NEW YEAR FEAST - Luke 2:16-21
We start the New Year in the company of Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. When she visited Elisabeth, she was called the “mother of the Lord” (Lk 1:43), and Jesus himself, dying on the cross, entrusted her to his beloved disciple, that is to each one of us. At the beginning of this new year, in the company of the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, we praise the Lord and ask for his blessings. In her life, Mary experienced God’s blessings in an extraordinary way, being the chosen one to bring forth the Saviour, thus playing an important role in God’s plan of salvation. Accepting God’s will and graces, “she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Lk 2:19). In quietness and humility, she allowed the Spirit of God to transform her life and to guide her in the way of faithfulness. We must learn with her to entrust ourselves to the hands of God. Only in him, we may find peace.
Every year, at the beginning of the year, with Mary at our side, we reflect on what we must do to bring peace into this world full of violence and hatred. We reflect and pray, and this must enable us to act. The year just ended - 2016 - was a year full of terrible wars, which took place mainly in the Middle East. The Islamic State caused havoc not only in Iraq and Syria, but also in Europe, bring fear everywhere with their terrorist attacks, but they are not the only ones who are responsible for the wars going on. In war, everybody shifts the blame to the enemy, assuming an attitude of self-righteousness, but all use the same weapons of war, which destroy, kill and maim. The civilians - mainly the children, the elderly and the women - are the ones that most suffer.
Jesus came as the Prince of Peace and he preached the ideals of peace, pointing out the way to build peace. Beings his disciples, we must become builders of peace. And for that, we must reject violence. Pope Francis calls for “Nonviolence: a Style of Politics for Peace”. Violence comes from the hatred of what is different. With an attitude of self-righteousness, we reject all those that do not think or behave like us, and we force ourselves upon them, even to the point of destroying them. Jesus calls us to see on the perceived enemy a brother or a sister. It is better to forgive than to revenge. Forgiveness builds a new society, while revenge only brings the shedding of blood and death.
In our daily lives, in our relationships with the others, we must work for peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Mt 5:9).
In the Old Testament, Moses was ordered by God to bless people with the words:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace. (Numb 6:24-26)
Enjoy the singing of those words in Bemba, with Anne Lubumbe Katongo singing:
Imfumu ingakupala no kukubaka.
Imfumu ileke impumi yakwe ilekusanikila,
ikuloleshe luse luse.
Imfumu ikulange impumi yakwe,
ikupele ne cibote.
Happy New Year and may God fill you with all his blessings.
Lesa amupale imwe bonse, amusunge umutende.
No comments:
Post a Comment