Our King is There
What do you want to be when you grow up? Up until about age 8 or 9, I would respond to this question by saying that I wanted to be a priest. I wanted to be a priest mostly because my Dad wanted me to be a priest. He wanted me to be a priest mostly because of Exodus 22. I never became a priest, but I learned a lot from one — the late Fr. John Paul Ezeonyido (11/30/1970 to 12/25/2020).
I’m not sure the exact age I met Fr. John Paul. It would have been after he had immigrated in 1999 to the States. He came to pursue higher education — earning many degrees including a PhD in 2016. He also came to pursue his life long dream of becoming a priest, which he realized at the age of 32 in 2003.
Fr. John Paul was different from the other priests. He was muscular and athletic. He was boisterous and playful. He liked to debate philosophy. He seemed like the kind of guy I would like to be like if I were to become a priest.In my teenage years, I began to question the received truths about religion. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God care about my football game? Shouldn’t he focus that energy on the kids in Darfur? How does God feel about Allah and the Buddha?
I took these questions to several priests. Fr. John Paul was the only one that addressed them head on. He encouraged me to continue to challenge these questions. The other priests gave me lame duck answers such as: “my human mind was too finite”. In some cases, they counseled not to even ask the question. Fr. John Paul was the only one that made me feel OK wrestling with God.
As an adult, I didn’t keep in contact with Fr. John Paul. I think the last time I saw him was in 2018. It was a missed opportunity to engage him in new debates about the mysteries of life with the wisdom of experience.
Of course, when I heard that Fr. John Paul had passed away on Christmas Day I was sad. Fr. John Paul had battled cancer and beat it into remission before. In early 2020, as the pandemic overtook the world, his cancer came back with a vengeance. As a philosopher, I’m sure the symbolism of being called to the afterlife on Jesus’ birthday would not have been lost on Fr. John Paul.
Towards the end of his days, I wonder what Fr. John Paul must have been considering. How was he wrestling with his reality and his beliefs. How did he measure the 50 years that he had been on earth. I’ve learned quite a bit about him posthumously. For example, he was personally paying for the education of dozens of school children in Nigeria. He was a good man that found his calling in the priesthood. As I continue to search for my calling, I can only hope to have one-tenth the impact he had.
The name Ezeonyido means “Our King is There.” Fr. John Paul lived a life that earned him his royal title. Rest in Peace Fr. John Paul.
