Life is Worth Living

The first reading (cf. Rom. 10:9-18) clearly spells out that “anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord and believes with his heart will be saved”. However, it raises some very important questions: “How are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how are men to preach if they are not sent?” From all these, it is abundantly clear that faith comes from hearing – hearing the Word of God. Andrew understood his role as an apostle of Christ; and who is an apostle? An apostle is one who has been sent to preach Christ. Andrew understood this very well, and that was why he went about making Christ known, introducing people to Christ and proclaiming what he believed to others. And in this way, he must have succeeded in building the faith of others. St. John’s gospel account gives us more insight into the life of St Andrew. In Jn. 1:38-39, it is written that it was Andr...

Introduction The work of a watchman or a gateman goes beyond wearing of uniform or opening/closing of gates. The word “watch-man” suggests that the primary responsibility of a watchman is to keep watch. To keep watch is not to “sit-don-dey-look” as Nigerians would say. It involves being ALERT, SOBER, AWAKE, VIGILANT, AGILE, PROACTIVE and SMART. Amongst other things, a watchman must have the capacity to WAIT and OBSERVE. It is a job that demands a great deal of patience and tact. It is not easy to wait; it is even much more difficult to be alert, awake and vigilant at all times. What has VIGILANCE got to do with the Season of ADVENT? Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a season that precedes the Christmas celebration. It is a period of expectation and preparation for the commemoration of the coming of Christ at Christmas. It is also the period Christians are reminded that the Christ who once came in the flesh thousands of years ago will come again no longer as a baby but as a...

Introduction This time around, we have profusely read from the Book of Revelation and from the Gospel of Luke. In the main, some of the descriptions of what would happen at last have been very scary and frightening; and at the same time very consoling for those who will remain faithful till the end. May God give us special grace and resolute courage to endure till the inauguration of the new kingdom! Yes, we will be saved; but it would be “like someone escaping from flames” (1 Cor. 3:15). The mere remembrance of success and things that follow it should inspire a student to work harder, to go through the ordeals of rigorous studies. The hope of hitting the shores should encourage the captain of a ship to keep on moving despite the storms and tempests of the sea. The reality of the night giving way to the day dispels every fear of darkness and makes us sleep in peace, not in trepidation. We are most privileged to read from the last part of the Book of Revelation (22:1-7) and from one of ...

Newton’s Third Law vis-à-vis the Dynamics of Eschatological Rebirth “Rebirth”, “renewal” and “transformation” are terms associated with “change”. Change is a kind of movement: maybe, a movement from point A to point B whether for good or bad. According to Newton’s third law of motion, “for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction”. Movement is an action. So, we can further say that “for every movement, there must be an equal and opposite movement”. Since change is a kind of movement, it won’t be out of place to say that “for every process of change, there must be a counter-change.” The Newtonian law is a law of physics which ordinarily may have little or no relevance or bearing in the spiritual realm. However, within the context of the scriptural readings for today, the Newtonian law may help us understand the dynamics of eschatological change: it will help us appreciate the fact that eschatological change, rebirth or renewal or the emergence of a new heaven, a new e...

Open remarks  Someone wrote that the difference between the words, “HERE” and “THERE”, is the letter T (which stands for “time”).  Within the context of Revelation 18:1-2.21-23; 19:1-3.9a, why was the Book of Revelation written? The Book of Revelation was written in order to link “time” with “eternity”. Within the context of Revelation 18:1-2.21-23; 19:1-3.9a, the Book of Revelation has this message for Christians of all time: in TIME, you will suffer; in ETERNITY, you will rejoice. As we have learnt earlier, it was written primarily for the consolation of those Christians who underwent terrific persecutions in the ancient Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was metaphorically described as “Babylon the great harlot” in the early years of Christianity under successive emperors. The most fiendish, barbarous and ruthless of them all was Emperor Nero who was even code-named and described as the “Anti-Christ” by Christians of that time.  How did those early Christians respond to th...

WHO IS THIS BEAST IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION? IS IT MYTHICAL, IMAGINARY OR REAL?  Carefully go through today's Catholic readings (Revelation 15:1-4 and Luke 21:12-19) and take note of the following: Revelation 15:2 makes reference to "those who had conquered the BEAST singing the song of Moses, the song of victory, the song of the Lamb". Please, WHAT or WHO do you think is the word "BEAST" referring to? Do you think that a certain huge and fiery beast will appear at a certain time in history to attack Christians because they are Christians? Don't waste your time thinking about it. Nothing of that nature will appear in that form to attack anyone.  As you think further, just note that the Book of Revelation was written during one of the bloodiest times in the history of Christianity in the Ancient Roman Empire. Christians of that time used coded languages and expressions to describe their ordeals. Most of those figurative or coded expressions are scattered in t...

The gospel acclamation says “Even if you have to die, remain faithful and I will give you the crown of life” – Rev. 2:10. The gospel (cf. Luke 21:12-19) makes it more frightening: “You will be delivered up by parents and brothers and sisters and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. This will be time for you to bear testimony”. The readings of this period give us some truth about the Christian life: the reality of persecution. Many of us live in denial: that as a Christian, we do not have to suffer. That is a big lie! Suffering, persecution and challenges are part and parcel of Christian life. But it won’t end there: there will be glorification; there will be joy at last. As Christians, we must face persecutions not just during the last days, but all through our lives. Persecution can either be bloody or come in different forms. The Book of Revelation was compiled during the bloodiest times of the Church’s history wh...

Those who farm know very well that there will be a harvest time. Out of what is harvested, the good will be gathered into the barn or storeroom while the bad will be gathered to be disposed either by burning or by whatever means pleasing to the farmer. Before the harvest, in the course of the growth and the development of the crops or plants, manures will be applied; weeds will be uprooted; pests will be checked; and so on. If after all these, the plants fail to produce, during the harvest they will be lumped together with the things that will be disposed. This is the fate of plants that can’t even reason nor decide for themselves. But our own situation will even be more serious because we have got all that it takes to grow into better humans, better Christians. The act of harvesting is playing out in the first reading (cf. Rev. 14:14-19). The angels of God used the sickle to reap the earth into the winepress of God’s anger: a faint picture of what will happen at the end of time, on th...

To give out of the abundance of wealth may mean nothing. But to give out of the abundance of the heart makes a whole lot of difference. That is when giving becomes a sacrifice. And that is when it costs and hurts. When God requested that an altar should be built for him, David refused to take a piece of land from Araunah the Jebusite without paying because “he can’t offer to God what costs him nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24). When I have two coats and offer one to someone who has none against the harsh grip of the harmattan wind, I have given something but that may mean nothing to me. But when I have one coat and freely and willingly give it out to someone who has not, I have given something with a difference; I have sacrificed because my giving out my coat will attract the pains of the cold weather. That’s when giving becomes a sacrifice! How can we ever think of the Christian life empty of sacrifice? How can we conceive of going to heaven without doing some sacrifice? Whatever that costs us ...

“The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want” (Psalm 23)! What has this statement got to do with today’s feast? To the sheep, the Shepherd is a leader, the Shepherd is a king. And what makes a shepherd a king or a leader to the sheep is not the power that he wields over the sheep; it is not the wool, the meat and the hide that he stands to gain, get or extract from the sheep. What makes him a king, a leader and a good shepherd is what Prophet Ezekiel is saying in the first reading (cf. Ezek. 34:11-12, 15-17): “he will seek out his flock when some have strayed; he will seek the lost, he will bring back the strayed; he will bind up the crippled; he will strengthen the weak; he will watch over the strong; and will feed the sheep”. From this, we can say that the primary responsibility of a shepherd is defending, protecting, feeding and keeping the sheep safe. In fact, a good shepherd must protect the territorial integrity of his flock. Go through the Old Testament especially the...

The book of Revelation is full of symbols and imageries that need to be carefully interpreted for us to understand the message they communicate. In today’s first reading (cf. Rev. 11:4-12), John was told about two olive trees and two lamp stands serving as witnesses to the Holy One. Who or what do these two sets of witnesses (olive trees and lamp stand) stand for? When we read further in order to understand what happened to these two witnesses, it may be a bit clear to us that the “two witnesses” may be pointing to Moses and Elijah, judging from what they did on earth and what they stand for. Moses stands for the Law; and Elijah stands for the Prophet. Anyone who bears witness as Moses bore witness to the Law of God must be persecuted by the beast as the first reading (from the Book of Revelation) recounted. Anyone who bears witness to the messages of truth as Elijah and other prophets did must be persecuted just as the prophets were persecuted. Persecution is a fate that awaits every ...

On several instances in the scripture, the word of God is described as food, as something to be eaten for spiritual nourishment just as physical food is eaten for physical nourishment. At the Temptation of Jesus, the tempter wanted him to convert stones into bread; but Jesus responded by saying that man must not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. In other words, what Jesus meant is that physical food can’t provide us with all nourishment that we need; we also need spiritual food (the word of God) for our spiritual nourishment. One thing about food is that it has to be tasty in order to be enjoyed. As it is eaten, it is expected that food should taste nice in the mouth; but whatever that goes on in the stomach (the changes and the processes of digestion and assimilation that food goes through in order to provide nourishment) is something we can’t even stand the sight of.  Yesterday, the Book of Revelation presents us with an account of St John...

Before the Moslem invasion of the entire North Africa, that strip was entirely Christian. But there were obvious signs that such invasion would possibly happen because the Moslems were already coming with force from Mecca conquering and being conquered, yet the Church of the Middle Ages was taken unawares. The Church was not proactive enough in response to that impending danger. The theologians and bishops were rather busy correcting heresies, defending and arguing about doctrines.  A similar thing happened to the Jews: there were obvious signs of future destructions and ruins which they should have prevented if they had toed the path of peace. Rather, they were busy engaging in political maneuverings and battle with the Romans. This led to the very devastating destruction of the Great Temple built by Solomon and rebuilt by Herod. If the Jews had abandoned their dreams of political power and taken the way of Christ who was in their midst, such devastation would not have happened. G...

Next Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King of the entire universe. As it is often celebrated, people carry palm branches, sing and dance before the Blessed Sacrament acclaiming and affirming that Jesus is their king. In such ways, we show our loyalty to Him. But I think that acceptance of a king should be more concretely shown in the manner in which the instructions of the king are carried out. Someone is elected into the office of the president; and we publicly declare that we have accepted him to reign over us. But we find it difficult to obey his instructions, to obey the just laws of the land of which he is a custodian and defender. What such attitude means is that we have not accepted him or agreed that he should reign over us.  The first reading (cf. Rev. 4:1-11) is a vision of Christ our Universal King being lavishly honored and colorfully worshipped by the 24 elders, the creatures and the host of heaven. Now, it should not be difficult for you to believe that these are...

In Rev. 2:1-5, the Church in Ephesus was told some bitter truth about it and then urged to repent. In the first reading (cf. Rev. 3:1-6. 14-22) for today’s liturgy, the churches in Sardis and Laodicea were also told some bitter truth about them and urged to repent. To the Church in Sardis, the Lord says, “I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake!” To the Church in Laodicea, he says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth; so be zealous and repent”. In each statement above, there is a gentle reminder that God knows everything that we do (either in the dark or in the open space) and there is a call to repentance. Today’s passage concludes that “God stands at the door and knocks; if any one hears his voice and opens the door, he will come in and dine with him” (Rev. 3:20). There is a very nice painting of Jesus knocking at ...

It is not everybody who sees that sees very well. This applies both in the physical and spiritual realms. Spiritually and morally, there are those who see what they want to see and disregard the rest. There are those who see things that are at close range but can’t see the ones that are far removed. There are those who can see things that are far away very clearly but can’t see those that are close.  Just as it is with those who are visually impaired in the physical realm, in the spiritual realm many people may be “visually impaired” or unable to “see” the spiritual wars going on between the spirit of evil and that of Christ in creation, in their environments and in their very lives. This conflict can take the form of physical persecution of Christians (just like the ISIS, the communist China, etc). It can take the form of the many temptations that we have: temptations by worldly values such as money and pleasure. Such was the battle that was raging in the Church of Ephesus which a...

The Parable of the Talents (cf. Matt. 25:14-30) will be better understood by those in business. The Parable tells a story of a wealthy man who had three people (workmen) working or doing business for him. One workman had great ability. The second had average ability. The third had little ability. One day the wealthy man decided to make a journey. Before he left, he gave each workman a sum of money according to his ability. The first received 5000 Cedis, the second 2000 Cedis and the third 1000 Cedis. The three workmen were to use the money to work or trade and make a profit for the wealthy man during his absence. The workmen must have taken into account that at the end of the day they must render an account of what they did with the money once the owner comes back. The parable ends with a sad narrative of one workman being thrown into an outer darkness to be punished severely for not being productive with the money given to him.   During these last days of the Church’s year, a...

The theme of generosity runs through the first reading (cf. 3 John 5-8) and the gospel (Luke 18:1-8). The first thing to note is that generosity is an act of love which is the greatest of all commandments and the summary of the teachings of Jesus. In Psalm 112, the Psalmist says that “blessed is the person who fears the Lord”. But which other way can we most practically show that we fear God if we don’t strive to keep the greatest of God’s commandments? In Psalm 112:5, the Psalmist further says that “it goes well for the person who deals generously and lends”. St John wrote his letters (1st, 2nd and 3rd) at a very old age. As he prepared to leave the scene, he dished out few words in his letters which he considered very important. His major piece of advice is that we keep the commandments by loving one and another. And one of the ways in which we can express this love is supporting those who spread the message of love. The gospel is a message of love, a testimony of God’s love amongst ...

We are in the last days of the Church’s year; and as always arranged, the Church rolls out readings that help us think about the last days. During this time, we will read more of the end-time passages of the Scripture. The readings of this period should not evoke fear in us but should instill in us some hope and a sense of preparedness. But we must not forget that the Bible never revealed when the end time would be. In fact, in Matt. 24:36, Christ says, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. However, it is enough for us to be reminded that the end will come. When a student is reminded that the semester is coming to an end and the time for exam is close, if the student does not sit up, he or she will most likely fail. Thus, we are being reminded of all these so that we take our Christian commitment more seriously. In the first reading, John tells us that the overall commitment we have: the commitment to love: we are to...

The letter to Philemon is one of the imprisonment letters of Paul, written while he was in chains in Rome. Philemon, the recipient of that letter, was a prosperous young man who was converted to Christianity by Paul. Philemon had a slave called Onesimus who must have gravely offended his master (Philemon) and ran away to Rome as a fugitive where he met Paul who gave him (Onesimus) refuge and converted him to Christianity. Eventually, Paul encouraged Onesimus to return to his master, Philemon. According to some extra-biblical information, Onesimus must have feared going back to his master because he was guilty not only of flight but also theft. He envisioned a severe punishment (which could even be death) from his master if he returned. To protect him from such punishment, Paul wrote a letter to Philemon to be carried by Onesimus. This is the letter we read today (cf. Philemon, verses 7-20). Later, tradition has it that Philemon received Onesimus without punishing him; and Onesimus rega...

The gospel story (cf. Luke 17:11-19) is a lesson on gratitude. Amongst many things that we can learn from that story is the fact that gratitude is and should be an expression of faith. Ten lepers were healed but only one returned to give thanks. It is quite surprising to learn that the one that returned to give thanks was a Samaritan (a foreigner, an outsider, not bound by the covenant, not among the God’s chosen people). Sometimes, we may feel that there is no need to be grateful; maybe, we don’t consider ourselves as having been blessed like others. May the story of this grateful Samaritan remind us that we don’t need to have all the blessings on earth before we can give thanks to God! Some of us may see no need to express ourselves in gratitude even when there is need for us to do so maybe because we see ourselves as second class citizens, as those outside the camp of the “chosen ones”. Whenever such thought fills our minds, let us remember that the leper who came back to give thank...

Servants have designated duties which are assigned to them, and these must be accomplished. Servants do not decide if they will work or not, nor do they say they will do only a little bit because others are not working. A good servant continues to do his assigned tasks regardless of what may be happening elsewhere. A servant is not and should not be motivated by praises or adulations or material gains/remunerations. A servant is motivated by satisfaction to duty which comes from the fact that he or she has done what is supposed to be done.  In the gospel (cf. Luke 17:7-10), Jesus highlights some points for consideration as regards how we should see ourselves: as unworthy servants. A Christian is not just a worker; a Christian should see himself/herself as a servant, as a witness: a servant to Jesus the grand master. And thus, as servants, we must always aim at doing the right thing, living and teaching the right doctrine. Our disposition, motivation and satisfaction should come fro...

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica in Rome. The word TEMPLE runs through the readings. And we shouldn’t be surprised at that because we are commemorating the dedication of a Church. I think it behooves us to reflect and think a little bit about what a TEMPLE is all about or stands for. In the Bible, the word TEMPLE evokes some meanings: traditionally, it refers to a physical building dedicated for worship (remember the famous Temple of Solomon); in the gospel passage (cf. John 2:13-22) of this feast, Christ describes himself as the temple; in the Pauline writings, the word TEMPLE mostly refers to the individual members of the Church. In all these varied meanings, one thing is clear: the TEMPLE is a holy place. Why? Because God dwells in it; the presence of God himself makes it holy. The first reading (cf. Ezek. 47:1-2, 8-9, 12) symbolically helps us to understand what we should expect to see in the place where God dwells lives, in a place where the Aut...

We are in the final lap of the Church’s year. During this time of the year, most scriptural passages for Mass will remind us of the end-time and the coming of the Son of Man. Most of those descriptions of the end-time in the Bible are scary and frightening. The reason why we have some of these “end-time” readings during this time is not to instill fear in us but to instill in us some hope and a sense of preparedness. Serious and wise students do not need to wait till few weeks before exams before they can begin to prepare for exams. They begin to prepare from the first day of lectures in school.  Yes, the end shall surely come; but as for “WHEN”, we do not know. In fact, in Matt. 24:36, Christ says, “About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. Yes, there will be the Day of Judgment; there will be day of reckoning. On the last day, the Son of Man will come again for judgment and He shall appear like a bridegroom. Our gospel ...