Al-Rahi: We Want Peace and Lebanon is Called to Choose the Path of the State, Not the Mini-State

Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi delivered a sermon on the Eighth Sunday of Pentecost, in which he said:

"I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations" (Matthew 12:18)

1. With this verse from the prophecy of Isaiah, the Gospel opens for us the door to contemplation on the identity and mission of Christ. He is not merely a teacher or a prophet among prophets, but rather the Beloved upon whom the Spirit of God descended, so his presence became a declaration of truth, a message of salvation, and a hope for all nations.

The phrase "I will put my Spirit upon him" reveals to us the identity of Jesus, the Son whose humanity was filled with the Holy Spirit, so that everything he does and everything he says became the fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit in him. It also reveals to us his mission: "he will proclaim justice to the nations." He proclaims the truth that liberates man, leads him to salvation, and plants hope in the hearts of peoples.

This identity and this mission did not remain confined to the person of Christ alone, but he included his Church in them. Through Baptism and Confirmation, we became partners of Christ in his identity and mission, so the Holy Spirit descended upon us, and we were sent to be witnesses to the truth in the world. Thus, this call includes the entire Church: its shepherds, its faithful, its men and women, and its educational, social, cultural, and university institutions, all are called to bear the identity of Christ and continue his mission, so that the Gospel remains a light for the world, and the name of Christ remains the hope upon which the nations rely.

2. I am pleased to welcome you all to celebrate together this Divine Liturgy, and I extend a special greeting to the community of the Waqfiyya of Our Lady of Providence – Adonis Jbeil, present with us with its three hundred families and its youth, led by Father Antoine Khadra, and I thank them for their presence and participation with us in this Liturgy. It is under the patronage of the Maronite Patriarch, and in it the Eucharist is exposed for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to allow the faithful the opportunity for continuous adoration and prostration before Christ, and it is an opportunity for contemplation on the mystery of Christ and his real presence in the Blessed Sacrament, for prayer, repentance, and asking for graces.

In this Waqfiyya, we see the best expression of the role of "the lay faithful in Christ" by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation in the Church, and the most eloquent embodiment of participation in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly functions of Jesus Christ, as taught by the Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution "On the Church" (numbers 34-36); and Pope Saint John Paul II in the Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles Laici" (number 14). We thank God for you, and we know this Waqfiyya, we know its spirituality, and we know its commitment; it is a grace from God in our Church.

3. Returning to our Christian identity and mission, the Lord Jesus outlines for us two approaches for living this identity and mission:

The first approach: meekness and humility. As is clear from the prophecy of Isaiah: "He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets." Christ does not convince through violence, nor does he impose truth through noise, but makes meekness his path, humility his style, and love his means to reach hearts. Thus should be the mission of the Church and the mission of every believing man and woman: a quiet, sincere testimony, rooted in love.

And the second approach: caring for the weak, marginalized, poor, small, and disabled person, according to the prophecy of Isaiah: "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." Jesus does not abandon the wounded person, nor does he condemn the weak, but rather draws near to him, lifts him up, and restores his dignity and hope. This is the mission of the Church and our mission all together: to stand by every suffering, poor, and broken-hearted person, because in them is the face of the suffering Christ.

Then the Gospel reaches its goal by saying: "Until he leads justice to victory." For truth is what triumphs in the end, not falsehood; and love is what remains, not hatred. Therefore, the Christian does not fear walking the path of truth, even if it is long, because he knows that the end of this path is the victory that God brings about. And the Evangelist concludes by saying: "And in his name the nations will put their hope." Christ is the hope of the peoples, and the Church is called to remain a witness to this hope.

4. Identity and mission are two pillars without which the future of any nation cannot be set right. Lebanon also bears an identity and a mission; its identity is only established on freedom, dignity, truth, and coexistence, and its mission remains only with the establishment of a just, inclusive, sovereign state that preserves the rights of all its children and safeguards their future.

Lebanon today is called more than ever to choose the path of truth, not the path of illusions; the path of the state, not the logic of mini-states; and the path of dialogue, not the language of weapons. In light of the rapid developments the region is witnessing, the choice remains clear: either implement the framework agreement in a way that guarantees the state's sovereignty over its entire territory, its independence and stability, or return to the vortex of war that brings nothing to our peoples but destruction, killing, displacement, and pain.

We want peace, and we reject war. We want a peace that preserves human dignity, safeguards Lebanon's sovereignty, and restores confidence to its children, because nations are not built on the logic of dominance, but on the logic of partnership, and they are not stabilized by force, but by justice, and they do not flourish except when the interest of the nation is above all consideration.

At the heart of this journey, Lebanon's active neutrality remains a guarantee for its historical mission. Through its active neutrality, it escapes the burdens of conflicts and axes that have drained it; and through its neutrality, it returns as a bridge for encounter, not an arena for confrontation, and a platform for dialogue, not a field for conflicts. Active neutrality is not an abandonment of just causes, nor a withdrawal from its surroundings, but rather a protection of its independence, a preservation of its unity, and an empowerment for it to fulfill its mission of bringing peoples together and serving peace.

5. The gateway to political, financial, and economic recovery in Lebanon begins with restoring trust, which is the foundation upon which the state, economy, and institutions are built. This trust cannot be separated from the citizen's trust in his state, his rights, his money, and his land. This is a given that should remain present in all financial legislation proposed before the House of Representatives, especially that related to the banking sector and citizens' deposits, so that reforms come in line with the provisions of the constitution and laws, preserving depositors' rights and safeguarding their deposits, because restoring trust to the Lebanese constitutes the real entry point for any comprehensive national recovery plan.

6. Two weeks separate us from the majestic celebration of the beatification of Patriarch Elias Peter Al-Houwayek, the man of Providence, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, and the godfather of Greater Lebanon. We seek his intercession so that we may live our Christian identity and mission, as our Lord Jesus Christ made us partners in them, to whom we raise glory and thanks with his Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen.