Isaiah 63:7-9
Romans 10:12, 14-15
John 15:9-17
 

Gratuitous Love

Jubilee, June 19, 2010

“There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 

In John’s gospel, you and I are reminded of the absolute primacy of love and we are given the mandate to extend that love to others, even at the cost of our very lives. Today is a day for us to celebrate such great love, for such selfless love is certainly the force that has motivated each Jubilarian to offer herself to God through this Congregation for so many decades. And we, the people of God, have been so very blessed by your loving sisterhood among us! 

African theologian Liliane Sweko, a sister of Notre Dame de Namur, recounted during the recent meeting of the International Union of Superiors General that over 300 women religious have been assassinated in Africa since 2003. Those of us who live outside the African continent were visibly stunned by her statement. Little of this information has reached the media in the northern hemisphere. Thus, the extraordinarily courageous lives of these martyrs have quietly slipped into anonymity.   Unarmed, Liliane said, they were a threat to no one. “They stood out from others solely by the gratuitousness of their love, a sign of God’s solidarity with the people.”

This staggering and ongoing event of the assassination of religious is beyond the comprehension of most people like us who have not yet been directly confronted by violence on such a scale. Nonetheless, we each have inevitably experienced the risks that accompany taking a stand on behalf of justice; of refusing to compromise integrity in the face of the abusive use of power; or of speaking out on behalf of the vulnerable. Regardless of whether laying down one’s life or putting one’s life on the line, we have vowed to live the command of love, with God’s help, to the very best of our ability.

So, today it our joy to raise up each of you, our Jubilarians, witnesses to fidelity in the gratuitous of your love, women of integrity and dedication, co-creators of justice, preachers of peace in these urgent times, signs of hope to us all as you have put your lives on the line on behalf of so many women, men and children whom you serve.   You’ve placed yourselves in so many and diverse situations that have called for standing up for what is just, for what is compassionate, for what is truthful. I’m sure that, from time to time, some of those situations had uncomfortable consequences and resulted in some painful moments. By virtue of our vow of obedience you took on the obligation to preach the gospel through whatever gifts you have been given. You have proclaimed God’s word to countless people across this continent and beyond. And you have witnessed to the truth that preaching the gospel, through whatever ministry, yields far more life than it does pain and far more joy than it does sadness.

But preaching is not something any of us does simply on our own behalf. As conduits for the message of the gospel, we don’t commission ourselves to be preachers of God’s Word. We don’t send ourselves. We are called and we are sent forth. We are missioned. It as the core of our Dominican vocation.

In the reading from Romans, we hear, “How are we to preach unless we are sent?” Religious life lived in its integrity necessarily involves our being willing to assume the risk of the prophetic preaching of God’s love and mercy. It involves being available for mission and our willingness to be sent—even to be sent into situations that are not comfortable or common. We might consider a bit more fully what constitutes the life of a Dominican woman who is sent by God and by her sisters to preach. 

Liliane Sweko identified four tasks of the prophetic preacher: denunciation, annunciation, renunciation and witness to community. So, what might these tasks entail for us Dominican women?

By denouncing exploitation, abuse of power, and any acts destined to humiliate and dishonor others, we Dominicans hold the opportunity to constitute a “veritable rebellion against degrading political and socio-economic structures that disfigure the face of God.” 

By announcing through our preaching all that constitutes the dignity and worth of creation, we contribute to the blessing of a world attentive to the word of a loving God for whom no one is an outcast. 

By renouncing security and stability, and claiming the full intent of our itinerant lives, we become nimble enough to enter into places of suffering and desperation where the gospel message of love so needs to be offered.

By witnessing to community we preach a spirituality of communion dedicated to the deep healing of a fragmented church and society. 

In a moment you will publicly renew your vow of obedience as a member of the Order of Preachers, committed to denunciation, annunciation, renunciation and witnessing to community—what Jamie so eloquently addressed yesterday—we are one. 

May your preaching be fearless as you continue to be sent forth into our world, in whatever capacity--women committed to justice and driven by love. May each of you continue to stand out simply by the gratuitousness of your love, Dominican women committed to taking the risks of those called to lead a prophetic life because our God who is Love simply will settle for nothing less. 

--Donna Markham, OP

Sweko, Liliane. Called to Illuminate with Prophetic Light the World of Darkness. Address to International Union of Superiors    General, Rome. May 2010.