Ezekiel 18:25-28

Philippians 2:1-11

St. Matthew 21:28-32


My dear brothers and sisters,

The Church on the Plateau today, anticipates the formal celebration on October 1st of the 60th Independence Day Anniversary of our nation. While we maintain the Liturgical readings proposed for the 26th Sunday of Year A , the readings and Mass of 1st October are usually those of  the Solemnity of Our Lady Queen and Patroness of Nigeria. Today, therefore, the Government and people of Plateau State and many of us are here at St. Monicas Catholic Church, Rantya to celebrate the Eucharist, that is, to give thanks to the Lord on the occasion of this momentous diamond Jubilee anniversary of the nation to which most of us here are sons and daughters. 

Yesterday, the 26th, September 2020 one of our illustrious sons and DG of ITF, Sir Joseph Ntung Ari also successfully completed a 4 year term of meritoriously stirring the affairs of that national organization. Today the 27th September, 2020 begins a new term conceded him by the President and Commander in chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Mohammadu Buhari GCFR since July 23, 2020 and  two and half months ahead of the expiration of the first and this beginning of a new tenure today. We all, therefore, consciously join all Nigerians, on this day, not just to celebrate the anniversary of our national independence, but also to pray specially for our leaders both at the state and national levels  according to their designations as we renew our confidence in the maternal intercessions of Our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. May the Lord bless their efforts and find them useful instruments in carrying out the difficult assignments  He has entrusted to each of them at their duty post.

When Sir Joseph Ari phoned me to give me the directive from the Archbishop to represent him at this occasion he remembered  the phrase “GOD is GREAT with which I concluded  the short prayer we shared and before his first appointment as the DG amidst so many challenges and problems. I had in turn come to the understanding of  the phrase GOD IS GREAT from the story of Dr. Abraham, a well known cancer specialist, which I want to share with you. Dr Abraham was once on his way to an important conference in another city where he was going to receive an award in the field of medical research. He was excited about the award and so boarded a plane to the venue. However, two hours after the plane took off, it made an emergency landing at the nearest airport due to a technical problem.

Afraid that he would not make it in time to the conference, he immediately went to the reception to make enquiries. He found out that he would have to wait ten hours for the next flight to his destination! He rented a car and drove himself to the conference city which was four hours away. Soon after he left, the weather changed and a heavy storm began. The downpour made it difficult for him to see so he missed a turn he was supposed to take. Driving in the heavy rain on a deserted road, feeling hungry and tired, he frantically began to look for any sign of civilization. He came across a small tattered house and knocked on the door. A beautiful lady opened the door. He explained his situation and wanted to use the lady's telephone but she had no telephone. She however asked him to come inside and wait till the weather improved. The doctor who was hungry and exhausted accepted the offer. The lady offered him something to eat and drink.

She asked him to join her in prayers but the Doctor declined. According to him, he believed in hard work, not in prayers! Sitting at the table and sipping his tea, the doctor watched the woman pray many times beside a baby's crib. Feeling that the woman might be in need of help, the doctor asked her what exactly she needed from God and asked if God ever listened to her prayers. When he inquired of the child in the crib, the woman explained that her son was down with cancer. And they had been advised to see a doctor named Abraham who could cure him but she did not have enough money to afford his fees. She said that God had not yet answered her prayers but said that God would create some way out one day.  She added that she would not allow her fears to overcome her faith!

Stunned and speechless, Dr. Abraham began to weep! He was forced to say out loud, "GOD IS GREAT" and recollected to the woman, all the sequence of bad events: malfunction on the plane, the thunderstorm and how he lost his way.  All of which had happened because God answers prayers, wanted to give him a chance to come out of his bondage of materialistic career pursuit and give some time to a poor, helpless woman who had nothing but rich prayers! Oh! What a God! God may not answer your prayers YOUR WAY but he will always answer HIS way. Behind the scenes, he will move men, the weather, events, circumstances, etc. in order to work out the best for you! 

I believe in relation to our country, that there is hope that if all Nigerians join hands with the whole Church in Nigeria to continue to ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary and with her on our side, the Lord Jesus who is the prince of peace will break down the barriers which keep us apart. The  Lord will also answer our prayers despite the various daunting obstacles and challenges lining Nigerias path to greatness, in Jesus name.

The readings this morning remind me of an associate priest who was sent to a new parish. Looking round he sees the need to start a Bible study group where people could learn to read the word of God and deepen their faith. After service one morning, he presents the idea to the people and received an unanimous and enthusiastic feedback. It is a wonderful idea, about a hundred of them all said. Then the young associate pastor goes and tells the Parish Priest or pastor that the people are happy with the idea of starting a Bible class. The older and more experienced pastor tells the associate to rephrase the question and consult the people again. The following day the young priest asks the same congregation, Who would like to sign up for the Bible study group? Only four hands went up. Then it dawns on the young man that saying yes to an idea is one thing and doing what is required is another. 


In todays gospel Jesus tells the parable of two sons, one of whom was asked by his father to go and work in the vineyard but he bluntly says no but later reconsiders his decision and does the work. The second son, on the other hand, courteously says yes to the father but fails to do the work. The story of this parable is so simple that it belongs to all time even ours. It is parable about changing our minds in order to do what is right in Gods eyes even if we have turned away from Him most of our lives. There are many more situations life presents to us to choose from: who is better a discourteous husband who does not drink or a drunkard who is very kind when sober; a nagging wife who runs the home efficiently or a disorderly wife who is very affectionate; a popular teacher who does not stick to her lesson or the terror from whom the students learn a lot; a church going Christian who is a dictator at home or a fallen-away Christian who is close to his children; a couple married in the church that has regular quarrels or a couple that lives together without the blessing of the sacrament of marriage but is happy; a son who uses drugs or a son who is a playboy; a pious Christian who always prays but is unbecoming in his lifestyle or a person who does not pray but is very accommodating? We can go on and on with a lot more comparisons.

May be we try to make a choice but we have to admit that none of these are acceptable ways of conduct and the parable is not really about approving or condemning anyone. I can say, in the case of the two sons, that none of them was a kind of a son to bring full joy to his father.  In fact, they both caused their father, pain, the one, at the beginning and the other one, at the end. Both could have been better sons by giving a whole-hearted Yes spontaneously and joyfully and by carrying out the order efficiently and not the other way around by which the no of the first son turned into yes and the yes of the second one became a no. The true Christian should be better than both. What he says, he does. There should be consistency in his words and actions. What he teaches is what he acts.

Let us note that the Lord Jesus told this parable in the temple in Jerusalem just a few days before the authorities would arrest him and put him to death. For three years he had been preaching to the people, inviting them to repent and believe the Good News. He had discovered that, in fact, it was public sinners like the tax-collectors and prostitutes who responded to his invitation. The religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees, even after they perceived the divine origin of the message of Jesus, still opposed it instead of accepting it. They had greeted John the Baptist with the same attitude. They knew that Johns teaching was from God but they would not admit it. As Jesus said to them, even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him (Matthew 21:32). Religious people are sometimes so bent on proving that they are right that they fail to hear the voice of reason and the voice of God.

The parable likens the tax-collectors and prostitutes to the son who first said no but later did what the father wanted, and the Pharisees and scribes to the son who enthusiastically said yes but did not go. One group has no fine words but they have good deeds. The other group has fine words but no corresponding good deeds. They represent two kinds of people and the different ways they try to relate to God. There are those who have no fine words: like those who profess no faith, who do not go to church, who do not pray. But sometimes when there is injustice in the city they will be the first to rise up and condemn it. When there are people out in the cold they will be the first to donate a blanket. Wherever there is famine or earthquake or hurricane disaster they will deny themselves a packet of cigarettes to contribute to help the victims. These people have no fine words to say to God or about God but when they do things such as these, they are doing what God has commanded us all to do.

Then there are those of us who have the fine words: who come to church every Sunday and say to God Amen! We shout alleluia and Holy Ghost fire! We cast and bind in the name of the Lord and wear badges and medals as ways of professing our faith. We think that, because of our education, wealth, power and high social status, we should be the leading candidates for entry into Gods kingdom.  But, they are precisely the ones who were in danger of not getting into heaven at all. The Jews knew the laws of Moses thoroughly and followed them to a T - to the last jot and tittle - the Sabbath and feast days, ritual purity, tithing, dietary rules - all 613 of them.  But, you know what?  According to Jesus, these fine fellows will be standing on the outside of heaven watching the lowliest of the low parading into the kingdom.  They will be scratching their heads, wondering what went wrong.

So, what did go wrong for these people who knew everything about what the laws of Moses commanded?  Well, for one thing, they had no clue about what was most important to God.  Earlier in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told the Pharisees, Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. To be sure, Temple sacrifices were important to God.  After all, God Himself commanded that they be done.  But, to these Jewish leaders, burnt offerings in the Temple took precedence over getting rid of injustice, over helping widows and orphans, over welcoming the stranger and over helping the poor, the sick and the elderly.  Thats when their Temple sacrifices became an abomination to the Lord.

Your Excellencies, top government officials, distinguished Brothers and Sisters, as we celebrate our 60th independence as a country, let us remind ourselves of our dual citizenship: the fact that we are not just citizens of Nigeria but also Christians and citizen of heaven who have a mission to carry as well. if we wish to leave the upper room of our lives and carry out our mission as the Apostles of our own day, we need on this day to beg the Holy Spirit to fill us with tongues of fire, so that with passion, love, and courage, we might bring the Gospel out to our world which so desperately needs to embrace it.  In our celebration of the anniversary of our national independence, we unfortunately continue to hear the drums of war, we hear the cries of hunger, the cries for freedom, cries for the restructuring of the country, for peace; people are being kidnapped and killed by their own brothers and sisters, armed robbery has become the order of the day, those elected into political offices are robbing the nation and starving their own people to death. If the truth is to be told, the  Country has become so heavily and dangerously divided along religious lines like has never been seen before while tribalism has eaten deep into the unity of our people. Things are falling apart, and the centre seems no longer to hold. Even the Church is packed full of fake prophets and prophetesses, deceiving and stealing in the name of God..

The Message that reflects our Nigerian situation that comes to mind when we look back and consider the great message of displeasure of our situation in Nigeria today and the call for action to revive our hope is Jer 2:17 where Jeremiah said to the Jews: 'you see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruin, and it's gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace'."

I don't know whether you realize it or not but our nation is in deep trouble: we have heard many times over that we suffer from leadership failure, where individuals are built instead of institutions; High level corruption where even recovered funds are re-looted, lucrative jobs are not advertised to the public but menial ones; Insecurity where terrorism in different forms and kidnapping even in the corridor of your house, daily rape cases with no single woman ever safe, arm robbery with no safe road, theft, thuggery for people who have less or no value for the life of fellow brothers and sisters etc; Religious and Tribal or regional sentiments which lead us to attack individuals based on their belief and location; Increasing rate of unemployment with no seeming sign of it being reversed any time soon; and a declining value of morality and hard work. Our nation, indeed is in trouble! Nigeria is in dire need of "Nehemiahs" in our "Jerusalem".

Nehemiah does not just identify a problem but also identifies a solution. "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem" (Nehemiah 2:17b). Nehemiah was unsatisfied with the situation of his nation in his time and called for action. I am convinced without any iota of doubt that a larger percentage of Nigerians are unsatisfied with Nigeria's present situation. Do we talk of: Those who graduated with good certificates but unemployed or underemployed?; Victims of Kidnapping, rape who face all forms of stigmatization or the family of those who are gruesomely murdered in their once upon a time safe country?; What of the poor and vulnerable whose value is only in the time of elections but not governance; What about the Victims of injustice or our failed justice system" some of whom serve their jail terms" even before their trials?  Meanwhile even our merchants of death and evil even when caught are set free and the victims abandoned in IDPs as prisoners in their own land.

My dear friends, a larger proportion of Nigerians is indeed unsatisfied: Like Nehemiah, we have all been called to rebuild the wall of our Jerusalem: A wall where Nigerians will be safe at least within their nation; where there is justice for all irrespective of social or economic status of the concerned; where there is equality between the children of the rich and those of the poor and where lucrative jobs in CBNs, NNPCs, Commissions, Funds, are advertised for all and not for a few; a wall of morality and encouragement of hard work, innovation and invention where hard work really pays; a wall of institutional development as opposed to individual personal development where both the good and the bad are remodeled by the instruction on ground to function well; a wall of probity and accountability from leaders who are given mandate to serve without any corrupt tendencies; a wall of wealth creation and poverty reduction in the land.

Are you aware that any of us can be the two sons, none of whom brought full joy to their father? We can repeat the script of the second son when we make promises as quickly as quick itself only to leave them unattended? We must strive to translate our noble promises into noble performances, to carry our fine words into fine deeds. Ideal sons and daughters are those who say yes to their parents and then go on to do what is commanded. This is what we should aim to be - men and women who profess our faith in word and deed - knowing that Not all those who say to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven Thanks be to God, were all here given the opportunity to change our minds with regard to following God.  In the morning years of our lives, we may have said no to God.  But, as our lives move on, let us see things differently so that our no to God becomes a yes.  Someone may have made terrible mistakes but then redeem him/herself and, by the grace of God, atone for these mistakes by making the rest of his/her life a lovely, grace-filled thing. Many of the greatest saints of all time have done that very thing - they were great sinners who initially said no to God and who later changed their minds and said a resounding yes to Him.  St. Augustine  and many other saints who were once sinners but later became saints are good models for us. Even St Paul whose letter to the Philippians we read today, in the second reading was once a persecutor of the faith before he became a promoter of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.


On a day like this, when we also celebrate our mother Mary as the Queen of Nigeria, we recall that she alerted Jesus about the married couple and their guests in Cana concerning their lack of wine. We too in Nigeria are lacking wine, not intoxicating wine - that we have in abundance, but the wine to stimulate our social sensitivity to improve the socio-economic conditions of our people and to see the need to be our brother and sisters keeper. With its enormous blessings both human and natural, Nigeria should be able to change stones into bread, provide enough potable water and manna for the people as Israel enjoyed in the desert; cure peoples illnesses like Angel Raphael did instead of rushing abroad for medical treatment; give good education to our youths the type Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego received (cf. Daniel 1); provide better and easier means of transportation across the length and breath of this nation; use our resources so prudently and with charitable consideration for others irrespective of tribe, religion or political leanings, in a manner that it becomes unnecessary and unpatriotic for any one or group to agitate for secession, leave the country or call for restructuring Nigeria. These are no the solution to our problems but a change of mentality which will make us see ourselves as brothers and sisters who belong to everybody but belongs to nobody. Let us also call upon mother Mary to continue to intercede for us to have a change of mentality and the faith to hear the word of God and keep it. May good things come our way even as we struggle to build a Nigeria:

 where Every man and woman, regardless of faith, ethnicity, status or political persuasion finds a common cause and relishes in our collective humanity.

where the rich have conscience and the poor have hope where joy and peace reign supreme and where bombings and killings are a thing of the past

where everyman is his brothers keeper, where leaders show compassion to those that they lead, where justice is done to all and where political persecution has no place

where decency is rewarded, dissent is tolerated, non-conformity is encouraged and where equity is enthroned

where youth unemployment is low and where an individual no matter how high or low, can aspire to any position and live his or her dream. That is the Nigeria of our dream.

Now to Him from whom all blessings come, in earth and heaven be ascribed as is most justly due, all praise, dominion, glory and majesty, now and through endless ages. Amen.