Humility that makes us enjoy God’s forgiveness

Oct 23, 2022 | Homily

By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe C.S.Sp.

Readings: Sir 35:12-14,16-19; Ps.32:2-3.17-19.23, 2Tim4:6-8,16-18 & Lk. 18:9-14

Dear friends in Christ,

For a bicycle to move properly, the wheel and the hub must work together. So also is it with prayer and humility. The gospel reading of last Sunday centered on prayer, with an emphasis on the need for faith and perseverance when one prays. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus moves further to focus on the centrality of humility for effective prayer. 

Humility is said to be the mother of all virtues given the important role it plays in authenticating the rest of the virtues. Take for instance that someone who makes a gift to you goes about boasting that he or she is the one supporting you without which you cannot survive. In that situation, the gift loses the quality of a true charity. Remember that Jesus warns that when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). So it is also when someone claims to love you but constantly puts you down. The true meaning of love is then lost. That gives us a clue to how central humility is in our relationship with God and our fellow human beings.

In the Parable that Jesus used to bring out his teaching in the gospel, he talked about a Pharisee and a Publican who went into the Temple to pray, just as we all gather in the Church today to worship and pray. The Pharisee in his pride and self-assuming started to appraise his good deeds, making a presentation of how often he fasts, pays his tithes, and gives to the poor. He went on to exonerate himself from all wrongdoings, claiming that he is not like the rest of other men who are sinners and evildoers. He even pointed at the Publican (the Tax-collector) at the other end, saying that he is not like him – a sinner. It seems he was trying to impress God and probably making a case for a reward for his presumed virtues and good deeds. The Publican, on the other hand, was fully conscious of his shortcomings and,  in his humility and self-emptying, recognized his sinfulness and beats his chest in sorrow saying, ‘have mercy on me a sinner.’ Jesus ended by saying that the Publican went home justified while the Pharisee was not, because whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 

Let’s get closer to the identities of the subject that featured in this parable as narrated by Jesus. Both the pharisee and the publican were of Jewish origin and financially well off. So, it has nothing to do with material wealth or nationality. While the Pharisee enjoyed societal respect and honor as a religious role model of the time, the publican was detested for collaborating with the Roman occupiers. What gave the Pharisees the upper hand was their nationalistic and religious commitments against the Publicans who were seen as traitors and betrayers of their own people. This brief comparison helps us to place this parable in its context, and also to understand the meaning and context of the lowly as used in the first reading, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds. It does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds”

In this parable, Jesus shifts emphasis on the impact of paychecks or socioeconomic status in the definition of the poor and lowly. To make this point clearer, the second reading shows St. Paul imprisoned, awaiting execution, abandoned, and his life being poured out like a libation. Everything had been taken away from him, his family, friends, wealth, adequate food, and so on and so forth. Yet he was spiritually peaceful and able to write, “The time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. And from now on the crown of righteousness awaits me”. St. Paul was writing from a place of supreme material and emotional poverty. However, because of his faith, he could feel like the wealthiest man in the world. He displayed complete abandonment and trust in the grace of almighty God. Humility, therefore, has to do with the acceptance of truth concerning oneself and recognizing one’s capacities and weaknesses.  Humility is not about humiliating oneself but rather about taking one’s rightful place and being grateful for who one has become through the grace of God. It is a way of saying, ‘I acknowledge who I’m before God. I depend on him and it’s only with his grace that I can do anything worthy of praise.’ This is what Paul means when he wrote: “What do you have that you didn’t receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (I Co 4:7). 

What separates the Pharisees and the Publican was the ability to look inward, recognize the truth about oneself in relation to God, and refuse to judge others using one’s strength against their weaknesses. The only strength the Pharisee could use against the Publican is his religious social standing, which in itself turns out to be hypocrisy. It is a known human tendency to constantly compare with others and try to portray oneself as better than one’s neighbors, friends, and colleagues. That is the root of gossip, backbiting, jealousy, and lack of contentment. This parable also deals with the question of pre-judging others. It warns against the quick judgments on which we often base our concepts on others. The word “prejudice,” comes from “pre-judging”. It is a prejudice to judge people or their actions without knowing who they are, what they think, or why they do what they do. We pre-judge people all the time.  A new person who looks different comes into our neighborhood, into our office, into our school, or even in our church, and we quickly map everything about the person based on past experiences or what we know of similar persons in the past. 

Judging and despising one’s neighbor closes the door to God’s heart. Expressing contempt and scorn for others is beyond mean and proud. It stems from the assumption that one would be qualified to sit in the seat of judgement and publicly shame those who do not conform to one’s own standards. Certainly, God does not listen to someone who boasts of his or her goodness as if he or she achieved it without God’s grace, and even worse if that person condemns others on that premise. What is important is that we recognize God’s goodness to us, humbly seek His mercy and show mercy to others as well.

The Gospel has a number of practical lessons for us. People who puff themselves up and try to put others down are obviously not the most loved of people. Rather, it is those that care for others, help them become better, build self-confidence, recognize their worth and talents, and are able to make something for themselves in life that is loved and appreciated. In the same manner, Jesus makes it clear to us that relating with God our Father requires us to recognize our place with him, and approach Him with humility because “whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”. It is only in humility that our prayer can be heard, just as the wheel of a bicycle can only move if the hub is working properly. Prayer, therefore, becomes a conversation between two persons who are conscious of their positions and needs; a kind of relationship between parents and their children. Fear, pretense, puffed-up ego, and belittling others give way to love, respect, obedience, and worship. That is the position from which we can ask and enjoy God’s forgiveness in prayer. 

Let us, therefore, cultivate the virtue of humility in our approach to God and in our relationship with our fellow human beings. Amen.

Loving Christ and the Needy and the Forsaken

Sep 26, 2022 | Homily

By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp

Readings: Amos 6:1.4-7; Psalm 146: 1 Tim 6:11-16: Lk 16:19-31

Dear brothers and sisters,

Every opportunity we have in life is meant to be used wisely. Wherever God has placed us in life, and whatever capacity we have to do something, are in themselves opportunities to be God’s presence that the people around us can feel and be grateful for. Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians (5:20) that we are ambassadors for Christ. And the work of a good ambassador is to properly represent the one that sent him or her. When we fail to make good use of the opportunities we have, and it passes away, we end up in regret. That is the important theme of today’s readings. 

In the first reading, the prophet Amos vehemently rails against the rich who are only concerned about their pleasure without showing interest in what can benefit others. They lay in beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches. They do nothing except feast, and they do so in a totally immoral way. They do not slaughter adult animals, but lambs and calves, because their meat is more tender than that of adult sheep and cattle. So they eat their own future, so to speak because herds with too few young animals are doomed to extinction. For Amos, who was a farmer until God called him, this must have been a terrible experience.  Eating lambs and calves also symbolically allude to acts that hurt young people and are capable of negatively affecting their sound and integral development. Whoever does not care about the effect of his or her action on the young people does not have an eye on the future, and any nation that fails to protect its youth is doomed. So, when Amos wrote that these men drank wine with large cups, used costly cream, and never cared about the destruction that was coming to their nation, he was obviously warning that the nation had no future. That is why these men will be the first to go into exile.

If Amos were to live in our society today, he would have a lot to condemn. The power of money and its abuse has become a daily occurrence. Money has become everything. Once you have money, you can buy anything, even a human being. You can even lobby to turn something immoral and absurd to become legal. Think of the hundreds of thousands of street children in the slums of the world’s cities, the hundreds of thousands of other children in Asia and Africa and so many other places that are forced into child labor, sixteen hours of work a day for a very little wage just to continually enrich the companies owned by the rich. And the owners of these companies could be based elsewhere, and we rush to buy the products of these child laborers because they are cheap. In that way, we patronize the practice. Think of child prostitution and human trafficking. If one would take a look at the various evils in the world today, the real people behind them are not often those poor boys and girls who are rather victims, but the rich who sponsor all kinds of organized crimes. Rather than use their wealth to lift up the poor out of poverty, the rich that Amos attacked used their wealth to destroy the future of the young ones.

While Amos concentrated on the temporal consequences of failing to make good use of wealth, Jesus warned in the gospel that it can lead to eternal damnation. To illustrate this point, Jesus told the parable of Lazarus and a certain rich man. Like the rich people in the time of Amos, he too dresses richly and celebrates lavishly every day, while poor Lazarus lies sore-covered at his gate. But the rich man takes no notice of him. It does not even occur to him to have the surplus of food delivered to Lazarus. Unlike the case of the people Amos condemned for their actions (sin of commission), the sin of the rich man in the gospel is that of doing nothing in a situation that he could actually help (sin of omission). Remarkably, Jesus did not give him a name. The poor man, on the other hand, is given a name, Lazarus, which means “God will help”. 

Earlier in this chapter which was read last Sunday, Jesus warned us to make friends with the money we have by reaching out to those in need so that when the money fails, we can be admitted into heaven. This rich man paid no attention to such a warning. So when his wealth failed to keep him living, he realized that he has not made any friends in heaven. It is therefore not surprising that he has no name while Lazarus is always remembered because he is the man we sing about at the end of a funeral service: ‘To paradise the angels lead you. And as Lazarus, the poor of old, thou shalt be in the land of peace forever.’ The most important place we need to have our names written is in the Book of Life (cf. Rev. 20:15) which endures forever, and not just in the cheap popularity of the world.  Unfortunately, Lazarus could not respond to the rich man’s cry for help because there is already a separation between them (cf. Matthew 25: 31-32) and there is no repentance in the grave. 

Jesus did not tell this parable to praise poverty or to condemn wealth. No. Jesus himself had a number of wealthy friends while on earth, like Joseph of Arimathea on whose grave he was buried (cf. John 19:38). Rather he is warning us to make use of all that we have to win eternal life. Paul calls it “fighting the good fight” in his letter to Timothy in the second reading. What matters in life is not what we have but what we do with it, and how it positively affects others who cannot help themselves. The moment we concentrate only on ourselves, we do not build for the future. We do not make friends with heaven. We fail God who is the giver of all gifts, and we do not live to be remembered. It is people who felt loved and cared for by how we relate to them that often remember us. The apostles were not rich in wealth, instead, they gave up what they had for the gospel. Yet the impact the Gospel they preached and the example of their lives made on people’s lives keep their names still among us. If you should close your eyes for a moment and think of the one person that your heart quickly remembers, it might not be a rich person in terms of material wealth but someone that was there for you when you needed his or her help. And that is what the rich man failed to do for Lazarus. He failed to see him as a fellow human being in need. He failed to help. Jesus said, whatever you do to the least of these my brethren, you have done for me (cf. Matthew 25:40). 

The readings invite us to reflect on our attitude to what we have and how it influences our relationship with those around us who are in need. Being rich is not just about material wealth. One can be rich in talents, knowledge, time, or in many other ways. We can see that each and every one of us is rich in some way. We also have a lot of migrants, asylum seekers, victims of war who have fled their homes, the aged who are lonely and sick, and the youth needing direction in making life choices. We have our fellow worshippers who are going through difficulties in their lives, families and work-situations. Do we make our time, knowledge, and talents available to reach out to them, to help those confused, or needing direction and care? Let us ask for the grace to always use our wealth positively to help those in need so that when that day comes, those acts of kindness will speak on our behalf.

Ask & you’ll receive; seek and you’ll find

Aug 18, 2022 | Homily

By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, C.S.Sp. (Genesis 18.20-32, Colossians 2.12-14, Luke 11.1-13)

THE ONE WHO ASKS ALWAYS RECEIVES; THE ONE WHO SEARCHES ALWAYS FINDS.

The readings present us with an understanding of the nature of God that invites us to a closer relationship with him. He is a loving father who longs to be close to his children. Against the stifling idea of God that sits somewhere watching to see when someone has sinned so as to visit the person with punishment, the readings present a listening, caring, and tolerant father willing to change his mind, if need be, for the interest and the good of his children. 

The first reading presents the meeting between God and Abraham in such an interesting manner that one might be led to ask where Abraham got the audacity to seek to change the plans of God. One would have thought that if God makes up His mind, no one would be able to make Him change. Afterall, he is God, He must have known everything and what do we have to offer that would make Him change His mind? The Prophet Isaiah asked, ‘who directed the spirit of God, what counsellor could have instructed Him, whom has He consulted to enlighten Him, to instruct Him in the path of judgement…? (Isaiah 40.12-15)’ With this idea in mind, we could feel that we do not have to offer God any suggestion or even beg Him to change things in our favour. Yet, we see Abraham doing exactly the same. God even agreed to Abraham’s intervention, at least he never felt that Abraham was insulting Him by trying to make Him change His mind.

It is not just in this instance that we have seen this side of God, when God wanted to destroy the people of Israel out of anger, Moses stood in the gap and even asked God to remove his name from the book of life instead of doing what he threatened (Exodus 32.8-14). Of course we all know the story of the Ninevites and how God relented from destroying them after they repented. Jonah himself knew that God might change his mind and was not prepared to warn the people. He actually wanted God to unleash His anger on the people and that was why he wanted to flee from the request to go and preach to the Ninevites (Jonah 4.1-3). The Ninevites prayed and fasted in order to make God change His mind and it worked (Jonah 3.8-10). Even God Himself often wanted people to stand in the gap between and people in order to save them from God’s wrath (Ezekiel 22.28-31).

What does this say to us about human relationships? Jesus asked, “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” (Luke 11:11). Where does the interest lie? Is it just what I want or what is good for the other? If the interest of the other is central, it will not be very difficult to make adjustments. 

This standing in the gap is what Jesus did when He gave up His life on the Cross, He paid the ultimate price. He reconciled all things with God. He made away with the enmity and cancelled the debts. We hear this clearly in the second reading and also in many other writings of St. Paul. The second reading puts it this way; ‘he has forgiven us all our sins, he has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it on the cross.’ This is why the major task of Christianity is proclaiming what God has done because what God has done and is still doing is far more important than what we are doing and can even do. Religion is human participation in the Divine project. God wants us to become participant in this project, Jesus makes us agents of reconciliation which He initiated by his death on the Cross, it is all God’s work (2 Corinthians 5.18-21).

We can now understand why Jesus gave us the boldness to ask, seek and knock without being afraid of being rejected. This is because he has removed every obstacle that made us strangers to God. He had done away with the fear, the barrier, the tension, the uncertainty and enmity between us and God. He gave us the boldness to call God ‘Father’. This calling God ‘Father’ is not just mere words but a reality which comes with every right a child has. Children never get tired of making requests from their parents. While a child might feel reluctant to ask something from an outsider or a stranger, he or she can always make requests from the father and mother. As a matter of fact, if your children are afraid of asking you something as a parent, then something is very wrong somewhere. It is that confidence and trust to turn to you as the parent especially when any other source of help has failed them that makes you truly a parent.

Jesus even added something more in this attitude of trust in God’s providence. He teaches us not just to ask, seek and search, he equally encourages us to be persistent. This means that we should not relent when it seems our prayers are not being answered, we should add the character of persistence to our prayer. We see this same teaching in the writings of St. Paul who asked us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.17, Colossians 4.12). One thing about persistence is that it helps us actually know how important what we are seeking for is. If what we are asking is not so important, we might not find it necessary to persist. However, if we are seeking for something very important, we can stay awake all night, we can go the extra mile to get. We can equally see that Jesus acknowledges the power of persistence in seeking. He often stayed in prayer all the night (Luke 6.12), he equally praised the Syrophoenician woman for her persistence (Luke 18.1-8), on the night before he was betrayed, he prayed in agony and even sweated blood (Luke 22.44). we were equally told though he was a son, he offered prayer constantly with loud cries and tears (Hebrews 5.7-8).

Prayer is a relationship and our way of praying depends on how we understand our relationship with God. Jesus whose death has reconciled us to the Father is reminding us in a powerful way that we should pray with confidence, faith and trust. We should approach the throne of mercy with confidence. We should not pay attention to the voice of the accuser who accuses us day and night before God. This accuser has been thrown down with his accusations (Revelation 12.10). We should rather be mindful of the new position and status that Jesus has given to us (1 John 3.1-3). Our prayer life should bear witness to the fact that we are no longer slaves but sons and daughters of the Most High, if not, then it means that Jesus died for nothing. When the veil of the temple tore into two, it was to demonstrate that the barrier caused by sin has been broken.

With this attitude in mind, let us renew our relationship with God. Let us renew our perception about God Who is a Friend and a Father. Let us embrace the status given to us out of love. Let us remove all the doubts and negativity that distort the true image of God in us. Let us above all call on the Holy Spirit of God Who refines us and teaches us in the depths of our beings. May the Holy Spirit lead us to the truth, pray in us and with us, may He give us the ability to grow daily in fruitful and effective prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Following Jesus without Hesitation

Jul 24, 2022 | Homily

By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, C.S.Sp. (1Kg 19:16,19-21; Ps.15, Gal 5:1,13-18; Lk 9:51-62)      

Dear friends in Christ,

I have been asked several times why I chose to come and work in the Netherlands. That has always been a difficult question for me. This same is often addressed to the administrative board of Congregations that bring priests to the Netherlands. What are the conditions for bringing a person to work in the Dutch church? Do they choose to come on their own or are they sent by the authorities of their congregations? I have seen many priests struggle with this question. I understand the reason for the question. It seems that when someone has chosen a country for himself, it also means that they will give everything for the mission. But is that really the case? We have noticed over the years that those who choose a country for a particular vision are more likely to leave when that vision becomes unrealistic. So, our congregation, for instance, does not just accept people because they come forward and present themselves for a particular mission or country. There are also people who we would like to have, but who have other wishes. That is how it goes. I have always said that when someone accepts their vocation as a gift from God and opens themselves up to it, that is enough. Because then the chance to develop and adapt to reality is greater. We are human beings. And as human beings, we often want to plan everything in advance. And sometimes we even expect God to follow what is in our plan, claiming it to be His will. But the first reading and today’s Gospel teach us something else, namely that we must not set conditions for following God. Rather, we must always make the right choices and be resolute about them.

Today’s Gospel is actually the story of failed invitation to follow Jesus. Luke deliberately places this story in the context of Jesus going to Jerusalem. It reads, “when the days of his exaltation were about to be fulfilled, he resolutely accepted the journey to Jerusalem”, the city of his suffering and of his resurrection. With these three stories, Luke wants to make clear to us the very things that constitute obstacles to following Jesus.   

The first man who offers himself to Jesus wants to follow him, “wherever you go”. Beautiful words, and he seems to be full of good intentions: an idealist who dreams of great things. But Jesus sees that his heart is still bound to a hundred things, and Jesus wants to make him aware of that. He used the analogy of animals to describe how following him demands total self-giving and exposure to dangers. Animals that find it hard to defend themselves have their lairs, in which they can crawl away and from which they do not like to emerge when in danger. Birds exposed to wind and weather have a warm nest that offers them security from storms and cold. Those who want to follow Jesus must not creep into their holes: they must dare to defy the dangers of our time – they must not hide when it comes to standing up for justice, for the poor, and for those who are overlooked (that is, the ‘marginalized’, the ‘unimportant’). You have to dare to be a Christian in all weathers, exposed to criticism and ridicule.

The second man wants to bury his father first, but Jesus seems to be ‘against’ it. It seems very unkind when Jesus says to the young man, “Let the dead bury their dead; you must go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Of course, Jesus does not forbid people to bury their dead. What He says is only a picture to teach us that we should not set conditions if we want to follow Him. We may not be aware of this, but we do it so often. Thoughts like ‘I have prayed so much, and still God does not listen to me.’ Or “I come to Mass every week, but I don’t get anything done. These are words and thoughts we are familiar with because they are so human. After all, conditions are very human standards in our relationships, in our work, and in our attitude toward our fellow human beings. When we do something, we want to get something in return: we know this as human beings. But God is not human.

The third man wants to follow Jesus, but asks: “Let me first say goodbye to my family and friends”.  What he asks seems reasonable, but in essence, he cannot renounce his past. To him Jesus says: “He who leaves the hand to the plough and looks back is unfit for the Kingdom of God.” In this way, Jesus wants to make it clear that the Kingdom of God requires all attention. There is no point in looking back on what you must leave behind: you must have the courage to try new things, and you must believe and trust that God has the future in his hands.

These radical words of Jesus about following come across as harsh. Jesus does not want to scare us by making these demands, but He does want to create clarity. He does not want to break the ties with our family here either, but He does want to give us the right value. He wants us to understand that there is nothing more important than the Kingdom of God. Important things demand full attention. Likewise, following Jesus demands a strong sense of resoluteness. When Jesus took the path to Jerusalem, he knew it was a dangerous route, he knew that a painful death awaited him there. But he was resolute. Being resolute is very important because we are mostly confronted with all sorts of options in life.

There is a story of two men who happened to make big money many years ago. One of them built a big mansion with his money, and the other invested his money in starting a bank. After twenty years, the man that built the big mansion could not even maintain the mansion again due to the size and lack of money. The man that started a bank has now thousands of branches all over the country, he has equally hundreds of mansions all over the place. Two of them had the same amount of money, what differentiated them was the choices they made. The man who built the mansion with his money might have thought of investing it in some business but might have lacked the resoluteness to follow up on that, he might have fallen for what was more appealing at that time, what was more comfortable to do. The route which Jesus took was not appealing, Peter had tried to even talk him out of it but he rebuked Peter  (Matthew 1623).

We see this sense of resoluteness in the first reading. Elisha received the call of Prophecy when Elijah threw his mantle upon him. He immediately abandoned his farming life, he even slaughtered the two oxen that were his major tools in the farming business, he used the ploughs as firewood for cooking them and made a farewell feast for his men. This way, he demonstrated his resoluteness to follow his new call without looking back. He destroyed everything that would make him look back. There is a story of a war leader who faced a larger army more numerous than his men. When he came down with his men from their boat to face the numerous enemies, the war leader saw how many their enemies were and how frightened his men already looked on seeing the enemies, he gave an order that their boats should be set on fire. His men were surprised and wondered what he was up to. After the boats were destroyed, he told his men, ‘we have only one option, we either defeat the enemies or we all perish, there is no boat for escape or retreat.’ His men knowing they had only one option fought with all their strength and conquered the numerous enemies.

In the second reading, St. Paul warned about self-indulgence which can become an obstacle to our goals in life. Self-indulgence comes from a lack of resoluteness, it makes us become negligent, complacent, weak, indecisive, and distracted. St. Paul warned us not to allow the life of liberty we received to lead us to self-indulgence but to be careful and guided by the Spirit. It is always very easy to get complacent when things are moving fine, when we have some boats for escape or retreat, we might find it difficult to give the battle of life all the force and resoluteness it requires. Most times, people get serious when they have no other choice than to fight. This is why people can do unbelievable things when they face dangers or threats, but we do not need to wait to be confronted by dangers or threats before we get resolute with the important things of life.

Like Elisha and the people Jesus called, we all have been called for a purpose in life. Our calls might not be as clear as that of Elisha or the people Jesus called. It could be as simple as being a baptized Christian. The truth is that we are purposeful beings, there is always a desire within us to be something and to achieve something worthwhile with our lives. However, these dreams and desires are often buried through self-doubt, indecision, fear, comfort, narrow-mindedness, etc. Sometimes, we get comfortable or satisfied with what we have achieved or feel that our highest aspirations are not achievable. The call to follow Jesus does not really have to be something extraordinary like Saul who encountered  Jesus on the road to Damascus. It could be as simple as the word of God we hear, the simple desires inside us to do something good and great. If we give accent to these calls as simple as they are, they will become something great through our commitment and persistence. Commitment is required for us to start off something, and persistence is required to see us through to the end, both commitment and persistence require consistent resoluteness. 

Today’s readings remind us that being a Christian involves making the right choices and being resolute about them. An indecisive person cannot achieve anything of great worth. Since the Kingdom of God is the most important of all things, let us pray for the grace to remain focused on it. As Jesus admonished, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The call is the call to be part of that Kingdom.