AS I LOVED YOU

V EASTER SUNDAY - John 13:31-33,34-35

We never grow tired of hearing the word love, even though many times it is simply empty. Despite that, we go on dreaming of true love, an everlasting love that may fill us to the brim. Is such love possible? Looking at our human frailty, such love is more than human. Such love is only possible if we receive it as a gift from God because it is divine love.

Nowadays, many people associate love with passion and sex. For that, the Greeks used the word eros. In the end, love is reduced to a passion that lasts but a moment. Is this passion that demands to be satisfied the true love that I long for? It comes and goes… and it disappears in a fleeting moment, leaving me in pain and with a sense of emptiness. 

Many times, the word love is a cover-up for selfishness. I put myself in the centre of the world and everything else should be about me. I behave as if everything should be at my service. In this case, love is not giving and sharing, but receiving and grasping. In the name of love, I impose myself on others and exploit them.

True love expresses and comes from God’s holiness. In Leviticus 19:2, God tells his people: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” As a consequence of this holiness, God gives the commandment of love: “you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18).

According to this command, self-love is the measure of the love the others. If I feel bad or even hurt about something done to me, then I should not do the same to others. However, the commandment of love demands more than that: I should do to the others what I desire others do to me. It is difficult to achieve that.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus presents us with what he calls a new commandment:

“I give you a new commandment:

love one another;

just as I have loved you,

you also must love one another.”

We may ask where is the novelty of this commandment. It sounds quite old. The call to love is old, but the measure of that love is completely new. We should love not as we love ourselves, but as Christ has loved us. Christ’s love is the ideal for our love. Love led him to put his life at the service of humanity to the point of shedding his life for us. Jesus explained that to Nicodemus: 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16).

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote:

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her” (Ep 5:25-26).

That’s why nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 8:38-39).

Jesus invites us to learn from him to love, putting ourselves at the service of others.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

IV EASTER SUNDAY - John 10:27-30

Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter is dedicated to the Good Shepherd. It is Jesus himself who says: “I am the good shepherd, I know my own sheep and my own know me.” (Jn 10:14). The ancestors of the People of Israel - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - were shepherds, and the flocks were their wealth. Because of their flocks, they lived a semi-nomadic life. And this primordial experience marked the people of Israel for their future history. David, the king who would become the role model for all other kings, was a shepherd in his youth. It is not surprising that the kings and other leaders of the people were considered as shepherds who should take good care of their people. The prophets would give voice to God’s complaints that the shepherds did take good care of the flock (Jer 10:21; 23:2; Ez 34)); in fact, they exploited and used it for their own profit. And then God promised to take action in order to put things straight:

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.” (Ez 34:7-10).

He will choose a shepherd according to his own heart:

“I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” (Ez 34:23). 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep. He came to serve, not to be served. Indeed, Jesus is the role model of all shepherds, that is of all leaders. As we celebrate the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, we are called to pray for all those who are in a position of service, for them to be true servants according to Jesus’ manner. We pray mainly for the Pope, the bishops, priests, deacons, catechists and any other kind of ministry in the Church. And we pray for vocations. 

TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP

III EASTER SUNDAY - John 21:1-19 

There is no doubt about it. With the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples and the apostles in particular changed beyond anything one might expect. Before, they were unable to stand by Jesus during his moments of trial and run away, going into hiding. They were afraid for their own lives and cared only about their safety. Then, after Jesus’ resurrection and after being empowered with the Holy Spirit, they became bold and courageous and they were ready to face the religious leaders of Jerusalem and challenge them to accept the truth: they were guilty of condemning Jesus to death. However, God had proved him right by raising him from the dead “to be leader and saviour” (Act 5:31), so that in him people may find salvation.

This Sunday’s gospel may help us reflect on Peter’s role in the Church. Whenever we read the Gospel of John, we should listen to the meaning hidden in the words because there is always a layer of deeper meaning.

Today’s passage has two sections and they are related. In the first one, we are presented with Jesus revealing himself to a group of disciples going fishing. The group was constituted by seven disciples, making it a perfect group or small community. They stand for the whole Church. In that group - that is, in the Church, Peter took the initiative and the other disciples followed him: “Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’” Apparently they went to get fish. However, we must remember that Jesus had constituted them “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). And that is the mission of the whole Church, with Peter and the Apostles in the forefront.

Then, we are told that they worked in vain, since they “caught nothing that night”. That is a common experience in the Church. We may work hard and do our best, to no avail. It seems that everything ends in failure. Maybe we  take Jesus out of the picture, like the Apostles did. We may forget that he is the one in charge. Then, while feeling tired and dishearten, Jesus comes to their rescue, even though they did not recognise him. At Jesus’ instructions, they threw “the net out to starboard” and caught plenty of fish. We should never forget that Jesus´word should be our guide and motivation. Only by obedience and faithfulness to him can we produce abundant fruits.

As they were coming ashore with a heavy load of fish, “they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it.” Jesus had been preparing a meal for them. And for that meal, He asked for their contribution: “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” Finally he invites them: “Come and have breakfast.” Jesus never gets tired of inviting us to his table: Come an eat. It is at the eucharistic table that we may recognise him and know that he is the Lord.

In the second section, we have the dialogue of Jesus with Peter. First of all, Jesus address him by his former name, Simon. Jesus had given him a new name, indicating a new reality, the reality of the disciple who recognises Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God and who is ready to proclaim it in public and to give witness to Jesus. However, the reality of Simon, the old man who was an earthly man, remained alive and strong. And for him to be less Simon and more Peter, he had to recognise his sinfulness, his shortcomings and his fragility. The old man is always lurking behind the new man and he may lead  to pride and self-righteousness. If Peter is going to be the shepherd of Christ’s Church, then he must be always on the alert.

Jesus asks each one of us the same question he asked to Peter: Do you love with all your heart? Or are there other loves that have seduced you? Peter answered with sincerity and in truthfulness. However, Jesus insisted and went one asking. Surely, he knows our love for him, but we must say it to become evermore aware of it. We must realise that our love for Christ implies and demands a strong commitment. And then Jesus may entrust to us, as he did to Peter, a role or a mission in his Church. “‘Look after my sheep.”

Let us pray for our Pope Francis, who was called to be the shepherd of the whole flock, the Church.

I AM THE LIVING ONE

II EASTER SUNDAY - Apocalypse 1:9-13,17-19

On this Second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate the Divine Mercy. It is a fitting way of ending the octave of Easter. At Easter, we celebrate God’s love and mercy.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16).

In Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for us, we are reconciled with God. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of God as “being rich in mercy, because of the great love” he has for us:

“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-7).

That’s why we sing with the Psalm 118:2-4:

“Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let those who fear the Lord say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

In this Sunday’s gospel, John presents the Risen Jesus Christ joining the disciples while they were gathered on a Sunday evening (on the first day of the week) and giving them the ministry of reconciliation, that is the power to forgive sins. After breathing on them, he said:

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

For those whose sins you forgive,

they are forgiven;

for those whose sins you retain,

they are retained.”

Jesus’ resurrection represents his victory over death. He is truly the Son of man who is endowed with divine glory. To John, the writer of the Apocalypse, who was suffering like so many others for preaching the  Word of God and giving witness for Jesus Christ, He said:

“Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld.” (Rev 1:17-18).

Indeed, Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, has set us free and has opened the gates of heaven for us, if we become one with him. Through him, we will be healed from our wounds and redeemed from our sins.

Let those who fear the Lord say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

HE OVERCAME THE POWER OF DEATH

 EASTER SUNDAY

During the Paschal Triduum,

we are called to look at the Crucified

and to share in His suffering and death.

As we look at the events of Good Friday,

we discover that  Jesus' enemies were 

in a hurry to do away with Him.

Everything took place

in less than 24 hours:

He was arrested, condemned and crucified.

Lifted on the cross by nine hours,

He was dead at fifteen,

being buried that evening,

before the Sabbath began.

 

At Jesus’ death,

the centurion “praised God, saying, 

“Certainly this man was innocent!” (Lk 23:47)

As justice did not matter for Pilate,

even though he could not find him guilty,

he condemned him to death,

the most horrible death on the cross.

Isaiah had already written 

about the Servant of the Lord,

Who, although innocent, 

experienced suffering and death.

He is “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”:

“he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men”.

We may look at him

as being under a curse,

“smitten by God, and afflicted.”.

On his face, we may contemplate

the fate of all the innocent of the world

who are subjected to torture and death.

In Jesus’ passion, we discover 

what human beings are capable of:

the jealousy, envy, hatred, violence and war.

In faithfulness and love, 

“He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows”;

“he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people”.

And by “his wounds we are healed.” (Is 53).

 

Jesus, the Son of the living God, 

“emptied himself, 

by taking the form of a servant, 

being born in the likeness of men. 

And being found in human form, 

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, 

even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him 

and bestowed on him the name 

that is above every name, 

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Called to share in Jesus’ Passion,

we will be with Him in the victory of His resurrection,

to give Him praise and sing his glory. Alleluia.

Alleluia. The Lord is risen. Alleluia.

Mu nshiku nkulu ishi shitatu ishacindamisha,

twaitwa ku kulolelesha kuli Uyu uwatanikwa

pa kwampana no bucushi kabili ne mfwa yakwe.

Nga twapituluka mu fyacitike pali Cisano Citakatifu,

twasanga ukuti abalwani bakwa Yesu balefwaya 

ukuposa Yesu ulubilo.

Fyonse fyacitike mu kashita akanono;

tashakumine insa 24:

Bamwikete, bamupingwile kabili bamutanike.

Bamwimishe pa musalaba ku ma 9h,

no  kufwa afwile ku ma 15h,

lintu sabata yali pa kutampa.

 

Ilyo Yesu afwile,

umukalamba wa bashilika alumba Lesa ati:

“Icinecine uyu muntu ali umololoke.” (Lk 23:47).

Mu kukana sakamana ubulungi,

Pilato apingwile Yesu ukufwa

imfwa ya pa musalaba,

nelyo tamusangile no mulandu.

Kasesema Isaya alilembele 

pa mulandu wa Mubomfi wa Mfumu

uwapitile mu macushi na mu mfwa,

nelyo takwete mulandu.

Ali “umuntu wa bulanda uwaishiba amacushi”:

“Taali na mimonekele nangu iciyembo ifyakuti tutambe; 

taali na busuma ubwakuti twaingamukumbwa.

Aalesaaluka no kusuulwa ku bantu”.

Kuti twamumona

ngo muntu uwatipwilwa,

“uo Lesa akanda, uwakaba”.

Pa cinso cakwe kuti twamona

ubucushi bwa bakaele bonse ba panwesonde

abatitikishiwa ku macushi ne mfwa.

Mu macushi yakwa Yesu kuti twasanga

ifyo abantu bengacita ku mulandu wa bubi bwabo:

ubufuba, impatila, ulukaakala ne nkondo

ifyonaula fyonse mu bumi bwesu.

Mu citemwiko no luse,

“aaleitwika amacushi yesu,

aalesenda no bulanda bwesu”.

“Icinecine bamuputula mu calo ca bomi,

bamuumine mfwila pa lwa masambi yesu.” (Is 53).

Yesu, umwana wakwa Lesa umumi,

“asulile ku bupulami bwakwe

no kubuule cata ca musha,

aicitile umwine ifyaba abantu;

apo ali nga bantu,

aicefeshe no kucilapo,

anakilile mpaka no kufwa

imfwa ya pa musalaba.

Eico Lesa amupulamikila,

amupela ne shina

ilyacila pe shina lyonse,

icakuti: Pe shina lyakwa Yesu

fyonse, ifyabako mu mulu na muno calo

na panshi ya calo,

fili no kutibile kufi;

no lulimi lonse luli no kulumbanya aluti:

Yesu Kristu ni Mfumu,

iyaba mu bucindami bwakwa Lesa Wishi.” (Fil 2:7-11)

 

Twaitwa ku kwampana na macushi yakwa Yesu,

pakuti tukalaampana nankwe mu kwansha kwa kushukuka kwakwe.

Twakulamulumbanya mu kwimba atuti: Aleluia.

Aleluia. Imfumu naishukuka. Aleluia

HE BECAME AS MEN ARE

PALM SUNDAY - Philippians 2:6-11

With Palm Sunday, we begin the Holy Week, a week set apart for us to be touched by Jesus’ cross - that is by his passion and his death, so that, united with him in death, we may be united with him in the resurrection.

At the beginning of this Holy Week, we are presented with the Christological hymn of the letter to the Philippians, thus setting the tone for the celebration of this week, allowing us to come closer to the mystery of Jesus Christ. The first statement of the hymn affirms the divinity of Jesus: “His state was divine”. However, despite being divine, “Jesus did not cling to his equality with God”. It is as if he was ready to leave it behind or to forsake it for our sake: He “emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave and became as men are”. Out of love and for our salvation, he was ready to share in our humanity, becoming one like us. The same truth is presented in the gospel of John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Becoming a human being, the Son of God was ready to humble himself. Indeed 

he “emptied himself

to assume the condition of a slave

and became as men are;

and being as all men are,

he was humbler yet,

even to accepting death,

death on a cross.”

The prophet Isaiah speaks of Him as having an abject form: 

“he had no form or majesty 

that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.” (Is 53:2)

In his suffering, he was tortured and humiliated, “despised and rejected by men”. He is “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Is 53:3). Looking at him, we are forced to recognise the evil we are capable of and the suffering that we are ready to inflict on others.

The war in Ukraine, in a very short while, has brought into the open the hatred and the violence that fill our hearts. We are not better than all those that came before us. And it serves no purpose to be ready to judge and condemn when we have done the same and will do it again if we find ourselves in the same situation. In the animal kingdom, we are the most savage of all. Jesus, who came as the Prince of peace, suffered on his flesh the rejection and the hatred of all those who stand proud in self-righteousness. 

“Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows” (Is 53:4).

In his suffering, “he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Is 53:12). He came so that by “his wounds we are healed.” (Is 53:5).

Jesus suffered the consequences of his decision to share in our pain and loss. Since the beginning, humanity has been driven by envy and jealousy, which lead to violence and war. That is the result of our deep desire to be gods, which turns out to be an impossible desire. Jesus followed a different path: he lived to do his Father’s will, thus showing us the only way that may heal our poisoned hearts, brings us peace and allow us to share in God’s glory. Jesus’ way is the only way. Although he passed through suffering and death, he came out victorious. By raising Him from the dead, God made a solemn proclamation of Jesus’ righteousness.

“But God raised him high

and gave him the name

which is above all other names

so that all beings

in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,

should bend the knee at the name of Jesus

and that every tongue should acclaim

Jesus Christ as Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus is Lord

and in Him we find salvation.

DO NOT SIN ANY MORE

V SUNDAY OF LENT - John 8:1-11

In the story of the woman caught in adultery, we may look at the interveners: on one side, the scribes and the Pharisees, on the other, the woman accused of adultery, and in the middle, Jesus who is called upon to judge and condemn the woman, being himself put to the test. For most of the time, Jesus kept silent, as if he ignored the question posed by the scribes and Pharisees. In that woman, they had a golden opportunity to denounce and accuse him of breaking the law. Throughout the story, Jesus remains in control of the situation. By his silence, he creates suspense, leaving the accusers uncertain about what to do. His writing on the ground was like writing on the book of life (Rev 13:8; 20:12), the book used in the final judgement. Trying to judge and condemn, the scribes and the Pharisees stand in judgement before the Son of man. After a long silence, Jesus opens his mouth to pronounce only one sentence: “If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus challenges them and with this challenge, he brings their sinfulness into the light. Forced to recognise that they were sinners, they left in shame. Being sinners, how could they behave like saints and condemn another sinner? Jesus unmasked them, revealing their hypocrisy. Being themselves in need of mercy, they would not show mercy.

With the scribes and the Pharisees gone, Jesus and the woman remained alone. The men had gone away without throwing a stone. Nobody had the courage to condemn her. Finally, Jesus addressed the woman with a reassuring word: “Neither do I condemn you.” To Nicodemus Jesus had said: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus came to save, not to condemn. To be saved, one must be confronted with his/ her own sin and undergo conversion. That is the proposal Jesus presented to the woman: “Go away, and do not sin any more.” God gives a time of respite for us to become aware of our sinfulness and then repent and believe. That woman’s life was touched and saved by Jesus. And the same may happen with each one of us.

Paul had an extraordinary encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ and that changed his life forever. And he is not ashamed of speaking of Christ and giving witness to Him: 

“For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.”