LET MY PEOPLE GO

Pick up any newspaper today.  Listen to any radio station. Tune in television news at any time.  Plenty of very sad stories, to be sure.  Does God know these stories?  Does God care?

In the first reading of this Third Sunday of Lent, God tells Moses that he has seen the miserable state of his people, the people of Israel.  He has heard their cry against slave drivers in Egypt.  But this same God is right now seeing the misery of the majority of Zambians. He is also hearing their cry. He has seen and heard the cry of farmers worried about markets for their crops, of civil servants whose wages are being frozen by the government, of AIDS patients who can’t afford to buy ARVS, of unemployed youth who have lost hope, and of orphans who have become street kids.

Just as God gave Moses the order to lead his people to freedom, so today God gives us Zambian Christians the mandate to liberate our sisters and brothers from the sufferings they are enduring.  Are we ready to make ourselves available for this mission of liberating God’s people? Are we ready to use our talents, gifts and time for this mission?  Yes, God has indeed seen the misery of the majority of the Zambians and has heard their crises.  And yes, God will indeed come to rescue them.  But we Christians must agree to be instruments in the salvation of the people. We might see ourselves as incapable of fulfilling this noble and dangerous task because we are not “qualified.”  It is normal for us to experience fear, just as Moses did when he was asked to lead the people to freedom.  But remember:  God never calls anyone to do something without also providing all the strength necessary to do it!

God said very clearly to Moses: “I will be with you.“  (Exodus 3:12)  If God will be with us, we shall overcome some day. “Osabelengela mbeba ndi muchira” (Don’t count mouse together with the tail to know the number the mice.”  We Christians need to stand up to be counted among the prophets, not among the people who just go along with whatever is happening. The church in Zambia does not need the “Katamba Warriors” (Spectators) but witnesses of Jesus Christ and his Gospel of Justice. It is time to sacrifice our personal agendas and interests. It is time to obey God, by participating in his liberation of the people wherever we are. (Unfortunately, whenever God raises up people with a prophetic voice, some people --including our government! -- tend to declare such prophets as non-Zambians or witches. And this means prophets can either be deported or banished from our villages!)

Saint Paul in the second reading of today is cautioning us to learn from those Israelites who disobeyed God and died. Today the great Apostle is advising us to run away from social pressures that lead us to sin. Let us choose to do what is right and avoid evil. “Akanwa ka mwefu takabepa.” (The bearded mouth does not lie). If we want to live, let us obey the advice of Saint Paul because he is urging us to learn from the sad desert experience of the Israelites who disobeyed their God.

The Gospel of today offers us a very good lesson in the midst of this Lenten Season.  In the Gospel, our Lord Jesus is challenging us to turn away from our sinful ways of living. He is telling us not to regard others as sinners. Don’t look down the street or into the next village and pick out the sinners.  Stay closer to home, closer to our very selves!  To be honest, we must admit that while we are enjoying God’s goodness we are at the same time deliberately going against God and other people with our harmful words, thoughts and actions.   Many people ask why God allows the so-called “bad people” – for example, thieves, plunderers, adulterers, child-defilers -- to live longer? But remember that God is always patient and compassionate with us. He gives us more time to repent, to seek his mercy, to ask forgiveness of those we offend.

But we must also remember that you and I do not know God’s timetable for us. Will all the people who are gathered in church this Third Sunday of Lent be here for the Fourth Sunday of Lent?  Or for Easter?  In the Gospel Jesus invites us not to delay but to change our sinful and harmful way of life this very day.  We must begin to live holy lives and act justly towards our neighbours in order to build better and more just and peaceful communities.   One thing is for sure – we simply cannot bribe God!  He isn’t like a police person at a road check post or a clerk in a government office. He isn’t interested in “Nchekeleko!”  One day we will have to face our day of judgment and account for all our actions.

If we want to find true happiness and the meaning of our lives, we must re-examine our attitudes towards power, pleasure and money. We must look at how we treat our families and friends.  We must ask ourselves if we also hear the cries of the poor and oppressed around us.  It will be a tragedy if we miss this chance to amend our lives. Lent is a moment of grace when we can draw close to our God. One way to use this time very well is to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We should prepare well by an honest look at our lives and by acknowledging that we are sinners.  But we must also acknowledge that God loves us very, very much – even though we may be sinners!   Sometime before Easter, we should all try to receive the wonderful grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

When the Israelites were under the yolk of oppression and slavery at the hands of the Egyptian pharaohs, they cried to God and God came to their rescue. This is a clear sign and indication that the cause of the oppressed who are seeking justice is the cause of God himself.  So if we If we fight for justice, we are on the side of God because God intends justice to reign in this world.

Remember how we joyfully sing “Ndine mkristu” at the time of baptisms in our churches? To bear the name of Christian is indeed a joyful privilege.  But any Christians worthy of that name have to be concerned about the shackles of poverty, injustice, economic and social misery, that damn their sisters and brothers and condemn them to inhuman lifestyles. The call to Christianity includes the call to make this world a better place to live in, modeled on the biblical principles of justice and peace. If God is to come to the aid of those who are suffering from injustices today, he is to do so through us. Are we ready to stake our lives for the sake of justice and work to liberate his daughters and sons, our sisters and brothers?

SKETCH

We have a very talented and wealthy man who drinks beer every day. He is also boastful to his neighbours and doesn’t listen to any advice. He is stubborn. He neglects his family and is very unfaithful to his wife.  But now he is very sick in the hospital.  He realises that he is very close to death.  He calls his family and asks for forgiveness from the wife and children.  He calls for the priest and receives very worthily and peacefully the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

COMMUNITY PRAYERS

• God, when we are tempted to become selfish and seek only our own satisfaction, help us not to forget our neighbours in need. Let us pray to the Lord: Lord, hear our prayer.
• God, help us to be instruments of peace and justice in our homes and communities. Let us pray to the Lord: Lord, hear our prayer.

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