PUT ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

I SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Mt 24:37-44

The Lord is coming! His advent - arrival - is at hand. From the beginning of the Church, all Christians look forward to his coming. And we must prepare to welcome him. We may miss his arrival and ignore him. I remember a sketch repeated many times by the youths in Lubengele Parish: Someone was told that God would visit him. And he decided to give God a great welcome: he cleaned the house and embellished it with the best he had for the greatest and most noble guest that he could receive. As he was waiting, a poor old man with his clothes in tatters knocked at the door. However, he had no time for him and threw him out with insults. He was waiting for God and had no time to be concerned with anything else. Next, a drunkard came looking for a place where to sit and recover from the hangover. He pleaded insistently, but to no avail. He could not stand such a nuisance. His heart and his mind were concentrated on God who was coming. A while later, a young man who had become a human wreck due to drug abuse knocked at the door. From inside, the owner shouted angrily at him. What a shame! Nobody could go inside and dirty the house that he prepared for God. He waited and waited for God, who seemed to be late, and he was getting tired of so much waiting. In the end, he complained. God did not keep his word. How can he be trusted? However, God could not understand his complaint. He had come, more than once, but he was never allowed in. He was the poor old man, the drunkard and the drug user. He pleaded to come in, only to be thrown out. 

The Lord will come at the end of time… And he is coming time and again. However, we are distracted by so many things that we don’t pay attention to him. Jesus warns us: “‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.” And he repeats his warning: ”Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Saint Paul also reminds us that “the time has come”: “Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ro 13:11-14)

THE FIRST-BORN OF ALL CREATION

XXXIV SUNDAY - CHRIST THE KING — Luke 23:35-43

Through Isaiah, God addresses his people saying: 

“… my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” (Is 55:8)

They are not only different but, many times, they seem to go in the opposite direction. For instance, we think of kingship as an instance of power in which the one proclaimed king imposes himself, becoming the undisputed overlord of everything and everybody. His decisions are final and unquestionable, demanding total obedience. Before such a king, we must prostrate ourselves in fear. It was so with Herod the king, Caesar the emperor and many other rulers who exercised power over the nations. Jesus refused to walk that road and went into hiding when people tried to proclaim him king (Jn 6:15). Arrested and accused before Pilate of being a pretender to the throne of David, Jesus answered in bewilderment: “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” (Jn 18:34). Upon insistence from Pilate, Jesus reassured him that he had nothing to fear because his kingdom is not from the world. His kingdom is about the truth and he came “to bear witness to the truth” (Jn 18:37). Jesus' kingship has to do with truth, love and service. He gave a commandment to all those who desire to belong to his kingdom: “you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. … people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35). Being divine, he put aside his glory as the Son of God and humbled himself to become one like us, suffering violence and oppression and dying on the cross to liberate us from the slavery of sin. With a crown of thorns on his head and a cross as his throne, Jesus is proclaimed king. What a contradiction! How can a cross become a throne? However, Jesus himself had told his disciples: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:14-15). As king, with the cross as his throne, Jesus is the giver of eternal life. It is through Him that everything is reconciled:

“everything in heaven and everything on earth,

when he made peace

by his death on the cross.” (Col 1:20).

Jesus Christ, as King of the universe, is the image of God:

“He is the image of the unseen God

and the first-born of all creation,

for in him were created

all things in heaven and on earth.” (Col 1:15-16).

With songs of praise, let us sing to him and pledge to serve Him and to live by his Law: Love one another as I loved you.

YOUR ENDURANCE WILL WIN YOU YOUR LIVES

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 21:5-19

Through generations, there have been times when the expectancy of the end of the world has become prevalent, dominating the thought and the behaviour of people. The first generation of Christians went through such an experience, with their hearts on fire as they waited for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ for a final judgement, as He establishes his kingdom. A good number of Thessalonians became so caught up in such thinking that they stopped working and Paul had to give them a stern warning. We are living in similar times. Groups are announcing that the end of time is being ushered in. We are before an eminent cataclysm, due to ecological mismanagement. We are the only ones to blame for such a catastrophe. Henceforth, radical change is demanded and even imposed in an attempt to prevent the earth from changing.

This Sunday’s gospel helps to reflect upon the eschatological times, that is the end of times. The passage (Lk 21:5-19) begins with the announcement of the destruction of the temple. Where there is order and beauty, there will be chaos, violence and death. Jesus makes it clear that no human institution, even the most sacred one, can take the place of God. The Temple had become like an idol, a substitute for God, giving everybody a false sense of security. However, it will fall like an idol, unable to protect itself or anybody else. To the announcement of the destruction of the Temple, Jesus adds a warning. We must be on the alert not to follow false prophets or believe anyone who claims to be the Messiah. Indeed, there have been so many false messiahs, pointing a way for salvation.

Before wars, earthquakes, plagues and famine, many people think that the end of the world is at hand. Jesus tells us that it is not so: “do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.” Time after time and generation after generation, humanity is confronted with all kinds of troubles: wars, pandemics, and cataclysms. The earth itself has gone through so many changes that we cannot expect to live on a changeless earth.

According to Jesus, his disciples must be sure that, while still on earth, they are going to be confronted with persecution. And that gives us the “opportunity to bear witness” to Jesus Christ. He will be with us and strengthen us to remain steadfast and faithful to him. Jesus does not hide what is in waiting for us: “You will be hated by all men on account of my name”. To remain faithful, we need resilience, sure that “Your endurance will win you your lives.”

HE IS THE GOD OF THE LIVING

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 20:27-38

The first reading, taken from 2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14, tells the story of seven brothers who suffered torture and death for their faithfulness to the faith. Encouraged by their mother, they showed extraordinary courage, defying the orders of the king who tried to force the whole people to adopt the religion and the customs of the Greeks. The persecution of the Jews who remained faithful to their faith and their traditions provoked the revolt of the Maccabees, who, after a prolonged war, managed to become independent. The story of the seven brothers presented an extraordinary example of heroism and they became role models for many who chose faithfulness to betrayal. Their suffering and death were proclamations of faith. Truly they are martyrs because their death is a witness to the living God who is the Lord of the living and the dead. In their faith in the resurrection, they found the strength to withstand all the social and political pressure.

The clear belief in the resurrection expressed in the story of the seven brothers was something new among the Jews. Nowhere in the books of Moses - the Torah - can we find an affirmation of the resurrection. The belief in the resurrection started to take hold, only after the exile, under the influence of the Persians, and a deeper reflection on Yahweh as the God of the living. During Jesus’ time, most of the population accepted this belief, even though it was not accepted by important sectors of society. In today’s gospel, we discover that the important and powerful group of the Sadducees, composed mainly of the most important priestly families, did not believe in the resurrection, since it was not part of the beliefs taught by Moses in the Torah. They went to Jesus with a made-up story of a woman who was married to seven brothers. With that story, they wanted to have a good laugh at Jesus. However, Jesus frustrated their intent with two main ideas about the resurrection. First, Jesus clarified the concept of resurrection, which is not a revivification, like the one he did with Lazarus. It is not a coming back to the same kind of earthly life. The resurrection is the life of the children of God, a new kind of life in which the glory of God is present. In God’s presence, they will become like angels. Paul would write that our bodies will become like the glorious body of Jesus Christ (Phil 3:21). Then, referring to the teachings of Moses, as the Sadducees did before, Jesus says that even Moses had glimpsed the reality of the resurrection when he refers to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, meaning that they are alive in God. “Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.”

We must not forget that our faith in the resurrection both of Jesus Christ and ours in Jesus is the nucleus of our Christian faith. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus did not rise from the dead as well. “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Co 15:14).

JESUS CAME TO SEEK OUT AND SAVE WHAT WAS LOST

XXXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 19:1-10

The first reading of this Sunday’s liturgy, taken from the Book of Wisdom, motivates us to approach God with trust and confidence. In no way can we compare ourselves with God. Who are we if even the universe is but a “grain of dust” or “a drop of morning dew”? However, the author of Wisdom is convicted that the Lord is the lover of life. He is not intent on destruction and condemnation; on the contrary, He is “merciful to all, ”because He loves all that exists. God is patient with us and overlooks our “sins so that we can repent”.

“Little by little, therefore, you correct those who offend,

you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned,

so that they may abstain from evil and trust in you, Lord.” ( Wis 11:22 - 12:2)

The readiness of God to wait patiently and gives us time to repent is seen clearly in the way Jesus approached Zacchaeus. a senior tax collector. Despite his wealth, Zacchaeus was an unhappy man whose heart could not find peace. He was looking for something else, searching for a way out that might lead him to find true rest. “He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was” and he went the extra mile to achieve that desire, which was much deeper than simple curiosity. Being rejected by people, he was aware that there was something (or maybe a lot) wrong with his life. He felt the need to straighten up his life and he was searching for a way to achieve that. In Jesus, he found a way which went beyond whatever he could dream of. Jesus noticed his effort, the sign of a deep desire for salvation and he made an explicit invitation to accept the redemption offered to him. And in happiness, Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his house with a clear purpose of repentance and conversion. The passage ends with Jesus’ statement:

“Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.”

We may never lose hope of salvation, no matter how big our sin is because Jesus Christ came “to seek out and save what was lost”.  

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THE HUMBLE MAN’S PRAYER PIERCES THE CLOUDS

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 18:9-14

Like some other parables, the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (tax collector) was aimed at a concrete situation as a critique of a common attitude among a group of people. In this case, the parable was addressed “to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else”. This parable is a call to look at our attitude towards God. Do I behave like the Pharisee or am I in the same situation as the Publican?

Putting them side by side and paying attention to their demeanour, we will get a poor impression of the Pharisee who is proud and boasts of his righteousness before God.  He complies with all the laws and regulations. Before him, one feels out of place. He judges and condemns others, and separates himself from them with contempt. We get the impression that he approaches God to claim his reward, a reward to which he earned a right. He praises himself instead of praising God.  He does not need others and we may doubt if he needs God. Being so full of himself, there is no space left for others and God. The Publican has nothing to boast about. He is considered a sinner and despised as a traitor. Collecting taxes for the Roman emperor, he collaborates with the oppression of a foreign power.  He gets rich at the expense of the people. The Pharisee and the Publican are situated on two extremes of society. The first separates himself from the multitude of sinners to keep his purity and righteousness. The second is ostracised by the majority of the people. Living in a situation of impurity, he cannot enter the temple and so he “stood some distance away”. In his prayer, he is sincere and truthful, presenting his soul before God with confidence in his mercy and compassion. He knows that he does not deserve a place in God’s house. He recognises his sin and pleads for mercy: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He is well aware that his salvation is dependent on God. And God had mercy on him.

In the Catholic Church, this Sunday is Mission Sunday - dedicated to the missionary dimension of the Church. The Pope calls on us to reflect on the theme: You will be my witnesses to the end of the world (Act 1:8). Let us give witness to Jesus Christ in whom we find life and salvation.

MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Luke 18:1-8

Psalm 121 gives us the theme for this Sunday’s liturgy:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

  from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord

  who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!

  Let him sleep not, your guard.

No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,

  Israel’s guard.

The Lord will guard you from evil,

  he will guard your soul.

The Lord will guard your going and coming

  both now and for ever.

Indeed, my help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. From whom else would it come? Only the Lord can keep me from evil, because he makes me company throughout my life, “in my going and coming both now and for ever”. In Him, we can put our trust and we can always approach Him with confidence. This psalm is like a profession of faith of the believer who entrusts himself to the Lord.

In this Sunday’s liturgy, we are given two examples of prayer as an insistent plea. During their long journey through the desert, the people of Israel were attacked by the Amalekites. The Israelites were forced to go to war to safeguard their very existence. However, on their own, they would have failed. They needed the intervention of a higher power. And Moses went to the hilltop and prayed with raised arms. We may be surprised to find God intervening in human battles. How can be God associated with violence, even in a war that may be considered legitimate? The Bible helps us to discover a God always present in the middle of people going with them through all pleasant and unpleasant moments of life. Only those who choose to ignore history may be surprised. Human history is full of violence, with nations against nations. We may think evil of all those who preceded us, thus condemning them. In our self-righteousness, we want to throw the past into the dustbin of forgetfulness. However, we are as much prone to violence and war as they were. And when war comes, we need the presence of God in our midst, to find the hope that will lead us to peace again.

Moses with raised arms on the top of the hill stands as a model of insistent prayer for the sake of his people. In the gospel, Jesus presents a widow who doesn’t get tired of pleading for justice before a corrupt judge, forcing him to attend to her. We must do the same with God, being certain that God will not delay in doing justice “to his chosen who cry to him day and night”.

Let us pray at all times, pleading for peace and justice.