GOD NEVER REJECTS US

III EASTER SUNDAY: Jn 2:1-19

Jesus, being the perfect image of the Father, reveals to us in his actions and in his words God’s heart: in his infinite love, God never rejects us. When we go astray, turning our backs on him, he remains waiting for us, ready to welcome us with open arms. And that is what Jesus did with Peter.

Peter’s denial

Peter denied Jesus, and even cursed (Mt 26:74), in order to save himself from trouble. He did it three times, to show that his denial was complete and trustworthy. Out of fear, in a moment of weakness, he denied Jesus. Then,  realising that he had betrayed his Lord and best friend, he cried and repented. And he went back to the group of the Apostles. He could not find meaning for his life without Jesus and without the fellowship of those who had been his companions.

Reading the Gospels, we get the idea that Peter was an outspoken and courageous man, the type of man that is easily recognised as a leader, and everybody could see that he had a special place in Jesus’ circle. 

However, it seems as if Peter was in need of an experience of failure to become aware of his shortcomings and sin. More than that, he needed to go through an experience of forgiveness, so that he could become a true witness of God’s love and mercy. It is not good to boast about one’s resolve, as he did during the Last Supper. We are no better than the others. All of us are sinners, and all of us are in need of God’s grace. The ones chosen to be leaders are not less sinners than the ones they are called to serve.

Do you love me?

Jesus asked Peter three times: Do you love me? Hearing the same question for the third time,  Peter felt sad and upset. Many times, we would prefer not to remember the past and to forget that we have sinned. However, the past made us what we are today. And then Peter answered in a more humble manner: “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you!”

And Jesus confirmed Peter in his position of leadership as a service to the community of believers: “Feed my sheep”.

Jesus asks of each one of us the same question he asked to Peter: Do you love me?

And then he calls us to be witnesses of his love and mercy, putting ourselves at the service of others.

Do you love me?

Bushe walintemwa?

Composed by Clement Musonda,

based on the question put to Peter by Jesus:

Do you love me?

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

II EASTER SUNDAY: Jn 20:19-31

Reconciliation and forgiveness of sins are central to the Gospel. Christ came to reconcile people with God and between themselves. He did it through his death on the cross, breaking down the wall of division and the hostility that pervaded through all human life (Ep 2:11-17). According to Paul the “message” and the “ministry” of reconciliation have been entrusted to us - to the Church (2 Co 5:18-19).

The Gospel of today’s liturgy is very clear on that: “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” (Jn 19:21). The disciples received from Jesus the same mission that he had received from the Father. To enable them to carry out this mission, he gave them, and he gives us, the Holy Spirit. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit before he started his mission; and so he anointed his disciples with the same Holy Spirit, as he gives them his mission.

An essential part of that mission is the forgiveness of sins.

During his public ministry, Jesus forgave the sins of people, and that was seen as a provocation, an abuse and a blasphemy by the religious establishment. Jesus answered that accusation with the claim that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins here on earth (Mk 2:10). And he gave this same power to his disciples, entrusting them with this ministry of reconciliation.

It is very common to hear people say: why to go to a fellow human being to have our sins forgiven? Only God can forgive sins.

We forget that all God’s salvific actions are mediated through Christ, through his body - and the Church is the body of Christ. Entrusting his disciples with the ministry of the forgiveness of sins, he gave them authority and power to forgive or not forgive:

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

For those whose sins you forgive,

they are forgiven;

for those whose sins you retain,

they are retained.” (Jn 20:23)

THE RESURRECTION IS NOT A DREAM, IT IS THE GOD OF LIFE AT WORK

EASTER CELEBRATION

This Saturday is a day of silence

- the silence that follows the tragedy

of the Lord of life being put to death.

The churches are empty,

without candles or flowers,

wit bare altars and open tabernacles.

There is no beauty, no joy,

and no voices singing God’s praises.

It is a day of silence!

The Son of man descended

into the dark world of death.

Is it the end or was it in vain?

Abandoned to ourselves,

we are faced with despair.

This is the day of God’s rest,

feeling as if he went away,

ignoring the suffering just

and allowing evil to cry victory.

But it will not be so.

The silence and rest

are for expectation,

of a glorious victory 

being prepared.

And all will rejoice

in songs of praise

to the God of life.

He is always there

with a silent presence

whispering words of love,

and bringing peace

to the suffering hearts.

The cross of execution

became the tree of life,

laying on it, the Lord of life,

made a instrument of death

into a trophy of victory.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!" - Rev 5:12

"Do not be afraid; 

I am the first and the last, 

and the living one. 

I was dead, and see, 

I am alive forever and ever; 

and I have the keys of Death and of Hades." Rev 1:17-18

Happy Easter to you

full of the joy and peace

that come from the Risen Lord.

Alleluia.

I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last - being sung by Yangeni Singers, Lubengele Parish, Chililabombwe, Zambia.

HE IS THE LAMB OF GOD!

Pieta of Michelangelo

GOOD FRIDAY: IS 53:2-9

Like a sapling he grew up in front of us,

like a root in arid ground.

Without beauty, without majesty we saw him,

no looks to attract our eyes;

a thing despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering,

a man to make people screen their faces;

he was despised and we took no account of him.

And yet ours were the sufferings he bore,

ours the sorrows he carried.

But we, we thought of him as someone punished,

struck by God, and brought low.

Yet he was pierced through for our faults,

crushed for our sins.

On him lies a punishment that brings us peace,

and through his wounds we are healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,

each taking his own way,

and the Lord burdened him

with the sins of all of us.

Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,

he never opened his mouth,

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house,

like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers

never opening its mouth. - Is 53:2-9

You can hear the song by Yangeni singers, Lubengele Parish, Chililabombwe, Zambia.

On the cross, Jesus prayed the Psalm 22.

From his deep suffering, Jesus cries out to God.

His cry is not a cry of despair and revolt,

but a cry of pain put before God

with the full confidence that his last word

will be a word of life and salvation.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me, 

from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;

and by night, but find no rest.

Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our ancestors trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried, and were saved;

in you they trusted, and were not put to shame." 

(Ps 22:1-5)

CALLED TO LOVE AND SERVE

HOLY THURSDAY: Jn 13:1-15

Do you know what I have done to you? 

You call me Teacher and Lord

— and you are right, for that is what I am. 

So if I, your Lord and Teacher, 

have washed your feet, 

you also ought to wash one anothers feet. 

For I have set you an example, 

that you also should do as I have done to you. 

Very truly, I tell you, 

servants are not greater than their master, 

nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 

If you know these things, 

you are blessed if you do them. (Jn 13:12-17) 

“I give you a new commandment, 

that you love one another. 

Just as I have loved you, 

you also should love one another. 

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, 

if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35)

THE SUFFERING BROUGHT ABOUT BY KIKONDO

The carriers of the coffin hit a man against the wall of his house

The fruits of darkness can be found at all times and everywhere in all cultures. Nobody can laugh at the others and stigmatise them. We are the same, and all of us are capable of evil. This evil can take possession of our hearts and blind our minds, making it difficult to see the evil in us. It is easy to point fingers at the others, and cover our own sins with a mantle of self-righteousness. 

As we celebrate the Holy Week, we remember that Jesus died in order to set us free. To be free, we must accept his lordship of love and reject the power of darkness that enslaves us. Jesus Christ is the one who can liberate us from the oppression of Satan and his agents. People are so afraid of witchcraft that they can hardly breath.

People do not accept suffering, misfortune and death as being normal to our human condition. People should be immortal, and if they die, it is because of the murderous hatred of someone - the witch.  That’s where KIKONDO - the moving coffin - comes in as an action to get vengeance on the dead and to get rid of the witch. In the area of the Catholic Diocese of Solwezi in Zambia, this is very common, causing great confusion in the villages. As the coffin is being carried to the cemetery, a commotion takes place, and the carriers move in a whirl until they hit someone, who is then punished as being the killer of the dead person.

In Kikondo, the same people are the accusers, the judges and the executioners, trampling upon the dignity of defenceless people. The mob fells upon them with insults, threats and beatings. And they do it as if they are the injured ones, claiming a right to redress the situation. They accuse an old defenceless man/ woman of witchcraft, forgetting that they are the ones committing a crime - a crime of defamation, assault and sometimes murder. They may demand for money, for which they did not work; they may grab property which belongs to the accused and may even destroy his house, leaving that old person homeless. In all this, who is the criminal? Who is the witch? Who performs actions of darkness?

We must proclaim our faith in the Risen Christ, who set us free, confessing that we belong to Jesus and the powers of darkness have no control over our lives.

If we examine ourselves, the society around us, and the world at large, we can find plenty of cases of suffering, injustice and oppression. Even if we are not  guilty of those crimes, can we say that our hands have not touched the blood of our brothers? We may not be like Judas, Caiaphas and Pilate, but we do like Peter who denied Jesus or like the other disciples who run away. Like them, we excuse ourselves and go into hiding, so that we do not get involved.

May this Holy Week helps to see Jesus Christ being jeered, beaten, arrested and killed in any of the innocent people who suffer violence.

THE POWER OF DARKNESS IN ACTION

PALM SUNDAY: Lk 22:14 - 23:56

We start the Holy Week with Palm Sunday, in which we remember Jesus solemn entrance in Jerusalem, being proclaimed king by his disciples. That was a moment of rejoicing that did not last long. Very soon, the joy would give place to sorrow, suffering and death; and the expectation would be transformed into disappointment.

The Holy Week

The Holy Week is a very special week, heavy with pain, distress and anguish, but also full of blessings. We may even ask ourselves what is holy about it? Jesus himself, during his arrest, defined that hour as the hour of the power of darkness, saying to ones who came to arrest him:

"Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!" (Lk 22:52-53)

Evil seems to reign supreme

The Holy Week helps us to be aware of the power of  darkness and of certain times in our lives and in our society, when evil seems to reign supreme. That’s when the rights of the innocent and the poor are trampled upon; justice and fairness are ignored and despised, being substituted by oppression, exploitation and cruelty. Clever with words, people speak lies as if they are truths, presenting their evil deeds as necessary, appropriate, fair and good. The darkness is presented as light, the injustice as fairness, the oppression as freedom, and sin is seen as the right thing to be done.

During this Holy Week, remembering the passion and  death of Jesus Christ, we must realise that human beings are capable of the most evil actions.

Jesus had always acted in public. He had no hidden agenda, and he had no plans for an earthly kingdom. It never came to his mind to be a ruler like Herod or like Caesar. He was surrounded by the poor and the powerless, preaching a message of love and peace. However, all those living in darkness felt threatened by his words and his actions, and they could not rest until had him eliminated. 

Jesus remained true to himself

Jesus remained true to himself, being faithful to the end. He proclaimed love and compassion and he receive hatred and death. This week is holy, not because of the evil crime committed against the innocent Jesus, but because Jesus overcame the power of evil with his faithfulness and love. Celebrating his love, we come close to him, so that we receive the strength to accompany him to victory.