April 03, 2022; 5th Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Readings: Is. 43:16-12; Phil. 3:8-14; Jn. 8:1-11

 

Go and Sin No More!

1.      Once again, there is a confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and the Pharisees. The self-righteous, law-abiding, faultfinding, know-it-all, holier-than-thou, pious, hypocritical, and moralizing scribes, and the Pharisees! In today’s Gospel, the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught committing adultery, with stones in their hands, to Jesus, demanding permission to kill her. Incidentally, we heard nothing of her accomplice; they could only capture the woman. She broke the law and so must pay for it with her life. Jesus, who always taught his disciples to forgive all hurts and show mercy, even to sinners, is caught in the middle of two polarities, the righteous bigots, and a poor sinner. Was he to go against his teaching on mercy, compassion, and forgiveness or side with the law and have the woman put to death? Siding with the law will deny the woman the opportunity to repent of her sins. But since God is a God of a second chance, Jesus is always on the side of the oppressed, the poor, disenfranchised, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, the forgotten, the voiceless, the hopeless, and the nobodies. He reminded us: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Lk. 5:32). Again, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10). Jesus came for the last, the least, and the lost. His middle name is Mercy, and his mission is to preach compassion and forgiveness.

 

2.      We become a new creation each time we can forgive people. “See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is. 43:119). God brought the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through the desert, making them walk through water dry-shod into the promised land. He saved them because he loved them. He was never tired of forgiving them. “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jer. 29:11).  

 

3.      Paul knew of God’s immeasurable love for him, and so he considered everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus (second reading). Having been forgiven, Paul began to preach reconciliation. We are forgiven for serving! The sinful woman who was forgiven in the Gospel offered her life in service to God. She was a disciple of Jesus from that day even to the grave of Christ. No wonder she was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection. When we are forgiven, we are liberated and sent on a mission, as ambassadors of forgiveness. This is something new indeed! God has made something new of us; can we perceive it?   

 

4.      Today’s liturgy is an encouragement to us, to approach the throne of grace and seek forgiveness for our sins. We must be humble and go to confession so as to be part of the new thing that God is doing. Yes! Jesus gave the men standing with their stones permission to kill the woman only if they had no sins. Was any of them worthy of casting the first stone? Not one! Why? Because they were sinners, just like her. Do you think you have no sins? If you consider yourself a sinner, why don’t you go to confession? When did you go to confession last? If you went two, five, or seven years ago, Jesus invites you to: “Come back to me with all your heart, don’t let fear keep (you) us apart; Trees do bend though straight and tall; So, must we to others’ call. Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new lives.”(Song by John Michael Talbot). Come, taste, and see the goodness of the Lord. Come to Christ and drink deeply from the abundance of his love and mercy. His love conquers all your sins. His forgiveness will turn your selfishness to selflessness, your unforgiving heart to a humble and forgiving heart, and your pride to humility. He will give you the joy of the Gospel and make it possible for you to perceive the new thing he is doing in your life. What are you waiting for? Come, he is waiting!

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP.

March 27, 2022; 4th Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Readings: Joshua 5:9, 10-12; 2Cor. 5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

 

The Lost and Found Son

1.         In the second reading, St. Paul writes: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So, we are ambassadors for Christ." An ambassador is "An accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country." St. Paul again reminds us that "Our homeland is in heaven, where our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, is; and we are looking forward to his return from there." (Phil. 3:20). We are representatives of our homeland on a mission to represent God as ambassadors. As we live and interact with our fellow pilgrims, we often wander away from the statutes and ordinances of our homeland. We must return to the right path. We do this through reconciliation. We will enjoy the goodness of the Lord (the Psalm) if we live a reconciled life. When we live a life of reconciliation and forgiveness, God removes the reproach and shame of our life, as he did with the children of Israel when they returned from Egypt (First Reading) and restored them to their lost dignity.

 

2.      Today's Gospel celebrates reconciliation in the story of the merciful father's restoration of the prodigal's son's lost identity and destiny. The son may have squandered his inheritance but not his heritage. The father chose to offer him unconditional love and forgiveness. He was not interested in his sin but in his reunification. When the son came to his senses, he made a choice, changed his mind, and returned to his father. To come to our senses means acknowledging our faults, accepting our mistakes, and resolving to change. The father was waiting for his son's return because his love was unconditional. He harbored no grudge and anger towards his son. He did not condemn him but had only love for him. Jesus tells us to be like the merciful father. "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt. 5:48) 

 

3.      Forgiveness is a choice made after long hours of prayer and soul searching. It is a choice against anger, hurt, pride, doubt, bitterness, cynicism, apathy, suspicion, self-righteousness, harboring a grudge, and irrational need for revenge and settling scores. It is a choice to let go and let God, an option for liberation and freedom. There can be no true forgiveness without prayer. Like the prodigal son, we have wandered away from God's love and mercy. We have chosen ourselves to God. One way to show our reconciliation with God, the Church, and others is through the sacrament of reconciliation. "The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission, man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible." (CCC 1455). During Lent, we are encouraged to go to confession, do penance and return to God and his Church. Confession is heard here in the Church any time on request.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

4.      Many of us have left the father's house after demanding our shared inheritance. Some came for baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, or wedding. As soon as they got what they wanted, they left, like the prodigal son, and stopped coming to Church. Some may only come back when they have difficulties, like the saying, "grass is greener on the other side of the mountain till you get there." We must always change our minds and go back to the merciful father. For he is full of mercy and compassion. 

 

5.      We are sometimes like the righteous brother who would not forgive his brother but resented the father for doing so. He was envious of his brother and failed to understand that the father's love is not earned; it is pure grace? Like him, we notice the splinter in our brother's eye but do not perceive the wooden beam in our own. (Lk. 6:41). And so, we volunteer to confess the sins of others. We are typical faithful Catholics who are doubtful and fearful of God. We are insecure about ourselves and often question our trust in God. We fear God's punishment more than we trust in his love. We have no experience of what others are going through, so we judge and label them as sinners. We are afraid that we may be found out ourselves and our sins exposed. We often allow the hidden sins of jealousy, pride, and self-centeredness to rule our day and ruin our lives. We, too, must change our minds and embrace God's love. Will the brother ever forgive his brother like his father, come in and join in celebrating his brother's return? Maybe our attitude towards those we perceive as enemies and our unwillingness to forgive them will give us an indication of the mindset of the righteous brother. Today's liturgy exhorts us to be like the merciful father. Be slow to judge but quick to forgive. To Err is human but to forgive is divine. It is better to be lost and found than not to have been lost but be bitter. Amen!

 

                                    Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 20, 2022; 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Readings: Ex. 3:1-8; 1Cor. 10:1-6; Lk 13:1-9

 

Repent or Perish

1.      There is a story told about a man named Bill. He was a prominent contractor. In time, the pressure of his business caused him to turn to alcohol. Before long, he separated from his family, and his business went bankrupt. One day Bill was walking down the street. He happened to look down. There, on the sidewalk, was a bent rusty nail. Bill thought to himself, that nail is a perfect picture of me. I'm rusty and bent out of shape too. I'm good for nothing but to be thrown away, just as that nail is. Bill stooped down, picked up the nail, and put it in his pocket. When he got home, he took a hammer and began to pound it straight. Then he took some sandpaper and removed the rust from it. Next, Bill placed the nail alongside a new one. He could hardly tell the difference between the two.

 

2.      A thought flashed through Bill's mind. His life could be straightened out and sanded clean again just as the nail was. But it wouldn't be easy! Could he take the hard blows and sanding? He decided to try. Today Bill is reunited with his family, and he is back in the construction business. He owes everything to that old rusty, bent nail that he found on the sidewalk at just the right time in his life. To this day, he keeps the restored nail in his wallet. (From Sunday Homilies by Mark Link, SJ). Today's liturgy reminds us that our God is a God who gives a second chance to his children. In the revelation of his name to Moses, he assured the children of Israel that He is God of the living; he is always present and accessible to his people. He is "The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity" (Ex. 34:5-7). In the first reading, God revealed his name as 'Yahweh,' translated as I am who am, "This is my name forever, thus am I to be remembered through all generations." According to the Psalmist "The Lord is kind and merciful." God, the great I am, is a merciful God. He loves us so much that he doesn't judge us as we deserve but gives us a second chance when we mess up to come back to our senses and return to him.

 

3.      Jesus encourages us in the gospel to make use of the many opportunities God has given us to change our minds. Those who died in tragic circumstances were not worse sinners. Their death should help us repent and believe the gospel. That was what we promised on the day of Baptism: to reject Satan and all his works and to believe in God. Through the natural and political disasters of His time, Jesus illustrates the fragility of life and calls for a life of repentance. He uses the gardener to highlight God's patience and offers us precious opportunities to be saved. "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down." (Lk. 13:8). The call to repentance is not merely for us to turn away from our sinful ways but also to produce the fruits of good living and be holy. God's mercy is infinite, but we are finite beings. We do not have eternity to change our minds. "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Ps. 95:7-11). If we don't bear fruit, listen to what may happen: "For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but found none So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" (Lk. 13:7). The unproductive fig tree was exhausting the soil and depriving productive trees of nourishment. It should be cut down so that others may be enriched as they were nourishing the people's lives. If we are not nurturing the lives of others, we are draining them. If we are not adding, we are taking from them. We must decide whether to be givers or takers.

 

4.      Repentance means a change of heart, a change of attitude, and a change of mind. We can change our minds in both small and big things. We can change from being inactive to being active, from not praying to pray, from being uncharitable to being charitable, from being sinful to sinless, from being unmerciful to merciful, from not attending Mass regularly to finding a reason to always come to Mass; from not bringing your children and grandchildren to church to making sure they are here with you. Lent is not only about receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday and Palms on Palm Sunday. It is not only about fasting and abstaining from meat and eating fish on Friday. It is all that and more. It gives us a golden opportunity to change our minds. 

 

5.      At one point in our lives, we were like the fig tree. We were in danger of being ejected and rejected as useless. But God's mercy, the Great 'I am' took pity on us and gave us a second chance. Like Bill, we must be grateful to God for our second chance. Let us receive God's mercy and stop complaining about the misfortunes of our lives, for Christ made it clear that accidents and sickness are not punishment for sins but a great opportunity to repent and change our minds. As God gives us a second chance, we must also give a second chance to people around us and help them grow in love, hope, and trust. May we see the bigger picture of God's plan in our lives and worship him in spirit and truth! Amen.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 13, 2022; 2nd Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Readings: Gn. 15:5-12, 17-18; Phil 3:20-4:1; Lk 9:28-36

 

“Lord, It Is Good for Us to Be Here.”

1.      In the first reading, God took the initiative and entered into a covenant with Abram. He put his life on the line and promised to make Abram’s descendants as many as the stars in the sky. Though old, and the fulfillment of the promise was not yet in sight, Abram put his faith in God. He believed that God would be faithful to his promises. In the Gospel, Jesus was transfigured on the mountain during prayer. He, like God, put his life on the line to save his people. His transfiguration is indicative of our new life with God. Just as God promised the children of Israel a land flowing with milk and honey, Jesus, the new Adam, will lead us to a life of everlasting happiness in heaven. At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus about his impending death to save humanity. Through his death and resurrection, our lives will be transformed. Our pain will give way to joy, death to life, and Christ will reign in us forever. 

 

2.      But we must first do what Christ did. His transfiguration was only possible after prayer. To pray is to change, and to change more and be transfigured is to have prayed much. We pray by lifting our minds and hearts to God, praising, and adoring Him always. At prayer, we ask for God’s mercy and love and forgiveness for our sins. We pray because we want to be in communion with God. If we do not communicate with God, we would be “running well but off the road.” It is only during prayer that God enters into a covenant of love with us, changes our appearances, and clothes us in a dazzling white garment. It prepares us to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

 

3.      We listen to Jesus when we pray. “Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” God, the father, invites us to listen to Jesus. And this is what he wants us to do: “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). Jesus asks us to forgive injuries done to us, love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us. He wants us to give to everyone who asks of us and calls on us to do to others as we would have them do to us. Christ urges us to stop judging and condemning others. He wants us to share what we have with others and treat everyone unconditionally as God treats us. (Lk. 6:27-42) We can only do these if we pray. Prayer brings us to the presence of God and effects a change in our lives. When we sit in prayer, God changes our appearances and our relationships. He makes it possible to forgive hurts done to us. It provokes holy thoughts and enables us to say with Peter, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” The ‘here’ Peter longed for is to be at home with God. Jesus will change and transform our lives and make them like his in glory. May it be so now and always! Amen.

 

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 6, 2022; First Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Readings: Dt. 26:4-10; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13

 

Temptation Builds Character

1.     Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian Noble Laureate, was asked about his new year's resolution. He said he would spend more time with himself, taking long walks in the fields, admiring nature more, and spending less time with human beings. He said that the more time he spent with human beings, the less he felt like a man. Many men and women through the ages have felt that way too. There is a desire in our hearts to make the journey inward to discover who we are. We often find frightening things about ourselves in the journey inwards. Temptations abound. Today Jesus begins his inward journey to discover himself and his mission. He had just received Baptism in the Jordan and was basking in the overwhelming love of his Father. "After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matt.3:16-17). 

 

2.      The first Sunday of Lent presents us with the temptation of Jesus. "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Matt. 4:1) Our life is full of ups and downs; sometimes, we are on top of the world; other times, we are down at the bottom. At times we experience consolation during prayer; other times, we experience desolation. The Christian life is anything but static. Many saints experienced the dark night of the soul during their encounter with God. At times we feel that God is at our corner, answering every request. At those times, the sky is the limit to what we can do. Other times God seems so far away that we feel we are toiling in vain; nothing seems to go our way; our desert feels so dry, and our prayer so meaningless. We fall into temptation easily when we experience desolation. The devil tempted Jesus to use his power to turn stones into bread. He was hungry. He was enticed to worship Satan to acquire wealth. And finally, he was to demonstrate his miraculous powers to be praised by all. These temptations were to make Jesus powerful and bring glory to himself. But Jesus trusted his Father and shamed the devil. He showed the devil that all power belonged to God. He came to do the will of his Father, not his own will.

  

3.      The devil always gets us at our weakest point: when we are sick, hungry, jobless, impoverished, or desperate for friendship. Jesus teaches us that we can only stand up to Satan by being submissive to God. We must be steadfast in good times and in bad because St. Paul tells us that, "All things work for the good of those who love the Lord, nothing can separate us from the love of God." (Rom 8:28, 31). When we experience desolation, God takes us by the hand and leads us on. Therefore, we must be prayerful. Reading and knowing the bible will assist us in understanding what to say to the devil. Remember: tough times do not last, but tough people do.   

 

4.      Lent rests on a three-legged stool of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Fasting and almsgiving fortify us spiritually to fight against the devil. Christ went into the desert to fast and pray for strength to combat the powers of this world. St. Paul reminds us that "Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens." (Eph. 6:12-13). Therefore, we must go into the desert with Jesus during the 40 days of Lent. Let us pray with him for the power to stand up to the machinery of the devil. As Christ surrendered to the will of God and fortified himself with God's word, so must we. With prayer and the word of God on his lips, He countered Satan: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God; and again, it is written, "You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." And finally, "Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve" (Mt. 4:4,7,10). We often give in to temptation because we do not know how to fortify ourselves. Lent gives us that golden opportunity to do battle with the devil. We must give alms, fast, and pray if we are to face the temptations of our lives. Temptation builds character and makes us stronger. May we learn to be humble, forgiving, compassionate, and merciful. May God help us enter into this season of grace with commitment and the desire to change. Please read Psalm 51 as you pray for strength this week. Be blessed now and always. Amen.

 

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP