Dominicas de la Presentación - Capítulo General 2019

La Turena, Bucaramanga (Colombia), 07/25/2019, P. Franklin Buitrago, OP.- The Gospel we just heard is surprising. We verify the enormous difficulty the apostles had in understanding and accepting the teachings of Jesus.

Although they had left everything to follow him, who had been living with him for months, listening to his parables and sermons, the disciples could not accept the Lord's message deep in their hearts. He was so revolutionary and so different from his mentality! The mother of James and John believes that Jesus will soon establish a political reign and, therefore, wants to get ahead of the other disciples by asking that his children be his prime ministers. That was the meaning of sitting on his right and on his left in his kingdom. The Lord tries to make them realize their mistake, reminding them of the announcements of passion, but the disciples in the naivety of their ambition claim to be ready to give their lives for Jesus. And to complete the scene, the other ten disciples are outraged because they feel that James and John want to take away their place!

In reality, this Gospel passage is addressed to the disciples of all times for whom it is difficult to truly accept the message of Jesus. Disciples who have the temptation of power, prestige, public recognition, the search for success, even in the following of the Lord. It is not in vain that the spiritual masters affirm that pride and pride are the worst temptations because they can ruin even the works of the good by making them believe that they are better than others and that they are entitled to honors and awards for having done good.

In the face of this continuous temptation, the Lord invites us to scrutinize the deepest motivations of our actions in the depths of our hearts, asking ourselves as to the mother of the Zebedees: what do you want? What do you really want? By being here, by participating in this general chapter, by assuming a specific responsibility or ministry, what do you seek to achieve? Possibly, in the complexity of our human condition, we discover in us a multiplicity of desires, desires, ambitions, fears ... some closer to what Christ wants, others further away from what he asks of us. The long road of conversion, of inner renewal, is a continuous purification of our desires so that our heart can turn everything whole, without divisions, towards God.

During this week, Saint Paul has been for us a teacher of humility. Aware of that "thorn in the flesh" that reminds him of his own weakness, Paul told us in the first reading: We carry a treasure in clay pots, so that we can see that the excellence of power comes from God, not from us. Paul had learned from experience that being an apostle was not a privilege; quite the opposite: we are troubled in everything, but not distressed; in trouble, but not desperate; persecuted, but not helpless; knocked down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus is also manifested in our bodies. That is the true faith of the Apostle who sees in his vocation a path of surrender and sanctification, not a race to success and honors.

The teaching of Jesus is revolutionary and difficult to accept because it goes against what we see every day. Do not do like the tyrants of this world. Do not think as international organizations or the governments of your countries do. There is the challenge of showing that there is another way to exercise authority: from service and charity. Whoever wants to stand out, be the first, to be everyone's server. A phrase that we should repeat many times knowing that our heart tends to go in another direction. A teaching that we should remember every time we contemplate the Crucified knowing that he was the first to set an example. And, in saying this, I think first of all of us, the priests who celebrate the Eucharist every day, often forgetting what this ministry means as service and dedication. Many times we are the first to desire positions of honor. Long time walking with the Lord and we have not just accepted his message!

It sounds curious that the Church has chosen this gospel for the feast of St. James Apostle. It does not seem like a passage to exalt its virtues or its holiness, but quite the opposite. However, remember that according to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, James was the first among the Twelve who died a martyr for the Lord. He was in a hurry to be the first and, indeed, was the first to give his life for Christ, to drink his chalice, as the Lord had said. Possibly, he was the first to die a martyr because he was one of the few apostles who remained in Jerusalem when the persecution broke out against Christians. We know that he assumed the leadership of the community in those difficult years, risking his life. There he had the opportunity to show that he had finally learned the lesson.

Jesus had patience with that ambitious apostle who wanted to take first place, as he had patience with the rest. The Lord has patience with each of us, waiting for the time to come when we understand his message and take the step towards authentic faith.