Africa

A commentary on Mk 16, 15-20: Ascension Day, May 17th 2015

This time the liturgy “jumps” from the Gospel of John, which we have been readings in the last Sundays, to the last chapter of Mark. We actually read the five last verses, where it’s shown to us how Jesus passed the “mission baton” to the community of disciples, the Church that is now continuing His mission in the world; Let us see briefly each of these five verses:

1.- “Go into the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation”
It cannot said more clearly. Jesus’ friends and disciples understood quite soon three things: a) that the experience of friendship and discipleship they had with Jesus was a kind of a “precious pearl”, that it was the most important thing that ever had happened in their lives; b) that in spite of His death – or rather in and through His death- Jesus was not a looser but a winner –not by way of arrogance but way of love- and that He is now living with the Father – and, consequently, continuously present in each and every historical time-; c) that this marvellous news could not remain hidden, but it should be spread to all the corners of the Earth. To proclaim this “Good News”, this “gospel”, is a mandate, not to impose on others an ideology or a set of rites, but to share with all the enormous gift received.

2.- “He who believes and is baptized will be saved”
The disciples understand that the mercy of God has been revealed to them and to all the human beings in the person of Jesus Christ. To receive that mercy, they do not have to be “the best ones”; they only have to believe, that is, not to close themselves up in their own arrogance and hypocrisy, but to open themselves and accept the free Love that is offered to them. The Baptism is the meaningful sign of that “conversion”, of that acknowledgement of our sins and of our purification an liberation by the powerful love of the One, “who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born in the likeness of men”.

3.- “They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover”
Sometimes, it seems that doing mission consists in preaching. And, certainly, words are quite important; they allow us to illuminate our way, to enter into relationships with others and with God… But the Christian Message is much more than just words. It us action, education, health, freedom… It acts in the concrete lives of people. It’s interesting to note how from the beginning Mission has gone together with solidarity (hospitals, schools, homes for elderly and children…). This actions are not means to gain the sympathy of people; they are “messianic signs”, actions similar to those Jesus used to do in Galilee, concrete actions that show the concrete love and care of the Father for each person in need and distress. For the western world, quite often, healing is reduced to “physical healing”, but the healing the disciples experience is much more: it goes to the deepest root of the person, with evident positive effects in all its dimensions: physical, psychological, social and others. There’s no doubt, The Gospel, when it’s announced and received in sincerity, carries in itself a powerful healing and liberating force.

4. “He was taken into the heaven and sat down at the right hand of God”
Certainly, the words used in this sentence –taken into heaven, Sat down, right hand- are part of a symbolic language that tries to transmit an important truth with various dimensions, one of which can be expressed in the following terms: Jesus, being now “in heaven” (beyond the Earth), has overcome the limitations proper to a Galilean born in the first Century; now He is sharing the same age and condition than all of us, from every culture and human condition. In his new condition, Jesus cannot longer be manipulated (“Do not touch me”, He said to the Magdalene), but He is near to each one in whatever condition we are: man or woman, black or white, more or less sinner, left -wing or right-wing… We all can be in communion with the One who is now “sitting at the right hand of God”, in every historical epoch and in every human condition.

5.- “They went forth and preached everywhere, while the worked with them”
The disciples did not remain passive in Jerusalem, lost in a nostalgic attachment to the past. They took responsibility for the Gospel in the world and put themselves on the way, sure that the Lord was with them, even if in a different manner. This is the Church, the community of disciples that takes upon itself the responsibility to share the gospel to the last corner of the Earth. Each one of us is a part of this Church and has a part in its mission. The mission that Jesus entrusted to us for the life of millions.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

A commentary on John 15, 9-17, VI Sunday of Easter, May 10th 2015

We continue Reading the gospel of John, as in previous Sundays, but this time we leave behind the allegories (the Good Shepherd, the Vine and the branches) to come to a direct and moving declaration of friendship in a circle formed by Jesus, the Father and the disciples. I invite you to read this text imagining to be there in that room “at the upper floor”, in that house in Jerusalem, where Jesus was staying with his friends, before confronting the most decisive “hour” in His life. Let us go a bit into detail:

1.- The decisive hour, the time of truth
In chapters thirteenth to fourteenth, John tells us about Jesus’ gestures, feelings and words in those last hours of His life, when He was already aware of the deadly conflict He had with the authorities of His nation and His project of the Kingdom appeared set for a complete failure. The text we read today resounds with a special emotional energy, because what is at stake it’s not an idea or a project, but something much more relevant and “personal”: the quality of His relationships with His Father and His disciples.
In fact, that Holy Thursday was one of this crucial moments that we have in life, when we can become cowards and traitors (avoiding suffering) or reach the maximum of generosity, confirming our unconditioned faithfulness and our readiness to give up even our whole life in a supreme decision of confidence, trusting in God and in the Project (vocation) he has called us to follow. In that crucial moment, Jesus celebrates with his friends, the most important rite of His religious Tradition, the Passover, making it new and present in His own life. As the People did in Egypt, the same way Jesus prepared Himself “to pass”, in His case, “from this world to the Father”. In such a moment of supreme decision, life is played at its very essentials and Jesus thinks shows what it’s that really matters to Him.

2.- In the end, only love matters
Jesus has shared three intense years with His disciples. Together they travelled quite a lot from Galilee to Jerusalem; together they cured sick people, announced forgiveness to sinners, ate with humble and rich people, had big arguments with Pharisees, proposed a strong moral renewal… But now, when the end is nearing, all that seems to a certain point secondary. In fact, what really matters to Jesus in those dramatic hours is what He says clearly in today’s reading: “As my Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love”.
This is the secret of His life: Jesus has no doubts, even in the most dramatic moments and sufferings, that He is loved by the Father. That is the source of His strength, serenity, and deep joy that makes Him exult before the beauty of Nature or before those simple people, to whom God reveals himself as a God of wisdom and pardon, ready to re-construct broken hearts. That is the source of His complete freedom from fanatic moral condemnations from left or from right. And Jesus shares that experience of love with His friends, even if they do on understand Him fully. As a matter of fact, they do not have to be perfect or very clever; the only thing that, at this dramatic moment, really matters is that He loves them as the Father loves Him. They are not “servants”; they are not “civil servants” of a determined political, social or even religious project; they are “friends”, more, they are “brethren”; with them He shares everything; joys and sorrows, failures and successes… and, over all, the Father’s love.

3.- To abide
To His Friends and brothers, Jesus aske sonly one thing: that the love each other and abide in His love. But this love between Jesus and His disciples is not a “cheap” feeling for superficial or “shallow” people, with no roots (like a plan in the sand). It’s rather a stout friendship, rooted in the awareness of being children of the same Father and of sharing the same project of a new humanity. It’s not a friendship of convenience (that ends when the benefices end), but a friendship that endures beyond failures and successes, a friendship that remains in time and open to all those who want to follow Jesus from whatever culture or condition. A friendship that leads to the acceptance of His mandates in a mature and concrete faithfulness. A friendship that becomes affective nearness, capacity to forgive and understand, faithfulness and so many things that we can experience in our daily lives.
A friendship we celebrate and confirm in every Eucharistic celebration; a friendship that we pray that it becomes fertile and gives is Jesus Joy and mission.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

A commentary on John 15,-18, Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 3

Last Sunday Jesus used the image of a Good Shepherd, connected to the culture of cattle raising; today he chooses an image connected to the culture of vine growers. Vine growing is not a universal culture, but it is spreading quickly to many parts of the world and wine is being increasingly consumed, even if many do not know the plant itself. Anyway, I think that it is not difficult for anybody to understand the deep meaning of this allegory that Jesus is telling us today, based on the culture of Israel and many other peoples in the world.
Let us proceed then on this allegory. To have grapes and wine, we need, apart from the land itself, three esential elements:

1. The vine that carries new life
Jesus compares Himself with the vine, and the Father with the wine grower who prunes the branches of the vine. Jesus, whose personality is rooted in the Father’s Love, gives life to new “branches”, “members of his body” (as Saint Paul says), called to bear plenty of fruit in communion with Him and with the Father.
Some people seem to think today that they can give fruit by themselves, as if they were the “autonomous” sources of life, as if the branches could grow without the vine or as if a vine could grow without a land and a grower. But the true disciples of Jesus know that without the caring Love of the Father given to us in Jesus Christ, the “vine” to which we are attached, our life becomes fruitless and it ends up in a useless fire.
Some seem to think also that the Church is little more than a social, political or humanitarian organization. But the Church is, in the first place and above all, the community of those specially related to God in Jesus Christ. Certainly, the Church is and does many things; it runs, for example, thousands of schools and hospitals and its ministry has many social economic, cultural and political effects… Certainly, but lets us not confuse the effects with the causes. The Church is, first of all, an space of faith and relationship with God the Father in Jesus Christ. If that faith disappears, all the rest will disappear sooner or later.

2.- The branches that, springing up from the vine, bear fruit
Jesus says that we, his disciples and friends, are those “branches”. Saint Paul uses another expression, but the meaning is the same: We are members of his body. It is quite evident that the branches of a tree or the members of a body are nothing without the tree or the body. So to have life and bear fruit, we, the “branches”, have to avoid two dangers:
-To be broken and separated from the vine: I remember when I, as a young man, used to go with my father to the vineyard. We were very careful not to break the branches. If that happened, we knew that we have just lost part of the fruit we were so eager to receive from that vine. That is what is actually happening to us, when by unconsciousness or pride, we separate ourselves from Jesus Christ, thinking maybe that we are strong enough to do important things by ourselves. If we fall into that temptation, we become fruitless. It is essential to remain united to Jesus Christ with our love, the reading of his words, the obedience to his mandates, the communion with his disciples and the openness to his Spirit.

-To forget the pruning. Winegrowers know very well that a vine that is not pruned becomes very soon old and fruitless. I remember a vine that we had in one of our communities: left without pruning for a few years, became fruitless and is was set for death. When we decided to prune it adequately, it began quite soon to renew itself and give good fruit. The meaning of this allegory is quite clear, if we do not prefer to look to another side: A life “abandoned”, not “pruned” becomes chaotic and fruitless. We all know how athletes and musicians, among many others, need a lot of discipline to make progress. The same happens with our life and our discipleship. We need the decision to be disciples, but, besides, we need to be pruned by the Father through prayer, Bible reading, good counselling, openness to the Spirit…

3.- The fruit: the wine, that can transform a sad life into a feast banquet, like in Cana.
We all wish to give fruit and to live happy and fruitful lives. But we must remember that fruits are not something artificially added to the branches of threes. Fruits do not come from the outer part, but from the inner one. I’s only the inner life of the tree that can assure the arrival of the fruit. In the same way, a disciple will give fruit, only if he or she has a rich inner life, in deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and if he or she allows himself to be constantly “pruned” and taken care of by the Father. If the disciple remains united to Jesus and the Father, He or she will give abundant fruits of goodness and generosity, peace and joy, humility and service… In short, of a new life rooted in Jesus Christ.

Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma