AND JESUS GREW IN WISDOM AND STATURE

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY - Luke 2:22-40 

Remembering the family of Nazareth - Jesus, Mary and Joseph - we must look at our families and reflect upon the challenges that the families are faced with.

In the Gospel, we find Joseph and Mary taking the child Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem in order to consecrate him to God. Life is always a gift and we must recognise the one who gives it. It is important to accept that the children belong to God. Joseph and Mary put the life of the child Jesus in the hands of God and put themselves as well at God´s service and at the service of their child. Sometimes, parents may behave as if they are the owners of life and as if the children belong to them. Coming through them, the children were called forth to life to reaffirm that they are created in the image of God and that they are always a gift of love from God.

The family of Nazareth helps us to realise that it is difficult for a family to be a family without children. They are a blessing and a gift, in spite of the worries and troubles that they may bring. A family gets its strength from the love that unites them, and love only comes to its completion when it is fruitful.

After the consecration in the Temple, they went back to Nazareth and the life in Nazareth is summed up in a very simple statement: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.” (Lk 2:52) Jesus grew up becoming strong in body and in mind, as we expect it from any normal child so that he found favour with God and man. The bringing up of our children must be harmonious, taking care of all aspects of life, so that the child is sound in body and soul. The formation of the character of a child is, first of all, the responsibility of his parents. Nowadays, it is the common policy of the State to overrule the parents, taking the children out of their control and becoming the sole educator from early childhood up to the end of formal education.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul gives basic rules for a healthy relationship in the family and in the community. He points out the necessary qualities for a fruitful relationship: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Besides that, one must be ready to “bear with one another” and to forgive. Without forgiveness and reconciliation, the life in the family and in the community will end in failure. Only love makes it possible to be caring and attentive to the needs of the others: “Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.” (Col 3:14) And it is through the love within the family and the community that we may be able to enjoy peace, the peace that comes from Christ. And we should not forget to have a thankful heart. Looking to the family of Nazareth, we can learn to live with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving to God.

COME, JESUS

Come, baby Jesus,

Sit in my lap

And warm my cold heart.

Come, baby Jesus,

Enlighten my blind eys

And open my deaf ears.

Come, baby Jesus,

To fulfil my dreams

Sown in the hope of life.

Come, baby Jesus,

And make in my heart

Your eternal home. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas
and a New Year full of Child Jesus' blessings.
Fr. José

Isa, Mwana Lesa, 

tukupakate mu maboko yesu

mukafye ne mitima yesu iyatalala.

Isa, Yesu mwana,

Ukwisula amenso yesu iyapofula

No kukomona amatwi yesu ayakoma.

Isa, Mwana Lesa, 

Ukukosha ifyo tukumbwa

Ifimenena mu cisubilo ca bumi.

Isa, Yesu mwana,

Ukupanga mu mitima yesu

Icifulo cobe ica muyayaya.

 Musefye Noel ne cimwemwe,
kabili Yesu Mwana amufumfumwine amapalo.
Fr. José.

HE DESCENDED FROM DAVID ACCORDING TO THE FLESH

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Luke 1:26-38

In the history of Israel, David was the greatest king. He defeated the Philistines, who constituted a continuous threat to the survival of the People of God, conquered Jerusalem and established a strong and secure kingdom. After all his victories, he thought of building a temple to the Lord. However, through the prophet Nathan, God asked David: “Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in?” God does not need a house; the whole world is his house. And God told David that it will be the other way round: “The Lord will make you a House.” It is the Lord who cares takes care of us and provides for our needs. He loves and because of that love, he offers us life and salvation.

God made a promise to David, a promise that would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ: “The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. I will be a father to him and he a son to me” (2 Sam 7:11-12,14) Although this text referred directly to Solomon, it came to be understood as a promise of the coming of the Messiah, who will come, being God’s Son. 

In his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks of “the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh” (Ro 1:3). At Christmas, we celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation, that is the mystery of the Son of God who assumes the human nature, being “born of a woman” (Gal 4:4) and belonging to the family of David. He is the one who has come to establish a kingdom that will last forever - the Kingdom of God.

In this Sunday’s gospel, we are presented with the Annunciation: God sends an invitation to Mary through the angel Gabriel; God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah. And she believed the message and accepted the mission, putting herself totally at the service of God: ““Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38).

Mary’s attitude of service must be our attitude, the attitude of all those who chose to be disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Come, Lord Jesus! We are ready to welcome you into our homes and in our hearts. With Mary who welcomed you in her womb, we learn to put ourselves at your disposal: Let you will be done.

BE HAPPY AT ALL TIMES

III SUNDAY OF ADVENT - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

In the Third Sunday of Advent, both the first and the second readings stress the need for happiness. Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, puts it very clearly: “Be happy at all times.” (1 This 5:16). And we find in the prophet Isaiah similar words: “I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God”. (Is 61:10).

We may ask ourselves what is the reason for all this happiness. Isaiah gives the answer: 

“for he has clothed me in the garments of salvation,

he has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity,

like a bridegroom wearing his wreath,

like a bride adorned in her jewels.” (Is 61:10-11).

We know that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven and reconciled because we are loved; in Jesus Christ, we are children of God and God has decided that we may have a share in his glory. Indeed, “he has clothed me in the garments of salvation”. And life and salvation are to be celebrated, that is why the dimension of feast is so important, and God himself is the one preparing a feast for us. There is a Bemba proverb, filled with insight and the wisdom that comes from the Spirit, which reminds us that God is preparing a banquet for us: Apatebeta Lesa tapafuka cushi (Where God is cooking, there is no smoke). In spite of the lack of smoke, we are aware that God is preparing something good for us, and that awareness fills us with joy. Therefore, it is not surprising that the arts which celebrate life play an important role in the life and in the liturgy of the Church. Architecture, sculpture and painting expressing our faith and helping us to grow in faith present us with some of the most beautiful realisations in the world. And music, in a great variety of forms, comes in to show and to enhance the happiness that comes from Christ.

This joy and this happiness must be expressed in the life of the community and in our relationships with the others, becoming a source of peace.

With the call to happiness, Paul presents a simple rule of life: 

1. constant prayer
2. an attitude of thanksgiving
3. open to the Spirit
4. think and reflect before doing anything
5. hold on to the good
6. avoid every form of evil.

Finally, Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians must be the prayer which we do for each other: 

“May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless, spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 5:23)

CONSOLE MY PEOPLE, CONSOLE THEM!

II SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Mark 1:1-8

We cannot go through the Advent season without hearing the voices of Isaiah and John the Baptist. Isaiah comes with a message of hope based on God’s promise, reassuring us that God is faithful to his word and he will never break his promise.

This Sunday’s first reading starts with the words: “Console my people, console them”. God intends to console us from all our troubles and sufferings, and he will bring to an end our servitude, setting us free and leading us to have a share in his rest.

The Lord is coming and himself is going to take care of his people.

“Here is the Lord coming with power,

his arm subduing all things to him.

The prize of his victory is with him,

his trophies all go before him.

He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,

gathering lambs in his arms,

holding them against his breast

and leading to their rest the mother ewes.” (Is 40:10-11).

In the Gospel, John appears on the scene. Referring to him, Jesus said that he is more than a prophet (Mt 11:9); indeed, “among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist” (Mt 11:11). However, his greatness does not come from his teaching, since he taught so little. He is great because he prepared the way for the Messiah and introduced people to his coming. His message is twofold: a call to repentance and conversion, as a way for people to prepare themselves for the impending coming of Christ; and an affirmation of Christ’s greatness, since he is going to baptize in the Spirit, while his own (John’s) baptism is simply a baptism in later. John was a righteous and outspoken man who stood for truth and justice. He paid with his life the price of his courage and his truthfulness.

John is the voice of truth that cannot be silenced; in death, his voice cries out the loudest. He speaks for the voiceless and for all those who are trampled upon, challenging and denouncing the oppressors that lead people astray. John’s appearance and preaching are reassuring: God comes to bring consolation to his people.

COME DOWN, LORD, AND LET YOU FACE SHINE ON US

I SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Isaiah 63:16-17,64:1,3-8

We start Advent with a reading from Isaiah in which he speaks of our sinfulness, because we behave like rebels, ignoring the Lord and breaking our covenant with him:

“You were angry when we were sinners;

we had long been rebels against you.

We were 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.

No one invoked your name

or roused himself to catch hold of you.

For you hid your face from us

and gave us up to the power of our sins.” (Is 64:5-7)

Recognising our sins, we put our trust in the Lord because he is our Father and our Redeemer. We are like the clay in his hands and he is the potter, who is able to shape our lives and lead us to salvation. That’s why we are bold enough to plead with him and to put our lives in his hands. And we call on him to come down and to be with us:

“Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down!” (Is 64:1)

It is with trust and confidence that we begin the Advent season, preparing ourselves to welcome Him because He is coming. Indeed, the Lord is coming and we pray:

“let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” (Ps 80:3)

This trust and confidence in God’s care and love lead us to an attitude of thanksgiving. We give thanks to the Lord because “he will keep you (us) steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”. (1 Co 1:9) God is faithful and he has called us into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Since the Lord is coming, we must be ready to welcome him. And the Gospels calls on us to be awoken and to remain always on the alert. We must keep watch while waiting for the Lord. We must keep watch over ourselves and over what happens around us, so that we may notice the signs of his coming.

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

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

CHRIST THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE - Matthew 25:31-46

At the end of the liturgical year, we celebrate Christ as the King of the Universe. We speak about divine things with human language because that is the only way we can speak about anything. However, our human language can never translate God’s mystery in a perfect way, since it is always prone to confusion. And so it is the case. Jesus Christ is proclaimed king but is not a king as the earthly kings are. Calling him a king, we speak of his power, his dominion and his glory. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes that “everything is to be put under his feet”, because he will defeat all his enemies, and “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Co 15:26-27). Jesus Christ does not wield his power and his dominion by being overbearing and by oppressing and crushing everything else. Christ presented himself as a servant, who gives up his life so that we may gain life and salvation.

When Pilate asked Jesus if he was king, he answered back that his kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36). Only those who search wholeheartedly for the truth will listen to his voice and accept his rule. Jesus kingship was revealed on the Cross, where he showed his love, shedding his blood for us.

The only purpose of Jesus’ kingship is that “God may be all in all.” (1 Co 15:28) If we accept Jesus Christ and live by his rule, we are led to allowing the God of love and peace be God in our lives, and then all our deepest desires will be fulfilled.

Jesus Christ is king as a Shepherd - the Good Shepherd, who cares for his people, leading them to a place of rest and peace. As a shepherd, he protects, defends, guides and heals his people. He “shows them where to rest” and he “will feed them with justice” (Ez 34:15-16)

As King of the universe, Jesus will sit on his throne to judge humankind and he will judge according to the rule of his kingdom, the love of love, mercy and compassion. 

We cannot be surprised that Pope Francis has been insisting so much on the Church being a Church of the poor, where they feel at home because they are loved and respected. If we pass by the poor, the outcast, the oppressed and the suffering, then Jesus Christ will not recognise us as belonging to his kingdom. We will be cast out and expelled from his presence.

“The Lord is my shepherd;

  there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

  where he gives me repose.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Near restful waters he leads me,

  to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;

  he is true to his name.” (Ps 23:1-3)

ARE WE LAZY SERVANTS?

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 25:14-30

Reading the conclusion of this Sunday’s gospel, we may get the idea that Jesus approved of capitalism. Jesus said: 

“For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mt 25:29).

Indeed, capital brings more capital, thriving in profit and increasing one’s wealth. The ones who have little easily loose the little they have, which is taken over by the one who is already rich enough. In this way, the rich become richer and the poor poorer, so that the gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider. This is a social and economic reality that find in our everyday lives, and it is not surprising that some use Jesus’ words to justify the capitalism. 

We should not misunderstand Jesus since he was not speaking about wealth; in fact, he refused to deal with issues of money (see Lk 12:13) and was very critical of those who make capital the god they worship (Lk 16:13). The parable of the talents read in this Sunday’s gospel is about the Kingdom of God and about the attitudes required to be admitted into it.

The parable speaks about a man who went on a journey and entrusted a great amount of money to three of his servants, and each one was entrusted with different responsibilities “in proportion to his ability.” (Mt 25:15). The parable helps us to understand that we are different, because of our different abilities, our different backgrounds and the different circumstances we live in. Being different, the expectations and the demands on the performance of each one of us are different as well. In spite of this difference, each one was expected to give the best of himself in commitment and in hard work. The results can be different, but they will not be the proof that one is better than the other. What is important to God, to the others and to themselves is that each must be true to himself, working wholeheartedly. All of them had to account for what they did with the talents received. Indeed, all of us are accountable for whatever we do. Life is to be taken seriously and faith implies commitment. We should never take God for granted.

Out of the three men in the parable, one was condemned as lazy and punished with exclusion from the welfare granted to the others. What was wrong with him? Out of fear, he did nothing. Knowing that his master was very demanding, he decided to hide the treasure entrusted to him, burying it and keeping it intact in order to return it to his master. He was condemned for his lack of vision and initiative. He was not prepared for adventure and he would not take risks. In the end, fear was just an excuse for his laziness.

Like the other two servants, we must be ready to use whatever the Lord has given us to invest and bring development to ourselves and the others.

BE PREPARED FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 25:1-13

The first reading (Wisdom 6:12-16) speaks about wisdom and how she comes to all those who look for her. Indeed, we are in need of wisdom to find meaning in our lives and to establish bonds of friendship and solidarity with others in the community. Without wisdom, we are not able to see our own limitations and to recognise the contributions of others to our own welfare. It is wisdom that helps us to recognise the presence of God in the world around us, mainly in the faces and the lives of the people we live with. Only wisdom can set us walking in a straight path, the path to justice and peace. 

A Bemba proverb tells us: Amano uli weka: tayashingauke koshi (Alone your wisdom: does not go around your neck) and another one says: Amano mambuulwa (wisdom, the things that you pick up, learning from others). True wisdom cannot thrive in loneliness, much less in selfishness; instead, it learns from and with the others, making communion and peace possible. True wisdom is God himself guiding us through the path of life.

In the gospel, we find the parable the ten virgins who went to welcome the bridegroom for his wedding feast. The theme of a bridegroom and his wedding feast appears several times in the New Testament (for instance, Rev 21:2,9). Christ is the Bridegroom; he will come at the end of times and then his beloved bride, the Church, will be presented to him. The bridesmaids represent all of us. Like them, we wait for his coming. When is he coming? We do not know. We just wait and wait and the delay seems to be too prolonged, so that we may get tired of waiting. 

The ten virgins fell asleep, all of them and someone had to wake them up. Like them, we may go through moments of tiredness and sleepiness or times of disappointment and darkness. We may think that we are waiting in vain and that, in the end, nobody is coming and we will realise that our wait was wasted time. However, the parable tells us that Christ is coming; and at his coming, there will be a great celebration, full of joy and happiness. Will we be there and have a share in that feast?

According to the parable, there were two kinds of virgins, the wise and the foolish. Some prepared themselves for the delay, while others did not think of such a possibility. They were not prepared for hard times when the Lord seems to be absent and we see ourselves as abandoned and lost. So, when they heard the announcement of the bridegroom’s arrival, they had to go out into the darkness of the night to buy oil for their lamps. When they came back, the feast had begun and the door was closed. They were late. To enter the banquet hall, one must be ready and well prepared. The Bemba proverb says Umuti uwila uko wakongamina (the tree falls to where is bent). If we are turned to Christ, then we will fall to Christ.

Let us ask the Lord the grace of being prepared for his coming.

WHO ARE OUR ROLE MODELS?

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 23:1-12

Speaking to his disciples and to the public in general, Jesus warned them about the Pharisees and the Scribes. They were in a position of leadership. By saying that they “occupy the chair of Moses”, Jesus implies a certain usurpation. Indeed, they were not the traditional leaders of the people and may say that they were self-appointed leaders, who put themselves in front of the people and sometimes over them. Why did Jesus warn against them? They presented themselves as role models for the people, but they were fake role models, claiming an authority that they did not have and demanding that people imitate them. 

They do not practice what they preach. They deceive people because they themselves do not believe in what they preach.

 They are hard and extremely demanding on the others, but easily find excuses for themselves. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they!” (Mt 23:4).

Finally, Jesus accuses them of doing everything to attract attention. They would like to be ranked among the best for their names to appear in the Hall of Fame. They want to be recognised and honoured, they must make it to the top.

We should ask if similar attitudes are not found in the Church among our leaders and among ourselves. Do we live according to what we teach to the others? Are we not ready to condemn the others, finding fault with everything they do, while we do not apply the same rules to us? Are we ready to serve, or do we look for fame, presenting ourselves as the best, and demanding applause from the others?

We may ask as well: who are our role models? Who are the ones who influence us and whom we are ready to listen to? And, if we are in a position of leadership, can we serve of role models to the others? Are we true to ourselves, living by what we teach?

In the first reading, the prophet Malachi denounces the priests and their teaching to the people: “… you, you have strayed from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your teaching. You have destroyed the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of Hosts.” (Mal 2:8).

Let us pray for all those who are in positions of leadership, so that they may be true role models for the people that they serve.

THERE IS ONLY ONE COMMANDMENT, THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:34-40

During Jesus’ time, the group of the Pharisees had already a big influence over the people and that influence would grow stronger after the destruction of Jerusalem. With their single-mindedness about the Law, they managed to achieve the survival of the Jewish people and find a new way to keep alive the faith in Yahweh (the Lord), without the temple and without priests. Their ideals and their attitudes were very different from the ones of the Sadducees, who were traditionalists in questions of religion and collaborationists in political matters. The Pharisees were radicals and fundamentalists, being very strict in all matters concerning the Law. And that’s where they entered into conflict with Jesus, even though, in their ideals, they were the closest to Jesus. However, Jesus could not accept their strict legalism, which did not allow them to take into account the suffering of the common people. Confronted with Jesus who was led by the freedom of the Spirit, they saw in him an enemy and joined the Sadducees to get rid of Jesus.

Trying to put Jesus to the test, they approached and asked him a question: Which is the greatest commandment in the Law? And Jesus put forward a straight answer: There are only two commandments: the first and most important is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And the second is “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” In the end, there is only one commandment - the commandment of love, in which the love of God and the love of our neighbour go together. It is a fallacy to think that we may love God while ignoring the others with whom we live. How can we love God, if we do not recognise his image in the lives of our neighbours? How can we call God Father, when we do not accept the others as brothers and sisters?

In a way, it is very easy to be a Christian. We do not have plenty of rules and norms like the Jewish People. We have only one commandment, the commandment of love. And we will be judged by that commandment.

Nowadays, the word love is easily misunderstood with passion, pleasure and lust, which lead only to self-indulgence, which is selfishness, that is the opposite of love. True love leads us to pay attention to the needs of the others and gives us the strength to suffer for the benefit of the others.

In the first reading, taken from the book of Exodus, we are told how to behave towards all those who are in need of being supported and protected. In the Exodus, God points out three concrete situations in which are called to show love to the ones who suffer: the alien (the stranger), the orphan and the widow and the poor who borrowed money.

God reminds the people of the times when they experienced suffering and oppression because one they lived in foreign land and were treated as slaves, They are advised to do not the same to the foreigner living among them

Nowadays, there are plenty of people living far away from their homeland. Some emigrated in search of work and of a better life and they are ready to go through unthinkable trials in order to achieve that. Others are refugees who run away from persecution and war. They are welcomed in very few countries; they spend months (years) in refugee camps and are treated harshly. The first reading is a clear warning for all those who refuse to see in the alien - the emigrant and the refugee - a fellow human being, a child of God like them: one day, they will go through the same painful experience.

The orphan and the widow stand for all those who experience the loneliness and the struggle for survival. They need to be protected and defended. They need that we make ourselves their neighbours. We may remember the drug addicts or those who suffer from incurable diseases. They cannot be abandoned to themselves but need our compassion and our care.

Finally, the passage (Ex 22:25) deals with the money lenders, telling them that they should not demand interest; instead they must pay attention to the plight of the poor and God will listen to the cry of the poor.

How different is our society today, where high interest is demanded from all those in need, be it individuals or countries. The lending of money has become a big business, aiming at the highest possible profit. In the end, the money lending becomes a form of exploitation, forcing the poor into an abject situation, while the rich become ever richer.

Let us learn with Jesus to allow our hearts to be touched by the pain of others and to be compassionate with all those who suffer.

LOVED AND CHOSEN

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

With a thankful heart, Paul remembers his mission among the Thessalonians, praying for them. He gives thanks to God because they showed their “faith in action worked for love and persevered through hope”. (1 Th 1:3).

This passage brings to mind my own experience, mainly in Lubengele, Chililabombwe. I found so many people profoundly committed, strong in their faith and living guided and supported by hope, the hope that they find in Jesus Christ. They accepted me as one of their, confiding in me and entrusting me with their joys and their sorrows. We walked together in faith, having Jesus as our way.

Speaking to the Thessalonians, Paul told them: “We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen”. (1 Th 1:4) These words apply to all of us: We know that God loves and that we have been chosen. And we cannot keep silent about it. This is a good news that we cannot keep for ourselves. It is a secret that we cannot keep, that we have to broadcast far and wide. This love that we receive from God impels us to share it so that others mays experience the same love. 

In the Catholic Church, this Sunday is called the Mission Sunday or the World Mission Day. For this year, Pope Francis put forward the following theme: “Mission at the heart of the Christian faith”. To be a missionary is a must because we believe. Once we have experienced being loved and being chosen, we become witnesses of that love and we are always ready to explain the reasons of our believe and to announce to all far and near that Jesus is the Saviour, that he is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6).

The faith in Jesus Christ is not something that we can hide. How can we hide the fact that we live guided by faith, “rooted and built up in him (Jesus Christ)”? (Col 2:6) Without being missionary, the Church “would no longer be the Church of Christ, but one group among many others that soon end up serving their purpose and passing away.” (Pope Francis). “The Church’s mission, then, is not to spread a religious ideology, much less to propose a lofty ethical teaching.” (Pope Francis). The Church’s mission is to lead people to Christ and to facilitate their encounter with him, so that they may feel loved and chosen.

THE WEDDING ROBE

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:1-14

The parable of the wedding banquet of the king’s son is very revealing. Salvation is presented as a feast, a wedding feast and a banquet is always part of a big feast, mainly a wedding feast.

In Isaiah, God had promised to prepare for all peoples a great banquet with the best foods and best wines. Everybody will rejoice, because “the Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth”. “He will destroy Death for ever”, and all lips will sing songs of victory (Is 25:6-10)

In the book of Revelation, myriads of people will gather for the marriage of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-7) and rejoice singing God’s praises.

The parable of the wedding banquet makes as well an interpretation of the history of salvation. There was a first group invited to the banquet who refused to take part in the banquet, presenting all kinds of excuses, even senseless excuses. Presenting a refusal without any valid reason, the parable is an indictment of those who rejected the invitation and it is not difficult to understand that they stand for the people of Israel. That’s why those with a standing among the people tried to entrap and catch him (Mt 22:15)

Presented with the rejection of those who had been invited, the king decided to open the palace’s gates and to call everybody to the banquet. So the “servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Mt 22:10). We may think that the king took this action out of frustration with the behaviour of those who had shown to be unworthy of his invitation. However, as we can find in the first reading, from the beginning God had a plan of universal salvation and the people of Israel were chosen and set apart to facilitate the fulfilment of that plan. With their unfaithfulness, it was as if they had become an obstacle to that plan. The parable shows clearly that the revolt of the people of Israel cannot stop God’s plan from being fulfilled.

The parable ends with a saying that sounds strange: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Mt 22:14). It is strange because the parable shows a different reality: of those called all but one were accepted; all but one entered the kingdom hall and sat at the table of the Lord. They were called in the streets, unexpectedly, without much time to prepare themselves. Maybe, they were already prepared. In Bemba, the proverb says: Uwaitwa, tafwala bwino. Once called, we must not delay. We must ready to answer the call, God’s call.

In that big crowd, there was one who should not be there and he was asked: “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And he was thrown out into the dark. 

What was that wedding garment? The parable does not say. However, in his letters, speaks several times of what should wear: 

“put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 13:14); 

“put on the breastplate of faith and love” (1 Tea 5:8);

“Put on the whole armour of God” (Ep 6:11)

The conclusion of the parable - “For many are called, but few are chosen.” - comes as a warning for us to be faithful, so that we may sit at the Lord’s table and rejoice in his presence

IGNORING GOD’S MESSENGERS

XXVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 21:33-43

The first reading and the gospel in this Sunday’s liturgy speak of a vineyard planted with great care and treated with great love. Looking back at his work and examining himself, the owner says: “What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done?” (Is 5:4) In spite of that, the owner got nothing: “He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all that it gave.” (Is 5:2). And so he was very disappointed and he is ready to abandon his vineyard. 

Isaiah makes it clear that the owner is the Lord and the vineyard stands for the people of Israel. And God is making a public accusation against his people. Indeed,

“He expected justice, but found bloodshed,

integrity, but only a cry of distress.” - Is 5:7

The people of Israel went astray and turned against God. By doing that, they turned against each other with oppression, exploitation and violence. And we cannot recognise them as being God’s people. 

The image of the vineyard can be applied as well to the Church of God and the harsh words of condemnation may also be deserved by the Church, that is by ourselves, because of our unfaithfulness and because of the violence which can be found among ourselves.

In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus interprets the history of the people of Israel, accusing them as well of unfaithfulness. They do not want to recognise God and his lordship over them; instead, they want to become the owners of the vineyard, forgetting about the true owner and his demands. They kill the Son, so that they may keep the property for themselves alone. They did not care about the consequences and that we reap what we sow. We can never claim as ours what is borrowed or was entrusted to us. We will face judgement for whatever we do. Jesus asked people about the consequences of the tenants’ criminal action, and the crowd answered: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives”.(Mt 21:41). These words are a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in the year 70 AD.

The parable stresses the fate of the Son, who was killed by the tenants. When the landowner sent the Son, he was aware of the danger, but he hoped for a peaceful solution: “They will respect my son”, he thought (Mt 21:3t7). The Son as well must have been well aware that his life would be at risk, but he accepted to go. Both the Father and the Son hoped for a good outcome. Instead of that, we had a tragedy, because the tenants did not have respect even for the Son. It was not the Father who killed the Son, but those criminals who had lost all sense of dignity, honour and respect.

Do we accept God’s lordship over us? Do we give back of what we produce? Or, like the wicked tenant, do we want to be the lords of ourselves, rejecting God and his authority over us?

YOU MUST BE THE SAME AS JESUS CHRIST

XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 21:28-32

The Pharisees could not understand and they would not accept that Jesus kept company with tax collectors and prostitutes. How could a man of God allow such people in his company? They were far from God, impure and full of sin. And they saw themselves so holy and their behaviour so godly that they would not even dare to enter the house of sinners, sit at their table and eat their food. However, speaking to “the chief priests and elders of the people”, Jesus indicted them, showing their hypocrisy with the parable of the two sons. Both of them were given work in their father’s vineyard. The first son refused to do his father’s work, but then changed his mind and did work. The second one showed readiness to work but did nothing. Jesus compares the leaders of the people to the second son; they always say “Yes” to God, but never carry out their commitment. In fact, they are not committed at all and their acceptance of God’s will does not come from their heart. 

Time and again, most of us have the same attitude: we say yes and make promises of faithfulness but never keep them. Our faith is affirmed with empty words and our prayer is a show-off. We want to be recognised and respected as good and holy Christians, and then we look down on all the others we consider as bad Christians. 

Jesus makes it clear that words do not matter, only our actual behaviour matters. The important is what we do, not what we say. 

The parable teaches us that God always allows time for us to change our minds and carry out his will. It is always possible to repent and to convert, changing one’s ways. In the prophet Ezekiel, God speaks of that: he allows for change, and we will be judged according to our final attitudes. If we renounce our sins, we shall live.

In our modern society, like in the Jewish society of Ezekiel’s time, people do not believe in repentance and conversion; they demand to exact punishment on the sinner and anything less than that is considered injustice. However, God does not want the destruction of the sinner but his salvation: “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.” (Ez 18:32).

And we should never take God for granted. If we abandon our good behaviour and make a turn to the evil, then we lose every good thing that we did and we will meet with punishment.

In the second reading, St. Paul advises us to be like Christ, who humbled himself. Like him, we must discover the best in our friends and our neighbours: “Always consider the other person to be better than yourself So that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.” (Phil 2:4).

SEEK THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

XXV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 20:1-16

In the parables, we can always find several layers of understanding, as they are stories in which different aspects are proposed to our reflection, challenging us. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are presented with the parable of the landowner who was looking for workers for his vineyard. It is clear that the landowner stands for God, and the vineyard may be understood as the world, the Church or the people of God. There was plenty of work to be done, and so the workers were never enough, leading the landowner to look for workers up to the last moment.

In the first reading, taken from Isaiah, we find this command: 

“Seek the Lord while he is still to be found,

call to him while he is still near.” (Is 55:6)

Indeed, we must search for the Lord, never getting tired of seeking him, like the beloved who looks for her lover in the Song of Songs (SS 3:1-3).

However, the parable presents a different situation. The workers are just waiting as if they would accept anybody who could contract them. And many of them were latecomers as if they were not in a hurry looking for work. When we are confronted with our own slackness, we always find excuses and blame the others for our own failures, and that’s what we discover in the latecomers. Questioned about their idleness, they answered: “Because no one has hired us.”

Nowadays, there are so many people in the same situation. Certainly, the unemployed are plenty. Maybe, there are a few who don’t want to work or don’t bother to look for work, but many others cannot find a job and there is nobody to offer them an alternative. They are left to themselves and they feel useless and unworthy. However, the parable speaks of a different kind of work, referring to the work in the Kingdom of God, in God’s vineyard. God is the one who calls and invites to work. He does not force it on anybody, but he looks for all those who are ready to hear his call and work. We are called at different times and in a different manner. To hear the call, we must be looking for work, that is looking for something else or something with greater meaning for our lives. On our part, we only need to have a readiness to work.

The climax of the parable comes at the end and brings a big surprise to all who went to work. The latecomers received the full payment for a day’s work and they were impressed with the generosity of the landowner. Seeing that, the first comers hoped for a much bigger reward and felt wronged and exploited when they received only what they had agreed upon.

Many times, we have the same attitude of the first workers: in our relationship with God, we want everything to be accounted for in a business-like manner, and we need to be forced to understand that salvation is not received as a payment counted according to the work done. Salvation is always a gift from God’s generous love. On our side, we must show commitment, endurance, patience and faithfulness. The willingness to answer the call and put ourselves at the service of the Lord is essential, not the amount of work done.

We should never forget the words of God in Isaiah:

“my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways”. (Is 55:9)

Let us give thanks for God’s call and for the work he was entrusted to us. Let us cooperate with Him, inviting many others to work in his vineyard, bringing the Kingdom of God closer to us. Let us listen to his call for conversion:

“Let the wicked man abandon his way,

the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn back to the Lord who will take pity on him,

to our God who is rich in forgiving” (Is 55:7-8)