JESUS IS THE PROMISED PROPHET

IV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Mark 1:21-28

According to Mark, Jesus became famous and people from all Galilee came to him. They were impressed by his miracles and many people went to him for healing. And they were impressed as well by his teaching, because “he taught them with authority” and he showed this authority by giving orders to unclean spirits and they obeyed him. Jesus had a great aura about him that made him remarkable and set him aside from the scribes. That’s why people were ready to listen to him and follow him. Many of them asked if he was not the prophet God had promised to Moses, that is the Messiah.

The promised Messiah was expected to be king, priest and prophet. Being a descendant of David, he would sit on his throne and be the eternal king who would rule the world. And he would be a priest in the line of Melchizedek who was priest and king at the same time. Finally, he would be a prophet like Moses. In that role, he would be the voice of God - that is the Word that can be heard without instilling fear in the hearts of people. As indicated to Moses, this Word would become incarnate and be understood by human ears. Being that Voice of God in the middle of his people, he came close to them, thus touching their hearts and their lives.

In the book of Deuteronomy (18:15-20), God warns Moses of the possibility of false prophets and over the centuries many false prophets have appeared. Many of them announce themselves and ignore the centrality of Christ, proposing false doctrines that are not God’s way. Unfaithful to the Word of God, they present their words as the true teaching. Many times, they use words and concepts that sound Christian but are not. By doing so, they bring confusion and lead people astray. The new ideologies that plan to take over the world justify themselves by presenting ideals like diversity, equity and inclusion, behind which they divide the world into oppressor and oppressed and do it along the lines of race and gender.

Only Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and if we live in the hope of being accepted into the Kingdom of God, we must follow him and become his disciples. We cannot distort His Word and set ourselves up in his place.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

  ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

  as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

  when they tried me, though they saw my work.’ (Ps 95)

REPENT, AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS

III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Jonah 3:1-5,10

The story of Jonah trying to run away from God is well known. He was called and ordered by God to go to Nineveh, but he did not agree with the mission entrusted to him. Before such an attitude, we may ask what kind of prophet was he. Indeed, he does not fit the profile of a prophet. He heard the call and he understood the mission given to him, but he decided to ignore that call and go as far away as possible from Nineveh. Jonah was forced to realise that it is impossible to run away from God and that we cannot impose our ways on him. In the end, God’s will prevails. 

We may ask: Why such a strange attitude from Jonah? Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, that had destroyed the kingdom of Israel in the North and had tried to conquer Jerusalem in the South. Following their policy on the conquered lands, they took most of the population into captivity. Thus, Nineveh represented the enemy intent on eradicating the people of Israel from their homeland. They were evil people who profited from exploitation and oppression. Nineveh represents a Godless society which has become a disordered society, dominated by the lust for pleasure, the fight for power and the ambition for wealth. In the end, human rights are despised and human dignity is trampled upon. A society that ignores God’s commandments is on the way to becoming less and less human. The situation in Nineveh leads us to look at our modern society, which has rejected God and turned its back on the great values of truth, justice and uprightness, essential for us to build a world of peace. A society that follows such a path is on the way to annihilation. And God sent Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh of what would happen to them. Jonah was not pleased since he thought that the inhabitants of Nineveh did not desire God’s care, compassion and mercy. He wanted their punishment, not their salvation. However, God’s ways are different from our ways and he judges lovingly. He does not feel pleasure in the destruction of the sinner and he waits patiently for his conversion. The warning was serious, but its purpose was not condemnation but salvation. And this salvation is offered to all peoples, even to those who try to live without God. God gives an opportunity to all, without exception.

In the end, Jonah had to go and carry out his mission because it is impossible to run away from God. The people of Nineveh heard the message, were touched by it, recognised their sins, made penance and turned back to God. And God was merciful to them and withdrew the punishment announced to them. We are called upon to behave like the people of Nineveh.

In the Gospel, Mark presents the message of Jesus’ first preaching: “Repent, and believe the Good News.” That is the way to enter the Kingdom of God. We must repent from our sins and believe in Jesus Christ, the Saviour who came to reconcile us with God.

Jesus goes on calling disciples to send them with the mission to announce the Good News to all peoples of the world. May we answer as Andrew and Simon, James and John did.

HEARING GOD’S CALL

II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 1:35-42

In the Holy Scriptures, we can find many examples of God’s calling, each one of them presenting a special aspect of God’s presence and intervention in one’s life. In this Sunday’s liturgy, we are presented, in the first reading, with the call of Samuel, who being consecrated to God by his mother, grew up in the temple. Being very young, he had not experienced yet God’s relationship with him: “Samuel had as yet no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” (1 Sam 3:3-10). So he could not recognise God’s voice and mistook it for the voice of Eli, the High Priest. However, in Samuel, we find the readiness to answer immediately, once called. Called three times, and three times he answered: “Here I am”. He did not delay or find excuses. In Bemba, there is a proverb that expresses well this quick answer to being called: “Uwaitwa, tafwala bwino.” - Who is called, has no time to go and dress well. He must answer there and then. Samuel did that. After so much insistence, Eli recognised that it was the Lord who was calling the young lad and instructed Samuel to give the proper answer: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Samuel needed someone to guide him in the ways of the Lord, prompting him to give the right answer and have the right attitude. We must be ready to listen, so that we may what God wants from us.

The gospel presents also another instance of the guidance received from others to be able to meet the Lord and follow him. Seeing Jesus passing by, John the Baptist pointed him out to two of his disciples: “Look, there is the lamb of God.” Hearing this proclamation of faith, they went after Jesus. Aware that he was being followed, Jesus asked: “What do you want?” They wanted to know him and discover what was so special about him.  Jesus’ invitation was simple and straightforward: “Come and see.” Even today, Jesus addresses to us the same invitation: “Come and see.” We must have the personal experience of encountering Jesus, allowing our lives to be touched by him.

Having made the experience, they could not keep it a secret and one of them, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, passed the message to his brother, taking him to Jesus. The gospel of John stresses the essential role of those who have met Jesus in taking others to Him, for them to have the same experience, thus becoming his disciples. All of us are given the role of Eli, of John the Baptist and Andrew, helping the others to listen to God’s voice and taking them to Christo so that in him they may find salvation.

PAGANS SHARE THE SAME INHERITANCE

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - Matthew 2:1-12

The Epiphany, also known as the Feast of Kings, is the feast in which we celebrate God’s offer of salvation to all peoples. The Magi or Wise men represent the Gentiles - that is people from all nations - who were attracted to the Lord and found in him meaning for their lives.

Matthew presents a clear contrast between the people of Israel embodied in their leaders - King Herod, the chief priests and the scribes of the people - and the wise men who came from the East.

The people of Israel had forgotten the experience of the Exodus and were unable to recognise the signs of the Lord’s presence. That’s why they got worried and were perturbed by the news of the birth of the Messiah. For them, that infant king was a big threat and they were ready to do everything to get rid of him. The Wise Men had a completely different attitude. They were people who paid attention to what was new, allowing themselves to be challenged, even if they did not know where that would take them. They were in search of the truth and for salvation. This search led them to a big journey - the journey that would change their lives forever. This journey is the journey of faith, in which we go forward, through difficulties and uncertainties. It is as if we move aimlessly. Will we arrive? Where and when? Is there anything else beyond the journey itself? Certainly, in their long journey from the East, the Wise Men felt tired and discouraged, but they went on searching, guided by the star, which dispelled the darkness of their travelling. At certain moments, they had nothing else to guide them but the immense desire to arrive. It seems that the journey became more and more difficult as they approached the end of their journey. The star disappeared, but their effort and commitment to the search. Lost, they inquired from the ones who were supposed to know. We may get help even from those who are enemies and who behave like the anti-Christ. Finally, they arrived and met the child with his mother Mary. It was the fulfilment of a dream. And they prostrated themselves in worship, offering the “gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”.

Today is a day of thanksgiving to God for his love and mercy. The Feast of Epiphany is the celebration of this great mystery: “It means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.” (Ep 3:5-6) 

ALWAYS BE THANKFUL

THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY - Colossians 3:12-21

On this Sunday after Christmas, we are invited to reflect on the family, as we look to the Holy Family of Nazareth, that is Jesus’ family. In this present time, the family is under siege, being attacked on many fronts. Family is the foundation of society and when that foundation starts disintegrating, society becomes sick. The love commitment of a man and a woman is at the centre of the human family and it is that committed love that gives them the strength to be at the service of life. Children who are unable to be nurtured in that love will grow up suffering from an injury difficult to heal. However, nowadays, fewer and fewer people are ready to commit themselves to a permanent and stable relationship in marriage. Divorce is like an infection that destroys the immunity of love in marriage. And what we have now is an increasing number of couples who just live together, refusing to tie the knot and assume a public commitment. 

The spread of acceptance and normalisation of homosexual behaviour has led many Western societies to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual committed relationships. However, life cannot be brought forth from those relationships. If that became the rule for most of the men and women of this world, the world would have no future. Being created in the image of God, we are called to be creators of life. When we choose to ignore and despise God’s order, we sow the seeds of self-destruction. With the gender ideology being implemented in schools and forced down our throats, our society is choosing a path that will lead those who act upon it to infertility and the impossibility of constituting a family. As we celebrate the Holy Family, let us accept God’s call to manifest his glory in our families.

In the second reading, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul teaches about basic attitudes to build a community that should be like a family. The commandment of love is the rule that must guide our attitudes: 

“… and you should be clothed 

in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. 

Bear with one another; 

forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; 

now you must do the same. 

Over all these clothes,

 to keep them together and complete them, 

put on love. 

And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. 

Always be thankful.”

May the Lord grant you peace and joy.

And thanks be to God for all his blessings.

THERE IS A CHILD BORN TO US

CHRISTMAS - THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST - Is 9:1-7; Lk 2:1-14

Isaiah gives the tone for this great celebration: there is a child born to us, a son given to us. He is the Prince-of-Peace. In him, the powers of darkness will be defeated.

Let us renew our hope by meditating on the words of Isaiah: 

For there is a child born for us,

a son given to us

and dominion is laid on his shoulders;

and this is the name they give him:

Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

Wide is his dominion

in a peace that has no end,

for the throne of David

and for his royal power,

which he establishes and makes secure

in justice and integrity.

From this time onwards and for ever,

the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this. - Is 9:6-7

And let us sing with the angels: 

Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace to men who enjoy his favour.

To all of you: May the child Jesus grant you a Christmas full of joy and peace, and may He fill you with his blessings for the new year.

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

IV SUNDAY OF ADVENT - Luke 1:26-38

In the Advent season, through the biblical readings chosen for us by the Church, we are called to have a good look at these important figures: Isaiah, John the Baptist, Joseph and Mary. The prophet Isaiah presents the great promises of God - the promise of salvation which is to be fulfilled by the Messiah, who comes as the prince of peace. The words of Isaiah fill us with hope directing our gaze towards the future and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist invites us to abandon the easy life revolving around ourselves and move to the desert where confronted by God, we have to look at ourselves and accept our fragility and sinfulness. John came to initiate a renewal movement, calling on people to repent and convert, thus preparing themselves for the coming of the Messiah. John put his whole life at the service of the Messiah, giving witness to him with his word and his life. Besides Isaiah and John the Baptist, we are invited to look at Joseph the carpenter who had betrothed Mary of Nazareth. It may seem that he is not important and he appears and goes like a dim flash. Despite his silence, he is always present and, in the most difficult moments, he takes responsibility for the protection both of Jesus and Mary. They could lean upon him and in him find refuge. He was a faithful and reliable man. 

Finally, on this last Sunday of Advent, we are called to look at Mary, the virgin from Nazareth. She was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, the mother of the Lord, as Elisabeth recognised. Being the chosen of God, she was filled with blessings, being indeed “the favoured one” (Lk 1:28): Despite that, she needed the angel to explain God’s plan and will for her, which would make her part of the plan of salvation. Through her, the Saviour of the world would come forth. Knowing God’s will, she accepted it and committed herself to obediently fulfil it. Her attitude is the attitude demanded of every disciple of Jesus Christ: I am the servant of the Lord. I am at his disposal, ready to do whatever he demands of me. May we learn with Mary to accept God’s will and dedicate our lives to carrying it out.