Homilies (Page 39)

Whose Child are You: Like Father Like Child? Wisdom 7:7-11; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30  An African wisdom can save our world, if we practice it. This wisdom is so common place that it is the first question an African asks a stranger: “whose child are you?” NOT “what is your name”! In Africa, there are no loners, only “we”! A stranger is anyone who lacks an ancestry -connection with the past – whose appearance doesn’t reveal his/her identity and origin. The question, “whose child are you?” is a reinsertion of a stranger into the community of friends, family and loved ones. The origins and rootsRead More →

Human Beings Before Sexual Creatures: Pay Attention to the Rear-Mirror Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 Situation ethics works for those who want to preserve their lives themselves, because they don’t need to ask questions about the Creator of life. Situationists need to keep shifting grounds on occasions because nothing is permanent and nothing perdures, including themselves. For them, all is temporal, and every situation needs new sets of rules to live by. Old age is the revealer of how wrong they are: I once asked an old retired priest, “what are your plans for the future?” His answer took me off guard, he said:Read More →

No Outsiders! Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 In the midst of the cry for the heads of priests to be chopped off, at least in the West, the Spirit of God is still alive and active. Amidst the commercialization of religion in Africa and elsewhere, there are still prophetic voices speaking up in the wilderness of sin that we live in. In the desire of the world to equate the Church of  saints, martyrs and sinners with the crime of pedophilia, the Spirit of God still raises distinct voices to announce the immortality of the Church of Jesus Christ. These voices areRead More →

If You Want to Make Heaven, Become a Child! Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37 Election fever envelops many countries at the present time, whether they be Nigeria, Canada, United States or Cameroon. Heavy campaigns and character assassinations are going on, but the future of the human person, as a religious being with an immortal soul, doesn’t make it to the list of priorities in the various manifestos one sees. What matters is economics and power, power at all costs, and money in whatever way possible. In an election year, even God is up for sale because churches and church goers are not sparedRead More →

From Gossips to Evangelizers: God needs Human Social Media to Proclaim the Blessings in our Sufferings! Isaiah 50:5-9a; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35 In Nigeria, they are popularly called “radio without battery” – gossips. How they get their news is not clear, but they seem to have antennas in every home, beer parlor and meeting arenas: they capture everything said, unsaid and yet to be said. In fact, their stories suggest they are heart-readers, going by how much their tales contain. Indeed, they are busy, so they are busybodies – news collectors, disseminators and crafters. Every society has them, and in democracies they are paid, eitherRead More →

You’re Today’s Savior! Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37 When I hear of all kinds of cancers today, it is so frightening that I wonder why human beings must suffer thus! May be for adults, one could understand illnesses (even though that too is inexplicable), but children suffering from cancer keeps one on the verge of revolt and rebellion against God – why the suffering of the innocent and the weak? Issues of needless poverty and injustices of preposterous proportions stare us in the face on daily basis. Situations like these make me dream of a sickness-free world; a world where people are ever happy,Read More →

You’re Today’s Savior! Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37 When I hear of all kinds of cancers today, it is so frightening that I wonder why human beings must suffer thus! May be for adults, one could understand illnesses (even though that too is inexplicable), but children suffering from cancer keeps one on the verge of revolt and rebellion against God – why the suffering of the innocent and the weak? Issues of needless poverty and injustices of preposterous proportions stare us in the face on daily basis. Situations like these make me dream of a sickness-free world; a world where people are ever happy,Read More →

“Thank You” as the Meaning of God’s Commandments Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 We, Christians, believe that creation is an act of love, God’s love. We do believe also that redemption of what God created is a greater act of love. For us, therefore, “love” goes beyond a four-lettered-word, it is an action, a deed that touches someone and something: there is no law involved, it comes naturally as grace and blessing! God steps outside of himself to create, he was not satisfied with keeping goodness to himself, he reaches out of himself as goodness and blessing – “GodRead More →

You and I must be the Reporters of Human Goodness and Freedom of Choice! Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69 It is difficult to believe in the intrinsic goodness of the human person when the sole reference point is the media. There is a conspiracy of bad and fake news, news breaking that argues how evil the human person is, and how irredeemable humanity has become. All that is left of the human person is his ability to sin and commit crimes. The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report nails it when it portrays the Roman Catholic Church as having nothing good in her exceptRead More →