Saturday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Saturday 19^th week Year A

First Reading

Joshua 24:14-29

Gospel

Matthew 19:13-15

THEME: A CHILDLIKE HEART.

We make many promises during our baptism that we have rejected devil and everything that has anything to do with him, but we will not stay long and we will throw away what we have learnt. If we trust God and church as children trust their parents, we will know that they believe that all their parents say are truths and they hold that very well.

In the first reading, the people of Israel made promise and covenant that they will forever serve God but as we all know their story, we can testify if that is the truth or not. They made promises and we also do on our baptism and after we will do otherwise.

Gospel is now an eye opener for us that we must trust God as children trust their parents and we will not leave the teaching we have received. It is because we do not trust our base and that is why we are running around from place to place looking for a god that will save us when we have the true saviour always with us and same happened to the people of Israel. If we develop childlike heart towards God, we will be rest assured of the kingdom for it is meant for those who have that. Thanks.

Friday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Friday 19^th week Year A

First Reading

Joshua 24:1-13

Gospel

Matthew 19:3-12

THEME: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND NAME THEM ONE BY ONE.

If good things continue to come our ways, we forget sometimes that they come from God, we only enjoy it with ease. Sometimes some think it is because of their personal effort. If you continue to count God’s blessings on us, we will not do any other thing in life for it is numerous in our lives. The only problem is that we often forget to recognise them entirely. In the first reading, the Israelites seem they have forgotten how everything happened and God is recounting to them what he had done for them. They divorced him with their behaviour and God is today reminding them what he has done for them so far, he is trying to tell them not to divorce him.

Gospel presented us with the issue of divorce and as we know, God and church do not have divorce in their diaries. To show how serious it is, Jesus said, “What God has joined together, no one should put asunder”. For this reason, I will not stress marriage divorce but the divorce of God. If husbands and wives always count their good times and forget their bad times, they will never divorce each other but if they continue to count their wrong doings, they will crash.

Let us count God’s blessings in our lives and we will not divorce him again with our behaviour. It is because we are now insensitive to his blessings on us is the reason for leaving him for other things. Let us count our blessings and it will surprise us what the Lord has done for us. Thanks.

Thursday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Thursday 19^th week Year A

First Reading

Joshua 3:7-10a.11.13-17

Gospel

Matthew 18:21-19:1

THEME: THE MERCY OF GOD IS BEYOND ALL THINGS.

Naturally if God were to be a man, he would not have led Israel so far as he did. They caused his servant Moses not to enter the Promised Land but he did not count that against them, he continued to lead them. He promised to be with Joshua again so that he would lead them into the Promised Land. He has never left his own people, it is always our problem that we leave him sometimes. Despite all we do to him, he has continued to forgive us and that is what he expects from us also.

Is it seven times? No, seven times seventy which should be 490 in a day. If we continue to record people’s sins against us in a day so that we will know when it has reached 490, we will not be of use again in life and for us to be useful, God made it that way. In his mercy, he wants us to extend it to others. In the parable, the wicked servant for me should be killed (condemned to hell) immediately, but that is why I am a human being. God in his mercy gave him opportunity to come out from the prison when he must have finished paying and we can see the mercy that brought about purgatory. His mercy is beyond all our sins, let us do what he expects us to do. Be merciful as our Father is. Thanks.

Wednesday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Wednesday 19^th week Year A

First Reading

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Gospel

Matthew 18:15-20

THEME: BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.

Someone should tell me why Moses should not have cursed the people of Israel. He was on his own making effort to please the Lord and the sins of his people made him not to enter the Promised Land and still he did not complain. Why? When I was small, I went to someone’s farm in my village to get something for our goats to eat. When I was doing that, a fowl passed and out of children’s stupidity, I used my sickle to throw on the fowl and surprisingly the thing got the fowl and killed it. When the owner came out, after barking at me and every other thing, she said, if not because we are related, I would have dealt with you. She considered the relationship between us and pardoned me for my stupidity.

If I should relate the story above with the first reading, I think, it was because Moses knew that the people of Israel are still part of him that he kept quiet and did not complain and submitted to his fate. Sometimes we are meant to endure things because of the people involved. In my local dialect obu munyi munyi no nee ite ahu (it is only water that is boiling in the pot). If we are related, we should endure each other sometimes.

Looking at the gospel, since the first reading talked about enduring, if the person proves to be incorrigible, we should approach him/her for dialogue, if he/she persists, we can then involve others, if that did not solve it, we can involve the Church, if it does not work, then we should not kill the person but take the person as a gentile. Gentile does not mean you should see the person as a devil but the person who should be pitied and prayed for. We should pray for our relations for the mad person has no shame rather relations and blood is thicker than water. Thanks.

Monday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Monday 19th week Year A

First Reading

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

Second Reading

Matthew 17:22-27

THEME: WHAT IS REQUIRED OF US AS CHRISTIANS.

Our catechism started with, who made us and reason for creating us. Sometimes I wonder if people use other catechism questions to replace this first part or they do not see this one as one of them. With our action, we have shown that we do not recognize the reason for the creation of human being on earth as the catechism teaches.

The first reading is telling us that what is required of us is very simple, just to obey God’s commandments. These commandments are not impossible for us to obey though some of them seem difficult because of the nature of the world we are into. Obeying God does not mean only to obey the words of the commandments literarily but the real understanding of them both from, spiritual, literarily and fuller senses of them.

As the first reading is asking us to obey the commandments of God, also, the gospel is also asking us to obey the civil law. We have to obey our societal laws that are not against God’s own. Sometimes we may not be necessarily bound to obey some rules but since they are not against the natural laws, we have to in order to make things flow. A student does not supposed to buy emblem and rate for motorcycle but to avoid disturbances and to make them happy, you buy it and you have not sinned, likewise in many other things.

So, the two readings are telling us, as we obey the commandments of God, we should also remember to tolerate others and their rules that are not against God’s own rule. Thanks.

Tuesday 19th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Tuesday 19th week Year A

First Reading

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

Second Reading

Matthew 18:1-5.10.12-14

THEME: ALWAYS WISH PEOPLE WELL.

The trend these days is people cursing their children with derogatory names. After everything, they will expect the child to be the best in the whole community. It is always necessary to wish people well no matter the situation.

In the first reading, Moses knew that he was not going to enter the Promised Land not because of his sins but the sins of the people of Israel but he accepted all and was wishing them well. He prayed for the Lord to be with them. It was not that he did not like to enter the Promised Land but he was denied that because of the people he was leading. Still after all, he wished them well. This is a serious lesson to us that we must not only wish those who are good to us well but also our enemies.

In the gospel, the same trend these days of who is the greatest appeared. They were asking of the greatest person in heaven not knowing that heaven is not like earth here we scramble for positions. We must learn to be humble like children. It is because we lack humility that we struggle for things and do not like to wish others well but we will like to have everything for ourselves.

Humility brings good wishes as in the first reading. So, let us learn the humility in the gospel like children and we shall be happy here on earth and hereafter in heaven. Thanks.

Saturday 18th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Saturday 18th week Year A

First Reading

Deuteronomy 6:4-13

Second Reading

Matthew 17:14-20

THEME: DO NOT FORGET YOUR GOD.

Moses trying to show us how important God is in our lives, he is telling us to write the commandments of God around us, in everything we do or say. St. Ignatius of Loyola summarized the passage of the first reading in his notion of seeing God in everything (Not everything being God as pantheists will say). If we see God in everything, certainly we will not forget him and that is the summary of the first reading.

If we have faith in God, we certainly cannot forget the person we believe will do all things for us. The problem that the apostles encountered in the gospel was very little and unrecognizable compare to what we have these days. The joy in their own is that, they recognized they could not do it and asked necessary questions and they were directed properly. These days, people are no longer interested in asking necessary question, rather, they do it in their ways. People receive powers from anywhere now to do magic in the name of miracle and deceive people and this the apostles avoided. Those who are busying deceiving people in the name of God, do they still remember God? Some of us have forgotten our true God and are now doing as they like. A man told a seminarian that, he has lost faith in God and nothing will make him to get interested in that thing called God again. I told the seminarian that that person had no faith before. If he had a little faith, he would not have lost it. The apostles had faith but not as big as mustard seed and they did not leave rather they made effort to grow the faith. They never left God entirely rather, they were falling and rising like every other human being. Let us today like the apostles go closer to ask questions about our faith so that we will not lose it and will at the end forget God. Thanks.

Friday 18th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Friday 18th week Year A

First Reading

Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Second Reading

Matthew 16:24-28

THEME: IT IS ONLY OUR GOD THAT CAN DO IT.

Traditionally as some of us know, there is no god or gods that has ever or is ever ready to sacrifice its existence or any part of it to save its worshippers, rather, they demand for more sacrifices, external sacrifices. Some of them go to the extent of demanding for human sacrifice in order to make them stronger to fight for them or to grant them the favour they need. Traditional gods from time to time demand specific sacrifice (s) from their worshippers. In my place, we call it maa ida mmadu ihe. Our own Lord and God do not demand from us a specific sacrifice for a specific request. He gave us free will to do as we like. If we can recall what happened in the Bible when Jesus cured ten leapers and one came back to appreciate him, he did not even ask about the gift he came with but why are others not here to appreciate him?

In the first reading, Moses is asking us the new Israelites if we have seen any other god that does what our God is doing for us. If we have not seen, why are we still hurting him with our sins? We have left him and his eternal life and are now ready to lose our lives and that is what Jesus also is asking us in the gospel, what it will profit us.

The reason why the Israelites were not following God as they supposed was because they did not want to suffer and that same thing is happening to us these days. We want a crossless Christianity and Christ but Jesus said no to that in the Gospel. We are not even happy that our saviour is leading the way of suffering and we are following him rather, we want him to suffer alone. Christianity of suffering free is not from Christ for he himself said we must carry our crosses and follow him every day. Since he is the only one who has offered to lead us in the way of suffering, let us appreciate him by following and obeying what he commands us to obey in the conclusion of the first reading. Thanks.

Wednesday of 18th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Wednesday of 18^th week Year A

First Reading

Numbers 13:1-2.25-14:1.26-29.34-35

Second Reading

Matthew 15:21-28

THEME: WITH COURAGE AND PERSISTENCE, WE WILL OBTAIN FAVOUR FROM GOD.

The problem many of us have including my own self is that we lack the courage to confront our problems in life sometimes and also we lose faith very quickly. I was going somewhere to visit my classmate where he was doing his pastoral experience one day. I was calling him and his number was not connecting. I was almost reaching his parish and I concluded, since his number is not connecting, that shows he is busy and I turned back. In the evening, he called me to know how things were moving and I told him my experience and he told me he was home throughout the day. I regretted turning back but it was already late. That taught me that Hope is a very good breakfast but a very bad supper.

In the first reading, majority of those that went to spy the land promised them by God came back and removed the little hope and courage in the people. They had no courage to go into war with the people living in the land promised them because probably they did not trust in what God can do. But two outstanding men, Joshua and Caleb made them to know that they can do it and persisted in it and days to come we shall hear the result.

In the gospel, we can see both courage and persistence in full action. The Canaanite woman had the courage to meet Jesus and also the virtue of persistence. If you do not want what happened to me to happen to you, learn from this woman to come to the Lord with courage and persistence even when we think God has insulted us. God is always with us if we have courage to meet him and persist in following him. Thanks.

Thursday 18th week Year A By Tobe Eze

Thursday 18^th week Year A

First Reading

Numbers 20:1-13

Second Reading

Matthew 16:13-23

THEME: WHO IS GOD FOR US?

For many persons, God means different things or persons for them. For some, he is a provider, for some he is a fighter, for some he is a protector, for some he is a merciful God and so many notions of God by different people, nations, tribes, race and even religions.

For the Israelites in the first reading, he is a disappointing God. They were not happy with him for they thought they wanted him to take them home without any atom of suffering. They wanted to close their eyes and open them and see themselves in the Promised Land. If that had happened, they would not have appreciated the work of God in their lives, they would not have valued the whole show for it would have contradicted my dialectical adage Ihe ga atugu nee onu anugu aga (a good thing is always stressful or what did not stress you will not work). God has never disappointed anyone but the Israelites could not understand.

The gospel also is showing us different views of different persons about God (in Jesus). For some, one of the prophets, some Elijah, some Moses and so on. Peter gave a perfect answer which should not leave our lips everyday. We should always acclaim Jesus as the son of the living God. He is the Christ who has come to save us. If we take God as any other person or thing apart from the son of the living God, we maybe making serious mistake in our lives. The answer of Peter merited him the head of the apostles and the first Pope of the only church founded by Christ. If we allow the Holy Spirit to direct us as Peter did and answer like him, many favours will also follow as we saw in the gospel. Thanks.