RESIST TEMPTATIONS TO SHORT CUTS IN LIFE!

Something that is really sad is to see a poor person who has become rich and then forgets to help other poor persons.  Or to see a person who has been oppressed and beaten down then turn around and oppress other people.  These folks just don’t remember their experiences!

In today’s first reading Moses, reminds the daughters and sons of Israel not to forget what great things God did for them. He also strongly requests that they should remember the very sad and inhuman sufferings they experienced as slaves in Egypt.  Moses knew that the oppressed can be tempted to follow the example of their oppressors.  So he warns them not to inflict pain on the poor or to enslave the weak. For the people of Israel to show their commitment and faithfulness to God, they must act justly towards the poor, the outcasts and the powerless. Recalling their experience in Egypt would be a source of inspiration to help them now to act justly towards others who are suffering.

Here in Zambia today, we have had leaders who were born and brought up in our poor villages and shanty compounds.  Now they are the apamwambas, members of Parliament or Councilors, well-to-do business people, or influential farmers.  They have forgotten their past and their poverty. The Chewas say that “Mudya makoko saiwala, mudya nshawa, aiwala” (The one who ate shells of groundnuts did not forget, but the one who ate groundnuts forgot!)  Is it true that we find it easy to forget God’s goodness when all is well with us? We forget God when we also begin to oppress the poor. To know God is to act justly to his people. The Lenje echo the similar message when they say “Funa walumambba wansala wabuka bubi.” (The one who was crying of hunger, we fed him. Today he has turned against us.) But we can’t claim to know God if we oppress his poor ones.

Saint Paul in the second reading is challenging us now to live the trust we have in God. We must practise what we profess through acts of kindness towards all God’s people. But to be honest, we the same people who profess faith in God are also very often the promoters of tribalism, regionalism and discrimination.  Our small Christian communities can become centers of gossips and divisions. But the faith we profess must also be our way of life.  As we enter into Lent this year 2004, we should spend time in our small Christian communities asking ourselves if our faith is real or is it only a show?

In the Gospel of today, our Lord Jesus is tempted to make three cheap and easy decisions in order to become popular with the people. He is tempted to turn stones into bread – what we in Zambia call the “kulya bwino syndrome”! The insatiable appetite for food that leads to greed. He was also lured to become a popular political figure if he obeyed the evil one. He even was tempted to worship the devil. But our Lord Jesus does not abandon his mission just for cheap short-term success or happiness.

The world is a school where we learn to make decisions. In this same world we find a confusion of priorities. We must avoid short cuts to comfort, wealth and popularity. The devil will tempt us at the level of the mind, flesh and love of material things. A few years ago in Zambia, we never knew about the “Zamtrop account” or the “plunderers of the national economy.” We now know about this sad situation which has caused so much suffering to the people – all because of some so-called leaders who wanted to get rich quickly. We hear of vote buying or vote legging because some people want to grab political positions for their own advantage, not for the good of the country.

We even have people who are admired because of the money they got very suspiciously.  We have people in our communities who have a tremendous appetite for “4Cs” – cash, cell phone, car and comfort! They don’t care whether they get these things through cheating, corruption, stealing, killing, witchcraft or exploiting the poor. Their desire is to have them at all cost, no matter what the consequences!

It is sad that many of our politicians would rather have posh cars, fancy houses, lucrative business -- all acquired very suspiciously -- than be honest, simple and happy. In search of money and influential positions, they even decide to be “political party prostitutes,” changing parties as often as they change clothes! They want short cuts to become rich. In the process, they oppress the poor and exploit the defenseless.

Lent is a very good time indeed for all of us to examine and uproot our unhealthy desires for economic comfort, political popularity and social success.  This is a task not only for prominent people in Zambia but also for very ordinary people.  We can all be tempted, no matter who or where we are!  Let us use prayer and fasting as weapons for fighting the social pressures that can lead us astray, hurt our families, ruin our country. Let us repent for any injustices we have committed because of our uncontrolled desires for money, popularity, possessions and pleasure.

This First Sunday of Lent we see that Jesus Christ today slaps the devil in the face by not giving in to the evil demands. For those of us who have suffered injustices of any kind, the challenge today is to slap injustices in the face by acting justly. Indeed, It is by not taking up the image of the oppressor that the oppressor gets beaten twice.

SKETCH

Let us have three girls come in front of the altar.  Two of the girls are fancily dressed; they have money, a cell phone, and are living comfortably. The third girl is poorly dressed, without many material possessions, a poor orphan.  The first two girls begin to tempt the poor girl to join them in prostitution so that she can also have all the fun and material possessions that they have.  But this girl has a strong faith, and she knows there are not shortcuts to true happiness.  She decides to go to college and study to become a teacher.  Her life will be much richer for the future!

COMMUNITY PRAYERS

• God, help us to stop exploiting and hurting each other for our own personal interests.  Let us pray to the Lord: Lord, hear our prayer.
• Lord Jesus, teach us to follow your example this Lent and help us resist the lies and deceits of the devil’s temptations.   Let us pray to the Lord: Lord, hear our prayer.

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