I have just come back from Rome where I was a meeting on Human Trafficking organised by the Migrants & Refugees Section of the Holy See. The very first afternoon I was asked to preach at the celebration of the Mass. What I shared was a personal reflection on the readings of the day, particularly the first reading taken from the Book of Daniel 13 (familiarly known as "Susannah and the elders")
* * * * *
Today’s first reading was taken from the book of Daniel 13. I believe we are very familiar with this passage about “Susannah and the elders”. I was reflecting about it during the third flight that brought me to Rome today from the Kingdom of eSwatini. True that I was a bit sleepy by then but I found two or three elements we could link to our meeting here. Even though the story is not link to trafficking, there are common elements.
The judges. Susannah has to face the lies of the judges. Think what it meant for her being a woman when, even today, in many parts of the world their word is not trusted. The judges hide behind their "authority". She faces a huge challenge. We too face a similar one. The fight against human trafficking is not something anyone can do alone. We face very well organised crime organisations and we might feel powerless in front of them. Like Susanna we are called not to give up and to put our faith in the God who wants every person to live with the dignity of God's children.
Daniel. The passage says: “The Lord heard her cry and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit residing in a young boy named Daniel who began to shout, ‘I am innocent of this woman’s death!’” We are here not only because we have been invited but because the same Spirit called each one of us to put our lives at the service of the fight against this new slavery. During these days let us look at each other as people raised by the Spirit of the Lord and treasure what big or small initiatives each one of us is part of.
Eyes are opened. Daniel is called to open the eyes of the people who are unable to see that the judges are lying. Part of our service too is to open the eyes of so many who are unable to see what is happening around us. For many, human trafficking might be something happening far away or in another country but not in their own. As a member of the police force shared with us once: "we too believed it was not happening among us until we went through our files and we saw the number of people reported to have disappeared and never to be seen again"
A life is saved. The passage ends saying: "the life of an innocent woman was spared that day". That is our goal too. We want to spare the lives of many but also to bring back the dignity of their lives which has been taken and denied.
Click below for photos of the event
