Stay Alert! The Lord is Coming.

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

First Sunday in Advent, Dec 3, 2017

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson, AZ

Today -- the first week of Advent -- we focus on our need to prepare for the coming of Our Lord. In fact, it is urgent we stay waiting in joyful hope for the message of today’s Gospel (Mark 13: 33-37) 

"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come," Jesus says in Mark's Gospel. At this moment, He is nearing the end of His life. Soon the betrayer will sell Our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Soon a woman will lavish  costly perfume on Him to prepare for His death. Soon Our Lord will cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” But now, with only hours until these last things will take place in Jesus’ life, Our Lord speaks to His disciples,   “Be alert!”

We learn today we must be spiritually prepared. We do not know when the Lord of the house is coming. Whether Our Lord comes in our lifetime or at our last breath, stay awake.

We received a similar heads up just a few weeks ago  when we heard the parable about five foolish virgins, who were not prepared for the coming of their master.

My brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel passage is a serious wake-up call. What if our Lord were to come today? Would He find us watching in joy and expectation out of a life oriented toward prayer and righteous living? Or would he find us asleep?

Our society does not act like Our Lord is returning. They are keeping watch for other things.  A recent study of one pornographic site has revealed that it had over 90 billion video views and 44,000 visitors every minute of every day during the year 2016. Not only that, but, according to surveys, almost 80% of American men between the ages of 18 and 30 admit to watching porn regularly. Half of older men also confess to regular porn viewing.

In the times of Noah, people were not paying attention. They were focused on the things of the world. They  were eating, drinking, and marrying up until the day Noah entered  the ark. Then the floods came. Even today, there are many worldly vices waiting to distract us from the narrow road. And it is a very narrow road.  

Seek conversion now. Seek conversion every day of your life. Wait in expectation with the Mother of Jesus.

For example, this  is the 100-year anniversary of the apparitions of our Lady of Fatima, Portugal. These messages were given to us

to “be watchful and alert.” Let be safe from the harm the devil wishes to inflict upon our souls.

Devotion to the Blessed Mother helps us prepare for the Lord. She teaches us to pray the Rosary and make sacrifices. It is through our continued devotion to God through prayer and sacrifice that we will grow in our relationship with God so that He will keep us firm to the end, "irreproachable on the day of Our Lord Jesus Christ,"  as Saint Paul encourages us in 1 Cor 1:3-9. 

The Holy Mass is where Jesus is made truly present under the appearance of bread and wine. Let us therefore attend Mass regularly and never turn aside from this gift of grace. This brings us fellowship with God in His Son Jesus Christ. Let us also go to confession frequently, and avoid the near occasion of sin because the devil is prowling around looking for souls to devour.

My brothers and sisters, as we begin this Holy season of Advent, let us reflect on our lives. Are you living the teachings of the Church? Are you prepared to meet Christ? Our lives our short, and this world is ending soon. Therefore, we need to keep watch! May God keep our minds and hearts focused on what truly matters. Amen.

Risk-Takers versus Care-Takers: The Parable of the Talents

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 19, 2017

St. Francis Hospital, Long Island, New York, U.S.A.

A man got mad with God. “God,” he said, "I have been praying daily for three years that I should win the state lottery.

You told us to ask and we shall receive. How come I never received all these three years I have been asking?” Then he heard the voice of God, loud and clear. “My dear son,” says God. “Please do me a favour and buy a lottery ticket.”

This is not supposed to be a promotional for state lotteries. Rather it illustrates the saying: “If you wanna win, you got to play.” There are two kinds of people in our churches today: risk-takers and care-takers. The problem with care-takers is that they might show up at the undertaker’s with little to show for their lives. Jesus warns us against this in today’s gospel on the Parable of the Talents. (Matthew 18:21-35)

In the parable we hear about “a man going on a journey who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability” (Matt 25:15). From the beginning of the story we are told that the servant who received just one talent is a man of little ability. He is not a genius. Yet it is interesting to note that the master has a talent even for his relatively disabled servant. All God’s children have got their talents, even those who appear to have very minimal abilities in comparison with the more gifted ones.

The master departs and the first two servants “went off at once and traded” with their talents. The third servant, on the other hand, digs a hole in the ground and buries his one talent. Why does he do that? Because he is afraid

he is going to lose it if he trades with it. He must have reasoned like this: “Well, those with more talents can afford to take a risk. If they lost a talent, they could make it up later. But me, I have only one talent. If I lose it, end of story! So I better play it safe and just take care of it.” 

Many of us in the church are like this third servant. Because we do not see ourselves as possessing outstanding gifts and talents, we conclude that there is nothing that we can do. Do you know a woman who loves to sing but who would not join the choir because she is afraid she is not gifted with a golden voice?

Do you know a young man who would like to spread the gospel but is afraid he does not know enough Bible and theology? When people like this end up doing nothing, they are following in the footsteps of the third servant who buried his one talent in the ground.

The surprise in the story comes when the master returns and demands an account from the servants. First, we discover that even though the first servant with five talents had made five more talents and the second servant with two talents had made two more talents, both of them receive exactly the same compliments: “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” They are rewarded not in proportion to how many talents each has made but in proportion to how many talents each of them started off with. Booker T. Washington was right on target when he said, 

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles that one has overcome while trying to succeed.”

There are more reasons than one why the third servant decided to hide his talent. Maybe he compared himself to the other servants with more talents, saw himself at the bottom rung of the ladder, and became discouraged. He did not realise that with his one talent, if he made just one more talent,

he would be rewarded equally as the servant with five talents who made five more. We are not all measured by the same rule. To whom much is given, much is required.

All of us in the church today have received at least one talent. We have received the gift of faith. Our responsibility as men and women of faith is not just to preserve and “keep” the faith. We need to trade with it. We need to sell it to the men and women of our times. We need to promote and add value to faith. This is a venture that brings with it much risk and inconvenience. But, unless we do this, we stand in danger of losing the faith just as the third servant lost his talent.

Fr. Joe Mungai in the U.S.A.

The way to preserve the faith, or any other talent that God has given us, is to put it to work and make it bear fruit.

*Fr. Joe Mungai, FMH, is a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, a relatively new congregation started in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993. He was ordained June 7, 2014. He is moving from his parish in St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya to hospital ministry in New York. Keep him in your prayers. 

Come Share Your Master's Joy!

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 19, 2017

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson, AZ

“For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matt 25:29)

In today’s Gospel passage this Sunday we reflect on our responsibility as Catholics. Our Lord speaks a parable about a man who goes on a journey and entrusts everything he has to his servants. 

The key message of this story is not the different amounts that each of the three servants received, but the message is what they did with the amount they did receive.

When the master returns, he praises two of the servants because they used his money wisely. To both of these servants he says, “Come share your master’s joy.” 

Yet, the third servant did not make any interest on what he had been given. He simply dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. When his master returns the servant even admits that he did not act responsibly. The servant knew that his master was a demanding person and expected some return, but he failed to follow his master’s orders.

Therefore he would not share in his master’s joy. Our Lord says of this servant who did not follow his master’s orders that “this useless servant [is to be thrown] into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

My brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel message calls us to acknowledge whether or not we are practicing our faith as God is asking of us. Each one of us is given the gift of grace in our baptism. God is love, and the outpouring of His love-gift of grace seeks a return of love from us. We can bury this grace or we can allow this grace to bear perfect fruit, love that will last. We can allow God’s grace to grow within us by loving God and living pure and righteous lives or we can reject His gift of grace within us by living in sin without seeking repentance and conversion of heart.

As Catholics we have a great responsibility because we have been given the teachings of our Church. These teachings are given to us to grow in God’s grace. Do we live the teachings of our faith in love and sincerity? Are we good and faithful servants by living our marriage vows?

Do we follow our Church teachings on areas that our society denies such as our Church’s teachings on contraception? Are we reading the Bible and the Catechism? Do we come to Mass regularly? Do we come to confession? Are we taking advantage of the opportunities God gives us to do good? The truth is how can we expect Our Lord to give us great responsibilities in heaven if we do not strive to live in God’s grace today?

In fact, let us think about that third servant in today’s Gospel. (Matt. 25:14-30) What did he do after he buried the talent? He probably went off his merry way without any thought of his master or his master’s return! Aren't there people nowadays who live their life like that, as if there is no end time?

Yet, in today’s second reading (1Thes 5:1-6), Saint Paul warns us strictly about living as if there is no end time. Saint Paul reminds us that we must not live as children of the night. No. We are children of the day. Therefore, Saint Paul says, “Let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober” because the “the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.”

My brothers and sisters, let us take to heart today’s Gospel message.

Fr John Paul Shea

This current world is ending soon and God will take an accounting of each one of us as to how we have used the life He has given to us. 

If we live in God’s grace by offering our heart to God each day for His glory then we will bear eternal fruit. Let us therefore live in the grace we have received by following Our Lord’s commandments in love and truth so that when we meet Jesus face to face at the end of our lives He will say to each one of us “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.” Amen.

Whose Image Do You Worship?

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct 22, 2017

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson, AZ

During the past week we have been listening to the parables of Our Lord Jesus Christ calling us to conversion.

Those parables angered those who opposed Christ. 

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) makes it clear  that the Pharisees do not have much admiration for Jesus. In fact, the Pharisees were out to get Jesus. They sent their representatives to Jesus along with the Herodians -- Jews that supported King Herod.

The Pharisees ask Jesus about the legitimacy of the census tax. This tax created controversy because Jews were made to pay it to the emperor of Rome. The Pharisees hoped to use the census tax to trap Our Lord. 

If Jesus said, “Yes, pay your taxes,” He turns away his most loyal followers who despised the Romans.They followed Jesus, who  proclaimed the Kingdom of God, hoping that He would free them from the Roman occupation. 

But if Jesus said not to pay Caesar’s tax then He incites the Romans to arrest Him as a rebel rousing zealot. Fully aware of their trickery, Our Lord does not play their game. He knows that the Pharisees were not questioning Him for the greater good. They were not questioning Him to know the truth.

It is this evil cunning that irritates our Lord. Knowing their malice, Jesus says, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?” He says,

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." In other words, Our Lord is saying do what is right.

My brothers and sisters, it is these last words of Our Lord that make up the essence of our Lord’s message in today’s Gospel. Yes, we too live under civil societies with laws and taxes and so on. But, the bottom line is that all things belong to God! Every government, every society, every single thing we make, create, or build belongs to God!

It is when persons and societies and cultures forget that God is the ruler of everything that persons and societies and cultures and even religious institutions lose their way. This is what happened to the Pharisees whom we hear of in today’s Gospel. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of their time, but they had turned the Jewish religion from worshiping God into worshiping an image made in the likeness of themselves. This is why our Lord was so upset with the Pharisees. They had forgotten the truth found in today's Psalm: "Give to the Lord glory and praise, give to the Lord the glory due His name!"

Today’s Gospel calls us to reflect on what we make the centre of our lives.  Who or what are the rivals to God in our lives?

As Caesar’s image was on a coin, this coin

therefore identified the Roman ruler. This

coin has the head of the Roman emperor on it and the inscription, “Glorified Son of Augustus.” In other words, the coin symbolized all the institutions that tend to divinize themselves as the ultimate in authority. While Our Lord Jesus does not comment on this blasphemy, He reminds us Who really is in charge -- God Himself. 

Therefore, it is God’s image alone that shall be worshiped.

In fact, each one of us is made in the image of God. Do we reflect God’s image in our lives? Or, do we make a false image of ourselves that reflects what is not of God? Are we as concerned about giving back to God what is God's when we think about our image? Does our image reflect our Catholic values?

We all know that today our society teaches us to place ourselves at the center of the world. Our own false image means everything in this

culture: How much money we make… What material possessions we have… Are we attractive? Our society even encourages us to make false images of ourselves and one another based on sexual preference.

Yet, as Catholics we are called not to identify ourselves by labels and images created by the world. As Catholics we are called to identify ourselves as sons and daughters of God and therefore live a new life in Christ! We are called to render God praise for saving us from a fallen world that is passing away and rejoice in thanking God for this great gift! As Catholics we are called to worship God will all our minds, hearts, and to love our neighbours as ourselves who have been reborn in the image of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

My brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel

Fr John Paul Shea

passage calls us to give credit to where it is due and to live our lives accordingly. Our God has given us every single thing we have. Our God has given us the very life in which we live and the breath in which we breathe. Most importantly, our God has given us the opportunity for salvation through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us therefore live our lives today in this society as best we can by doing what is right in what we should do, but most importantly let us place our lives into the hands of God who is the owner of all that we are and all that we have. For He alone deserves the glory due His name. Amen.

The Lord of the Vineyard Comes: Bring Forth Good Fruit

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct 8, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

          

On this Sunday, the Church enjoins us to rejoice -- we are highly-favored -- because God chose us as to be in charge of His Beloved Vineyard. To carry out His task effectively, we need much prayer, which draws the peace of God

closer and closer to us. In light of this, we are to put on our best in order not to disappoint God who appointed us.

Recently , I went to a nearby fruit shop to buy some fruits for my mum. As I was walking through the shops, examining the fruits in order to make my choice, one young man insisted that I buy from his shop because his produce was fresh. Actually, I had admired his produce because they looked really good. So, I bought some mangoes from him. 

Unfortunately on getting home, the first fruit my mum tried eating was already deteriorating and had maggots inside. She took, the second, third, fourth and in fact the results were all the same. 

So, out of disappointment she threw the remaining into the garbage can. The next time I went to the same market, the same man beckoned on me to buy from him but I ignored him. When we use the term disappointment in relation to persons or things, we simply mean that a person's action or promise falls below our expectation. What do we do at such times? We express our feelings of disappointment. In like manner, God feels disappointed and even frustrated when we perform badly.

Our first reading popularly known as “the parable or song of the vineyard" (Isaiah 5, 1-7) is an allegory. In this reading, God recounts His love and care for Judah. He chose her as the apple of his eye. (Zach 2:8) He did everything possible to make her comfortable.

Unfortunately, God was rewarded with sour grapes: “He expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity but only a cry of distress.” 

What a pity! How has it been with us? Many times some of us have treated Our Beloved ungratefully for all His pains. We have given Him hardness of heart, instead of repentance; unbelief, instead of faith; indifference, instead of love; idleness instead of holy industry and impurity instead of holiness. 

Our world today is marked and punctuated by violence, victimization, hunger, homelessness, greed, conspicuous consumption, corruption etcetera. We have cared more about selling things to our neighbors than we have cared for our neighbors. I think we can do better. We should do better and God expects us to do better. Unfortunately, and tragically, instead of justice, God sees violence; and instead of righteousness, God hears the cries of victims. So as His vineyard, are we also going to disappoint Him in spite of His goodness to us?

The service club, Rotary International, has a guiding principle referred to as the four-way test. It is an ethical guide for their personal and professional relationships. It  always reminds me of Philippians 4:8""For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, think on these things."

The four principles include: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

Today, in his last letter to the Philippians (Phil 4, 6-9), Paul exalts us not to be worried. If we remain close to the Lord of the Vineyard, He

will allow His peace to abide with us. 

Finally, He draws our attention to the basic stuffs that God expects to find in us, His vineyard: Everything that is true, just, noble, lovely, of good fame and of virtue.  

So, that means we should only think about things that are respectable; whatever is right in that it conforms to the standard of God’s righteousness; whatever is pure, in that it is free from defilement; whatever is lovely in that it is pleasing in its motive and actions towards others; whatever is good in that it is laudable; excellent and worthy of praise, and officially approved.

Unfortunately, we no longer ask, “Is it true?” but “Does it work?” and “How will it make me feel?” 

But in order to keep the peace of God, Paul tells us to keep doing all that we have learnt from the good news of Jesus Christ. If we do that, the Lord of the Vineyard will come and bless our lives because we did not disappoint Him.

In today's Gospel (Matt 21:33-43), we find another allegory of the vineyard. In it, Jesus addressed the chief priests and the elders of the people in the temple. The Pharisees and the Scribes are portrayed as the wicked tenants who, instead of rendering a good account, decided to overthrow the landlord. The question is after the wicked tenants are thrown out, who would be given the vineyard?  The good news is the landlord will: “lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him whenever he arrives.” 

When the Pharisees and their accomplices rejected the gospel it was taken to the Gentiles. This reading therefore, richly conveys some important truths about God and the way he deals with His people. First, it tells us of God’s generosity and trust. Second, it tells us of His patience and justice. 

Of course this parable reminded the Pharisees that they killed the prophets and would soon kill the Son of God, Christ

Himself. However, the judgment pronounced on the original tenants must serve as a warning to the new tenants as well, because: “To whom much is given much is expected.” 

Second is the fact that in whatever activity we find ourselves now, we must be ready to render a positive and fruitful account to the Master and Lord of the Vineyard. When we oppress the weak, the poor, our subordinates, and those under our care; when we fail to render justice to whom it is due; when we overturn the truth and prefer lie; and when we bring others pain and sorrow instead of joy, we disappoint God.

Finally, Jesus says: “The stone the builders rejected became the key stone.” Indeed, as much as He speaks to the Pharisees of old so does He speak to us also. They rejected Christ the Heir to the vineyard and even killed him, thinking that was the right thing to get full ownership. But unfortunately what they thought was their advantage became their ruin. 

Accepting the Lordship of Christ as the Heir to God’s Vineyard is very important in our lives. Allowing Him to take his rightful position in our lives -- God’s own vineyard -- is the only way we can bear good fruit. This is the only way we can be filled with what is true, noble, pure, worthy of praise and of course, virtuous; and it is the only way we can faithfully render a good account to the Lord.

So, for the times we have disappointed God let us with the Psalmist today implore the Lord of the Vineyard: “God of hosts, turn again, we implore, look down from heaven and see…God of host bring us back… and we shall not forsake you again!”

October is the month of Rosary. We encourage you to pray Rosary daily.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

*Fr. Joe Mungai, FMH, is a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, a relatively new congregation started in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993. He was ordained June 7, 2014. 

Abounding in Mercy, Rich in Kindness!

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 24, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

Happy Sunday!

Today's readings show us that God is

outrageously generous and merciful, and that His wisdom surpasses our human categories of value and judgment.

In the first reading (Isaiah 55:6-9), Isaiah exhorts the people of Israel, returned from exile in Babylon, to sincerely search for the Lord who is merciful and generous. Dispirited by the experience of a devastated homeland, they have become weary of their faith and their vaunted heritage. He reminds them that the Lord’s ways are not obvious to us, and need to be actively sought while we have the opportunity.

In the second reading (Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a), St. Paul shows us the spirit of true Christian service. He asserts that he would bring honor to Christ, whether by life or death. Death for him is gain for he would relish the heavenly reward. To continue to live in this world, however, would mean a more fruitful labor for the Gospel. This would benefit more greatly the community of faith and encourage them to live a life worthy of the Gospel.

The gospel reading(Matt 20:1-16a), presents us with the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. It demonstrates the difference between our spontaneous judgements and God’s thinking. In the Kingdom of Heaven, all are equally loved. Human standards are not to be used to measure God’s generosity

which is founded on His mercy and

compassion. His ideals of justice, concern and love for all can never be matched by any purely human program. It is God’s will and wisdom to save all who want to work for Him, and that should be our intention too.

Several things stand out for our understanding.

First, equality -- as we understand it -- may convey justice. But it is goodness, generosity and love as personified by Jesus Himself that enable us to go beyond justice and share with those who are marginal, unfortunate and abandoned members of society. And lest we forget, even these virtues are gifts from God.

In fact, there is nothing that we are and have that has not come from God. We cannot be envious or jealous because God is generous to someone else. The tender compassion of

God is all visible for us to see and emulate. A person out of work is a tragic figure and all the late comers wanted some opportunity to work and God out of his generosity gives it.

Second, a life of generosity reflects God’s nature in a special way. Surely, God is just; but He is also outrageously generous and merciful at the same time. We do not get what we deserve. Rather God gives us more than we deserve. Today, He calls each one of us to be a generous people. We know forgiveness is hard, but we see that real generosity is even harder than forgiveness. 

Generosity is a fight with human nature, with what we like to call fairness, but which can often turn into resentment -- not resentment against injustice, but against the grace God throws around to other people. When it happens to us, we praise God for his grace to us and our families. When it happens to someone else, as often as not, we get out the calculator, and switch on the lamentation mode.

Finally, we all are welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven; where new comers belong; where 

the last are first and the excluded are included; because God's thoughts are not our thoughts. God's standards are not our standards. Each one of us must feel at home. We can therefore begin to mirror heaven in our homes, in our jumuias (African online shopping), in our Churches and let all our brothers and sisters feel welcome. 

There are not tribal or political or social affiliations in heaven. At the table of God, we all belong. We who will live in eternity together in heaven, ought to begin here on earth, embracing those who are different from us, loving those whom we have been taught to hate, in imitation of God Himself.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures (Psalm 145)

God is Merciful; We Must Be Too!

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 17, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

Last week, the church reminded us of the importance of reconciliation through fraternal dialogue and mutual love. Today she, invites us to reflect on forgiveness. It is a very

important element of reconciliation, and our Christian belief. It is the central message of today’s first and gospel readings. (Sirach 27:30-28:7; Matt 18: 21-35)

There is a popular saying that to err is human, while to forgive is divine. That is to say, that the one who sins acts humanly. This is because, it is part of our attributes as humans to err or to sin. On the other hand, the one who forgives acts divinely. This is because, to forgive is to participate in a very important attribute and nature of God. That is, His divinity. It is what our God is known for. “He is compassionate, merciful, love and He forgives” (Ps 102).

The first reading reminds us that for our prayer to be answered, we must forgive others. It presupposes that we are all sinners, in need of God’s forgiveness. So to be forgiven, first, we must forgive others. Therefore, Sirach urges us: “Forgive your neighbor the hurt he does to you, and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven.” This is a call to liberate others, in other to liberate and heal ourselves too.

In the second reading (Romans 14:7-9), Paul reminds us of something very important. The life and death of each of us has its influence on the other. Our ability to forgive too influences the other. Hence, it is important to note that, forgiveness has a double effect. It is a single dose medicine that cures one or many persons at the same time. It liberates the one who is forgiven, as well as, heals the one who forgives.

In the gospel, Christ takes forgiveness to a different and practical level. This unfolds in the dialogue between Peter and Christ. Peter asked a theoretical question: “How many times must I forgive my brother?” Jesus answered him in the most practical way: “seventy-seven times.” Christ’s response, simply reminds us that Christian forgiveness does not have limits. We must forgive all, always and forever as the prayer of Saint Francis of Assis says: “Wherever there is injury, pardon.”

To demonstrate this, Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven.The wicked servant was forgiven a great debt, but he could not forgive his neighbor a little debt. He was set free, but he jailed his neighbor. The message of this parable is that we must treat others mercifully. We must forgive, because God forgives us every day. We must not always hold our neighbors to contempt. Rather, we must consider their situations as God considers our situation always.

What does it mean to forgive all and forever? First, it does not mean: “I forgive you, but we must go our separate ways,” or "I forgive you, but I do not want to see you again in my life,”

or "I forgive you, but I will not forget.” It means something much deeper. It means to restore unity, to believe that it is possible to walk together towards a common goal. It means to heal a wound, without leaving a scar.

It is important to add that, sometimes, one equally needs to forgive oneself for the faults committed against self. Endless grieving or guilt because of one’s mistakes reduces the quality of life. It hinders both spiritual and material progress. So, we must forgive ourselves too, in other to continue living in peace with ourselves.

Finally, he who forgives acts like Christ. So, as we pray today at this Eucharistic celebration: “Forgive us our offences, as we forgive those who offend us,” let us ask God to help us to be true to these words, by living them practically.

Thank you for praying for my mother, Lucy. she is recovering 

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

*Fr. Joe Mungai, FMH, is a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, a relatively new congregation started in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993. He was ordained June 7, 2014. 

The Cost of Discipleship

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 3, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

Years ago, when Poland was still under Communist control, the Prime Minister ordered the crucifixes removed from

classroom walls. Catholic Bishops attacked the ban, which had stirred waves of anger and resentment all across Poland. 

Ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes, particularly in the schoolrooms. But one zealous Communist school administrator, the director of the Mietnow agricultural college, Ryszard Dobrynski, took the crosses down from his seven lecture halls where they had hung since the school's founding in the twenties. 

Days later, a group of parents entered the school and hung more crosses. The administrator promptly had these taken down as well. 

The next day two-thirds of the school's six hundred students staged a sit-in. When heavily armed riot police arrived, the students were forced into the streets. Then they marched, crucifixes held high, to a nearby Church where they were joined by twenty-five hundred other students from nearby schools for a morning of prayer in support of the

protest. Soldiers surrounded the Church. But the press was there as well, and pictures from inside of students holding crosses high above their heads flashed around the world. So did the words of the priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning. "There is no Poland without the cross."

Perhaps the cross has come to symbolize something easy to us because we have not had to sacrifice for our faith in our lives. The more we are called upon to carry our own crosses, the more we will understand the cross Our Savior carried to the hill called Golgotha. That is why today’s gospel challenges us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. (Mt 16: 21-27)

"Customer Satisfaction" has become an important word today. The modern world values three things: pleasure, convenience, and comfort. This is a human standard. 

In today's gospel we heard about two standards -- human and divine. Peter took Jesus aside and and rebuked Him for speaking of  His future suffering and death. Jesus' response is "Get thee behind me, Satan! . . . You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

At Caesarea Philippi, Peter rightly confessed "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." (Matt 16:16) But Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ messiahship is something kingly, glorious, and triumphant. Thus, when Jesus revealed to his disciples that He was to undergo passion and death, the knee-jerk reaction of Peter was “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” As soon as it was said, Jesus rebuked Peter because he could be a hindrance to the plan of God. 

Early Christian theologian Origen suggests that Jesus was saying to Peter: "Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me. It's your job to follow me in the way I choose, not to try to lead me in the way you would like me to go." Satan is banished from the presence of Christ, and Peter is recalled as Christ's follower. Like Peter, the Church is often tempted to judge the success or failure of her ministry by the world’s standards. But Jesus teaches that worldly success is not always the Christian way. The standard of God is never about pleasure, convenience, and comfort. On the contrary, it is sometimes excruciating, inconvenient, and uncomfortable.

The incident was an eye-opener for Peter. Peter now has to learn that the standard of

God is not about comfort, not about privilege, not about convenience. It is often about pain and sacrifice. This is the cost of discipleship. 

There are three consequences of discipleship. First, self-denial, which is a means of opening our world to others and to God.  In a world devoted only to materialism, people tend to be become very self-absorbed. 

Second, we take up our cross. This value is difficult for the modern world to absorb because we are used to being comfortable. Crosses in life abound. They are present in our day-to-day existence. They may appear in a form of illness. They may also appear in a form relational misunderstandings or conflicts. In the name of convenience and comfort, some people may rebel against God because of illness. Or some may withdraw when they are faced with relational problems. For instance, in marital life, a simple misunderstanding already offers discomfort. It’s so sad that the only resolution for conflict that a husband or a wife knows is divorce. One must instead take up the cross and face the conflict. Find solutions to the problem. Carrying the cross can be liberating.

Third, we follow Jesus. Following Jesus is something definitive and radical. When we

follow Him, we follow the total aspects of His Person and life. There is no room for “pick and choose” mentality here. We cannot just say that we follow Him in His way of love, but not in His way of forgiveness or accepting the cross. This attitude will never make us His true disciples.

The gospel calls us to take seriously our  vocation as Christians. Pleasure, convenience, and comfort is not the end of our lives.  In the final analysis, life has taught us that sacrifice and pain are sometimes necessary, and a means to attaining glory. Amen.

(Say a prayer for my mum Lucy, to have a speedy recovery).

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

*Fr. Joe Mungai, FMH, is a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, a relatively new congregation started in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993. He was ordained June 7, 2014.