Light in the Dark: Sunday Homilies for Cycle A

By Donald Anyagwa

There is in our world incessant silent echoes of deception, spread storms of indifference, hidden slave masters that are hindrances to the hearts and minds of those on the roadway to salvation. The only way out of this humankinds disorientation; the one remaining consolation to the troubled souls of men and women, and the return of peace to the thirsting world, will be the light that comes from the word of God made flesh in Christ. It is thus a great gift a priest-homilist and preacher offers the people, as they assemble to commune with their God in the Eucharistic liturgy.

The Author


In this diligently written book: Light in the DarkSunday Homilies for Cycle A, Fr. Anyagwa used stories, live experiences, his pastoral encounters, and parallel biblical pericopes to enrich the homilies. Due to the books synthetic qualities, diversified contents and contexts, as well as the authors balanced theological and hermeneutical approach, I strongly recommend this book for both clergy and lay faithful. To priests, deacons, religious, catechists and pastoral assistants it would serve as a veritable resource for adapting a Sunday and Feast Day homilies; to the rest it would among others pre-dispose one to benefit enormously from a particular Sundays or Feast Days readings before and after theyre read and reflected upon by the homilist.

Rev. Izunna Okonkwo, Ph.D, STD
(Archdiocese of New York)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Jun 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781499097115

Donald Anyagwa

Fr. Donald Anyagwa belongs to the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri in Nigeria. His other books include Random Talks While Alone (November 1999), My Ordination Whispers (May 2005), Behind the Curtains (March 2008), Light in the Dark: Sunday Homilies for Cycle A (June 2015), Power from the Word: Sunday Homilies for Cycle B (April 2016).

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Copyright © 2015 by Donald Anyagwa.

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NRSV

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Website

Rev. date: 06/03/2015

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Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

First Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Nativity of the Lord

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

The Baptism of the Lord

First Sunday of Lent

Second Sunday of Lent

Third Sunday of Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday)

Easter Sunday

Second Sunday of Easter

Third Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Pentecost Sunday

Second Sunday of the Year

Third Sunday of the Year

Fourth Sunday of the Year

Fifth Sunday of the Year

Sixth Sunday of the Year

Seventh Sunday of the Year

Eight Sunday of the Year

Ninth Sunday of the year

Tenth Sunday of the Year

Eleventh Sunday of the Year

Twelfth Sunday of the Year

Thirteenth Sunday of the Year

Fourteenth Sunday of the Year

Fifteenth Sunday of the Year

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year

Seventeenth Sunday of the Year

Eighteenth Sunday of the Year

Nineteenth Sunday of the Year

Twentieth Sunday of the Year

Twenty-first Sunday of the Year

Twenty-second Sunday of the Year

Twenty-third Sunday of the Year

Twenty-fourth Sunday of the Year

Twenty-fifth Sunday of the Year

Twenty-sixth Sunday of the Year

Twenty-seventh Sunday of the Year

Twenty-eighth Sunday of the Year

Twenty-ninth Sunday of the Year

Thirtieth Sunday of the Year

Thirty-first Sunday of the Year

Thirty-second Sunday of the Year

Thirty-third Sunday of the Year

Solemnity of Christ King of the Universe

Appendix

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Corpus Christi Sunday

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Solemnity of All Saints

Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

This piece of work is dedicated to:

My brother-priests of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria, as they daily struggle to bring the light of the gospel to the hearts, minds, and souls of God’s people.

And to those whose selfless sacrifices immeasurably illumine the dark corners of our world.

Foreword

The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests – Presbyterorum Ordinis promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965 underscores the primary function of a priest. In its opening sections we partly read: priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have the primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God to all. In this way they fulfill the command of the Lord: ‘Going therefore into the whole world preach the Gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16: 15), and they establish and build up the People of God. Through the saving word the spark of faith is lit in the hearts of unbelievers, and fed in the hearts of the faithful (PO, no. 4). Besides, Faith comes through hearing and what is heard is the word of God (Rom. 10: 17). There is a strong connection between the word of God and faith.

In Christian liturgy, the word of God is celebrated in such a way that it leaves no one in doubt of its importance. At the same time, both the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist are so much connected that the 2014 Homiletic Directory by the Congregation for Divine worship and the Sacraments sees the homily as an integral part of the Eucharistic celebration – an organic part of the Mass. For instance, in Catholic liturgy, the celebration of the word of God is enmeshed in the celebration of the Eucharist to such an extent that its major celebration, the Mass, is called Eucharistic celebration. Not only that, the Sacrament of the Eucharist is referred to, by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, as the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission (Lumen Gentium, no. 11; Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 10). This becomes more evident when the homilist diligently connects the Scripture readings with the Paschal Mystery. Against this background, the importance and significance of the celebration of word of God among the believing community needs to be given the attention it deserves at all times and in all places for both spiritual and physical well-being of the people of God, on the one hand, and as an invitation to unbelievers. One of the ways of doing this is by the celebrant giving a rich and an inspiring reflection, based on the word of God proclaimed during a particular celebration. The Fathers of the Council consider the sermon as an integral part of the liturgical service and strongly recommend that the celebrant gives a homily at Masses celebrated with the people on Sundays and Feast Days of obligation.

It is to the credit of the author to have courageously done what many priests would never do throughout the period of their active years in the ministry: documenting homilies for Sundays and major Feast Days following the Catholic Liturgy. Delivering a homily is one thing, and delivering series of homilies that are devoid of repetitions over a long period of time, which at the same time address the concerns of the audience, is another thing all together. Vatican II acknowledges this difficulty and proffers a guideline: But priestly preaching is often very difficult in the circumstances of the modern world. In order that it might more effectively move men’s minds, the word of God ought not to be explained in a general and abstract way, but rather by applying the lasting truth of the Gospel to the particular circumstances of life.

The author presents not just rich homily on each occasion, but also one that is free of redundancy and in accordance with the Council’s exhortation: by applying the lasting truth of the readings to the particular circumstances of life. He even did so in a unique and spectacular way to such an extent that the book: Light in the Dark: Sunday Homilies for Cycle A stands tall in the midst of similar existing texts.

With regard to the structure, the author followed standard liturgical format. As such, the book starts with his homilies on Sundays in Advent, followed by homilies during Christmas season, and then Lenten and Easter seasons. For the sake of sequence, homilies for Sundays in ordinary season of the year have been arranged together uninterrupted after the Easter season and before the Appendix, which contains homilies for some Solemnities and major Feast Days.

Considering the universality of the Church, using his multicultural and intercontinental pastoral experiences as a veritable resource, Fr. Donald Anyagwa presents a compilation of some of the homilies he delivered to different compositions of audience since his ordination to the Sacred Priesthood on 14 July 1990. His choice of appropriate theme for each of the celebration, Sunday or Feast Day, makes it more appealing. Anyagwa used stories, live experiences, his pastoral encounters, and parallel biblical pericopes to enrich the homilies. Due to the book’s synthetic qualities, diversified contents and contexts, as well as the author’s balanced theological and hermeneutical approach, I strongly recommend this book for both clergy and lay faithful. To priests, deacons, religious, catechists, and pastoral assistants, it would serve as a veritable resource for adapting a Sunday and Feast day homilies; to the rest, it would among others predispose one to benefit enormously from a particular Sunday’s or Feast Day’s readings before and after they’re read and reflected upon by the homilist.

Rev. Izunna Okonkwo Ph.D, STD

Archdiocese of New York

March 2015

Acknowledgements

The sixteenth-century English missionary and writer, William Arthur Ward was right in his words, Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Appreciation, thankfulness, and gratitude are emotions that only drum sounds in the mind until they are externalised by words and actions. Acknowledgements are like that too. They are hardly meaningful when hidden in silence and speechlessness!

Awareness of this fact inferentially makes me recall the significant gifts I received long ago from my parents, James and Maria. That was the first time I was to leave home officially for my priestly aspiration. Family members and friends had gathered for my send-forth party, of course fully expectant of the usual pleasantries and protocols that flow through such parties. Conversely, the situation took another dimension when I was presented with (a) a crucifix, (b) a locally made melon-cake, and (c) a writing pen. My parents were prophetically painting an allegory that although life could be rough for me in the priestly ministry, contemplating the Cross of Christ would be my inspiration. The locally made melon-cake was interpreted to be, within the cultural context, a symbol of strength, and thus, they prayed that I would never lack it. They equally, in the symbolism of their gift-offering of a writing pen, ‘commissioned’ me to go and write so that the world will come to appreciate its Maker through you. My dad, particularly, was a man styled in poetic parlance!

How these parental utterances and prophetic gestures have continued to resonate in my mind and pose inexplicable challenges before me until today – after forty years! I feel fulfilled now to acknowledge such faith-grooming and seed-planting of noble dreams in my life by my parents. I am truly indebted to them for their unbelievable incentives and inspiration!

There is an additional privilege in ministering outside one’s bona fide specified environs and diocese of origin. This is even more evident where there is a multicultural setting, alongside good access to electricity, availability of the Internet and computer web-browsing, and some conduciveness in terms of basic infrastructure. These conveniences logically enkindle zeal for learning, versatility, and growth. While acknowledging a background of this sort as a big resource in writing these Homilies for Cycle A, I most unreservedly thank my Local Ordinary, Most Rev. Anthony J. V. Obinna, who trustingly agreed to my having a mission-experience in the United States.

Fr. Emmanuel Ikechi Ihemedu is, to say the least, worth appreciating. The roles he played in this mission encounter can hardly be underplayed. Similarly, it will be wrong to take out of the picture my Pastor, Very Rev. Timothy Austin Meehan. I acknowledge the innumerable ways through which he made the rectory environment and work schedules convenient for me. I must admit, I enjoyed some bit of time-off, which in many ways garnished my desire and hunger to write.

Fr. Izunna Okonkwo is indescribably a giant in his sacrifices of time, attention, and concentration towards the proofreading of this book. His painstakingness to details and acceptance to write the Foreword, as well as present a kind of synopsis on the book’s backcover, are indisputably the icing on the cake!

Maria Colangelo, Julia Legenos, Dorothy Shea, and Pauline Dos Santos showed me amazing encouragements by making sure I was sustained in various ways in the course of my mission; part of which, categorically speaking, is proclaiming the good news through writing. The families of Joseph and Theresa Radojevic, Steve and Barbara Gode, John and Alana Palmieri, Salvatore and Sharon Fuoco, and Robert and Ruth Mulhern were also exceptionally helpful in innumerable ways. I humbly ask God to continually allow his mercies flow towards them.

Fr. Augustine Chika Okoroafor and Fr. Charles Ebere Ikwuegbu gave me a lot of moral boost. Their motivational words could not have come at a better time than those moments when I considered postponing entirely the compilation of these homilies! It is on the same note of recognising their simple but touching contribution that I wholeheartedly express my unalloyed appreciation to Xlibris partners for their tireless efforts to see this book published.

You all have been great and inspiring! Be assured, therefore, that before Divine Majesty, I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers (Eph. 1: 16).

Introduction

Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light. (John 12: 35–36)

To continually dwell on the feeling that there is little or nothing one can contribute to the already vast discoveries and productions, massive outcomes, and progressive results others have so far made can be a toll on one’s route to adventure and invention. It can terribly paralyse one’s zeal towards achievement and success. That did happen to me for long, when I considered the huge literature on homilies, nicely displayed in the shelves of many bookstores, and from the library to the reading table of almost every priest! Some of these homily volumes were written by experts with unbelievable excellence!

I therefore had an incessant nagging instinct that delving into writing homilies for public use would look like splashing tiny drops of water into a mighty ocean, sparkling with currents! I must say I am humbled by the inexpressible achievements many have so far made in this area. I agree with no grains of salt in the wise saying of an English natural philosopher and scientist, Sir Isaac Newton: If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

My concern in these homilies is more on contextualisation than exegetical analyses of biblical texts and passages. I desired to see how the Liturgical Readings we have so often heard, and by special divine grace listened to, can be made new within our local environments and common circumstances. I did, with this in mind, use a lot of live experiences and my pastoral encounters. However, a good outcome from this humble aspiration will in no small measure depend on the preacher and homilist who may deem it necessary to use any part of this book as a tool. His time off for reflection on this supposedly taken raw material, in addition to his prayerful disposition and good application, will be the tale of the success story! I have only made small window-openings through which anyone can look out and see the indescribable stuff outside!

Coming to the pulpit on a Sunday and thinking of the contents of the texts about to be delivered, without first considering their contexts and tests before the congregation, can indeed be frustrating, both for the preacher and the listener. This is a trap one can easily fall into. In the midst of God’s children who have come from different and divergent angles of life, the majority are being puzzled by many unanswered questions, hungry for God’s word, thirsty for his food, and desirous for his light. It will be terrible to divert from their plights and begin to delve and dive into topics that aggravate their misery, or at worst leave them empty of the good news. I considered in the presenting of these homilies how the contexts of any biblical passage could be applied to the contents of the hearts of listeners that are larger and more demanding. I believe, it is only through good application of the Divine Word that the miracle of light begins to radiate again in the dark sports of human lives. Albert Schweitzer was right in his words, At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Experience has taught that a dispenser of God’s word can fall short to deliver the message when he presents himself to the people rather than allow them see the Lord through him. His intelligence is not so much wanted as the divine word is urgently needed. So, he must use God’s word to reach the people of God. Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore Archdiocese said it rightly, The star can never shine brightly in the presence of the sun. Any preacher who tries to draw the attention of the people to himself makes them a straying and stranded sheep that find it difficult to reach the Good Shepherd who is eagerly waiting upon them. He can by his wrong applications and diverted instructions cause many to stumble (Mal. 2:8).

The task of a preacher of the word is very challenging. This is more overt in our age when many people are turning weird with the ease of scientific make-ups and comfort of technological advancements and in an era where pain and suffering, trials and difficulties of life are hardly seen, even by some professed Christians, as paradoxes to the personhood of Christ Jesus crucified! The world is in the darkness of error and mistaken notions, false convictions, and misguided principles. Modern man and woman have been pushed to the crossroads by vainglory and pleasure-seeking deeply rooted in modernism and capitalism. The world must be made to know, as Gautama Buddha pointed out centuries ago, Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

There is in our world incessant silent echoes of deception, spread storm of indifference, unrecognised slave masters that are hindrances to the hearts and minds of those on the roadway to salvation. The only way out of this confusion, the one remaining consolation to the troubled souls of men and women, and the return of peace to the thirsting world, will be the light that comes from the word of God made flesh in Christ the Lord. It is the same word that filled the formless void and dispelled the tick darkness when it resounded at the beginning of creation: Let There Be Light! It is thus a great gift a priest-homilist and preacher has for the people of God as they assemble to commune with him in the Eucharistic liturgy. The word of God – the good news – remains the Light in the Dark corners of the human life and society. The Psalmist says of God, For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light (Ps. 36:9). Again, he affirms, Your word, oh Lord, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps. 119:105).

The homilies in this collection are for Cycle A (Year 1), which could be seen as insignificant when compared with the Lectionary Volumes of Cycle B and Cycle C of the entire Church’s Liturgical Years! Nonetheless, it is my sincere desire that these homilies be read, understood, and used in the spirit of the Fathers of the Church and made accessible to us through the treasury of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is in such manner as I silently pray with the sublime words of the concluding Morning Prayer of Monday, Psalter Week 1:

Father, may everything we do

begin with your inspiration

and continue with your saving help.

Let our work always find its origin in you

and through you reach completion. Amen.

First Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah 2: 1–5; Romans 13: 11–14; Matthew 24: 37–44

➢ The Opportune Time

Naturally, the Church begins her three-year Liturgical Cycle today. The Birth of Christ is her foundation and root, the announcement of the Kingdom of God made manifest in our midst (Luke 11: 20, 17: 21) and the Emmanuel who is God With Us. Additionally, the mysteries that would later be unfolding like the inauguration of this Church at Pentecost, through the strengthening Blood and the cleansing Water that gushed from the Saviour’s Broken Body, alongside the motif of Resurrection and Ascension, and the teaching legacies the Blessed Apostles bequeathed to the Church, are what we celebrate as anamnesis and renew as a re-enactment through the occurring Liturgical Year. Part of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s 1986 Advent homily comes to mind here: It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope. So, it would be betraying to see this Sunday as the First Sunday of Advent ever!

It did not come easy, both for the entire Christendom and for any individual member of the Church to have gone this far. The weight of the burdens of sin; the agonies and cries of the downtrodden; the bitter struggle in the midst of violence, hunger, and widespread starvation; the fight for justice and religious freedom in the Middle East and countries where there are onslaughts and insurgencies of Islamist extremism; the persistent efforts for collaboration with some other world religions that refuse to yield to the Ecumenical Dialogue; and the battle for the salvation of all were part and parcel of the war fronts that faced and will continue to jeer at the Church and her members through the Liturgical Years. It is never over; we have the Opportune Time to begin again!

The bitter truth is that we have in many areas of our life slept off at God’s invitation to conversion and reconversion. We have been at one time or the other in deep slumber over the call to charity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The word of God has occasionally lost its meaning in our ears. Its message has been thwarted in our poorly and wrongly applied interpretations. We have not sincerely and truly followed the ways of the Lord in our worldly concerns and daily businesses of life. Our prayer life has been affected in our weaknesses and feeble-mindedness. The dust of modernism and materialism has long dulled our minds and clouded our hearts. We have failed to see the log of wood in our eyes but in our short-sightedness exaggerated the common mistakes and aberrations of others.

Our first beginning to rediscover our state of grace and the noble status of God’s children is to climb the mountain of prayer before God in his Holy Temple. It is at his foot that we listen again to his word and learn his instructions. The more we pray the nearer we are to God and the closer our hearts are to others through charity.

The Prophet Isaiah reminds us that it is with this return to God’s presence that we regain a softening of heart and awakening of spirit. It is through this communion with the Holy One that we can drop our spears of war and hatred and turn our ears to the cries of others. Only divine touch on our lives can make us leave our swords of anger, victimisation, and retaliation and instead use words of encouragement and consolation to uplift one another in the daily struggles of life. Unless God