Please, READ and REFLECT on this for tomorrow. 

First Sunday of Advent  ‘B’ 

 *Wait in Patient Hope for God* 

            Today we begin a new year of the Church, what we call Liturgical Year.  As usual, we begin this year with the season of ADVENT – a period of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also at the end of our lives. 

            Advent is a pilgrimage and the Bible is the travelog outlining God’s faithfulness to His journeying people.  We are pilgrims, not tourists on earth.  We have a goal, a mission, a vision and a destination. 

            The season of Advent we are beginning today even brings this theme of conversion to a greater dimension and urgent need.  “In Advent, the Church reminds us firstly of the Father’s initiative, “when the fullness of time had come, he sent his son, born of a woman, born subject to the law, to free those who were under the law, so that they would become adopted sons” (Gal. 4: 4-5).  We are then invited to prepare ourselves for the second and definitive coming of Christ, when, at the end of time, the Lord Jesus, “hands over the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Cor. 15:24). 

            The time of the second coming of Christ which constantly appears in the liturgical texts of Advent, points out the Father as the origin and end of salvation.  It is the Father who raises in us the will to associate ourselves with the good works of the Christ who comes so that we are able to obtain the kingdom of heaven. 

            So our Advent obligation and business is no other thing than conversion.  We long for the coming of Christ and we expect it.  The best thing we can do is to prepare for it.  Christ is coming not for the healthy but for the sick, not for the saint but for the sinner, not for the strong but for the weak.  How then are we preparing to receive Him in our hearts and homes? 

            Advent is about preparation and hope for the coming of a great guest.  We must therefore feel the urgency of conversion which is a joyful way of living.  The Gospel of today puts this in terms of staying awake, being ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour we do not expect or know. 

            In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah we heard that without the Lord we wander aimlessly through this life.  Without the Lord, we manage to get ourselves into all sorts of trouble.  But God has molded us and fashioned us.  We are the clay.  He is the potter.  If we just allow Him to guide our lives, we will be ready.  The Response sums it clearly: “O God, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” 

St. Paul adds in today's second reading that Christ has filled us with every good gift.  Why does God do this for us?  He wants us to be a sign that He is coming.  So we wait.  We prepare.  We watch. 

            The season of Advent proposes the element of waiting in human affairs.  The farmer plants his crops and waits in hope for it to germinate, mature and bear fruit.  He waits for the fruit to ripen before the harvest.  The researcher has the patience to gather data, analyze, experiment, test before announcing and defending the result of his or her research.  The element of waiting, hope, and expectation and therefore patience belongs to farmwork as it does to research work. 

            The Advent liturgy announces the virtue of hope as the fuel which sustains us.  Without it we die inwardly, our creative potentials become paralyzed and ungenerated.  With it, the future becomes open.  The arena of possibilities becomes amenable to our creative action. 

            For Advent, the time of watching, is an opportunity for us to grow closer to Christ. 

            Getting on for 2020 years now, since the first Christmas Day came and went, we must still be looking forward.  Advent is not only preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus, an event which happened long ago (2020 years ago) but also a time for looking to the future, for this means looking ahead to what is often called ‘the coming of the Kingdom of God’.  We are getting ready to celebrate the first coming of Jesus and also to celebrate the second coming as well. 

            In Advent, we think not only of the baby born in a manger but also of the King who is to come and judge the world.  And so, in looking forward to Christ’s coming during Advent, we also invite Him to become the ruler of our lives, and we wait eagerly for the day when, we believe, everyone will accept His lordship over the entire creation. 

            We are at a precious moment in time and history (the end and beginning of a century) - a moment of grace - a kairos.  We have to prepare for the grace that God will pour out this Christmas; for the grace to come and finally, for the overwhelming grace that will be ours when Jesus comes again.  The Church reminds us of this preparation in a four-week period so that we can get ourselves ready to celebrate the Christmas once more. 

            God is coming and we cannot remain the same or indifferent.  We have to make what adjustments required to correct the course of our lives and turn ourselves to God who comes to us.  Man’s whole existence is a constant preparing to see God, who draws ever closer.  We have an appointment.  We must prepare or we perish. 

            The idea of being prepared is rooted in society.  Students prepare for exams.  Pregnant mothers prepare for labour.  Political parties prepare for elections and a good scout, of course, is always prepared.  But, how are we to prepare?  The best thing to do is to take Jesus’ advice - which is to watch and pray.  If we grasp the significance of the first coming, we shall groan for the second. 

            We shall go to confession so as to receive the Child Jesus worthily, in the weeks between now and Christmas, with an ever greater love and deeper contrition.  As we do this, we learn to discover and rediscover the Sacrament of Reconciliation for our personal and communal purification and so experience the merciful love of the Father who cares for all his children. 

            To maintain this state of alertness, we need to struggle, for we all have a tendency to live with our eyes fixed on the things of the earth.  Especially during this time of Advent, let us not forget that our hearts are darkened by gluttony and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and so lose sight of the supernatural dimension which every action of ours should have as its milieu. 

            Saint Paul compares this guard over ourselves to that of the well-armed soldier who does not allow himself to be taken by surprise (cf. 1 Thess. 5: 4-11).  There is always a big temptation to procrastinate believing that there is still time. 

            There is a story about three apprentice devils who were coming to earth to finish their apprenticeship.  They were talking to their master and teacher, Satan, about their plans to tempt and to ruin persons so that they would go to hell. 

            The first apprentice devil said, “I will tell the people there is no God ... If they believe that, they will go to hell.”  Satan said, “That will not delude many because they know there is a God.”  

            The second apprentice devil said, “I will tell the people that there is no hell for serious sins committed ... If they believe that, they will surely go to hell ...”  Satan answered by saying, “You will deceive no one that way ... all people know that there is a hell for serious sins committed.” 

            The third apprentice devil said, “I will tell the people they need not hurry … there is plenty of time to prepare ...”  Satan said, “You have spoken wisely and correctly ... go and tell the people that they have plenty of time to prepare and you will ruin them by thousands.” 

            Thousands will be lost because they thought they had plenty of time to prepare before the Master comes ... before the Bridegroom would come.  No one knows how much time he or she has left for “time is a deposit each one has in the bank of God and we do not know the balance” (Ralph W. Sockman). 

            Brothers and sisters, as Scripture tells us:  “The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways.” (2 Peter 3:9) 

            As we wait and long for the coming of Christ, let us do all we can now that we can and not tomorrow that we do not know or have yet.  Today or never. 

 DO ALL YOU CAN  

 Do all the good you can 

 By all the means you can 

 In all the ways you can 

 In all the places you can 

 At all the times you can 

 To all the people you can 

 As long as ever you can.

 Today or never.  

 

    Abba, Father, you are the potter, we are the clay, the work of your hand; mould us, mould us and fashion us into the image of Jesus your Son. 

    In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  

 

*THE ODUMEJE/OKUNERERE CHARADE:* _Ecumenism taken too far?_ 

Evidence is rife that the Onitsha-based 'Pastor' oh! sorry 'Prophet' Chukwuwmeka Ohaneme popularly known as Odumeje is up to something ominously sinister in Nigeria's faith circle. But more dreadful is the fact that our people are sleeping peacefully on it. They are yet to see the lurking danger that Odumeje's brand of street churchness poses to the faith community. 

This alarm became urgent following his sequence of visits to VIPs, celebrities and men of power in recent  times. He has been on courtesy visit spree rubbing shoulders with quintessential figures and technocrats alike, of late. The other day he was at Enugu government house, the next he was with Orji Uzo Kalu, then Flavour N' Abania etc, and last week he was in Abia CoS - Dr. Agbazuere's office commanding a red carpet reception that saw to the suspension of the later from office.

But no one thought his obnoxiousness would find its way into the Catholic Church with all her strict centuries old othordoxy. 

That was why what transpired at the Okunerere Adoration centre Nsukka, last Sunday 6th November, when the Catholic prayer ministry organized her annual bazaar, inviting creme De la creme of the society, including the stormy Odumeje kept many aghast.

Billionaire business mogul,  Chief Engr. Arthur Eze was there, including other notable dignitaries. Modesty, decorum and serenity characteristic of Catholic social functions prevailed in the atmosphere until the "Riquid metal" arrived.

Few minutes before evening benediction that day, a brother and devoute Catholic, outside the shores of the country pointed me to a live feed of Odumeje's brutal entry into the Bazaar pavilion, ostensibly on invitation.

He drove right into the pavilion causing tumultuous rouse and the people surprisingly, reciprocating with equally thunderous joyful noise; as if to welcome a 'papal nuncio' from Onitsha. The Founder and Spiritual Director of the center, Rev. Fr Paul Martins Obayi (Fada Okunerere), who is the host of the event and few of his brother priests assisting him tried to downplay their obviously elated minds, so as to retain their Catholic ambience, but they could not. They beamed loud smiles that enthused the crowd who were already jubilant the more.

Latin sages were right when they posited: "Vultus est index animi" (the face is the screen of the mind). This was very true of Okunerere and the priests who flanked him that day. Their faces betrayed the pretence. 

It was the first time in recent history that a superior principle bowed to a lower one. The subsisting supremacy of the Church founded on the Rock that was Peter succumbed to the rousy rubble of the nocuous Onitsha street boy turned pastor.

A church that has in her custody the auction of the Most Holy Trinity represented in seven sacraments left their treasure in pursuit of Indaboski's end-time blustery attractions. They paused the ethos of the two-millenia old church to honour the penticostal rascality ably represented in Odumeje.

For more than 20 minutes, our eyes were fixed to the unfolding event being streamed live, as every other activity halted itself in submissive obedience to celebrate the roudy arrival of 'Ikuku ana afu anya' (the visible wind). The first five minutes was wasted in hailing him when the car made its 'triumphant' entry into Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:9).  No body saw him. The Jeep was tinted. But they had to change the music of the adoration people into his usual profane music. 

Then he reared his head out through the dorsal roof of the car! And the people bowed like apostles of the inner circle on Mount Thabor when the glory of transfiguration descended on them (Mk. 9:4).

Inevitably, the microphone fall off the M.C's hand and fell to him, to lead the song. After elaborate theatrics that is idiosyncratic of his style, he picked bails of cash and sprayed to the people, his hailers. And what did typical Nsukka women do under such situation when their country is in economic recession? Of course, pick the currencies with no guilt.

They dived the cash as their 'prophet' flew them into the air from the roof of his luxurious jeep. It was a liberation day!

They sang his praises and responded orgasmically to his mantra. He was besieged from gaining access to the stand where according to him "was specially reserved for he and his team." But the military and police personnel were on ground to shield the people way.

He walked aesthetically to Fr. Okunerere, who with few other priests stood in amiable awe. They ipso facto mounted a mini guards of honour for him. He turned and shook hands with each of the priests and then to Okunerere, an awaiting warm embrace was exchanged -- a hug of "Jianyi ala!" in native dialect.

The story continued, but for want of time, let's break here.

The essence of this descriptive introduction, was to help those who didn't have access to the live feeds to appreciate the verdicts this piece is trying to draw.

First, the situation violated the Covid-19 precautionary measures and control protocols which NCDC through the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) gave to all clergies and laity in the country. It was also against the cautions which ministry of health Enugu had called for, since the outbreak of Yellow fever epidemic in Enugu Ezike neighbourhood and which has killed scores within four weeks. Physical distancing and avoidance of buccal droplets and nasal aerosols cautions were flinged into the trash bin as people scamper to gather Odumeje's manna (Ex. 16:30-35). It was a sign of signal disobedience to superior ecclesiastical authority by the organizers.

Secondly, the situation was foreign to Catholic teaching on inter-ecclesial community relationship. The penny catechism taught us that attending services or even reading books of churches that is not Catholic is outlawed on all faithfuls.

The pontifical council for interreligious dialogue's remarkable campaigns, especially under Francis Cardinal Arinze, may have relaxed some of these ordinances. But still, in order to protect the purity of our creed, and support the faith of the laity, Local Ordinaries (Bishops) were empowered canonically to give guidelines on the boundaries of Catholic relationship with non-catholic churches and their pastors, as is peculiar to each locality.

That was why Bishops (in their respective dioceses) give orders banning Catholics from going to prayer ministries not hosted inside Catholic church buildings or presided over by a Catholic Priest.

It behoves on the "bonus pastor" -- Bishop G.I Onah of Nsukka diocese and his curia to tell us if what happened in the Adoration ground last Sunday was tolerably permitted, and if our faithfuls who celebrated Odumeje, now has the blessing of the diocese to be attending his regular Sunday and weekday services.

This is very important because the depth of faith among majority of the laity who swarmed Odumeje was shallow, and may need strict guidance to maintain them. In fact it will be hard to tell anyone from Nsukka after that Sunday outing not to patronize Odumeje prayer centre.

Okunerere of all clergies pillaging his sacerdotal prestige so low to someone who was nowhere in 2002 when he (Okunerere) became a priest after enduring the Spartan life of priesthood formation for nine years was scandalous.

Obviously, some may argue that it was just a Bazaar function and fund raising goes with crowd-pulling. But the insatiable appetite for material wealth has brought the church (especially in the south east) to its knees.

Exactly two years ago; Rev. Fr. E. Mbaka caused what nearly amounted to sacrilege with his derogation of Peter Obi over solicitation for money. The likes of Gov. Ganduje and Aisha Buhari were proclaimed infallible candiates for beatification after they gave their bounty.

The trail of that smoke was about to settle, when last sunday's incident happened. Seemingly, Bazaar is the term currently used to validate the mixing of what belonged to Caesar and what belonged to God (Matt.22:21) just to make ends meet in the quest for fund in the church.

It imprimatures the scandal that we could sing the Lord's song in a strange land, and sing Odumeje's song in Catholic adoration ground (Ps.137:4).

The lust for money is evil. The Church taught us that. But here her minister is, watching his members nosedive into it irrespective who threw it.

If there is anything we saw in that Bazaar function, it was the de-robing off of its Catholic character. The emeritus Bishop of the diocese -- Rt. Rev. Dr. Okobo, is resting from active duty of more than 45 years as a priest. But his record when he hosted similar event in 2002 which I articulated here via the link below, will make the event of last Sunday a clerical apology.

Read it here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10219276866768202&id=1105625150

Does it mean that the counsel of Ezra 4:3 are no longer observed in our Church today as we crave for money for church projects?

Obviously, this situation may have influenced Rev. Dr. Emeka Ngwoke in 2013, quoting Bernard Forlon, to write: "there is a growing need for counter-cultural witnesses to the culture of crass materialism and mindless opportunism which is sweeping through the Nigeria society and eating aware the vital innards of the Nigerian Church, as many even among the clergy are catching the bug with frightening speed. ("Random leaves from my diary" - Bernard Forlorn)

May daylight spare us.