GOD IS OUR FATHER AND OUR REDEEMER

I SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Isaiah 63:16-17,64:1,3-8

We begin this first Sunday of Advent with Isaiah addressing God as “our Father” and “our Redeemer”. We call him Father because we are the work of his hands. He is like the potter and we are the clay, which he moulds. For us Christians, God is our Father, not only because he created us but also because he adopted us in Jesus Christ. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that God called us and has joined us to his beloved Son, Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus, the Son, that we become God’s children. However, we have gone astray and turned our backs on God. Isaiah describes the tragic situation we live in with strong words: “We have all withered like leaves and our sins blew us away like the wind. No one invoked your name or roused himself to catch hold of you.” Faced with disaster, we plead with God to intervene and redeem us. Being our Father, he is our Redeemer, for the sake of his glory, which manifests itself in love and mercy.

As we begin the Advent season, we are called to become aware of the distressful situation we live in. We are unclean people, who need that their sins are washed away. Then, we must recognise God’s love and mercy in an attitude of thanksgiving. Paul tells the Corinthians that he gives thanks to God “for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ”. (1 Co 1:4). We must do the same. And the graces we have received are so many! Together with thanksgiving, we must pray earnestly that God may“keep you (us) steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

The Gospel calls on us to be on the alert and to remain vigilant. When the Lord comes, we must be ready to welcome him.

“Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help.” (Ps 84:8)

LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

XXXIV SUNDAY: CHRIST THE KING - Matthew 25:31-46

In this last Sunday of the liturgical year, we celebrate Christ the King. Human language is the only means we may use to speak of divine matters. And there is always the danger of transmitting the wrong meaning. Indeed, while here on earth, Jesus refused the title of king and went into hiding when people tried to make him a king. To Pilate, Jesus made it clear that his kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom subjects are those who are in search of the truth. Jesus refused to be king in the manner of human kings, like Herodes or the Roman emperors. He came to set us free, not to overwhelm us with his power, treating us like slaves.

The second reading, taken from 1 Corinthians, gives the meaning of Jesus' kingship. He will dissipate darkness and destroy all the enemies, which spread hatred and bring death. Christ will bring everything to fulfilment so that the glory of God becomes present in everything. "And when everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subject in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all." (1 Co 15:28).

The gospel, taken from Matthew 25, presents the third parable of that chapter. All three parables - the virgins, the talents and the last judgement - have a common theme: we will be called to account. Not all find the door open to enter the Kingdom of God. There is the possibility of being excluded. The parable of the virgins puts the stress on the preparation needed to welcome the bridegroom, that is the Christ. All must have enough oil - the oil of faith, hope and love - to keep their lamps burning. The parable of the talents puts the stress on our contribution. God takes the initiative and entrusts his gifts to us, which we must put to good use. In the last parable, Jesus presents the rule by which we will be judged. All those who acted as the good Samaritan (Lk 10:25ff) will enter into the kingdom to share in Christ’s glory. The ones who didn’t do so will be excluded. Jesus will not ask if we were Christians or not. That does not matter. The true Christians are those who acted with compassion, mercy and love towards their fellow human beings, even if they did not know Jesus Christ. We will be judged by the commandment of love. Since God is love, then only love matters.

WE SHALL ANSWER FOR OUR LIVES

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 25:14-30

In chapter 25 of his gospel, Matthew gives us three parables, which deal with the same issue: each one of us will have to answer before God for our lives here on earth. Entrance in heaven is not guaranteed and cannot be taken for granted. We indeed have no right to enter the Kingdom of God, seat at God’s table and share in his master’s happiness. That is only possible, due to God’s love and mercy. We are saved by grace, which has to be accepted in faith. 

In Bemba, there is a proverb that says: Apasamika umutali, umwipi teti afikepo, which means: where the tall one puts something, the short one cannot reach there. Indeed, we cannot be at God’s level. That is only possible because God, in his great love, sent his Son to lift us up. And he did it, taking human flesh and becoming one like us. However, for us to be lifted and reach to heaven, we must believe in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God: “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. (Jn 3:16). 

We must listen to God’s voice and behave according to his commandments. In the second reading of this Sunday’s liturgy, Paul tells us that we must live as children of light (1 Th 5:5). 

In the parable of the ten virgins, five were left out, because they had not prepared themselves. In the parable of the talents, which is read this Sunday, the master entrusted different talents to his servants, according to their ability. Indeed, we are different in so many respects that complete equality may not be possible, despite the present ideology that claims for it. In the parable, the starting point of each servant was different: one received five talents, the other two and third one. The first two, who worked hard and showed commitment, received the same reward: “come and join in your master’s happiness.” We may say that they ended up receiving the same treatment. However, the third one proved to be lazy and did not add anything to what he had received. For that, he was excluded. Instead of being rewarded, he receiveD punishment.

All of us hope to be welcomed in God’s Kingdom and take part in God’s happiness. For that, we must be committed and responsible, working hard with the gifts God has granted us.

LET US BE READY TO WELCOME THE LORD

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Both the Gospel and the second reading speak about the time when our lives come to an end. Will it be the end or there will be life beyond this life? Paul expresses clearly his faith in the resurrection. Our resurrection is linked with Jesus’ resurrection: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again”. And the same will happen to those who die in Christ: “God will bring them with him.” They will share in his resurrection and his glory. In his letter to the Philippians, he expressed his strong desire that I “may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Fl 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Fl 3:21). This hope, which we receive from the resurrection of Jesus, makes it possible for us to face death, our friends or relatives and our own death, with a different attitude from the people who do not believe.

In this Sunday’s gospel, we are told the parable of the ten virgins, who are waiting for the bridegroom to come, so that they accompany him to the wedding feast. However, the bridegroom is delayed and they have to put up with a long wait. Like in other parables, the kingdom of God - that is the entrance into the plenitude of life - is compared to a wedding feast, where the guests seat at the table with the bridegroom and the bride to enjoy the food and share the happiness. The opportunity for the great banquet (Is 25:6) is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). That will when the Lord Jesus will come and we will go to meet him.

The parable stresses that we must be ready when the bridegroom comes. To enter or not in the wedding feast depends on our readiness. We may be left out if we are not there, ready to welcome the Lord. Let us ask the Spirit of the Lord to help us to be ready, and to have our candles lit.

VICTORY TO OUR GOD

SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS - Revelation 7:2-4,9-14

Falling on the first of November, this Sunday is a special Sunday dedicated to the Solemnity of All Saints. 

All Saints! But who is a saint? We call saints those who have been recognised by the Church and have been put forward as role models. Whenever we celebrate one of those saints, the word reverberates in our hearts: If he/ she could, why can’t I? They were sinners like we are and they faced hardships many times even bigger than those we face. However, they recognised their sin, repented and turned to God, answering his call. 

In the celebration of All Saints, we don’t put forward any names. We may say that we are celebrating the great majority, the huge crowd of people who struggle along the way, putting their trust in Jesus, who walked by their side, leading them to gates of heaven. They were not perfect and blameless, but Jesus made them perfect, taking their sins away. Saints are all those who have been sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood on the cross to reconcile us with God. He has covered us with the robe of righteousness and, through his Spirit, he has made us into children of light, the children of God, his siblings.

In the second reading, taken from the first letter of John, we are told that God, in his great love, has accepted us as “children of God”. And indeed, “that is what we are.” The glory of the children of God has not been revealed yet, but the day will come when “we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.”

In the feast of All Saints, we join here on earth all those who have been welcomed into God’s kingdom and are seated at God’s table proclaiming the glory of the Lord. In the book of Revelation, we are presented with a huge gathering of all those who have been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb and who join the choirs of angels to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving:

“Victory to our God, 

who sits on the throne, 

and to the Lamb!’ 

And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, 

‘Amen. 

Praise and glory 

and wisdom and thanksgiving 

and honour and power 

and strength to our God 

for ever and ever. 

Amen.”

While we are journeying here on earth, waiting to be part of the assembly in heaven, let us join All Saints and with them sing God’s praises.

LOVE GOD AND LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:34-40

The Pharisees appeared as a kind of movement which aimed at the rigorous keeping of the Law. Little by little, a great number of rules and regulations were established to be like a protecting fence of the basic law - the ten commandments. With so many rules and regulations, the question arose of knowing which one is the greatest commandment of the Law. And they brought this question to Jesus, trying to embarrass and discredit him. However, Jesus went straight to the point, asserting clearly what is essential. The whole of human life, and thus of morality, moves around two pillars which lean one upon the other: the relationship with God and the relationship with the others who cross our way.

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.”

This is the foundation of everything else. God occupies the centre and everything else must be done in reference to him. The meaning and the goal of human life come from Him. Thus, we should not be surprised that we lose sight of the purpose and meaning of human life when we turn our backs to God. Humanity is going through a crisis of meaning because we have rejected God and we behave as if he is no more there. We have tried to substitute ourselves for God, and without Him, there is no hope left.

The first commandment - that’s the love of God - demands that we recognise God’s presence in the others and that we reach them with the love that we received from God.

According to Jesus, “the whole Law, and the Prophets also” move around these two commandments, in such a way keeping these two we keep the whole law. 

The first reading, taken from the book of Exodus, presents the implications of the second commandment. The commandment “You must love your neighbour as yourself” cannot be understood as referring solely to those who live nearby and with whom I interact daily. It demands that we are concerned with the well-being of the stranger, the widow, the orphan and the poor; and we must do whatever we can to bring relief to their plight. 

In the end, we will be judged by this commandment. May the Lord find us faithful.

WHOM SHALL I SEND? HERE AM I. SEND ME.

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:15-21

In this Sunday’s first reading, taken from prophet Isaiah, Yahweh, the God of Israel, is presented as the Lord of human history. He is the one who is in charge. Thus, despite so many adversities, he makes sure that, in the end, everything contributes to the goodness of those he loves.

Israel suffered a huge setback at the hands of Babylonia, with most of the population being taken as prisoners of war. They kept the dream of a future restoration alive, but, before the Babylonian might, that dream was no more than a dream. It seemed as if their hope was dashed forever. Then, after less than fifty years, the Babylonian empire crumbled before Cyrus, the king of Persia. The new ruler had completely different policies towards the vanquished nations. He allowed them to keep their culture and their religion, provided they recognised the suzerainty of the Persian king and paid their homage to him. Thus he allowed the people of Judah to go back to their homeland and rebuild the city of Jerusalem and its temple. The prophet Isaiah looked upon Cyrus as the Anointed of the Lord, whom He sent to set his people free. Isaiah considers Cyrus appearance as part of God’s plan in favour of his people, even though Cyrus was a gentile who did not know Yahweh. The interpretation made by Isaiah, in the light of the historical events that shaped the history of his people and the history of salvation, may help us to discover God’s presence and action even among those who do not belong to us and have no idea of God’s providence and love.

On this Sunday, the 18^th of October, we celebrate the World Mission Day. It is a special day for us to pray and reflect about the Good News of God’s love, which we must spread throughout the world. Pope Francis, in his message for this Mission Day, invites us to reflect upon Isaiah’s vocational experience. Hearing God’s question: Whom shall I send? Isaiah answered: Here am I. Send me. God’s question reverberates through the ages and can be heard by us today. God waits for our answer. Are we going to answer like Isaiah, or are we going to ignore God’s invitation?