April 26, 2020: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A.

Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1Peter 1:17-21; Lk. 24:13-35

Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock!

In today’s Gospel Jesus called two of his Disciples fools. Why? The two men on the road to Emmaus were obviously frustrated and disappointed. They were upset with Jesus for acting as a stranger in Jerusalem and for asking them a question. “What are you talking about to each other as you walk along?”  How could Jesus ask them such a question: “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?  “What things?” Christ asked them. Christ wants to know what is going on in our lives, He wants us to tell Him about our troubles, sadness, worries and our joys. He wants us to share our stories with Him. He wants us to tell him about coronavirus and how devastated it makes us feel. He tells us “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” (Matt. 11:28-30). When we are confused, as the men on the road to Emmaus were, we must turn to Jesus. When in doubt, we must go to Him for comfort. When we are disappointed, Christ will console us. He understands us now more than ever before. Christ will always meet us on the way of our worries, fears and anxiety. He will engage us, ask questions, but most of all, He will listen attentively to us. We must listen to Him too.

“There at times when our sterile worries, futile pleasures, and vain preoccupations cloud our eyes so much that we are not able to recognize the Lord as we should. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were thoroughly distracted, unfocused, frightened and downhearted, as their conversation reveals.” (New Horizon Homilies, Philip John, SSP and Premdas, SSP). Their answer to Jesus clearly showed their frustration. They closed their minds to the Scriptures. One could feel their incredulity and doubts as they recounted their litany of woes to the stranger. They told him: “We were hoping He would be the one to redeem Israel.” (Acts 2:21). We have been tempted many times to turn away from God, Christ and the church because our expectations were not met. Many times, we think that once we go to Church, say our prayers, pay tithes, obey the Church and keep the commandments, all our problems would be solved? How false are these assumptions! Many people have been so disappointed due to the sexual abuse of clergy that they swore never to go back to Church. Many stopped giving because they felt the Church has let them down. Others have turned away because they do not agree with the Church’s teaching on marriage, divorce, gay marriage, and the like. Many have refused to approach the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and out-rightly refused to go to confession. They can confess directly to God, they reason. Just like the men on the way to Emmaus once followed the Lord with hope and joy and truly believed he was sent by God to establish God’s kingdom, we often feel that way too. But often when the storms of life hit us hard, like Good Friday hit the Apostles, we are often disillusioned, and quickly return to our former ways of life. We don’t want anything more to do with the Church.

Mark Link, reported in his book Sunday Homilies Year A, a story that best illustrates the attitude of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Regina Riley tells a story that many parents can relate to. For years she prayed that her two sons would return to the faith. Then one Sunday morning in church she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her two sons came in and sat across the aisle from her. Her joy and gratitude overflowed. Afterward she asked her sons what prompted their return to the faith. The younger son told the story. One Sunday morning, while vacationing in Colorado, they were driving down a mountain road. It was raining cats and dogs. Suddenly they came upon an old man without an umbrella. He was soaked through and through, and, walked with a noticeable limp. Yet he kept trudging doggedly along the road. The brothers stopped and picked him up. It turned out that the stranger was on his way to Mass at a church, three miles down the road. Th brothers took him there. Since the rain was coming down so hard, and since they had nothing better to do, they decided to wait for the stranger to take him home after Mass. It wasn’t long before the two boys figured they might as well go inside, rather than wait out in the car. As the two brothers listened to the reading of the scriptures and sat through the breaking of the bread, something moved them deeply. The only way they could later explain it was: “You know, Mother, it felt so right. Like getting home after a long, tiring trip.”

Often in our frustration and despondency, we turn away from Jesus, but He never abandons us, He speaks to our hearts. “Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?” Jesus then explained what was said about himself in all the scriptures, beginning with Moses and the writings of all the prophets. Like the two brothers on Colorado road who met a stranger and returned to the faith, Jesus is the stranger who walks with us on our road of sadness and stress. He will open our minds to the Scriptures and our hearts will burn within us. He will lead us to the Eucharist and give us His body to eat and His blood to drink.

Whenever we turn away from the Church, Christ comes in search of us. He will never force himself on us but will wait to be invited in. And after explaining the Scriptures to the two men, He did as if He was going on further, waiting for them to invite Him in. Once He was invited in, He broke the bread with them. They rediscovered their Lord. He was never far away from them; they were too preoccupied to see Him. Let us pray that we may see Jesus who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. May we hear His voice and open the door, so that He may enter in and dine with us and we with Him. Amen. 

Augustine Etemma Inwang MSP

April 19, 2020 Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter A

Readings: Acts 2:42-47; 1Peter 1:3-9; Jn. 20:19-31

Touch Christ’s Wounds and Receive His Mercy

 Easter is a celebration of the sacred and the secular, the celestial and the mundane, faith and doubt, the absence and the presence. It is a celebration of hate and love, the merciless and the merciful. It is a celebration of God’s mercy to mankind. Today, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, is the Divine Mercy Sunday. This devotion was promoted by St. John Paul ll. On April 30, 2000, during the Canonization of Faustina Kowalska, which took place on the second Sunday of Easter, the Pope officially designated this day as the Divine Mercy Sunday. This devotion is based on Sr. Faustina’s encounter with Jesus. According to the dairy of Faustina, she received from Jesus the biggest promises of grace related to the Devotion of Divine Mercy, in particular that a person who goes to sacramental confession and receives Holy Communion on that day, shall obtain the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment. In his message on April 22, 2001, a year after establishing the Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope John Paul ll emphasized during his Easter message: “Jesus said to St. Faustyna one day: “Humanity will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy.” Divine Mercy! This is the Easter gift that the Church receives from the risen Christ and offers to humanity.”

The readings at this Mass reflect the mercy of God. In the first reading we see the community of God’s people bound together in mercy and love. Broken, yes, but full of hope. They enjoyed communal life, sharing, selling of property and goods, caring for each one’s needs, and sharing meals together. In this community there was someone who denied Christ, those who ran away from Him, the one who was absent from community gathering and prayer, and of course, those who wanted a share in the restored kingdom of Israel. Yet in the Gospel, Christ met them all together and wished them peace. There was no condemnation, no judgement, no malice, no anger; only love, forgiveness and mercy. Come, touch my wounds and be healed. Doubt no longer, it is I, do not be afraid.

Yes, there was healing, there was forgiveness; faith was restored, and a profession of faith was made: My Lord and my God! This is what mercy means: to have a heart for those who suffer or to have a heart willing to suffer for others. “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.” (1Peter 2:21). But that is not all. Christ gave the Spirit to His Apostles and entrusted to them the power to forgive sins. We experience the mercy of God more when we humble ourselves and go to Him in the sacrament of reconciliation and penance. There we meet, face to face with the God of mercy and love, a God of forgiveness, who said through Ezekiel the prophet: “As I live, says the Lord God, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live.” (33:11).

With the mercy of God, we know and are convinced that good will always triumph over evil, that life is stronger than death and that God’s love is more powerful than our sins. In the Paschal mystery we just celebrated, God our Father appeared to us as He is, a tender-hearted Father, who does not give up in the face of his children’s ingratitude and is always ready to forgive. As Paul reminds us, “Where sin increased, grace overflow all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:21-22).

Our opening prayer address the Father as “God of everlasting mercy.” And the psalm repeated several times, “His steadfast love endures forever.” All these readings illustrate God’s mercy in action. We are invited to share what we have with others, to feed the hungry, to fight injustice, to stand up for the truth and for what is right, and to know that God’s mercy is everlasting. If we see ourselves as undeserved recipients of God’s mercy and love, we will come to understand that ultimately, mercy results, not so much from human effort, as from God’s free gift to humanity.

And so today we are invited to experience God’s mercy if, in turn we want to be able to forgive others. For that is what we pray for in the Lord’s prayer: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The spiral hatred and violence which stains with blood the path of so many individuals and nations, the world over, can only be broken and healed by the miracle of forgiveness and mercy. For God’s mercy is His way of dealing with the broken world and humanity that is so consumed with insatiable hunger for power. Let us commit our lives to the mercy of God. Let us resolve today to show mercy instead of judging others harshly and irrationally. May we not be so concerned with the wrong-doings of others for, “If you, Lord, mark our sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered.” (Ps. 130:3). May we always treat others as we want to be treated ourselves. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

April 12, 2020: Homily for Easter Sunday, Year A.

Readings: Acts 10:34, 37-43; Col. 3:1-4; Jn. 20:1-9

It doesn’t Feel Like Easter Sunday, but Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

Today is Easter Sunday, but it doesn’t feel like it. It is like we are in Good Friday. Or it is like Christ is risen and we are waiting for the angel to roll the stone away, so that we may be released from the darkness of the grave. Now more than ever, we feel like the Apostles of Christ who ran to the Upper Room while waiting for the Spirit to open the doors and set us free. Only that our Upper Room is our homes, instead of the Jews, we are afraid of coronavirus. But Christ is risen!

The day of the resurrection was a very confusing day indeed. No one expected Christ to rise from the dead. Yes, He told them he would, but they couldn’t believe it! Mary panicked when she did not find the body of Jesus in the tomb. Peter and John were befuddled when she told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.” They too went to the tomb, saw the burial clothes neatly folded and put aside, but Him, they did not see. Could it be true? They recalled he had told them that “…he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” (Mt.16:21). Yet when John saw the empty tomb, he believed. The guards too saw it. But they were bribed to lie that “his disciples came by night and stole him while we were sleeping.” (Mt. 28:13). Everyone saw, but not everyone believed. It is easy to see with our eyes; to believe, we must have faith. Seeing is nothing, believing is everything. It is when we believe that we see; for we walk by faith not by sight.

The resurrection of Christ demonstrates that we are Easter people living today in a Good Friday world, lockdown by coronavirus pandemic. Yes, we may be content to watch live-streamed Mass of the resurrection, but we must feel him in our hearts and in our souls, this year more than ever. We are still broken; have weaknesses, anger issues, be short-tempered, stubborn, jealous, ill-mannered, frustrated and still experience the vicissitude of life. But the resurrection of Christ assures us that God loves us, and that Christ has conquered our weaknesses and death in all its ramifications. Yes, to every Good Friday there is an Easter Sunday. To every failure there is strength in the risen Lord. Every hurt and wrong doing we are able to forgive is a prove of the resurrection of Christ. When we give in charity, say kind words, console, show compassion and mercy; every visit to the sick or kindness shown to the downtrodden attest to the resurrection and our faith in the risen Lord. We may be weak, but our risen Lord is strong. He is always by our side urging us on. We are Easter people and so cannot stop singing alleluia. According to Paul: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1). Because Christ is alive today, we can see tomorrow. “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.” (Philippians 3:21). The resurrection changed Peter from being a coward to a fearless preacher; He can also change us if we truly believe in Him. Jesus’ resurrection is an invitation to share in his eternal life. He showed Thomas his wounded hands and side and healed his unbelief. We must touch his wounds so that we may be healed.

The resurrection of Christ taught us once more that adversity always brings out the best in mankind. Coronavirus, like our collective will to do evil and hurt humanity, cannot keep Christ in the grave for more than three days. We know that this too shall pass. Though we do not know what tomorrow holds, we know who holds tomorrow. We know that Christ has risen and so we rejoice! We must rejoice that we are able to stay in the safety of our homes and watch Mass live-streamed through the various social media platforms. We pray that when this is all over, we may begin to see things and people differently, that we may have a better understanding of the teaching of Christ, that we may be more generous, prayerful, gracious, forgiving, loving, tolerant and accommodating. May we have the same experience that the Apostles had when they emerged from the Upper Room; that filled with the Spirit of the risen Lord, we may speak the word of God boldly, so that those who hear us will say, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? …yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” (Acts 7-11). Rejoice for Christ is truly risen. Alleluia!

                                    Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

April 05, 2020: Homily for Palm Sunday Year A.

Readings: Is. 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mt. 26:14-27,66

The Journey of Salvation began on Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday, or the passion of Christ and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is a joyful and jubilant celebration but also a very difficult day for Christ. Today Jesus was given a red-carpet reception as he entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The use of palm branches to welcome royalties is an old tradition in olden days and even today in some cultures. “The palm branch is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life originating in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The palm was sacred in Mesopotamian regions, and in ancient Egypt represented immortality. A palm branch was awarded to victorious athletes in ancient Greece, and a palm frond or tree itself is one of the most common attributes of victory personified in Ancient Rome.” So, Christ was received this day, as a victorious king into Jerusalem. He did not ride a horse - a prestigious symbol of war, but a donkey, indicative of peace and humility – He is the king of peace. 

This year, we will not witness this triumphant entry into Jerusalem with procession and palm branches. Mass of Chrism is postponed, the celebration of the Sacraments suspended, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter-vigil and Easter Sunday will only be live-streamed through Facebook and other social media platforms. Once again, the world is brought to a stand-still, because of a tiny virus that cannot even be seen by the naked eye. We have all run into the upper room, waiting for the intervention from above, for the Spirit to break our burdens, bring us a cure and set us free. Now more than ever, we must storm the heavens and plead for mercy, so that the solution to this virus may be found. We must stay indoors, like the children of Israel during the Passover, who sprinkled the lintel and the two door-posts of their houses with the blood of the lamb; so that the Lord will pass over their doors and not let the destroyer come into their houses to strike them down. (Ex. 12:23).

The passion narrative from Matthew’s Gospel today, displays many characters, playing different roles, in their relationship with Jesus. Judas Iscariot betrayed him; Peter denied him; the other apostles ran away, leaving him all alone.  But Christ relied on His Father: “The Lord God is my help therefore I am not disgraced.” (Is. 50:7). Many discordant voices, reactions and insults trailed Jesus on the road to Calvary. False witnesses arose against him, the Scribes and the Pharisees wanted him dead. Pilate did not only condemn him to a painful torture and crucifixion, he humiliated him first by having him flogged. Women cried for him while men despised him. Soldiers ridiculed him, and bystanders mocked him. Palm branches were thrown away, and Hosanna to the Son of David was replaced with “away with him, crucify him”. Yet Jesus rides on to Jerusalem, with love in his heart and prayer for forgiveness on his lips for his murderers. Yes, “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil. 2:7-8).

“O Cross of Christ, immortal tree, on which our Savior died, the world is sheltered by your arms that bore the Crucified.” (Lenten Hymn). In all this we recall God’s love for humanity, through the obedience of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. Oh! how much did he love us! “Greater love than this no man has, that a man should lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn. 15:13). The love of Jesus for mankind calls for love in return for love. This love is creative, understanding for humanity. Christ’s love is redemptive. It is salvific. It is sacrificial. It goes above and beyond emotions to the very heart of God, who “Gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16). Christ’s love culminated in his death on the cross. He reminds us, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mk. 8:34). It is in the understanding of this love that our current situation makes sense to us. We don’t have to be in Church to put His love into action.

This stay-home period to stop the spread of coronavirus, for our sake and that of our loved ones, calls for sober reflection and contemplation. It is a time to ponder Christ’s love for humanity. Do we remain calm in the face of pain, isolation, frustration, suffering or death, as this virus eats deep into the fabric of our lives? Do we pray for forgiveness and repentance for our sins and the sins of the world? Do we forgive others as we want God to forgive us? Do we seek God’s mercy and forgiveness for the times we have offended Him and others? What does Christ’s love remind us of when we tell lies to cover our iniquities? Are we faithful to our spouses or our significant others? Have we used this period to get closer to our families in prayer, in love and in charity? Have we used this time to bond with our children, friends or those we have separated ourselves from? Has this period created a spiritual fertile ground for us and our families? Do we pray together, read the bible together, say the rosary together and mediate on the passion of Christ as we recall His love?

We can do all these and more, while looking forward to being together again after coronavirus. Not going to Church should not be an excuse not to bond, to pray and to love. Christ did not die for a building we call church; He died for you and me. He died for us. We are the Church, not just the building, but as the children of God, we make up the body of Christ the Church. “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” (1 Cor. 12:27). Let us listen again to the words of Jesus addressed to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand... But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed, the Father seeks such people to worship him.” (Jn. 4:21-23). Are we ready to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth and reciprocate his love by committing ourselves to this Holy week of grace and mercy? May we be grateful to Christ for loving us. As we celebrate Palm Sunday today, may we see in the coronavirus pandemic our own Good Friday believing that Easter Sunday is right-round the corner. “Let us give thanks to the Lord for everything, for “His anger lasts only a moment, his goodness for a lifetime. Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Ps. 30:5). Let us thank all those who are working round the clock to keep us safe. Let us also appreciate with love, our spiritual and temporal leaders, who provide us with guidelines that we so much rely on at this time. May we all live to see the end of this virus. And may God give eternal life to the dead and consolation to those who mourn them. Amen!

                           Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 29, 2020. Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A.

Readings: Ez. 37:12-14; Rom 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

Jesus Wept!

The readings of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent in Year A, are specially chosen for scrutinies. “The Scrutinies are rites for self-searching and repentance and have above all a spiritual purpose. They are meant to uncover, then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good.” (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). This was clearly seen in the story of the Samaritan woman (Third Sunday of Lent), who came to the well to draw water in John 4:5-42. From her interaction with Jesus, she discovered that Jesus is the Messiah who came to give us everlasting life through his words. Jesus told her: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In the story of the man born blind, John 9:1-41 (Fourth Sunday of Lent), we discovered that we are all blind; hence, we must accept our blindness, our faults and our shortcomings and go to Jesus for a cure. Christ warns: “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still blind.” Let us therefore, ask Christ to open our eyes so that we may see him as our Savior, our Lord and our God. In today’s Gospel reading from John 11:1-45, we see Jesus at the graveside of his friend, Lazarus. Christ wept for him and then raised him to life again. Jesus tells us: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

Since we are observing social distancing and are unable to celebrate public Mass with the attendance of the parishioners and celebrate the third scrutiny today, the readings are adaptive to our current situation. In the first reading, Ezekiel promised the people that God had not abandoned them. He is with them always to rescue and bring them back to the land of Israel. “O my people, I will open your graves, and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” God promised to pour out his spirit on the dead bones and restore them to life again. In the Gospel Jesus wept for Lazarus before he brought him back to life. He told those standing by to untie Lazarus, who came out of the tomb “tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in cloth, and let him go.”

Why did Jesus weep for Lazarus? Showing emotions, like crying or laughing, can humble and bring us closer together as human beings. We shed tears when we are personally touched by the object that provoke us to tears. Tears shed for the passing of loved ones or tears shed amid tragedy can be said to be tears shed for humanity. When Jesus wept for Lazarus, he expressed his humanity in a very special way that elicited comments from the crowd. “See how he loved him.” The tears of Jesus identified him with our human weakness. Jesus wept because Lazarus, his friend, whom he loved, was dead. Christ felt sad for the pain that death caused those he loved. His tears demonstrated that he is not a stranger to our pains, loss, deprivation and our need for comfort, companionship and love. Christ assures us, through his tears, that it is all right to cry and be empathic, but not to weep as those without hope. He is always in our midst. He may be delayed in coming to our aid, but he will surely come. His delay may be “for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” He will reach out and touch us and bring solace to our pains. Hence, he restored Lazarus to life, even after shedding tears for him.

When faced with sad and frustrating situations, such as now, with the coronavirus pandemic and being locked-down for days, we wonder when it will all end. The news is sad and gloomy with more and more people being infected and the number of deaths growing with the day, we weep for ourselves and cry out to God. This is the time to see Jesus weeping with us. Let us be consoled that the Christ who weeps with us, knows what to do for us, to draw us out of darkness of despair to the light of his love. His love and concern for us will triumph over our sadness, pain and loss. We have to trust him enough to entrust our worries and anxiety to him. The book of Proverbs cautions us that “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” (Prov. 12:25). And Peter urged us to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7). While Paul encourages us: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6-7). 

The God who does the impossible will do the possible for us at our hour of despair and worries. We must do what Mary and Martha did - send words to Jesus, then wait for Christ to show up and then run out to welcome him, hoping that he will cry for us and with us. After weeping he will ask us, where have you kept him? What is the problem? How can I help you? Once these questions are asked, we know that our miracle is close at hand. He will call out in a loud voice and restore us to wholeness. He will call for us to be untied, released and set free. Christ needed others to untie Lazarus. He wants us to cooperate with him to set ourselves free from our bondage. We are grateful to doctors, nurses, scientists, paramedics, all health care providers and men and women of good who have joined hands together to fight this pandemic. We must do our part to stay at home so that we may flatten the curve of this virus. We must be set free from our shackles, our frustrations and our doubts so that Christ may give life to our brokenness.

May we never give up hope for we know that after Good Friday comes Easter Sunday. We will fight and subdue this virus. For we know we are not alone. “…the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). We pray that Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is our life and our resurrection may stand by us so that we may be set free from the clutches of coronavirus and restore our world to normalcy once again. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 22, 2020 Homily for the Fourth Sunday Lent Year A.

Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Who Sinned?

This is extraordinary time indeed! Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday. Public Mass is not celebrated with parishioners in attendance today. We are still in lockdown, keeping social distancing, to slow down the spread of coronavirus pandemic. At this Mass celebrated for you, my parishioners, without your physical presence, I can see your faces, I know where you sit. I can call your names during my reflection. I know those who will laugh at my jokes and those who would not get it right-a-way. I can see those taking down notes and those nodding their heads and those who are not. Since you are not physically present, I am only left with my imagination. Know that you are always in my mind and prayers. I miss you a bunch! 

Coronavirus has entered our lives and changed the way we live, the way we interact, and the way we love. Who sinned? The other day I went grocery shopping, I was surprised that, there was no bread, water, banana, milk, toilet paper and eggs on the shelf. Panic buyers had bought more than they needed and cleared the counter so that the rest of us had nothing left. The basic things needed by all were bought by a few. Who sinned? The virus has made us greedy, selfish, lonely, and forgetful of one another. Who sinned? When faced with national disaster, natural disaster, sickness and devastation, we ask: who sinned? We are quick to find faults and point accusing finger. But are we asking the right question? Christ reminds us that our thoughts should go beyond the one who sinned. “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Lk. 13:4-5).

So, to the question: “Who sinned?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” In the face of serious disasters, such as coronavirus, our question should not be ‘Who sinned?’ we should rather open our eyes to see how the glory of God would be made manifest. The readings of today point us away from darkness of sin to Christ the light of the world, as seen in the cure of the man born blind. Christ came into the world to drive away the darkness that envelopes us, so that we may be bathed in his light. May be we have been too complacent to the extent that we cannot see Christ in our midst. We must therefore, open our eyes and wake from our spiritual blindness, so that Christ may shine forth in our lives. In the second reading St. Paul reminds us to “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth… awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

We are all blind in one way or the other. Our blindness may be physical, moral or spiritual. Physical blindness, like that of the man born blind, may be our inability to see with our eyes. But that does not mean the blind person is disabled. When we are deprived of one sense, like sight, touch, smell, taste or hearing, other senses are heightened and enabled to fill in for the lost one. We can be morally blind when we cannot see our defects or when we are in denial of them. Spiritual blindness may be caused by inability to see Jesus in our lives, due to ignorance, hatred, anger, superstition or cynicism. Today, Jesus cured the blind man of his physical and spiritual blindness. He also healed the blindness of those around him and convicted those who felt that they could see. They were blind and refused to recognize Christ in their midst. They were blinded by their hatred of Jesus and projected that hatred to the man now healed of his blindness.   

God is able and capable of healing our blindness. He can raise us from obscurity to greater heights, as he did for David in the first reading. Christ came to cure our blindness, physical, moral or spiritual. But we must go to him. This, again is the process of coming to faith in Christ. Before Baptism, we were in darkness but after baptism, we are washed in the water of rebirth and anointed, like David, and raised to the exalted position of king. Our understanding and knowledge of Jesus must grow exponentially, like the man born blind, from seeing Christ simply as a man (the man called Jesus made a clay and anointed my eyes.), to a prophet (He is a prophet.”), and finally Lord (“I do believe, Lord”).  

Being a disciple of Jesus may cost us everything. The blind man had to surmount many social difficulties. He endured insults, abuses, ex-communication and abandonment by his parents. But he had a simple faith: he obeyed Jesus. He went to the pool and washed his eyes. His obedience was rewarded with the gift of sight, a symbol of his faith. He was able to confront the powers that be: “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see. I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” The man with his newfound faith is now a disciple of Jesus. This is what we are called to do during this fourth Sunday of Lent as we move towards Easter.

The question for us today is: “Are we blind, or do we claim that we can see?” Christ warns: “If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still blind.” If we refuse to acknowledge our shortcomings and open our eyes to see those in need around us, we condemn ourselves to darkness and deprive ourselves of the gift of faith and the light of Christ. Are we blind to our faults? Do we find it easy to blame others and ask the question: “Who Sinned?” The greatest of our faults is to be conscious of none. The time is now to pick up our bible and read. Confession is still an option for Catholics. Let us learn to be less cynical but trust in the goodness of people. To do this is to recognize that Jesus is always in our midst. He wants to cure us of our blindness. The problems in our lives are never insurmountable for Jesus. It is not ‘who sinned?’ but so that the works of God might be made visible through us. Amen!  

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

March 15, 2020: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A

Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2,5-8; John 4:5-42

Jesus and the Woman at the Well.

“Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst!” This is a TV marketing campaign on Sprite. The ad calls us to drink to our fill, the sugared-up fizzy, lemon-lime beverage that, frankly speaking, is capable of killing us. Scientists warned in 2015, that fizzy drinks caused a death toll of 184,000 adults per year. Today’s readings speak of water and how important it is for life. The human adult body has up to 60% of water. According H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water; the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are 31% water. This explains why water is so important to us. The lack of it can cause death through dehydration. We need water for so many other things besides. The book of Exodus today, relates how the children of Israel were disgruntled over their lack of water and how Yahweh heard their groaning and provided fresh water for them. Their ingratitude was met with God’s generosity in keeping to his promise. He chose them to be his own and he will always stand by them. As a reminder of their constant nagging and forgetfulness of God’s mercy and generosity, Yahweh called that place Massah, meaning testing place, and Meribah, meaning a place of quarrel.

In today’s Gospel from John, we see Jesus with a woman at the well in the heat of the afternoon. Jesus was tired and hungry from his journey. He sat at the well to rest and wait for his disciples who had gone shopping in the city. And there came the Samaritan woman. For obvious reasons, she went to the well in the afternoon to fetch water. Women usually go to the well in the morning and evening. She went in the afternoon, perhaps, to avoid meeting with other women; could be because of her life style. She may have been an object of gossip and ridicule in the city, as such, she tried to avoid other women as much as possible.

The Samaritan woman may have gone through a lot in her life and so was thirsty – not for water, but acceptance, love, meaning and happiness. She was lonely and tried to obey her thirst for anything. The men in her life did not satiate her thirst, she has had five already and the 6^th one was not her real husband. She tried to hide that fact from Jesus: “I do not have a husband.” She was a lost soul, but a very interesting one at that. She was suspicious of Jesus and his request for water, but she was prepared to engage Him all the same. She brought up issues of concern to her, even the racial and spiritual ones: “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” She challenged Jesus’ assumptions: “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?” She confronted Jesus’ claim and questioned his authority: “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flock?” She called Jesus’s bluff: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” She stood up to Jesus on religious matters and put him on the defensive: “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” At last, she capitulated after learning from Jesus; she showed that, though her moral life may not mean much, her religious knowledge was flawless, she was not without hope: “I know that they Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” When she heard that Jesus was the expected Messiah, she forgot what brought her to the well in the first place, she has now received the water of life: “the woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?”” She seemed to have said with the Psalmist: “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My being thirsts for God, the living God.” (Ps. 42:2-3). She had a steady and progressive understanding of Jesus, from ‘Sir’, to ‘Prophet’ and finally to ‘Messiah’. she is now a disciple and ready to spread the good news of salvation. She is no more ashamed of being seen in public but was ready to face her future, knowing that the Messiah was on her side.

The encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well mirrors a process of coming to faith, underscored by the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The Samaritan woman was predisposed to receive the message of salvation; Jesus created enabling environment to bring that about. Today is first Scrutiny for those preparing to receive the Sacrament of initiation at Easter. The readings present us with the background that opens us to the Sacrament of Baptism. “Lent provides believers the opportunity to review their baptismal commitment. The Church community is making this Lenten pilgrimage alongside those preparing for reception into the faith. The waters used in their induction are the actual living waters Jesus shared with the now happy woman at the well.” (The Priest Magazine, pg. 51)  

Like the woman at the well, we are to be thirsty for the living water. May we come close to Jesus, listen to his words, receive him in the Eucharist and allow him to refresh us with the water of life in the sacrament of reconciliation. Though Moses struck the rock and water flowed for the children of Israel to drink, they were thirsty again. They failed to see the God who journeyed with them, every step of the way. They would soon find fault and grumble against God again and again.  May we not be quick to satisfy our thirst with anything and everything. It is not everything that will satisfy us. Like the woman at the well discovered, Jesus will always fill us with abundance, so that we will never be thirsty again. We must trust Jesus. Our thirst can only be satisfied by God. St. Augustine knew this when he said: “Our hearts are made for God, and they will not rest, until they rest in God.” Yes, our human hearts have spiritual thirst and we must satisfy them with spiritual food. The Samaritan woman was thirsty for love, understanding, peace, joy and community and she found all these in Jesus. “We are thirsty for joy, and happiness, and the greatest joy can only come from the freedom that Jesus gives us – freedom from fear, worry, anxiety.” (Ignite Your Spirit by Fr. John Pichappilly).  

Let us listen again to the words Jesus said to the woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Let me conclude with the prayer of the first scrutiny:

“All-merciful Father, through your Son you revealed your mercy to the woman of Samaria; and moved by that same care have offered salvation to all sinners. Free us from the slavery of sin, and for Satan’s crushing yoke exchange the gentle yoke of Jesus. Protect us in every danger, that we may serve you faithfully in peace and joy and render you thanks for ever. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP