SENT BACK TO THIS EARTH, WHERE WE MUST BE WITNESSES OF CHRIST

THE FEAST OF ASCENSION: Act 1:1-11

Is religion the opium of the people?

There are people who see religion as evil, accusing it of promoting obscurantism and robbing people of their right to make their own destiny. According to marxist teaching, "Religion is the opium of the people". For all those who based their political ideology in the marxist theory, this statement sounds like a truth beyond any doubt, being repeated at any moment. In the communist countries, it was part of the daily menu of attack on religion. I remember that, in Mozambique, during the first years of independence, religion was dismissed as a backward force and as an obstruction to development, promoting the submission of the poor and filling them with false hopes.

However, such a picture of the Christian faith is very much one-sided and far from the historical truth. Any serious historian, even the unbelievers, recognises that, through most of the centuries of Christian presence, the faith in Jesus Christ has been a source of inspiration, promoting culture and leading to enlightenment.

Nowadays, the atheist communist ideology  has been substituted by a prevalent wave of materialism and hedonism, which dismisses religion and God altogether as empty and useless talk. Religion and God may have a hidden place in the privacy of one's live, but they should not be allowed to play a detrimental public role in society.

Jesus’ last message

The first reading on the Ascension Sunday gives us some insights about the true dimension of the Christian faith and of its role in society.

As Jesus was giving his last instructions, the disciples asked about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Jesus answered, as he had answered before, that he had nothing to do with that. He did not come for political power, and his Church should not get political power. That is not the mission he entrusted to the Church. And we can say that history passes a harsh judgement on those times when the Church was deeply involved in politics, having her own state.

Power and wealth are not the values by which the Church should be guided. They are great values for the people of the world, to which some dedicate their lives with all their mind and their heart. Power and wealth do not bring true happiness and peace, but are a constant source of struggles, fights and wars.

To the Church, Jesus gave the mission of being his witness, by word and by deeds. And in order to be true witnesses, Jesus sent upon his disciples the Holy Spirit. We must be witnesses of God's merciful love, shown to us in Jesus Christ.

Why are you looking into the sky?

As Jesus disappeared from the eyes of his disciples, we are presented with a last scene. They remained there in ecstasy, looking up to heaven, as if they were going to be taken up as well. However, two men dressed in white came to question them: "Why are you standing here looking into the sky?" They were turned back to this world in which we live. They assured them that Christ will come again, but we must prepare for his return (Second Coming), by turning our eyes and our hands to this world in which we live.

Surely, we need an experience of the risen Lord, and we must live in expectation, ready for his coming. But this expectation leads us to work hard for the Kingdom of God, so that God's glory may be felt present among us. We were given the task of being witnesses and of proclaiming the Good News.

As our feet are still here on earth, our eyes cannot look only to heaven and loose sight of the reality in which we live.

Our Christian faith is not a drug that keeps us dreaming and completely out of touch with the reality that surrounds us; instead it demands a commitment to work hard for the Kingdom of God, being like the yeast that transform the whole dow.  If we look up to heaven and contemplate Christ is to turn back with renewed strength, committing ourselves to the transformation of this world, illumined and guided by the light received from Jesus Christ.

FAITH AND CULTURE

VI EASTER SUNDAY: Acts 15:1-2,22-29

Throughout the history of the people of Israel up to the time of Jesus and beyond, faith and culture were inseparable, in such a way that to believe in Yahweh was the same as to be an Israelite and, later on, a Jew. It is not surprising that the attempt to break out of this straightjacket, liberating the faith from the Jewish culture, would provoke a very big crisis.

In fact, as soon as the Gospel spread among the Gentiles, with Christian communities being formed among them, a big crisis emerged, becoming a cultural and religious conflict of big proportions. In this conflict, Antioch and Jerusalem represented two opposite camps, which were like two blocks crushing against each other through a common faulty line. The Church in Jerusalem, being mainly (or even exclusively) constituted of Jews, revered, accepted and followed all Jewish religious traditions. Their faith was embedded into the Jewish culture to such an extent that they could not see or accept the difference between the two. On the other side, the Church of Antioch, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians, was constituted mainly of gentiles, who knew very little about the Jewish culture and who saw no reason to follow it. But that was unacceptable for the Jewish Christians, who started a deliberate effort to impose the Jewish culture on the gentiles, thus provoking a big conflict that would affect the life of the Church for ever.

THE COMPROMISE AT THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM

The Council of Jerusalem, reported in Acts 15, was called to find a way out of the crisis, by accepting (or imposing) a compromise, which in the whole was greatly favourable to the gentiles. However, in spite of that compromise having been suggested by James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, the majority of the Christian Jews did not accept it.

The conflict went on and on, making the apostolic work of Paul more and more difficult and dangerous. In fact, we may say that the Church of Jerusalem would come out victorious, if it was not for the loss of influence, due to the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple by the Roman army. The Church of Jerusalem, with its traditional and fundamentalist attitude, was the source of the conflict, keeping the freedom of the Gospel prisoner of their narrow minded nationalism. 

THE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST FINDS A HOME IN ANY CULTURE, BEING ALSO A CHALLENGE TO ALL CULTURES.

Throughout the centuries, the Church has  experienced similar situations, where faith and culture are seen as one, and where culture informs the religious experience to such an extent that the difference cannot be seen, leading to an effort to impose as matters of faith what are in fact only features of a specific culture.

We must remember that faith in Jesus Christ can be lived in all cultures, never identifying itself with any one culture, and always standing as a challenge to all cultures.

THE COMFORT OF THE OLD MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT THE NOVELTY OF THE GOSPEL

However, we must be aware that the fundamentalist and traditionalist mentality still pervades the life of the Church, making it difficult to recognise and accept the challenges brought by the novelty of the Gospel. The sense of  safety and security given by the religious traditions leads to see a threat and a betrayal in any search for new ways to express and live the faithfulness to the Gospel. The comfort of the old makes it difficult or impossible to accept the new, making change very difficult.

Revelation, a book of consolation

V EASTER SUNDAY: Rev 21:1-5

The book of Revelation also called Apocalypse is a strange yet appealing book, like so many strange films that are made nowadays, where dream is mixed with reality. The book of Revelation belongs to a type of writing that is called apocalyptic and which was very common during in the years before and after Jesus. The message is encrypted and transmitted through dreams and visions full of symbolism. It is not surprising that many people get lost in the twisting of thoughts and images, mainly when one forgets the situation in which it was written and the purpose for which it was written.

Given consolation to the persecuted Christians

The book of Revelation was written as a book of consolation for the Christians undergoing severe persecution from the Roman State, who saw them as enemies of the State and as people without religion.

There are plenty of people who see the Revelation as a book about the end of the world, describing the terrors that people will go through and announcing in no uncertain terms the punishment that will be carried out by God. There are people who try to calculate the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, using the symbolic numbers of the Apocalypse. They are wasting their time and subjecting themselves to ridicule.

Denouncing the totalitarian claims of the Roman State

The book of Revelation denounces and indicts the Roman State, and specially the Roman Emperor, because of its abusive claim to absolute power and its oppressive demand of total and religious obedience, claiming for themselves the dignity and the glory that belong to God alone. In opposition to that claim, the book of Revelation proclaims the Christian faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, the Lord of Lords and Saviour.

In the Roman Empire, under the leadership of the Emperor, the Christians were less than second class citizens, deprived of all rights. It was for them that the book was written, to give them hope and courage.

The book of Revelation makes it clear that the oppressive powers that are at the service of the Prince of Evil will come to an end and they will be destroyed, and God and his Christ will be completely victorious, with the faithful ones sharing in that victory. When the victory is complete, the Kingdom of God will be established, and God will make "the whole of creation new". There will be a new heaven and a new earth, where the glory of God will be present and manifest in the faces of his people.

God with us

“Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.” (Rev 21:3-4)

TRANSFERRED TO ST. DOROTHY PARISH

I have been transferred to St. Dorothy Parish, which is half-way between Chingola and Solwezi.

For the past four years, during my stay at St. Kizito Pastoral Centre, I dedicated myself to the formation of leaders, mainly catechists. Now, I am being sent back to Parish work. There, it will be more difficult to access the Internet, but I will try to make myself present through these pages.

I ask all my readers to pray for me, as I start a new pastoral experience.

VOCATION SUNDAY

IV EASTER SUNDAY: Jn 10:27-30

The Good Shepherd from the Catacomb of Domitilla (200-300 bc)

Jesus presented himself as a good shepherd, who cares for his sheep with love. Although Jesus himself was a carpenter, he had seen many flocks and many different kinds of shepherds. He appreciated the ones who loved their flock and who were always ready to defend and protect them. The shepherd is a leader who must be dependable, reliable and committed, because he is at the service of the community.

Describing his role as a shepherd, Jesus tells us that he established a relationship of trust and love with his people. The passage chosen for this Sunday is very clear:

“The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;

I know them and they follow me.

I give them eternal life;

they will never be lost

and no one will ever steal them from me.

The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone,

and no one can steal from the Father.

The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30)

We belong to Jesus, and nobody can steal us from him.

All the leaders in the Church, at all levels, must be good shepherds like Jesus.

This Sunday is a Sunday dedicated to the leadership in the Church, which must be a leadership of service, not of power. As we pray and reflect, we also ask the Lord for all those who are called to exercise this ministry of service, so that they may be good shepherds like Jesus.

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)