JESUS IS AGAINST VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF GOD

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 9:51-62

Like in the past - and nowadays maybe more than in the past - we can easily fall pray of radical and fundamentalist attitudes, in which we are ready to destroy all those who oppose us or have different ideas from ours.

Muslims extremists are famous for their violence and for their willingness to kill all those who do not submit to their thinking and their way of life. But they are not the only ones. There have been all kinds of fundamentalists. And today’s gospel speaks of the two brothers, James and John, who wanted to bring punishment from heaven upon those who had not accepted them. They wanted to get rid of those whom they perceived as enemies. However, Jesus “turned and rebuked them” (Lk 9:55). Indeed, we cannot impose faith by force, and we cannot oppress, punish or destroy those who think differently and walk on a different path. The Gospel tells us that they went to another place, leaving the ones who rejected them in peace.

The attitude of James and John is appealing to many of us, and throughout the history of the Church there were many who fell into that attitude, using violence to protect and defend religion or even to impose it on others. We should remember that Jesus stopped Peter from using the sword, when he tried to use it in order to defend the same Jesus.

We cannot accept the use of violence in the name of God, because that is an insult to God and an insult to human dignity. The ones who kill, thinking that they are doing God’s work, are in fact doing Satan’s job, and they are criminals.

**

The second part of this Sunday’s gospel speaks of the exigences of following Jesus. We must follow him with determination, leaving everything behind. He does not accept that we follow him half-way. We may find excuses to delay our decision or even to remain behind, but Jesus does not accept such wavering; he demands total commitment and undivided loyalty. 

To the one who wanted to become his follower, Jesus warned that he had nothing to offer him, but hardships:

“Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Lk 9:58)

There are no promises of wealth or power. Jesus had nothing of the kind to give to his followers and he made it clear, so that no one follows him with false expectations. In the life of Jesus and in his preaching, there is nothing of a gospel of wealth, which some people like to preach nowadays. Instead, we must be ready to abandon everything that may get in the way of following Jesus with all heart and mind.

There is a Bemba proverb that says: Uwaitwa tafwala bwino, meaning: Who is called does not dress well, because then and there he must answer the call, avoiding any delay or pretext for delay.

And Jesus leaves a final warning: 

“Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:62).

Once we become servants of Jesus Christ, we cannot go back. There is a Bemba saying that can be remembered here: Ulubwelela numa lulalya, meaning: Going back eats you up. After experiencing many hardships in answering his call, Jeremiah thought of going back and abandoning  his vocation, but he could not do it, because he could not feel at peace with such decision, which would be a decision of betrayal.

Let us pray for all those who heard the calling of the Lord, so that they may have the strength to remain faithful to their vocation.

CLOTHED IN CHRIST

XII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Galatians 3:26-29

Jesus liked to speak of himself as the Son of Man. The title can mean simply “human”. Indeed, we can look at Jesus as the Man, the one who is wholly human and who can be put forward as the role model for all human beings. 

The title “Son of Man” had been used before, by the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel. In Ezekiel,  God addresses the prophet, calling him “son of man” (Ez 28:12). In Daniel, the “son of man” is a heavenly figure (Dan 7:13-14), and to him power and dominion are given:

“And to him was given dominion

and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

 his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:14).

However, many times, when Jesus uses the expression, he is speaking about his suffering, his passion and his death. 

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus asked the disciples about people’s opinion: What were they saying about him?  There were very different ideas about Jesus, as there are today. It was common belief that he was a prophet. The Muslims also believe that. However, Jesus was not satisfied with that answer. And so he asked the apostles about their own opinion: But you, who do you say I am?’

He is asking the same question to each one of us. Who is Jesus for me? What is my relationship with him? What place he has in my life?

Peter answered for all the apostles: You are the Christ of God. You are the Anointed One, sent by God to liberate us. This is the answer of the Church: Jesus is the Christ. He is the Son of Man, spoken of by Daniel. However, Jesus did not come to exercise dominion or to impose his rule in the manner of the earthly rulers. His way to liberation and salvation is completely different from our human ways. And he was very clear about it. In order to avoid confusions, he prohibited his disciples to tell the people that he is the Christ, and then told them that he was going to suffer, to be rejected and to be killed. His way to life passes through suffering and death. The disciples could not understand; that was the shattering of their earthly dreams.

Jesus’ way is not an easy way. That’s why nowadays there are many people who preach in his name a gospel of wealth, promising a life without pain and suffering, full of bliss already here on earth. Such a life is no more than a dream, which will soon come to an end. Wealth on itself does not bring bliss; instead, it becomes an idol that oppresses us as we worship it. This is not the way of Jesus Christ. In fact, he invites us to carry the cross:

“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it.” (Lk 9:23-24).

The cross is rejected my many, but willingly or not all have to carry it; and without Christ, that cross will crush us. We cannot enter life without passing through suffering and death, walking on the way of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we find pleasure in suffering, or that we look for suffering; but suffering will come our way whenever we choose faithfulness to God and to God’s ways. Jesus did not look for suffering, but he knew where his faithfulness would take him. We are able to surrender to God and to accept suffering, because we feel loved by him and we are sure that he is there welcoming us to share his life with us.

Paul tells us that all baptised are “clothed” in Christ (Gal 3:27), meaning that we become one with Christ and must be like him. It is in Christ that we become children of God.

KING DAVID REPENTED FROM HIS SIN

XI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2 Samuel 12:7-10,13

This Sunday, we are presented with the figure of David, being challenged by the prophet Nathan.

David came into the limelight while still a boy. Being a shepherd who knew well how to survive and how to protect his flock from the wild beasts, he was courageous enough to face Goliath and kill him with a stone from his sling. Suddenly he became famous, being sung of in popular songs. This fame brought the jealousy and the enmity of Saul. To survive Saul’s hatred, David had to be always on the look out and on the run, because he had become an outcast with a price on his head, with the king’s army on his pursuit. Then, other outcasts joined him, and the number of his followers grew; in the end, he formed his own army. After the death of Saul, he became king of the South, and later on unified the country, when the North chose him to be their king as well. One of his great achievements is that he conquered Jerusalem, making it the capital of his kingdom. He was famous for his prowess in battle and for his conquests, extending the borders of the kingdom and transforming it into an influential state.

David was a deeply religious man, who tried to guide himself by the commands of the Lord and who pay great attention to the great celebrations. However, power and wealth - and he had enough of it to keep a big army - are always a source of all kinds of temptations. In front of a wealthy and powerful leader, many people are ready to accept his requests without questioning them and may even suggest whatever they think will please him. 

David had sent his army into battle, while he remained idle behind. Like many kings of the past, he had several wives and concubines as well. In spite of that, it was enough to see a beautiful woman for his heart to be filled with lust, and he was not deterred by the fact that she was married. He was a king and the desires of the king are an order for those who are his subjects. So he ordered Bathsheba to come to the palace and had sex with her. When Bathsheba informed him that she was pregnant, David had to find a quick solution, and to cover up one evil, he was ready to do a bigger one. And feeling protected by the power of his throne, he did not hesitate to add murder to adultery. When Uriah died, David brought Bathsheba into the palace and made her his wife.

David’s lust led him to abuse of power - a thing so common nowadays as in the past: he committed adultery, sexual abuse and probably rape. And then, to cover up his misdeeds, he committed murder, involving others in his crime.

However, there is nothing hidden that will not come into the open. Surely, when he ordered Bathsheba to come into his palace, some of his servants must have noticed the fact, and the fact that Uriah was put in front of the battle in order to be killed could not pass unnoticed as well. Most probably many people knew what happened in secrecy, but nobody had the guts to reproach the king and to tell him to his face the crime that he had committed. But it would not be so with the prophet Nathan, in spite of being an adviser and a friend of David; for him obedience to God’s commands was more important than his position before the king. And he had the courage to go to the palace and force David to face his crime: “Why have you shown contempt for the Lord, doing what displeases him? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taken his wife for your own, and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” (2 Sam 12:9).

The greatness of David is that he recognised his sinfulness, repented and asked forgiveness for his sin. Very few rulers are ready to do that, thinking that to recognise their failures, to ask for forgiveness and to repent is a sign of weakness. Many rulers are untouchable; they cannot be questioned, and they cannot be confronted and challenged. And very few people have the courage of Nathan. What is surprising in the history of the people of Israel was the emergence of the prophets and the fact that most of them, in obedience to God, were ready to proclaim his word and to challenge whatever behaviour or policies went against God’s commandments.

We need people full of zeal, courageous enough to stand up and speak out against the evil behaviour and evil policies which can be found in many of our rulers and governments. Those who do that are the ones who are at the service of the people.

Let us pray to the Lord that he may grant us true prophets and also rulers and leaders of the people who may imitate David in recognising their faults.

The story of David is a story of sin, repentance and forgiveness like the story of that woman of the Gospel (Lk 7:36-50) who was able to show great love because she has been forgiven. Our God is a demanding and challenging God, but his love and mercy are even greater, and we can always approach him with confidence in his kindness and love.

PAUL REFLECTS ON HIS CONVERSION

X SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Galatians 1:11-19

At the beginning of his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his personal experience and of his conversion. He was a “practicing Jew” (Gal 1:13); more than that, he was a pharisee, very strict in practicing the Law and an “enthusiastic” follower of “the traditions of the ancestors”, who would not accept any attempt to ignore or break the Law of Moses or to abolish those traditions. He saw the teaching and the practicing of the first Christian communities as a threat to the Law and to the Jewish way of life and therefore he decided to persecute violently the church of God, in an effort to destroy it (Gal 1:13-14).

However, his life turned upside down, when he had an extraordinary experience of the Risen Christ. Jesus entered his life and challenged him straight on. Calling him by name, Jesus asked: “Why do you persecute me?” (Act 9:4) Paul was forced to realise that he could not fight against God. And to the Galatians, he explained that 

“God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans” (Gal 1:15-16).

Moved by this extraordinary encounter with Jesus Christ, Paul did not hesitate to change direction. Without delay and without consulting others, he accepted Jesus Christ and allowed his life to be shaped by Jesus Christ. He wrote: “I did not stop to discuss this with any human being”. There was no need to consult relatives or friends; he knew beyond all doubts that Jesus is alive - he has risen from the dead and he is Lord. Accepting Jesus, he surrendered himself totally to him, and he became a witness that would only be silenced by his death for Jesus Christ, giving thus the great testimony that Jesus is Lord. The persecutor of the Church became the greatest preacher of the Gospel, announcing to all that Jesus is the Saviour. If we just accept him and surrender our lives to him, he will become our way and in him we will find life.

Paul became aware that the Good News of Jesus Christ is not a human message, given by men or learnt from them; in fact, he learned it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. We do not own the Gospel; instead, we are servants of the Gospel and, therefore, we must be faithful to it. We cannot change or adapt the Gospel to our conveniences.

As we see in the first reading (1 Kings 17:17-24) and then in the Gospel (Luke 7:11-17), God is the Lord and giver of life, and he is on the side of the weak, the poor and the suffering to bring relief and peace to their hearts. He is our refuge and our salvation. By bringing back to life the son of a widow, Jesus revealed his compassion and love and presented himself as being the Resurrection and Life. Indeed, “God has visited his people” (Lk 7:16).

A FEAST OF LOVE

SACRED HEART OF JESUS - Romans 5:5-11

 Every Friday reminds us of Jesus’ death on the cross, which was his supreme gift of love: he died for us so that we may live. In his gospel, John tells us that “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” (Jn 19:34). He poured out his life for us, and his heart was wide open to become the refuge in which we find peace and joy.

This is the reason for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - it is a celebration of love, of God’s love revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Speaking of the Heart of Jesus, we speak of his human and divine love. His heart of flesh reminds us of his Incarnation, which was a great proof of love. Out of love, the Son of God became a human being and shared our pain and our suffering. He chose to become one with us, walking along with us through the paths of this world, carrying the cross of our sin, so that we may be set free and transformed into children of  God. Before the narrative of the Last Supper, John tells us that Jesus, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1).

We cannot fall into the mistake of thinking that we are worshiping a human organ, a piece of flesh, even if it belonged to Jesus. The heart stands for the whole person - the whole Jesus Christ - in his love for us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Ro 5:8). Indeed, “the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Ro 5:5), and nothing can separate us from this love (see Ro 8:37-39).

This year, as we celebrate the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, it is fitting that the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - that is of his infinite love for us - gains a special prominence. God is love, and in his love he is full of mercy. Many times, we have the pharisaic attitude of regarding the Law as supreme, being ready to impose it, and then present ourselves as righteous, because we have fulfilled the Law. Jesus has a completely different attitude: he invites us to be like him good shepherds, who care for the weak and look for the stranded, not to reproach them, but to carry them on his shoulder.

In old times, the prophet Ezekiel had already spoken of God as being the shepherd of his people, who treats them with caring love: 

I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. (Ez 34:11-12)

In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus speaks of the shepherd who leaves all the other sheep and goes in search of the lost one, until he finds it and brings it back on his shoulders with great joy, a joy that he has to share with the whole household of God.

In our pastoral work in the parishes, we concentrate on caring for the ones who always come, whom we can count with, ignoring the ones who have left or who never came in. We must learn with Jesus to be good shepherds and to go and look for the ones who have lost the way, revealing to them God’s kindness, compassion, mercy and love.