I SUNDAY OF ADVENT: Stay awake

We are starting the season of Advent, in which we prepare ourselves for the great celebration of Christmas.

Advent: the coming of the Saviour

The word advent means arrival or coming; and by that we mean the coming of the Saviour. The season of Advent is a season in which our hearts are full of hope and expectation. The history of salvation as we find it in the Scriptures, is a history pregnant with expectation, born out of God’s promises. Christians are a people of hope, who do not dwell in the past, but keep on walking towards the future, knowing that, in spite of the present problems, tension and anguish, better times will come, which will be times of joy and peace.

False optimism

As a teenager, during the sixties, I shared the prevalent optimism, believing that science would solve the biggest problems of the world. Science had made so many strides, that nothing seemed impossible any more. We did not think much about the constant nuclear threat pending over our heads, which was a product of science.

Nowadays, science is taking even bolder steps, researching everything that can be researched and inventing new machinery and new gadgets every day. However, we have lost all that optimism and all that confidence in the power of science to solve our problems. In fact, if we look deep, we find that human situation is not better today than it was before. Science has made life easier, but has brought innumerable problems as well.

The harsh world we live in

The world we live in is not as bright and happy, as it may seem. The words of Isaiah (in the first reading) apply to us: “We are all like men unclean, all that integrity of ours like filthy clothing. We have all withered like leaves and our sins blew us away like the wind.” (Is 64:6).

The reality of life is harsh, and the days in which we can enjoy life are short. The world is in crisis, a crisis that leads many people to despair. Every day, we hear about economic crisis and about thousands of people being thrown out of employment. We cannot trust the politicians, or the financiers or the managers of the big companies. They do not care about the common people; they only care about their own interests.

God’s faithfulness

In a situation like this, how can our hearts be filled with hope? Our hope is based on God’s faithfulness and love, not on human cleverness. Paul says it very clearly: “God is faithful” (1 Cor 1:9). The Saviour is coming, and we must prepare ourselves to welcome him. That’s why the Advent comes also with a call to be prepared and to stay awake. We must remain vigilant and committed.

“And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!” (Mk 13:37).

SHE HAS GONE TO JOIN THE CHOIRS OF HEAVEN

performing as Elizabeth, in 1996

The phone call came at 0:20 and as soon as I saw the name, I had a premonition. Then, with a repressed cry , the message came, short and chilly: Bafather, umunandi Catherine afwa (Father, my friend Catherine died). 

Catherine Daka was among the first members of Yangeni Singers in Lubengele Parish. She was not much of a composer, but she had a nice and strong voice. In the musical we did for ZNBC on Christmas in 1996, she played the role of Elisabeth. Together with Anne Katongo, in the style of the psalms, she composed a song about the suffering of the widows.

When she got married, they moved to Lusaka. From time to time she would phone. With the work of both of them, they were able to build their own house. As they settled down, they decided to celebrate the sacrament of marriage. Then a few months ago, before going on leave, her mother called from Lusaka, asking for prayers. Then she did the same herself. She had breast cancer. On the day of the operation, the husband phoned. Today, in the middle of the night, she answered God’s call.

We entrust her to the Lord and pray for the husband, the children and the family. May he lead her to the place of rest and peace and strengthen the family and friends in home.

XXXIV SUNDAY: Christ the King

This Sunday is the end of the liturgical year, and, as a summary of the mystery of salvation that we have been celebrating, the Church presents us with the feast of Christ the King.

I would like to stress three important themes from today’s readings:

There will be a judgement.

This implies the seriousness of our life, meaning that a lot is at stake and that our actions and our decisions have consequences for our future. The judgement reminds us that there is a future, and that future depends on what we do now. We are answerable for what we do or refuse to do; and we will harvest what we sow now. Our future will depend on our present.

And we will be judged according to our attitudes towards the others, mainly towards the needy, the poor and the suffering.

Jesus is the King of kings, 

meaning that everything must submit to him. Jesus is the centre of everything, and only in him our hearts will find rest and our lives have meaning. 

However, the word king is misleading, because Jesus never wanted to be a ruler like the kings or emperors of this world. Certainly he is not a king like Herod was. He never had an army to impose his rule or a secret service to keep his enemies in check. When people tried to make him a king, he went into hiding. He said it very clearly that the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve. Jesus is king, but we should remember that he was proclaimed king on the cross. He is a king of love, who puts himself at the service of all those who accept him. And he is the king of truth, which liberates all those who are ready to walk on its path.

Jesus presents himself as a shepherd, 

because his kingship is of peace and love. He does not oppress; instead, he liberates all those who are downtrodden. Jesus is the good shepherd who gives his life for his people, paying attention and showing great love for each on of them.

We celebrate Christ the King, because his kingship of love and mercy will be victorious, destroying the powers of hatred and death.

To him all glory, honour and power for ever and ever.

XXXIII SUNDAY: Matthew 25:14-30

Called to responsibility

Like all parables, this Sunday’s parable is very interesting, giving insight into human attitudes and revealing God’s ways towards us. A man, having to go abroad for a long journey, entrusted his property to his three servants, allotting to each one a portion according to his ability.

God puts us in charge

We should not forget that this is a parable about God and about us. In Gen 1, we find that as soon as God finished creating the world, he entrusted it to humankind. In the parable, we discover the same attitude on God’s side. He puts his trust in us and leaves us in charge. Many times, it may seem that he has gone and left us alone. But we know that he is coming and that we have to present ourselves before him, giving an account of our stewardship.

In the parable, we find two different types of servants, and it is good to compare their different attitudes.

Self-confident, committed and responsible

The first two felt honoured by the trust put on them. They considered themselves lucky, as they saw an extraordinary opportunity to affirm and prove themselves. Being trusted by their master, they were able to develop self-confidence; and in their self-confidence, they were able to devise new initiatives and to take risks. In all that, they showed themselves to be courageous and hardworking. Their commitment paid off, as they doubled the amount of wealth received.

Lazy and good-for-nothing

The third servant was a lazy fellow, with a poor image of himself. He had no initiative and no commitment. And he was lazy. He could not trust his master or his colleagues, because he had no confidence in himself. He had not an optimistic approach to life; he was not able to think about the opportunities that lay ahead; instead he was afraid of the risks.

We can imagine that he was jealous and envious of the others who received more. Or maybe he was happy, as having received less, he would be faced with less work and fewer risks. 

What is very clear in the parable is that he was afraid of his master. He considered his master as very demanding and harsh. For him, his master was giving him an opportunity to excel, but offering him a poisoned cup, by putting him to the test and expecting him to fail in order to punish him. He felt threatened in his security, his livelihood and his future. In his fear, he was afraid of life itself. So he decided to tread carefully. The interesting is that he kept the property safe and he gave it back as he received it. However, because of his laziness, he was considered wicked and as a good-for-nothing servant. 

We are called to share with God the task of building up the world, so that it becomes a better place than we found it. 

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST FINISH THEIR TRAINING

A group of fourteen women finished their training at St. Kizito Pastoral Centre in Solwezi, as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. Their main role will be to take the Eucharist to the sick and the elderly and to help giving the Eucharist in the Sunday mass.

The three main linguistic groups of the Diocese were represented. So we had Luvale, Lunda and Kaonde speaking people. We may say that the course was like a Pentecost, where people come together and live like a family, in spite of their different languages. We had ladies from Chavuma, Zambezi, Lwau, Ntambu, Manyinga, St. Francis and Solwezi.

The course was practical, training how to give the Eucharist, to preside a Sunday Service, to preach and to conduct a funeral. The practical side of the course was accompanied by teaching on the Eucharist, and introduction to the Bible and a short course on Jesus Christ, to know and love him better.

We should not forget that the women are the majority in the Church, and they do a lot of pastoral work that many times is not recognised. We must train them, giving them knowledge, skills and responsibility, so that they can make their service to the community more effective.

XXXII SUNDAY: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

WHO TO BLAME FOR DEATH?

Every year, at the beginning of November, we celebrate our ancestors in faith, in the feast of All Saints, and reflect on the reality of death, remembering and praying for our dead. 

In this Sunday second reading, Paul advises us about the way we should grieve; not as people who have no hope, but as people who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Death is blamed on a fellow human being

It is interesting to note that in the traditional culture (here in Zambia), God is not blamed for someone’s death. In fact, there death is never considered natural, unless in old age. When someone dies, his death is brought about by the jealousy, the envy and the hatred of the enemy; and that enemy is a fellow human being. He may be a relative or a neighbour, who lives by destroying others. Death is brought upon someone by the powers hidden in the evil heart of a witch (umuloshi). That’s why after death, many people cannot rest until they discover who bewitched their beloved one, who has been taken away from them. In Solwezi area, that is done through Kikondo. As they take the coffin for burial, the pallbearers behave like possessed, guided by a strange power coming out of the coffin, which forces them to move around until they find the killer of the deceased. Then, they exact punishment on the supposed witch, beating him/ her, taking the foodstuffs, animals and sometimes even destroying the house, as a form of compensation and revenge.

Is there any hidden power in the coffin? Not at all! Will the coffin move, if they put it down? What power can there be in a dead and cold body, which cannot stand up and move around? The ones who carry the coffin are the ones who have hatred in their hearts and who are intent on disrupting and destroying the harmony of the family. In fact, they are the witches (abaloshi), because they bring a lot of suffering on innocent people. As long as such type of behaviour is perpetuated, there can be no development.

Kikondo brings suspicion and hatred within the family and the community. The accused with their families have to move out of the village and start afresh somewhere else, leaving behind their homes and their fields.

A quest for imortality

In a way, the search for the source of death is a refusal to accept our mortality and a refusal to recognise that death is the natural course all of us will take. This search shows the conviction that we have a right to everlasting life, and that we are not able to enjoy it because of the hatred of our fellow human beings who become our enemies.

Death alone already brings a lot of pain. The work of relatives, friends and neighbours should be to lighten that suffering by sharing in it, and by bringing consolation and hope. Instead, by Kikondo or by any other form of divination, we inflict suffering and sow hatred, making it impossible to live and to work together in the community.

Paul is very clear: before death, a Christian cannot behave as the unbelievers do. We know that the journey of our lives will come to an end here on earth. However, death will not be the end; instead, it will be a time of passing from this life to the next, and a time to be welcomed in the Kingdom of the Father. Jesus is our Lord in life and in death; and like him we will be raised to life to share in his glory.