Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Holy Family Sunday Year B- December 27, 2020

HOMILY OF THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH YEAR B, 2020

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Psalm 128:1-5; Colossians 3:12-21; Luke 2:22-40

The celebration of today’s feast is of utmost importance to all of us because we all belong to families; and the family is the first and the greatest institution God created. Unfortunately, we are passing through a difficult time whereby many families are fractured and hurting in one way or another. Our difficult situation is compounded by an increase in the number of disordered families. Since families are the foundations and the constituents of societies, more disordered families mean more disordered societies. Therefore, the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is a model for all families.

Being a holy family does not mean that everything was well and smooth for them. It was a lowly family with many ups and downs. Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mary’s pregnancy brought a troubling situation for both Mary and Joseph. They, however, accepted the situation when each of them was ministered to by the angel of the Lord. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). As for Joseph, “When [he] awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded, and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son” (Matthew 1:24-25).

 Mary gave birth to Jesus in a very difficult circumstance. After a long journey on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, a distance of about 100 miles (161 kilometers), there was no inn to lodge in. They went to a shed in a farm where Mary gave birth to Jesus. It was not recorded that any nurse or midwife was available to help. We can only imagine how tough it was for the two of them all alone.

 As we read in the Gospel of today, at the presentation of Jesus in the temple, Mary was told that a sword would pierce her heart. Her first experience of a sword piercing her heart was when the family fled to Egypt to save Jesus from being murdered by Herod. A sword pierced her heart when Jesus got separated from her and Joseph after the feast of Passover in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple after searching for him for three days. Finally, a sword pierced Mary’s heart when she witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and death. In all the ups and downs, Mary and Joseph remained together. The Gospel of today concludes, Jesus “grew under them and became strong, filled with wisdom; and God’s favor rested upon him” (Luke 2:40).

 We have so much to learn from the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that can help us to keep our families from falling apart. Pope Paul VI describes the Holy Family as a school of Nazareth where we learn true science of life and the higher wisdom of divine truth.

 The first reading reminds us that, “God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority over her [children].” Unfortunately, many parents have handed over this God given authority to their children. The reverse has become the case; whereby many children have authority over their parents, and able to control and manipulate their parents as they wish.

 The first reading enumerates various blessings received by children who honor their parents, and who take care of their parents in their old age. However, Sirach 3:16 mentions curses upon children who disrespect their parents, and who abandon their parents in their old age: “Those who neglect their father are like blasphemers; those who provoke their mother are accursed by their Creator”. On the other hand, the second reading challenges bad and abusive parents not to maltreat their children, so that they may not become discouraged (Colossians 3:21).

 There is no perfect family. Turning on one another and violence to one another make matters worse. For this reason, the second reading encourages us on how to cope with family imperfections to avoid disorderliness, breakdowns, and disintegrations. The reading says, “Put on … heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. … And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, … And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, … with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Colossians 3:12-17). I would like to add that it is also important that family members pray together; because, “A family that prays together stays together.”

 May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph pray for our families and society to be saved from disorderliness, breakdowns and disintegrations. Amen.

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent Year B- December 20, 2020

Homily of Fourth Sunday of Advent Year B, 2020

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16; Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29; Romans 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Have you ever concluded what you considered an excellent plan, made all necessary arrangements, and when you were about to execute the plan, you were stopped by an authority, or by an incident? Different people respond or react in different ways. Some people get very upset and disobedient. In their disobedience they go ahead with their plan.  Some people get very upset; they do not go ahead with their plan; but they refuse to cooperate with other plans. Some people feel disappointed; but are very willing to proceed with alternative plans.

In the first reading, David had a wonderful plan of building a temple for the Lord. Although Prophet Nathan had given David an approval, the Lord did not approve David to build the temple. The Lord’s plan was that the temple would be built by David’s heir. David accepted the Lord’s plan. However, David went ahead to make preparations for building the temple. He procured all the materials needed for the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 22).

Mary, in the Gospel, was engaged to Joseph and was already living with Joseph’s family. Before Mary could move into Joseph’s house as his wife, the angel brought her the message that she was to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit. Though troubled, Mary accepted God’s plan and said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

David and Mary teach us how not to insist on our plan and will when all signs and signals show that God has other plans instead of ours. We may not be privileged as Mary to experience the appearance of an angel to deliver God’s message to us. God speaks to us through his Word, through experiences, and through our fellow human beings. God did not send an angel to David but Prophet Nathan, a human being.  It is, therefore, important to read and listen to God’s Word, pray and reflect on God’s Word, and accept God’s Word. It is important to see God’s presence in experiences and discern what God is saying through the experiences. It is important to listen to good and wise counsels. We pray, as Jesus prayed while he was on the cross, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). For nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).

David’s words to prophet Nathan is quite striking, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!” (2 Samuel 7:2). Indeed, many people, many families, many institutions, many places, and so on are living in houses of cedar but have moved God to dwell in a tent. This is to say that God is given little or no consideration in their activities and plans. No wonder we have so much chaos within and around us.

In the Gospel, Mary accepted the Holy Spirit to come upon her and the power of the Most-High to overshadow her, and she became a dwelling place for God. We are, now, in the last week of Advent and a few days to Christmas; we pray that the Holy Spirit comes upon us and the power of the Most-High overshadows us to enable us to become house of cedar for God. Then, God becomes first in our considerations and plans.

Through the candle of love we lit today, may we love God who loves us first (1 John 4:19). The first Christmas happened because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). We appreciate and reciprocate God's love for us when we share God's love with fellow human beings. By so doing, Christmas is properly celebrated.

 Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent Year B- December 13, 2020

Homily of Third Sunday of Advent Year B, 2020

Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; Luke 1:46-54; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudate Sunday, meaning Sunday of Joy. Gaudate is a Latin word which means rejoice. Advent season was traditionally a penitential season with lots of austere practices such as fasting and prayer. The third Sunday used to be observed as a day of repose from the austere practices, to rejoice about the child Jesus soon to be born. The word Gaudate is the first word of the Latin translation of the entrance antiphon of today’s Mass, taken from Philippians 4:4-5, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Gaudete in Domino semper).

The first part of the first reading was the Isaiah prophecy concerning the mission of the Messiah. Jesus used this prophecy to introduce himself at the very beginning of his ministry in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” This proclamation summarizes our prayers: That many may receive glad tidings; that many may receive liberation and healing from afflictions and sicknesses; that the oppressed may gain freedom; and that God’s favor be announced to many. Amen.

John the Baptist was a son of a priest, Zechariah. Probably, the expectation was that John would become a priest like his father. Instead, he disappeared from home and went into the desert and lived an extreme austere life, “He clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). And from the desert he “went throughout the whole region of the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” and preaching about the one who is coming after him (Luke 3:2-3). The Jews did not understand John’s mission. They sent the priests and the Levites to John, the son of their fellow priest, to demand an explanation for his action. In today’s Gospel, is the dialogue between John and the priests and the Levites.  John explained to them, “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord.” John announced to them that he was only a messenger of the Messiah.

Can I, like John, claim, boldly, to be a messenger of the Messiah by what I do and what I say? Can I be an instrument of glad tidings to others? Can I be an instrument of liberation and healing to others? Can I be an instrument of freedom and God’s favor to others? 

John belonged to a priestly family. But he abandoned his family and a stable style of life and whatever he would have inherited from his father, Zechariah, to live a life of sacrifice in order to be a messenger of the Messiah. Can I leave my comfort zone; can I inconvenience myself for the wellbeing of those in need? 

The pink candle we lit today is called “Candle of Joy.”  Our lighting the candle is our prayer that God may replace our sadness with joy. The second part of the first reading is a song of joy. The Psalm is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s song of joy. And Paul urges us in the second reading, “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks.” This is a type of joy that springs from being close to God, and believing in God even in the most difficult circumstance. Prophet Nehemiah says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). This is the inner joy that helps us to navigate through the storms of the journeys of life, especially nowadays. We pray that God restores the joy of the Lord to many who do not have it and who desire it. Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP - Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent Year B- December 6, 2020

Homily of Second Sunday of Advent Year B 2020

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85:9-14; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

The first reading begins with the following words of consolation from Prophet Isaiah, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated…” Isaiah continues: “Here is your God! He comes with power, the Lord God, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arm he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.” These words of consolation were given to the Israelites in exile in Babylon. At that time, many of them had lost hope that they would ever return to their homeland. Isaiah encouraged them not to lose hope. He assured them that their suffering was at an end. Isaiah’s prophesy was fulfilled when God used the Persian pagan king, Cyrus, to set the people of Israel free and have them return to their homeland.

It is our prayer that these words of consolation come to fulfillment for many people who hear them today. It is our prayer that their hope may not fail and that they may be released from their present kinds of exiles. The word exile represents various kinds of difficulties and afflictions.

The first reading puts us in the spirit of Advent season when we see Jesus as the One who expiates our guilt and gives us comfort. He comes with power. He is the Good Shepherd; he feeds us, his flock. He gathers us, carrying us in his bosom, and leads with care.

The first reading, further, puts us in the spirit of Advent when are able to identify in our life, valleys that need to be filled in, mountains and hills that need to be made low, rough and rugged land that need to be made plain. Valleys, mountains, hills, rough and rugged land are our sinful life that we need to repent from and our ugly past that we need to put behind us. If we do these, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed in us, as Isaiah prophesied.

The Gospel tells us that when John the Baptist preached the message of repentance, people of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem acknowledged their sins and went to him for baptism. In the same way, we are invited to accept the message of repentance, acknowledge our sins and draw close to Jesus who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed in us.

St. Peter reminds us in the second reading that the Lord is patient with us, “not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God, in his goodness and mercy, does not treat us according to our sins and mistakes (Psalm 103:10). He gives us opportunities to learn our lessons and come to our senses and mend our ways and be saved from preventable dangers. Fortunately, some people give testimonies of waking up to the opportunities God gave them. Sadly, and unfortunately, some people waste the opportunities God gave them. May we not be among those who live in regret and agony of memories of missed opportunities. May we, rather, be among those who continually bless God because we did not waste the opportunities God gave us.

The second purple candle we lit today symbolizes peace. May we make a fruitful Advent journey so that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), gives us peace, not as the world gives (John 14:27). May he give us the peace that surpasses all understanding which guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:17) during these difficult times. May the peace of Christ empower us to make peace with those we have difficult relationship with. May the peace of Christ energize us to be channels of peace wherever we are. Amen.

Fr. Martin Eke, MSP