27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2016

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10
The Problem is NOT Them, but Myself: Christianity is NOT a Theoretical but a Practical Religion!

More often than not, the blame game trumps our religious and political landscapes. The United States’ election campaign, 2016, is an instance of this or the just concluded United Nations summit in New York City, New York, where United States of America and Russia traded spars against each other, on who is the bad guy, while Syria burns, literally. Republicans and Democrats appeal for votes, with arguments marshaled out on the basis of who can protect the United States better, and which candidate will represent American interests better, in the global world. What we do not hear, though, is what roles God and Christianity have in the crafted manifestos of the two candidates. Has God a place in our polity, in the twenty-first century?

To put forward the American polity is not to argue that they are worse off in comparison with other nations; on the contrary, the intention is to draw attention away from the general to the particular; it is an invitation to introspection: what is my individual contribution to the present bad state of affairs in my household, community and state? The crowd mentality, whereby we abandon thinking and ask the state to think on our behalf, when we stop acting, and put the blame of the rise of evil on the shoulders of others or stake-holders; to the degree that we do those, do we not reveal that we are no longer Christians?

Let’s face it, “how long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, ‘violence!’ but you do not intervene” (Habakkuk 1:2-3), says the prophet Habakkuk. This same kind of cries are heard everywhere today, God is accused of deafness to human misery and pain. Honestly speaking, though, this is an escapist tendency and a show of irresponsibility on the part of Christians. It’s a display of human dysfunctionality, which is evident among nations; in fact, United States and Russia manifest this dysfunctionality stemming from individuals and persons that we are. If “persona,” in Latin, means a “mask wearer,” which is the origin of the English word for “person,” it means that we have more of persons (mask wearers) in the world today than human beings. We have all put on marks – sin and evil – and our humanity has disappeared, and we lay the blame squarely at God’s feet, and not ours!

The prophetic cry, of our first reading from Habakkuk, blaming God for the problems in the world, while failing to see our particular contributions to making the status quo what it is, is turned on its head by God – “but the just one, because of his faith, shall live” (Habakkuk 2:4). God is saying to you and me that the present situation came about because of what we do and what we fail to do daily: God is not responsible, we are. If we are responsible, then changing it is our duty as well. In other words, the good that is lacking corresponds to the abdication of doing good by the just, and a reflection that good people have disappeared, whose reappearance is urgently needed.

“But the just one, because of his faith, shall live” (Habakkuk 2:4) is God’s statement to Christians that what they seek – a just world – is at their reach, provided they become Christians in the true sense of the word: doers of the Word of God, and not self-deception. This is how James puts it: “therefore, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls” (James 1:21). The blame game is over with, accountability and individual responsibility for what is amiss is what God places at our door-steps: what am I not doing or doing wrongly for the scenario to be what it is?

Our gospel reading bears us out that we are right in our course of action, that individuals rather than the group, are responsible for what is amiss in our society, and that we can change what is wrong with the system, if we chose to. Here is Jesus’ take on Christian moral responsibility in every polity: “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (Luke 17:10). It is quite confusing that Jesus will respond in such a fashion to the demand of his followers to increase their faith! In fact, if we counted the number of churches and places of worship of God, in the whole world, and compared that with the practice of Christianity, we will notice that human beings have put more premiums on places of worship rather than on the practical implications of Christianity – building a more just world, through virtuous living!

A Christian is selfless in his action; he/she does not ask for gains or profit for self, but for others. “Lord, increase our faith,” the request of Jesus’ disciples, was a disingenuous request – they wanted power to be able to manipulate others, as it is the case today with our leaders and politicians: our leaders represent themselves, instead of ourselves. Jesus’ disciples have seen his miracles, and rising popularity, and they wanted a celebrity status like Jesus’; the cross and Calvary were unwelcome news – glory without the cross, one would say! Jesus challenges them and us: there is work to be done by each one of us, we shouldn’t ask God to change things, we should go ahead and change things ourselves because God has enabled us to do just that!

The challenge of Christianity is the obliviousness of the power contained therein, power for positive transformation of self and others. There is no mincing words – “I remind you, to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice” (2 Timothy 1:6). Seriously? That I have the power of self-control in me, as a Christian, but I am actually addicted to sex, pornography, alcohol, lies, wealth, power, etc? Oh yes, “stir into flame,” is Paul’s advise to you and me. Christianity is on its way out, should Christians continue to fail to be who they are – those who practice their faith. The problem, though, is this: Christians are cowards! Don’t take my words for it, but Paul’s: “For God didn’t give us a spirit of cowardice” (2 Timothy 1:6). But when was the last time you heard your bishop and priests defend Humanae Vitae, the document on contraception? When was the last time you prayed in public? When was the last time you proudly said to someone that you are a Christian? These are instances of show of cowardice!

For you and I, the challenge for this Sunday is two-fold: 1) fight hard for the restoration of justice and peace upon earth, and 2) be determined to rise from your addiction to sin by dynamiting your God’s given talents and graces to be able to live a righteous live!

“But the just one, because of his/her faith, shall live” (Habakkuk 2:4), turns our gaze away from earthly successes to eternal salvation as the ultimate success worth fighting for everyday of our earthly existence. “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (Luke 17:10) focuses our attention on the reward that awaits us in heaven on account of living a life of fidelity to God here and now. “I remind you, to blow into flame the gift of God that you have received through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice” (2 Timothy 1:6) is an assurance that we’ve got all that it takes to be holy, innocent and pious, right now, despite the reign of darkness and sin. In fact, we are God’s soldiers, who should be crusading for a morally just world, and moral rectitude in our personal lives. Indeed, the problem is not them, sinners, but myself, whose refusal to be who I should be – a Christian. Yes, Christianity is NOT a Theoretical but a Practical Religion – relationship with God and human beings, in preparation for heaven!

An African Perspective
A Call to Fidelity: Be Part of the Solution, Not the Problem!

There was a poor couple whose house is made of thatch and situated by the road side. They did not have bathroom and toilet inside the house, but a latrine and a bathroom behind the house. As good Christians, they were very hospitable to all strangers. As a matter of fact, many people have warned them against their hospitality to strangers because of the possible danger of taking in robbers and brigands. One day, a stranger arrived at their door at midnight seeking shelter for the night. They took him in. Despite the fact that it was very late at night, the woman prepared supper for him to eat; he ate and went to sleep. In the morning, the woman gave him a bucket of water to bathe with. While behind the house, the stranger brought out a matchbox from his pocket and set the thatch house of his host ablaze and took off. It was the smoke in the house that alerted the couple to the reality that their house was on fire. Before they could go to the stream and fetch water to put out the fire, their home was already destroyed. Friends and neighbors reminded them of their warnings to desist from their hospitality and they wouldn’t listen. Anyhow, the couple decided to rebuild. While digging a new foundation, the couple found a piece of diamond! All the while, they were poor, yet sitting on a diamond without knowing it. It was thanks to this man who set their house ablaze, and thanks to their hospitality, that their fortunes changed, thanks to this diamond they found. Their Fidelity to hospitality was rewarded by God.

It so happens that there’s enough of problems to go round, without anybody having to add unto it. Internal crisis between right and wrong, political debates about justice and injustice, economic decisions of fair play and outright greed, domestic division of labor and gender differentiation, children’s right versus parents’ respect, the list goes on. Amidst this problems, Christians are called upon to make a difference in the world, to be lights of the world and salt of the earth. Obviously, pessimism greets the opinion that says that the world can be better than what it is right now because the power of evil is so omnipresent that the light of a candle seems insignificant before a pitch darkness.

We forget that one’s proximity to light is what makes the difference in the thickest of darkness. For darkness only impacts those in darkness, and not those in the light. This is the argument of the prophet Habakkuk today, how to step out of darkness, the darkness of sin and unbelief, to bask in the light of God which is fidelity and righteousness. Habakkuk’s experience of darkness of sin and the disappearance of virtue, which our first reading recounts, only gingers in the prophet to proclaim a panacea to darkness – the rise of virtue. For the prophet, judgment takes place daily: the sinner oppresses the righteous person, but the righteous follows a different logic from that of darkness. A righteous person is a light in the dark, he/she defies darkness because, since creation, original darkness continues to give way to God’s light: “let there be light!” The solution to darkness is the provision of light, and light is at its best when more lights come on – brightness is a conjugated light, and concerted effort is expected on the part of human beings to obliterate darkness in order to let the light of holiness and righteousness to shine.

Surely, darkness or sin is a reality on earth. The activities of the unrighteous are troubling even to the righteous and serve as temptations for them. However, “but the just one, because of his faith, shall live” (Habakkuk 2:4) makes “faith” synonymous with light, a light that makes it possible to journey in darkness. This is the case because the righteous forges ahead despite temptations and sin propelled forward by a different logic – he/she realizes that God and virtue trump evil and sin. Notice that the statement about the righteous is in the future and not in the present: “shall live” shows that the inconveniences of the present are endured because of the reward that awaits a righteous person in the future. This is to say that the works of faith do not have an immediate reward, but they will surely get rewarded by God in the future. This is also the lesson from our opening story. Every good deed is rewarded by God at the appropriate time, as long as we remain faithful to keeping God’s commandments.

Obviously, it is the righteous person who is the first to bask in the light which his virtue of fidelity lights up, before others can enjoy and share in it. According to our first reading, “the righteous shall live by faith,” what does this mean? Simply, it is the invitation to the righteous person to find consolation in his/her fidelity. “Faith” is imperative here because God is the master of history, nothing happens without his being aware of it. The righteous is untrammeled by evil of the unrighteous, for God’s logic of patience keeps him/her going, while hoping for an eternal reward in heaven. It is the perseverance of the couple in our story, against the advise of those who told them to stop welcoming strangers that made the discovery of that diamond possible. Yes, at the time their house was burnt, they must have been thinking that the man who set their house ablaze was evil, but after the discovery of a diamond, that man must be an angel!

According to Jesus in the gospel today, “faith” is not something inactive and a mental process; “faith” is revealed in action, through what we endure for God. The first part of today’s gospel depicts how the craving for faith, in order to show off through miracles, is inferior to fidelity to God’s commandments. Instead, Jesus talks about faith as fidelity to the duties and responsibilities God has entrusted to us. Jesus’ advice to every Christian, in the gospel, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do,” (Luke 17:10) captures well the meaning of faith. The word “unprofitable – ὠφείλομεν” clearly shows that religion is not about commerce and profit making. It argues against the request of Jesus’ followers for an increase in faith because of the wrong use to which it was to be put. As is usually the case with Jesus, he redirects his disciples to the right path, each time they were in error. What God needs and expects of Christians is the practice of fidelity to God, made visible through acts of faith. It is not a surprise, then, when God expels miracle workers from heaven: “On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name. And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23). Hell of fires awaits miracle workers who failed to keep God’s commandments because keeping of God’s precepts is more important than miracle working: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

If miracle working and exorcism, though good in themselves, could transform a nation, Nigeria would have been the best nation on earth. Nigeria has the highest number of Churches in Africa, yet corruption reigns supreme, especially among the so-called healers and exorcists. Jesus healed and exercised for free, today there are prices, not only for exorcisms and miracles, but also for church attendance. Church members who cannot pay tithes and contributions are exclaustrated and excommunicated. The rich and the affluent receive regular visits from “men of God,” but the poor are forgotten. Politicians have a field day campaigning in churches, but the rights of the poor are neglected. Jailed and notorious politicians are the chair persons at church harvests and bazaars. In fact, the best way to rebrand one’s personality today and reignite one’s political activities is to take looted money to church for thanksgiving at exact moment, the pastor or evangelist begins to speak in tongues and see visions of prosperity.

It must not be so! The capacity to keep God’s commandments has been given to each one of us at our sacramental receptions. At baptism, the power to live a Christian life was given to us. At Confirmation, we receive the Holy Spirit of power and evangelization. At Holy Communion, we are continually nourished for earthly combat against sin and evil. At Matrimony and Holy Orders, we receive the graces for our respective states and vocations in life. Since this is the case, Paul reminds Timothy today, to fan into flames the gifts he received at his commissioning as the representative of God before his Christian community. The same message is given to us today. This world can and should be a better place, than it is right now. The blame for the evil currently in the world falls squarely on our shoulders: we have not started living according to God’s commandments. Consequently, the world is in a state of sin and darkness. Conversion is possible because the Holy Spirit is willing to use each one of us, if we chose to be faithful and docile to him. So, be a part of the solution – fidelity, and not the problem – sin!