HOPE: THE ANSWER TO OUR DOUBTS

The elders in our community can tell us something that we also learnt when we studied African history: on 24 October 1964, when Zambia became independent, we were one of the richest countries on the continent of Africa.  But today, we sadly know that Zambia is one of the poorest countries.  The levels of poverty in this country are truly depressing – between 70% and 80% of our people live below the poverty line!  On Radio Two in Zambia, we always hear the song:

“Bushe mailo nkalya, Bushe mailo nkekatapo nazali”  -- What am I going to eat tomorrow?   I’m not sure if I am going to have any Kwacha!

This sad song expresses the agony of an unemployed young man.  This dark experience of our people is very rough, indeed!  From being one of the richest countries in Africa in 1964 to becoming one of the poorest in 2004….

And so we need to hear very clearly the message of Isaiah the Prophet in the first reading of this Third Sunday of Advent: “Courage! Do not be afraid.  Look, your God is coming…he is coming to save you!”  God is assuring us that he is the source of all goodness and mercy, and that he will always walk with us.  God loves all his children.  That message is hopeful and should give us plenty of hope that the future can be brighter.

Indeed, we should learn from our small-scale farmers here in Zambia, the ones we sometimes call “peasant farmers.”  They are the ones who produce 80% of the food that Zambians eat.  They never seem to grow tired of working hard.  When planting season comes, they are out in the fields, men, women and children, tilling the soil, spreading the fertiliser, putting the seed into the ground, pulling out the weeds.  They do their work with a spirit of hope, with trust that good rains will come, with confidence that the seed will sprout, with anticipation that they will be able to feed their families and also make some income.  When harvest time comes, they look forward to a good crop, and hope for fair prices and reliable market opportunities.

In our second reading of today, St. James is also encouraging us not to lose heart.  He tells us to be patient like the farmer.  And he cautions us that this is not the time for finger-pointing, for complaining against each other, for blaming and judging others. Rather we should be asking ourselves about our own share of responsibility for the depressing situations that we find around us.  Just think what a wonderful change in the political life of Zambia it would be if politicians first acknowledged their own faults and failings instead of always accusing others of all sorts of mistakes and blunders!

Jesus invites us in the Gospel of today, according to St. Matthew, to turn to him in every situation and see what he does and can do for all of us.  Even John the Baptist had his moments of doubt about who Jesus was and what his mission was.  So he turned to Jesus and asked him, “Are you the one we really are looking for, waiting for, hoping for?”  And how does Jesus answer?  Simply by affirming that his Lordship is shown by healing the sick, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the lepers, and raising the dead.  And the Good News is preached to the poor!  These are the wonderful signs of God’s presence among us in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Even today, God wants to reach out and touch people in all their needs by working through people like us, the members of his family, the Family of God (as the African Synod called the church). Our church is filled with gifts, talents and strengths, which can be tapped for the improvement of all of us.  Take, for example, the wonderful work of Home Based Care groups.  The caregivers sacrifice their time and energies to be present to help the sick members of our communities.  Most of these caregivers are not materially rich, but they are very rich in Christian charity.  Their mission is to bring hope to our sick sisters and brothers.  Truly, this great work of solidarity brings hope to all of us.

Have you ever seen the women and men of the Salvation Army, sharing some food with the blind beggars and the street children?  They also play some music, which sends the children to dancing with joy around them!  Or you probably know some lady who has turned part of her house into a home school for orphans.  Many of the young girls from this little back yard school have even managed to qualify to go to formal schools.  We also know the persistent work of our many local justice and peace committees in our parishes around the country.  They are present even in our rural areas.  They do the hard work to defend the rights of the poor and to promote more responsibility by ordinary citizens and by elected government officials.

We can remember the clear words of Blessed Mother Teresa: “The world today is hungry not only for bread but hungry for love, hungry to be wanted, to be loved.”  If we perform small acts of kindness to each other, this world can indeed change.  And it will mean that we are cooperating closely and effectively with the Jesus whose birthday we will be recalling in another two weeks.  For the important thing these days is to create a close relationship with Jesus Christ.

One way of building that relationship with Jesus is to embrace our “book of the future,” our Holy Bible.  We should daily use the Bible as our prayer book, learning how much God loves us, how much Jesus wants to be close to us.  This can be a source of great hope in the midst of all our personal and social difficulties, in our families, our church, our neighbourhood, our country.

Let’s be honest when we come to our Small Christian Communities.  All of our problems are not going to be solved, at least not in the next few weeks!  We will continue to have ups and downs, our staggering and our stumbling.  But let’s recall the Chewa proverb that teaches us:  “Dzedzere dzedzere salingana n’kugweratu” – staggering is not as bad as falling down completely!  Frustrations, fatigue and pain may be there, but with the help of God’s loving graces, we shall overcome some day!

SKETCH

We see an old couple who look very sad and hopeless, since their children have gone off to the city and left them.  They are dirty and their surroundings are dirty and unslashed.  Then three or four young people come along, talking about all the problems facing Zambia.  But they see the couple, feel compassion for them, and decide to clean up the place and draw water for them.  This act of kindness cheers both the couple and the youth and all are now very hopeful for the future.

COMMUNITY PRAYERS

·         Loving God, we ask you to remind us during this Advent Season that you sent your Son Jesus to save us from all our problems by showing us the way to love you and love each other.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

·         Lord Jesus, teach us to hope that with your guidance we can improve the situations in our country Zambia, for example, lessening the great suffering of HIV/AIDS among our people.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

·         Lord Jesus, bless especially our young people who have lost hope and have resorted to beer drinking, illicit drugs and the misuse of sex, and teach our Small Christian Communities how to reach out to them with your love and care.  Lord, hear us: Lord, graciously hear us!

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