He Taught Them With Authority

01-31-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Tony Okolo CSSp

In the Gospel of today we hear how Jesus taught His audience with authority unlike the scribes and Pharisees who came before Him. To teach with authority is to demonstrate that everything comes from Him and not appealing to any outside authority to convince His audience as done by the scribes and Pharisees of His day. This finds confirmation in the first reading of today, when Moses spoke to the people saying the Lord says, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into His mouth, He shall tell them all that I command Him” He taught with personal authority meaning that He needed no authority beyond Himself.

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Repent and Turn Back to God

01-24-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Tony Okolo CSSp

One remarkable aspect we see in today’s liturgy is that Jesus begins his first public ministry by callingpeople to repentance and to believe the Gospel. His first sermon after His baptism were “This is thetime of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” It shows what Hecame to do, to call humanity to repentance and reconcile people with God. This message of repentancewas also the first sermon John the Baptist preached and equally the first sermon of Peter after theresurrection of Christ. Jesus’ sermon of repentance is immediately followed by an invitation of people tofollow Him and to believe in the gospel, the good news He has come to deliver. Similarly, the messageof repentance and reconciliation is also what we see in today’s first reading from the book of Jonah.The Lord orders Jonah to go to Nineveh, capital of Assyria and preach repentance to the Ninevites.

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Jesus Calls Each of Us by Name For A Mission

01-17-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Tony Okolo CSSp

The call of Samuel in the first reading demonstrates how God calls each of us individually. Just like Samuel who wasunaware of God’s call at the beginning, we too maybe unaware when God is calling but with patience, steadfastness, focus,open heart and mind we can recognize His voice in our lives. Just as Eli pointed out to Samuel that it was God calling him sotoo we can recognize God’s voice when we pay attention and listen to our parents, teachers, priests and those God hasplaced to look after us. As He called Samuel by name for a particular purpose so also God calls each of us by name for acertain mission and purpose He wants us to do. Samuel responded with “speak your servant is listening” when he realized itwas God calling him. How I am open to hear God’s voice and how ready and disposed I am to do God’s work He may becalling me for? How can I make myself available as to say with confidence like Samuel, “Speak Lord your servant is listening”.

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Jesus is the Chosen One of God

01-10-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Tony Okolo CSSp

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord that our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself to receive baptism from John theBaptist. This great act of humility demonstrates Jesus teaching that the way to reach God is through act of humility. What isthe significance of Jesus baptism since He has no sin? Jesus by His Baptism sanctifies the waters of Baptism, making everywater for baptism purified or wholesome. Secondly to identify with sinners whom he has come to save. Jesus puts Himself insolidarity with the crowd and sinful humanity whom He has come to redeem. According to Fulton Sheen “The object of HisBaptism was the same as the object of His birth, namely to identify Himself with the sinful humanity. If He was to be identifiedwith humanity, so much so as to call Himself the son of Man then He had to share the guilt of humanity.” He was expressingHis relationship to His people, on whose behalf He has been sent. The baptism of the Jordan was a prelude to the baptism ofwhich He would later speak, the baptism of His passion. In the waters of the Jordan He was identified with sinners, in thewaters of His death, He would bear the full burden of their guilt.

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Jesus is the Star that Guides all Our Lives

01-03-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Tony Okolo CSSp

Today, being the feast of Epiphany, we celebrate Jesus, the incarnate word being revealed to all the nations of the world. TheChurch calls it, the feast of appearance or manifestation of the Lord. Epiphany comes from the Greek word and means“Manifestation”. The Church celebrates the light of God’s revelation of his Son as human in Jesus Christ. The story of themagi is the story of the ways in which God reveals Himself to us and even more about the different responses and reactionsthis revelation receives. The Lord of the universe who reveals the star of Bethlehem to the Gentiles of the East gives each oneof us the same light of revelation to recognize and accept Jesus as Our Lord and Savior.

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