The action of the priest Ezra in the Old Testament can be likened to that of Christ in the gospel. As Ezra reads from the Book, “All the people, their hands raised high, answered, "Amen, amen!" Christ inaugurates his mission in the gospel, “stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.” Scripture records that the eyes of all in the synagogue look intently at him, whereas the people of Ezra’s community are filled with emotions. In Christ, we reenact our covenant with the Word of the Father. Christ’s mystical body gathers and gains life through Him. Nehemiah and the leaders exhort the people, “for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"
Initiation into the community of believers is one great effect of the sacrament of baptism. First, we are conformed with Christ, then, with one another. Saint Paul articulates in the second reading, “in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” Paul’s analogy of the parts of the body captures the strength of the sacramental bond making us one in the community. In this community network, we recognize the richness of the gifts of the members.
Those of us Africans in the diaspora have a particular experience with our aging parents. For instance, they prefer staying in the village instead of coming to live with us in the US. It does not matter how exotic the image of America presents. When these elderly parents visit their children in the US, they see themselves mostly indoors and unable to interact as they would want to. They do not know many people. Their children are scarcely available because of their work schedule. The weather might not allow much movement outside. There is limited contact with neighbors. Importantly, they rarely have time to go to church, and the language seems strange to them when they do. The music is not the same. The style of preaching is also unfamiliar. Everything seems to take them away from the community.
On the contrary, life in the village is usually convivial with constant coming and going. Engagements with each other characterize their lifestyle. People find fulfillment in having contacts with other individuals and can access them at will. Their language is the same. It is easy to reach out to one’s neighbor to seek help with what is lacking. The fact is that people of similar faith build connections centered on Christ the source and summit of our lives.
In the secular world, most civilized societies, today, recognize the danger of isolation and the adverse mental health problems resulting from detachment from the community. As a result, counseling attempts to prescribe community reintegration as an intervention for mental health problems such as anxiety, trauma, depression, etc. Counselors seek to reintegrate mental health patients into the community of faith as a source of healing, regaining stability, and seeking recovery. This points us back to creation, “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen 2:18).
Community is intended to help individuals feel God’s love and to connect with members. Whether in times of sickness, loss, grief, anxiety, addiction, or faith struggles, the community is a place to regain God’s love and strength. Ezra brings the people together “before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand.” They join in their grief and find strength in each other. They, in turn, discover joy in the Lord through the members of the community as gifts in times of sorrow.
Just this Friday, January 24th, I watched the new president of America, Donald Trump visit the devastated sites in North Carolina (flood victims) and Los Angeles (fire victims). The significant thing about those visits was the consolation brought to the people by the physical visit of the president. On that visit, too, the media showed how the members of the community came together to present their shared grief and loss. They demonstrated faith through community connection. They portrayed strength and resilience. It is this sense of community that forms the fulcrum for their hope to rebuild their communities against the odds of water or fire disasters. Each part of the members of those communities is coming together to build up the entire body albeit the damage done to any of the parts.
As Christians, we have been brought into the community of God’s family through baptism. We share the bond of love as sons and daughters in Christ Jesus. This is huge. Our sacramental bond is beyond any political, philosophical or ideological connections, and we must realize it. Our quest for spiritual food, our desire for the sacraments, is not a satisfaction of mere emotions and feelings. It is fundamental to our being as Christ says, “Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him.” Therefore, rejoicing in the Lord becomes the strength of community gatherings.
The readings of this weekend specifically challenge leaders to build strong communities -pastors, priests, ministers – to build active and supportive communities. Let us emulate the priest-scribe Ezra and King Nehemiah in creating a sense of hope within the community. People need to hear those words through us, that the joy of the Lord is their strength. Our communities must be lifted and sustained through God’s word. That means that our preaching must convey the power of Christ to heal, revive, and restore hope. The joy of the Lord must be presented as the strength for the downtrodden, the poor, the grieving, and everyone. Let us use the various gifts within our communities to build each other up around Christ who is the source of hope. Healing, comfort, courage, and peace can be found through our baptismal commitment within the community.
Readings: 1st- Neh. 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 2nd- 1 Cor. 12:12-30; Gospel- Lk. 1:1-4, 4:14-21
Comments