Fr. Peter Okonkwo - Padre Pee

TIME/SEASON: The 2ND SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B, 2024
THEME: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRANSFIGURATION IN THE LENTEN SEASON
READINGS: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a-13, 15-18, Ps 116:10, 15-19, Romans 8:31b-34, Mark 9:2-10
INTRODUCTION: This Sunday's reflection focuses on “ THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS DURING THE LENTEN SEASON: Firstly, it is important to note that the reading on the transfiguration of Jesus is one of those recurrent readings that appears up to three times in a single liturgical year. And one of those moments is in the second week of Lent where it appears in all three liturgical cycles from each of the three synoptic gospels. According to the arrangement, Year A is from Matthew’s gospel, Year B is from Mark’s gospel and Year C is from Luke’s gospel. For this reason, it is not wrong to ask, what is the significance of the transfiguration of Jesus in the Lenten season? How can this special event in the life of Jesus help us in this sacred season of the church? Before we go forward, understanding the meaning of transfiguration in the context of the Lenten season is very important in helping us to see the connection and its significance.
WHAT IS TRANSFIGURATION? The word “transfiguration” comes from the Latin roots trans- (“across”) and figura (“form, shape”). It simply means a change of form or appearance. In the case of Christ, it was a change of his physical appearance to a glorious state because during the process his face and clothes became dazzlingly bright. In the context of the Lenten season, it means a positive change of life or spiritual/ radical transformation of one’s life. In the context of the above explanation, the following can be deduced as the significance of transfiguration during the Lenten season.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TRANSFIGURATION
i. A TIME OF SPIRITUAL JOURNEY: On this second week of lent the church uses the story of transfiguration to remind us of the importance of making a spiritual journey with Jesus like Peter, James and John unto the mountain so that we may experience his glory. Making such a journey could be demanding because it takes a lot of our, and so just like we need strength to climb the physical mountain we also need the spiritual strength of grace to make climb this spiritual mountain.
ii. A TIME OF PRAYER: According to the gospel of Luke, the transfiguration of Jesus happened while he was praying as indicated from the following text “ Jesus took with him Peter, James and John and went up to the mountain, and while he was praying the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white” ( Luke (9:28-29). Therefore during the Lenten season, the church invites us to pray and fast like Jesus when he was in the desert and mountain so that we may experience the newness of life.
iii. A TIME OF SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION: During the transfiguration, the face of Jesus changed. Similarly, the church uses the beautiful story of the transfiguration of Jesus within the Lenten season to remind us that the goal of the Lenten season is to experience a spiritual transformation/ change of life; from vicious life to virtuous life, from sinful life to righteous life, from deadly life to glorious life
iv. A TIME OF GLORIOUS LIFE: The glory of Jesus was manifested before the apostles during the transfiguration. Similarly, in this season of lent, we are invited to partake in the glorious life of Christ, a life of prayer, a life of grace, a life of solitude, compassion, mercy and a life of holiness. To achieve this we need to avoid exposing ourselves to the places of sin and distractions.
v. A TIME OF SPIRITUAL ALERTNESS: According to the Luke gospel at the beginning of the transfiguration, Peter, James and John were heavily asleep. (Luke 9:32). They did not know what was happening till they woke up. Imagine what would have happened if they did not wake up, surely they would have missed seeing this glorious experience. Therefore during this season, the Church call us to be spiritually alert, sober, and vigilant because the enemy is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour. ( 1 Peter 5:8)
vi. A TIME OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH: The event of transfiguration encourages us to take advantage of the Lenten season to grow in our faith and remain faithful to God amidst all the persecutions and temptations of this life. The example of Abraham from the first reading challenges us to do this. God put him to the test and he remained faithful and passed the test. Besides, we should also remember that the event of transfiguration was intended to motivate the Apostles to remain faithful in following Jesus amidst his impending scandal of the cross when he would suffer grievously in Jerusalem under the hands of the scribes and Pharisees.
vii. A TIME OF ATTENTIVE LISTENING: During the transfiguration, the voice from the crowd said “This is my beloved son, listen to him” Therefore; Lenten season provides us a good opportunity to listen attentively to the voice of God that speaks to us through our hearts, scripture, spiritual talk, retreat etc. And we called to listen to the message that comes from such voices and to put them into practice.
CONCLUSION: Beloved, do you want to experience the transfiguration of Jesus like Peter, James and John? Yes, I suppose that is your answer. Then let’s go to the mountain by making this spiritual journey to experience God’s glory and transformation of our lives during and after the Lenten season.
Wishing you a transformative encounter.

TIME/SEASON: THE SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING 2023
THEME: THE JUDGEMENT OF CHRIST THE KING
READING: Ezekiel 34:11-12. 15-17, Ps. 22.1-3, 5-6, 2 Cor. 15:20-26, 28, Matthew 25: 31-46
LEADING STORY: A story was told of a young man who was drowning in a river and an older man saw him and rescued him. A few years later the same young man who was saved from being drown in the river broke into a bank and stole some money. The young man was caught and charged to a court. On the day of judgment, he appeared at the court, he saw the judge and recognized that he was the same man who had saved his life when he was drowning. He took a deep breath and said to himself “Thanks be to God’ this man saved me before, if he could risk his life to save me when I was drowning, I know he would do everything within his power to save me today. Eventually, the judgment was passed and he was found guilty and sentenced to prison. On hearing the judgment, the young man cried to the judge and said “Have you forgotten me? I was the young man you saved a few years ago. And the judge said yes, I remember you, on that day I came to you as a saviour but today I am here as a judge.
Beloved in Christ, the liturgical year of the church ends this Sunday with the annual celebration of the solemnity of Christ the King. For this reason, today's readings present us with three images of Christ which summarizes the story of our salvation. The first reading & Psalm comes with the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. The second reading comes with the image of the risen Christ, and the gospel comes with the image of Christ as the judge of all nations.
SCRIPTURAL CONTEXT
THE IMAGE OF CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The image of Christ as a good shepherd stood out from the first reading and responsorial psalm. This also highlights the mission of Christ in the world to save us from being drowned. Indeed, over two thousand years ago, the whole of humanity was drowning in a river of sin, darkness and error until Christ the good Shepherd came like that old man from the above leading story to save mankind from being drowned into eternal damnation. As a good shepherd to the children of Israel, Jesus demonstrated his great mercy, compassion, kindness and forgiveness to sinners. He loved, searched and took good care of his flock as highlighted by the following prophecy of Ezekiel “Behold I myself will seek for my sheep and will seek them out, as a shepherd seeks out his flock when his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep…I will bind up the crippled and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over”
THE IMAGE OF THE RISEN CHRIST: The image of the risen Christ stood out from the second reading. Here St Paul reminds us that just as all died in Adam, so in Christ we all have been made alive. For this reason, we are called to live a resurrected life, and a life of glory, love, mercy and grace. It is the kind of life that qualifies us to enter into his kingdom when he comes again.
THE IMAGE OF THE CHRIST AS THE JUDGE: The image of Christ as a judge stood out clearly from the gospel. Here Jesus gives us a clue and practical example of how his judgment is going to be and what we should be expecting. The reason for this is simply to enable us to be well-prepared with the right answers before the exam. Thus his judgment will be based on how we take care of those in need, in other words how we carry out the CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY’ And as it is written, Then the king will say to those at his right hand, come o blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did you see you a stranger and welcome you….and Jesus said…Truly I say to you as you did it to one of the least of a brethren you did it to me.
THE IMPLICATION: The above words of Jesus call us to see the face of Jesus in the needy; hungry, homeless, prisoners, sick, vulnerable etc. We are challenged to love God through our neighbour and the needy. This implies that when we love and help the needy, we are loving and serving God who is represented in that person. On the other hand, it is very surprising to see that Jesus would not ask us how many times we prayed, fasted, read the bible etc but how much love we show to the needy. Nevertheless, this does not mean that prayer, fasting, reading the bible and keeping God’s commandments are not necessary but that they are meant to help us perform good actions, that is to say, every spiritual exercise done should benefit someone around me. This is faith in action.
CONCLUSION: Beloved, as we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, let us surrender our lives to him so that he may continue to reign through and within us.
WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING.

TIME/SEASON: 33RD SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, 2023.
THEME: MAKING USE OF ONE’S TALENT
READINGS: Proverb 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31, Ps 128:1-5, 1Thess 5:1-6, Matthew 25:14-15, 19-21
INTRODUCTION: The reflection of this Sunday presents us with the theme ‘MAKING USE OF ONE’S TALENT. The theme challenges us to discover our individual talents or skills and use them for the betterment of our society. Hence, as human beings created in the image and likeness of God, each one is endowed with one talent or another. It is by making use of these talents that we can truly develop ourselves, fulfil our destiny, and vocation, or realize the purpose of our existence. For instance, imagine our this world would have been if mankind had not used his God-given talents to advance the creation of God. Also, these talents could be in different forms; intellectual, spiritual, psychological and physical.
SCRIPTURAL CONTEXT: The first reading gives a praise and description of a perfect woman, who exercises and engages her God-given talent in her home as a good mother to her children and a good wife to her husband. According to the text, “Her value is far beyond the price of pearls. Her husband’s heart has confidence in her; from her, he will derive no little profit. Advantage and not hurt she brings him all the days of her life. She is always busy with wool and flax, she does her work with eager hands. She sets her hands to the distaff, and her fingers grasp the spindle. She holds out her hand to the poor, and she opens her arms to the needy. Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty; the woman who is wise is the one to praise Give her a share in what her hands have worked for, and let her works tell her praises at the city gates” ( Proverb 31:13, 20, 31) Wow! What a precious gift from God to have such a woman as a mother and a wife!
In the gospel, Jesus continued in the same direction using the parable of the talents to remind us of the need to exercise our talents. According to the story, a man has three servants and entrusts his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to the third, one. They all received these talents in proportion to their ability. The first servant who received five talents worked with them and produced five more, likewise the second servant. But the third servant who received one talent didn’t work with it but rather decided to dig a hole and hide it.
Finally, when the time of settlement of account came, the master was pleased with the first and second servants and recommended them highly using this expression” Well done, good and trustworthy servant you have been good in few things I will put you more in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master. (Mathew 25: 21, 23)
And coming to the last servant, he was very disappointed with him for failing to work with his talent. The servant himself expressed his dislike, and fear and equally accused of master of reaping where he did not sow and gathering where he did not scatter seed. Sequel to this, he was condemned for being wicked, lazy and not wise enough to invest the talent in the bank to produce interest.
The moral lesson from this parable is that the last servant failed to use his talents because he was envious of others' talents and thereby deprived himself to opportunity produce something.
Other moral lessons related to this parable include:
i. Everyone has a talent
ii. Discover your talent
iii. Be contented /appreciate your talent
iv. Do not compare yourself with others
v. Nurture, develop and exercise your talent to produce something

CONCLUSION: Beloved, do not forget that whatever talent you have is a free gift from God. Do not forget that one day you shall give an account of your stewardship before the master. Do not forget to be vigilant and wise in using your talent in promoting God’s kingdom knowing full well that the master will come any time we do not expect to ask you what you produce with those talents. As St. Paul noted in the second reading, his coming will be like the thief in the night or like a pregnant woman with sudden hard pain.
WISHING YOU A BLESSED SUNDAY.