Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

31^st Sunday of the Year, B – November 4, 2018.

Readings: Deut. 6:2-6; Ps 17:2-4,47,51; Hebrews 7:23-28; 

Gospel – Mark 12:28-34.

Theme - Unconditional Love: How Far Are You From The Kingdom?

Introduction

Beloved in Christ, today our liturgy reminds us that the Ten Commandments of God (Exodus 20:1-17) are summarised into the love of God and the love of neighbour (Mark 12:30-31).  This is why our reflection titled “Unconditional Love: How Far Are You From The Kingdom?” calls us to measure our love for God on the love of neighbour. Before we relish our readings, we would take a look at the summary of the readings, the various dimensions and types of love, an appropriate narrative of love and the requisite pastoral lessons. 

Background & Summary of the Readings

Our first reading (Deuteronomy 6:2-6) reveals the assurances of Moses to the people of Israel that if they fear the Lord and serve him all their days by keeping his laws and commandments, they and their children as well as grandchildren would live long. It adds that if they keep this covenantal patrimony which they received from their fathers, God would give them a land flowing with “milk and honey.” It concludes by calling them thus: “Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart.”

The second reading (Hebrews 7:23-28) discloses the eternal nature of Christ’s priesthood. It reveals that he is interceding for us perpetually before the father. It assures that his own kind of priesthood differs from that of high priests who offer daily sacrifices. On the contrary, he offered one single sacrifice for sins and is above human weakness.

In the Gospel (Mark 12:28-34), Jesus gives a summary of the law and the prophets as love of God and neighbour. It reveals how Jesus lauds the scribe who said the love of God and nieghbour is the supreme law. Christ tells him: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” What then are the demands of this love we are talking about?

Dimensions of Love

The two dimensions of love are, vertical and horizontal. In the gospel of Matthew (Matt. 22:34-40), Jesus says: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself.” He further stressed: “On these two commandments hang the whole law and the Prophets also.”  As it relates to the gospel of today, this teaching has vertical and horizontal dimensions: 

a). Vertical Dimension of Love: Loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds translates into the vertical dimension of love. This also relates to agape which we shall explain. It is crucial for us to understand that it is in him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Therefore, in the words of St. Paul, as individuals and members of the Church, we must not let anything like death, life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth and anything else in creation, to come between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:35-39). 

b). Horizontal Dimension of Love:  Philial love fulfills the demands of the love of nieghbour which our liturgy challenges us to embrace. For instance, the popular parable of the Good Samaritan tells us who our nieghbour is – Rather than get stuck on the lethal radar of erotic love, we are challenged to demonstrate real and active love to our family, friends as well as our foes. In Amoris Laetitia or The Joy of Love - Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation on the beauty, joy and love of marriage and the family, the Holy Father reminds us that God is throwing an open invitation to us to develop an unwavering capacity for love because our world is hungry for love, joy, peace, justice, spirituality, sincerity, fidelity and moral upliftment. This leads us to the types of love.

Types of Love

a). Philia: Philia is the love which exists between parents and their children, children with their parents and kids with their siblings. This stems from the natural bond that exists in a family. As a family word, philia is the brotherly or sisterly affection which unites us with one another in a unique way (Rom 12:10).

b). Eros: Erotic love stems from concupiscence of the flesh which St. Thomas Aquinas identifies in his Summa Theologica as one of the causes of sin. Aquinas makes the point that we are induced into sin through inordinate desires - The lust of the flesh includes sexual permissiveness and vain desires. The devil excites within us the concupiscence of the flesh so as to commit sin. The “lust of the flesh,” appears in two more significant passages of Scripture - the temptation of Eve in the Garden (Gen 3:1-6) and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10). St. Paul warns us to “cast off the works of darkness” (Rom 13:12) and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Paul’s warning that we should shun concupiscence of the flesh is timely.

Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

30^th Sunday of the Year, B – October 28, 2018.

Readings: Jer. 31:7-9; Ps 125:1-6; Hebrews 5:1-6; 

Gospel – Mark 10:46-52.

Theme: A Faith That Saves!

Introduction

Friends in Christ, today the Church gives us another opportunity to reflect on faith. Our reflection titled “A Faith that Saves” is premised on the message of restoration and total recovery in the first reading, the assurance of a high priest who empathizes with us inthe second reading and the encounter between Jesus and Bartimaeus the blind beggar in the gospel. To do justice to our homiletic theme, we shall take a look at the background and summary of the readings, pastoral application and practical lessons as well as homiletic points to remember.

Background & Summary of the Readings

In the first reading (Jer. 31:7-9), the Prophet Jeremiah presents us with the message of hope. He assures that notwithstanding the violence and traumaJudah suffered as a result of the destruction of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon, there is hope. His radical articulation of hope becomes a roadmap for survival. In a classical fashion, the Prophet highlights a glorious homecoming, stunning restoration and renewed relationships for the people. Although the “remnant of Israel” namely its survivors experiencedsuffering and marginality, the Prophet maintains that God would redeem his people from their troubles. 

The second from the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 5:1-6) reveals Jesus as the heavenly High Priest who pleads our course. The first part of the text gives the definition of who a priest is and the criteria for being a priest while the second part shows how Christ meets these criteria. It reveals that he offers sacrifices for his sins and the sins of the community especially on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - the annual ritual where the High Priest atones for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16). The reading presents Jesus as that sinless sympathetic and empathetic High Priest who shows solidarity with sinners.This is why a priest ought to identify with sinners because he himself is subject to weakness.

The reading also connects Jesus’ Priesthood to that of Melchizedek. While the regular Jewish priestswere from the tribe of Levi, Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah. To strike a balance, it was necessary for the personage Melchizedekto provide an alternative priesthoodwhich will be basis for the Messiah to be identified as a High Priest, notwithstanding his Non-Levitical ancestry – this means that Christ is a priest “forever,” thus revealing Christ's immortal post-resurrection status which provides a contrast with the mortality of the Levitical Priests.

The Gospel reading (Mark 10:46-52) discloses the encounter between Jesus and Bartimaeus in which the blind beggar was healed. It reveals how the beggar defied the crowd to beg Jesus for healing. The reading stated that he addressed Christ as, “Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.” It notes how Jesus ordered the same crowd who tried to shut him up to call him. When Jesus asked him what he wanted, he said, he wanted his sight back. Jesus then commanded and his sight was restored. We are told that he decided to follow Jesus along the road.

Pastoral Application & Practical Lessons

1.Restoration: Just as our first reading spoke about theglorious homecoming, stunning restoration and renewed relationships for the people of Israel, God is able to restore the “years eaten by locust” in our lives if we trust him.

10 Pastoral Lessons from Pope Francis’ 2018 World Mission Sunday (WMS) Message

By Justine Dyikuk

Preamble

Friends in Christ, today is World Mission Sunday (WMS) - a celebration which falls on the Penultimate Sunday of October every year. This celebration started based on the decree of Pope Pius XI in 1926. It is a day in which every Church institution, rich or poor around the world prays and supports the mission through a special collection for the Church’s worldwide Mission Sunday Solidarity Fund. It would be recalled that the Holy Father, Pope Francis released his message for WMS titled “Together with the Youth we Proclaim the Gospel to All” on May 19, 2018. What informed this message is his firm belief that “young people are the hope of mission.” 

10 Takeaways from the Holy Father’s 2018 WMS Message

1. Everyone is a “Mission”: We must make concerted efforts at fulfilling the mission we received from Christ by the virtue of being grafted into him at baptism as espoused in Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes and Ad Gentes through reflecting deeply about why God created us i.e., “To know him, love him, serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next.”

2.  Proclaim Jesus Christ: We are charged not to be afraid of proclaiming Jesus to all peoples (Redemptoris Missio 3) amidst the vicissitudes of life based on the assurance that “evil is an incentive to a greater love” to those who stand by him. 

3.  Learn from the School of the Saints: Since it is the Saints who first opened for us the horizons of God, we ought to be set afire by the love of Christ by being consumed by that fire through generous sacrifice even if it leads to martyrdom – Leah Sharibu whose release from the hands of Boko Haram we earnestly pray for, remains a model of unwavering faith for all youths in our time.

4.  Learn from the School of the Old: WMS challenges us to “grow in the grace of the faith bestowed on us by the Church’s sacraments” by tapping “the wisdom and experience of older persons to become testimony and encouragement for those looking to the future” – The wise counsel of the aged and the enthusiasm of the young ought to create a missionary-bridge of unity of faith and profound neighborly love in our communities.

5. Transmit the Faith: Because transmitting the faith is at the heart of the Church’s Mission, we are called to spread the faith through encounter, witness, proclamation and charity especially to those in “desolate peripheries” who may be indifferent or hostile to the faith. 

6. Rejection of God has Consequences:  Our liturgy warns against all forms of material and spiritual poverty as well as discrimination against our brothers and sisters because these are “a consequence of the rejection of God and his love.” 

7. Rediscover Your Vocation: In a world in which young people are caught in the web of social networks which often promise elimination of distances and reduction of differences, we are charged to “share a true communion of life,” by discovering and preserving our vocation to God and humanity. 

8. Bear Witness to Love: We are called to take advantage of ecclesial groups like parishes, associations, movements, religious communities et al to engage in missionary volunteer work which promotes human dignity and witnesses to the joy of the gospel.  

9. Training Young People: As a Church, we are charged to educate and train young people in  vocational discernment to promote and foster their God-given gifts in the service of others by being missionaries who are plunged “into the stream of witnesses God desires.” 

10. Support for the Missions: Since “some give to the mission by going and others go to the mission by giving,” we are charged to support the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies through material or monetary aid which the Holy See uses for the needs of the Universal Church. This is why the Holy Mother Church asks that we take up a special collection for the Church’s worldwide Mission Sunday Solidarity Fund today. Pope Francis has insisted that: “No one is poor as to be unable to give what they have, but first and foremost what they are.”  

Conclusion

By the virtue of our baptism into Christ, we are all missionaries called to serve the needs of the Universal Church ad intra and ad extra. We are particularly charged to give the youth their rightful place in the Church as leaders of tomorrow so as to showcase their talents for the growth of the Church to the greater glory of God. While this is done, it behoves on the youth to always listen to the wise counsel of the aged. Since the Church is missionary by character (Redemptoris Missio 5), the Holy Father reminds you and me that we are “Mission.” Happy World Mission Sunday!

Fr. Justine Dyikuk is the Communications Director of Bauchi Diocese, Nigeria –justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com.

Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

World Mission Sunday – October 21, 2018.

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ps 122:1-2.4-5.6-7.8-9(R.cf.1); Romans 10:9-18; 

Gospel – Matthew 28:16-20.

Theme: With the Youth, Proclaim the Gospel to all!

Introduction

Friends in Christ, today is World Mission Sunday (WMS) - a celebration which falls on the Penultimate Sunday of October every year. This celebration started based on the decree of Pope Pius XI in 1926. It is a day in which every Church institution, rich or poor around the world prays and supports the mission through a special collection for the Church’s worldwide Mission Sunday Solidarity Fund. It would be recalled that the Holy Father, Pope Francis released his message for WMS titled “Together with the Youth we Proclaim the Gospel to All” on May 19, 2018. What informed this message is his firm belief that “young people are the hope of mission.”

In line with the special attention of the Universal Church on the youth, the Holy Father’s message points out that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow who must be given an opportunity to show the way in terms of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Our reflection today based on Pope Francis’ 2018 WMS message titled, “With the Youth, Proclaim the Gospel to all!” shall highlight the various types of mission, dimensions of mission, ways of promoting the mission and reasons for supporting the mission. 

Background & Summary of the Readings

In the first reading, (Isaiah 60:1-6) the prophet Isaiah gives hope to the returnees from exile that at the Lord’s own time, joy, peace, tranquility and economic prosperity shall return to the land. He assures that the nations shall walk in light and proclaim the praise of the Lord. He maintains that the hearts of the people shall rejoice as the wealth of the nation is restored.   

In the second reading, (Romans 10:9-18) Saint Paul reminds us that no one who believes in God shall be put to shame. He assures that what is required is believing Jesus in our hearts and confessing him with our lips. What is more, he notes that there is no distinction among believers since the Lord bestows his riches upon all who call on him. Stressing the crucial place of those who preach the gospel, Saint Paul says: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  

The Gospel (Matthew 28:16-20) reading recalls how the eleven apostles went to Galilee at the instruction of Jesus. We are told that when they saw him, they worshipped him although some of them doubted if he was the one. Notwithstanding, Jesus gave them the missionary mandate: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” 

Two Types of Mission

Mission Ad Intra: This means mission within the Church in terms of preaching and catechesis and engaging Pious Societies in various missionary enterprises.

Mission Ad Extra: This has to do with embarking on ecumenical fellowship with Christians of other faith and dialogue with Muslims.

Two Dimensions of Mission

Mission by Going: This falls to priests and religious who, based on the invitation of Christ in the gospels, answer the call to the priestly and religious life. On this day, the youth are charged to discern their vocation in life and consider being priests and religious. Parents are equally charged to not only support their children in discerning their vocation but encourage them to work for God.  

Mission by Giving: Today, all Churches around the world are mandated to take up a mandatory collection or do some form of fundraising and remit same to the Pontifical Mission Societies. Since all of us cannot be priests or religious, members of the laity are charged to support the Holy Father by donating generously for the missions. It is important to note that these monies collected universally are in turn redistributed around the world for the following needs: To build new dioceses, father’s houses, convents, train local clergy, support pastoral projects, provide emergency aid to refugees and support use of mass media for evangelization among other projects.    

Story of the Boy Who Offered Himself

The story is told of this parish which organized a special fundraising on WMS. When the time came for parishioners to come up with their donations, all families came out and donated generously. However, the organizers noticed that a widow and her son were the only family that didn’t show up. As such, they beckoned on them to come up. When the son saw one of the organizers urging them to step up, he held his mothers hands and told her that they should go up to the altar. The mother replied her son that they have nothing to offer. The son assured her that God will provide.

As he held her hand to the foot of the altar, the eyes of the parishioners were fixed on the duo. When they got there, the child did not allow his shy and confused mother to say anything. Instead, he said to the priest, “I and my poor mother have nothing to offer. However, we have come to offer ourselves.” At these words, both the organizers and congregation started shading tears. The priest then blessed them and they returned to their seats. As God would have it, many years later, the son became a priest. On his first WMS as a priest, he gave the testimony and ended by saying: “Many years ago, on this, I and my Mum had nothing to offer. We, however, offered ourselves believing that some give to the mission by going and others go to the mission by giving. My dear brothers and sisters, no one has nothing to offer.”

 

Pastoral Application & Practical Lessons from Pope Francis’ WMS Message

1. Everyone is a “Mission”: We must make concerted efforts at fulfilling the mission we received from Christ by the virtue of being grafted into him at baptism as espoused in Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes and Ad Gentes through reflecting deeply about why God created us i.e., “To know him, love him, serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next.”

Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

28^th Sunday of the Year, B – October 14, 2018.

Readings: Wisdom 7:7-11; Ps 89:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; 

 Gospel – Mark 10:17-30.

Theme: Vanity of Fame & Fortune & the Call to Redistribute Wealth!

Introduction

Friends in Christ, our liturgy today challenges us on the need to check our fixation to material possessions and make concerted efforts at redistributing the earth’s resources for the good of all. Titled “Vanity of Fame & Fortune & the Call to Redistribute Wealth” our reflection shall consider the background and summary of the readings, killers of the kingdom, dangers of riches, pastoral application and practical lessons, homiletic points to remember and conclusion.

Background & Summary of the Readings

The first reading (Wisdom 7:7-11) was written hundreds of years after the death of Solomon presumably after the Babylonian exile. It was meant to demonstrate the superiority of Jewish wisdom over pagan wisdom. However, it is important to note that the author was addressing both Jews and Gentiles since he could speak to both the Jewish community and the world. The wisdom literature was written in the name and spirit of one Israel’s wisest men. Wisdom is personified as God who cannot be equated with riches, gold, silver, health, beauty or light. The author compares possessing wisdom with a healthy relationship with God. In summary, the reading charges us to pursue wisdom through prayer as King Solomon exemplified in verse 7.

In the second reading, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 4:12-13) insists that since nothing is hidden from God, it is to him that we will give an account of our lives. The reading presupposes that our secret emotions and thoughts, interior disposition and basic orientation towards all that we have and are, particularly fame and fortune, is crucial in our relationship with God.

In the gospel reading (Gospel – Mark 10:17-30) Jesus is explicit about the implication of putting out trust in fame and fortune. He speaks “plainly about the real obstacle that wealth presents.” The reading recounts the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Life tells him to observe all the commandments - “You must not kill; you must not commit adultery; you must not steal; you must not bring false witness; you must not defraud; honour your father and mother.” 

The excited rich young ruler tells Jesus that he has kept all these from his earliest days. Jesus looks at him lovingly and says: “There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” We are told that his face fell at these words and he went away sad because he was a man of great wealth. 

After that, Jesus said, it is easier for a Carmel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. At that, the disciples said, who then can be saved? Jesus replied that what seems impossible with men is always possible with God. Peter then asked about those of them who were his followers. Jesus maintained that all those who left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land and face persecution for his sake and for the sake of the gospel will receive a hundred times, all these things, in this life and the next. 

Killers of the Kingdom

1. Fame: That the rich young man was a ruler reveals the danger of cult personality, status symbol, VIP and celebrity status. These attributes of fame are sure killers of the values of the kingdom since they are merely for the earthly city. 

2. Fortune: The gospel reveals that the young ruler was exceedingly rich, this accounts for why he went away sad when Jesus told him to go and sell all he owns, give the money to the money and come follow him. As a killer of the kingdom values, fortune has a way of catching our attending and turning a blind eye to the needs of others. Little wonder Jesus challenged his apostles to willingly let go of “house or land” for the sake of the kingdom. The stories of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) is a case in point.

3. Family: The assurance of a hundred fold blessings of those who renounce “…brothers, sisters, father, children and face persecution for the sake of Christ and the gospel” testifies to family ties as a killer of the kingdom. As a remedy, the bible bears testimony to the fact that a family could be divided on account of the gospel (Luke 12:53).   

Dangers of Riches

1. Attachment: Riches have an aggressive spirit which tends to make the rich obsessed with his or her wealth. There is a strong indication that wealthy people have sentimental attachment to their property. Often times, they love “things” and “Use” people. Little wonder the scripture says, where a man’s treasure is, there is his heart also” (Matthew 6:21).

2. Greed: The avarice and greed of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:15-27) and Ananias and Sapphira (Cf. Acts 5:1-11) attests to the fact that being greedy and selfish is one short fall of the rich. The gospel addresses the wealthy man’s natural attitude which is greed and the tendency to covet other people’s goods. We are not surprised that the rich young man went away sad when Jesus ordered him to go and sell all he owns and come follow him (Mark 10:22).

3. Pride: The rich have the tendency to be proud and pompous. What Jesus seems to address in the gospel is pride. Pride creates the dangerous tendency of not wanting to share resources with the poor because the rich feel that their wealth is as a result of their sweat. This poses a serious danger to riches. 

Pastoral Application & Practical Lessons

1. Like King Solomon, our liturgy charges us to seek wisdom above silver and gold because it personifies God who alone is to be worshiped and gloried.

2. Church leaders are charged to teach the flock how to pursue wisdom through discernment and prayer.

3. Since the second reading reminds us that nothing is hidden from God to whom we shall give account of our lives, the rich are tasked to access their lives in the light of fame and fortune.

4. Charity organisations and Pious Societies like the Vincent De Paul Society are encouraged to examine their interior disposition and basic orientation towards charity so that it does not become a showbiz activity or one which seeks fame.