem (a problem bordering on belief) in the Corinthian community: and that was the belief in resurrection. The Greek had a belief which more or less dismissed the Christian belief in resurrection. They believed that there are two principles that permeate life and existence: the dualism of good and evil. The soul/spirit is good and the body/matter is evil. In fact, anything SPIRITUAL is good; and anything MATERIAL is evil. It was then very difficult for a people with such a belief to be convinced that this body which is evil will experience the resurrection and be glorified. And it appears some Christians in that Greek city might have been swayed by this distorted belief.  In...

The first reading is to be understood within the context of what was going on in the Corinthian Christian community. In 1 cor. 12:12-14.27-31a, St Paul brought to light the fact in every Christian community, in a every Body of Christ, there is always a diversity of ministries, gifts and responsibilities. And such was the case in the Corinthian Christian community. In today’s first reading (cf. 1 Cor. 12:31-13:13), it seems St Paul discovered that the Corinthian Christians were divided on account of gifts or responsibilities that each person was exercising. Those who were teachers looked down on those who were prophets; those who were administrators looked down on those who were helpers; those who were workers of miracles were looking down on those who were workers of miracles; and so on. Such attitude can also be found in today’s Christian communities and families.  A good friend of mine once told me about his experience in the secondary school (or high school). Those who were form...

Someone said that the HEART of a woman is specially made and reinforced with thick shock absorbers. If you want to learn how to endure pains, shocks and heartbreaks, go to a WOMAN for lectures. This may roughly explain the reason why suicide rate is low amongst the womenfolk. Not only does a woman endure her own pains, she is ever ready to accommodate the pains of another.  Just like every one of us, Mary's heart was severely afflicted but she didn't break down. It's not just because she is a woman that she was able to endure & remain strong in her pains. She was able to endure and remain strong because she gladly accepted her situation as her own share of the cross.  Imagine the sleepless nights she had because of SIMEON'S PROPHECY! Imagine the physical pains of her FLIGHT INTO EGYPT! Imagine how restless she was when her CHILD JESUS GOT MISSING IN THE TEMPLE! Imagine how speechless she was upon MEETING HER SON ON THE WAY TO CALVARY! Imagine the torrent of tears fl...

There is a glorious divine irony in today’s feast, an irony playing out in the readings we have just heard. And what is this irony? A cruel instrument of suffering and death like the cross has been transformed into a grace-filled instrument of healing, life and resurrection. The Jews themselves despised the cross: in fact in their Law Book (precisely in Deut. 21:23), it is written “Cursed is anyone who dies, hanging on the tree”. In the first reading (Num. 21:4b-9), it is reported that the Israelites complained and accused God for abandoning them during their journey towards the Promised Land. And that wasn’t the first time they complained: when they lacked water, they complained; when they lacked food, they complained; even when they became tired of eating the manna that was sent to them, they complained that they needed meat; when they faced what appeared to be an enemy, they complained; and so on. We may laugh at the fact that these people were constantly complaining despite the fac...

Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of Matthew 18 which we read last Sunday where Jesus told his disciples that “after one has done all that he could do to win back a brother or sister who has sinned against him and the person refuses to comply, let the person be treated as a Gentile and a tax collector”. We may ask: Who is a Gentile or a tax collector to a Jew? An enemy, an outcast who should be hated! But is Jesus saying that the person should be treated as an outcast or an enemy? No! Jesus himself treated tax collectors and Gentiles with love, respect, dignity and affection! Treat that brother or sister as Jesus treated tax collectors and Gentiles even if he or she refuses to repent or listen to you! This is a very hard nut to crack.   Peter thought over this hard teaching, and couldn’t just make sense out of it, considering the fact that he is part of a race (the Jewish race) that has suffered oppression and subjugation from the Romans aided by tax collectors. He must...

In most religions, there is a practice of offering some kind of food to the deity as a sign of communion. Something must be offered. It can be some produce of the land, or food or even an animal. At the end of it all, those present at the sacrifice partake of it to show that they are in communion with the deity and with one another. What is the logic behind this practice? Experience has shown that those who regularly eat together often tend to “stay” together. Even within the context of worship, a ritual meal is meant to foster some communion or unity with the god/deity and with the rest of the worshippers. That is why St Paul gently reminded the Corinthians that “the cup of blessing which we bless is a participation in the blood of Christ and the bread which we bless is also a participation in the body of Christ” (cf. 1 Cor. 10:16). Simply, what he was saying is that “the Eucharistic meal which we offer at mass should be a means through which we unite ourselves more strongly with Chri...

A certain man was telling his friends that he does not eat dog meat. A few days later one of those people he told that he does not eat dog meat found him in a company of dog meat eaters shredding the meat with his teeth. You can imagine how disappointed the person who caught him was! “I thought you said that you don’t eat dog meat”, he asked. And the man quickly replied, “I am using my teeth to divide it for my children”. This illustration clearly brings about the damning effect of hypocrisy.  Another story is told about a pastor who was always preaching against divorce. He experienced the worst exodus of people from his church when he sent his wife packing. Hypocrisy is spiritually destructive. Saying one thing and doing another always has a chilling demoralizing effect on those who listen to us.  That is why St Paul was bold to say that “he is doomed if he does not preach the gospel. But as long as he engages in this task, he also makes sure that he pummels his body, he disc...

From the little I have known from the Scriptures, I will continue to question a lot of things that we do or say today in the name of Christ. The brand of Christianity being practised today is simply at odds with the basic tenets of the biblical Christian faith and teachings. Some years ago, there was a viral video of a famous “man of God” cursing and saying that his congregation’s human enemies should die by fire; and he added “in the name of Jesus”. Praying in the name of Jesus who says that we should “love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us and pray for those who abuse us” (Luke 6:27-28)! In all honesty, do you think Jesus will have anything to do with such prayers? He will not and can never be attentive to such prayers, and it is better we stop wasting our time and energy praying for the death of our human enemies. The only Christian attitude is to love, to bless and to do good to everyone ALWAYS. You see, God is love! His essence is love. All that h...

The gospel reading invites us to reflect once again on the beatitudes (cf. Luke 6:20-26). Jesus intently looked at the disciples and said that the poor, the hungry, those who weep and those persecuted on account of the Son of man are blessed. This is another set of hard teachings from Jesus that we may not easily assimilate or make sense out of. Who even wants to be poor or go hungry or seek persecution so that he or she will be considered a blessed or happy person? On the contrary, these are the things that bring sorrow or unhappiness to us. So, what is Jesus trying to communicate? When you observe very closely, you will discover that when people are in conditions of poverty, deprivation and oppression, they more easily turn to God as the source of their happiness. So, there may be something about excessive wealth, being overfed and living in a condition of “no suffering” or “no-skin-pain” (as Nigerians would say) that makes it difficult for us to be closer to God or be single-minded ...

Reflecting on the vision of a Franciscan nun called Venerable Mary of Agreda collected in a book titled “The Mystical City of God” , I quickly spotted some connection with the statement of St Paul above in Rom. 8:28 that “in everything, God works for good with those who love him…”. It is interesting to note, as the book attests, that Joachim and Anne (the parents of Mary) spent many years without a child. And when Mary was finally conceived, it was a nightmare for Anne. Giving birth to Mary was another round of bitterness and pains. Little did they know that God was working for their good, for the good of Mary and for the good of the entire humanity! God predestined that Mary should be brought forth into the world for the task of divine motherhood; and called her right from the moment of her existence for that exalted task of being a mother of God.  He called her, a “WOMAN”, to be a channel through which He (God) would come into the world of a chauvinistic and male-dominated Jewish...

Those in the bakery business will perfectly understand the analogy employed by St Paul in the first reading (1 Cor. 5:1-8). No matter how little a leaven (or yeast) is, it still has a very powerful influence on the dough (or flour). It is the wish of every baker to come up with good loaves of bread at the end of the baking process. If a speck (a particle) of leaven is bad or corrupt, it must be removed; otherwise, it will corrupt the entire dough. This illustration perfectly captures the power of influence.  St Paul drew the attention of the people of Corinth to the fact that someone among them was living an adulterous lifestyle with his father’s wife and such evil was allowed to go on. Just like a speck of bad yeast in the dough, if nothing about evil growing in the body of Christ (that is, the church), the entire body will be badly affected in the long run. To forestall such a calamitous consequence, it is a duty of charity to the entire body to deal with evil (no matter how lit...

Some homes or factories have a detachment usually called a guardhouse or guard post or watchtower or most commonly called a security post: a place where a watchman or a sentry often stays. Often, it is built in such a way that it should be very easy for the security man or the watchman to have a clearer and better view of the surroundings especially outside the building so that if there is any security threat, he would be able to spring into action, alert or send warning signs to those in the house. With the invention of CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras, modern technologies have made it even much easier: you can stay where you are and keep watch.  In the first reading (Ezekiel), God clearly told Ezekiel the prophet, “I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel: whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If you do not warn the evil man to change his ways and if he dies in his iniquity, I will hold you responsible. But if you warn him ...

If we can take some time to think of what we have gone through and what we have become on account of our dedication to Christ and to the Church, then we may be able to understand what St Paul is talking about in the first reading (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6b-15). He is still addressing the Corinthians who were torn apart by sectionalism – in previous portions of this letter, some of them said that they belonged to Paul, some to Apollos, some to other teachers, and so on. St Paul calls them to look at him and Apollos and learn. For their sake and for the sake of Christ, they (Paul and Apollos) became fools so that they (the Corinthians) can become wise in Christ. For the sake of Christ and for their sake, they have been held in disrepute, they hunger, they are poorly clothed, buffeted, and homeless; they labored and worked with their own hands. For the sake of Christ, when insulted, they blessed; when persecuted, they endured; when slandered, they tried to conciliate. For the sake of Christ and for...

It is often the case that when you hit people hard with the truth, some mischievous individuals will begin to examine you more closely and may even go to the extent of digging up your past in order to have something against you and then make the public have a certain negative opinion of you.  This may be the reason why St Paul, in the first reading (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1-5), is talking about not being afraid of being judged by the Corinthians to whom he wrote a very powerful and strong-worded letter on how they should conduct themselves. It could be possible that he might have thought of people digging up his past in order to form an opinion of him (to judge him) and then present a very bad image of him. He is not afraid because he knows that it is God who can disclose the purposes of the heart.  Maybe, a similar thing is happening in the gospel reading (cf. Luke 5:33-39): the Pharisees and the Scribes who have been hit hard by the words of Jesus now resorted to petty issues such as ...