KING DAVID REPENTED FROM HIS SIN

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

This Sunday, we are presented with the figure of David, being challenged by the prophet Nathan.

David came into the limelight while still a boy. Being a shepherd who knew well how to survive and how to protect his flock from the wild beasts, he was courageous enough to face Goliath and kill him with a stone from his sling. Suddenly he became famous, being sung of in popular songs. This fame brought the jealousy and the enmity of Saul. To survive Saul’s hatred, David had to be always on the look out and on the run, because he had become an outcast with a price on his head, with the king’s army on his pursuit. Then, other outcasts joined him, and the number of his followers grew; in the end, he formed his own army. After the death of Saul, he became king of the South, and later on unified the country, when the North chose him to be their king as well. One of his great achievements is that he conquered Jerusalem, making it the capital of his kingdom. He was famous for his prowess in battle and for his conquests, extending the borders of the kingdom and transforming it into an influential state.

David was a deeply religious man, who tried to guide himself by the commands of the Lord and who pay great attention to the great celebrations. However, power and wealth - and he had enough of it to keep a big army - are always a source of all kinds of temptations. In front of a wealthy and powerful leader, many people are ready to accept his requests without questioning them and may even suggest whatever they think will please him. 

David had sent his army into battle, while he remained idle behind. Like many kings of the past, he had several wives and concubines as well. In spite of that, it was enough to see a beautiful woman for his heart to be filled with lust, and he was not deterred by the fact that she was married. He was a king and the desires of the king are an order for those who are his subjects. So he ordered Bathsheba to come to the palace and had sex with her. When Bathsheba informed him that she was pregnant, David had to find a quick solution, and to cover up one evil, he was ready to do a bigger one. And feeling protected by the power of his throne, he did not hesitate to add murder to adultery. When Uriah died, David brought Bathsheba into the palace and made her his wife.

David’s lust led him to abuse of power - a thing so common nowadays as in the past: he committed adultery, sexual abuse and probably rape. And then, to cover up his misdeeds, he committed murder, involving others in his crime.

However, there is nothing hidden that will not come into the open. Surely, when he ordered Bathsheba to come into his palace, some of his servants must have noticed the fact, and the fact that Uriah was put in front of the battle in order to be killed could not pass unnoticed as well. Most probably many people knew what happened in secrecy, but nobody had the guts to reproach the king and to tell him to his face the crime that he had committed. But it would not be so with the prophet Nathan, in spite of being an adviser and a friend of David; for him obedience to God’s commands was more important than his position before the king. And he had the courage to go to the palace and force David to face his crime: “Why have you shown contempt for the Lord, doing what displeases him? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taken his wife for your own, and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.” (2 Sam 12:9).

The greatness of David is that he recognised his sinfulness, repented and asked forgiveness for his sin. Very few rulers are ready to do that, thinking that to recognise their failures, to ask for forgiveness and to repent is a sign of weakness. Many rulers are untouchable; they cannot be questioned, and they cannot be confronted and challenged. And very few people have the courage of Nathan. What is surprising in the history of the people of Israel was the emergence of the prophets and the fact that most of them, in obedience to God, were ready to proclaim his word and to challenge whatever behaviour or policies went against God’s commandments.

We need people full of zeal, courageous enough to stand up and speak out against the evil behaviour and evil policies which can be found in many of our rulers and governments. Those who do that are the ones who are at the service of the people.

Let us pray to the Lord that he may grant us true prophets and also rulers and leaders of the people who may imitate David in recognising their faults.

The story of David is a story of sin, repentance and forgiveness like the story of that woman of the Gospel (Lk 7:36-50) who was able to show great love because she has been forgiven. Our God is a demanding and challenging God, but his love and mercy are even greater, and we can always approach him with confidence in his kindness and love.

PAUL REFLECTS ON HIS CONVERSION

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

At the beginning of his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his personal experience and of his conversion. He was a “practicing Jew” (Gal 1:13); more than that, he was a pharisee, very strict in practicing the Law and an “enthusiastic” follower of “the traditions of the ancestors”, who would not accept any attempt to ignore or break the Law of Moses or to abolish those traditions. He saw the teaching and the practicing of the first Christian communities as a threat to the Law and to the Jewish way of life and therefore he decided to persecute violently the church of God, in an effort to destroy it (Gal 1:13-14).

However, his life turned upside down, when he had an extraordinary experience of the Risen Christ. Jesus entered his life and challenged him straight on. Calling him by name, Jesus asked: “Why do you persecute me?” (Act 9:4) Paul was forced to realise that he could not fight against God. And to the Galatians, he explained that 

“God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans” (Gal 1:15-16).

Moved by this extraordinary encounter with Jesus Christ, Paul did not hesitate to change direction. Without delay and without consulting others, he accepted Jesus Christ and allowed his life to be shaped by Jesus Christ. He wrote: “I did not stop to discuss this with any human being”. There was no need to consult relatives or friends; he knew beyond all doubts that Jesus is alive - he has risen from the dead and he is Lord. Accepting Jesus, he surrendered himself totally to him, and he became a witness that would only be silenced by his death for Jesus Christ, giving thus the great testimony that Jesus is Lord. The persecutor of the Church became the greatest preacher of the Gospel, announcing to all that Jesus is the Saviour. If we just accept him and surrender our lives to him, he will become our way and in him we will find life.

Paul became aware that the Good News of Jesus Christ is not a human message, given by men or learnt from them; in fact, he learned it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. We do not own the Gospel; instead, we are servants of the Gospel and, therefore, we must be faithful to it. We cannot change or adapt the Gospel to our conveniences.

As we see in the first reading (1 Kings 17:17-24) and then in the Gospel (Luke 7:11-17), God is the Lord and giver of life, and he is on the side of the weak, the poor and the suffering to bring relief and peace to their hearts. He is our refuge and our salvation. By bringing back to life the son of a widow, Jesus revealed his compassion and love and presented himself as being the Resurrection and Life. Indeed, “God has visited his people” (Lk 7:16).

A FEAST OF LOVE

SACRED HEART OF JESUS - Romans 5:5-11

 Every Friday reminds us of Jesus’ death on the cross, which was his supreme gift of love: he died for us so that we may live. In his gospel, John tells us that “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” (Jn 19:34). He poured out his life for us, and his heart was wide open to become the refuge in which we find peace and joy.

This is the reason for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - it is a celebration of love, of God’s love revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Speaking of the Heart of Jesus, we speak of his human and divine love. His heart of flesh reminds us of his Incarnation, which was a great proof of love. Out of love, the Son of God became a human being and shared our pain and our suffering. He chose to become one with us, walking along with us through the paths of this world, carrying the cross of our sin, so that we may be set free and transformed into children of  God. Before the narrative of the Last Supper, John tells us that Jesus, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1).

We cannot fall into the mistake of thinking that we are worshiping a human organ, a piece of flesh, even if it belonged to Jesus. The heart stands for the whole person - the whole Jesus Christ - in his love for us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Ro 5:8). Indeed, “the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Ro 5:5), and nothing can separate us from this love (see Ro 8:37-39).

This year, as we celebrate the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, it is fitting that the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - that is of his infinite love for us - gains a special prominence. God is love, and in his love he is full of mercy. Many times, we have the pharisaic attitude of regarding the Law as supreme, being ready to impose it, and then present ourselves as righteous, because we have fulfilled the Law. Jesus has a completely different attitude: he invites us to be like him good shepherds, who care for the weak and look for the stranded, not to reproach them, but to carry them on his shoulder.

In old times, the prophet Ezekiel had already spoken of God as being the shepherd of his people, who treats them with caring love: 

I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. (Ez 34:11-12)

In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus speaks of the shepherd who leaves all the other sheep and goes in search of the lost one, until he finds it and brings it back on his shoulders with great joy, a joy that he has to share with the whole household of God.

In our pastoral work in the parishes, we concentrate on caring for the ones who always come, whom we can count with, ignoring the ones who have left or who never came in. We must learn with Jesus to be good shepherds and to go and look for the ones who have lost the way, revealing to them God’s kindness, compassion, mercy and love.

RECEIVING THE BODY OF CHRIST WITH THANKSGIVING

SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI - Genesis 14:18-20

The feast of Corpus Christi (the body of Christ) is a feast of the Eucharist, and the Eucharist is a celebration that takes place very Sunday, as the centre of the assembly of disciples in the day of the Lord. In fact, there should not be any need of a special feast of the Eucharist, because time and again we are invited to seat at the table of the Lord to eat the special food that he offers us - the bread of life, that is his own body, through which we receive life. The fact that such a feast exists reminds us of the times when the Eucharist lost its centrality in the life of the Church and it manifests the need of continually turning our minds and our hearts to this great gift of love: Jesus offers himself as the food that gives us the strength to walk with him towards the Father’s house.

In the first reading, the Church puts forward the figure of Melchizedek, who became a mythical figure symbolising Christ. We know only three things about him: he was king, he was a priest of God Most High and he offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. In the New Testament, Jesus is proclaimed priest in the manner of Melchizedek. He was not a priest according to the order of Aaron, since he did not come from a priestly family; but like Melchizedek, Jesus Christ is King and Priest, and he is so for ever. The sacrifice of bread and wine offered by Melchizedek is a prophecy of the Eucharist, in which we offer bread and wine, carrying out the commandment left us by Jesus Christ: Do this in memory of me. Whenever we celebrate the Eucharist, we obey Jesus commandment, and together with him we offer the only sacrifice pleasing to God, Jesus Christ himself. Like Melchizedek, Christ is King and Priest, but he is at the same time the victim, that is the sacrifice. The bread and wine of the Eucharist are not food for the body; instead, they are the body and blood of Christ who offered himself in sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. The Eucharist is always the remembrance of the death of Christ and the celebration of his resurrection. Eating his body and drinking his blood - the body of the Risen Lord - we become one body with him, and present ourselves as a sacrifice that is pleasing to God. Paul reminds us of this connection of the Eucharist with the sacrifice of the cross: “every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.” (1 Co 11:26).

There are some people who consider the Mass (Eucharist) as an invention of the Catholic Church, but Paul makes it clear that he received it from the Lord and then passed it on. The Eucharist is not a tradition of the Church, initiated to uphold human interests; on the contrary, it is a gift which we have received from Jesus Christ, in which he gives himself to us.

In Portugal, we celebrate this feast on Thursday. And I had the opportunity to participate in this year’s celebration in Evora. The Bishop presided in the cathedral, and the mass was followed by a procession through the streets of the town. 

Indeed, the Lord is in our midst and walks through our streets with love and care; let us accept him and open our hearts to him.

GOD IS LOVE AND HE CALLS US TO HIS LOVE

FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY - John 16:12-15

It is always difficult to speak about God. Whatever we may say about him is always far from the whole truth. The prophet Isaiah had already realised that, when he has God saying: my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways (Is 55:8). God is always the Different, the utterly different, who cannot be controlled and fully understood by our minds. When we speak about him, we speak from our side, the human side, in a constant search, so that we may understand a little more; however, our thoughts remain human, and therefore limited. It is possible to go beyond our limitations, only if God himself lifts a bit of the veil that hides him from us.

Speaking about our human relationships, the Bemba proverb says: Munda ya mubiyo tamwingilwa. One cannot enter the entrails of his friend, and cannot know what is deep inside his heart, unless he opens it and allows his friend to go in. And it is much more so with God. In spite of all efforts and attempts, we are very far from understanding the mystery of our own self; it is not surprising that we only have glimpses of truth about God. 

With our human reason, we can come to the conclusion that there is a creator, who is the source of everything else. However, it is much more difficult to know what kind of being is that creator. And that is why God is thought of in many different ways. There are those who believe in many gods; and those who believe that everything is god. Some think that the many gods are just different modalities of the same Supreme Being, others that they are independent gods. And there are those who believe in two opposing gods - the god of light and good and the god of darkness and evil, who fight each other. In old times, the people of Israel alone believed in one God, and following them we have the Christians and the Muslims who are monotheists as well, that is they believe in one God. Only God is God, and there is no other.

However, the Jewish and Christian concepts of God are quite different from the islamic concept of God. Our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; he is a God who enters into a personal relationship with people. He is a God who does not pride himself upon being a very distant and lonely being; on the contrary, he wants to share his life and his love. In his decision to share, he interacts with human history and intervenes in it for the sake of the people he loves. The Bible is written about this interaction, that is about God’s intervention in human history to transform it into salvation history. The God of Islam is a lonely God, with whom it is impossible to have a personal relationship. He is high and far and he decides whatever he will without consideration for us, who are no more than slaves, his slaves, who must submit to whatever fate he imposes on them.

In the New Testament, through Jesus Christ, God reveals his inner self as relationship. In himself, God is communication, dialogue, relationship, love. In his first letter, St. John makes it clear that God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and he wants to establish a relationship of love with us. That is the mystery of Holy Trinity: God is one and only one, but this one God is communion and relationship, because he is love. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Within our hearts, we feel the deep desire of being one, without destroying our diversity, and this deep desire comes from God who in himself is one and yet diverse; he is communion and love.

“O the depth of the riches and wisdom 

and knowledge of God! 

How unsearchable are his judgments 

and how inscrutable his ways!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counsellor?”

 “Or who has given a gift to him,

to receive a gift in return?”

SEND FORTH YOUR SPIRIT

FEAST OF PENTECOST - Acts 2:1-11

Fifty days after Passover - that is the meaning of Pentecost - during the Jewish feast of Shavuot or feast of weeks, which was a harvest feast - the community of disciples had an extraordinary experience. While the Jews were celebrating with great joy the receiving of the Law, which constituted them into a people (a nation), the disciples received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, who made it possible for them to become the new people of God, founded on a new covenant and a new law, the law of love.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles makes it very clear that the new people established by the receiving of the Holy Spirit is open to all, being inclusive, not exclusive, made up of people from all languages, tribes and nations. Our God speaks all languages and his message of salvation can be heard “in our own language” (Act 2:11). In spite of the differences of languages and cultures, they can unite and live in communion, because they are moved by the same Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the divisions symbolised by the tower of Babel and caused by jealousy, hatred and pride come to an end. Pentecost is the opposite of Babel. Instead of confusion and disorder, there is peace and sharing. Our diversity is no more a cause of separation, but a contribution to the common good, putting us together in building up the body of Christ.

With the psalmist, we must pray: “Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.” (Ps 104:30). The Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ, giving us the understanding and the openness to recognise and proclaim him as Lord (1 Co 12:3). In the community of disciples, there is a great variety of gifts and of services, but it is the same Spirit that acts in all and makes all that variety possible. And the gifts of the Spirit are given to each one of us for the benefit of all. The Spirit makes possible an attitude of service, because he has filled our hearts with love.

St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians points out that we were all baptised “in the one Spirit”, be it “Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens”, because “one Spirit was given to us all to drink.” (1 Co 12:13).

The second reading can be taken from 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13 or from Romans 8:8-17. Because “the Spirit of God has made his home in you”, we are able to put our minds and hearts in the spiritual things that are pleasing to God. And it is the Spirit that transforms us and makes alive with a new life in Christ. It is “by the Spirit that you put an end to the misdeeds of the body”, so that we may live. We were baptised in the Spirit, and the Spirit has made us children of God, in such a way that we can address God with love and tenderness, calling him: Daddy (Abba). We are children, not slaves. And because we are children, we will have a share in God’s inheritance, a share in his glory.

In this Jubilee of Mercy, let us open our hearts and our minds to the Spirit, that he may have his dwelling in us and our hearts may be filled with his love, the love that leads us to service. The Holy Spirit leads us to experience the merciful love of God, and so it makes it possible for us to be merciful.

THEY WORSHIPPED HIM

FEAST OF ASCENSION - Luke 24:46-53

Time and again, the disciples were full of doubts, unable to believe, due to their false expectations. The scandal of the cross was so great that they run away, and it was hard for them to believe in the resurrection. That's why Jesus spent time with them, facilitating an experience of the Risen Lord, which enabled them to believe and to act accordingly. However, up to the end, they had the wrong expectations. On the day of the Ascension, they were still asking if the time to restore the kingdom of Israel had finally arrived. They hoped for political power, and Jesus had to dash their dreams, and bring them to reality. Finally, at the very end, we see the Apostles gathered around Jesus, receiving the last instructions and being empowered to continue his mission. 

First, “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”, making them realise “that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (Lk 24:44-45). Jesus became the key to understand and interpret the Scriptures, and the Scriptures helped to make sense of  his passion and death. The Messiah should suffer, die and then rise on the third day.

They had lived with Jesus and were taught by him. They had the facts, and so they could be witnesses, but in order to be witnesses they needed to understand and read the facts correctly; they needed as well to have the courage to stand up and give witness to Jesus Christ. For both things, they needed the Holy Spirit, and Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit, who would empower them to proclaim the Good News, that is “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name” (Lk 24:47).

After these final instructions, we are presented with a final scene, in which Jesus blesses them and, while blessing them, he is carried up into heaven. While he is rising up, the disciples worship him. Afterwards, they went back to Jerusalem with great joy.

In the letter to the Ephesians, quoting a Christological hymn, Paul tells us that God “put everything under His (Christ) feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way” (Ef 1:22-23).

The ascension is like a graphical expression of this same proclamation: Jesus Christ is the Head of everything and everything is put under his feet. He is the Lord!

Nowadays, in many parishes, there is the tradition of having novenas  for any important celebration. The first novena, where the nine days that go between the Ascension and the day of Pentecost. The Apostles spent that time in preparation for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we join and prepare ourselves well to allow the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts.