WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD

SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY - Romans 8:14-17

This Sunday, we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. It must be affirmed very clearly that Christians do not believe in three gods. Every Sunday, we say very clearly in the first statement of the creed: I believe in one God.  It sounds so simple. And we would like God to be a reality that can be easily grasped by our mind's power. Being faced with God as a very complex being, we try to exclude Him from reality’s realm.

The first reading, taken from Deuteronomy (Dt 4:32-34, 39-40) advises the people of Israel to remember the history of God’s intervention in their lives. It is in the concrete history of our communities and our nations that we make the experience of God. We can enter God’s mystery when we perceive his presence and action in our lives. And God reveals himself to us. There is a Bemba proverb that speaks about the interaction with others saying: Munda ya mubiyo tamwingilwa (you don’t enter into the inner self of your friend). If that is true in human relationships, then what can we say about our relationship with God?

God, the one God, has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is relationship and communion. According to John, God is love (Jn 4:8). And he invites us to accept his love and learn from him how to love. We were baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in the name of God who is love , instilling love into our hearts. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that we are not before God as slaves but as children. The Holy Spirit gives witness that we are children and “makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’”. Being children, we are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ”. And we must share in “his sufferings so as to share his glory”.

We are called to live as God’s children, making God’s love present in the world.

LET US BE DIRECTED BY THE SPIRIT

SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST - John 15:26-27, 16:12-15

In the solemnity of Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the community of the disciples, thus constituting them into the Church of Jesus Christ. The Spirit belongs to the realities that cannot be seen and proven, but his presence and action become so present in our lives that we cannot doubt them. The Holy Spirit is perceived by the signs that lead us to Him and make us aware of Him. The disciples were gathered in prayer when they experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as wind and fire.

The wind and spirit go together The spirit, like a mighty wind, hovered over the waters and made the creation possible (Gn 1:2). Then, God created Adam by insufflating the breath of life into him. The Holy Spirit may come in a whisper that hardly can be heard or become powerful like a tornado that uproots us from the old ways to take us to the new covenant, in which, united to Jesus Christ, we become a new creation. May the Holy Spirit come and renew us so that we become the beloved children of God.

The fire reminds us of the burning bush (Ex 3:1-6) in which God revealed himself to Moses and of the pillar of fire (Ex 14:19-20) that guided and protected the people of Israel in their journey through the desert. It is a purifying fire (Is 6:4-7) that enables them to proclaim the Good News and be true witnesses of Jesus Christ. Jesus presented the Holy Spirit to the apostles as the “Spirit of truth” that “will lead you to the complete truth”. He is a witness to Jesus and enables the disciples to become witnesses as well. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3).

It is by the Holy Spirit that we are born again as children of God in baptism, being grafted in Jesus Christ and becoming one with him. In his letter to the Romans, Paul advises us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Ro 13:14). And that is made possible by the Holy Spirit. In the second reading, taken from the letter to the Galatians, Paul enumerates the virtues of those who allow themselves to be guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit: 

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

  Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit.” (Gal 5:22-25)

GO OUT AND PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD - Acts 1:1-11

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul applies to Jesus the saying of Psalm 68:18: “When you ascended on high, you took many captives” (NIV) Psalm 47:5 also says that “God has ascended amid shouts of joy”. And Paul completes his thought: “The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended.”

So, we may say that we are celebrating the other side of incarnation in today’s solemnity. It is a kind of pendular movement, expressed very clearly in the letter to the Philippians:

As the Son of God, He “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.” (Phil 4:7-11)

In the Ascension of the Lord, we celebrate Christ’s glorification, singing the praises of the one seated at the Father’s right hand. Having carried out the plan of salvation by reconciling us with God through his blood shed for us on the cross, he founded the Church to continue his mission. He granted each one of us a share of grace and entrusted us with different gifts for the building up of the Church: “And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ.” (Ep 4:11-12).

Jesus’ mandate to the Church is very clear:

• “you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.”
• “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mk 16:15). 

As we celebrate the glorification of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, let us renew our commitment to be his witnesses and to “proclaim the Good News to all creation.”

I COMMAND YOU: LOVE ONE ANOTHER

VI SUNDAY OF EASTER - John 15:9-17

God is the source of all love because God himself is love. Created in God’s image, the more we love the more we become like Him. God’s great love for us was revealed in Jesus Christ. “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 second reading, taken from the first letter of John, we find a clear affirmation of God’s love in Jesus Christ: 

“God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.” (1 Jn 4:9-10)

God loved us first. He called us by name. It is by being loved that we learn how to love. And Jesus showed us the greatest love by giving his life for us: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” And Jesus did that for us. That’s why he gave us the commandment: “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.” Jesus presented himself as the way, the only way to go to the Father, that is the only way to salvation and life. He is a role model and we must walk in his footsteps. 

Love cannot be reduced to feelings and emotions that come and go. Love demands commitment and total self-giving. Love goes with keeping the commandments. For the person who loves, the commandments are not an imposition that oppresses but a guide that facilitates and strengthens the commitment to love.

In this world dominated by selfishness that leads to work for power and wealth, Jesus insists on love. That is the only commandment: “What I command you is to love one another.” If we strive for that, then we will become workers of peace.