Homily: Wed Fifth Week Ordinary Time B: SHST’s Community Mass, Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo

Homily: Wed Fifth Week Ordinary Time B: SHST’s Community Mass

Readings: 1 Kings 10:1-10; Ps 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40 and Mk 7:14-23 

During the course of our community’s activities last week, I mean, the interview process of searching for a new President- Rector, one of the questions put to me was what I thought was the  “high point, the heart of  our  Seminary activities here.” My answer was the Holy Eucharist, Jesus; always a joy to see members of the Administration, the faculty, staff, and our students come together every Wednesday, as a community to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the source and the centre of our lives, where the Church and our Seminary community draw strength from.

Within this context of our community- celebration and in the light of the Scripture  readings of today, 1 Kings 10: 1-10, Psalm 37 and  the Gospel Mark 7:14-23,  I want invite you to reflect with me on the theme: “The Ironies of the Wisdom of Solomon and the Sarcasms of the Splendor of his kingdom.”

Israel story is told through the analysis of the reigns of more than forty kings, majority of them being unfaithful to God, after the Death of David, except Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah. The Story of Solomon, in the 1^st reading is one of them. In this faith narrative Solomon’s wealth, wisdom and military power are often interwoven with the account of his relationship with foreign dignitaries, including the Queen of Sheba, who sought his renowned wisdom, today. She blesses Solomon and lavishes him with gold and precious stones.

Listening to that 1^st reading on the surface, we all seem to be excited and impressed with the wealth of his wisdom and the splendor of his kingdom but below these flashes of wisdom and luxurious home, all was not well with Solomon. Solomon would not have the character of David his father. Solomon would marry pharaoh’s daughter. Solomon would not dance with joy before God nor show any of the humility that David personified. He does build the temple, but Solomon seems mostly concerned with the rest of his building program. He carries out this building program unethically, with forced labor, which is one of the causes of the civil wars that erupted after his death. Moreover, we are not told any where in the readings that Solomon shared any of the gifts he received from the Queen of Sheba nor his horses and chariots with anyone. Very selfish!

He does not keep God’s teachings in his heart.

He neglected the warnings in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (1) not to accumulate large numbers of horses, especially from Egypt (2) not to accumulate large numbers of wives (3) and not to accumulate a large quantity of silver and gold. The point is that, in spite of his wealth and wisdom something is not quite right about the Solomon’s heart.

There is this tension in his life. He had splendorous kingdom, wisdom, silver and gold, horses and chariots but lack Torah, the teachings of God. He could not keep that covenant relationship with God. Solomon had no pastoral heart.

Heart in biblical thought, that the Psalmist refers to today, is very much the center of person’s life, the seat of human activity and emotion, and the battleground between good and evil. It is from the Heart that we give thanks to God, praise Him and keep his Law.  It is also from the heart that evil inclination flows (Gen 6:5).

So it is not by accident that today’s Gospel is read along side this narrative about Solomon. In the Gospel the tension tightens and heightens; the tension between externalism and holiness of life the tension between pure and impure, clean and unclean. Jesus in the Gospel clearly invokes the Torah against “human traditions.” Jesus challenges the ancient tradition of ritual purity. For Jesus what comes out of the person’s heart is what really matters:

He mentions “un-chastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance” all comes from the heart to defile us and our society.

Our Seminary, a school of human and spiritual virtues, is blessed with the name, Sacred Heart School of Theology. Interestingly we have the painting of the Heart of Jesus all over our beautiful chapel here. By the way, as you walk out from this chapel today, turn on your right and look at the second stained- glass window- it is written there Ecce Cor- behold the heart.

This reminds us of the Heart of Jesus, his values, the values of Venerable John Leo Dehon. It reminds us that that from a God’s centered heart comes the opposite of all the vices listed by Jesus in today’s gospel, to strengthen our community.  Unlike Solomon, we are called to be celibate, chaste, and pure in our different states of lives.

We are called to respect life, our neighbors and their properties, to be forgiving not bearing grudges and malice, to be honest, transparent, contented and be humble in the service of one another, with faith and reasons, and in he light of divine revelation, both within here and outside our seminary community.

As we ascend the altar to share in the Body and Blood of Christ, may this same Lord who has begun this good work in us, in our community, homes, and families continue to bless us and bring it to a fulfillment!

Homily: Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time B: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo

 

Homily: Sixth Sunday of Ordinary time Year B:   Fr. Michael U Udoekpo

Readings: Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Cor 10:31–11:1; and Mk 1:40-45

Christ: Merciful and Compassionate

Last Sunday Jesus healed the fever of Simon's mother in-law. The readings of today continue to present Jesus as new prophet, a martyr-messiah and a miracle worker and a healer. He brings mercy, forgiveness, compassion, hope and renewal for the people of God, especially the lepers as against the oppressive rulers and the establishment of the Scribes and the Pharisees in Jerusalem.

The compassionate healing of the leper by Jesus in today’s Gospel must have been shocking to everyone. Shocking, because as narrated in today’s first reading Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, whoever suffered from this type of skin/surface disease, leprosy (t[;r"+c')- we might call it Hansen disease, was regarded by the community as unclean and a threat to others. In fact, it was regarded as an incurable condition (See also Matt 8:1-4 and Luke 5:12-16).  Some in the ancient days thought it was even a punishment from God as a result of sin. It was an image of sin. Today we might have a different image of what is sinful in our society!

 But remember that story in the Book of Numbers 12:10-15, after Miriam and Aaron had spoken negatively against Moses, Miriam is said to have been afflicted with leprosy because she committed the sin of speaking against Moses, God’s Servant, a prophet (see also Deut 28:27; 2 Kings 5:25-27). How often do we speak harshly if not falsely against one another, the Church? However, as the disease progresses on the human skin, their limbs, hands, fingers, toes, noses, mouth could be disfigured with flies paging on the sores.

For fear of contaminating others, they were driven away from the neighborhood and kept in isolation and restricted from using common roads, stores and facilities. They must let others in the society know that they were lepers by not covering their hairs. They must also wear torn pants and clothing’s. If there is any reason for them to step outside their isolated camps they have to alert others by shouting “unclean, unclean, and unclean.” This disease had the power of separating members of the family from each other since contact with them would make others unclean! It is terrible to be isolated from  our community. Here we might want to think of what isolate us from our family member, friends, and community and even from the love of God. What seperates us from the love of God?

If for whatever reason a leper thought he was cured he or she must go through a very prolonged ritual of cleansing procedure, as stipulated by the Levitical Laws (Lev 13–14). These elaborate rituals include animal sacrifices, as well bringing oneself to be certified as cleaned and cured by the priest. Read Leviticus chapter 13–14 you will see it was not an easy process. This is what Jesus was dealing with love and instant compassion. No Levitical Bureaucracy.

It must have been an extraordinary healing session even to have a leper in the city, outside their camp. I am sure others were scared when they saw the man coming and kneeling before Jesus. He didn’t say “please Jesus kindly healed me.” Rather he said “IF YOU WISH YOU CAN MAKE ME CLEAN.” Probably, he knew, the hope of his hopeless condition was only going to be realized in Jesus; his healing grace and mercies

 Jesus said to the leper, “I do will be made clean.”  “Go show yourself to the priest, but tell no one.” But he went and told everyone. This is understandable, the experience of gratitude of been healed of been liberated. How do you feel when you are liberated from any burden or difficulty? I mean the experience and the joy of freedom, from debt, student loans and - could also be from the discrimination, and isolation; freedom from the terrible stigma of leprosy and freedom from sins in the case of this particular leper.

The highpoint of this lesson is nothing but the compassion of Jesus and the challenge before each of us to be imitators of Christ’s compassion and forgiving spirit ,in our relationship with one another (1 Cor 10:31–11:1). Sometimes we are called to go out of our way to show compassion and to forgive.  Jesus acted with a deep sense of compassion. He touched this leper against the Jewish law. He did not cure him from a distance (which reminds me of the care I see a certain lay woman brings to the seniors, voluntarily in one of the health care facilities- not the best in our country).

 We are “lepers” in one way or the other, morally, socially and spiritually. Jesus reminds us today how deeply he cares for us and ready to forgive and to bear our infirmities. Jesus has the will and the power of God to turns things in our lives. He can turn our talking back to daddy and mummy to listening obedience. He can turn our lack of attentiveness to our teachers, professors, and pastors to attentiveness. He can turn our selfishness to selflessness. He can turn our bad health to good health. He can turn our sadness to joy, austerity to prosperity. Jesus can turn our peace-less-ness to peacefulness. He can turn our exclusiveness to inclusiveness. He can turn our weaknesses to strengths.

As it must have been for the leper, may our encounter with Christ today bring memorable healings and peace in our lives and to our various communities.

Homily: Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time B: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B: Homily by Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo

Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

  Called like Paul to Preach the Gospel of Christ ( euvagge,lion)

A few weeks ago on January the 25^th we celebrated the Conversion of St. Paul (It was a joy having His Excellency, Archbishop Jerome Leisteki in our Seminary Community). We are familiar with St. Paul’s story. Born in Tarsus and Converted on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians (Acts 9:1-22; 22:3-16). He turned around by the special grace God as a beacon of hope. He became the bearer of the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles and to people of all walks of life. Almost 1/3 of the 27 books of the New Testament is attributed to St. Paul’s preaching and Evangelization. In Colleges and Universities St. Paul and the content of his Gospel is usually taught as a course. Not long ago a full year was dedicated to the conversion and life of witness that Paul brought to bear on the Gospel of Christ.

He preached love, unity (I Cor12–14), and reconciliation, universalism (Gal 4) and Christian hope. Having once been tortured, thrown into prison, ship wrecked, he knew the meaning of sufferings in the Light of mystery of Christ’s events, the mystery of God’s ways that Job in today’s first reading had had to wrestle with.

Job, a pious and righteous man, kept the rules like any of us. Obeyed God, was prosperous but also suffered terrible set back and misfortunes in life. He lost his property, his children. He was afflicted and tormented by all kinds of diseases. He felt restless and as if he had been assigned months misery (Job 7:1-4, 6-7). He would have loved to have rational answers to the cause of his set back and sufferings. But they were not forth coming. Yet Job, like Tobit deepened his trust and love for God through his experiences of suffering.

Job’s suffering experiences in his relationship with God could be liken to that of Paul who  in spite of the challenges and difficulties felt the compulsion (avna,gkh) of preaching the Gospel of Christ. Paul’s says, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (I Cor 9:16). The point is that though he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted with his talents, rather made himself a slave to all, so as to win over as many people as possible for Christ.

Think of our freedom and liberty to day. What do we do with it, to promote Christ and his church or ourselves?

For Paul the Gospel (euvagge,lion) is “the good news of Jesus Christ.”  It is the entire activity of evangelization to the Gentiles, to the uncircumcised (Gal 2:7). It must have its origin in God manifested in Christ, the son of God (Rom 1:9). It is the faith in Christ (Rom 4–6; Gal 1:23) and the living of the word of God (2 Cor 2:17), the beatitude (Matt 5:1-2). It is the Golden Rule (Matt 7:12). It is a Christian way of life. It is accepting God’s mysterious ways of dealing with us in the crucified Christ (1 Cor 2:1-2) and the hope in the resurrection (1 Cor 15; 1 Thess 4:12-17). It is the fostering of unity (1 Cor 12–14). It is the story of the Risen Lord, not our own stories (2 Cor 4:4). It is the stories of God are healing mercies.

For Paul the Gospel is God’s salvific activity for his people, his power and healing mercies.  For example in today’s gospel we see the healing power of Jesus over Simon Peter’s mother –in-law who was sick with fever.  We heard that Good News:

“On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew, James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever… he approached grasped her and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” This is the Good News.

 Like Simon Peter’s mother-in Law we do have our own “fevers” a times? What are your own “fevers”?  It comes in different forms, in challenges of life, studies, seminary formation or raising a family- long search for jobs, pay bills, run a home. Certainly this can also come in bodily illness. Do we believe in the Gospel of Paul- in the healing power of Christ who is able to cure us of our illnesses? He cures us   through our human doctors and nurses. He accompanies  us on the journeys .

Our “fevers” can also come in form of disunity and lack of love, and envious of other’s spiritual gifts, that the Gospel Paul opposes in I Cor 12–14). Our fevers can come in form lack of universal spirit, acceptance of others which is a complete opposite of the Gospel of Paul in Romans and in the Letter to the Galatians. Our fevers and weaknesses can come in all forms of immorality and idolatries of the 21^st century, against the values of the Good News of Christ championed by Paul.

 Whatever our shortcomings and fevers might be in living and preaching the gospel of Christ- re-evangelization- that Paul preached let us continue to open up ourselves to be nourished by the grace of the gospel, the grace of the Good News, preached by Paul, as we go up to celebrate and receive the Holy Eucharist , today.

Homily:Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B: Fr. Michael U.Udoekpo

Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B- Reflections by Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo

Readings: Deut 18:15-20; Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9; 1 Cor 7:32-35 and Mark 1:21-28

Called to be Prophets

There is a huge volume sitting there in my Library, titled Great Speeches of our times, by Hywel Williams. It contains the speeches of Politicians and Human Right Activists between 1945 -2008. It includes  speeches of Eamon de Valera (May 16, 1945), Eleanor Roosevelt (December 9, 1948), J. F. Kennedy (July 15, 1960, January 20, 1961), and Charles de Gaulle (Feb 15, 1963), Martin Luther King, Jr (August 28, 1963), Nelson Mandela (April 20, 1964), Julius Nyerere (April 10, 1967), Ronald Reagan (June 6, 1984), Jesse Jackson (July 16, 1984), Margaret Thatcher (Sept 20, 1988), Mikhail Gorbachev (May 10, 1994), Fidel Castro (Jan 1, 1999), Tony Blair (Oct 2, 2001) and that of Barack Obama (March 18, 2008).

Ironically, and from biblical perspective, speeches of prophets, theologians and spiritual authors of our times like Pope John XXIII, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Vernerable Fr. Leo John Dehon scj, John Paul the II and Pope Benedict the XVI are not included. Great speeches of Israel’s prophets and that of Moses are  not added.

The first reading of today, Deut 18:15-20 is part of the great speeches of Prophet-Moses, the Law giver to God’s people before his death, before Israel crosses into the Promise Land. It is a prophetic message of encouragement and attentive obedience (Deut 4–11) to God. It is a message of covenant renewal, an invitation to exclusive worship of God (12–26). It is a message that emphasis love, humanitarian concern and seeks to make Israel a just a balance society of responsible, courageous and visionary leadership and prophets.

This Speech of Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put up my words into his mouth, he shall tell them all that I command them” highlights the etiology for the establishment of the institution of the prophecy. It reminds us of the need for authentic prophets and fulfillment, and the call to be attentive to the voices of authentic prophets in our society rather than of the false prophets.

Prophets are called and sent to be the mouth piece of God, God’s messengers. They preach with divine-spiritual authority about God not themselves. They are the conscience of the people. They are sensitive the evil. They cherish the highest good, God. They preached and live the truth with conviction of divine blessings and protection. They may also challenge certain things and even the status quo that does not seems to be in the right direction. We saw this in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel as well as in the 12 Minor Prophets from Hosea, Amos, and Joel to Malachi. Some preached, suffered and died for the truth they were convinced of. They respond to their neighbors with empathy, sympathy, love and compassion.

 We see this in the ministry of Jesus – his love, his compassion, his forgiveness of sins, his teaching with authority, the sermons on the mountains (Matt 1:1-12a) and on the plain land (Luke 6:20-23), his care for the poor and healing of the sick, feeding of the poor and the hungry, providing drinks and wine (Jn 2) even his road to the Cross are all seen as the ministry of the New Moses, the prophet of the New Covenant. Today in the synagogue in the “City of Nahum” Capernaum, teaching with authority, healing and casting out devils and the unclean spirit, free of charge and without advertisement (Mk 1:21-28), revealing the power of God  over that of the devil.

When we read further Marks Gospel 3:14, we see where Jesus appointed the Twelve Apostles and gave them the power to do likewise, casting out the devils. Exorcism, prophetic preaching is an exercise of the spiritual authority entrusted to the Church by Jesus the new Moses, which enables us to freely fully dedicate ourselves to the service of the Lord or as Paul will put it today’ anxious about the things of the Lord that we may be holy,” (I Cor 7:32-35).

Remember at Baptism when we were  anointed with the oil  of the sacred chrism, which the Bishop blesses on Holy Thursday, we  and our  children were vested into the three fold offices of Jesus, that of a priest, that of a prophet and that of a king.

 The following prayer is said: “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into hi holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as member of his body, sharing everlasting life.”

By implications we are call to be prophets in our own ways and capacities in our homes and families in our world of today. We know it is not all that we see and hear in the media today are true about Christ, the church and the values that makes us God’s children. Many are false.

This is what Moses had challenged: falsehood, evil, denial of God. This is what Christ came to rewrite, and this is what Paul warned the Church in Corinth against- falsehood. We want to be a new Moses of our time, home and neighborhood. We want to be another Christ by the way we treat one another, speak the truth and embrace with courage our faith in the face of the challenges of our times.

Let us pray at this Mass that we may be nourished by the prophetic spirit of truth, love and justice after the image of Christ Jesus, the new Moses.   We are called “to be prophets of love and servants of reconciliation.”

Homily Third Sunday of Ordinary Time B: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B- Reflections by Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo

Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25:4-9; 1 Cor 7:29-31 and Mark 1:14-20

Our God of Deliverance

The responsorial Psalm of today, “Teach me your ways, O Lord” Psalm 25:4a highlights our need for God. It is a prayer for confidence and trust in God’s forgiveness, deliverance and guidance.  It is an expression of our need for God.  And an invitation to repent and rely more and more on God’s love with mercy, His ways of peace, His road of repentance (Jonah 3:1-5), His path of detachment (Mark 1:14-20), themes that runs through the Scripture readings of the today.

The Psalmist says,

“Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior.”

Our faith tradition, God’s ways, God’s path= Derek ($rd) is usually and simply understood as Torah (hrwt), God’s laws, His precepts, His will, God’s instruction, His teachings, His Words = dabar (rbd). In Acts of the Apostle 22:4 Paul talks about his earlier persecution of those who followed the Way (o`do.j) of Christ and his life style.

God is Holy. His ways are holy and pure. When the Psalmist prays, “Teach me your ways.”  It presupposes that God’s children have derailed, they have made a mistake, they have fallen of the right  path, they have sinned, and they have turned away from God. God is the only one who can bring us back to His ways of holiness and sanctity.

Remember the incidence of the golden calf, the incidence of idolatry in Deuteronomy chapter 9:12, 16 when God instructed Moses to go down to the sinful Israelite.   God said to Moses, “Go down from here now quickly for your people whom you have brought out from Egypt have become depraved, they have already turned aside from the Way (Derek/hodos) who the Lord had pointed out to them and have made for themselves a molten idol.

In Jeremiah 5: 4 talking about corruption we read, “I will go to the great ones and speak with them; for they know the way of the Lord, their duty to their God.”

In Proverbs 3:17 God the personified Wisdom has God’s ways” God’s ways are pleasant ways, and God’s path are peace.”

So God sent Jonah in today’s first reading (Jon 3:1-5, 10) to the Ninevites to teach them His Ways, to call them to repentance from their evil ways of corruption (Jn 1). We are familiar with the initial struggle of Jonah and his resistance not to embark on this mission of spreading God’s message of mercy. Initially, he ran on the opposite way leading to Tarshish and was swallowed up by a Whale (Jonah 1-2). However, when he finally obeyed and followed God’s path, preached to the Assyrian-Ninevites we are told “they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.” In other words, they repented and turned from their evil ways to God’s Ways. Both Jonah and the repentant Ninevites were saved. This suggests that both preachers and those preached to, need to follow God’s Ways, not their own ways.

Similarly, Jesus in today’s Gospel, followed the Will of the Father, preached repentance and the need for people to believe in the Gospel, the Word of God and His Ways. The fisherman, Simon and Andrew, James and John left their fishing industries, their fishing paths. Detaching themselves from materialism, from their nets, from the comfort of their homes, and relatives, from the lucrative fishing income and from selfish love of self in this passing world (1 Cor 7:29-31), to follow the path of Christ, a path of simplicity, generosity and love.

Could you think of those time we have not followed God's path, God's ways today, but our ways? Materialistic approach to life is veritable ground for secularism and relativism (my ego, my desires only). People who deny God’s existence and refuse to be taught God’s ways, those who dismiss God’s Laws have little regard for objective moral standards. Ethical principles and love of God become secondary to their situational needs. This is not what we want.

I want to believe that we are ready today go deep into ourselves introspectively, to allow God to teach us His Ways (Ps 25:4a) and His Spirit to renew us. We want to follow his Ways, his Life Style of Charity, Compassion, non violence, truth and holiness; even when we discomfort ourselves to assist others, to help someone in need and to help others to experience God’s Love and His Divine Presence.

Dear God,

Teach me your

Gospel Ways

Teach me your path of loving you and my neighbors

Teach me your path of trusting you more and more

Teach me your path of compassion and generosity

Teach me your path of obedient service

Teach me your path of truth and holiness

Teach me your path of patient and forgiveness

Teach me your path, detachment and simplicity of life

Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Homily Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B: Fr. Michael U Udoekpo

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time B- Homily by Fr. Michael Udoekpo

Readings: 1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19; Ps 40: 2, 4, 7-10; 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20; and John 1:34-42

"Here I am Lord; I come to do your Will" (Ps 40:8-9).

Dear friends in Christ,

 In the light of the Bible readings of today I will like to invite you to reflect with me on the theme “Here I am Lord I come to do your will.” First of all this Psalm reminds me of my first Religious Profession in the 80s, at the Heart of Mary’ in the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (the Claretian Missionaries), where I received my ever would cherished earliest formation for my Priesthood.

We used this Psalm for the Liturgy of that day. And I was one of those selected to sing the responsorial Psalm 40- “Here I am Lord… I come to do your will….”2x). It’s a song of thanksgiving and supplication during a royal liturgy. A song that recognizes the need “to Fear the Lord”, “to obey the Lord,” “to listen to Him,” “to keep the hrwt (Torah). “ Like the boy Samuel in today’s first reading, it is an invitation to respond generously to God’s call. It is an invitation to a life of holiness. Like Jesus in the Gospel stories, which came completely not to do his will but the will of the Father who sent him, it is a call to imitate Jesus. It is a call to  be like the two diciples in today's gospel, to hear the Lord and follow him.

Jesus was holy and compassionate. He was led to the slaughter like a Lamb. He humbled himself to and enthronement on the cross. With these, he attracted the fellowship of other disciples like, Peter, James and John, who would continue this mission of the will of the Father (Jn, 1:35-42; 5:43 and Matt 12:50).

Often we may be tempted to rationalize, “how do we know the will of God.’? Let us leave this a moment for a class room debate and reflect deeply on the spiritual significance of the contexts of the texts of our worship today.

Today in the first Book of Samuel we hear the familiar story of the call of Samuel, son of Elkanah and Hannah who lived in Temple helping Eli in the priestly duties. One night after Eli had gone to bed, while the light was still burning, and Samuel was sleeping next to the Ark of the Covenant, something suddenly happened. He was called!!!
The Lord suddenly called Samuel who answered “Here I am” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you call me.”  “I did not call, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep. This happened three times, Eli understood that the Lord called Samuel and instructed him next time the call came to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”-$db[ [mv k hwhy rbd.

The participle here, “Listening” = is the “readiness to hear”, the “readiness to receive divine message,” the “readiness to do the will of God.” It is an important participle. Just like our Mary in Luke 1:38 who said to the angel, “behold I am the handmaid of the Lord be it done to me according to your Words,” each of us, Seminarian, priests, religious, parents and children is invited to say, “ here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

Samuel did not say, “speak Lord I will hear you,”  “I may hear you,” I might listen to you,” or “ I thought I had listen to you before,” Or “ I am sorry I am sleeping now, call me again  when the day breaks, by then I must have been awake.” Samuel did not say, “Hello God, how can I help you.”!! He was also willing to learn the process of discernment from Eli a veteran priest!

The choice of Samuel,  the rise of Samuel the disposition of Samuel, the willingness of Samuel , to obey, to keep the Torah, to do the will of God, like the Lamb of God is clearer when we go back to read 1 Samuel chapter 2:11-36. Remember this is about the sins of the sons of Eli. In the temple the 2 sons of Eli instead of praying, were stealing the portion of the boiling meat that were meant for the priest (1 Sam 2:11-17).

Unlike Samuel, they abused women who were serving at the entrance of the tent of meeting (v 22). Unlike Samuel, they were concerned for their own profits. They were not interested in keeping the Torah nor doing the will of God. The search, for common good and for the the community was not in their dictionary.

The Sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, unlike Samuel put arbitrariness in place of Torah, human selfishness in place of the will of God. The fact that they acted right there in the Temple, when the meat were still boiling, or took the raw meat went a long way to show the level of their greediness and the sins of the flesh, which weakened their response towards the greater good, namely the will of God.

Following Christ, like Peter, James and John, means staying with, being on the same page with Christ. It means giving Christ our heart and being. It means living a life of holiness. Like, Eli( 1 Sam 2:25), Paul said in the Second Reading  to the troubling early Christian Corinthian community, “Stay away from immorality--- for your bodies are the Lord, they are members of Christ—they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.” Behaving otherwise keeps us away from pursuing or recognizing, like John, “The Lamb of God.”

These are the things that prevent us from doing the will God: sins against the Holy Spirit, acting in selfish way, selfishness, self-absorption, self- indulgence, self- righteousness, self- enthronement, acting in an arbitrary way, not listening to anybody, or the Torah, not listening to our parents nor the teachings of the church, except our desires, drives and passions.

In the opening of the conclave in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI rightly identified these as part of the challenges facing us today. He calls it “Dictatorship of Relativism” (cf Light of the Word, pp.50-59).  A situation where people like the evil sons of Eli would not recognized anything definitive and whose ultimate standard consist solely of satisfying their own egos and desires. Friends, we are called to be pure. We are call to be attentive to the Lord, even through our neighbors, through one another.

 We are called to be like Samuel, ready to listen to the voice and impulses of the Holy Spirit speaking to us through our parents, through “Elis”, through the words of the Holy Scriptures, through our priests and pastors, through our neighbors, through creations, the sea, the moon, the stars, the mountains, oceans, trees, snow, through the Church, songs at Liturgy, the poor and the needy and through our lives of holiness and acts of charity.

May the Lord bless us with grace to always say, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

Homily: The Epiphany of the Lord- Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord ABC – Homily by Fr. Michael Udoekpo

Readings: Isa 60: 1-6; Ps 72:1-2,7-8,10-11,12-13; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 and Matt 2:1-12

Epiphany: A Call to Manifest our Faith

Dear friends,

Happy New Year again!!!

Wasn’t that a wonderful Christmas celebration? And we narrowly escaped the snow! Today we come again in a New Year ( 20..), as a faith community, perhaps with New Year resolutions, to reflect further and further, deeper and deeper on the events of this mystery of Christ’s Birth. We gather to solemnly celebrate The Epiphany (Theophany, Christophany)= the manifestation of Jesus as  our Messiah, Son of God and the Savior of the World rooted in today’s Scripture passages.

Prophet Isaiah who had long foretold the birth of Christ (Isa 7:14) sings praises of his birth in today’s first reading (Isa 60:1-6), to those who lived to see this day, to those finally set free from captivity.

Christ's Birth is not only an entrance of Light into the world of darkness, but an entrance of Light and Divine Strength into our human brokenness, selfishness, self- centeredness, and sufferings. It is a manifestation, a revelation of the Glory of God. It is an epiphany of God's love, his Mercy, his Tender Care and Kindness to all nations, Jews and Gentiles, to the poor, the rich, the queens and the kings.

Epiphany is manifestation of God to our children, to mummy and daddy, to husbands and wives, seminarians and priests, to friends, partners, politicians, poets, colleagues and peers. It is a feast when Jesus is made known to the whole world. Just as the Psalmist would put it, “Lord, every nation on earth shall adore you” (Ps 72). Epiphany is a gathering of every nation to adore Christ. This is true even when you look at our faces, our colors, and our eyes, particularly our last names. Only Christ can gather us together at birth and at death.

 We came from different ancestral origins. What a miracle of faith. This is true, particularly, in the visit and the reaction of the Shepherd, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna to the birth of Christ.  This is true in the reaction of the Magi, the three wise men, in today’s Gospel reading (Matt 1:1-12) to the birth of Christ. Guided by the star, which was their domain of specialization they came all the way from the East, from abroad outside Bethlehem/Judea, to adore Christ, to worship Christ= (proskunh/)= to submit themselves to Christ and to offer Christ gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Every nation adores the Lord!

I believe that, God uses the star as an instrument to call the wise men, to lead those who were studying stars to embrace His will.  God can speak to us; He can manifest Himself to us through our various professions and occupations. All that he requires of us is disposition, willingness, openness and readiness. You don’t need to be a priest or nun to have faith. You can be an attorney, a nurse, a doctor, a secretary, a receptionist, a broker, a plumber, a factory worker, a church volunteer, a student, employed or unemployed, a bank teller, a football coach, a husband, housewife, a Jew or Gentile with deep faith. Salvation is Universal (Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6).

I also want to believe that the journeys of magi were not rosy-rosy. They were difficult ones, most likely. They must have left their homes, children and family members searching for Christ in a territory where Herod was appointed the king of the Jews by the Roman imperialism. I am sure being learned scientists they were not naive, they knew, humanly it would be risky facing Herod, the reigning earthly king, when at the same time searching to adore  the heavenly King, the true “King of the Jews,” and the King of kings.

 These things are possible when we walk with deep faith, when we listen to the impulses of the Holy Spirit, when we follow the light of Christ not our own will, as the magi did.

Not only that they submitted (proskunh/)= themselves to Jesus, but as earlier foretold in Isaiah 60:6, the Magi like those from Sheba offered Christ the most precious gifts from the East- gold, frankincense an myrrh- the best for God. 

Gold- recalls he royalty of Christ which lies in his mission of justice, peace, love, forgiveness and holiness of life- Not bullying, revenge and terrorism. In Frankincense we recall the perfume we use here occasionally on the altar especially here in our parish during funerals- which is a symbol of hope and faith that we all place in Jesus our Messiah.

 In 2 Corinthian 2:15 St. Paul even reminds us to give of that noble “aroma of Christ” among ourselves: peace, love, forgiveness, universalism, inclusiveness, friendship and acts of charity.  In Myrrh we recall the sufferings, the pains and passion of Christ. On the Cross they gave Jesus wine mixed with Myrrh or gall and when he tasted he did not drink it (Mark 15:20-23; Matt 27:33-44). And it was with Myrrh in John 19:39 that Nichodemus anointed Christ’s body for burial.

Brothers and sisters, Epiphany is a celebration of our faith from the strength of our jobs, vocations and occupations. Many with various occupations gathered here have that faith. Many with various professions are still searching for that faith. Like in the case of the Magi sometimes the journey may be long and rough.  When we finally find that faith we are call to share it with others, with our friends and relatives; That Faith, that aroma of Christ, that golden peace, that inclusiveness, that joy, that charity, that forgiveness, those gifts.

Let me end by sharing one of my Christmas gifts with you. It is prayer sent to me by one of the SSND nuns.  The prayer reads,

Dear God,

I ask you to bless me and to watch over me this day

May my feet walk, where my presence will be a [glimpse) manifestation of you

May my hands [touch] manifest for someone in pains

May my eyes always see the good in everyone they meet

May my ears listen only to praise, and not to words that tear down

May my mouth always {speak) manifest the truth

May my mind not judge others because they are different

May I just be myself and a {reflection) manifestation of you!