Posses the land
|
||
|
|
The theme of Couples for Christ this year is taken from Psalm 37:34 – Possess the land. As stated by our International Mission Director, Frank Padilla, we are to win our respective countries for God. We are to establish the reign of God on earth. Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm, as differentiated from the other types of psalms such as enthronement psalms or thanksgiving psalms. As such, it has an underlying message or lesson, much like the wise sayings or proverbs of the wisdom literature. Its principal message is that the wicked will be “cut off” (vv 22,28) while the just will be blessed for they will “possess the land” and live in it forever (vv 22,29). While the reward of the just is presented in terms of dwelling in or possessing the land, the fate of the wicked is described using the imagery of the transitory nature of plants: Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away (v 2). Like the beauty of meadows they vanish (v 20). I have seen ruthless scoundrels, strong as flourishing cedars. When I passed by again, they were gone; though I searched, they could not be found (vv 35-36). The teaching of the Old Testament emphasizes that the land belongs to Yahweh: The land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine, and you are but aliens, who have become my tenants (Lev 25:23). Thus possessing the land means that one has received a gift from God, that one has been chosen by God to be a steward of something precious that belongs to Him. That possessing the land is a singular honor bestowed only to the ones chosen by God is apparent in the fact that these words are repeated seven times in Psalm 37: Trust in the Lord and do good that you may dwell in the land (v 3). Those who wait for the Lord will possess the land (v 9). The poor will possess the land (v 11). Those blessed by the Lord will possess the land (v 22). Turn from evil and do good, that you may inhabit the land forever (v 27). The just will possess the land and live in it forever (v 29). God will raise you to possess the land (v 34). In the original context of these verses “the land” refers to the Promised Land, Israel. However, later exegetes have ascribed to it a more profound meaning – that of a “spiritual territory” or “heavenly land.” For instance, in Hebrews, there is an allusion to this: All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one (Heb 11:13-16). The influence of Psalm 37 is also apparent in the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew. The reward of those who are presently poor and those who are meek is their entry into the kingdom of God, their possession of the land. Thus, we read: Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land (Mt 5:3,5). The underlying theme of the Old Testament is the possession of the Promised Land by the Chosen People. God had promised them a land for their inheritance: It was on that occasion that the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land”(Gen 15:18). God then called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt into the Promised Land: I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:8). But it was Joshua whom God had chosen to enter the Promised Land: “My servant Moses is dead. So prepare to cross the Jordan here, with all the people, into the land I will give the Israelites. As I promised Moses, I will deliver to you every place where you set foot (Jos 1:2-3). However, we know from history that after the conquest of the Promised Land, followed by the period of the Judges, then the period of the Monarchy, Jerusalem was destroyed by order of Nebuchadnezzar and the people of Israel were put in exile (587 – 539 B.C). This was followed by a period of Restoration after Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. This is reflected in the prophecy of Ezekiel: I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land (Ez 36:24). My brothers and sisters, we are commanded by God to “possess the land.” Like the Chosen People of the Old Testament, this will be a continuing quest. And like them, we will experience failures and difficulties. We will experience spiritual exile, times when God seems too distant, too unreachable. But with God’s grace, we will return and then with an even greater intensity and determination, we will continue on with our journey until finally we find rest in the heavenly Jerusalem, which the Lord has prepared for us. In our quest to “possess this land,” we must not lose sight of the fact that our most fundamental purpose in Couples for Christ is to win souls for Christ – our souls and that of others. Couples for Christ started (and still is) as a community for Christian renewal – the renewal of families and the re-evangelization of Christians. With the establishment of the social ministries, in particular, the intensification of our work in Gawad Kalinga, our focus has shifted towards total human liberation. Nevertheless, we must remember that authentic human liberation is not achieved by merely giving the poor a decent place to live, or the hungry sufficient food to eat. Authentic human liberation happens in the heart. True human liberation must penetrate the soul. My brothers and sisters, this is the real meaning of our theme – possess the land. Yes, it means establishing Couples for Christ in more countries this year. Yes, it means building more homes for the poor in the Philippines and expanding Gawad Kalinga into other countries. But it is, more importantly, inviting Christ to possess the internal territory of our hearts and souls so that we could be authentic servants and true disciples who serve for the sole purpose of giving glory to God. This means primarily that, in the midst of the din of housing construction, handicrafts production, school room activities, treatment of patients, training of out-of-school youths, as well as the rush of flying in and out of airports to conduct missions and attend conferences, we will still find adequate time for peace and quiet to converse with the Lord – to sit at the feet of the Master for no other purpose than just to listen to what He has to say. To possess the land is also a call to mission ad gentes. The land promised to Abraham is for all, for it finds fulfillment in the coming of Christ. It thus starts with us, but does not end there. It includes our brethren in the Catholic Church but that is not its limit. It embraces all Christians but that is not the boundary. Rather, it aims to bring all, Christians and non-Christians alike, under the headship of Christ. My brothers and sisters, I would encourage all of you to begin CFC’s mission ad gentes by our own witness of sanctity – by allowing Christ to radiate from ourselves, by being more caring, more generous, more patient. And then let us invite non-Christians into our community, beginning with those married to Christians. Bring them into our Christian Life Program. Establish special households for them. Make them feel comfortable in our community. Then just let the power of the Holy Spirit work in them. In God’s own time, they will profess Christ as Lord and Savior. And then, they too, will possess the land. |
|
