CHRIST THE KING, a king of love and mercy

XXXIIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Jn 18:33-37

In the last Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate Christ the King. Everyday, as Christians we proclaim Jesus as Lord. Indeed, he is Lord of lords and King of kings.

What kind of king is Christ?

If Jesus Christ is king, then, we may ask what kind of king is he? The title of king, applied to Christ, can be very misleading, if misunderstood. Jesus himself never claimed to be a king, except during his trial, when he was being questioned by Pilate. Asked by Roman governor, if he was a king, Jesus answered with a question: You yourself, do you think that I am a king? Or are you accepting as a fact what others told you about me? 

In chains, before the Roman tribunal, the affirmation that he is a king sounded like a joke, and Jesus himself referred to it by saying: Where is my army? Where are my soldiers? And where are our weapons? 

How could the Roman State feel threatened by such a king? In court, Jesus was straightforward in his statement: “My kingdom is not of this world.”

His kinship is of service

Jesus is a king, but not like human kings. According to the book of Revelation, he is “the faithful witness” (Rev 1:5). He is a witness to God’s love. He is the truth, and in him, we find the truth. His rule is not imposed by oppression and injustice. His kingship is of service. He is a king of love, who “loved to the end” (Jn 13:1), who gave himself totally for the ones he loves.

Jesus had been accused of high treason, and Pilate ordered that to be stated clearly on the cross: Jesus, the Nazarene, king of the Jews.

He was proclaimed king on the cross

Jesus was proclaimed king on the cross. The cross, on which he gave the supreme proof of his love, is the throne from which he calls everybody to share the life that he gives.

He “made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:6). He shares with us his kingship, and he will allow us to sit on his throne of glory, but for that we have to walk in the same path: to fill our hearts with love and to put ourselves at the service of others.

TO WHERE DOES A TREE FALL?

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: MK 13:24-32

The end of the world

We are reaching the end of the liturgical year, and, this Sunday, we are presented with readings about the end of the world.

The message, both in the Gospel (Mk 13:24-32) and in the first reading (Dan 12:1-3), is a prophetic message, not so much as a prediction of the future, but as a call for the present. Yes, the readings are concerned with our present attitudes, and try to motivate us to look critically at ourselves and the society in which we live, so that we make a radical change. 

A prophetic call

The world will end. Even science admits that. However, the texts of the Scriptures have nothing of scientific about it. Instead, they are a prophetic warning: do no take God for granted! There will be a time of judgement, in which we will be called to answer for our deeds. That must be taken seriously. Indeed, our relationship with God and the implications of it for our daily lives, must be taken seriously. Or we may loose it all. There is a Bemba proverb that says: the trees fall the side where they are inclined to. That’s is obvious about trees. However, the proverb is about people, not about trees, meaning that our end will depend on how we deal with our daily attitudes. So we must ask ourselves: Where are we inclined to? To which side are we going to fall?

Our future is decided now

Jesus advises us no to spend our time and our energies trying to guess when the end of the world will be, because that is God’s secret. We must concentrate on making our daily life meaningful. Then, we will recognise the signs of the coming of the Son of Man, and we will welcome him with joy, not with fear. We will fear, if we have been moving in the wrong direction; then, we will fall to the wrong side, and we will not find life, rejoicing in God’s love, but we will find the pain and agony of loneliness, and the burning fire of hatred.

The end of the world will be the end of this world and the beginning of a new world, in which God will be “all in all” (Eph 1:23). We must think about the end of the world, and mainly our own end, with hope, not with despair. However, we must always remember that the choices are made now, and we will reap what we are sowing now. 

MONEY DOES NOT BUY THE KINGDOM OF GOD

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: MK 12:38-44

In a world dominated by the big finance, money can achieve nearly everything. We may even think that it has taken  the place of God, or at least, we can buy a place in God’s kingdom with it. There are people, and they are many, who have an insatiable hunger for money and for wealth. It is never enough. They always need more.

Never satisfied

Surely, human beings are always in search of more, whatever it may be. And they are never satisfied. This dissatisfaction should lead us to God, because only in him we can find peace and fulfilment. However, wealth and power have hijacked this deep desire of our hearts, misleading us and transforming what should be a tool at the service of all into a tool of oppression and exploitation.

In this week’s Sunday Gospel, Jesus tells us clearly that we cannot get God’s approval with the amount of money we offer. It is not like in auction, where the highest bidder gets his prize. Seating in front of the treasury box, Jesus observed people depositing their offerings. And then a poor widow approached and threw in a little coin. Humanly speaking, she offered nothing, and her contribution would not make any different. In spite of that, in God’s eyes, she was the one who offered most, because she offered all that she had, with a pure and sincere heart and with total confidence in God’s compassion and care.

God does not count the money

God does not count the money that we give; he doesn’t need it. We are the ones in need of money, and then trust money more than God. But God doesn’t look to our hands to see how much they are carrying; he looks to our hearts to see how much we are ready to share and how much we entrust ourselves into his hands.

ESSENTIAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Mk 12:28-34

An important question

People can ask all kinds of questions. And the same question may be asked time and again, sometimes just to test you, most of the times, to get understanding and reassurance.

Jesus was asked many questions by common people, by his disciples, by people of influence and by his enemies. The Pharisees asked Jesus many questions about his doctrine and his mission. In this Sunday’s gospel, the question came from a scribe. The scribes were teachers and interpreters of the Law of Moses. And he asked: “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

A profession of faith: Only God is God

As a scribe, he knew the answer. Maybe, he just wanted to make sure that Jesus knew the answer as well. Jesus answered quoting Dt 6:4-5, which was (and still is) part of the morning and evening daily prayer of the Jews, called Shema. It is not only a prayer, but it is also a profession of faith: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

We do not believe in many gods. To believe that there is only one God is the most fundamental article of faith, which has profound consequences for our lives. He is life and the source of life. In truth, only He can say “I am!” Nothing can take his place; everything else is relative and only he is absolute. He must occupy the centre of our lives: it is from him that we come, and to him we go, unless we get lost in the way.

Before God, only love matters

Already in the Old Testament, it was stressed that the correct attitude towards God is an attitude of love. God is love, and he calls us to live in love. Once we recognise and accept God, we are filled with his love, and that must be shown in our attitude of love towards our neighbours (see Lev 19:18). That is what matters before God. 

In the end, the scribe praised Jesus, stressing that concern, care and love for our neighbour constitute the true worship, much more important than any sacrifices we may offer to God. Our faith must be expressed in attitudes of love. Only then we will resemble our Father in heaven. 

PREACHERS OF HOPE

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Jer 31:7-9

Jeremiah by Michelangelo

Jeremiah’s call

As a prophet, Jeremiah had not an easy life. He heard God’s call while still very young. He dedicated himself wholeheartedly to carry out God’s work. As time passed, he realised that he was acting like a prophet of doom, announcing punishment and destruction, and all people of influence were rejecting and persecuting him.

Jeremiah’s political acumen

Being a prophet of God and a citizen of Judah, he was aware of the political forces at work, during his life time, and he was able to read accurately the political situation. That put him in conflict with the ruling elite. Jeremiah understood that, under king Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonia was the dominant force in the Middle East and that the survival of Judah with a certain degree of autonomy depended on accepting Nebuchadnezzar’s suzerainty. The king of Judah and his court preferred to play Babylonia against Egypt, hoping to guard their independence by doing so. They were blind to the reality and all efforts of Jeremiah to bring them to their senses was in vain.

Jeremiah denounced the betrayal of the covenant

As a prophet, Jeremiah denounced his people betrayal of the covenant, their idolatry and the structural injustices against the poor committed by the state. They would not listen and they would not convert, no matter how harsh and threatening Jeremiah’s message might have been. Deaf to God’s word, they lacked wisdom (even political wisdom) to read the situation and to see the need for change. They took it for granted that YHWH (the LORD) was their God, and that he would never desert them, because his temple was in Jerusalem and there they were offering daily sacrifices to him. Jeremiah called foolishness that false sense of security and announced that the temple would be destroyed. 

Jeremiah complained to God for the role he had to play in denouncing a government that engaged itself in policies of self-destruction, instead of turning back to God and putting all their trust in him.

A message of hope

However, as catastrophe was approaching, Jeremiah became a prophet of hope, announcing that it would be followed by a bright future, brought about by God’s love and mercy:

“The Lord says this:

Shout with joy for Jacob!

Hail the chief of nations!

Proclaim! Praise! Shout:

‘The Lord has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel!”

“They had left in tears,

I will comfort them as I lead them back;

I will guide them to streams of water,

by a smooth path where they will not stumble.”

The Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is to say that she proclaims the Good News, bringing hope to the sorrowful hearts of people. From the Bible we learn that God’s last word is not is not a word of curse and condemnation, but a word of salvation and life.

JESUS REJECTED POLITICAL POWER

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Mk 10:35-45

Jesus rejected political power as a means to achieve his mission. However, to have and to use political power with the idea that it can be put at the service of the Gospel has been, throughout the centuries, a big temptation to the Church. That is not surprising, since it was a big temptation to Jesus Christ, coming from the tradition of the Old Testament, from the expectation of the people and from the inner desires of the heart. In the end, the temptation comes from Satan, and Jesus opposed it in no uncertain terms: only God is God, and only his power can save.

A share in Jesus’ passion

James and John had the courage and the audacity of asking Jesus for a position of power. By the indignant attitude of the other apostles, we know that all of them were after the same power and the same positions. In the end, Jesus told them that, by following him, they only could expect a share in his passion: to drink from the same cup and be baptised in the same baptism of suffering and death.

The suffering of the Servant of the Lord

Is 53:10-11, speaking about the Servant of the Lord, speaks of his suffering as redeeming:

“he offers his life in atonement” for our sufferings.

“By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself”. 

Since the first generation of Christians, this passage has been read as offering an interpretation of Jesus’ death. And Jesus himself hinted to that, when he said:

“For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45).

IS MONEY A BLESSING?

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Mark 10:17-30

In the line of thinking of a good part of the Old Testament, many preachers proclaim that wealth is a blessing bestowed by God on those who believe and keep his commandments. However, after reading the Gospel of this Sunday’s liturgy, we may ask ourselves if, according to Jesus, riches are a BLESSING OR A CURSE?

A source of temptation

We may say that, in the very least, they are A CONTINUOUS SOURCE OF TEMPTATION. Wealth goes hand in hand with influence and power. And they can easily corrupt our souls, hearts and minds, in such a way that they become our masters and we their servants (even slaves).

Jesus tells us very clearly that it is very difficult, nearly impossible, for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. According to him, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich to enter the Kingdom of God; and that for sure is impossible.

The Apostles were so astonished that they asked: “Who can be saved?” And Jesus answered that God’s grace and power may make the miracle of giving a rich man a heart that is detached from the vanity of wealth, allowing itself to be touched by the suffering of the poor and being open to sharing. He must behave like a steward entrusted with the riches that belong to all and must be shared by all. As soon as he becomes the master, he will be ready to oppress and to exploit in order to keep and increase his riches.

In our capitalist society, profit is the king

Jesus’ words are an accusation against our capitalist modern society, where profit is the king which rules our political, economic and social world. To maximize the profits is the most fundamental principle that guides the big companies and the policy makers, even if that implies moving the factories somewhere else and dismissing thousands of workers.

First and foremost, wealth must have a social dimension, because it must be put at the service of the community and of all those that contributed for its creation.

Jesus warns us in very stern language: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Mt 6:24; see also Lk 16:13).

Jesus rejected the proposal of wealth and power

Remember that, immediately after his baptism and before beginning his mission, Jesus rejected definitely the proposal of acquiring wealth and power as the way to bring about the Kingdom of God (Mt 4:9-10). During his ministry, he was always open to everybody, rich and poor, but he preferred the company of the poor, the sick and the sinners. He put in practice what he preached: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3; see also Lk 6:20).