GUIDED BY CHRIST, WE PUT ON A NEW SELF

XVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Ephesians 4:17,20-24

This Sunday’s readings present three main themes, which we must reflect upon.

1. PEOPLE ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE AND THEY COMPLAIN.

They complain, because they are starving, and they do not know anymore what to do. They are in a situation of despair, unable to plan for the future, worried solely about their survival. There is a saying in Portuguese that starvation is a bad counsellor, and it may lead to social unrest and violence. In this case, they blamed their leaders for their lack of foresight and for their irresponsibility: “you have brought us to this wilderness to starve this whole company to death!” (Ex 16:3). They compared their life in slavery to the present status and found it better. For them, freedom with starvation was meaningless. We cannot forget that our physical needs, the ones that lead us in the struggle for survival, are the most basic needs that must be satisfied.

Moses, like many leaders today, did not know what to do. However, God told him to listen to the complaints of the people. In fact, that is God’s attitude towards his people: “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings” (Ex 3:7).

God always allows his children to complain, whenever the suffering crushes them down and leaves them hopeless. In the books of Moses, we see that God only became angry with his people when their complaints became revolt and disobedience and when they turned their backs on him and put their trust in somebody or something else.

The book of Exodus, singing the extraordinary liberation of a small group of people from the might of a powerful nation, is full of extraordinary events and miracles. However, most probably the miracle consisted  in the wisdom of making good use of whatever the environment provides, like the coming of the quails in great quantities and the appearance of what was called manna. The desert dwellers are experts in survival, and Moses had a big experience as a shepherd in the desert.

1. THE BREAD OF LIFE

The Gospel makes us understand that people were unable to understand the signs given by Jesus. Like the people of Israel, they were only concerned with how to fill their bellies; they could not look up to heavenly things, being dominated by earthly concerns. They looked for an easy way out to improve their economic and social situation.

Jesus directed their minds and their hearts to the bread of life, but they could not understand that. When Jesus spoke of the bread of life, they pleaded with him: “Sir, give us this bread always” (Jn 6:34), but their minds remained closed, thinking only of a good life here on earth.

1. AIMLESS KIND OF LIFE

Paul never beats about the bush, but goes straight to the point.To the Ephesians and to us he says: Do not be like the pagans, “living the aimless kind of life” that they live.

Paul was referring to the Graeco-Roman society in which he lived. It was a society with great achievements, but those achievements were obtained upon the blood of countless people. It was a society dominated by violence, where people enjoyed and played with violence. It was a society built upon slavery, in which the State was all powerful, with the lives of the citizens at the mercy of the whims of their rulers. It was a society where the rich and the powerful enjoyed life, spending their time in games, dinners and orgies. Everybody had to fight for life, and the weakest were crushed, thrown away and forgotten. Most of the great people of the past, the ones history talks about, were blood thirsty tyrants.

Looking at that society, Paul saw it as an empty and aimless society, without values and without ideals. It was a rotten society, “corrupt and deluded by its lusts”. “They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ep 4:19-22). 

In many aspects, Paul’s critique can be applied to our modern, post-Christian society. People have created idols for themselves, gods made on their own image: Money, profit, wealth, power, lust, self-indulgence, that represent no more than our own inner urgings for self-satisfaction and dominance.

We have lost the sense of family and community. Our society is an individualistic society, which ignores the neighbour and the poor; it is selfish, concerned only with one’s life and well-being. 

We need to change. We must be guided by Christ. He is the teacher, and he is the way, the truth and the life. We must get rid of our old self and put on Christ, becoming a new creation. We must allow ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and “created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ep 4:24).

NOTHING MUST BE WASTED

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 6:1-15

In our rich world, we use and abuse of everything that surrounds us. It has become a society of consumption, giving little thought to the ones in need or to the destruction of the environment. The lure of self-satisfaction moves us in all that we do.

Our modern, capitalist society is a society that swims in wastefulness. In Portuguese, we would say that our eyes are bigger than our bellies. We overeat and throw away as much as we eat, never caring about the poor who struggle to find food and may go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Nowadays, everybody speaks of the danger of obesity, without doing anything to change the situation by changing the eating habits and the attitudes towards food. On TV there are channels dedicated to food, and we can see how they use and abuse of sugar, oils, meat, which people consume in big quantities. And then whatever remains is thrown away.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus teaches us to share. He is the bread of life, and when we seat at his table and eat from his food, we are able to share with the others who have no food. Jesus had compassion on the crowd, and gave them food. In the end, Jesus ordered his disciples to “pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.” (Jn 6:12). Indeed, nothing should be left to waste. Instead of wasting, we should share with the ones who are in need.

We may ask ourselves why there are so many people starving, while in the world there is enough food? There is not a fair distribution and there is selfishness in our attitudes towards others, specially the most vulnerable. From the table of the Lord, where we are given the bread of life, we must learn to call others to our tables, where we sit as one family, the family of the children of God.

MARY MAGDALENE, A WITNESS OF THE RESURRECTION

22 July - St. MARY MAGDALENE

During Jesus’ time, Mary was a very common name, remembering Miriam, Moses’ sister. Today, we celebrate Mary Magdalene, so called because she came from Magdala. From the information we gather from the gospels, we know very little about this Mary. She appears during Jesus’ passion, was present near the cross, and participated in Jesus’ funeral (Mt 27:56-61). She went early in the morning to the tomb and Jesus appeared to her, ordering her to inform the other disciples about his resurrection (Mt 28:1-10).

Luke gives some extra-information, saying that she had been healed and freed from seven demons (Lk 8:2). In the Latin Church, the tradition has confused Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet (Lk 7:36) or with Mary, the sister of Lazarous. She is seen as the prostitute who repented, converted and became a disciple. However, Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, but a woman deeply troubled to the point of insanity, who found peace by meeting Jesus. She was part of the group of women who served Jesus and the disciples and “provided for them out of their resources" (Lk 8:3).

Nowadays, without any fundament, some make the very strange claim that Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ wife. In the gospels, we just get these basic facts and nothing else:

• She was a troubled woman.
• She was healed by Jesus and found peace.
• She became a disciple and followed Jesus.
• She became part of a women’s group, who put themselves at the service of Jesus and his disciples.
• With the other women, she accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem.
• She was present at his crucifixion and participated in his funeral.
• Early on Sunday morning, she went to the tomb and saw the risen Lord.
• She was commissioned by the Lord to inform the disciples of his resurrection.

Mary Magdalene is a first hand witness of the resurrection and she can play a role model as a committed disciple, pointing the way to many women who can become preachers of the Gospel. Indeed, Mary Magdalene can help us to reflect on the role of the woman in the Church. Like her, all are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and announcers of the resurrection.

SELFISH SHEPHERDS

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Jer 23:1-6

Jesus saw a large crowd, and he felt compassion and had pity on them, because they looked like sheep without a shepherd (Mk 6:34). People were in need of guidance, encouragement and hope. They were a suffering people, who had lost confidence in their leaders, and remained by themselves, abandoned and alone.

In the book of Jeremiah, God indicts the leaders of Israel, both political and religious, because they abandoned people to their own fate. The people were exploited and oppressed, not only by strangers, but even by those who should protect them. God accuses them of destroying and scattering the sheep and he decides to take action against them:

“It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord.” (Jer 23:2).

Jesus acts in a very different way. He welcomes the apostles from the training mission he had sent them to, and decided to give them some time of rest. However, people would never leave him in peace. As he arrived with the apostles, they were waiting for him already. Seeing them, Jesus forgot about resting, and took care of them: “he set himself to teach them at some length.” (Mk 6:34)

All those in positions of leadership must examine themselves to see their availability, whenever people come to them. Are we always ready to serve? Do we care about people’s welfare or we put forward our self-interests as the only valid interests? Jesus taught his disciples by actions and by words that they must be servants. True leadership is service, not dominance.

THE TRAINING OF THE APOSTLES

XV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mk 6:7-13

In this Sunday’s gospel, Mark presents the training of the Apostles. Jesus spent time teaching them or giving them the theology of the Kingdom of God, but that could remain very theoretical, and Jesus came to present a new way of life, which is much more a practice (praxis) then a theory. So Jesus sent the Apostles into the field to be tested and to practice what they had learnt. As he sent them, Jesus gave them some final instructions.

He sent them in pairs

It is interesting to notice that Jesus sent them in pairs, so that they can lean upon each other and strengthen each other. Jesus came to establish a community, and in carrying out their mission, the Apostles must give witness to the spirit of community. It is important to point out this aspect, specially in this time, when we live in a society full of individualism. I must always remember that I cannot be a Christian alone, without being part of the body of Christ, being thus connected to all others who are members of the same body. And the preaching of the Gospel has always to be done as a common task that we carry out together.

He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 

And there are so many unclean spirits that oppress us and rob us of inner peace and of a harmonious relationship with the others. There is the spirit of selfishness, greed, lust, pride and the hunger for power and dominion. There is the spirit of dejection and the spirit of revolt, which transforms us into enemies of God and of each other. Once we allow them to occupy our hearts, they change us into slaves and our hearts will always be in constant turmoil. Only Christ is our peace and only he can bring joy to our hearts. As the psalm says: “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want” (Ps 23:1).

A simple and poor life

Jesus commanded the Apostles to live a simple and poor life. In fact, they should carry only the bare minimum. No extras. Nothing that is not essential. Francis of Assisi took Jesus’ advice to the letter and led a very poor and humble life. The Church cannot approach the poor, when she is endowed with all kinds of goods, being rich and powerful. The preachers of the Gospel must lead a simple life as Jesus advised the Apostles to do.

Walk away and go somewhere else

All those who preach the Gospel must be prepared for  the shock of rejection. Many will refuse to believe. And Jesus told the Apostles not to waste their time, but to walk away and go somewhere else, while shaking off the dust from their feet as a warning of the gravity of their rejection.

The Apostles work

Finally Mark summarises the Apostles pastoral work:

• they preached repentance. 

This call to repentance is the first message of the Gospel, since without repentance it is impossible to hear and accept the Good News of salvation.

• They casted out many devils

We need to be set free from the influence and dominance of evil, so that our hearts may be open to accept Jesus Christ and in him find peace.

• healing people

The proclamation of the Gospel must go hand in hand with an effort to alleviate people’s suffering. Whenever we meet someone in pain, we cannot pass by; instead, like the Good Samaritan, we must stop and stoop down, so that we hear the cry of his/her heart and anoint them with compassion and love. And this compassion and love will lead us to look for new ways to alleviate their suffering.

Nowadays, many preachers attribute all sickness to demonic possession, but the Gospels make it clear that they are two different realities. In fact, many sicknesses have nothing to do with the devil, but are the result of our created nature, with our bodies being affected by everything that surrounds us.

Called and sent

The word we preach is not our own word; it is God’s word.

Amos said it clearly: I did not take it upon myself; it is not my initiative. I was called and sent.

Like Amos, it does not matter where we come from or what kind of job we did before. God calls whoever he wants. We only have to respond to his call and be faithful to the work he entrusts to us.

A NATION OF REBELS

XIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mk 6:1-6

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had grown up. Everybody knew him as “the carpenter, the son of Mary” (Mk 6:3). They got surprised when they heard his preaching in the synagogue. Where did he get such knowledge?

It is not unusual to find among ourselves simple and unlearned people who show extraordinary wisdom. And we may ask where did they get such wisdom. They have a listening heart, open to whatever happens around them. They allow themselves to be challenged by everything and everybody. They are able to read the signs that surround them. We may say that they allow themselves to be guided, illumined and instructed by the Spirit. I knew a lady in Lubengele who had a very deep knowledge of the Bible, being able to explain things that we learn in the books, although she had very little education. Who taught her? The Holy Spirit.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, but the people of Nazareth, thinking that they knew everything about Jesus, never paid attention to the signs of the Spirit. He spoke words of wisdom, but they rejected him and his teaching. And Jesus was “was amazed at their lack of faith.” This lack of faith can be found throughout the Gospels, not only among the leaders, but also among the common people and sometimes even among the disciples. 

Even though Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith, the fact is that the theme of unbelief runs throughout the whole Bible, Old and New Testaments. This Sunday’s first reading, taken from the prophet Ezekiel, makes it clear that it is not just a question of lack of faith, caused by an inability to trust, but it is in fact an attitude of revolt. God accuses the people of being “impudent and stubborn” or “defiant and obstinate” and considers them “nation of rebels who have rebelled against me” (Ez 2:3-4).

In spite of all the wonders that God performed for them, setting them free and constituting them into a nation, the people of Israel were dominated by an attitude of doubt and suspicion. They could not trust and believe, and they always suspected God of hidden intentions  and evil plans. To God’s ways, they preferred their own ways, convinced that they know better than God. In spite of that, God makes sure that there are prophets among them, to point out their evil ways and to indicate the way to conversion and salvation.

Jesus is the great prophet, who came to be the light of the world, pointing out the way to life and salvation.

THE CHILD IS NOT DEAD, BUT ASLEEP

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mk 5:21-43

The reality of death scares us and brings endless questions into our minds. There are people who take their own lives out of despair, thinking life is unworthy of living. They reached the end of the road, feeling life as being oppressive and meaningless. Suicide always brings sorrow and inflicts pain on friends and relatives, who lost their beloved one. And a very simple but pertinent question comes to everybody’s mind: Why? Without an adequate answer, the question is repeated time and again: Why? Why?

People value life so much that they do everything to keep and prolong it. And we can find great numbers of people who, in spite of being in great suffering, want to go on living, considering life as the most precious gift. Human beings dream with eternal life and, in general, refuse to accept life as the end of their identity - an end filled with emptiness. 

The gospels help us to see Jesus’ reaction before death. Facing his own death, his heart was filled with anguish and terror, which afflicted him so much that “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground” (Lk 32:44). And he was so touched by the death of his friend Lazarus, that he cried (Jn 11:35). In this Sunday’s gospel, we see Jesus consoling the parents of a little girl, telling them that their daughter is just sleeping (Mk 5 :39). Jesus compares that to sleep, from which one will awake and rise to new life.

However, the questions caused by death are never fully answered. People never fully accept death. In Zambian traditional culture, there is no natural death, meaning that one does not die, but is killed, and the relatives of the deceased look for the killer, so that they may punish him/ her. God is never blamed for someone’s death. Instead, death is attributed to the jealousy, envy and hatred of someone, be it a neighbour or a member of the family. This search for the killer brings quarrels and divisions within the family and the community, making an outcast of the one found guilty of someone’s death. In this search for the killer, many injustices are committed and many innocent people are punished.

People need to find explanations for whatever happens, even if they are not true. They need an answer for the question: where does death come from?

It is interesting that the book of Wisdom tries to answer the same question. Like our traditional culture, it does not blame God:

“God did not make death,

and he does not delight in the death of the living.” (Wisd 1:13)

The book of wisdom attributes death to the devil: 

“through the devil’s envy death entered the world,

and those who belong to his company experience it” (Wisd 2:24)

Death is a natural phenomenon. Being created, we are mortal. Everything that has a beginning will have an end, being continuously moving towards decay. Only God is the One who is, who was and who will be. However, by God’s gift of love, we are called to eternity, and the call is expressed in our deep desire for immortality. 

If we live in God’s love and are certain of his saving love, then death should be like going into to sleep, so that we will rise to the new dawn in God’s Kingdom. Through the pain of death, we are born to the New Life in Christ.