Easter Sunday 4 B (29 April 2012)

By the Gospel of today (John 10.11-18) we get the design of a good shepherd:
1) to lay down his life for his sheep (the sheeps are the aim of his action !!!)
2) to know the own sheeps and they know the shepherd (mutually dependent).
3) there are other sheeps (not of his fold) but he has to care for them as well -
                                                                       until all are one flock!

Following John Jesus designs himself as the true shepherd for all Christian people -
and John is in favour of this idea - me too!

But we live in 2012 / The situation is more complicated; I try to explain:

A) We are multi-shephered people!
As Namibians: we have the State as our secular shepherd.
As a Republic we have accepted the Constitution and we have "chosen" people to "play State" (Parliament, Cabinet, Court, civil servants etc...)
1. Everyone as a secular Citizen is also a secular shepherd executing his rights and duties against the Namibian flock.
2. The secular Media have to inform us what really happen (a special service today!)
3. The secular Parliament has to create Laws in the best interest of all.
4. The secular Ministers have to execute the laws for the well-being of all.
5. The secular Court has to protect the Constitution and the Laws.
We have decided the State as a secular shepherd is to look after the well-being of his flock; after the decision we have to demand it.
As Baptised: we have Jesus Christ as our religious shepherd. Und we know the Church is the executing body. Religion means to deliver the energy of God.
As Personality: we have our own chosen personal shepherd; somebody who cares
for my personal well-being.
As Professionals: we have different shepherds.... (what an idea: the employer may be a secular shepherd: caring for the well-being of his fold)

B) We are people in the balance?
We not only have to reconcile in our situation all these "shepherds"...
Today the normal situation is: every person is on the one hand "sheep": he/she is cared for...  on the other hand he/she is "shepherd": caring for...
In the waves of life we have to find the balance... and to find out when, where which role we play: "cared for... or caring for..." This awareness is crucial.
The sheep may never forget - it is in the other situation a shepherd; and hopefully
the shepherd is aware, he/she is in other circumstances sheep!

C) In our Christian heritage we see both position as good! The shepherd-position means to do a service; to take over, to accept responsibility; the sheep-position means I'm the aim of the service - but also: I'm depending on...  (no sheep no shepherd!)
Because everyone of us is also in a shepherd-position and in a sheep-position,
what do we learn from the Gospel for the balance of our doubble-position?
Many times we have learnt from the Gospel, the one who is put into authority
is put in Service (on duty). "Lay down his life" in case of emergency.

As we have learnt about service we may now also learn about interdependence!
This second point we have not enough considered: In our mutual dependence
we have to get known each other. This interdependence must lead us to every effort
to get knowledge about the situation of the other side. The real good effectiveness of the service depends on the knowledge of the sheep-situation - on the other side: only if the service rendered is transparent for the sheep, the effect will be fruitfull.The sheep has to know who and why the service is rendered and most important the service consists of what?
We hope the private and public service-delivery-industry in Namibia may learn  something from the idea of the good shepherd: the carer for... and the cared for...
may know each other better and better!

Easter-Sunday 3B / 2nd after Easter (22.04.12) !!!

As a Christian Community in 2012, united as people which have decided to keep
the resurrection of JvN real, we are on the outlook of resurrection-traces....
Because we like to be reasonable; our decision is based on experiences; traces... Lukas is in the same situation (24.35-48); he tries to convince his readers: Jesus is the risen Lord! It seems his strategy is, to show us how JvN he himself tries to convince the disciples - and the strategy of JvN? Coming himself among them (with his biography).
At the end Lukas states: "You are the witnesses to this". It seems this is important: to be witness of the resurrection of JvN. Today, how do we witness the resurrection? Do we call the finger-print group? No way!  The only "prove" is our decision: For us JvN is the risen Lord and therefore we act accordingly. Everybody who draw consequences out of his / her resurrection-decision is such a trace...

Don't forget: before your decision once somebody came to you und told you JvN is the risen Lord; exactly this was his coming among us, it was an offer - maybe you reacted like the disciples: agitated, with doubts rising in your hearts... and it needs more than one coming; it needs also to see his hands (the historical works of Christian people!), sometimes it needs much more...
But then once you decided (as a re-action to the message): Yes I'm here to take up this message and to live it, to materialise it.I keep HIM alive as I become part of his risen Body; in modern language: we are Church!

As the risen Body of JvN, we the Baptised are somehow "instrumental" to do his redemptive deeds today. Look at the Saints... look at people you know - some of them have a Life-style born out of the resurrection-decision. They are traces...
(not "prove" in the narrow sens).
"Resurrection is a conviction" the Christian Churches bring into the lives of many;
but this "conviction" is convincing only as it can be shown as life-designing, life-changing, life-shaping, life-fullfilling... and the addressee may hopefully make a positive decision!
In middst of our daily hard experiences it's not easy to keep the resurrection-decision / conviction" alive. In this regard the Church-Community is often our
empowerment.

First Sonday B after Easter (15.04.2012)

This is the Community-Sonday!

Luke in his "Acts" (4.32-35) says clearly: The disciples were a Community (united).
John in his Gospel (20.19...) says: United! in one room (first a fearfull Community);
    but 1. Jesus was among them! (like in our Eucharist: the Lord be with you)
          2. The first gift: peace be with you (at least: each is accepting the other one;
               and there is forgiveness of sins before the Gloria!)
          3. Sending: everyone knows we have a message of joy; euangelion!
              We listen the readings at the Holy Service to bring it to the world.
          4. In order to spread this message: the power of the Holy Spirit is given.
                  (and to spread the message means first: acting forgiveness)

After we have decided: Jesus is the risen Lord (Easter / Baptism); the first work
to do is now: we have to care for our Community. Christianity means Community;
nobody can be a single Christian! To be a Christian means to belong to a Community.

Here now some Community rules:
1. we come together; very simple - today very difficult! We sing, we pray, we listen, we work - but together... coming together is the basic of the Eucharist.
2. we care for each other - today we have it forgotten! Mostly we care for our
family - but for the Community-people - not me...
3. we work in groups (for the good of the Community and for our sending-work)
    Every Cty should have at least:
    group A) for our Liturgy
    group B) for our Catechesis and ongoing formation
    group C) for the Social Teaching and action of the Church (J+P-group)
    group D) for the Finances
    group E) for activities and coordination and representation: the Cty-Council
4. we celebrate (Life-events; the Word of God or Eucharist etc...) cf. point 1

If you as a person don't keep these rules -
                                           you know now you are not yet a Christian!

Easter - joy!

As we enjoy a Christian tradition, education and exercises, the first at Easter is
our joy: joy about the light (candle), the water (baptism), the word (stories about resurrection), joy to sing Halleluya...
But sure we also have some Easter-meditation:
The Holy-Friday told us "they" have hindered JvN to continue his mission... and we
have to accept: he didn't accomplish his mission; this is evident until today!
It's an experience nearly everybody make it: people hinder us to accomplish our Christian mission, we die knowing: mission unaccomplished! But at least JvN has rendered his contribution, we try the same...

The women of JvN (Mk 16.1-8) have gone to the tomb to mourn, to regret, to annoint the dead body, to care for the relicts - it was their intention - but couldn't perform it:
no body means risen! This is the new message: he is somehow alive, you will see him:
The women's first reaction: afraid, dumb.... but later they became story-tellers...
and today we discover and we narrate again and again stories about resurrection:
the nature, the culture play resurrection... people stand up and walk... and after
death, why should there be no resurrection?
(only because our blind eye can't see it?)
Since the discovery of transcendence (150'000 years ago) - the question is alive and the answer is ready: transcendence is more than normal; all what we see, hear, perceive - it's on a trancendence-way (je ins Jenseits gehend, unaufhoerlich). That's hope and experience! every day trancends into the next day!
We Christian have accepted JvN as one who has given his contribution but not accomplished his mission. This is why by baptism we decided to go on; to follow him means to bring our own contribution into the try to accomplish the mission...
It's a world-mission: at all the times, at all the places...
[but sorry: some Christian will not accept that JvN has not accomplished the mission; they urge him daily to finish his mission... praying again and again... they do not accept that JvN has given his body into our hands to go on to accomplish the mission... it's up to us: please / but some have the same intention as the women:
they try to care for the relicts, for the dead body; sorry it's useless!]

Holy Friday: "death by engagement"

1) John tells us (18.1 - 19.42) in his Gospel how he sees the end of the passionate engagement of this JvN. His "going public", his "hold-out", his strategy: not to confront - daeth by engagement is logic.
2) "to die" is a natural law for everybody - it means "death by nature" is secured.
But some people die of  "death by culture" (violence, car-crash, war etc...).
JvN has shown "death by engagement" is the Christian way.
3) In regard of "fullness of Life" it's important to realize: to be born, to grow, to blossom, to bear fruits... is one side; to decline, to decrease, to give up, to die -
that's the other side.  Both sides, both experiences belong to the "fullness of Life".
4) And again: this participation with "the fullness of Life"  is for everybodey - it's somehow granted. It's up to us to enjoy it - very consciously - to enable it for others, and to extend it in his quality.

passionate engagement

At Holy Thursday the Cath. Church celebrates Eucharist; we give thanks to God for the engagement of Jesus Christ for us. Looking at Jesus, his names are symbols of Service : braed, water, wine... washing of feet... Last Supper... His engagement is service with dedication (Hingabe); service as: to make something going. His service
first is for his people but then for all...JvN is a service-man with a passionate engagement in participating with the fullness of Life.
As baptised people we are called to follow Jesus: to be passionately engaged.
Therefore the curious question: engaged in? engaged with? engaged to?
By nature we are "like grain wheat", by culture we are "like agent" but by engagement
we are braed and wine, water and oil. Jesus challenges us to come up unto this level: going public with passionate engagement.

to go public

excerpt from the homily on Palm-Sunday in Osire (01.04.2012)
The Palm-Sunday tells us the fact, that Jesus has decided to go public -
cf. procession...  as followers: we are invited to go public too
I propose four steps
a) first You! open your mouth; what you think, what you feel, what you believe, what
    you doubt ... tell it to your people; don't be a grave of your belief!
    in the Holy Service: open your mouth: sing and pray loudly; be attentive...
    speak to participants; attend the sacraments; open yourself for a service...
    in public everybody may know: you are a Cath. Christian (CC); it's not a secret!
b) if I visit your family: how do I see, feel, you are a Cath.Christian; or you like to keep
    it hidden? Is there a Bible - maybe open? is there a feeling of welcome?
    is there sometimes a prayer? a "holy feast"?
c) on Sunday: you go public - to the Church or you stay at home; nobody may see you
    going to Church?!?! Do you like to be a single hidden CC or a member of the
    Community - well known to everybody? Do you know: we like to see you?
    And every Sunday, after you got the Word and the Holy Bread,  we like to tell you:
    go in peace into public-life - because you have a mission!
d) as a CC do you have a mission - to bring it to a public group, to a council, to a
    movement, to a party - or it doesn't matter? why not represent GRACE in the
    public (like justice, peace, solidarity, accountability, reliability, wisdom etc...)?
    You know: our situation in the word is not the best: we need your engagement
    in all public institutions - sure a CC-life is not a Sunday-walk, it's hard life!