My thoughts on the Sermon of 7th Sept 2014

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Blessed John Duckett and Blessed Ralph Corby – Main Celebrant was Rev. Fr. Ike Muomah. God is reconciling the world to Himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. The Catholic Church is an orderly church, so no matter where you go everything is all the same. In the Spirit of Vatican 2 we worship as community, so we need everybody to get involved. Clergy and laity all have a common stake.

There are 3 hierarchy of Worship – the highest level of divine worship – Latria, this is worship given to God alone. Then there is hyperdulia the veneration offered to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the final one dulia term signifying the honour paid to the saints. St. Augustine (City of God X.2) distinguishes two kinds of servitus: “one which is due to men . . . which in Greek is called dulia; the other, latria, which is the service pertaining to the worship of God“. St. Thomas(II-II:103:3) bases the distinction on the difference between God’s supreme dominion and that which one man may exercise over another. Catholic theologians insist that the difference is one of kind and not merely of degree; dulia and latria being as far apart as are the creature and the Creator. At Mass when we have Latria you don’t pray your own pray but pray the Mass

Mortal Man if I, your God, have asked you to do something, go & do it. So in live when we see someone derailing we should warn the person. Ex 33:7 You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
The essence of the warning is that the wicked man will turn away from his sin & turn back to Christ & live. We should be careful about the word warn, speak to the people, appeal to their conscience & let your life show the example. It is not about condemning them and being self-righteous. The way we live our lives is a better form of warning than just saying with our lips. In the early Church the way the early Christians attracted people more & got them converted was a combination of the Word, which they lived.
Ex 33:8 “But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.” How many times do we warn people, how many times do we obey this call? Many of us Catholics are not evangelistic now a days , we will not speak out. It is said that the greatest problem is not that there is evil in the land, but that those who have to speak out against evil are keeping quite. Parents are no longer correcting their kids and they going astray – how do we turn down the fire off in our youth, that youthful exuberance. The passion in them that needs guidance. We are too busy to see it, or if we see it we do not care that much. We need to start the warning to ourselves, our families, our church and then we go till the end of the world.

Now in our very partisan country, we will not ward our leaders when they go wrong either in power or in opposition, because we belong to the same party. God is telling us that He will ask off their blood from us. Also our leaders will not warn their party people or their appointees when they go wrong, because we are thinking about the next elections. Lets note ‘and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.

We are watch men placed on the roof top, if there is anything going wrong, speak out about it. It is not easy, but God will grant us the grace to speak out. Just let Him.
In the Gospel, Christ tells us how to warn. If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. – if your brother offends you don’t start castigating him. Go to him & discuss. This is how to start the warning even if the wickedness is against you. The warn should be with love man-to-man.
Even if they do not listen to you and change their ways, we are still not castigate, or warn in anger. We are go with witnesses that have knowledge & the fear of God. Even after that we are to bring them before the church. Even if it is our partners we need to do same. We need to know the temperament of our partners. It will help us deal with them better.
Christ says it is only after the 3^rd attempt with the whole church that we have to treat them like Gentiles and Tax Collectors. What does it mean treat someone as a Gentile or Tax collector? How did Christ treat these people? That is our definition – it is to treat these persons with love.
How did Jesus treat the Samaritan woman, the Gentle at the well? He treated her with love.
How did He treat the woman caught in adultery, He said he who has no sin cast the 1st stones. When they had all left her. He said to her, neither do I condemn you, but o & sin no more. So Jesus did not condemn her, but He warned her to go and sin no more. So we should not condemn the homosexual, but it is the act we contemn and we ask them to go and do it no more. Catholics, God is asking that we stand up against this scourge of homosexuality that is eating us up. We should not say because most of the west sees it as cool, so we also remain docile. Christ is telling you “and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” I will urge all Christians that when it comes to the next elections, lets ask very Presidential Candidate and Parliamentary Candidate, what is your stand on this homosexuality bit, can you be as bold as President Attah Mills, if not we do not give you our vote. God is asking us to warn with love, this is one way to demonstrate that.

Christ associated with tax collectors & prostitutes but He was able to convert them. Do not associate with them and fall into their practice. Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteh in the seat of the scornful. So when everything fails, what you do is to apply love and warn. Philippians 2:5 – let the heart that was in Christ be in you. Let’s always pray for that so that the Sacred Heart of Christ will be also be in us. Lets not laugh and rejoice at the fall of our neighbour, we don’t know what God’s plan is for that person. He could raise him or her up and make them a great soldier of His. Remember that Saul was converted to St. Paul.

My prayer, Lord God give me the grace to speak out against evil everywhere I find my self not minding whose axe is god. So when people attack my colleague journalist, I will have to speak out. We should note that Christ tells us that “Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

FIRST READING
Ezekiel 33:7–9
Thus says the LORD:
You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 95:1–2, 6–7, 8–9 (8)
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
SECOND READING
Romans 13:8–10
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
ALLELUIA
2 Corinthians 5:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Matthew 18:15–20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”