In a homily preached at the Church of the Visitation in the Palestinian town of Zababdeh in the northern West Bank, the Most Reverend Stephen Brislin, Archbishop of Cape Town, told parishioners that Catholics cannot remain silent in the presence of untruth, injustice, hatred and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was speaking at Sunday Mass on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (13 January) as part of the annual Holy Land Co-ordination pilgrimage of prayer and persuasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the same way the early Christians baptised by John the Baptist asked the question ‘What must we do?’, Archbishop Brislin challenged Christians to ask themselves the same question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Firstly, we need to be freed from our own sinfulness – to reject anger, hatred and inflexibility within ourselves. Secondly, we must also cling to our faith and the hope it gives us. We cannot give up \u2013 our only true hope is in Christ Jesus who came to save the world. Without him we are powerless. We believe that he is Immanuel and that he is present and active in the world. Thirdly, amidst all our suffering, we will persevere to be servants of his Kingdom and to continue promoting, love, truth, peace and justice. What else can we do? This is our calling.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Archbishop Brislin concluded by recognising the absence of a ‘quick fix’ to ease the tension and violence in the Holy Land but affirmed the community with the clear message that the world’s Christians stand with them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We cannot solve the problems of the Holy Land, but what we can do is to say to you: you are not alone. We hold you in our prayers, but we also hold you in our hearts. May the God of creation and salvation bless and strengthen you, that you may continue to give faithful witness to him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full Text<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a great privilege to be with you this morning to celebrate the Eucharist which binds us together into the Family of God and the Body of Christ. It is a particular joy since we are celebrating the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, not far from the place where his baptism occurred in the river Jordan. We come as bishops of the Holy Land Co-ordination, bishops from the Anglican and Catholic Church, mostly from Europe and North America, but two of us are from South Africa. We are accompanied by professionals from a number of countries. Our main purpose is to express our solidarity with the Christians of the Holy Land and to gain a deeper insight into the challenges you face. We know and understand the difficult circumstances in which you live and we also understand the important vocation you have of keeping the flame of Christianity alight in the place of the Messiah\u2019s birth, ministry, death and resurrection. Many come here on pilgrimage to visit the holy places. We have come for the living stones of God\u2019s Temple.[1]<\/sup>\u00a0 We come as brothers and sisters united in our discipleship and commitment to Jesus Christ and his Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking back over\nthe past year and its many dramatic events, I found one event inspiring and\ndeeply moving. It reinforced my belief in the goodness of people. I am\nreferring to the rescue of the 12 Thai boys and their coach from the caves in\nThailand. Their plight captured the imagination of the whole world and there\nwas an overwhelming feeling of goodwill towards the boys and their families.\nPeople of all faiths were praying for their safety, many volunteered and put\ntheir lives at risk in order to bring them out of danger. After 18 days they\nwere rescued, all of them safe and the world rejoiced and gave thanks to God.\nSadly, one of the divers lost his life in trying to save the boys. This event\ntruly shows the goodness, generosity and goodwill that people are capable of.\nPeople are merciful, compassionate and caring, able to make great sacrifices\nfor others. The rescue of the Thai boys was dramatic and much publicized but\nthe fact is many people, in their daily lives and without fuss or publicity, do\nan enormous amount of good for their neighbour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, we also\nknow that there is another side to humanity \u2013 a harsher more violent side. Even\nwhile the world turned its attention to the trapped soccer team, thousands of\nchildren were dying of starvation in Yemen and the world was indifferent. Child\nsoldiers are forced to fight in many conflicts in Africa, yet the world is\nlargely silent. Thousands and thousands of people are displaced every year due\nto war and violence, yet often they are turned away without help. Violence and\nbloodshed on the border of Gaza seems quickly forgotten by many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\u2019 baptism\ncaptures the spirit which was shown in the rescue of the Thai boys and the many\nsacrifices people make in their daily lives. His baptism heralds the call to conversion, the call to \u201clet\nyour armour be the Lord Jesus Christ<\/em>\u201d[2]<\/sup> and to proclaim him to the\nworld. It is the fulfilment of the Old Testament, but it also the dawn of a new\nera of God\u2019s salvation. It was after his baptism that Jesus began his public\nministry in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah: \u201cthe Spirit of the Lord is\non me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has\nsent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the\noppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour to the Lord<\/em>\u201d.[3]<\/sup> After his baptism and the temptations in the\ndesert Jesus announced to his disciples \u201cthe time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom\nof God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel\u201d.[4]<\/sup> Throughout his ministry\nJesus proclaimed God\u2019s kingdom, in word and action. Through his teachings he\nopened the minds of people to glimpse the depth of the new way of life. Through\nhis miracles he gave concrete expression to the love, mercy and tenderness of\nGod towards his people and that, indeed, salvation was at hand. This salvation\nknows no boundaries. We heard the words of St Peter in the Second Reading: \u201cTruly\nI perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears\nhim and does what is right is acceptable to God<\/em>\u201d[5]<\/sup>. Salvation is offered to\nall, of every nation, race, tribe and language[6]<\/sup> – it is offered to those who\nwill bear its fruit[7]<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Baptism of the\nLord reveals Jesus as the Son of God, and he reveals to us God the Father. It\nis a Transformation because it is the dawn of the new era, the proclamation of\nGod\u2019s liberating action and the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. The\nmission of the Church is to continue that proclamation, in word and deed, and\nwe are all called to participate in that mission. It is to restore Creation,\ndisfigured by people, to that which God intended it to be. It is a noble\ncalling that summons goodness and generosity from people \u2013 to be the people God\nwants us to be. The mission is for us to be servants of the Kingdom of God and\nto offer that Kingdom to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His Kingdom is\nunlike earthly ones \u2013 it is \u201can eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of\ntruth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and\npeace<\/em>\u201d[8]<\/sup>. The\npromotion of truth, love, justice and peace are integral to the mission of the\nChurch. In the presence of untruth, injustice, hatred and violence we cannot\nremain silent. We have an obligation to witness to the Kingdom. We cannot be\nsilent and nor can we be neutral. To quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu: \u201cif you are neutral in situations of\ninjustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its\nfoot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will\nnot appreciate your neutrality<\/em>\u201d[9]<\/sup>. In\ntoday\u2019s First Reading, Isaiah speaking of the Servant of God, says: \u201ca\nbruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he\nwill faithfully bring forth justice<\/em>\u201d[10]<\/sup>. With the same tenderness,\ngentleness and mercy that God shows to those who suffer, who are afflicted, who\nare oppressed, who are denied their rights, who are prevented from reaching\ntheir full potential as human beings, we continue to serve God\u2019s Kingdom with\nresolve and courage. What else can we do? It is our mission and we must be\nfaithful to our Master. Pope Francis expressed it like this: \u201cEssential … is the moral imperative of\nensuring social justice and respect for human dignity. The great biblical\ntradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It\nbids us to break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to\nglaring, and indeed, scandalous social inequalities. Reforming the social\nstructures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor first\nrequires a conversion of mind and heart\u201d.[11]<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\u2019 Baptism\ngives us the courage to hope. Hope that there is still goodness in the world and\nthat good will triumph over evil. Hope gives us the courage to believe in\nChrist\u2019s liberation from sin and death. Those who went to be baptized by St\nJohn the Baptist asked him \u201cwhat must we do<\/em>?\u201d[12]<\/sup> We should ask ourselves the\nsame question. Firstly, we need to be freed from our own sinfulness – to reject anger, hatred and inflexibility\nwithin ourselves. Secondly, we must also cling to our faith and the hope it\ngives us. We cannot give up \u2013 our only true hope is in Christ Jesus who came to\nsave the world. Without him we are powerless. We believe that he is Immanuel\nand that he is present and active in the world. Thirdly, amidst all our\nsuffering, we will persevere to be servants of his Kingdom and to continue\npromoting, love, truth, peace and justice. What else can we do \u2013 this is our\ncalling<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once again, I\nthank you on behalf of all the delegates of the Holy Land Co-ordination for\nwelcoming us this morning. Your continued presence in the Holy Land and your\nfaith are important not only for yourselves but for Christians throughout the\nworld. We thank you for that and for the inspiration that you give to us. We\ncannot solve the problems of the Holy Land, but what we can do is to say to\nyou: you are not alone. We hold you in our prayers, but we also hold you in our\nhearts. May the God of creation and salvation bless and strengthen you, that\nyou may continue to give faithful witness to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n +Stephen Brislin<\/p>\n\n\n\n Archbishop of Cape Town 1 1 Cor 3:16 In a homily preached at the Church of the Visitation in the Palestinian town of Zababdeh in the northern West Bank, the Most Reverend Stephen Brislin, Archbishop of Cape Town, told parishioners that Catholics cannot remain silent in the presence of untruth, injustice, hatred and violence. He was speaking at Sunday Mass on the feast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"bishop":[],"department":[],"class_list":["post-1631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
13 January 2019
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2 Rom 13:14
3 Is 61:1-3 ; Lk 4:18-19
4 Mark 1:15
5 Acts 10:34-35
6 Rev 7:9
7 Matt 21:43
8 Preface of the Solemnity of Christ the King
9 https:\/\/www.brainyquote.com\/quotes\/desmond_tutu_106145
<\/a>10 Is 42:3
11 http:\/\/w2.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/speeches\/2015\/january\/documents\/papa-francesco_20150116_srilanka-filippine-incontro-autorita.pdf<\/a>
12 Lk 3:10ff<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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