MY LORD AND MY GOD

II SUNDAY OF EASTER: Jn 20:19-31

This Sunday’s Gospel is full of insight on what it means to be a Christian.

First of all, faith is essential, and this faith is a personal and deep relationship with Jesus, in which we recognise him as “the Christ, the Son of God”, so that we “may have life through his name” (Jn 20:31). And that is the purpose that John had in mind in writing his gospel; he wrote so that we may know Jesus Christ, recognise him as Saviour, serve him as Lord and worship him as Son of God, and by doing that we will find life and salvation.

Throughout the New Testament we can find time and again this proclamation that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and the Son of God. And this belief is the cornerstone of the Christian Church.

With Thomas, we discover that faith is not a straightforward reality and does not come without questions. All great believers passed through dark moments in their lives, in which they questioned themselves, and what they believed if it made sense. In such moments, Jesus will come to our aid, facilitating our faith, as he did to Thomas.

Thomas’ positivist attitude is much more common today than it was during his time. All of us are immersed in a certain scientific mentality that demands proof for everything that we profess to be true. However, science only gives us some glimpses of truth, from which the scientists make theories with which they try to explain everything. Then, as they get new glimpses into reality, they change their theories and affirm them with vigour as the only truth.

The incident of Thomas shows us that a positivist attitude does not give us a complete grasp of all the reality, and a truly human experience goes far beyond what we see, touch and measure. Although the demand for proof play a great role in our daily life, our life will lack meaning and fulfillment if we reject everything that cannot be proved. Faith goes beyond what can be seen, touched and measured, but the truth of it touches us deep into our hearts, speaking to us the words of God and enlightening our minds with the sparks of the Spirit.

Finally, Thomas professed his faith, which is the faith of the whole Church: “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28). Jesus is our Lord and our God, and in him we can find life. His resurrection is the guarantee that God will fulfill his promise. In Jesus, we become God’s children and with him we will rise to eternal life.

WHAT FUTURE FOR OUR WORLD?

EASTER CELEBRATION: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

As we celebrate the Passover from slavery to freedom and from death to life, the warnings about impending disasters due to climate change are still ringing in our ears. With a report on climate change, a UN Scientific Panel sounded the alarm about the looming dangers and called for urgent action in order to avoid a catastrophe.

We can see heavy clouds in horizon, forcing us to ask what is in wait for us and for our descendants in the near future? What legacy are we living behind? 

We have been poisoning the world, while enjoying ourselves. Indeed, the picture is gloomy...

Having just remembered the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should ask ourselves when are we going to learn?

Jesus' death and resurrection are a Promise and a guarantee of life's victory over death - the victory of God's love over selfishness and evil. However, we are as much selfish as all the generations that came before us.

The ones in power and those who manage and control the wealth of the world only care about today. And all of us behave as if tomorrow will someone else's problem.

We still belong to the old Adam, whose thirst for self-affirmation is never quenched and the anger to exerce control is never satisfied. With our deep desire to be gods, we are building a world without future, like those who built the tower of Babel. With everything at the service of our self-indulgence, we run the risk of annulling God’s Promise. However, God will find a way to fulfill his Promise, in spite of our stubborness.

The celebration of Jesus' resurrection is an affirmation of hope based on a firm faith on the unshakable love of God, strong enough to overcome all the powers of evil.

Christ, the New Adam, is our guide and the prototype of a new humanity with a bright future, if we are ready to be his true disciples.

Paul indicates to us the right direction:

"Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." - 1 Cor 5:8

I pray for an Easter filled with the joy of the first disciples and the blessings of the risen Christ. Happy Easter.

WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS

Painting by Gilbert Katongo

GOOD FRIDAY: Jn 18:1 - 19:42

In less than tenty four hours

Everything happened in less than twenty four hours.

On thursday, after sunset, Jesus had his last meal with the twelve apostles. Following the tradition, the night of Passover should be spent within the surroundings of Jerusalem, and so Jesus went to Gethsemane, in the Mount of Olives (Mt 26:30,36), his hiding place, which was known by Judas, the traitor (Jn 18:2). It was already night, when Judas came with a group of soldiers and guards of the Temple to arrest Jesus, and take him for interrogation. He had a religious trial, before the High Priest in the presence of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Council). Early in the morning, he was taken to Pilate, the Roman governor, for a political trial, being accused of treason, crime for which the penalty was death on the cross. By mid-morning (nine hours - Mk 15:25), Jesus was crucified, and he died at about fifteen hours (Mk 15:34).

Reading the Gospels, we get the impression that the whole city of Jerusalem was present at Jesus' trial and that all of them shouted: Crucify him! However, if we look carefully at the facts, we discover that when most of them became aware of the situation, Jesus was already on the cross. It was a plot well organised and quickly executed, so that Jesus' followers and sympathisers had not time to react. Indeed, they were in a hurry.

Although the Romans were famous for their system of justice, the fact is that they executed mercilessly and quickly all those suspected of treason. Written when the Christian communities had already spread throughout the Empire, the Gospels avoid accusations that might offend the Romans, and put the blame mainly on the Jewish leaders; that’s why Pilate is presented as a weak governor who recognised Jesus’ innocence, but had not the courage to impose his authority, choosing to please the crowd instead of serving justice. However, we know through sources outside the Gospels that Pilate was a cruel and ruthless man who showed no mercy or compassion for anybody; in fact, he had his hands full of the blood of many innocent victims, and to kill one Jew more meant nothing for him.

A black friday

We call it Good Friday,

but it was a black friday,

when the cross stood out,

well visible to all, 

as a sign of oppression

and a proclamation of evil.

We transformed the cross

into an ornamental object,

worn around our necks,

hanging on ours walls

and carried in procession

in our religious festivities.

And we forget that the cross

was an instrument of death,

inflicted on thousands of people,

and considered most shameful,

so much so that Roman citizens

were not subject to that ignominy.

A man of sorrows

In Jesus' cross, we see 

the sufferings of the Son of man.

He is the man of sorrows,

who carried our pains

and was crushed by our burdens.

The cross stands out

as a continuous reminder

of the evil that fills our hearts

and floods our world.

We are no better than Judas,

or Pilate, Caiaphas, Peter

and all the others 

who shouted or stood by.

Violence rules our world, 

and all excuses are good

for exploitation and oppression.

The cross proves the emptiness of our vanity,

and the cruelty of our selfishness.

With arrogance and pride, we

live as the owners of everything,

trampling down upon our world,

in an attempt to go further and further

in our vain dreams of glory and power.

And we are ready to fight endless wars

to defend the indefensible: 

our thirst for power and wealth.

Once victorious, we set up ourselves as judges

of the defeated, and condemn them

for crimes against humanity,

even though we did what they did,

killing thousands of innocent people.

In the footsteps of Pilate,

we speak of truth,

meaning our truth, 

the truth of our interests.

We have not time for

listening to the word of truth,

and are ready to wash our hands

and proclaim our righteousness.

Good Friday

This black friday became a Good Friday,

and the curse of the cross was 

changed into a plus of blessing,

because on it Jesus offered his life

in a total gift of love.

He "loved to the end" (Jn 13:1).

Indeed, "he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed" (Is 53:5).

Whenever we choose to follow Jesus,

making of our crosses a gift of love,

then the cross becomes a source of blessings.

HOSANNA! SAVE US, O LORD!

PALM SUNDAY: Mt 21:1-11

We start the Holy Week, with the Palm Sunday, celebrating the acclamation of Jesus as Messiah, when he entered Jerusalem.

From all over Palestine and even from lands much further away, people were going in pilgrimage to the holy city for the Passover celebration, becoming a big crowd as they approached Jerusalem, where they would enter with great rejoicing.

Acclaimed as the Messiah

Jesus with his disciples was part of that growing stream of people approaching Jerusalem. As they recognised him, they gathered round him: "And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest" (Mt 21:9)

Jesus was acclaimed as son of David, that is as Messiah and king, applying to him the words of the Psalm 118:25-26 

"Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord".

Crying out for deliverance

Following the evangelists, mainly Luke, who wrote: "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (Lk 19:38) instead of hosanna, we assume its meaning to be glory, using it in the liturgy of the eucharist with that meaning. However, hosanna is a transliteration through Greek of the Aramaic word, which means "O save".

While sounding as a greeting, it is also and mainly a cry for deliverance. It is the cry of anguish from the oppressed people, and in a way a cry of rejoicing, because a deliverer has been found. We must join the crowd and with them cry out: Lord, save us! Blessed is he who comes to redeem and save us.

A king of peace

We can see Jesus surrounded by the crowds and entering Jerusalem in triumph, while being acclaimed as king. However, if we look closer, we must ask ourselves what kind of king he is, since he entered on a donkey, a humble animal “a beast of burden". Jesus' kingship is very different from any other kingship here on earth. The earthly kings show their power and their glory by the numbers of peoples they have conquered and subdued. The horse was their instrument of power and domination, an essential tool for their conquering armies. The horse was a symbol of pride and an instrument of war and oppression. Instead of the proud horse, Jesus used the humble donkey to show that he came to be a king of peace, who rules by love, not by domination. By entering Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus proved to be not a threat to anyone. In order to make this very clear, Matthew quotes Zechariah 9:9:

"Behold, your king is coming to you,

 humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden".

The prophet that proclaims God’s love and mercy

As he entered the city, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were surprised and asked the crowd coming with Jesus: "Who is this?", to which they answered: “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee" (Mt 21:11). The ones accompanying Jesus knew that he was not looking for power and that he would not be a king like the rulers of this world. He came from Nazareth and he is a prophet, the prophet, that is the Word, who reveals to us God's mercy and compassion.

WITH JESUS BY OUR SIDE, WE LOOK BEYOND DEATH, FULL OF HOPE

V SUNDAY OF LENT - Jn 11:1-45

The fear of death

Even though death surrounds us, we never get used to it and are always frightened of it, being perceived as the enemy of all our hopes and expectations, and presenting itself to us as a curse. People have always been confronted with the problem of death and have always tried all kinds of means to exorcise it, but to no avail.

There is a terrible fear of death, and death is not accepted. Deep inside the hearts of people, there is the conviction that we should be immortal; and the suffering, the destruction, the darkness and the evil that accompany death are considered as coming from the evil one(s).

Funerals, a time of solidarity and of suspicion and accusations

Funerals are always a time for solidarity, but they are as well a time of mutual suspicions and accusations. Two weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I was present in a village funeral. The deceased, still quite young, left behind two wives and several children. The younger wife was also very sick and died a few days later. The funeral service took place at home, just outside the house, and from there we went to the cemetery. The ones carrying the coffin were drunk; and for a moment, as they reached the road, started moving aimlessly, going into the bush. One could see the expectation in the faces of many people. It is common to have what they call Kikondo, where the carriers of the coffin run in all directions, until they hit someone with the coffin, accusing that person of having killed the deceased through means of witchcraft. However, out of certain respect and fear of the sacred, experienced in the funeral service, they quickly turned back to the road and reached the cemetery in order. Then coming back, some said aloud for me to hear: Bible! Bible! What for all this Bible?

Whenever someone dies, suspicions and accusations are rampant. And anybody can be seen as the witch who has eaten the soul of the person just buried, thus causing his death. The fear of death and the rejection of our human mortality go together with a tremendous fear of witchcraft, which is seen as all powerful and as permeating all levels of society.

Jesus is the Resurrection and Life

In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus presents himself as the Resurrection and Life, after having revealed himself before as the giver of living water and as the Light of the world.

Death brings always a sense of loss, which led Jesus to cry for his friend, even though he had talked about Lazarus as being just asleep, a sleep from which he was going to wake him up.

Having Jesus by our side, we are able to approach death with our hearts full of hope. Death will not pronounce the last word over our lives, and we are able to look beyond death, preparing to go through it and throw ourselves in God's arms even though with trembling hearts.

With Martha, we must profess our faith, which is the faith of the Christian Church: "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world" (Jn 11:27).