6th Sunday in Ordinary Time “A” Matthew 5: 17-37
This homily was delivered at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish in Lakowe, Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday, February 16th, 2020, during the visit of 5 parishioners and I to the parish led by Fr. Peter Osuntope, who so many of us fondly recall during his time at Nativity of Our Lord from 2012-15. The following is what I recall saying in my homily of almost 25 minutes in length - the traditional length of a Sunday homily in Nigeria. As a side note, when I was welcomed at the start of mass, Fr. Peter told his people that this was the first time a white man (“Oyinbo” in the local Yoruba language) had presided at their parish.
No doubt that when you look at my appearance, and then note the sound of the accent with which I speak, you would say, “This man, this priest, he is not from here.” If you happened to be in the eastern provinces of Canada, you would say, “He is from away”. It’s true. I am from away. But it is my hope and prayer that you would also say, “But he is one of us”. For that is also true. I am one of you. For just like you, I am a child of God, made in the image and likeness of God as we read in Genesis 1.
Back home in our city of Toronto, we have people from all over the world, with all races, and so many cultures and languages. One day while visiting a local school I asked 4 children of different racial backgrounds to come up to the front of the class. I then asked them to roll up the sleeves of their shirts or blouses and hold out their arms. As they did so, I told the children that when I look at their arms, I see black arms, brown arms, arms with a light copper colour, and white arms. I then asked the children, “The Bible says we are all made in the image and likeness of God. But I see all these different colours. So what colour is God?” My children are quite smart. Immediately they said, “God is all colours”. And we are all His children.
This is not my first time in Nigeria. Back in December, 2004, I spent 12 days here. I have so many memories of that visit as we toured many parts of the country, including Lagos. But undoubtedly the most vivid memory took place one Sunday when I was invited by the local parish priest to preach and preside at a Sunday mass for an out-station chapel of the local parish. I agreed to do so, but asked the parish priest, “How long will the mass be?” “Well over two hours!” I laughed and told him back home if the Sunday mass goes more than one hour, the parishioners start bitterly grumbling. I then asked about the length of my homily. I was told, at least 25 minutes. “25 minutes!”, I exclaimed, “Back in Canada if a priest preaches for more than 10 minutes the parishioners start holding out their arms and tapping their watches while mouthing the words, “Father! Father! It’s time to stop”. I was assured by the parish priest that if I preached for only 10 minutes the parishioners would think that something was wrong with me, that perhaps that I was possessed.
What I do remember of that mass was not the length, but what I have already witnessed here today in Lakowe – their participation - just like I have seen today in your singing, dancing, music, as well as the pure joy and great faith that you bring to this sacred celebration. That was a blessed mass to be part of 15 years ago. This is a blessed mass too. Thank you for making it happen. Your presence here, the way that you celebrate mass is a joy for Fr. “Oyinbo” and his 5 fellow Canadians. We feel so privileged to be here with you.
My dear brothers and sisters, today’s gospel is part of St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. And today, and for that matter, next Sunday, Jesus places some big challenges before us. I trust you noticed that 3 times Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said …” and then He speaks of a religious law that people must follow. But then He says, “But I say to you …” and then He gives a new, improved version of the law. This illustrates why at the beginning of the gospel He spoke of the fact that He is not here to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.
There is no doubt, just as Jesus asked of His people back then, Jesus also asks a lot of us – especially when it comes to asking us to do things that often we would rather not to do – like reconciling with a brother or sister, or in next week’s gospel, refusing to taking revenge for evil that is done to you or those you love. These things are not easy to do. But for our own good, we need to do it. And Jesus tells us to do so.
As many of you know, sadly less than a month ago news was received that Boko Haram, the Islamic terrorist group that operates a very long way from here, in the far north of your nation, had kidnapped 4 Catholic seminarians. 3 were eventually released, but one of them, Michael Nnida, was murdered. Just before we left for Nigeria a Nigerian priest who lives with me at my parish, Fr. Anthony Akpanessien, from Akwa Ibom state, shared with me the homily delivered by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Bishop of Sokoto, at Michael’s funeral.
I was amazed by what the strength, the conviction and power of the words of the Bishop. He did not hold back from criticizing the role of the Nigerian government in ignoring the persecution of Christians and the churches they belong to in the far north. Your President was not immune from the strong words of the Bishop, either. But later in the homily the Bishop spoke of the need not to take vengeance for Michael’s death. For his would go against the teachings of Christ, and the teachings of the church. Allow me to share the Bishop’s thoughts on this matter:
My dear brothers and sisters, Anger, the quest for Vengeance, are a legitimate inheritance of unredeemed human being. Both have appeal. Through violence, you can murder the murderer, but you cannot murder Murder. Through violence, you can kill the Liar, but you cannot kill lies or install truth. Through violence, you murder the Terrorist, but you cannot end Terrorism. Through violence, you can murder the Violent, but you cannot end Violence. Through Violence, you murder the Hater, but you cannot end hatred. Unredeemed man sees vengeance as power, strength and the best means to teach the offender a lesson. But these are the ways of the flesh.
The Bishop is right. The Christian cannot take revenge. But the Christian can and needs to name and confront the evil. But when it comes to punishment, we leave the punishment, the ultimate punishment, for God to deliver to those who do such evil like those who murdered Michael Nnida.
As I said before, our Lord asks a lot from us. The Lord sets the bar high for us. Please, please remember this. Our God doesn’t want you to be good. I repeat – our God does not want you to be good. He wants you to be great. Which is why He asks so much of us – so that we can be great. So I ask you: Do you want to be great? Do You Want To Be Great?
Do your best to be great. Do your best to make God proud of you. Do your best so that God says yes, you are My beloved son, My beloved daughter. And when that time comes for you, when you die, all you will hear is the greatest phrase of all: “Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven.”