YOUTHS: STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!

When we celebrated the Fortieth Anniversary of Zambia’s Independence at the end of last month, we expressed great gratitude for the peace that our nation has experienced.  And we prayed that that peace and harmony can continue to exist – it is such a precious gift for our country!

Now we begin this season of Advent 2004 by inviting our young people to become strong promoters of peace in Zambia.  In the first reading this Sunday, the Prophet Isaiah reminds us that only the Lord God’s ways are always right.  If we are to please our God, then let us get involved in peace-building activities in our homes, in our Small Christian Communities, and all around us. We should remember that the founding mothers and fathers of our beloved country were young women and young men when they fought for Zambia.  Young people can indeed make a very big difference.

We have enjoyed forty years of peaceful independence because of the good efforts of young men and women.  But the age of bamposa mabwe (stone throwers) is now gone.  We should never agree to be used as troublemakers, as instruments of violence. St. Paul, in the second reading of today, encourages the Romans to stay vigilant and alert.  You know, he says, that the time has come and you must be wide-awake!  Let us live decently as people do in the daylight:  no drunken orgies, no promiscuity, no licentiousness, and no wrangling and jealousy.   Let your armour in fighting for the good simply be “Our Lord Jesus Christ “!

Those are indeed encouraging words from St. Paul.  In this era of unemployment, epidemics like AIDS and terrible problems of poverty, we are always tempted to give up and lose all hope.  But we know that it is very dangerous indeed to have communities of frustrated young people.  If they are not adequately guided, they become victims of the “Timwenge Syndrome” – drunkenness!

In Matthew’s gospel today, Our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us not to put off the Lord’s work for another day.  We may not have that day!  Sometimes we tend to refuse to act for Christ in the situations we are in right now.  Many times we don’t think of our own death.  We think time is our property, always in our hands!  This might be especially true of youths who like saying, “Why worry about today, there is still plenty of time.”  But what Our Lord is saying to people is that salvation is not like an auction sale – we can’t bargain with God.  No, it is much wiser to decide to obey God here and now in our very immediate, concrete situations.

People can judge our character by what we do.  They can say something about us, for instance, that this is a good or bad person, depending on the quality and the capacity of our moral judgements.

As “ambassadors of Christ,” we must do something to contribute to our destiny.  We should not waste our dreams, our visions of how things can be better.  Pope John Paul II urges youth not to be ashamed of Jesus and his Gospel:  “In this secularised age, when many of your contemporaries think and act as if God did not exist, or are attracted to irrational forms of religion, it is you, dear young people, who must show that faith is a personal decision which involves your whole life.  Let the Gospel be the measure and guide which involves your whole life.”  (July 2002, World Youth Day, Toronto, Canada)  The Pope is simply emphasising what the readings of today are saying.

Let us avoid exaggerated demands for human rights, which can at times be merely self-centred demands.  We should recognise that human rights are always accompanied with human duties.  We often hear the saying that “youths are the future of our nation.”  But the future starts right now!  By showing good examples, youths can be very positive in building the future.  People are always watching the youth and youth groups.  How they talk, how they dress, how they move around, how they keep busy.

Indeed, youth should act responsibly, as if they were going to die today!  Remember the Chewa proverb:  “Mbalame ikakhula siikhala papilla” – when a bird has grown up, it can’t remain on the same branch.  By the decisions we make now, we should be able to manifest some degree of maturity and responsibility.

Our very popular local musician, Nasty D, sings in his latest album a song called, “Banjikata Sana” – I am tired of being arrested by law enforcement agents!  He is expressing his desire to act responsibly and is encouraging other youths to be people of courage, strength and backbone.  It just doesn’t pay to be lazy or stubborn.  The Nsengas would say: “Mwana wanchete olilira pansi” – a real orphan won’t sit there complaining and crying, but will get out and till the land!

So this First Sunday of Advent 2004 is the day of the Lord to act responsibly.  We should continue taking care of each other, just as Christ did.  This is no time to run away from challenging situations, or no time to bury our problems.  This Advent season is a time of great grace and blessings, a time for us to come together, to study the Bible, and to find solutions to our many problems.

Our Small Christian Communities are full of gifts, talents and potentials.  When we meet we should ask ourselves three questions:

• What are the big challenges we are facing as Christians today in Zambia?
• What abilities do we have in our midst, especially the abilities of our youth?
• What steps can we take to apply our abilities to solving our problems?

With God’s graceful help, this Advent can be a wonderful time for all of us!

SKETCH

Let us have a group of two boys and a girl, who are lazy, drinking too much, causing plenty of troubles.  They are never serious about life.  Then we have two girls and a boy who are busy learning, since they understand that education is power.  At the end of the day, the second group can stand up and walk away singing happily, while the first group just lies on the ground crying.

COMMUNITY PRAYERS

·         Lord Jesus, pour out your Holy Spirit on us, so that we can learn to make very good judgements and decision in our lives and shape a better future for ourselves and our nation  of Zambia.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

·         Lord Jesus, give all our young people the courage not to be ashamed of your Gospel but to be true prophets of the Good News wherever they are.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

·         Loving God, we pray for all those who work with the young people that they may be good and encouraging models for youth to follow.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

[Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, P.O. Box 37774, 10101 Lusaka, Zambia]