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HOMILY NOTES FOR 24TH SUNDAY |
15 SEPTEMBER 2002 |
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Readings: CANCEL THE DEBT! HELP THE POOR! Sisters and brothers, why does our holy scripture have so many challenging stories about debts? People going into debt, losing everything because they are in debt, going to prison because they are in debt, being enslaved because of their debts, having all their debts forgiven? It is because the Jewish people, God’s chosen people of Israel, were very much like the people of Zambia and the rest of Africa today. They were a people close to the land, farming and fishing. They were mostly poor, although some were very rich. And they were very much oppressed by outsiders, by the global power of Rome. So in order to feed their families, or to start up a little business, or to meet emergency expenses (for example, sickness), these poor Jewish people borrowed money and went into debt. And they had to pay back that debt, or at least pay continual interest on the debt. When they couldn’t meet the debt payments, they were in deep trouble! Jesus’ Parable That is the story in today’s Gospel, from the 18th chapter of Matthew. Jesus knew very well what was happening to his people and how much they were suffering. He knew how some rich people took advantage of the poor in their midst. He knew how important it was to be ready to forgive the debts of those who were in very difficult situations. So Jesus tells us a powerful parable about two people, both of who were deep in debt. The first man, a servant of a king, begs to have his debt cancelled, even though it was an immense amount of money – maybe equivalent to one million kwacha! He gets his desire as the king feels sorry for him and cancels the debt. One million kwacha cancelled! He goes out a very happy man, indeed! But then this servant meets a friend who owes him a little money -- maybe only one hundred kwacha. Does he take pity on his friend? Does he cancel that poor man’s debt? No, he forgets the good thing that happened to him, and he demands that the poor man pay him back the one hundred kwacha immediately! And for that lack of charity, he is justly and severely punished by the king. Jesus uses this parable to teach us the important lesson to forgive others, our sisters and brothers, the way we receive forgiveness from God. Indeed, that is what we pray every day in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When we say that prayer, we should look at our lives and see whether or not we really do forgive others the way God forgives us. Zambia’s Debt But there is another very important lesson from the parable in this morning’s Gospel. This is the lesson that paying back debts should never cause immense suffering to the poor. This is a lesson that has great meaning to all of us in Zambia today. As you know very well, my sisters and brothers, we Zambians have a huge debt that is owed to outsiders – almost seven billion US dollars! For ten million Zambians, that means that today every Zambian woman, man and child owes about seven hundred US dollars! That’s three million kwacha – a very big amount of money, indeed! Well, to whom do we owe all this money? To the rich countries in the North and to the big institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And why do we owe so much money? Because we borrowed money to build up Zambia after Independence, especially when the price of copper dropped and the price of oil increased. We borrowed money to help us help our African neighbours in the struggle against Apartheid. And we went deeper into debt when we borrowed money to help us pay interest on the loans we had. That is really what we call the “debt trap” – we went deeper and deeper into debt! Do you know what this big problem of debt means to the ordinary Zambian? Of course you do! It means that since the Government must keep paying back on our debt – it is called “servicing the debt” -- there isn’t enough money to meet the needs of basics like books in schools and medicine in hospitals. In the last ten years, the government has spent six to ten times more on debt servicing than on our education and health budgets! Jubilee’s Call This isn’t right! And so in recent years, the church leaders of Zambia have joined with church leaders and civic organisations around the world, crying out: “Cancel the debt!” You may remember that in 1998, our three church bodies – CCZ, ZEC, and EFZ – issued a joint pastoral letter urging people to support the Jubilee campaign to cancel the debt of Zambia and of other poor countries around the world. Our church leaders recalled the biblical demand for justice that we can find in the 25th chapter of Leviticus and the 15th chapter of Deuteronomy: “Proclaim a Jubilee and cancel the debt of the poor so that our community can be restored!” Jesus repeats this call when he tells us at the start of Luke’s Gospel in that he has come to announce Good News to the poor, to bring justice to everyone, to “proclaim the Year of the Jubilee.” (Luke 4: 18-19) You know we have had this Jubilee campaign here in Zambia for the past four years. We have called it “Jubilee 2000” and it has involved thousands of Zambians in studying the issues, signing petitions, speaking to our government officials, participating in rallies, and so forth. And we have been encouraged by the support of so many Jubilee campaigners in other parts of Africa and in the countries in the North. Has any of Zambia’s debt been cancelled? Yes, Zambia has received a little debt relief – but we still owe immense amounts of debts and we still pay out immense amounts of money every year – over US$ 150 million – to service these debts. And as a consequence, ordinary Zambians continue to suffer very much! For this reason, the Jubilee campaign continues to go around the country – with similar campaigns in other African countries and in the North. Jubilee-Zambia is the movement, and it certainly didn’t stop with the year 2000! Echoing the biblical call, Jubilee-Zambia continues to say: “Cancel the Debt! Help the Poor!” Our Response But in order to be sure that any money that comes to Zambia because our debts are cancelled really does help the poor, we need to take steps to be guarantee that our Government is open and accountable in spending the debt relief. Remember the parable from this morning’s Gospel? Did the man whose debts were forgiven then turn around and help his poor sisters and brothers? No, he didn’t! He ignored their needs and treated them unjustly! And for that reason, he was very severely punished. Jesus gives us an important lesson, indeed. Sometimes people misuse the money given to them and forget to help the poor. That is why Jubilee-Zambia is now gathering signatures on a petition to our Zambian government leaders to demand that they put in place an arrangement that ensures any debt relief money really does go toward improving the conditions of the 80% of Zambians who are poor. Our national budget should be directed toward poverty eradication through programmes of education and health care, agricultural improvements, employment generation, etc. Sisters and brothers, this morning we can reflect on Jesus’ teaching in the parable from Matthew’s Gospel and can learn what we should do: be willing to forgive others as we are forgiven. And we can pray that the lesson about cancelling debts will be heard across our country and around our world, so that the immense debts Zambia owes to rich countries and powerful financial institutions will finally be cancelled. Please, join in this Jubilee campaign! Sign the Jubilee-Zambia petition to demand open and accountable use of debt relief money. And pray that our leaders respond so that the needs of the poor will truly be met here in Zambia. Together we can pray, we can say, we can act: “Cancel the Debt! Help the Poor! SUGGESTED PRAYERS: Loving Creator, you care in a very special way for the poor and the hungry, the widows and the orphans. Please help us to care for our sisters and brothers and to work for justice in our beloved Zambia. Lord, hear our prayer! Lord, graciously hear us! All merciful God, your Son Jesus taught us to pray that our debts would be forgiven in the way that we forgive those who owe us debts. Please give us the light and strength to forgive others and to promote true peace all around us. Lord, hear our prayer! Lord, graciously hear us! God our parent, you want your people to have all that is necessary for a full and good life. Please touch the hearts of those who can cancel Zambia’s debts, so that together we can work for the good all Zambians. Lord, hear our prayer! Lord, graciously hear us! FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
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