Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates June 19, 2016 as the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year C. The words of today’s first reading, ‘they will look on the one whom they have pierced’, poignantly express the way Christians have looked down the centuries towards the crucified Christ. Jesus crucified is our hope and salvation.
The messianic character of this message finds echo in the Gospel where Christ directs our attention to his real mission on earth: he is of the house of David and the Messiah who will achieve his work through his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. In the second reading, Saint Paul says that irrespective of a person’s colour of skin, race, social status, or sex, all are welcome in Christ’s Church. Faith, not the law, is the meaning of our salvation that comes to us through Christ the Redeemer. Through his death and resurrection, he conquered sin and through baptism we too have put on a new life in Christ. We are a new creation, vested with the Holy Spirit. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to accept our cross because the cross leads to glory and suffering to salvation.
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 weeps over a first born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the plain of Megiddo. On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse themselves from sin and uncleanness.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
Zechariah is one of the twelve Minor Prophets of the Bible. The others are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. They are called minor, not because their works are of less importance than those of the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) but because they are generally much shorter in size. Whereas Zechariah is fourteen chapters long, Isaiah, for example, covers sixty-six chapters long.
The African Bible tells me that Zechariah was a contemporary of another minor prophet Haggai, who was very involved in the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem after the return of the exiles to the Holy City. Thanks to the combined efforts of these two prophets, the Temple was completed in 515 BC.
Zechariah’s prophetic mission began in 520 BC and lasted for two years. His message is contained in eight apocalyptic visions, each giving some warning and instruction about the rebuilding of the temple after the return of the Jewish people from exile, the protection and conduct of the people of Jerusalem, the purification of the priesthood and of temple worship, and the future of the messianic age.
The second half of the book, from where the passage of this day’s meditation is taken, deals with the coming messianic age, the return of all the exiles and the destruction of Judah’s enemies. God promises that Jerusalem shall not only be defended from her enemies but will triumph over them and will become the instrument of God’s punishment on the nations that attack it.
God will restore Israel through the intervention of a martyr, ‘the one whom they have pierced.’ This figure probably represents a personification of all the prophets who have been persecuted, and in some cases killed, by the people and their leaders. It also represents the Suffering Servant of Israel, symbol of Christ who was pierced with a lance as he hung on the cross, sending forth blood and water.
What relevance does this reading have for us in Africa today? The theme of oppression and social injustice, which prophets like Zechariah dealt with, is still very real in our society today. Only true justice, peace and reconciliation based on Christ our Saviour, can build a society that is compatible with God’s will. The prophet’s teaching of the coming of the peaceful Messiah-King, who will inaugurate the universal reign of God, refers to Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
Second Reading: Galatians 3: 26-29.
Brethren: 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 male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
In this day’s reading, Saint Paul tackles the second theme of his Letter to the Galatians, which is that faith, not the law, is the meaning of salvation. He boasts that he preaches Christ crucified, even though he realizes that such doctrine is a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the pagans (1 Cor 1:23). In the first theme, he justifies his claim to apostolic authority and then explains the message that God has him preach, which is that God serves everyone through faith.
Shortly before the passage of our meditation, Paul makes a distinction between the Law of Moses and the promise brought by the New Covenant. The Law was given in order to punish transgressions but Christ came to redeem sinners and bring them to salvation. God therefore gave the Law to protect and guide men towards Christ. Through faith in Christ and through Baptism, we become sons and daughters of God. From this moment, all differences disappear because all have become the descendants of Abraham, our father in faith.
In the passage of our meditation, Paul shows that all men and women are equal before God because we are all come from Adam, born in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1: 26-27). Irrespective of whatever responsibility we may occupy in society, our basic equality remains. From this point of view, there is no real difference, nor should there be, between one person and another, no difference even between man and woman: both being made in the image and likeness of God. There is therefore ‘neither Jew nor Greek .. neither slave nor free … neither male nor female’ for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3: 28).
The essential message to take home from this reading is given to us by Saint Jose Maria Escriva de Ballaguer. “Our Lord has come to bring peace, good news and peace to all,” he writes. “Not only to the rich, nor only to the poor. Not only to the wise, nor only to the simple. To everyone. To the brethren, for brothers we are, children of the same Father, God. So there is only one race, the race of the children of God. There is only one colour, the colour of the children of God. And there is only one language, the language which speaks to the heart and to the mind, without the noise of words, making us know God and love one another. Amen.”
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 then, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” But he charged them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the 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.”
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.
Comment
In the Gospel passage of this day, Jesus asks his disciples a question about his identity. He wants to know who people say he is. The answers come falling: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the old prophets, etc. The crowd thinks Jesus is someone else. But Jesus then challenges his followers themselves: “But you, who do you say I am?” Jesus wants to know how well they, his disciples, know him. They have been with him for sometime now; they have seen him preaching and healing but how well do they know him? Even right up to the time of his death, some of them will still be wondering who he really is. That is why when Philip later asks him to show them the Father so they can be satisfied, Jesus reacts in astonishment: “Have I been with you for so long and you still do not know me, Philip?” (Jn 14: 8-9). It is not only Philip. The same question could have been addressed to all of them.
Jesus’ question as to who they think he is, baffles many of them, who still largely see him as an enigma. There must have been an uneasy silence until Peter, playing his role as leader of the team, comes forward with an answer: “You are the Christ of God”. In Matthew’s version Peter answers that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, to which Christ gives a well-nourished compliment to Peter before anointing him as the rock on which he will build his Church (Mt. 16:13-20).
Jesus expands on Peter’s answer by emphasizing that he is a different type of Messiah from the one they are all expecting. He is a suffering servant who will save the world by dying on the cross. This is a lesson many of them fail to understand. That is why shortly before our Lord ascended into heaven, his disciples are still asking him: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). To them, a Messiah must be a liberator of Israel. Any talk of a suffering messiah, who is rejected by the elders and the chief, who will kill him and he will rise again on the third, does not make much sense to them.
To even further muddy their understanding of what he is saying, Jesus then tells them that they too should be ready and willing to suffer for his sake. He asks them to take their cross and follow him on a daily basis. Christ is telling them, and us, that following him is no an easy task. Elsewhere he tells them that he is sending them out like sheep among wolves and that many of them are going to suffer persecution and even martyrdom because of him (Mt 10: 16-22). This is frightful language and there is no doubt many desert him, loudly complaining that his words are hard and wondering who can accept them? (Jn 6: 60).
To many of us suffering is not a popular conversation topic. Jesus, however, brings it up because it is central to himself. Suffering and dying on the cross for our salvation is the reason he came down to earth. Cameroonian Jesuit Priest, Reverend Father Kizito Forbi, sj, explains in simple terms what picking up one’s cross and following Christ is all about. “To pick up the cross means to attend Mass on Sundays and other days of obligation even if I am tired or have other activities. To pick up the cross means speaking up for Christ and the truth even when it goes against my pride. [It means] to be a good husband or wife, parent or child, or worker [and] to take up the responsibilities of those offices seriously. To refuse them is tantamount to refusing the cross. To carry the cross means to be faithful to your status, to be faithful in what you have to do and are doing.”1
To follow Jesus then is to deny oneself, that is, not focus attention on oneself but to make a place for others; to accept them and pardon them their trespasses so Christ will pardon us ours. We must promote brotherly love. We must accept our cross because the cross leads to glory and suffering to salvation. Holy Spirit, come to our assistance. Amen.
Comments