A humanising equality

Year C – Sunday 12

FIRST READING: Zechariah 12: 10-11; 13: 1. Thus says the Lord: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”

SECOND READING: Galatians 3: 26-29. In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

GOSPEL: Luke 9: 18-24. It happened that as Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” And he said to all, “if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

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The prophet Zachariah lived and preached in Jerusalem to the returned exiles (about 520 BCE). He considered the new age the Israelites were beginning together as a great opportunity to re-establish the dream Moses had centuries before to have a stateless nation based on the concept of equality amongst all tribes. Zachiariah encouraged the people not to give their nation the ruinous structure of the former kingdom which had brought about so much injustice and suffering. They would regret this if they had to do so, and ‘mourn’ their mistake as when their forefathers mourned the death of Josiah, Israel’s greatest king after David, at Megiddo in 609 BCE (2 Kgs. 23: 29).

Paul proclaims the same political levelling where differences of gender, status, ethnicity, etc., will be removed in favour of a humanising equality of all in Christ.

Jesus was ready to die for this ideal. His mission was to remove injustices and suffering through the institution of a new community of equals.

Free to be equal

Cycle C - Lent 4

FIRST READING: Joshua 5:9-12. The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” While the people of Israel were encamped in Gilgal they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And on the morrow after the passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate of the produce of the land; and the people of Israel had manna no more, but ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

GOSPEL: Luke 15: 1-3; 11-32. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate: and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. “Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured his means living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”‘

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The day on which the whole episode of the exodus came to an end, when the Hebrews finally entered the Promised Land, near Jericho they erected a monument made of twelve pillars arranged in a circle. They named the place Gilgal, meaning circle. The monument symbolically suggested the equal status of the twelve tribes and, by extension, of all the people. It was a reminder to future generations that, now that liberation was achieved, they were free to build a society of justice and peace.

Paul conveys a similar message to the Corinthians. The liberation from sin, both personal and structural, is a sign of Christians’ reconciliation with God through Jesus, and reconciliation amongst all creation. This togetherness is the key to a free, just and peaceful society based on equality and fraternity.

This ideal is graphically upheld by the beautiful story which Jesus narrates.

A God personally involved

Cycle C – Lent 2

FIRST READING: Genesis 15: 5-12; 17-18. The Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

SECOND READING: Philippians 3:17; 4: 1. Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

GOSPEL: Luke 9:28-36. Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and over-shadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

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The concept of a personal God had been unknown before Abraham. Before bringing a number of tribes together in a sort of federation, Abraham had this metaphysical intuition (or inspiration, if you like) that the one living God personally cared for life, and was personally involved in it. Today’s story drives home this message: that God and living beings, humans none the less, can somehow be and communicate on the same par. The transcendent God and immanent living creatures meet on a level of equality. Abraham understood that could, and should, be much so amongst all living creatures themselves. Life is common to all, and there lies the Spirit of the Divine.

Paul is desolate by the actions of those who, closing up within themselves and lording over others, destroy the unity and harmony that God willed for all creation. They are, he maintains, ‘enemies of the cross of Christ’, with which he probably meant opponents of all that which unites humans amongst themselves, and leads them to leave in peace and harmony with creation. With tears in his eyes, he pleads with everybody to ‘stand firm in the Lord’, that is, to hold on to the values which Jesus lived by and taught.

The story of Jesus’ transfiguration demonstrates what some of these values are. Jesus had the right to be lord and master of others. Yet, he opted to be poor amongst the poor; a brother on equal standing with all of his fellow humans. As the messenger of God, Jesus had shown time and time again that the type of community which God willed was one based on equality, respect of every single person, and freedom. Through him—‘my Son, my Chosen’—Jesus shuns all types of domination and supremacy of one over the other. It is in this way, and in no other way, that God is personally involved in our life and in our communal living.

Equality, freedom and respect

Cycle C - Ordinary Time 3

FIRST READING: Nehemiah 8: 2-4; 5-6; 8-10. Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seven month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. And the Levites read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30. Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many, if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part to the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

GOSPEL: Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21. Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogue, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE, one of the first acts was to reconstruct or restore the political system which had been initiated by Moses seven centuries previously. As the first reading narrates, this was done by renewing the Covenant which had been made between God and the people on Mount Sinai. This was basically a covenant of love, which, in political terms, intended to engender a profound sense of equality, freedom and respect of each individual. By time, however, this ‘Law of Moses’ became more and more understood and perceived in mere juridical terms, and, what’s worse, in terms of power, especially by churchmen (represented in today’s text by Ezra) and politicians (represented by Nehemiah).

To steer clear of such a dangerous and destructive interpretation, alongside the first reading we have Paul’s words to the Corinthians. In a stroke of genius, Paul evokes the image of the human body to explain in simple words the fundamental principles of a political system that upholds equality, freedom and respect of each individual. Paul was quite aware that most social, political and economic systems do not come close to such an image. Nevertheless, it is this model which he maintains to be according to God’s plan and will.

 An important part of Jesus’ mission was to summon humankind to this model. For this reason, Luke presents the inaugural moment of Jesus’ undertaking by having him assume as his own Isaiah’s amazing words of liberation. While explicitly announcing his ‘good news to the poor’, Jesus implicitly denounces all social, political and economic systems which violate equality, freedom and respect of each individual.

Economic equality

Year B – Sunday 28

Readings: Wisdom 7: 7-11; Hebrews 4: 12-13; Mark 10: 17-30 

Economic imbalance, both amongst individuals in first and second world countries and amongst entire nations, seems to have become for many people a reality as natural as the air we breathe. Some think of it as necessary and unavoidable. This might indeed not be so. The Book of Wisdom reminds us that, to imagine another type of economic structure which does not breed disparity, a new mentality must be adopted, one which values good-sense higher than material or financial wealth or political muscle.

One way of acquiring such an understanding is by allowing the Word of God work in our hearts and minds. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes this clear. The Word is capable of cleansing our mentalities as much as our thoughts and intentions. It will always be difficult, if not impossible, to behold the world with new eyes if our hearts and minds are captive of attitudes, outlooks and mindsets which put up with injustices and inequalities.

Jesus encourages his disciples to relinquish the obsession with money, wealth and personal prosperity. Riches cannot be deemed higher than people without corrupting the human spirit. To behold a world of fraternity, peace and justice one must necessarily surrender one’s obsession with personal hoarding and accumulation and embrace a policy of communal enrichment. We are either improved together or, despite our individual wealth, personally impoverished.

Gender equality

Year B – Sunday 27

Readings: Genesis 2: 18-24; Hebrews 2: 9-11; Mark 10: 2-16

Both the creation narrative and Jesus’ discourse on marriage and divorce indicate a deep respect for women and, in a certain sense, a defence of their dignity. The fashioning of Eve from Adam’s side is an ancient manner of speech which denotes equality. Gender inequality, so common to the Middle-Eastern mentality, was not part of God’s original plan.

Jesus opposes the practice of illegal separation. Apparently, it had become common that men sent their legally-wedded wives away, or simply abandoned them, without obtaining a divorce. This seems to have been done to avoid paying due forfeiture to her family as established in the marriage writ. Women were the worse for such an abuse, and Jesus denounces it in defense of abandoned women. Alternatively, he upholds the equal right of men and women to live a dignified life.

Jesus ― the one ‘crowned with glory and honor’, as the Epistle to the Hebrews says, and ‘the pioneer of [...] salvation’ ― considers himself a brother of all. By implication, we are all brothers and sisters with equal dignity amongst ourselves and before God.

No domination whatsoever

Year B - Sunday 25

Readings: Wisdom 2:17-20; James 3:16–4:3; Mark 9:30–37

The forms of domination which can be noticed around us are many: sexism, racism, environmental destruction, militarism, ageism, patriarchy, clericalism, imperialism, specism, heterosexism, classism, ablism, ... The list seems to be endless. All types of domination stem from the evil desire of control; people wanting to manipulate others, involuntarily coercing them to their own will. These power-mongers are very often ruthless, whether they exist within families, amongst neighbours, at the workplace, or in government. The selection from the Book of Wisdom intimates how such people might think. James, furthermore, gets down to pointing out that every desire of dominion over others originates from jealousy and selfish ambition, and only begets disorder and every vile practice.

Jesus wholeheartedly condemns any domination whatsoever. He transforms power into service, and clearly shows that, if his chosen are to be together ― as they should be ― than their society must be one of equals working jointly for the benefit of all. Domination is ruled out altogether, and the norm of ‘one for all and all for one’ is established.