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25 July 1998 -  Feast of St. James

Fr. Miguel Concha Malo
Provincial of Mexico

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Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters:

Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostle James, Zebedee's Son and brother of the Apostle St. John, as it is described in the Gospels. As we know, he was one of three witnesses of the Transfiguration of Christ in Mt. Tabor, but also a witness to Jesus' agony in the garden. Maybe that' s why he was the first to give his life for the Christian faith when Herod Agripa sent for him to be decapitated around the year 42. He was also present at the major miracles of the Lord. His tomb is venerated in Compostela ever since the ninth century, where uncountable numbers of pilgrims have gone by the "way of St. James" to this day. For this he is considered the patron of Spain, but also since the bigining of the XVI century he is the patron saint of our Province of Mexico. Furthermore, the only overseas Master that the Order has ever had since its founding by our Holy Father Dominic, was fr. Antonio of Monroy e Hijar, son of our Province; who was born on the feast of St. James in the city of Santiago de Queretaro, and bapatized in the Parish of St. James. Upon finishing his term as Mater of the Order he was appointed bishop of Santiago de Compostela. Praying for his intercession, let us celebrate this Eucharist calling on the blessing of God over all those borthers and sisters, members of the Dominican Family, who today give their lives in the american continent for the sake of the Gospel, and particularly in Chiapas.

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Homily

Dear brothers and sisters:

As we know the Gospel reafirms today that Jesus transformed authority into service, something quite vital nowadays, specially for Latin America. The crucifixion and our solidarity and love for all those crucified in history is the foundation of service and the only way to resurrection and the hope of transending life. Jesus points it out to Zebedee's Sons and their mother when he invites them to drink of the same cup of suffering that he is about to drink, in order to partake of the fullness of the Kingdom. This is of great importance not only for Latin America but for the whole world, unless we wish to turn the Resurrection of Christ into a merely symbolic event. And Christian Hope into a mere religious awaiting for self survival founded in the wish for eternity held by every man.

As it is explained pertinently by a latinamerican theologian, "Christian coarage in its own resurrection lives from the courage to overcome the historical scandal of injustice. The much needed hope, as a condition to the posibility of believing in Jesus' resurrection as the blessed future of ones own person, goes through the practice of historical love to give life to those who die in history" (Jon Sobrino). Perhaps many of us can give testimony of true Christian hope only in those who out of love valiantly give themselves to fight for justice for their brothers and sisters despite the many difficulties that emanate from all sorts of selfish and opressive powers. Many times I reflect on the life of our brothers and sisters in Chiapas and many other places where changes are taking place in my country.

"When our own death is not only the product of our biological limits, nor the wearing down of keeping our own life &endash;says Jon Sobrino, but when it is the product of selfgiving for the love of others and for what in others is devalued, poor and defenseless as products of injustice. Then an analogy may be drawn between that life and death and the life and death of Jesus. &endash;And only then, from a Christian standpoint-- One can partake of the hope of Resurrection. A share in the life and destiny of Jesus is what gives us hope that what was realized in Jesus will be also realized in us."

For this the Comission for the Mission of the Order explained in the text presented by fr. Antoine Lion that "to be believer is to partake of the love of God that makes us responsable of the suffering of the other, even when we are not the cause. Jesus was revealed as Mesia in becoming responsible for the sufering of the people. He shared with them, and his own death was the consequence of such solidarity, from which he did not spare himself."

For this reason Jesus' Resurrection is also a source of universal hope, first and formost for the 'crucified' of all times, a fact we become witnesses to if we approach them out of love, as did Jesus Christ. How many times have we not discovered this hope behind the long and heavy crosses of many of our brothers and sisters in Latin America?

"The crucified &endash;Jon Sobrino tells us- are those who should have the most difficulty in that faith and hope. But, when they hear that God was on the cross of Jesus, they've understood something of ultimate importantce: that the power of God is not an oppressive one (as is the power of men), but a saving one. That God is not pure otherness for them, but loving closeness…a Resurrection made credible by the closeness of God on the cross, also confirms for the crucified their most profound sense of the present, even though this sense is always threatened by resignation, skepticism and cynicism. In the end, good is more true than evil, even though evil seems to come from all directions. Grace is more real than sin, even though sin continues to murder. There is more truth to aukward hope, in seeking always what is new, in seeking liberation in history, in avoiding friendships with what is limited and sinful in history, even though both may be always omnipresent, than in the apparent wisdom of resignation."

We do not know if it was James and his brother who impulsed their mother to make such ambitious request of Jesus. One that Jesus used to impart such important lessons for us. The truth is that James &endash;who must have received some ascent from the Apostles&emdash;was the first to drink with coarage of the cup of his Lord in martyrdom, giving his life for love of his brothers unto the ends of the earth, as was then Hesperia, today Spain.

These Gospel testimonies expressively trace for us the exemplar features and gests of ambition, boldness, freedom, selfgiving and courage of today's Apostol on the future, titular and patron saint of our Province of Santiago de Mexico. Glorious patron who inspired and gave our misionaries enthusiasm and strength to fill part of the Mexican nation with four flourishing provinces, and gave example and enthusiasm to our misionaries to evangelize and give witness also with their blood from Florida to Guatemala.

These characteristics of the Apostle and his intercession, which we ask, suggests and demands also in our chapter today, in the face of the challenges and crosses of our world, a hope giving attitude. One filled with love and courage, with concrete, valiant and realist decisions, to re-enliven, renovate and stimulate the apostolic life and zeal of our brothers and sisters in the world today, from the Salomon islands to Chiapas and from Chile to Scandinavia.