SENTENCED TO DEATH BUT FORGIVEN!

We hear so many sad stories these days in Zambia about abuse of women, sexual defilement of children, orphans, street children, child-headed families, etc.  Where do all these problems come from?  What should we be doing in Zambia to overcome these problems?

It seems to me to be very true that so many of these problems are problems of the family.  The family is the basic unit of society.  It is the foundation of relationships in every other area.  When there are problems in the family, then there are problems in the whole country.

Indeed, family ties are so very strong, they never really end. The Chewa people have proverbs that express this truth:  Cibale ndi litsiro, sicisansika  -- a family relationship is like dirt, it simply cannot be gotten rid of!  Or  cibale ndi pfupa, siciola – being related is like a bone, it does not rot!

That’s why we see such powerful stories in both the Old Testament and the New Testament about families.  The first family of Adam and Eve.  Abraham and all his family descendants.  Ruth joining a new family.  The family of Jesus.  Families forming the foundation for the early Church.

Christmas is often called a “family feast.”  And so it is very helpful to have a beautiful scriptural story like we have today, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, as we are preparing to celebrate Christmas in a few days.  For the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is really a story of families relating to each other.

In the Gospel of Luke, we see Mary lovingly reaching out to her cousin Elizabeth. She is sensitive to the needs of Elizabeth, an older woman who has recently become pregnant.  Even though Mary has herself just become pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit, she does not stay by herself, just thinking of herself.  No, she does not wait to be asked, but goes right away to help Elizabeth.   As the Tonga people say, Nzinini ikukhala njikuyanda --  the one who visits you is the one who loves you.

We also see Mary express respect to her elderly cousin. Nowadays, there can be a temptation to lose our respect for elders, even within our own families. Sometimes, our elders are neglected or abandoned by their young relatives. But from the example of Mary, we are exhorted to strengthen our family ties and always be respectful of elders.

Elizabeth also affirms and appreciates her younger relative, Mary.  She recognises the great worth of Mary and calls her “blessed among women”.  Many times, we fail to affirm each other or appreciate the good qualities in the members of our family. But whatever is good in others should be appreciated. Ichiweme chiilombela umuchele -- this Bemba saying echoes the same message of affirming and appreciating each other.

Let us not allow the materialism and individualism found around us today to destroy our family ties. We should always put promotion of the “common good” as our task number one.  When there are family problems, we should take care of them ourselves before they become too great.   As the Bemba proverb teaches us: Umuto walupwa tawitika usendama fye.  This means that we should sit down and solve our family problems ourselves and stay united.

The other readings of today help us to appreciate God’s plan of salvation that we see fulfilled in the great event of Christmas.  The prophet Micah tells us that God is faithful to his promises and will draw very close to his people.  The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that it is the person of Jesus Christ who will offer the perfect sacrifice of obedience that liberates us from sin.

In the next few days before Christmas, let us look around us to see ways that might strengthen our own families and the families of our parish.  In our small Christian communities, let’s read again the Gospel of Luke that we heard this morning, chapter 1, verses 39-44, and then ask ourselves these two questions:

1.      Are we responding to the families around us that might have some special need, for example, hunger, sickness, death?

2.      Are we teaching our children to show respect for elders and to express appreciation for other people?   

Remember that the African Synod taught us ten years ago that the Church is the “Family of God.”   We can know that if we are strengthening our families in Zambia today, then we are really strengthening our church, and building up a much stronger nation!

SKETCH

In our sketch we show two families, both belonging to the same small Christian community. One family is living a comfortable life, while the other family suffering in poverty.

The comfortable family is touched by the family that is suffering so much. They decide to share some mealie meal with the poor family. They also give the same family some maize seeds and a hoe and explain to them the importance of planting now so that they will have food in the months ahead.  This is an effective way of reaching out to the poor by providing for their immediate needs and also by teaching them to provide for themselves in the future.

Community Prayer

1.      Loving Lord, continue to fill us with life and goodness so that we can have loving families. We pray to the Lord, Lord hear us.

2.      God our Creator, protect us from evils and dangers of excessive materialism and teach us how to share with others.  We pray to the Lord, Lord hear us.

3.      Gracious God, help us to celebrate Christmas in a way that strengthens our faith, deepens our hope and broadens our love.  We pray to the Lord, Lord hear us.

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