Homilies (Page 51)

Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11 “Go, Neither do I condemn you”: Your and My Acquittal! This morning, I was sitting on a bench next to a homeless man, I asked him how he ended up this way. He said: “Up until this last week, I still had it all!!! A cook cooked my meals, my room was cleaned, my clothes were washed, pressed, I had a roof over my head, I had TV, Internet, I went to the gym, the pool, the library, I could still go to school.” I asked him, “What happened? Drugs? Alcohol,? Divorce?” “Oh No, nothing like that he said.Read More →

Joshua 5:9a. 10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Proclaim God’s Prodigality Boldly, Thanks to it we are Saved! Growing up in rural Nigerian State of Kaduna brought me close to the importance of milk, breast milk. Whether human or animal, neonates/new born babies need milk for survival, and what a pride Nigerian women take in displaying both their motherhood and generosity in breastfeeding their babies. Unlike the stigma of the North-Atlantic mammary gland, where a woman is forced and boxed into obscurity because she is a woman and because she feeds her baby, the African celebration of feminineness extends to a God who isRead More →

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 Charity: A Lenten Response to God’s Visit Wow, third week of Lent is already upon us, how much of a host of the three weeks of Lent have we been, what are the achievements so far in your and my warfare against discriminations, selfishness, maliciousness, anger, gluttony, gossips; yes, how charitable have we been in the past three weeks of Lent? It may surprise that charity summarizes our journey of Lent so far; but it shouldn’t be. The three readings of this Sunday are pointing in that direction – unless you and I appreciate what JesusRead More →

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36 “Our citizenship is in Heaven”: and so What? Preserve it! For those of us who travel often, international Passports are not equally respected. For once, black is powerful, perhaps Africans should be proud of this, because it shows that Caucasians are not a bunch of racists – their passports are largely black, and respected; how Africans and Asians end up with greenish and reddish international passports is a tale for another day. The power of black passports derive from human contrivances, and history shows that their powers have fluctuated with good and bad fortunes. The issue, though, isRead More →

Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 First Sunday of Lent Open, Not Your Stomach, but Your Heart: Accept Difference as Richness! There was a Nigerian man, who sent his two sons to the United States to study. Since he was not particularly rich, his sons did not return home for the five years their studies lasted. Their father is a real Nigerian, who eats well, in quantity and quality, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. On their return to Nigeria, after five years, his sons realized that their father had become “plenty” (Nigerian for being fat, American extra-large). So, they advised him to go with themRead More →

Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-22; Luke 5:1-11 No One gives what one hasn’t: Encounter the Lord First, then Save Others! This Latin proverb – Nemo dat quod non habet – “no one gives what one hasn’t,” comes to live in the readings of this weekend. Isaiah, a name which means “God saves” or “God is salvation,” was having a comfortable Jewish life, if you like, he was a gentleman: we were not told that he was a thief, adulterer, swindler: he should have been in prison or his conversion or occupation should have been explained to us; he must have been an ordinary guy,Read More →

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 Luke 4:21-30 Be a Prophet, be a Lover: Who says that God hasn’t got our backs? From those who wish to hurl us down the heights, like Jesus, deliver us oh Lord! But is this a Christian prayer, seeking deliverance from our persecutors? How does a Christian survive the age of ISIL and Boko Haram? At least, nobody doubts that these are dangerous days for the Christian Faith, even among other Christians: just attempt telling your neighbors that their dress code is not Christian or that they need to go to church on Sunday; or, again, tell someone that badRead More →

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Say ‘NO’ to Injustice, Say ‘YES’ to Happiness: How Christians can Transform the World It suffices to turn on our TV sets or read print media to notice that our times has more than enough wars going on for political, religious and economic reasons. On the one hand, Boko Haram, ISIL, Al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda, etc. wish to enthrone Islamic laws in the name of Allah, and people have no say in how that gets done, so people are killed willy-nilly; their argument: God alone is free, human beings are in chains, Allah’s chains. On the other hand, the globalRead More →

Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11 Being Ordinary in “Ordinary Time” of the Church The partying and festivities are over, it’s time to start working again, no wonder it is called the “Ordinary Time”: it will take a while before (Extra-Ordinary Time or Festive Time) Easter and Christmas come around again and, then, we can party and celebrate. Even at that, my favorite part of partying and celebration is not the clean-up after the party, like the shoveling of snow, after a white-Christmas, not to talk of dealing with slush, after winter days. I would rather live in condominium than own a private house,Read More →