THIS IS MY SON, THE BELOVED. LISTEN TO HIM

 II LENT SUNDAY - Matthew 17:1-9

During Lent season, we are called upon to recognise our sin, to repent and to convert. It is a special time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We must humble ourselves before God, making an effort to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

After his baptism, while staying in the desert to emulate the people’s experience of forty years wandering, Jesus chose for himself the role of the Servant of Yahweh, according to Is 53. He rejected power and wealth as the means to establish the Kingdom of God, and he put all his trust in the Father, staying away from any attempt to use magic and witchcraft to have a following and gain influence. He came to serve, and so he would never use his power and his position for his own profit. The way of life that he chose would lead him into conflict with the religious and political authorities. And he spoke to his disciples about his arrest, his condemnation and his execution. They could not understand, because for them as for the people of Israel, a suffering Messiah was unthinkable, making the fulfilment of their expectations impossible. When Jesus spoke to them about his death, they were puzzled and lost; and ignoring the prediction, they discussed among themselves who would be the greatest among them. 

In an effort to reassure the disciples, Jesus chose a core group of three - Peter, James and his brother John - to have a special spiritual experience, when he transfigured himself before them, manifesting his glory. 

In the manner of the Old Testament, when God called Moses to the mountain and when the cloud of God’s glory covered the mountain (Ex 24:15), Jesus took the three disciples to a high mountain. Then, in their presence, “his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light.” Still surprised with this vision, they saw Moses and Elijah joining Jesus and talking to him. Overwhelmed with the glory of Jesus, Peter experienced such delight that he would like it to go on and, forgetting about himself and his friends, he was ready to be at the service of Jesus: “Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 

Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, which Jesus came to fulfil (Mt 5:17), and which speak about him (Jn 1:45). Indeed, the whole of the Old Testament leads to Jesus and receives its full meaning from Jesus. At the same time, the Old Testament helps us to understand and to interpret the messianic role of Jesus.

While Peter was speaking, “a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.” (Mt 17:1-9). In the Old Testament, the cloud and the shadow represent the presence of the glory of God. We may say that, through Jesus, the three disciples had an experience of heaven and that experience was so fulfilling that they did not need anything else.

However, the experience was a short one, and they were called back to reality, the daily life in which we live and where we have to make our choices in order to become true disciples of Jesus Christ. If we open our hearts to the Spirit of the Lord, he may call us to the mountain and grant us special moments of intimacy, in which we are overwhelmed by God’s love and presence. Such experiences are a gift from God and they prepare those who receive them to walk closer with Jesus.

In the climax of the transfiguration, we hear God’s voice, proclaiming Jesus as the Son, the beloved, and giving one command: Listen to him. This is the command given to all of us, who have chosen to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word, and this Word is the source of life. And Jesus would say to his disciples:

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (Jn  8:31-32).

Let us have a listening heart, so that the Word may mould us and shape us so that we reveal the face of Christ. When we allow ourselves to be questioned and challenged by the Word, we are ready for conversion and for walking along the path travelled by Jesus. With him, we will climb the mountain of the Lord, and he will give peace and rest to our hearts.

THE HUMAN REVOLT AGAINST GOD

I SUNDAY OF LENT - Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7

Whenever we read the Bible, we must understand it as speaking to us and about us. And that is so when we read the story of Adam and Eve disobeying God and going their own way. We should not spend time blaming them for all the hardships we go through in our lives and in our world. The story of Adam and Eve is not an old story, but it is a reflexion on our own lives and our own history. Before being personal names, Adam and Eve simply mean man and woman, that is humanity. The sin of Adam and Eve is the sin of humanity, that is a condition and a situation of sin, which set us on the path of sin. The way Eve was seduced is the way we are seduced and carried off the right path, opening the doors to evil in our lives and our society.

The commandment forbidding to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was given to the man before Eve was created (Gn 2:17). Learning it from Adam, she became the weak link that could be used to introduce doubt and suspicion. And while she was being seduced, he was there by her side, saying nothing, hoping to get the same thing that she was promised, knowledge and power. That’s why God started by questioning Adam, who had received the commandment.

In order to seduce, the serpent used half-truths and exaggeration, thus sowing doubt in their hearts and minds. Filled with suspicion, they could not trust anymore God’s intentions. Why should he have secrets from them and why should he deny them the fruition of such knowledge? It sounded as if God had a hidden agenda for them, or was he afraid of them?

God had not forbidden to eat from the tree of life, but they did not. Knowledge and power were more important to them than life. Possessing the knowledge, they would become the owners of their own lives, deciding what is good or bad for them. They would not need God; instead, they would take his place, becoming gods themselves.

It is interesting that, in Jesus Christ, we are called to be divine, by being the Children of God. But the only way to achieve it is the way of Jesus Christ, who behaved like the Servant of the Lord. We will become gods by being in communion with God, and that happens when we are one with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Then, God will be all in us.

When we follow the serpent’s way and promote ourselves to gods, we will end up discovering that we are naked, that is we discover our shortcomings and our weaknesses; we discover our fragility and our mortality. The only way to life is accepting God’s wisdom, having a listening heart to his word, putting all our trust in his love and mercy and proclaim with words and deeds that only God is God.

The sin of Adam and Eve is the human revolt against God. We don’t need God and we don’t want him; so we throw him out and take his place, or give his place to gods created by us to satisfy our desires and needs. However, Adam and Eve were not even able to satisfy their basic needs; being naked, they had not the knowledge need to make clothing. God had to make clothing for them (Gn 3:21).

Blinded by the desire to be autonomous and rulers of their own lives, they made a mess of their lives. Their relationship with God was destroyed and they had to hide from, feeling ashamed of God and of each other. They did not accept responsibility for their own decisions, but blamed God, blamed each other and blamed the serpent. Everybody else was responsible, except them. They did not recognise their disobedience and ask for forgiveness; they did not even think of running for the tree of life. They preferred to be their own masters than to submit and accept the gift of life in communion with the one who is the source of life.

During this Lent season, let us try to walk with Jesus along the path that will take him through suffering and death to resurrection. With him, we can follow the path of faithfulness, finding true life and salvation from the only One who can give life and salvation.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE

VIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 6:24-34

In everybody’s life, there are difficult moments, when suffering and sorrow seems to be one’s lot. It seems then that darkness has overcome the light, and one cannot guess anymore where he is going, feeling abandoned and lonely. If those moments become a long stretch of time, then despair may settle in and one loses the zest of life. In such moments of darkness, one aches with pain, unable to find relief in soothing words. Then, we question God’s care and love, falling into disbelief. Maybe God does not exist. And if he does exist, why is He silent?

The silence of God in face of great suffering or even persecution has been a theme that has accompanied the experience of faith, since the journey of faith of the people of Israel. Job struggled with this problem and was deeply troubled by a suffering that he could not understand. On the cross, Jesus felt loneliness and total abandonment, and he prayed with the Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

The Psalm 22, prayed by Jesus on the cross, is not a psalm of despair, but it is the prayer of someone who, being deeply troubled, opens his heart to the Lord with all his grief and pain, although sure that the Lord will restore him to life and peace. That psalm is a fruit of the experience of the people of Israel, a people who suffered exile, oppression and persecution for their faith. And they could not understand how so much suffering had fallen upon them.

This the theme of the first reading. To those who complained saying: “The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me”, God answered:

Does a woman forget her baby at the breast,

or fail to cherish the son of her womb?

Yet even if these forget,

I will never forget you.

God’s words are reassuring. He will never forget or abandon us, but he stays by out side, walking with us along the road, even when we do not notice him. The words of the prophet call for total confidence in the Lord.

In the Gospel, Jesus counsels us in the same way. We must put our trust in the Lord. If he cares for the birds in the sky and feeds them, how much more he cares for us. We should not worry about tomorrow:

“That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing!”

“So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things.”

If we are like those who do not believe (the pagans), worrying about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we will not be able to live in peace today - the only day we have. Our worries will be a constant source of troubles and will lead us to store provisions for tomorrow and to struggle to have plenty of money in our coffers.  Money will never be enough. In the end, it will become the purpose of our lives. It will be our god, a false god - an idol that oppresses us. And Jesus puts forward a stern warning:

“You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”

However, if we look to our capitalist societies, money is the god that is worshipped, peoples and nations only care about money. It is a society based on the procurement of money with their hearts enticed by the allurement of money. Being a false god, Money turns peoples and nations into slaves.

BE PERFECT AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS PERFECT

VII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:38-48

An eye for an eye

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21; Mt 5:38) - that was the old law. This same old law is applied in Islam: “And We wrote for them in it: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and an equal wound for a wound” (Surah 5:45). This is the law of retaliation, in which justice is revenge.

Even today, a lot of the justice system equals justice with revenge. That’s why murder is punishable by death penalty. And demanding justice, many people demand revenge, forgetting that they are putting themselves at the same level of the one who committed the crime in the first place. 

Non-violence is the way for peace

Jesus has a completely different approach. He knows that violence is never a solution to violence and that it will never bring peace and restore broken relationships. That’s why he tells us: “Do not resist an evildoer.” Surely, society must protect itself and cannot ignore the threats to its peaceful existence. But the solution cannot be to fight violence with violence. In international conflicts, the powerful nations try to impose their will by destroying the enemy and in doing so they inflict suffering on many innocent people. Violence instills hatred and breaths violence, leading to the appearance of fighters without any consideration for human life. Jesus tells us that non-violence is the right path for peace.

Jesus brings a completely new way of approaching the personal conflicts and this will have an impact on social conflicts as well.

Called to holiness

Already in the Old Testament, God had called his people to a completely new set of values: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2). And God’s holiness shows itself in his righteousness - a righteousness that is an expression of his love and mercy. Because God is holy, we are called to holiness, that is we are called to be righteous, and we will be so when love and mercy guide us and are the motive of our attitudes towards others. There is no place for envy, jealousy, hatred or vengeance. Instead, love must prevail:

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Lev 19:18).

Love your enemies

In the sermon on the mountains, Jesus takes all the consequences of God’s love and mercy. We must love our enemies and pray for them. Only then we will be like our Father in heaven. If we only do good to those who do us good, then we are not different from the pagans. We must be merciful, being ready to care for those who hate us and do us evil. That’s the way God behaves.

Our God - the God who reveals himself in Jesus - is a God full of love and mercy. He is perfect and in him, there is no evil. And he calls us to perfection, in spite of our shortcomings and our failures. We know that on our own we will never be able to achieve that perfection. But God wants us to strive and work hard for it with total confidence in God’s mercy and love. And he will make us perfect. In Jesus Christ, we will become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). 

In the Quran - the holy book of the Muslims - there is no passage that can in any way sound like this command of love of our neighbour and of our enemies. Muhammad was told to terrify his enemies:

“And prepare against them all the power you can muster and all the cavalry you can mobilize, to terrify thereby God's enemies and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know, but God knows them.” (Surah 8:60)

Jesus taught love and forgiveness and he himself forgave his enemies, praying for them: 

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)

Called to be holy and to be perfect, we must be aware that we are God’s temple and that this temple cannot be destroyed. We belong to Jesus Christ and in him we belong to God.

GOD’S COMMANDS ARE NOT DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW

VI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:17-37

I still remember one day in a seminar with the youth discussing boy girl relationships and the goodness of remaining virgin up to marriage, one of them told me: “Alitufyenga mu kutulesha ifitusansamusha”. God is not being fair forbidding what gives us joy.

This is a common attitude in the world in which we live today. The commandments are seen as oppressive and outdated. People want to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong, and they reject anybody who imposes rules on them. Many see the commandments as impossible to follow and to obey, because they are beyond the common person. However, they forget that it is impossible to live in a society without rules, and in fact our modern societies are full of rules controlling most aspects of our daily lives, even though we think that we have more freedom than previous generations. In our modern societies, we have lost the sense of community and are dominated by individualism, in which I set myself up as the rule. We exclude God from our lives and from our society, turning the values upside down and then suffer the consequences. We don’t care about the dignity of the others, we only care about profit and influence and power. We don’t care about love, and our hearts are full of lust. Self-indulgence becomes the rule. And when we become our own gods with our own set of values we walk on the way that leads to self-destruction. Humankind is travelling in a dangerous road that may lead to annihilation.

God’s commandments uphold our human dignity and lead to freedom and fulfilment. They are not old fashioned and they are not difficult or nearly impossible to follow. The first reading tells us that: “If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power.” (Sir 15:15). It is a question of choice: God “has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given.” (Sir 15:16-17)

We should not blame God for the troubles we are in, because they are of our own making. And the book of Sirach  warns us that “He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.” (Sir 15:20)

A wisdom that comes from God

In the world, we need a new kind of wisdom - “not a philosophy of our age, still less of the masters of our age”, because that has shown itself incapable of giving guidance and meaning to  our lives. We need the “hidden wisdom of God” revealed to us in Jesus Christ - a “wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began” (1 Cor 2:7),

Doing the will of God

Speaking about the commandments, Jesus said that he did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets”, “but to complete them” (Mt 5:17). He did not come to make it easier, but more demanding. And he warns us that “if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20). We may ask what that means, since the Pharisees and scribes were very strict in following the law. With several examples, Jesus explained that we must follow the spirit of the law to the end. The Pharisees were legalists, sticking to the letter of the law. Jesus wants us to pay attention to the will of God, being always ready to obey him.

In his examples, Jesus points out that 

• the Law forbids everything that destroys the dignity of the other and not only murder. The Law demands that we solve conflicts in a peaceful manner and that we must find ways of reconciliation.
• forbidding adultery, the Law forbids the lust that leads to betrayal and adultery, transforming the other into a sexual object.
• divorce is forbidden, except for the cases of unlawful marriage.
• We must be truthful in everything that we say, having no need of swearing, putting ourselves under oath. Our words must share in the truthfulness of the Word, who is the truth.

THEY ARE CHILDREN! NOT SLAVES!

8 FEBRUARY: St. Josephine Bakhita

DAY OF PRAYER AND AWARENESS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Josefina Bakhita

In this world in which we live, human trafficking has become alarming and that is why, on the day of St. Josephine Bakhita, the Pope asks us to reflect on today's slavery, in which millions of people - especially children and women - are treated as objects, bought and sold, being robed of their dignity and rights and made slaves, subject to exploitation and violence.

Josefina Bakhita was a slave who became a saint. She was just a child, when her village was attacked, her mother killed and herself taken as a slave. The trauma was so great that she forgot her name, being called simply by the name given by her masters, Bakhita, which means the lucky one. Later, bought by the Italian consul in Sudan, she was taken to Italy, where she experienced the love of Christ, was baptised, became a free woman, and then entered religious life.

The story of the abducted girl

As we celebrate the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, it came to my mind the story of a Zambian little girl who attended the church in Lubengele Parish in Chililabombwe. One day, the mother came with her to ask for a Thanksgiving Mass because her nine-year-old girl had escaped from the hands of a kidnapper.

One morning, she heard a knock on the door and went to open it. A man asked about her mother, and when she replied that she had gone to the market, he introduced himself as her uncle, her mother's brother, explaining that it was the first time he had come to visit the family and so she did not know him yet. Without the least suspicion and full of joy, she accepted the invitation to take a walk while her mother was in the market. Immediately, they crossed the neighbourhood and went to the main road that goes to Lubumbashi in Congo. He picked up a lift and made his way to the nearest town, twenty-five kilometres far away. Afraid to pass through the middle of the town, he got off the truck and passed through the farthest districts, having entered a market and bought new clothes for the girl. After ordering her to change the clothes, they entered the main road again and got another lift, heading for Ndola, about a hundred kilometres away. When they arrived, he went to a bar and began to drink, ignoring the girl who asked for water. The people in the bar, realising that there was something wrong, asked her who he was and what was going on. Understanding the situation, they called the police, who arrested the kidnapper.

Seeing how fortunate her daughter had been, the mother wanted to thank God for the protection she had received. Cases like this happen a little all over the world, as many children disappear kidnapped and then sold as slaves, many of them becoming sex slaves or end ing up killed to sell their organs or to use parts of their body in witchcraft.

Human trafficking

According to Wikipedia, " Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal. Human trafficking can occur within a country or trans-nationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victim's rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to another.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), forced labor alone (one component of human trafficking) generates an estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014. In 2012, the ILO estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery. Of these, 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labor, 4.5 million (22%) were sexually exploited, and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state-imposed forced labor.

Human trafficking is thought to be one of the fastest-growing activities of trans-national criminal organizations."

 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking)

The following maps give an idea of ​​the extent of human trafficking in the world.

TO BE SALT AND LIGHT OF THE WORLD

V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus is saying to us what he said to his disciples:

You are the salt of the earth!

You are the light of the world!

With these words, Jesus entrusts us with a special task, but much more than that he calls us to a way of life, in which we become a source of inspiration to others who look to us as their role models. This is not a reason for us to become proud and much less to separate ourselves from the others, but in the middle of the others we guide ourselves by the values of the Gospel, thus becoming witnesses to Jesus and to his Gospel. We cannot be like everybody else, but we are called to be different and to make a difference. The first Christians were well aware of that. That is why in the Letter to Diognetus we find these words:

“Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.

    And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labour under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.”

If we call ourselves Christians, but behave like many people do, with our hearts full of jealousy and envy, self-centred, and always ready to oppress and exploit the others, then we are not Christians at all. If we do not care for the poor and the oppressed, how can we consider ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ? If like the people of this age, we are ready to behave as the owners of life and as the rulers of our own destiny, ignoring God and turning our backs on him, how can we walk on footsteps of Jesus who cared only to do his Father’s will?

To be the salt of the earth and the light of the world is to be different, ignoring the common trend and putting aside the political correct, so that our hearts are filled only with the love of Christ. 

Christianity became a civilisational and cultural phenomenon and as such it is being rejected by this post-modern society that does not need God. But we should not care much about such Christianity; what we need is to be Christians who live their lives in a relationship of love with Christ; and if we do, then we will become salt and light, being a challenge for this corrupt world.

The first reading from Isaiah 58:7-10 points out the conditions to be light of the world, presenting a programme for us to put in practice. It is like a manifesto setting out the main guidelines for a way of life and for the building of a society according to God’s values, in which there is freedom, the sharing of wealth and the concern for the poor.

“Share your bread with the hungry,

and shelter the homeless poor,

clothe the man you see to be naked

and do not turn from your own kin.

Then will your light shine like the dawn

and your wound be quickly healed over.”

“If you do away with the yoke,

the clenched fist, the wicked word,

if you give your bread to the hungry,

and relief to the oppressed,

your light will rise in the darkness”. (Is 58:7-10)

In the second reading taken from the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul puts forward the Gospel of Jesus, as being the Gospel of “the crucified Christ” (1 Co 2:2). Coming closer and closer to him, he gives us the strength to make ourselves the neighbour of those who suffer.