Friday, April 26, 2019

Fr Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for 2nd Sunday of Easter- April 21, 2019

Homily of Divine Mercy Sunday Year C
In the first reading, we see the effect of the power of Christ’s resurrection in Peter. He was so transformed that, as we have read, “they even carried the sick out into the street and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least, his shadow might fall on the one or another… [and] they were all cured.” Peter’s transformation was in such a way that his shadow came not from day light but from the light of the Risen Christ.

The same light of the Risen Christ that shone on Peter shines on each one of us. Each of us is supposed to produce shadows of unity, peace, love, joy, understanding, reconciliation, healing, harmony, encouragement, justice, and mercy. Our shadow, in this regard, is the positive and life giving impact on others as a result of the light of Christ we receive. If our presence is not life giving, then we are in the dark; which is to say, we do not receive the light of Christ.

We read in the Gospel that Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared. He argued with the apostles and insisted, “Unless I see the mark of his nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Thomas longed for his own personal experience of Jesus. Jesus’ next appearance was to satisfy Thomas’ longing. When he experienced Jesus, his doubt was healed, and he made what I consider to be the greatest confession of faith in the Gospels: “My Lord and my God.” Thomas confessed who Jesus was for him. This is unlike other confessions of faith in the Gospels that seem to be mere descriptions of Jesus. For instance, Peter confessed in Matthew 16:16, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Nathaniel confessed in John 1:49, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” John the Baptist confessed in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) confessed in John 21:7, “It is the Lord.” Let Jesus, and nothing else, be our only Lord and God. It is not what people say about Jesus that matters. What matters is who Jesus is to oneself; that is one's personal relationship with Jesus.

Because of Thomas’ longing, he was privileged to be the only one who put his hand into the side of Jesus pierced by a lance. Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side…” Thomas’ longing earned him putting his hand into the source from which divine mercy flows. It came to pass as Thomas desired. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). We pray that we may desire to experience Jesus as Thomas did. May the words of God be fulfilled in us, “You will seek me and find me if you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

We are more privileged than Thomas because in the Holy Eucharist, we receive Jesus’ body, blood, soul and divinity. May we realize that truly it is Jesus, our Lord and God, we receive. May the blood and water that flow from Jesus’ side cleanse and sanctify us, and conform us to his image (Romans 8:29).

Jesus appeared to his disciples and blessed them saying, “Peace be with you.” May Jesus bless us with peace, the peace that drives out all fears and anxieties, the peace the world cannot give. May we have the same experience as St. John, as recounted in today’s second reading, “He touched me with his hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives…”

"For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world…. Eternal Father, we offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Friday, April 19, 2019

Fr Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Easter Sunday - April 21, 2019

Homily of Easter Sunday Year C
Easter date is not fixed as that of Christmas. The Catholic Church has determined the date of Easter since 325 AD. In that year, the Council of Nicaea established that Easter be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon (when night and day are of equal length). This is worked out by ecclesial geographers.

Easter is the greatest Christian celebration. Easter season is from Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday.
Jesus conquered death by rising from the dead. His resurrection is the hope of our own resurrection. We acknowledge this when we pray the Preface 1 of the Mass of the Dead: “in death, life is changed and not ended.” St Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching, empty too your faith.” It is for this reason that we proclaim, “Dying, you destroyed our death; rising, you restored our life; Lord Jesus come in glory.” Jesus says, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day” (John 6:40).

At his crucifixion and death, the mission of Jesus appeared to have ended up in a failure. Then, suddenly, as we read in the Gospel, “On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.” An angel of the Lord removed the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 28:2). Jesus was freed from the darkness of the tomb. Jesus’ mission came alive again. Long before his passion, Jesus prophesied, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25). Pope Francis re-echoes Jesus’ words in his Apostolic Exhortation, Christus Vivit, “He is alive and wants you to be alive.”

Nature celebrates Easter too. The cold winter is gone. The weather is warm and nice. Life is back to vegetation after the scourge of winter. Green leaves are back on grass, shrubs and trees.

Easter means rising from death and tomb to new life in Christ. St. Paul tells us in the second reading, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus rose from death and from his tomb with a glorious body. Easter, therefore, means rising from inglorious (sin, shame, and loss of honor) to glorious (newness, dignity, and honor).

Last night, we blessed the Paschal candle and lit it from the flame of the sacred fire. The light of the Paschal candle represents the light of Christ who dispels all darkness and lights up the world. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). Easter means surrendering every cloud of darkness hovering over us to the light of Christ in order to walk in the light of life.

Let us pray with St. Paul, “I want to know him and experience the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10-11).  To experience the power of his resurrection means to turn from fear to courage, from anxiety to confidence, and from weakness to power. We may be weighed down by different kinds of stones that keep us in tombs. It may appear as if our mission has failed. But it is by the power of his resurrection that we seek above our failures, think above our failures and rise above our failures.

To know Jesus and experience the power of his resurrection makes us Easter people. As Easter people, we do not stay in hiding. We are to go out to preach and witness our experience of the life and light of Christ to others. As Easter people, we are bearers of the life and light of Christ which we must share with others. Happy and Spirit-filled Easter to you all!
Fr Martin Eke, MSP

Friday, April 12, 2019

Fr Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for 6th Sunday of Lent year C, Palm Sunday - April 14, 2019

Homily of Palm Sunday Year C
Palm Sunday, also referred to as Passion Sunday, is the sixth and last Sunday of Lent. It marks the beginning of Holy Week.  Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.
Almost all Jewish prophets had prophesied the coming of the messiah who was to redeem Israel from their oppressors. At the time of Jesus, Israel was governed by the Romans. Jesus’ disciples were convinced that Jesus was a political messiah who would lead a rebellion against the Roman colonial rule and drive out the Romans. On arriving in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, he was given a rousing and heroic welcome: “As he rode along, many people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of Mount Olives, the multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: Blessed is the kind who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.’” I don’t think that the people would have given Jesus the rousing and heroic welcome if they knew he was not a political messiah. A few days later, the same crowd shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” I guess that the people were frustrated and disappointed that Jesus did not fulfill their expectation.

There are some lessons we can learn from today’s celebration.

As we read in the Gospel, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a colt (a young donkey). Jesus chose to enter into Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a horse. He identified himself with a donkey which is a beast of burden, thereby fulfilling Isaiah 53:54, “He took up our pain and bore our suffering.” Like the donkey, Jesus carries our pains and sufferings.

At that time, horse was the means of transportation for the rich, the high and the mighty, while donkey was the means of transportation for the poor. By riding on a donkey, Jesus identified himself with the poor and the lowly. Jesus teaches us to do the same. He wants us to identify with those who are burdened: the needy, the sick and the suffering. By riding on a donkey, Jesus teaches us the importance of detachment and humility. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says, “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart.”

The palm leaves we carry and bless today is a reenactment of the event of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying ‘Hosanna…’” (John 12:12-13). It is interesting to know that in some cultures, in times of crisis or misunderstanding, carrying or presenting of palm leaves is a symbol or a gesture of peace. It means an invitation to peace and reconciliation. Therefore, the palm leaves we carry today is also celebrating Jesus as the King of Peace. Blessed palm is not to be thrown around or discarded as trash. It is kept reverently until next year when it is returned to the church to be burned and the ash is put on our forehead on Ash Wednesday.

Today’s celebration becomes even more meaningful if Jesus makes a triumphal entry into our lives. Let not such entry be short lived, or end up in him being crucified again due to our sins. The Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelations 3:20).

Lastly, St. Andrew of Crete writes, “Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet him, not scattering olive branches or garments or palms in his path, but spreading ourselves before him as best as we can with humility of soul and upright purpose … It is ourselves that we must spread under Christ’s feet…”

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Friday, April 5, 2019

Fr Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for 5th Sunday of Lent year C, April 7, 2019

Homily of Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
As we draw nearer to the Holy Week, the readings of today encourage us to confront and free ourselves from whatever keeps us in sin and bondage, so as to welcome new things God is doing.
The first reading is Isaiah’s prophecy to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. God was going to do a new thing: to liberate them and return them to their own land. God was going to use Cyrus, king of Persia, who had conquered Babylon to fulfill his plan. Isaiah prophesied God’s plan. “See, I am doing something new!” The immediacy of God’s plan is reflected in these words, “Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled as it is written in Ezra 1:2-4, “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Those among you who belong to any part of his people, may their God be with them! Let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, that is, the God who is in Jerusalem. Let all those who have survived, in whatever place they may have lived, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, together with voluntary offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
Jesus Christ is the new King Cyrus who has overpowered the Evil One (Nebuchadnezzar) and has set us free. Therefore, we are not to “remember the former things, nor consider things of the old,” but to embrace the freedom of new life in Christ. It is in the spirit of such freedom that St. Paul declares in the second reading, “I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him… Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit towards the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”
I consider that this Sunday’s readings and reflection are a continuation of the theme of last Sunday’s readings and reflection, that is, rise from sin; rise from bondage; rise from enslavement, rise from the events of the past; rise from things of long ago; rise from what lies behind. Go forward to freedom; go forward to something new; go forward to what lies ahead; go forward to new life in Christ. Last Sunday, we read from 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: old things have passed away, behold, new things have come.”
The Scribes and the Pharisees had judged and condemned the woman caught in adultery. They were ready to stone her to death. People may accuse, judge, condemn, and want to throw stones. People may write off. One should not let oneself get drowned and submerged in such negativities. One should not give up on oneself. One should not condemn oneself. St. Paul says, "There is, now, no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" (Roman 8:1).  Let us be still before the Lord and wait for his new plan for us, because he has the last say.
The Gospel says, “Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.” What was Jesus writing? I imagine that Jesus was writing down a new plan for the woman. The Scribes and the Pharisees read the new plan as Jesus was writing and walked away in disappointment. When he finished writing, he read it out to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” May God’s plan for us be very legible in such a way that our detractors can see it and walk away. Amen.
Isaiah prophesied to the Jews as we read in the first reading: “Thus says the Lord, who opens a way in the sea… I am doing something new… In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers…I put water in the desert and river in the wasteland for my chosen to drink…” Today, this prophecy is for us. May this prophecy be fulfilled in all those in dire need of God’s intervention in their 'babylons' and 'condemnations.' Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for Ordinary Time (A) February 19, 2023

  Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48   First reading: Israelite community wa...