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STAY
AWAKE
We
begin the season of Advent this year with one issue in the minds of all of us in
our country today. This is the issue of our new Republican Constitution. Advent
is a time of waiting -- waiting for a promised salvation; waiting and working
for the birth of a better tomorrow. All of us, in a real way are waiting with a
lot of anxiety for a new Constitution. What better time to reflect on our role
as Christians, whatever our state in life, in bringing about a Constitution that
will reflect those values that we cherish so deeply? In this light, our
reflections this Advent will focus on the new Constitution for Zambia.
“Stay
awake!” This is the strong call of
Jesus in today’s Gospel. How
befitting are these words for our current national situation. As a country, we
are now in the process of coming up with a document whose opening words will be:
“We the people of Zambia….” This means that the Constitution will be a
reflection of our cherished values as well as our greatest aspirations as a
people. This therefore calls for the involvement of all of us. The words “We
the people” with which the Constitution opens commit us to vigilance, to
staying awake. Our Catholic Bishops said as much in their 2004 Pastoral Letter, Let
My People Go!: “Therefore,
everyone in Zambia must be involved as much as possible, in order to assure that
it truly is a people’s Constitution, worthy of the opening phrase, ‘We the
people of Zambia…’”
The
night watchman we have for our house is a retired service man. A number of times
he has come to work dead drunk and has straight away gone into doing what he
knows best -- sleeping! On two occasions, thieves have actually come and got
away without his hearing a single thing.
These
occasions that thieves have broken into our house have been moments of great
sadness for us. Apart from the pain of losing property, we have experienced a
greater pain – knowing that the loss could have been avoided had the watchman
been more vigilant! As a nation, though, we do not want to have to undergo such
pain. History has shown that there have been too many times before that we have
slept through the Constitution-making process. And the result? Constitutions
that have given too much power to certain individuals; Constitutions that have
reflected more the will of the “governors” and not that of the
“governed”. Don’t they say, “Once beaten, twice shy”? Or, as the
Tongas love to say; ‘Sokwe caamutansya
mujulu ntwaabona.” The literal translation of this proverb would be,
“The monkey ends up being up a tree due to the various happenings that it sees
on the ground.”
This
time, our collective voice calling for a people-driven Constitution is much
louder than ever before; this time, our demand for the Constitution to be
adopted as recommended by “We the people” is even more insistent.
This is because of what we have seen what has happened too many times
before. It has been said that those who do not learn from the past are condemned
to repeat it! This time we want to get it right, we simply cannot afford to
sleep.
“Stay
awake!” What does it mean for us in this situation to stay awake so that the
Republican Constitution will be truly a document of the people? It means, first
and foremost, that we are all going to work at creating an environment of
openness, trust, accountability and selflessness. Only in such a situation will
we have occasion to listen to one another’s points of view with respect.
Secondly, we all have a duty to inform ourselves on the matter of the draft
Constitution as much as possible. Only this will allow us make informed
contributions to the final text of the Constitution. How many of us, for example
have seen the draft Constitution? Being too busy to have time to read the
document is choosing to sleep while being robbed!
What
Jesus said to his listeners in today’s Gospel he now says to us: “Be on your
guard, stay awake!” We pray that our desire for the values that Christ stands
for will be a burning fire within us, never allowing us to go into slumber.
Yes, we earnestly pray that the values of justice, peace, love, respect
for life, equality for all, tolerance and accountability will become in us a
burning fire, keeping us awake during this Advent and beyond.
Questions
for reflection and sharing in Small Christian Communities
- Are there areas of life in which I as an individual
and we as a community have been “asleep” by neglecting our duties?
- How do we stay awake to the governance and political
issues of our country?
- How can we help each other to “stay awake” during
this season of Advent?
Sketch
Have
a watchman who just sleeps instead of guarding the premises. The thieves
regularly steal from the house without him noticing anything. Let the owner of
the house react angrily and decide to take charge of the house security. The
situation improves and the owner keeps what is his without thieves managing to
break in the house. The owner is happy because he has taken charge of his own
house.
Community
prayers
- Lord,
grant us courage to be faithful in our daily works, so that we stay awake
and see what the needs of our neighbours are.
Lord, hear our prayer! Lord,
graciously hear us!
- Lord,
soften our hearts so that we are able to see and accept our faults and
negligence during the course of our duties. Lord,
hear our prayer! Lord,
graciously hear us!
- Lord,
as we begin this Advent season and new liturgical year, may you find us pure
in spirit and clean in deed. Lord,
hear our prayer! Lord,
graciously hear us!
[Jesuit
Centre for Theological Reflection, P.O. Box 37774, 10101 Lusaka, Zambia]
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