SERMON: Bishop Ajakaye on 15th Sunday (C)

Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time Year C 10 July, 2022.

Theme: Christian Love Guided By Faith ‘God is not satisfied with appearance. God wants the garment of justice. God wants His Christians dressed in love.’ – St Oscar Romero

In our last Sunday Reflection, I reminded us that God had called us individually and collectively to be optimistic in our daily struggles and journeys of life. Yes, we are called to be positive, to be hopeful, to be happy. We are called to be encouragers. We must never give pessimists, negativists, discouragers, to determine our lives, our moods, for us. Thus, Epictetus, a Philosopher, states: ‘Anyone capable of angering (making you angry) has become your master’. Love is the key to being faithful to our calling by God since God Himself is love. In this light, my Brothers, Sisters and Friends, the theme of our Reflection today is: Christian Love Guided By Faith. In observing the animal world, we can be touched by the apparent affection a female dog, for example, is able to give to its puppies, or a lioness to her cubs. However, it is shocking to see how cruel that same dog or lioness can be to other young animals which are not its offspring. Seemingly, generally, a woman has the same affectionate love for her baby. The instinctive emotionally part of love is apparently the same, though there is a great noticeable difference. Human love is not merely emotional. It also contains an element of insight, perceptiveness. Besides loving her own baby, a responsible and caring mother also loves other people’s children. This element of insight is even more decisive when love is elevated from the mere human level to the sacred, namely, Christian love, called charity. The insight which guides charity is faith. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, today’s Liturgy deals with love of God and all human beings, regardless of race, creed or colour. Paying attention to the insight of faith, which guides it, is important. ‘Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God.’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822) In today’s First Reading, Deuteronomy 30:10-14, we are urged to heed God’s voice and keep His commandments. The Book of Deuteronomy (which means ‘Second Law’) is series of sermons and or meditations on the Law of Moses. It seems this passage was composed during the exile in Babylon.The author lets Moses speak figuratively. We should heed the voice of the Lord. It is not far away. It is in your heart. It is in my heart. It is in our hearts. In Christian terminology, follow your informed conscience, through which God speaks to you. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, this Reading prepares us to pay special attention to today’s Gospel which deals with God’s commandments. Here, I enjoin you to make today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 69) your prayer when you need guidance in life. In fact, we need to encourage ourselves constantly to be optimistic. The Second Reading – Colossians 1:15-20, tells us how we have been reconciled with God, our loving Father and Creator, in Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. We read in the Book of Wisdom 6:12-16 that Wisdom in God was personified and seen as an agent through whom God had created the world, and still preserving it to date. Here in the Second Reading today, Paul sees God’s Wisdom incarnated in Jesus Christ. Therefore, God revealing Himself and acting in Jesus is the same God who creates and preserves the universe. Hence, creation is basically good, though corrupted by evil. At the moment, we are experiencing such evil and man’s inhumanity to man in Nigeria where the life of a human being seems to have lost its value to the extent that human beings will be threatening to slaughter fellow human beings if their demands are not met. Indeed, Nigeria is in DISTRESS. Nigeria is terribly in bad shape and those at the helm of affairs are always assuring us that they are on top of the situation, but in reality, they are not on top of the action. Now, Nigerian citizens are to come together to salvage Nigeria from total failure, anarchy and inept leadership. I humbly appeal to friends of Nigeria all over the world to assist us in this struggle to save our beloved country, Nigeria, from complete collapse. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, we need to be reminding ourselves daily that Christ’s task was to restore things, ‘and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross’. In baptised Christians, God’s design has been restored. Once again, we are reconciled with God in Christ ‘through the blood of his (Christ) cross’. We are also called to reconcile ourselves with our neighbours and fellow human beings. Furthermore, Christ, in today’s Gospel, Luke 10:25-37, teaches us to love God and our neighbours. These two ‘loves’ are inseparable. They cannot be separated. One flows to the other. They are both vertical and horizontal. Jesus’ commandment of love of God and neighbour is actually a combination of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 9:18. We cannot love God without loving our neighbour, nor conversely is love of neighbour possible without love of God. The insight of faith helps us to see the reason why as pointed out earlier at the beginning of our Reflection. Faith tells us that all human beings are God’s children. He loves all of us. If one wants to be sincere with oneself, one cannot possibly love parents and exclude their children from one’s love. Emphatically, faith tells us that whatever we do for the least of our brothers (and sisters) we do for God; Matthew 25:40. My Brothers, Sisters and Friends, love of God must motivate you; otherwise, you will confine your love to those you like, and eventually behave like the Priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan narrated by Christ in today’s Gospel.All of us are called to be ‘good Samaritans’. Being a good Samaritan requires faith, which tells us that all people, regardless of race, creed or colour, are brothers and sisters of one heavenly Father, God. Value your peace and as you value your peace, learn to value other people’s peace. This is essential in our relationship with other people. kindly remember the Golden Rule given to us by Jesus Christ, “Do unto others what you would like them do unto you” (Matthew 7:12). ‘God is not satisfied with appearance. God wants the garment of justice. God wants His Christians dressed in love.’ (St Oscar Romero) Thus, always strive to spread love, not hatred. An act of sincere generosity is an act of sincere prayer. Never take God’s generosity for granted. Every person deserves to be happy. The more you try to put someone down, note that the less elevated you are. No matter what people say or do to you, be not afraid to live a life worthy of emulation. Today, in Nigeria, people are angry. Times are hard, times are tough. Things are getting unbearable. However, we must not give room to despair, hopelessness. Let us keep learning from the Suffering, Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is in Jesus Christ that there is joy. Jesus Christ is the JOY. He is the SOURCE of our joy. If God is for us, who can be against us? May evil not triumph over good in our Nigeria and the world at large. Amen. PRAYER FOR NIGERIA IN DISTRESS All powerful and merciful Father, you are the God of justice, love and peace. You rule over all the nations of the earth. Power and might are in your hands and no one can withstand you. We present our country, Nigeria, before you. We praise and thank you for you are the source of all we have and are. We are sorry for the sins we have committed and for the good deeds we have failed to do. In your loving forgiveness, keep us safe from the punishment we deserve. Lord, we are weighed down, not only by uncertainties, but also by moral, economic and political problems. Listen to the cries of your people, who confidently turn to you. God of infinite goodness, our strength in adversity, our health in weakness, our comfort in sorrow. Be merciful to us your people, spare this nation, Nigeria, from chaos, anarchy and doom. Bless us with your kingdom of justice, love and peace. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.(With confidence in God and Christ being our strength, wherever God leads us, we FOLLOW with joy, commitment and happiness.

Most Rev. Felix Femi Ajakaye

Bishop of Ekiti.