Dear Friend,

Last Sunday, we meditated on the theme of how Jesus is at once the Son of God and the Lamb of God who saves by the sacrifice of His whole life. Today, our theme comes directly from the psalmist of today (Psalm 27): The Lord is our light and our salvation. Instituted by Pope Francis on December 30th, 2019, the third Sunday in ordinary time is celebrated as the Word of God Sunday. Firstly, I would like to suggest that we look at God’s Word as our light. Secondly, to see the Word of God as our unity. From the 18th of January to the 25th of January, the Church celebrates the week for Christian Unity as we pray that Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that we may all be one even as He and the Father are one, be fulfilled. Finally, to see the Word of God as our protection. All over the nation, the 22 nd of January is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn. I would like us to reflect on how the readings of today shed light on these three-fold commemorations. 

1)    The Word of God is a Great Light

In the first reading, Isaiah prophesies a time of restoration. Like a mother who punishes with one hand and consoles with another, the Lord only wounds in order to heal us. Isaiah says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” Isaiah goes further to describe what this light does, for with this light, “Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress.” But what, or rather Who is this light that has come to scatter the darkness and gloom that surrounds us? Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the Light of the world as He Himself tells us plainly in the Gospel of John: “I have come into the world to be its light” (Jn 12:46). One of the ways we can tap into this source of Eternal Light is to meditate daily on the Word of God. I cannot recommend enough the work of Fr. Mike Schmitz, “The Bible in a Year Podcast.” If there was one new year resolution I could recommend on this Word of God Sunday, it is this: Begin reading the bible every day. If you cannot read a chapter daily, read at least a paragraph. Whatever you do, a day should not go by without you opening your Bible. The Word of God is: our light in the darkness – for it gives us direction; it is a light of truth; a light of protection; a light of clarity in times of doubts; a light of assurance in times of despair; a light of healing in times of brokenness. In the words of Pope Francis, God’s Word shows us the path to authentic and firm unity.

2)    The Word of God, our Source of Unity

As mentioned above, we are about midway in the week of praying for Christian Unity. How perfect is the second reading of today as a guide for us as we strive for unity. Who is our center of unity but Jesus Christ the One and True Vine! St. Paul warns the Corinthians and us all about the causes of disunity amongst us especially the formation of cliques based on personality cults. He saw that some were saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” He then asked the question: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” To go to Church because of the minister instead of the message is to miss the goal. Many a Christian has stopped going to Church because they have a difference with the minister. This is a travesty! We equally miss the mark to go to Church because of the minister instead of Jesus Christ.

During this week of Christian Unity, we acknowledge that Jesus alone is the Way to Salvation. We recognize the Christians of other denominations to use the phrase of Pope Benedict XVI, as our “sisters in faith,” as we long to one day be fellow brothers around the one table of the Eucharist. We shall win over those who are not yet in the onefold of Christ not by being cliquish nor by being bashful, but by our prayer, sacrifice, and witness. May we pay heed to St. Paul’s call today: “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.” To attain this, we must avoid any forms of unnecessary rivalry. This is a call for conversion.

3)    The Message of the Word of God

In the Gospel, we see how Jesus begins His public ministry after John the Baptist leaves the scene by being arrested. We are told, “From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The message of the Word of God is repentance. On this day of prayer for the legal protection of the unborn, we ask the question: What is it that we are called to repent from? The truth is Jesus meets us where we are, but He never leaves us there. Like the Good Samaritan, He bandages our wounds of brokenness due to sin and takes us to the Father’s Inn, the Church, to be taken care of until He returns to take us to Himself forever in heaven. 

We have to repent from the lies that society has propagated and the media continues to spread like COVID that life does not begin at conception. If life does not begin at conception, then as a Catholic in good conscience, you cannot celebrate the incarnation of God at Christmas, nor the Immaculate conception. If life does not begin at conception, why do we grieve when there is a miscarriage? To repent is to take another course just like the magi showed us two weeks ago, when they encountered the Word of God and were instructed in a dream, they took another road. Someone had lied to us that to have the right to my body means seeking the comfort of my body at all cost even at the expense of another life. If the center of every body is a heart, then the heart beat that is not yours has its right even if it dwells within you own body. Permit me end today’s homily with a poem I wrote on the beauty of God’s gift of life in various contexts which we are called to appreciate and nurture rather than usurp the divine prerogative in trying to create these contexts by ourselves:

A LILY IN THE WILD
Just like the others in the garden
It’s beautiful and precious to behold.
Its Gardener is not a gardener, 
But the Farmer of all farmers.

To God the Almighty Farmer,
Heaven and earth are full of your lilies:
Some in cultured gardens;
Some in wild bushes.

Neither the gardener 
Nor the peasant farmer of the bush
Has the right to determine its growth.
Ours is the duty to nurture Your lilies wherever they may be.

Neither of us has the right to create the context for Your lilies to grow
For that would be a divine usurpation;
The servant wanting to be the Master Planner,
Instead of the steward we are meant to be.

Say No those who say yes to abortion
But weep at the news of a miscarriage!
Say No to those who say yes to adoption by a same sex couple 
But decry the challenges of single parenting and the importance of roots!

To God, the Almighty Farmer,
May Thy lilies blossom wherever Thou chooseth,
Grant us but Thy grace, we pray,
To love and nurture them wherever we find them.

May Jesus, the Lily of Bethlehem, born in the maternity of a manger, whom we receive under the guise of food in the Eucharist, be our light of truth, our source of unity, and the protection of all God’s lilies especially those conceived in unprecedented circumstances. Amen.

Fr. Valery Akoh