I BOAST ONLY ABOUT THE CROSS OF CHRIST

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gal 6:14-18

Jesus’ cross, a proclamation of love’s victory

Is there anything to boast about in a cross? Certainly not. During Paul's time, the cross meant punishment and execution, and the ones crucified on it were considered cursed.

In his boasting, Paul is not speaking about suffering and injustice, and he is not boasting about the crosses of the criminal ones or the crosses on which countless people were left gasping for air until they suffocated and died. Paul speaks about the Cross of Christ, on which He offered his life in sacrifice for us, redeeming us and reconciling us with God. On that cross, Jesus surrendered his life and put himself totally in the hands of the Father. His death was the death of the innocent and pure Lamb, whose blood was shed, so that we may be cleansed and made anew. It is about this cross that Paul boasts, because it stands out as a proclamation of love's victory over hatred, and of faithfulness over disobedience and betrayal.

New creatures in Jesus Christ

There is nothing else we can boast about. It does not matter how good or how holy we are, because we will always fall far short of God's holiness. It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we are made into "new creatures". That's why "it does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him to become an altogether new creature." (Gal 6:15)

According to Paul, being a "new creature", implies that "the world is crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal 6:14), meaning that I am dead to the world. In his gospel, John presents Jesus praying for his disciples and saying that they do not belong to the world (Jn 17:14). Being dead to the world means that we cannot live according to the wisdom and the values of the world; instead, we accept God's gift of love, who transforms us into his beloved children.

The marks of Jesus’ suffering in Paul’s body

In his letters, here and there, Paul leaves little bits of information about his own life and his relationship with Jesus Christ. In relation to the cross of Christ, he tells us that "I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body" (Gal 6:17). This is a very rare experience of sharing in Jesus' passion, when the marks of his suffering on the cross are made visible in the body of someone. Besides Paul, we know of Francis of Assisi and of Padre Pio, who received the gift of this extraordinary experience, in order to give witness to the crucified Christ.

WITH ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

In this past week, I have been surrounded and accompanied by the spirit of St. Francis. The invitation to guide a group of Franciscan sisters in their retreat, as they prepare to celebrate the silver jubilee of their profession, gave me the opportunity to stay with the Franciscan Friars at Itimpi (near Kitwe) and to come closer to Francis, reflecting on the great values that guided his life.

In spite of his sometimes strange behaviour, which to certain people may look as crazy, Francis is respected and admired by all kinds of people, many of whom are not christians. Coming in contact with him, people recognise that he was not a fool at all and surely he was not crazy. His life and his teaching still challenge us as they challenged the people of his age.

In his reading and acceptance of the gospels, he was radical. For him, Christ could not have been mistaken, and his word must be taken seriously, without any attempt to dilute it in order to suite our own desires and conveniences. He dedicated his life to be a true follower of Jesus Christ, in such a way that people could recognise in him the face of Christ.

From the cross, Jesus had called him to rebuild his Church. Indeed, the Church was in serious need of reform. Surrounded by power and prestige, the leaders of the Church had forgotten the poor; but Francis felt the call to be poor, like Jesus had been poor, sharing their plight, proclaiming their dignity of children of God, and becoming a sign of protest against the values of a society that trampled down upon them.

He brought deep change in the Church by his humility, respect, obedience and poverty. He never turned against the Church or initiated a revolt against her, like otherd did throughout history. Francis was a man of peace, who lived in harmony with everything that surrounded him, be it nature or people. He showed respect and consideration for everybody, without any discrimination. His poverty, putting him at the bottom of the social ladder, gave him total freedom. He had nothing to lose and so he could not be influenced by prestige, influence, power or property. As poor, he was free with the freedom given by the Spirit, which made him ready to follow Jesus.

The prayer of St. Francis

This prayer is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but in fact appeared only for the first time in 1912 in a  French magazine. However, it transmits well the spirit of St. Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

FREEDOM SHOULD NOT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SELF-INDULGENCE

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gal 5:1,13-18

The cry for freedom

Wherever people feel oppressed, we can hear their cry for freedom. People cannot accept anymore being treated in an oppressive manner.  And it cannot be otherwise, because God has called us to freedom and we have been set free by Jesus Christ. We cannot go back to slavery.

However, we should listen attentively to Paul's warning. While proclaiming clearly the right to freedom given to us by God, Paul tells us that this freedom can "provide an opening to self-indulgence" (Gal 5:13). The danger is always there, and we can see the results of such misunderstanding. Freedom does not mean that we can do whatever our hearts desire, without any limitations or controls. That will make a mess of our lives and of other people's lives as well.

The dangers of a self-centred attitude

Nowadays, there is a great stress on human rights, and it should be so.

However, we need the same stress on our duties towards the others. Many people understand these human rights as referring only to my personal and individual rights, without consideration for the rights of the others. In fact, my rights end where the rights of the others begin. And rights go together with responsibility. Without responsibility, they become selfishness, where nobody can control me, but I give myself the right to control everybody else.

The craving of self-indulgence

This talk about human rights (the rights of the individual) goes together with the talk about satisfying our urges and our craving for personal enjoyment and self-indulgence. 

Based on such ideology, many governments recognise abortion as a human right. The little baby growing in the womb is seen only as an excrescence of the mother's body, which brings disruption to her life and is oppressing her. They consider the mother's right to good life, and ignore the rights of a growing human being to life.

Again, based on such ideology, many governments see homosexuality as a human right and are ready to accept such relationships as marriage, considering as natural and normal what is in fact not natural. 

Aware of the dangers of freedom without responsibility, Paul speaks of the commandment of love: Love your neighbour as yourself. We need to abandon our self-centred and individualistic attitude, in order to put ourselves at the service of others. Instead of asking what the others must do for me, never infringing on my rights, I should ask what I can do for the others; and out of that selfless attitude of service, I will get peace and joy in my heart.

                "Serve one another, rather, in works of love" (Gal 5:13)

NO MORE DISCRIMINATIONS, SINCE WE ARE ONE IN CHRIST

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

No discrimination

To speak about equality and fight against discrimination is taken for granted in this twenty first century. We would not have it otherwise. However, in spite of being an universally accepted truth with political and social implications, we still find plenty of cases of inequality and discrimination based on race, religion, gender or social status. 

We won’t be surprised by the words that Paul wrote to the Galatians: 

"There are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female" (Gal 3:28). 

In fact, some people accuse Paul of doing too little and of being too conformist with the prevalent values of his time. Such accusations are very much unfair to Paul, since he did not live in this time of ours, and we cannot judge him by the present day standards.

A revolutionary thinking

Paul's teaching was revolutionary not only for his time, but also for many centuries to come. We must remember that discrimination and slavery were prevalent in the Roman society, and that the wealth and glory of the Roman Empire were built to a great extent on slavery. To teach that there is no distinction between slaves and free people or between men and women was political and social madness and constituted very dangerous talk indeed. His teaching was so out of the accepted principles that it would take centuries to be seen as the standard practice that cannot be disputed. Paul proclaimed a radical equality between all human beings without any discrimination, be it based on religion, race, gender or social condition.

One in Christ

Paul bases his revolutionary thinking on the faith in Jesus Christ. All of us become children of God "through faith in Christ Jesus", and in baptism we were "clothed in Christ". So in Christ, all of us are one.

Human beings are a hard nut to crack. They may talk and philosophise about all kinds of issues and even attain the correct thinking, without changing their attitudes, in order to serve their interests. That's why we still find so much discrimination everywhere, even in Church. Today, Paul is calling us to examine ourselves and our society, and to make the necessary changes in our attitudes.

DAVID, THE KING WHO SINNED AND REPENTED FROM HIS SIN

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

The political greatness of David

Time and again, the Bible sings the praises of David, the great king, warrior, legislator, composer and poet, who left an enduring legacy to the people of Israel. He secured the future of the Kingdom of Israel by defeating the various enemies that surrounded them and that constantly threatened its very existence, specially the Philistines. As one of his greatest feats was the conquest of Jerusalem, which he established as a stronghold for the defence of the Kingdom. David was a great statesman, who dedicated his whole life to the service of the people.

He was accepted as a prophet by future generations, because his kingship was seen in itself as a prophecy of the kingship of the Messiah and because many of the Psalms, attributed to him, are considered as messianic.

David’s shortcomings

However, in spite of his greatness, his personal and family life were a mess. He committed adultery and murder in order to hide his adultery. As a father and a king, he is not able to control and then to punish his firstborn son, when he raped his half-sister. That inability to keep his house in order brought about the revolt of his son Absalom, who forced David to abandon Jerusalem and to retreat to Mahanaim, beyond the Jordan.

David repented from his sin

What is interesting is that the Bible speaks openly about David's shortcomings and his sin. In the end, David's greatness resides not in is political achievements, but in his readiness to accept his sin and to ask for forgiveness.

When challenged by the prophet Nathan, he said: "I have sinned against the Lord." (2 Sam 12:13). David is the sinner who repented, and took responsibility for his actions. With David, we can learn as well that there is no ruler who is beyond reproach; and they must be challenged and denounced when they themselves break the law. They are not above the law; and they must be made to realise that their evil deeds bring misfortune to the whole community to which they preside.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IS NOT A HUMAN MESSAGE

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

Here and there, in his letters, Paul speaks about his experience of the Risen Lord and of his conversion, which meant a radical change in his life.

Paul was single minded in his pursuit of faithfulness

He was a Pharisee (Phil 3:5), "educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law…, being zealous for God" (Act 22:3). In his zeal, Paul was single minded to the point of persecuting the Church "up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them into prison" (Act 22:4). He had no doubts about himself and about his beliefs; in fact, he was totally convinced of the righteousness of his attitude. For him, the ones in the wrong were guilty of unfaithfulness and betrayal, and therefore they had no right to freedom. He was fighting the good cause; indeed, he was fighting for God, as if God needed someone to fight for him, using violence and bringing great suffering to many innocent people.

In the Gospels, we find a similar attitude, when James and John wanted to call fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans who refused to welcome Jesus in their village. However, Jesus rebuked them (Lk 9:54-55).

From an exclusive nationalist, Paul becomes a preacher of universality

In the middle of his way to Damascus, full of courage and fervour, with authority to arrest the Christians and force them into submission, Paul underwent a deep experience of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ; and his life was transformed. In a moment, he realised the foolishness of his attitude: instead of fighting for God, he was fighting God himself. With the same determination, he changed course, becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. From that moment onwards, he would become a witness of Jesus Christ, tirelessly proclaiming the Gospel of salvation, to which all people are called. He abandoned his narrow mindedness and exclusivist nationalism to become a messenger of the universal love of God revealed in Jesus Christ that offers salvation to all..

Paul claims that he did not learn the Gospel from any human being, but "through a revelation of Jesus Christ". And so he did not hesitate, and "did not confer with any human being" (Gal 1:16), in order to become a believer in Jesus Christ. He had been called and appointed to proclaim Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. And he carried out that mission with the same single mindedness, that he had shown before; a single mindedness in which total commitment took the place of violence. He had learned from Jesus Christ selfless love and the zeal of total dedication that led him through the daily struggle of becoming like Jesus.

"I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him" (Phil 3:8-9). 

DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.

FEAST OF THE EUCHARIST: 1 Co 11:23-26

Do this in remembrance of me! And that's what we do.

First of all, we remember Jesus himself, knowing that he is among us and with us. We are not remembering him as some historical figure of the past, as we do with all the important people who lived long go, but we are with him, because he is in our midst, as we gather together in his name and do what he ordered us to do. This remembrance is a celebration and an affirmation of faith, as we hear his call to follow him up to the cross and then to the resurrection, and it is at the same time a renewed commitment to be true disciples.

As we do what he ordered us to do, we become one with him, receiving life and salvation from him. Remembering Jesus, we proclaim him as the Son of the living God, the Christ and Redeemer, who offered himself in sacrifice, so that we may be reconciled. As we remember Jesus, his life and his teaching become our points of reference, and we accept to be guided by the values that oriented his life and for which he died.

Paul is very clear in teaching that whenever we share the bread and wine, that are the body and blood of Jesus Christ, we proclaim his death, celebrate his resurrection and live in eager expectancy of his coming to complete the work of salvation: "Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death." (1 Co 11:26).