BACK IN SOLWEZI

Finally I am back in Solwezi, in St. Kizito Pastoral Centre. I spent a few days in Lusaka. First, with the Tutes, who welcomed me in their home. With them, I went to the Sunday mass in the Parish of Mary Immaculate in Woodlands. It is a new parish, full o life. Here, in all parishes, the Eucharistic celebration is always a great feast, where people come together as one family rejoicing in the Lord. The singing was good and everybody participated. What a difference with the Sunday masses of my home parish in Portugal. There, it seems that people and priest have mass as a duty that they must perform. The singing is poor, the participation is almost zero and the atmosphere is dull and somber. In Portugal, the majority of the congregation is over forty years old. Here, there are plenty of children and plenty of young people. It is the whole community participating and giving thanks to God.

After spending two days with the Tutes, I spent three days in Lilanda Parish, with Frs. Joaquim, Piero and Anthony. Fr. Dario, my friend, who comes from a neighbouring diocese in Portugal, was also there, and I moved with him around town, to have an experience of the chaotic traffic of Lusaka, during the rush hour. Lilanda Parish is just in the middle of the compound, close to the people who struggle every day to survive. There, like in so many other places in Zambia, we can find a joyful people, who are able to celebrate life in the middle of hardships. In Europe, many people think that riches and wealth are essential to find joy and happiness, and they live worried about the future. Here, we find plenty of people who find joy and happiness with very little and with no riches at all. They find joy and happiness in each other, in a life lived in family and community, knowing that they are accepted and loved.

Back in Solwezi, I put my life at the service of people, knowing that in sharing with them I receive more than I give.

XVI SUNDAY: Phil 2:1-11

The political situation has changed in Zambia, and in fact big changes are expected. The second reading of the Sunday liturgy gives some insights into the type of attitudes that the new leaders should consider.

1. Be united… This does not mean that all have to repeat the words of the President, or that any initiative and individual differences and gifts must be excluded. It simple means that they are able to work together and that they never fight each other. They must cooperate and build together. 
2. With a common purpose and a common mind. The common purpose must be the service of Zambia and the development of the country done in fairness and justice. Selfishness must be excluded.
3. There must be no competition among you, no conceit. Put away pride; have only pride for Zambia. Don’t quarrel among yourselves and do no compete for influence and position. “So that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.”
4. Always consider the others and respect them. Never despise or insult anybody. Instead, show respect and try to bring the best out of people’s abilities.
5. Finally have the same mind as Jesus Christ, which was one of service. You were chosen to serve. Never use your political power to get profit or to be feared. That will destroy your political basis. Remember that no leader is eternal, and that people in the end gets tired, and when they are tired they will do to you what they did to others. Let people see that you are at their service and that you put their interests and worries at heart.

BACK IN ZAMBIA

I never enjoyed long trips, mainly when I have to fly. The day before the journey, the appetite disappears and my stomach becomes upset. Anyway, the journey went well, with long walks in London, moving from one terminal to the other. We departed from terminal 5 in Heathrow airport. It is a huge new terminal. There is always a crowd of people moving in all directions. We are close together, walking or seating side by side, and yet we remain so far apart. The passenger next to me was a Zambian, who worked as a miner in Chingola and now lives in UK. We greeted each other and then we sat side by side. He spent part of the time reading the Talmud. I showed interest, and he asked me if I was a Jew. No! I am a Christian. He explained why he likes the Talmud: some of the things that are not explained in the Bible are found in the Talmud. We did not get closer than that. In the end, he went his way and I went mine, without knowing each other’s name.

Today’s world is like this: at any time, we bump into each other, and yet we remain complete strangers. Although living together, each one follows his own way. Individualism is ruling the world and becoming worse.

It is good to be back. And a new Zambia is in the making. At least, people are full of expectations. They have been betrayed so many times, that the same may happen again. Let us pray that the new leaders put themselves totally at the service of Zambia.

XVI SUNDAY: Ezekiel 18:25-28

PAST GLORIES WILL NOT SAVE US

For God, it does not matter what you were yesterday. For God, there is no yesterday. He looks at you today and he takes you for what he sees. If you were very good in the past, but you are no more, God will not see or remember that goodness that has gone. Today, he finds evil in you and he will judge you for that. If you have changed for good, God sees that good in you today.

Our past is part of our lives and it brought us where we are today. We come from there, but we are no more there; we have moved and we are somewhere else. The glories of the past are useless, if we don’t pursue them today. There are some people who spend their time thinking about the past. We must look forward not backward. Salvation is in front, in the coming future, and we have to move towards it. We should not live in the past. There is a Bemba proverb that says going back will eat you (ulubwelela numa lulalya). 

A NEW PRESIDENT FOR ZAMBIA

Finally the results are out, and our hearts may rest for  while. The victory is clear. Now we look to the future. What future id there for Zambia with Sata? I hope that he shows common sense, realism and fairness to all Zambians, not forgetting respect to all. We need discipline and hard work in the country, and that has to be done in accordance with the law. 

Sata has many good qualities that may help to put Zambia in the right track; but he has some other features of his character that make people suspicious and apprehensive about his leadership. As some pictures present him with a cross, I pray that he may learn from the cross, which implies humility, service and suffering for others' sake.

May God bless Zambia.

MAY GOD BLESS ZAMBIA

Tomorrow, it will be a great day for Zambia; a day in which the people of Zambia will hold the future in their own hands. There are many expectations and also many apprehensions. How are people going to vote? Is the election going to be free and fair? And how truthful is the counting of the votes going to be? Is it going to be like in the past, where in several places more vote were cast than the number of residents living in that place? We pray for truthfulness and fairness. No tricks done behind the back of the people.

Zambia needs change, a peaceful change, which comes from a deep desire of a better life for Zambia. I pray for Zambia and for the Zambian people. I pray that God may give them wisdom and courage. I pray for the winners and for the losers, because all of them are Zambians and all of them want the best for their beloved country. The losers must accept their defeat; and the winners must show respect for all those who did not vote for them. However, this will not be possible, if the ballot counting is not in an open and irreproachable way.

May God bless Zambia, so that Zambia may always enjoy peace.

XXV SUNDAY: Mt 20:1-16

Salvation is not a right, but a gift

Sometimes, Jesus’ words can be puzzling, going against what we call common sense, according to our thinking. In the first reading, God warns us: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways” (Is 55:8). And Jesus makes that very clear both in his teaching and his actions.

In a way, the parable of the landowner calling workers to his vineyard tries to give a justification to the saying: “the last will be first, and the first, last.” It sounds strange, but it is a reality of life, even if it does not happen every day. Do you want to see clear examples of that? Just remember what has been happening in some countries, like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The ones who were all powerful yesterday are today in prison or in hiding. They were the first, and now they became the last. 

If we play tricks with life, life will play tricks with us. We should never behave as the owners of life or as people who are superior to others. When we forget the others and start dominating them, we are preparing our own downfall.

In the parable, all the workers were paid the same. According to old and modern mentality, that was very unfair. Nowadays, it would cause a strike or even a riot. It is accepted wisdom that different work goes with different pay. However, if we concentrate on this line of thought, we miss the whole point of the parable, which is not dealing with fairness, but with generosity. 

The truth of the matter is that all of them were jobless and all of them were lost in idleness. The landowner came to their rescue, not out of need, but of love and compassion. That’s why he kept on checking if there more people in need of work. And he invited all of them to his vineyard. He wanted them to have a purpose in life and to have their dignity restored, because idleness brings dependence and shame. 

With the first ones, he had agreed a good salary. So he was not cheating or exploiting them. In the end, he gave the same to all, not out of duty, but generosity. God calls all of us, and he gives to all the same payment, salvation.

The parable of the landowner who called different workers at different times to his vineyard and paid all of them the same amount tells us that salvation is not a right we were born with or one which we acquired with our hard work. Salvation is a gift from a loving God. We cannot be jealous, when God calls others and offers to them the same salvation he offered to us. Instead, we must be thankful for the great things God has done for us.