Lectio Divina (465)
"Lectio divina is an authentic source of Christian spirituality recommended by our Rule. We therefore practice it every day, so that we may develop a deep and genuine love for it, and so that we may grow in the surpassing knowledge of Christ. In this way we shall put into practice the Apostle Paul’s commandment, which is mentioned in our Rule: “Let the sword of the spirit, the Word of God, live abundantly in your mouth and in your hearts; and whatever you must do, do it in the name of the Lord.”
Carmelite Constitutions (No. 82)
The mission of the disciples and
the witness of Thomas the apostle John 20:19-31
1. Opening prayer
Father, who on the Lord’s day gather Your people to celebrate the One who is the First and the Last, the living One who conquered death, grant us the strength of Your Spirit so that, having broken the chains of evil, calmed our fears and indecisions, we may render the free service of our obedience and love, to reign in glory with Christ.
2. LECTIO
a) A key to the reading:
We are in the so-called “book of the resurrection” where we are told, in a not-so-logical sequence, several matters concerning the risen Christ and the facts that prove it. In the fourth Gospel, these facts take place in the morning (20:1-18) and evening of the first day after the Saturday and eight days later, in the same place and on the same day of the week. We are before an event that is the most important in the history of humanity, an event that challenges us personally. “If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless… and you are still in your sins” (1Cor 15:14, 17) says Paul the apostle who had not known Jesus before His resurrection, but who zealously preached Him all his life. Jesus is sent by the Father. He also sends us. Our willingness to “go” comes from the depth of the faith we have in the Risen One. Are we prepared to accept His “mandate” and to give our lives for His Kingdom? This passage is not just about the faith of those who have not seen (the witness of Thomas), but also about the mission entrusted to the Church by Christ.
b) A suggested division of the text to facilitate its reading:
John 20:19-20: appearance to the disciples and showing of the wounds
John 20:21-23: gift of the Spirit for the mission
John 20:24-26: special appearance to Thomas eight days later
John 20:27-29: dialogue with Thomas
John 20:30-31: the aim of the Gospel according to John
c) The text:
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe."
26 Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be faithless, but believing." 28 Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
3. A moment of silence
to allow the Word to enter into our hearts
4. MEDITATIO
a) A few questions to help in our meditation:
Who or what drew my interest and wonder in the reading? Is it possible for someone to profess being Christian and yet not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? Is it so important to believe in the resurrection? What would be different if we stopped at His teaching and witness of life? What does the gift of the Spirit for the mission mean to me? How does Jesus’ mission in the world continue after the Resurrection? What is the content of the missionary proclamation? What value has Thomas’ witness for me? What are, if any, my doubts concerning the faith? How do I meet them and still carry on? Am I able to give reasons for my faith?
b) Comment:
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week: the disciples are living through an extraordinary day. For the community, at the time of the writing of the fourth Gospel, the day after the Sabbath is already “the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10), Dies Domini (Sunday), and is more important than the Sabbath was in the tradition of the Jews.
The doors were closed: a detail which shows that the body of the risen Jesus, even though recognizable, is not subject to the ordinary laws of human life.
Peace be with you: this is not just a wish, but the actual peace promised to them when they were saddened by His departure (Jn 14:27; 2Thess 3:16; Rom 5:3), the messianic peace, the fulfillment of the promises made by God, freedom from all fear, victory over sin and death, reconciliation with God, fruit of His passion, free gift of God. This peace is repeated three times in this passage as well as in the introduction (20:19) further on (20:26) in the exact same way.
He showed them His hands and His side: Jesus provides evident and tangible proof that he is the one who was crucified. Only John records the detail of the wound in the side caused by the spear of a Roman soldier, whereas Luke mentions the wound of the feet (Lk 24:39). In showing his wounds, Jesus wants to say that the peace he gives comes from the cross (2Tim 2:1-13). They are part of his identity as the risen One (Ap 5:6).
The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord: This is the same joy expressed by the prophet Isaiah when he describes the divine banquet (Is 25:8-9), the eschatological joy foreshadowed in the farewell speech and that no one can take away (Jn 16:22; 20:27). Cfr. also Lk 24:39-40; Mt 28:8; Lk 24:41.
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you: Jesus is the first missionary, “the apostle and high priest of the faith we profess” (Rev 3:1). After the experience of the cross and the resurrection, Jesus’ prayer to the Father comes true (Jn 13:20; 17:18; 21:15, 17). This is not a new mission, but the mission of Jesus extended to those who are His disciples, bound to Him like branches are bound to the vine (15:9), so also they are bound to His Church (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-18; Lk 24:47-49). The eternal Son of God was sent so that “the world might be saved through Him” (Jn 3:17) and the whole of His earthly existence, fully identified with the saving will of the Father, is a constant manifestation of that divine will that all may be saved. He leaves as an inheritance this historical project to the whole Church, especially to ordained ministers within that Church.
He breathed on them: this action recalling the life-giving breath of God on man (Gen 2:7), does not occur anywhere else in the New Testament. It marks the beginning of a new creation.
Receive the Holy Spirit: after Jesus was glorified, the Holy Spirit was bestowed (Jn 7:39). Here the Spirit is transmitted for a special mission, whereas at Pentecost (Acts 2) the Holy Spirit comes down on the whole people of God.
For those whose sins you forgive they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained: we find the power to forgive or not forgive sins also in Matthew in a more juridical form (Mt 16:19; 18:18). According to the Scribes and Pharisees (Mk 2:7), and according to tradition (Isa 43:25), God has the power to forgive sins. Jesus gives this power (Lk 5:24) and passes it on to his Church. In our meditation, it is better not to dwell on this text’s theological development in church tradition and the consequent theological controversies. In the fourth Gospel the expression may be taken in a wide sense. Here it is a matter of the power of forgiving sins in the Church as salvation community and those especially endowed with this power are those who share in the apostolic charism by succession and mission. In this general power is included the power to forgive sins also after baptism, what we call “the sacrament of reconciliation” expressed in various forms throughout the history of the Church.
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve: Thomas is one of the main characters of the fourth Gospel and his doubting character, easily discouraged, is emphasized (11:16; 14:5). “One of the twelve” is by now a stereotyped expression (Jn 6:71), because in fact they were only eleven. “Didymus” means “the Twin”, and we could be his “twins” through our difficulty in believing in Jesus, Son of God who died and rose again.
We have seen the Lord! When Andrew, John and Philip had found the Messiah, they had already run to announce the news to others (Jn 1:41-45). Now there is the official proclamation by eye-witnesses (Jn 20:18).
Unless I see the holes that the nails made in His hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into His side, I refuse to believe: Thomas cannot believe the eye-witnesses. He wants to experience the event himself. The fourth Gospel is aware of the difficulty that some may have in believing in the Resurrection (Lk 24; 34-40; Mk 16:11; 1Cor 15:5-8), especially those who have not seen the risen One. Thomas is their (and our) interpreter. He is willing to believe, but he wants to resolve personally any doubt, for fear of being wrong. Jesus does not see in Thomas an indifferent sceptic, but a man in search of truth and satisfies him fully. This is, however, an occasion to express an appreciation of future believers (verse 29).
Put your finger here, look, here are My hands. Give Me your hand; put it into My side. Doubt no longer but believe! Jesus repeats the words of Thomas and enters into a dialogue with him. He understands Thomas’ doubts and wishes to help him. Jesus knows that Thomas loves Him and therefore has compassion for him because Thomas does not yet enjoy the peace that comes from faith. Jesus helps him to grow in faith. In order to enter deeper into this theme, see the parallels in: 1Jn 1-2; Ps 78:38; 103:13-14; Rom 5:20; 1Tim 1:14-16.
My Lord and my God! This is a profession of faith in the risen One and in his divinity as is also proclaimed in the beginning of John’s Gospel (1:1). In the Old Testament “Lord” and “God” correspond respectively to “Yahweh” and “Elohim” (Ps 35:23-24; Rev 4:11). It is the fullest and most direct paschal profession of faith in the divinity of Jesus. In Jewish circles these terms had greater value because they applied to Jesus texts concerning God. Jesus does not correct the words of Thomas as He corrected the words of the Jews who accused Him of wanting to be “equal to God” (Jn 5:18ff) thus approving the acknowledgement of His divinity.
You believe because you can see Me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe! Jesus cannot stand those who look for signs and miracles in order to believe (Jn 4:48) and He seems to take Thomas to task. Here we must remember another passage concerning a more authentic faith, a “way of perfection” towards a faith to which we must aspire without the demands of Thomas, a faith received as gift and as an act of trust, like the exemplary faith of our ancestors (Rev 11) and of Mary (Lk 1:45). We, who are two thousand years after the coming of Jesus, are told that, although we have not seen Him, yet we can love Him and believing in Him we can exult with “an indescribable and glorious joy” (1Pet 1:8).
These (signs) are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through His name. The fourth Gospel, like the other Gospels, does not mean to write a complete biography of Jesus, but only to show that Jesus was the Christ, the awaited Messiah, the Liberator, and that He was the Son of God. Believing in Him means that we possess eternal life. If Jesus is not God, then our faith is in vain!
5. ORATIO
Psalm 118 (117)
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures for ever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His steadfast love endures for ever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His steadfast love endures for ever."
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
Hark, glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech Thee, O Lord! O Lord,
we beseech Thee, give us success!
6. CONTEMPLATIO
Closing prayer
I thank You Jesus, my Lord and my God, that You have loved me and called me, made me worthy to be Your disciple, that You have given me the Spirit, the One sent to proclaim and witness to Your resurrection, to the mercy of the Father, to salvation and pardon for all men and women in the world. You truly are the way, the truth and the life, the dawn without a setting, the sun of justice and peace. Grant that I may dwell in Your love, bound to You like a branch to its vine. Grant me Your peace so that I may overcome my weaknesses, face my doubts and respond to Your call and live fully the mission You entrusted to me, praising You forever, You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
The Passion of Jesus according to John
John 18:1 – 19:42
1. Recollection in prayer – Statio
Come, You who refresh us,
the soul’s delightful guest,
come take away all that is mine,
and pour into me all that is yours.
Come, You who are the nourishment of every chaste thought,
source of all mercies, sum of all purity.
Come and burn away all that in me is cause
of my not being able to be consumed by You.
Come, Spirit,
who are ever with the Father and the Bridegroom,
and rest over the brides of the Bridegroom.
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in La Probatione ii, 193-194.)
2. A prayerful reading of the Word – Lectio
From the Gospel according to John
Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM, “they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed. Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “ in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a revolutionary. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.” Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. Here all kneel and pause for a short time. Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.
3. Reflecting on the Word – Meditatio
3.1. A key to the reading:
- Jesus master of His fate
I would like to suggest that we meditate in the spirit of Mary, at the foot of the cross of Jesus. She, the strong woman who understood the full meaning of this event of the passion and death of the Lord, will help us cast a contemplative glance at the crucified (Jn 1:5–27). We are looking at chapter 19 of John’s Gospel, which begins with the scene of the scourging and the crowning with thorns. Pilate presents “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews” to the chief priests and to the guards who call for His death on the cross (Jn 1:). Thus Jesus begins the way of the cross towards Golgotha, where He will be crucified. In the story of the Passion according to John, Jesus reveals himself as master of himself and in control of all that is happening to Him. John’s text is full of phrases that point to this theological fact, that Jesus offers His life. He actively, not passively, endures the events of the passion. Here are just some examples putting the stress on some phrases and words. The reader may find other examples:
Knowing everything that was to happen to Him, Jesus came forward and said: "Who are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus the Nazarene". He said, "I am He!". Now Judas the traitor was standing among them. When Jesus said to them "I am He", they moved back and fell on the ground. He asked them a second time, "Who are you looking for?" They said, "Jesus the Nazarene". Jesus replied, "I have told you that I am He. If I am the one you are looking for, let these others go". This was to fulfill the words He had spoken, "Not one of those You gave me have I lost". (Jn 1:-9)
“Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe” (Jn 1:),
Jesus replied, “You would have no power over me at all, if it had not been given you from above.” (Jn 1:1).
On the cross too, Jesus takes an active part in His death, He does not allow himself to be killed like the thieves whose legs were broken (Jn 1:1-33), but commits His spirit (Jn 1:0). The details recalled by the Evangelist are very important: Seeing His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing near her, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then to the disciple He said, “This is your mother.” (Jn 1:6-27). These simple words of Jesus bear the weight of revelation, words that reveal to us His will: “this is your son” (v. 26); “this is your mother” (v. 27). These words also recall those pronounced by Pilate on the Lithostrotos: “This is the man” (Jn 1:). With these words, Jesus on the cross, His throne, reveals His will and His love for us. He is the lamb of God, the shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. At that moment, by the cross, He gives birth to the Church, represented by Mary, her sister (or sister-in-law) Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, together with the beloved disciple (Jn 1:5).
- Beloved and faithful disciples
The fourth Gospel specifies that these disciples “stood by the cross” (Jn 1:5-26). This detail has a deep meaning. Only the fourth Gospel tells us that these five persons stood by the cross. The other Evangelists do not say so. Luke, for instance, says that all those who knew Him followed the events from a distance (Lk 2:9). Matthew also says that many women followed these events from afar. These women had followed Jesus from Galilee and served Him. But now they followed Him from afar (Mt 2:5–56). Like Matthew, Mark gives us the names of those who followed the death of Jesus from afar (Mk 1:0-41). Thus only the fourth Gospel says that the mother of Jesus and the other women and the beloved disciple “stood by the cross”. They stood there like servants before their king. They are present courageously at a time when Jesus has already declared that “it is fulfilled” (Jn 1:0). The mother of Jesus is present at the hour that finally “has come”. That hour foretold at the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2:1 ff). The fourth Gospel had remarked then that “the mother of Jesus was there” (Jn 2:1). Thus the person that remains faithful to the Lord in his destiny, he/she is a beloved disciple. The Evangelist keeps this disciple anonymous so that each one of us may see him/herself mirrored in the one who knew the mysteries of the Lord, who laid his head on Jesus’ chest at the last supper (Jn 13:25).
3.1.1. Questions and suggestions to direct our meditation and practice
● Read once more the passage of the Gospel and look in the Bible for the texts mentioned in the key to the reading. Look for other parallel texts that may help us penetrate deeper into the text presented for our meditation.
● In spirit, and with the help of the prayerful reading of John’s text, visit the places of the Passion, stop on Calvary to witness with Mary and the beloved disciple the events of the Passion.
● What struck you most?
● What feelings does this story of the Passion arouse in you?
● What does the fact that Jesus actively bears His passion mean for you?
4. Oratio
O Eternal Wisdom, Infinite Goodness, Ineffable Truth, You who probe hearts, Eternal God, help us to understand that You can, know and want to! O Loving and Bleeding Lamb, crucified Christ, fulfill in us that which You said: “Anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). O perfect light, from whom all lights proceed! O light for whom light was created, without whom all is darkness and with whom all is light. Light up, light up, do light up! Let Your whole will penetrate all the authors and collaborators You have chosen in this work of renewal. Jesus, Jesus love, Jesus, transform us and make us conform to You. Uncreated Wisdom, Eternal Word, sweet Truth, silent Love, Jesus, Jesus Love!
(St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, O.Carm.,
in The Renewal of the Church, 90-91.)
5. Contemplatio
Repeat frequently and calmly these words of Jesus when He offered himself:
“Father into Your hands I commend my spirit”
Easter Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
you are distant and unknown, and yet so near
that You know and love and save us
through Your Son Jesus Christ.
May He be present in us and in our actions
that we may do the same works
of justice, truth and loving service
and thus become the sign to the world
that Your Son is alive
and that You are a saving God
now and for ever.
2) Gospel Reading - John 14:7-14
Jesus said to his disciples: "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to Jesus, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."
3) Reflection
• John 14:7: To know Jesus is to know the Father. The text of today’s Gospel is the continuation from yesterday. Thomas had asked: “Lord we do not know where You are going, how can we know the way?” Jesus answers: “I am the Way, I am Truth and Life! No one can come to the Father except through Me.” And He adds: “If you know Me, you will know the Father too. From this moment you know Him and have seen Him”. This is the first phrase of today’s Gospel. Jesus always speaks of the Father, because it was the life of the Father which appeared in all that He said and did. This constant reference to the Father provokes Philip’s question.
• John 14:8-11: Philip asks: “Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied!” This was the desire of the disciples, the desire of many in the communities of the beloved disciple and it is the desire of many people today: What do people do to see the Father whom Jesus speaks so much? The response of Jesus is very beautiful and is valid even now: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know Me! Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!” People should not think that God is far away from us, distant and unknown. Anyone who wants to know who God the Father is, it suffices that he look at Jesus. He has revealed Him in His words and the actions of His life! “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me!” Through His obedience, Jesus identified Himself totally with the Father. At every moment He did what the Father asked Him to do (Jn 5:30; 8:28-29.38). This is why, in Jesus, everything is a revelation of the Father! And the signs and works are the works of the Father! As people say: “The son is the face of the father!” This is why in Jesus, and for Jesus, God is in our midst.
• John 14:12-14: The Promise of Jesus. Jesus makes a promise to say that His intimacy with the Father is not His privilege only, but that it is possible for all those who believe in Him. We also, through Jesus, can succeed in doing beautiful things for others as Jesus did for the people of His time. He intercedes for us. Everything that people ask Him for; He asks the Father and always obtains it, as long as it is to render service. Jesus is our advocate. He defends us. He leaves but He does not leave us defenseless. He promises that He will ask the Father and the Father will send another advocate or consoler, the Holy Spirit. Jesus even says that it is necessary for Him to leave, because otherwise the Holy Spirit will not be able to come (Jn 16:7). And the Holy Spirit will fulfill the things of Jesus in us, if we act in the name of Jesus and we observe the great commandment of the practice of love.
4) Personal questions
• To know Jesus is to know the Father. In the Bible the word “to know a person” is not only an intellectual understanding, but it also presupposes a profound experience of the presence of the person in one’s life. Do I know Jesus?
• Do I know the Father?
• Do my works reveal the Father and the Son to others at all times?
5) Concluding Prayer
The whole wide world has seen
the saving power of our God.
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,
burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98:3-4)
The flight into Egypt and the return to Nazareth
Matthew 2:13-23
1. LECTIO
a) Opening prayer:
God, our Creator and Father, You decreed that Your Son, generated before the dawn of the world, should be like us in all things through His incarnation in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit. Send that same life-giving Spirit upon us, so that we may become ever more docile to Your sanctifying action, allowing ourselves to be gently transformed by the same Spirit into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ Your Son, our brother, savior and redeemer.
b) A reading from the Gospel of Matthew:
13 After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and His mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with Him.' 14 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and His mother with him, left that night for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt. 16 Herod was furious on realizing that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. 17 Then were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: 18 A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more. 19 After Herod's death, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, 'Get up, take the child and His mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead.' 21 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and His mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. 22 But when he learned that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee. 23 There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.
c) A moment of silence:
so that the Word of God may penetrated into our hearts and enlighten our life
2. MEDITATIO
a) A key to the reading:
Matthew’s Gospel has been called “the Gospel of the Kingdom”. Matthew invites us to reflect on the coming of the kingdom of heaven. Some have seen in the structure of his Gospel narration a drama in seven acts that deal with the coming of this Kingdom. The drama begins with the preparation for the coming of the Kingdom in the person of the boy Messiah and ends with the coming of the Kingdom in the suffering and triumph of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Son of God.
The Gospel passage presented to us for reflection is part of the so-called first act where Matthew introduces to us the person of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Scriptures. Matthew’s is the Gospel that often quotes the Old Testament to show that in Christ the law and the prophets are fulfilled. Jesus, the fulfillment and perfection of the Scriptures, came into the world to re-establish the kingdom of heaven already proclaimed in the covenant made by God with His people. With the coming of Christ, this covenant is no longer reserved for the Jewish people alone but is extended to all peoples. Matthew addresses himself to a community of Christian Jews, persecuted by the synagogue, and invites it to be open to the gentiles. He is the wise scribe who knows how to draw from his treasury that which is old and new. His Gospel was first written in Aramaic and then translated into Greek.
Matthew 2:13-23 is part of the section that deals with the birth and childhood of “Jesus Christ son of David, son of Abraham” (Mt 1:1). Jesus is the son of His people, but He is also son of the whole of humanity. In His genealogy we find foreign influences (Mt 1:3-6). After Mary His mother, the first called to pay homage to the newborn Messiah are the Magi (Mt 2:11). With His light, the Messiah draws the wise to Himself and offers them salvation (Mt 2:1-12). The Magi receive this salvation, unlike Herod and the troubled citizens of Jerusalem (Mt 2:3).
From the very time of His birth, Jesus relives the painful experience of His people in exile, humbled again and again. The Gospel shows us this by telling us of the flight into Egypt and the murder of the innocents. The drama of these events unfolds before us in the following details:
i) The angel who appears in a dream to Joseph after the Magi leave, and the flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15).
ii) Herod who becomes aware of the deceit of the Magi and kills all the male children in Bethlehem (Mt 2:16-18).
iii) The death of Herod and the “clandestine” return of the Holy Family, not to Bethlehem but to Galilee (Mt 2:19-23).
The theme of kings killing those whom they fear is common in the history of every royal dynasty. Apart from this scene of Herod seeking out the child Jesus to kill Him, in Bible literature in the Old Testament we find similar stories. In the first book of Samuel, Saul who has been rejected by the Lord feared David and sought to kill him (1 Sam 15; 18; 19; 20). Michal and Jonathan help David to flee (1 Sam 19; 20). Again in the first book of Kings, King Solomon in his old age, unfaithful to the God of his fathers and with a perverted heart, commits what is evil in the sight of the Lord (1 Kings 11:3-13). For this, the Lord raises up an adversary against Solomon (1 Kings 11: 14), Hadad the Edomite, who during David’s reign flees and takes refuge in Egypt (1 Kings 11: 17). Another of Solomon’s adversaries is Jeroboam who takes refuge in Egypt to get away from the king who wanted to kill him (1 Kings 11: 40). Such were the dangers of a degenerate kingdom. In the second book of Kings, this time in the context of the siege of Jerusalem, “In the ninth year of his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month” (2 Kings 25:1) of the year 589, we read of the sacking of Jerusalem and of the second deportation of the people in the year 587 (2 Kings 25:8-21). The people who “remained in the land of Judah” (2 Kings 25:22) submit to Gedaliah who was appointed governor by Nebuchadnezzar. “Ishmael […] and ten men with him […] murdered Gedaliah, as well as the Judeans and the Chaldeans who were with him”. Then from fear of the Chaldeans, they fled into Egypt (2 Kings 25-26). In the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we also find the story of Uriah “another man, too, who used to prophesy in the name of Yahweh” (Jer 26: 20). Uriah flees into Egypt because king Jehoiakim sought to kill him. The king in fact did find him in Egypt and killed him (Jer 25: 20-24).
With these events as background to the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, Matthew shows us Jesus, from His very childhood, as partaking of the fate of His people. Egypt, for Jesus, becomes the place of refuge, as it was for the patriarchs:
- Abraham who “went down into Egypt to stay there for the time, since the land was hard pressed by the famine” (Gen 12:10).
- Joseph was threatened by his brothers who sought to kill him out of envy and was then sold to merchants who led him into Egypt and sold him to Potiphar (Gen 37:12-36).
- Israel (Jacob) who goes to Egypt called by his son Joseph (Gen 46:1-7).
- The family of Israel (Jacob) that goes to Egypt to establish themselves there (Gen 46–50; Ex 1:1-6).
Matthew turns the citation from Hosea 11:1 upside down: “I called my son out of Egypt”, and interprets it as if God called his son Jesus to flee into Egypt (Mt 2:15). The original meaning of Hosea was that the Lord called his son Israel to leave Egypt in order to start a nation. Jesus’ flight into Egypt and the killing of the innocents of Bethlehem remind us of the oppression of Israel in Egypt and the killing of all the new-born males (Ex 1: 8-22).
The prophecy applied to the murder of the innocents is taken from the book of consolation made up of chapters 30 and 31 of the book of Jeremiah. The lamentation is connected to the promise of the Lord who consoles Rachel, Jacob’s (Israel’s) spouse, mother of Joseph, who according to tradition was buried close to Bethlehem, and promises her that she will be rewarded for her sorrow, her children who are no longer will come back (Jer 31: 15–18).
When they come back from Egypt after the death of Herod, Joseph decides to live in Galilee in a city called Nazareth. Jesus will be called the Nazarene. Later also, His disciples will be known as Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). Apart from indicating the name of a city, this name may also refer to the “shoot”, that is the «neçer» of Isaiah 11: 1. Or it may refer to the rest of Israel, the «naçur» (see Isa 42: 6).
b) Questions for personal reflection:
i) What strikes you most in this passage from Matthew?
ii) What does the kingdom of heaven mean for you?
iii) How does the kingdom of heaven differ from earthly kingdoms?
iv) Matthew introduces us to the person of Jesus as one who becomes one with the fate of His people. Read the passages cited in the key to the reading so as to reflect and pray on the events of the people of God, with which Jesus identified Himself. What are similar situations in our world? Ask yourself what you can do to better the conditions where you live and work, especially if they are at variance with the kingdom of heaven.
3. ORATIO
a) Personal prayer in silence.
b) Conclude the lectio divina with this prayer:
Merciful Father, grant that we may follow the examples of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so that we may always be strong in the trials of life until the day when we may share in Your glory in heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
4. CONTEMPLATIO
May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts. (Col 3:15)
1) Opening prayer
God of the poor and the humble,
we thank You today for choosing Mary
as the Virgin Mother of Jesus, Your Son.
Her faith and willing service
opened the way to Your new world.
Dispose us to seek Your will
and to cooperate with Your plans
that we too, like Mary,
may give to the world its Savior
Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading – Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
He went in and said to her, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The Lord is with you.” She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and His reign will have no end.”
Mary said to the angel, “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?”' The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.”
Mary said, “You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
3) Reflection
• The visit of the angel to Mary reminds us of the visit of God to different women of the Old Testament: Sarah, mother of Isaac (Gen 18: 9-15), Anne, mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1: 9-18), the mother of Samson (Judg 13: 2-5). All of them announced the birth of a son with an important mission in God’s plan.
• The account begins with the expression “in the sixth month”. It is the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth. The need of Elizabeth, a woman advanced in age who is expecting her first son with the risk of delivery, is the background of this entire story. Elizabeth is mentioned at the beginning (Lk 1:26) and at the end of the visit of the angel (Lk 1:36,39).
• The angel says, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor, the Lord is with you!” Similar words were said also to Moses (Ex 3: 12), to Jeremiah (Jer 1: 8), to Gideon (Judg 6: 12) and to others with an important mission in God’s plan. Mary is surprised at the greeting and tries to understand the significance of these words. She is practical. She wants to understand. She does not accept just any invitation.
• The angel answers: “Do not be afraid!” Just as it happened in the visit of the angel to Zechariah, the first greeting of God is always: “Do not be afraid!” Immediately the angel recalls the promises of the past which will be fulfilled thanks to the son who will be born and who is to receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High and in Him the Kingdom of God will be realized. This is the explanation of the angel in such a way that Mary is not afraid.
• Mary is aware of the mission which she is about to receive, but she continues to be practical. She does not allow herself to be drawn by the greatness of the offer and knows her condition. She examines the offer through criteria which she has available. Humanly speaking, it was not possible: “But how can this come about? I have no knowledge of man.”
• The angel explains that the Holy Spirit, present in God’s Word since the creation (Gen 1: 2), is able to realize things which seem impossible. This is why the Holy One who will be born of Mary will be called Son of God. The miracle repeats itself right up to today. When the Word of God is accepted by us, something new happens, thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit! Something new and surprising such as a son born of a virgin or a son born to a woman of advanced age, like Elizabeth, whom all said was barren, that she could not have children! And the angel adds, “See, your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God”.
• The response of the angel clarifies everything for Mary, and she surrenders: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.” Mary uses for herself the title of a servant, Handmaid of the Lord. This title from Isaiah represents the mission of the people not as a privilege, but rather as a service to other people (Is 42:1-9; 49:3-6). Later Jesus will define His mission as a service: “I have not come to be served, but to serve!” (Mt 20:28). He learned from his Mother!
4) Reflection
• What struck you the most in the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary?
• Jesus praises his Mother when He says: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” (Lk 11:28). How does Mary relate to the Word of God during the visit of the angel?
5) Concluding Prayer
To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains,
the world and all who live there;
it is He who laid its foundations on the seas,
on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24: 1-2)
Jesus’ witness concerning John the Baptist
Matthew 11:2-11
1. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit
Spirit of God,
who at the beginning of creation
hovered over the abyss of the universe
and transformed the great yawn of things
into a smile of beauty,
come down again on earth
and grant it the thrill of its beginnings.
This world that is growing old,
touch it with the wing of Your glory,
Restore to us the primordial joy.
Pour Yourself without measure on all our afflictions.
Hover once more over our old world in danger.
And, finally, the desert will once more be a garden
and in the garden the tree of justice will flower
and the fruit of justice will be peace.
Spirit of God, who by the banks of the Jordan
descended in Your fullness on Jesus’ head
and proclaimed Him Messiah,
overshadow this portion of the mystical Body
gathered before You.
Adorn it with a robe of grace.
Consecrate it with unction
and invite it to bring the good news to the poor,
to bandage the wounds of broken hearts,
to proclaim freedom to slaves,
release to prisoners
and announce the year of mercy of the Lord.
Free us from the fear of not coping.
May our eyes radiate superhuman transparency.
May our hearts emit courage blended with tenderness.
May our hands pour out the blessing of the Father
on all that we touch.
Grant that our bodies may be resplendent with joy.
Clothe us with nuptial robes.
Gird us with girdles of light,
because, for us and for all, the Bridegroom will not delay in coming.
T. Bello
2. The Gospel text
2 Now John had heard in prison what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask Him, 3 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?' 4 Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what you hear and see; 5 the blind see again, and the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor; 6 and blessed is anyone who does not find Me a cause of falling.' 7 As the men were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John, 'What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? 8 Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. 9 Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: 10 he is the one of whom scripture says, Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. 11 'In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
3. Let us pause and read the Gospel text again
- Let us whisper quietly the words of the Gospel and let them slowly pass from our tongue to our mind and from our mind to our heart.
Let us quietly savor some of these words…
- We are gathered around Jesus and we are listening to what the disciples are asking of Him concerning John: this is a serious question from those who have the power to change history.
- Jesus’ answer takes on a staid tone, but it wounds our heart as with a spear: it is clear that the awaited Messiah is Himself!
- Let the questions, doubts, desires and hopes run freely around the Word of Jesus. Let them confront and engage with it.
Gradually an answer will come, even though it may be partial: not in the arguments, but when looking squarely at “He who is to come” and who is speaking to you now. Do not weary of repeating his Word in a soft voice and of keeping it in your heart, above and within all the doubts and problems of your day.
4. Let us take a closer look at Matthew’s text
= Our passage comes at the beginning of a new section of the Gospel (11: 2–12, 50). This is a series of tales concerning Jesus’ activity after His discourse on the apostolate. There are not many miracles, but the Evangelist stresses the polemic between Jesus and His adversaries in growing intensity for the whole of the rest of the Gospel.
In all probability, the text reflects the early theological debates between the Christians and the disciples of John concerning the nature of Jesus’ mission.
= John in his prison…: It is a long time since Matthew has made reference to the Baptizer (the last mention is in 4: 12) and now he tells us he is in prison and it is only later that he will tell us the circumstances of his imprisonment (14:3-12).
* John’s prison, as it was for all, is a place apart, a kind of “world apart” which makes him almost a stranger to normal life and twists the perception of news received from outside. Thus, the question of the Baptizer is not surprising even though he was the first to recognize Jesus as “more powerful” (3:11) and as the eschatological judge whose “winnowing-fan is in his hand” (3:12), bowing before Him humbly and in fear (cf. 3:11).
= [When he] had heard what Christ was doing…: the expression “Christ was doing”, used here to recall what Jesus was doing, anticipates the answer He will give to John’s question.
* John the Baptist, while in prison, hears news of Jesus: we too every day, while we are in our “prisons” of solitude and distance from God or of suffering, hear “something” that comes from various sources and we feel troubled.
It is often difficult to distinguish between the good news of the Gospel and so many other matters that take place in our daily lives!
And yet, what Jesus does are the things that “the Christ does”, even if we are not always aware of this, just as in the case of John.
= Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else? When John was baptizing whole crowds in the Jordan, he had described a strong Messiah who would punish severely the sins of all: “The one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in His hand. He will clear his threshing-floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out” (Mt 3:11-12). In that severity that cracked like a whip in view of conversion and, thus, of salvation, John had read the seal of the mercy of YHWH. Suffering in prison, made fragile by a sense of failure and powerlessness, victim of the injustice and arrogance against which he had fought all his life, it seemed to John that evil was winning and he is upset. Immersed irreversibly in that fog, he is no longer capable of seeing clearly the power of God in action in the works of Jesus.
* It is lawful to speculate: Jesus was revealing Himself gradually as the Messiah, but He did so by breaking the canons of the Jewish ideal and the usual interpretations of Sacred Scripture: He was not “doing justice”, he was not separating the good from the bad like the sieve separates the good wheat from the chaff; He preached conversion energetically but pardoned sinners; He showed Himself to be “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29), open and available to all, a stranger to all vulgar ways of contesting the system. It is, therefore, possible to think that John was in crisis because Jesus did not correspond to the Messiah whom he expected and whom he had constantly preached; so, he sends a delegation to Jesus to ask Him some questions and for them to report to him a word that might enlighten this mystery of contradictions: “Who are You, Jesus? What do You say of Yourself? How can we believe in You when before arrogance and injustice You show Yourself as a patient, merciful and non- violent Messiah?”
Who of us has not tried to form a more precise idea of the One in whom we believe and His ways of acting, when life has made us meet so many contradictions and injustices, even in the Church? Who of us has not struggled to see and interpret correctly the signs of the active presence of the Lord in our own history? It is difficult to welcome a God who is “different” from our designs and so we must not accuse the Baptist, because we too are subject to the temptation of wanting God to have our feelings and tendencies and who might even be a little vindictive in carrying out “justice”. Often we would like to have a God made in our image and likeness, but “My thoughts are not your thoughts, your ways are not My ways…” (Isa 55:8).
= Jesus answered, Go back and tell John what you hear and see: Jesus does not answer quickly and directly, but shows clearly the facts that result from His actions that are changing history and realizing the old prophecy concerning the Messiah. Thus, He does not give an answer “for immediate use”, but the disciples must go back to John and refer to him what they themselves have heard and seen, because the healings, resurrections and liberations are unequivocal signs of the messianic nature of Jesus of Nazareth.
Every day we must learn to proclaim the good news beginning from what we feel and see. Fraternal witness is indispensable to communicate the Gospel.
* Christ submits humbly to the questioning and answers showing the disciples of John a true and personal method of understanding and of proclaiming: "Go back and tell John what you hear and see". The fourth Evangelist recalls the same method in his first letter: “Something which has existed since the beginning that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life – this is our subject. That life was made invisible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us” (1Jn 1:1-3). This was the missionary method used by the early Church: the method learned from the incarnation of the Word.
A true and efficient proclamation must pass through a simple and modest communication of personal experience: words without fanfare of a life woven by faith.
= The blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor: In these words, a collection of various quotations from Isaiah (28:18-19; 35:5-6; 42:18; 61:1), we find the core of Jesus’ answer and of our passage. The Lord presents His own works not as judgement and power, but as divine blessing for those of the people in need.
It is significant that the prophetic passages quoted make no reference to leprosy and death that the Evangelist puts into Jesus’ mouth. This emphasizes the newness that Jesus brings to His manner of fulfilling the prophecies concerning the Messiah awaited by Israel
The works of Jesus are great, but He is one of the “little ones” who are His chosen ones, He is one of “the poor of JHWH” who already sees the cross at the end of His journey as man. This is unbearable for anyone expecting a triumphant Messiah. Blessed are they who hear and see with a heart full of faith.
* Indirectly Jesus invited John himself to hear and see what He teaches and does. Thus the last of the prophets might recall and now recognize that what Jesus says and does corresponds to the great messianic prophecies so richly contained in the Old Testament.
This is the mechanism of the “religious memory” without which faith will never be enkindled and, especially, may never survive the blows of scandal that life brings with it: the works of God in the past are the signs of His fidelity to the promises and the pledge of His future works.
Committing ourselves to recall every day the “great things” that God worked for us and in us (cf. Lk 1:49) does not mean falling into sterile reiteration, but gradually bringing the seed of the active grace of God to the very depths of our being, so that it may grow and bear fruit. The Eucharist too is a memorial: it is “the memorial of the Pasch of the Lord”, a living and actual memorial of the salvation offered to each one of us.
= Happy is the man who does not lose faith [is not scandalized]in Me: The word “scandal” comes from the Greek: the “stumbling stone” prepared to strike a person by surprise. Notwithstanding the meaning that we usually attribute to this word, in the Bible “scandal” may be either negative or positive.
Jesus is one who “scandalizes” His fellow citizens by His poor origins not well suited to a glorious Messiah; He scandalizes the Pharisees with His cutting words; He scandalizes the disciples of John with His way of doing things not according to foreseen plans and He scandalizes His own disciples with His infamous death.
Jesus, however, does not praise those who scandalize the little ones or those who are an occasion of scandal (cf. Mt 5:29) to the faith or morals thus leading others into wrong ways.
The kind of scandal we need is the one that comes from living the Gospel in a radical manner that shakes us from our habits of life and from our mind-set.
We too are called to “scandalize” the world with the scandal of the Gospel showing by our lives that we must not submit to uses and customs that are at variance with the Christian faith, by refusing compromises that could provoke injustices, by looking after the poor and the least.
= What did you go out into the wilderness to see?: Notwithstanding the weakness shown by the questions put by John, Jesus describes His precursor with enthusiasm as a prophet who by his burning words unites the living and incontestable signs of his privileged connection with God in whose name he speaks to the People. Rather, with this pressing series of six rhetorical questions and three positive statements, Jesus says that John is more than a prophet: he is the one of whom the ancient Scriptures of the fathers speak, the messenger who prepares the way of the Lord (Mt 3:3) as the old prophets had said (Mal 3:1; Ex 23:20). Nevertheless, the Lord quickly explains the reasons for His affirmation: these may even be too evident to His listeners.
= Of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen: John is not only an eminent prophet and precursor of the Messiah (because it is now clear that Jesus considers Himself as such), but he is also great as a man, greater than his contemporaries and those of past ages. This is an entirely personal kind of praise that Jesus addresses to Herod’s prisoner and not merely a hyperbole. With these words, Jesus anticipates the comparison between John the Baptist and Elijah, which He will make explicit in verse 14: “he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return”.
* The expression “of all the children born of women” has a typically Semitic flavor, but it also alludes to the mystery of Jesus’ origin: He too is “born of woman”, but only in what concerns the flesh, because His human-divine genesis goes well beyond His simple humanity.
Our birth as “children of God” in faith is also wrapped in mystery: “who were born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself” (Jn 1: 13). We are “born of woman” but we are not meant for this earth, rather for the Kingdom of heaven where we shall be judged according to our faith and the works of faith, fruits of the welcome we give to our baptismal grace.
= Yet the least …: this part of the sentence (perhaps an early gloss) seems to put a limit on the enthusiastic presentation of the Baptist. Although he is great among men, yet John is small in the Kingdom, because there everything is measured according to criteria quite different from those on earth: the measure of the new times that are coming and have begun with the human coming of the Son of God. Those who belong to this completely new generation are greater than any of those who lived in preceding times, even than John the Baptist.
* The contrast between “great” and “small” is created precisely to make it clear to all believers that to be great one has to become ever smaller. In his human “greatness”, John is presented by Jesus as the least in the Kingdom and thus even for John it is necessary for him to “become small” in the hands of God. It is the same requirement every day for each of us who are tempted to be like the “great” and “powerful”, at least in our desire!
5. Let us pray the Word and thank the Lord
God of our joy, giver of every salvation (Psalm 146)
Yahweh keeps faith for ever,
gives justice to the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry;
Yahweh sets prisoners free.
Yahweh gives sight to the blind,
lifts up those who are bowed down.
Yahweh protects the stranger,
He sustains the orphan and the widow.
Yahweh loves the upright,
but He frustrates the wicked.
Yahweh reigns for ever,
Your God, Zion, from age to age.
6. From the Word to contemplation
Lord Jesus
who “are about to come”,
do not delay any more
and listen to the cry of the poor
who look to You for
salvation, justice and joy.
Grant us clear eyes and a pure heart
so that we may be able to discern
Your active and fruitful presence
also in the events
of our “today”
that looks so grey
and empty of rays of hope!
Come, Lord Jesus!
"The Spirit and the bride say: 'Come!'.
And those who listen repeat: 'Come!'.
Let those who thirst, come;
those who wish may draw the water of life freely.
He who bears witness to these things says:
'Yes, I shall come soon!'.
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:17,20)
2nd Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
God of power and mercy,
open our hearts in welcome.
Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy,
so that we may share His wisdom
and become one with Him
when He comes in glory,
for He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
3) Reflection
• Certain texts of the Gospel reveal their significance to us when we place them in the background of the Old Testament. This is how the very brief and very beautiful text of the Gospel of today is. In this text there are echoes of two themes greatly loved and recalled by the Old Testament, one from Isaiah and the other one from the so called Wisdom Books.
• Isaiah speaks of the Messiah, the Servant, and represents him as a disciple who is always looking for a word of comfort so as to be able to encourage those who are discouraged: “The Lord has given me a learned tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning, he awakens my ear that I may hear him as a master” (Is 50: 4). And the Messiah Servant launches an invitation: “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money come! Buy and eat; come buy wine and milk without money, free” (Is 55: 1). These texts were present in the memory of the people. They were like the songs of our childhood. When people listened to them, there is nostalgia. The same with the words of Jesus: “Come to me!” revived the memory of the nostalgic echo of those beautiful texts of Isaiah.
• The Books of Wisdom represent the divine wisdom as a woman, a mother who transmits to her sons her wisdom and tells them: “Buy her without money, put your necks under her yoke, let your souls receive instruction. She is near, within your reach. See for yourselves; how slight my efforts have been to win so much peace” (Si 51:25-27). Jesus repeats this same phrase: “You will find rest!”.
• Because of His way of speaking to people, Jesus awakens their memory and thus their hearts rejoiced and said: “The Messiah, so greatly awaited for, has come!” Jesus transformed the nostalgia into hope. He made people advance a step forward. Instead of fixing themselves on the image of a glorious Messiah, king and dominator, taught by the scribes, the people changed their opinion and accepted Jesus, Messiah Servant. A humble and meek Messiah, welcoming and full of tenderness, who made them feel at ease: the poor together with Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Is the Law of God a light yoke which encourages me, or is it a weight which gets me tired?
• Have I felt sometimes the lightness and the joy of the yoke of the Law of God which Jesus has revealed to us?
5) Concluding Prayer
Bless Yahweh, my soul,
from the depths of my being, His holy name;
bless Yahweh, my soul,
never forget all his acts of kindness. (Ps 103)
John the Baptist’s proclamation in the desert
Matthew 3:1-12
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit that I may learn to be small like Zaccheus, small in moral stature, but also grant me strength to lift myself a little from the earth, urged by the desire to see You passing during this time of Advent, to know You and to know that You are there for me. Lord Jesus, good master, by the power of Your Spirit, arouse in our hearts the desire to understand Your Word that reveals the saving love of the Father.
2. Read the Word
1 In due course John the Baptist appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea, 2 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.'
3 This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘A voice of one that cries in the desert, “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.”’
4 This man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather loin-cloth round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, 6 and as they were baptized by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.
7 But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance, 9 and do not presume to tell yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones. 10 Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.
11 I baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing-fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing-floor and gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.'
3. A moment of silent prayer
Each one of us is full of questions in our hearts for anyone who listens to us, but above all we need to listen, knowing that it is Jesus who is speaking to us. Allow yourself to be led to your interior self where the Word echoes in all its weight of truth and love, in all its therapeutic and transforming power. Prayerful silence demands that we remain “inside”, that we stand completely at the feet of the Lord and use all our energy to listen to Him alone. Stop and listen.
4. To understand the Word
a) The manner in which the plot of the passage is expressed:
In this Sunday of Advent we are presented with the figure of John the Baptist, a challenging personality, as Jesus once said about John the Baptist in describing his personality: “What did you go out to see, a reed blowing in the wind?” (Mt 1:7). The profile of the Baptist that the liturgy puts before us is in two main sections: 3:1-6, the figure and activities of John; 3:7-12, his preaching. Within these two sections we may detect smaller matters that define the expression of this text. In 3:1-2 John is presented as the one who preaches «repentance» because «the kingdom of heaven is close at hand». This cry is like a thread running through the whole of John’s activity and is repeated in 3:8,12. The reason for this call to repentance is given as the imminent judgement of God which is compared to the cutting of every dry tree to be thrown into the fire to be burnt (3:10) and to the winnowing done by farmers on the threshing-floor to separate the wheat from the chaff which is also to be burnt in the fire (3:12). The image of fire which characterizes the last part of our liturgical passage shows the urgency of preparing oneself for the coming of God’s judgement.
The text presents the following:
Matthew 3:1-3: in this first small part «the voice crying in the desert» of Isaiah 40:2 is identified with the voice of the Baptist who invites all to repentance «in the desert of Judea»;
Matthew 3:4-6: there follows a brief section which, in a picturesque manner, describes the traditional figure of John: he is a prophet and an ascetic; because of his prophetic identity he is compared to Elijah; indeed he dresses like the Tishbite prophet. A geographical and special detail describes the movement of many people who come to receive the baptism of immersion in the waters of the Jordan, in a penitential atmosphere. The influence of his prophetic activity is not limited to one place but embraces the whole region of Judea including Jerusalem and the area around the Jordan.
Matthew 3:7-10: a special group of people comes to John to receive baptism, these are the «Pharisees and Sadducees». John addresses them with harsh words that they may stop their false religiosity and pay attention to «bearing fruit» so that they may avoid a judgement of condemnation.
Matthew 3:11-12: here the meaning of the baptism in relation to repentance is made clear and especially the difference between the two baptisms and the two protagonists: the baptism of John is with water for repentance; the baptism of Jesus “the more powerful who comes after” John, is with the Spirit and fire.
b) The message of the text:
In a typical biblical-narrative style, Matthew presents the figure and activity of John the Baptist in the desert of Judea. The geographical indication is meant to situate the activity of John in the region of Judea, whereas Jesus will carry out his activity in Galilee. For Matthew, the activity of John is entirely oriented towards and subject to “the one who is to come”, the person of Jesus. Also John is presented as a great and courageous preacher who foretells the imminent judgement of God.
The message of the Baptist consists of a precise imperative, “repent” and an equally clear reason: “for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand”. Repentance is foremost in the Baptist’s preaching even though at first its content is not yet clear. In 3:8, however, the fruits of repentance are revealed to give new direction to one’s existence. Such a revelation, on the one hand, is typical of prophets who wanted to make repentance as concrete as possible through a radical detachment from whatever until now was held as valuable; on the other hand, the revelation goes beyond and means to show that repentance is a turning towards “the kingdom of heaven”, towards something new which is imminent, together with its demands and prospects. It is a matter of giving a decisive turn to life in a new direction: the “kingdom of heaven” is the foundation and gives meaning to repentance and not just any human efforts. The expression “kingdom of heaven” says that God will reveal Himself to all and most powerfully. John says that this revelation of God is imminent, not distant.
The prophetic activity of John, with the characteristics of the figure of Elijah, is meant to prepare his contemporaries for the coming of God in Jesus. The motifs and images through which the figure of the Baptist is interpreted are interesting, among them the leather loin-cloth around his waist, sign of recognition of the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8); the garment made of camel hair is typical of the prophet according to Zacharias 13:4. This is a direct identification between the prophet Elijah and John. This interpretation is obviously an answer of the Evangelist to the objection of the Jews of the time: how can Jesus be the Messiah, if Elijah has not yet come?
Through his prophetic activity, John succeeds in moving whole crowds just as Elijah had led back the whole people to faith in God (1 Kings 18). John’s baptism is not important because of the great crowds that come to receive it, but because it is accompanied by precise commitments of repentance. Besides, it is not a baptism that has the power to forgive sins. Only the death of Jesus has this power. However, it presents a new direction to give to one’s life.
Even the «Pharisees and Sadducees» come to receive it, but they come in a hypocritical spirit, with no intention of repenting. Thus they will not be able to flee God’s judgement. John’s invective towards these groups, covered in false religiosity, emphasizes that the role of his baptism, if received sincerely with the decision to change one’s life, protects whoever receives it from the imminent purifying judgement of God.
How will such a decision of repentance become evident? John does not give precise indications as to content, but limits himself to showing the motive: to avoid the punitive judgement of God. We could say that the aim of repentance is God, the radical recognition of God, directing in an entirely new way one’s life to God.
Yet the «Pharisees and Sadducees» are not open to repentance in so far as they place their faith and hope in being descendants of Abraham: because they belong to the chosen people, they are certain that God, by the merits of the father, will give them salvation. John questions this false certainty of theirs by means of two images: the tree and the fire.
First, the image of the tree that is felled: in the OT this refers to God’s judgement. A text from Isaiah describes it thus: «Behold the Lord, God of hosts, who tears the branches with deafening noise, the highest tips are cut off, the peaks are felled». The image of the fire has the function of expressing the “imminent anger” which will be manifested at God’s judgement (3:7). In a word, they show the pressing imminence of God’s coming; the listeners must open their eyes to what awaits them.
Finally, John’s preaching contrasts the two baptisms and the two persons: John and the one who is to come. The substantial difference is that Jesus baptizes with the Spirit and fire whereas John only with water, a baptism for repentance. This distinction emphasizes that the baptism of John is entirely subordinate to the baptism of Jesus. Matthew notes that the baptism with the Spirit has already taken place, namely in Christian baptism, as told in the scene of Jesus’ baptism, whereas baptism with fire must still come and will take place at the judgement that Jesus will perform.
The aim of John’s preaching, then, is to present a description of the judgement that awaits the community through the image of the chaff. The action of the farmer on the threshing-floor when he cleans the wheat from the chaff will also be the action of God on the community at the judgement.
5. A meditation
a) Expecting God and repentance:
In his preaching John reminds us that the coming of God in our lives is always imminent. He also invites us strongly to a repentance that purifies the heart, renders it ready to meet Jesus who comes into the world of men and women and opens it to hope and universal love.
An expression of St. John Henry Newman may help us understand this new direction that the Word of God suggests is urgent: «Here on earth to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed frequently». To change is to be understood from the point of view of repentance: an intimate change of heart. To live is to change. If ever this urge to change grows dim, you would no longer be alive. The book of the Apocalypse confirms this when the Lord says: “You are reputed to be alive yet are dead” (3:1). Again, “to be perfect is to change frequently”. It seems that St. John Henry Newman wanted to say: «Time is measured by my repentance”. This time of Advent too is measured through the project that God has for me. I must constantly open myself, be ready to allow myself to be renewed by Him.
b) Accepting the Gospel:
This is the condition for repentance. The Gospel is not only a collection of messages, but a Person who asks to enter into your life. Accepting the Gospel of this Sunday of Advent means opening the door of one’s own life to the one whom John the Baptist defined as more powerful. This idea was expressed well by John Paul II: “Open the doors to Christ…” Accept Christ who comes to me with His firm word of salvation. We recall the words of St. Augustine, who used to say, “I fear the Lord who passes by”. Such a passing by of the Lord may find us at a time of life when we are distracted or superficial.
c) Advent – a time for interior souls:
A mystical evocation found in the writings of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity helps us discover repentance as a time and occasion to immerse ourselves in God, to expose ourselves to the fire of love that transforms and purifies our lives: «Here we are at the sacred time of Advent which more than any other time we could call the time for interior souls, souls who live always and in all things “hidden in God with Christ”, at the center of themselves. While awaiting the great mystery [of Christmas]… let us ask Him to make us true in our love, that is to transform us… it is good to think that the life of a priest, like that of a Carmelite nun, is an advent that prepares the incarnation within souls! David sings in a psalm that the “fire will walk ahead of the Lord”. Is not love that fire? Is it not also our mission to prepare the ways of the Lord by our union with the one whom the Apostle calls a “devouring fire”? On contact with Him our souls will become like a flame of love that spreads to all the members of the body of Christ that is the Church”. (Letter to Rev. Priest Chevignard, in Writings, 387-389).
6. Psalm 71 (72)
With this psalm, the Church prays during Advent to express the expectation of her king of peace, liberator of the poor and of the oppressed.
Rule your people with justice
God, endow the king with Your own fair judgement,
the son of the king with Your own saving justice,
that he may rule Your people with justice,
and Your poor with fair judgement.
In his days uprightness shall flourish,
and peace in plenty till the moon is no more.
His empire shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the river to the limits of the earth.
For he rescues the needy who call to him,
and the poor who have no one to help.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the needy from death.
May his name be blessed for ever,
and endure in the sight of the sun.
In him shall be blessed every race in the world,
and all nations call him blessed.
7. Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, led by the powerful and vigorous word of John the Baptist, Your precursor, we wish to receive Your baptism of Spirit and fire. You know how many fears, spiritual laziness and hypocrisies reside in our hearts. We know that with Your fan, little wheat would be left in our lives and much chaff, ready to be thrown into the unquenchable fire. From the bottom of our hearts we pray, Come to us in the humility of Your incarnation, of Your humanity full of our limitations and sins and grant us the baptism of immersion into the abyss of Your humility. Grant us to be immersed into those waters of the Jordan that gushed out of Your wounded side on the cross and grant that we may recognize you as true Son of God, our true Savior. During this Advent take us into the desert of nothingness, of repentance, of solitude so that we may experience the love of Spring. May Your voice not remain in the desert but may it echo in our hearts so that our voice, immersed, baptized in Your Presence may become news of love. Amen.
1st Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
You never give up on people.
Again and again You want to make
a new beginning with us.
You showed us in Jesus Your Son
the kind of people You want us to be.
As your Spirit rested on Him,
pour out on us the same Spirit
that we may see our mission in life
with Your wisdom and insight
and that we may have the strength
to live as we believe and hope.
Grant us this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10:21-24
Just at this time, filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, He said, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased You to do. Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.'
Then turning to His disciples He spoke to them by themselves, 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.'
3) Reflection
Today’s text reveals the depth of the heart of Jesus and the reason for His joy. The disciples had gone on a mission, and when they return, they share with Jesus the joy of their experience (Lk 10: 17, 21)
• Jesus’ joy comes from seeing the joy of His friends. Listening to their experience , Jesus feels profound joy.
• It is not a superficial joy. It comes from the Holy Spirit. The disciples have shared in Jesus’ mission during their own missionary experience.
• Jesus calls them “ little children”. Who are the “little children? They are the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10: 1) who return from the mission. They are not doctors. They are simple people without education , but they understand the things of God better than the doctors.
• “Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased You to do!” This is a very serious phrase. It pleases the Father that the little ones understand them. Therefore, if the great of the world want to understand the things of the Kingdom, they should become the disciples of the little ones!
• Jesus looks at them and says “blessed are you!” And why are they happy? Because they are seeing things which the prophets would have liked to see, but did not see. And what will they see? They see the Kingdom in the common things of life such as curing the sick, consoling the afflicted, and expelling evil.
4) Personal questions
• If I take the place of the people: Do I consider myself as belonging to the little ones or the doctors?
• If I take the place of Jesus: What is the basis of my joy, superficial or profound?
• Does being a “little one” versus a doctor imply ignorance is good, or does it question where we place our trust - in our knowledge or in God?
• Do I pray to God as a father with spontaneous prayer as Jesus did here, or is my prayer formal and rigid?
5) Concluding Prayer
“I give You praise, Father,
for although You have hidden these things from the wise
You have revealed them to the childlike." (cf. Lc 10:21)
1st Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord God, Father of all,
in Your Son Jesus Christ
you invite everyone and all to know and love You
and to live in Your unending peace.
Keep alive in us the zeal
to bring the light of Your truth
and the riches of Your life and love to all,
without any distinction
of race, language or culture.
May everyone on earth come to know You
as the merciful Father of all
through our brother and Savior,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 8:5-11
When He went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with Him. “Sir,” he said, “my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in great pain.” Jesus said to him, “I will come myself and cure him.”
The centurion replied, “Sir, I am not worthy to have You under my roof; just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this He was astonished and said to those following Him, “In truth I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found faith as great as this. And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of Heaven."
3) Reflection
Today’s Gospel is a mirror. It reminds us of the words we say during the Mass at the moment of communion: “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter my house, only say the word and I will be healed”. Looking at this text more closely it suggests the following:
• The person who seeks Jesus is a pagan, a gentile, a soldier of the Roman army, which dominated and exploited the people. It is not merely religion or the desire for God, but rather the need and the suffering which impels him first to seek Jesus, followed by a faith that Jesus could heal. Jesus has no prejudices. He does not demand anything first, He accepts and listens to the request of the Roman centurion.
• Jesus’ answer surprises the centurion because it is beyond his expectation. The centurion did not expect that Jesus would go to his house. He feels unworthy: “I am not worthy”. This means that he considered Jesus a highly superior person.
• The centurion expresses his faith in Jesus saying “say the word and my servant will be cured”. He believes that the word of Jesus is capable of healing. From where does he get this great faith? It comes from his professional experience as a centurion! Because when a centurion gives an order, the soldier obeys. He has to obey. Thus, he believes it is enough for Jesus to say one word, and things will happen according to His word. He believes the word of Jesus has authoritative force.
• Jesus praises the faith of the centurion. Faith does not consist in just accepting and repeating doctrine, but in believing and acting on the word of Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Placing myself in the place of Jesus: how do I accept and help people of other religions?
• Placing myself in the place of the centurion: what personal experience leads me to believe in Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
Come near to me with Your saving power,
let me share the happiness of Your chosen ones,
let me share the joy of Your people. (Ps 106)
More...
The Manifestation of the Son of man:
Beginning of the new times
Beware! It can happen at any time!
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create silence within us so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, Son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.
2. A reading of Luke 21: 25-28,34-36
a) A key to the reading:
The liturgical text of this Sunday leads us to meditate on Jesus’ discourse on the end of the world. Today, when we speak of the end of the world, reactions are quite varied. Some are fearful. Others are indifferent. Others begin to take life more seriously. Others still, as soon as they hear some terrible news say, “The end of the world is drawing near!” What is your opinion on this matter? How is it that at the beginning of the liturgical year, the first Sunday of Advent, the Church confronts us with the end of history?
Keeping these questions in mind, let us now try to read the text in such a way that it may challenge and question us.
In the course of our reading we shall try to concentrate not on the things that are fearsome, but on those that give us hope.
b) A division of the text to facilitate our reading:
Luke 21:25-26: There will be signs in sun and moon and stars.
Luke 21:27: The Son of Man will come on a cloud.
Luke 21:28: The rebirth of hope in our hearts.
(Luke 21:29-33: The parable of the fig tree).
Luke 21:34-36: An exhortation to watchfulness.
c) The Text:
Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
3. A moment of prayerful silence
that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What did you feel during the reading? Did you feel fear or peace? Why?
b) Did you come across anything in the text that gave you hope and courage?
c) What is it today that encourages people to have hope and to keep going?
d) Why is it that at the beginning of Advent, the Church confronts us with the end of the world?
e) What can we answer to those who say that the end of the world is drawing near?
f) How do we understand the image of the coming of the Son of Man on a cloud?
g) Throughout history, or even today, have there been false messiahs leading people astray? While it is easy to see war and natural disasters, how might one be deceived by a false messiah?
5. A key to the reading
for those who wish to delve deeper into the theme.
I. The context of Jesus’ discourse
The text of this Sunday’s Gospel (Lk 21:25-28,34-36) is part of the so-called “eschatological discourse”(Lk 21:8-36). In Luke’s Gospel, this discourse is presented as Jesus’ reply to a question put to Him by the disciples. Looking at the beauty and greatness of the temple of Jerusalem, Jesus had said: “Not one stone will be left standing!” (Lk 21:5-6). The disciples were looking for more information from Jesus regarding the destruction of the temple, and they asked: “Master, when will this happen and what will be the signs to show that it is about to happen?” (Lk 21:7).
The aim of the discourse: to help discern events.
In Jesus’ time (year 33), many people, when faced with disasters, wars, and persecutions, said “The end of the world is drawing near!” The communities of Luke’s time (year 85) thought the same. During the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (year 70) and the persecution of Christians which had now been going on for 40 years, there were those who said “God is no longer in control of the events of life! We are lost!” Hence the main point of the discourse is that of helping the disciples to discern the signs of the times so as not to be deceived by such sayings concerning the end of the world: “Beware not to allow yourselves to be deceived!” (Lk 21:8). The discourse presents several signs that help us in our discernment.
Six signs to help us discern the events of life.
After a short introduction (Lk 21:5), the discourse proper begins. Jesus enumerates, in an apocalyptic style, the events that can be seen as signs. It is important to remember that Jesus was living and speaking in the year 33, but that the readers of Luke were living and listening to the words of Jesus about the year 85. Many things had happened between the years 33 and 85, for instance: the destruction of Jerusalem (year 70), persecutions and wars were everywhere, along with natural disasters. Jesus’ discourse announces these events as taking place in the future. But the community sees these things in the past, as having already taken place:
First sign: the false messiahs who will say, “It is I! The time is at hand!” (Lk 21:8);
Second sign: war and rumors of war (Lk 21:9);
Third sign: nation will rise against nation (Lk 21:10)
Fourth sign: earthquakes, hunger and pestilence everywhere (Lk 21:11);
Fifth sign: persecution of those who proclaim the word of God (Lk 21:12-19);
Sixth sign: the siege and destruction of Jerusalem (Lk 21:20-24).
When they heard Jesus’ proclamation, the Christian communities of the year 85 might have come to this conclusion: “All these things have come to pass or are in the process of happening! All this is happening according to a plan foreseen by Jesus! Therefore, history is not slipping from God’s hands!” Especially regarding the 5th and 6th signs they could say, “This is what we are experiencing today! We have already reached the 6th sign!” Then comes the question: How many signs are there left before the end comes?
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus says about all the seemingly very negative things, “These are just the beginning of birth pangs!” (Mk 13:8) Although birth pangs are very painful for a mother, they are not signs of death but of life! They are no reason for fear, but for joy and hope! This way of reading the events brings calm to all. As we shall see, Luke expresses this same idea but in different words (Lk 21:28).
After this first part of the discourse (Lk 21:8-24) comes the Gospel text of the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent.
II. A commentary on the text
Luke 21:25-26: Signs in sun and moon and stars.
These two verses describe three cosmic phenomena: (1) “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars”; (2) “The roaring of the sea and waves”; (3) “The powers of the heavens will be shaken”. In the eighties, when Luke was writing, these three phenomena had not taken place. The communities could say, “This is the seventh and last sign still to come before the end!” At first sight, this seventh sign seems more terrible than the preceding ones, especially since Luke says that men will be fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. In truth, in spite of their negative appearance, these cosmic images suggest something very positive, namely, the beginning of a new creation that will take the place of the old creation (Rev 21:1). It is the beginning of the new heaven and the new earth, proclaimed by Isaiah (Isa 65:17). They usher in the manifestation of the Son of God, the beginning of the new times.
Luke 21:27: The coming of the Kingdom of God and the manifestation of the Son of Man.
This image comes from Daniel’s prophecy (Dan 7:1-14). Daniel says that after the disasters caused by the four kingdoms of this earth (Dan 7:1-8), the Kingdom of God will come (Dan 7:9-14). The four kingdoms all have animal features: lion, bear, panther and wild beast (Dan 7:3-7). These are animal–like kingdoms. They take the life out of life (even to this day!). The Kingdom of God is represented by the figure of the Son of Man, that is, it has human features (Dan 7:13). It is a human kingdom. The task of the Christian communities is to build this kingdom that humanizes. This is the new history, the new creation, in whose realization we must collaborate.
Luke 21:28: A hope that grows in the heart.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus says, “This is just the beginning of the birth pangs!” (Mk 13:8) Here, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, “When these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!” This affirmation shows that the aim of the discourse is not to cause fear but to raise hope and joy in a people suffering from persecution. Jesus’ words helped (and still help) the communities to read events from the point of view of hope. It is those who oppress and exploit the people who must fear. They, indeed, must know that their empire is finished.
Luke 21:29-33: The lesson of the parable of the fig tree.
When Jesus invites us to look at the fig tree, He is asking us to analyze the events taking place. It is as though He was saying, “Learn to read the signs of the times from the fig tree and so you may discover when and where God comes into your history!” Then He ends the lesson of the parable with these words: “Heaven and earth will pass away; but My words will not pass away!” By this very well known phrase, Jesus renews hope and once more alludes to the new creation, which was already taking place.
Luke 21:34-36: An exhortation to watchfulness.
God is always coming! His coming takes place when least expected. It may happen that He comes and that people are not aware of the hour of His coming (cf. Mt 24:37-39). Jesus advises people to be constantly watching: (1) avoid all things that may disturb or burden the heart (dissipations, drunkenness, and worries of life); (2) pray always, asking for strength to go on and wait standing for the coming of the Son of Man. In other words, the discourse asks for a double attitude: on the one hand, the watchfulness of one who is always aware, and on the other, the serene calmness of one who is at peace. These attitudes are signs of great maturity, because they bring together an awareness of the seriousness of the task and an awareness of the relativity of all things.
III. Further information for a better understanding of the text
a) When the end of the world will come
When we say “The end of the world”, what world are we talking about? Is it the end of the world of which the Bible speaks or the end of this world, where the power of evil that drives away and oppresses life reigns? This world of injustice will come to an end. No one knows what the new world will look like, because no one can imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor 2:9). The new world of life without death (Rev 21:4) surpasses all things just as the tree surpasses its seed (1 Cor 15:35-38). The early Christians were anxious and wanted to know the when of this end (2 Thess 2:2; Acts 1:11). But “it is not for you to know the times and the hour that the Father has set with His authority” (Acts 1:7). The only way to contribute to the end is to witness to the Gospel in every moment and action even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
b) Our time! God’s time!
“For no one knows the day or the hour: not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk 13:32; Mt 24:36). God sets the time for the end. God’s time cannot be measured by the clock or calendar. For God, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day (Ps 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8). God’s time runs independently of us. We cannot interfere with that, but we must be prepared for the moment when the hour of God comes into our time. Our security does not lie in knowing the hour of the end of the world, but in the Word of Jesus present in our lives. The world will pass away, but His word will not pass away (Isa 40:7-8).
c) The context of our text in Luke’s Gospel
For us 21st century people, apocalyptic language seems strange, difficult and confused. But for the people of those times it was the common way of speaking and all understood. It expressed the strong certitude of the faith of the little ones. In spite of all and against all appearances, they continued to believe that God is the Lord of history. The main purpose of apocalyptic language is to foster the faith and hope of the poor. In Luke’s time, many of the people of the communities thought that the end of the world was close at hand and that Jesus would have come back. That is why there were those who stopped working: “Why work, if Jesus was returning?” (cf 2 Thess 3:11). Others stared at heaven, waiting for the return of Jesus on the clouds (cf Acts 1:11). Jesus’ discourse shows that no one knows the hour of the final coming. Today we have the same thing! Some await the coming of Jesus so much that they do not see His presence among us in our daily concerns and events.
6. Psalm 46 (45) (paraphrased)
God is our strength
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in time of trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her,
she shall not be moved;
God will help her.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
He utters His voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how He has wrought desolation on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear,
He burns the chariots with fire!
"Be still, and know that I am God.
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth!"
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Easter Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ is to us
the way that leads to You and to one another,
the truth that is good news of love and hope,
the life which He sacrificed to give it.
Help us to show the way to Him
and to go His way to one another,
to speak the truth that is encouraging and credible,
to give life by sharing happiness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 14:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
3) Reflection
• These five chapters (Jn 13-17) are a beautiful example of how the communities of the Beloved Disciple at the end of the first century in Asia Minor, which today is Turkey, carried on the catechesis. For example, in chapter 14, the questions of the three disciples, Thomas (Jn 14:5), Philip (Jn 14:8) and Judas Thaddeus (Jn 14:22) were also the questions and problems within the communities. The answers of Jesus to the three of them are like a mirror in which the communities found a response to their doubts and difficulties. To better understand the environment in which the catechesis was carried out, it is possible to do the following. During and after the reading of the text, it is good to close the eyes and pretend that we are in the room in the midst of the disciples, participating in the encounter with Jesus. While we listen, it is necessary to pay attention to the way which Jesus prepares His friends to separate themselves and reveals to them His friendship, communicating to them security and support.
• John 14:1-2: Do not let your hearts be troubled. The text begins with an exhortation: “Do not let your hearts be troubled!” And immediately He adds: “In my Father’s house there are many places to live in!” The insistence on continuing to use encouraging words to overcome troubles and differences is a sign that there were many disagreements among the communities. One would say to the other: “Our way of living the faith is better than yours. We are saved! You live in error: If you want to go to heaven, you have to convert yourselves and live like we do!” Jesus says: “In My Father’s house there are many places!” It is not necessary that everybody thinks the same way. The important thing is that all accept Jesus, the revelation of the Father, and that out of love for Him, they have attitudes of understanding, service and love. Love and service are the basis which unite the bricks and help the diverse communities to become a Church of brothers and sisters.
• John 14:3-4: The farewell of Jesus. Jesus says that He is going to prepare a place and that afterwards He will return to take us with Him to the Father’s house. He wants us to be with Him forever. The return which Jesus speaks about is the coming of the Spirit that He sends and who acts in us, in such a way that we can live as He lived (Jn 14:16-17.26; 16:13-14). John's community feared a delay in His future return and his Gospel is filled with reminders of the Spirit. Jesus ends by saying: “You know the way to the place where I am going!” Anyone who knows Jesus knows the way, because the way is the life that He lived and which led Him through death together to the Father.
• John 14:5-6: Thomas asks which is the way. Thomas says: “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answers: “I am the Way, I am Truth and Life! No one can come to the Father except through Me”. Three important words. Without the way we cannot go. Without the truth one cannot make a good choice. Without life, there is only death! Jesus explains the sense. He is the Way, because “No one can come to the Father except through Me”. And He is the gate through which the sheep enter and go out (Jn 10:9). Jesus is the truth, because looking at Him, we see the image of the Father. “Anyone who knows Me knows the Father!” Jesus is the life, because walking like Jesus, we will be united to the Father and we will have life in us!
4) Personal questions
• In the context and with knowledge of the last few days' Gospels, how do we go to the Father through Jesus? What is involved?
• Jesus says: “In My Father’s house there are many places”. How would you interpret this today? How would you interpret this relative to ecumenism? Or within Church doctrine?
5) Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh,
for He has performed wonders,
His saving power is in His right hand and His holy arm. (Ps 98:1)
Easter Time
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful God,
Your Son Jesus reminds us today
that we are no greater than Your and our servant,
Jesus, our Lord and master.
Give us the love and endurance
to serve You and people
without waiting for awards or gratitude
and to accept the difficulties and contradictions
which are part of the Christian life
and which are normal for followers
of Him who bore the cross for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 13:16-20
When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."
3) Reflection
• Beginning today, every day for several weeks, except on feast days, the Gospel of each day is taken from the long conversation of Jesus with the disciples during the Last Supper (Jn 13 to 17). In these five chapters which describe the farewell of Jesus, the presence of those three threads which we had spoken before is seen. Those threads knit and compose the Gospel of John: the word of Jesus, the word of the community and the word of the Evangelist who writes the last redaction of the Fourth Gospel. In these chapters, the three threads are intertwined in such a way that the whole is presented as a unique fabric or cloth with a rare beauty and inspiration, where it is difficult to distinguish what is from one and what is from the other, but where everything is the Word of God for us.
• These five chapters present the conversation which Jesus had with His friends on the evening when He was arrested and put to death. It was a friendly conversation, which remained in the memory of the beloved disciple. Jesus seems to want to prolong this last encounter, this moment of great intimacy. The same thing happens today. There is conversation and more conversation. There is the superficial conversation which uses many words and reveals the emptiness of the person, and there is the conversation which goes to the depth of the heart and remains in the memory. All of us, once in a while, have these moments of friendly living together, which expand the heart and constitute strength in moments of difficulty. They help us to trust and to overcome fear.
• The five verses of today’s Gospel draw two conclusions from the washing of the feet (Jn 13:1-15). They speak (a) of service as the principal characteristic of the followers of Jesus, and (b) the identity of Jesus as the revelation of the Father.
• John 13:16-17: The servant is not greater than his master. Jesus has just finished washing the feet of the disciples. Peter becomes afraid and does not want Jesus to wash his feet. “If I do not wash you, you can have no share with Me” (Jn 13:8). It is enough to wash the feet; there is no need to wash the rest (Jn 13:10). The symbolic value of the gesture of the washing of the feet consists in accepting Jesus as Messiah Servant, who gives Himself for others, and to reject a Messiah as glorious king. This gift of self, servant of all, is the key to understanding the gesture of the washing of the feet. To understand this is the root of the happiness of a person: “Knowing these things, you will be blessed if you put them into practice”. But there were some people, even among the disciples, who did not accept Jesus in this role. They did not want to be the servants of others. They likely wanted a glorious Messiah, king and judge, according to the official ideology. Jesus says: “I am not speaking about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. but what Scripture says must be fulfilled: He who shares My table takes advantage of Me!” John refers to Judas, whose betrayal will be announced immediately afterward (Jn 13:21-30).
• John 13:18-20: I tell you this now, before it happens, so that you may believe that I AM HE. It was on the occasion of the liberation from Egypt at the foot of Mount Sinai that God revealed His name to Moses: “I am with you!” (Ex 3:12), “I am who I am” (Ex 3:14). “I Am” or “I AM” has sent me to you!” (Ex 3:14). The name Yahweh (Ex 3:15) expresses the absolute certainty of the liberating presence of God at the side of His people. In many ways and on may occasions this same expression I Amis used by Jesus (Jn 8:24; 8:28; 8:58; Jn 6:20; 18:5.8; Mk 14:62; Lk 22:70). Jesus is the presence of the liberating face of God in our midst.
4) Personal questions
• The servant is not greater than his master, nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. This is an ultimate statement of humility. As a messenger of the Gospel in the world, do I take credit for my abilities and gifts which come from God and claim them as my own, rather than crediting them to God?
• Jesus knew how to live together with people who did not accept Him. Do I?
• How can I make of my life a permanent service to others?
5) Concluding Prayer
I shall sing the faithful love of Yahweh for ever,
from age to age my lips shall declare Your constancy,
for You have said: love is built to last forever,
You have fixed Your constancy firm in the heavens. (Sal 89:1-2)
Easter Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
through Your Son Jesus Christ
You assure us that He came
not to condemn us but to bring us life,
a life worth living,
a life that is rich and refreshing us and our world
with love and a spirit of service.
Let Jesus stay with us
as the light in which we see
all that is good and worth living for
and let us share in His life that has no end.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 12:44-50
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents to us the last part of the Book of Signs (from 1 to 12), in which the Evangelist draws up a balance. Many believed in Jesus and had the courage to manifest their faith publicly, but they were afraid to be expelled from the Synagogue and many did not believe: “Though they had been present when He gave so many signs, they did not believe in Him; this was to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, who has given credence to what they have heard from us? And who has seen in it a revelation of the Lord’s arm?” (Jn 12:37-38). After this confirmation, John looks back on some of the central themes of his Gospel:
• John 12:44-45: To believe in Jesus is to believe in Him who sent Him. This sentence is a summary of the Gospel of John. It is the theme that appears and reappears in many ways. Jesus is so united to the Father that He does not speak in His own name, but always in the name of the Father. He who sees Jesus, sees the Father. If you want to know God, look at Jesus. God is Jesus!
• John 12:46: Jesus is the light who comes into the world. Here John comes back to what he had already said in the prologue: “The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone (Jn 1:9). “The light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it” (Jn 1:5). Here he repeats: “I have come into the world as light, to prevent anyone who believes in Me from staying in the dark any more”. Jesus is a living response to the great questions which move and inspire the search of the human being. It is a light which enlightens the horizon. It makes one discover the luminous side of the darkness of faith.
• John 12:47-48: I have not come to condemn the world. Getting to the end of a stage, a question arises: “How will judgment be? In these two verses the Evangelist clarifies the theme of judgment. The judgment is not done according to threats, with maledictions. Jesus says, “If anyone hears My words and does not keep them faithfully, it is not I who shall judge such a person, since I have come not to judge the world, but to save the world. Anyone who rejects Me and refuses My words has his judge already: the word itself that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. The judgment consists in the way in which the person defines himself through his choices and actions in relation to Him.
• John 12:49-50: The Father commanded Me what to say. The last words of the Book of Signs are a summery of everything that Jesus says and does up until now. He reaffirms what He affirmed from the beginning: “For I have not spoken of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and what to speak, and I know that His commands mean eternal life. And, therefore, what the Father has told Me is what I speak.” Jesus is the faithful reflection of the Father. For this reason, He does not offer proofs or arguments to those who provoke Him to legitimize His credentials. It is the Father who legitimizes Him through the works that He does, and in referring to works, He does not refer to great miracles, but to all that He says and does, even the most minute thing. Jesus Himself is the sign of the Father. He is the walking miracle, the total transparency. He does not belong to Himself, but is entirely the property of the Father. The credentials of an ambassador do not come from Him, but from the One He represents. They come from the Father.
4) Personal questions
• John draws up an account of the revealing activity of God. If I made an account of my life, what would reveal the activity of God in me?
• Is there something in me which condemns me?
5) Concluding Prayer
Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy,
for You judge the world with justice,
You judge the peoples with fairness,
You guide the nations on earth.
Let the nations praise You, God,
let all the nations praise You. (Ps 67:4-5)
