Merry Christmas to you

I just want to say Merry Christmas to you all. You know the joy of Christmas is not in receiving gifts but in joining God in giving. We all have so much to give. We can give love to those who need it. Please remember to give love to everybody around you this Christmas. Remember God loved us so much that he gave us his Son. Let us join God in giving. Merry Christmas

We all make poor choices

I am not sure how you are feeling right now. Life challenges force us into making poor choices, especially when things are not going well with us.

It is not that making choices is wrong. After all, God gave us free will to make choices! Making choices, however, is not always easy. Life would have been better if all choices were made for us. Yet life without choices is likely to be too boring!

We are afraid to make choices because when we make choices, we are saying that we are responsible for their outcome. In other words, responsibility brings with it many life challenges. We all know that teenagers are known for making such choices! Imagine a poor girl who left her parents home for drugs! Maybe it is that poor boy who went shooting people or a teen who recently got pregnant. Poor judgment is not the crime of teenagers only. We all make poor choices from time to time!

Next time before we make any choice, remember to ask yourself how that choice will build your relationship with others and God. Next time you are about to make a decision, pause and pray! Prayerfully consider how your actions are going to make you become a better person. After all, the greatest duty that we all have is the duty to worship God.

Why we Celebrate Christmas

Christmas is one of those times of the year when we spend so much time buying presents for those we love. Speaking about presents, I am concerned that Christmas has been commericalized. Christmas dress, cups, music, ring-tone, books; name it and all you have to do is to add Christmas to it! Christmas sale, cake, shopping, shipping and many more. But let us stop and pose for a moment.

Why do we celebrate Christmas? Most of us look to Christmas for the presents! But is this the reason we call him Immanuel: God among us? "O come, O come Immanuel! Why invite God to be with us in the world of pain?

Maybe that is the reason why we should. We need God to influence how we live our lives. After all, he came into this world after one of us accepted to be the instrument of God's love. Least we forget, Jesus was born through Mary; an indication that God acts through us. We are the people God has chosen to actualize his presence in the world. Like Mary, all we need to say is "Let it be to me according to your will."
This Christmas, God wants to give himself to world full of lonely, unloved and uncared for. God wants to reach the children and mothers of the poor world but God is also looking for somebody to use as an instruments of his love and that instrument is you. Please give a gift of life to those who need it this Christmas. Let them understand the meaning if Christmas: God with us!

The powers of injustice

Are among those who are fascinated with the powers of injustice and evil in this world? Why is that evil person seem to be more powerful and receive all divine blessings? I have always wondered why God allows people like Mugabe in Zimbabwe Saddam Husein in Iraq to continue oppressing God's people. But have we forgotten about the Nazis? Well, injustice does not win no matter how long it might take. Remember that God is on the side of the oppressed and will fight for them. He will bring the powers of injustice to justice in his own time.

At times I fail to make sense of Jesus' words, "pray for your enemies and for those who persecute you." Does this mean that I should pray for them to continue persecuting me? Not at all. I pray for their change of heart. I pray that they may change and turn away from evil. I prayed for Mugabe just as I pray for George Bush. I pray for Osama just as I prayed for Saddam Hussein. Not that they may continue with their violent ways but that they might come to realize that life is sacred and it must must be protected at all costs. By the way, even the prophet Jeremiah struggled with this question. In case you do not know:

Jeremiah was a prophet

Who questioned why the unjust prosper

The question asked by millions

Who have suffered injustices?

Those words can hardly tell.

Some died, others are on death rows

In hopeless they ask

And nobody is there to give them a hearing

For the unjust are so powerful

And every word they say

Is believed throughout the world.

The unjust world trusts unjust words

For that is the only word the world knows

Which comes with power of injustice

And knows no boundaries.

But the just God knows it all

Wait until you see their injustice fails

and the powers of injustice are brought to justice

For God's justice is the end of injuctice.

Using our Talents: A Kid Theologian's View

Today was family Sunday at Christ Church, Hyde Park.

I had a chance to learn something new from my kid theologians. This times it was about the parable of talents. My question was about knowing what happens if you do not use your talent. But before I asked this question, I wanted to know if children knew about their God given talents. One boy told me his talent was playing drums. Another told me, it was drawing and so went the tale.

In case you missed, the highlight came when I asked whether they knew of their parents talents. "My father does not give up," one said. "My father's talent is working hard!" Another one said. But that is not the highlight I promised you. This time it came from another girl sitting next to her mom. "My mother's talent is shouting at us!" My daughter could have shouted Amen to that! Since she didn't say that, I hope and pray that this courageous girl is not under house arrest for that honest answer. I ask you to pray for her because she is a very good girl.

Speaking about girls, (I am sure you should be thinking I am sexist) another girl made our day. It was about what happens if we do not use our talents! Her answer was very theological and scholarly. "If you do not use your talent, you are not going to be a creative person or a full human being." If you follow my blog, this is the same girl who resolved my question about the gender of God. But wait, who can dispute the wisdom of this little girl?

I am not going to dig out what scholars say about this parable. I know that Jesus did not tell us the meaning so I will put in the wider context of what the Kingdom of God is like. Talents are given for the building of the Kingdom. What we do with talents or what Paul calls Spiritual Gifts is solely up to us.

Most of us have God given talents but have chosen to hid them or simply bury them in the ground. Even when we choose to use them, maybe it is to build the kingdom of this world. We have our beautiful voices, communication skills, managerial skills, caring hearts and many other talents but we are not prepared to use them for the building of the Kingdom. Using these Talents in line with what God wants us to be will help us develop our creativity as well as form us in the likeness of Christ. In case we forget, talents were given because God has seen how much they are needed in the Kingdom. Remember that God does not give us something we cannot carry. Neither will God force us into working for the building the Kingdom. This is our choice! It is my prayer that we are going to use our talents to build God's kingdom in the world today.

Is the election of Obama the end of Racism?

I am one of those who waited with great anxiety for the election results. My friends asked me to bet on the winner, and I thought Obama would win by a big margin. But my white friend told me that he still thought that white people would not vote for a black guy. I reminded him that those who would not do so have already indicated so by voting for McCain. Yet as the day progressed, I became more convinced that my friend was right.

Well, then came the unexpected, Obama is the President elect of the United States. The scene itself and the emotions that came with it provoked a question of race relations in this country. America has moved in such a short time to seeing people as they are. Yet what if we did not have the economic crisis? What if McCain did not pick Governor Palin? What if...?

The world is celebrating that a black person is elected president. It is history and guess what, I waited for it. But then I asked myself a question, does this mean racism is over? Knowing that my daughters are black, it is a relevant question. Obama might have been elected president but we should not forget many people did not vote for him simply because he is black.

In fact,when we are speaking about racism, we are not speaking about all Americans. Many white people have accepted non-whites as equals. This does not mean that racism is no longer an issue in America. Rather than burying the issue of racism, the election of Obama should be used to educate those who view people of color as second class.

I am happy that I lived to see the night the world was waiting for and I would love to encourage everybody to treasure it. But I would also want to remind everybody that race relations will always be part of our community, unless we work to uphold the dignity of every human person.

Please Tell them Father

Have you ever felt embarrassed? Well, I did. This was when I was just about to start saying Mass.
Did you say Mass? Yes, when I was just about to start saying Mass. A young boy came to me and asked me about giving. "Father John, is not that the Bible says 10% of our income belongs to the Lord?"
"Yes", I responded with great suprise.
Looking straight at the congregation, the young man said to me , "Then, tell them father!"
Not knowing what to say or do, I pretended to ignore him. But the young man did not have it. He repeated, "Father John, tell them. Go ahead! Tell them!"

I immediately held his hand and said to him, "help me to the congregation." I am not sure what the congregation thought I was after when I slowly moved to the mic and said, "The young man has something to say to us all." I gave him the mic and in simple words, he made his case.

"The Bible says 10% of our income belongs to the Lord! Not me! But the Bible. 10 % !"

After this experience, I asked myself so many questions. Why did the young man insist that I should tell the congregation about giving 10% of their income? Is it that he sensed that I am afraid to do so? Or was he just pointing to some shortfalls in my sermons? Maybe, he was sent by God to remind me that I should tell people the truth about what requires! Whatever was the case, I remained convinced that God speaks to us in different ways!

As a minister, I am afraid to speak like that young man about what God requires from us. As such, I misdirect people into thinking that the Bible has nothing to say about giving. Yet, the Bible is full of bigger demands to "give" not just our 10% but all that we have and all that we are. Indeed, if we totally give ourselves to God, to an extent of speaking like St. Francis of Asisis, "My God My all," the question of giving 10% of our income to the Lord will fall in place. In fact, you will not need Father John or my young man turned prophet to remind you. Is this not Jesus meant when he said "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."Matthew 6:33