Lectio Divina (466)
"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)
Children categories
The beginning of the proclamation of the Good News
and the call of the first disciples
Matthew 4:12-23
1. OPENING PRAYER
In the darkness of a starless night,
a night of no sense,
You, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
Your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered,
through the attractive radiance of forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek You!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for You. Amen.
2. READING
a) The text:
12 Hearing that John had been arrested He withdrew to Galilee, 13 and leaving Nazareth He went and settled in Capernaum, beside the lake, on the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 15 Land of Zebulon! Land of Naphtali! Way of the sea beyond Jordan. Galilee of the nations! 16 The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who lived in a country of shadow dark as death a light has dawned. 17 From then onwards Jesus began His proclamation with the message, 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.' 18 As He was walking by the Lake of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast into the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. 19 And He said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you fishers of people.' 20 And at once they left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and He called them. 22 And at once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed Him. 23 He went around the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and illness among the people.
b) A moment of silence:
Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
3. MEDITATION
a) Questions for reflection:
- Jesus settled by the sea: the Son of God settled beside human beings. The sea, this mysterious and boundless world, as immense in its horizon as the heavens are; the one reflected in the other, bordering on each other, distinct, a mutual reflection of calm and peace. Jesus, land of God, comes to live by the sea and becomes land of humankind. Shall we go and live beside God as the Word was before He came to us? Or is our fragile life in the flesh sufficient for us?
- The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light: immersed in darkness, men and women live their days in resigned pain and without the hope of anything changing for them. The world where faith is denied is a world immersed in darkness until light comes into it. Christ, the light of nations, has come into the world and darkness has dissipated so that the light might shine. Has the darkness within us dissipated?
- They left their nets at once and followed him. At once. Left. Followed. Difficult words for our way of life. To respond to God: yes, but calmly. To leave whatever we are doing for the Lord: yes, but first we must think well. How would it be if we did as the Apostles did: at once, left everything and followed Him?
b) A key to the reading:
The God of the universe who created heaven and earth with His Word alone, leaves His dwelling place and comes to live beside the sea in a foreign land, to speak the language of earth so that heaven may be made known. The Son of man, too, the master from Nazareth, leaves the home of His youth to go to the Galilee of the peoples beyond the Jordan. The darkness of ignorance that flickers across the centuries is pierced by a great light. The shadows of death hear words that open new ways and new life: «Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near». To change itinerary, to come close to the light is not something strange for those who are familiar with the presence of the Most High. Because the eyes get used to the presence and the human heart easily forgets the past darkness when it is enjoying splendor. Repent. How? Human relationship becomes the new way along the sea-shore. There are brothers along the shore, pairs of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. God does not come to break these relationships, but takes them up so as to fish in a new more shining life, in His life and His sea.
As He was walking… The way is a great secret of the spiritual life. We are not called to stand still, but for us also to go by the sea, the sea of the world where people are the fish, immersed in bitter, salty and inhuman waters. Fishers of people. One cannot fish without the net of love, without a father who guards the boat, without a boat to launch into the deep. The net of human relationships is the only possible weapon of evangelizers, because with love we can go on a great fishing expedition, and love must not only be proclaimed but brought. To be called in pairs means precisely this bringing of a visible, concrete love, the love of brothers who enjoy the same parents, the love in whose veins flows the same blood, the same life.
Follow me… to call others to walk, fish and witness. The nets break, but every fisherman is capable of repairing a broken net. Love is not a knick-knack that is broken with use! The art of accommodation makes precious every possible relationship among people. What matters is going, trusting in that new name, always and still called LIFE.
Those called, go and follow Jesus. But where does Jesus go? He walks all over Galilee, teaches in the synagogues, preaches the good news of the kingdom, heals all kinds of diseases and infirmities of the people. Every sea person, apostle of the Kingdom, will act like Jesus: will walk the ways of the world and stop in the market places of people, will tell the good news of God and will take care of the sick and infirm, will make visible the concern of the Father for each one of His sons and daughters.
4. PRAYER (Isa 43:1-21)
Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name, you are mine.
Should you pass through the waters, I shall be with you;
or through rivers, they will not swallow you up.
Should you walk through fire, you will not suffer,
and the flame will not burn you.
For I am Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior.
Since I regard you as precious,
since you are honored and I love you,
I therefore give people in exchange for you,
and nations in return for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
You yourselves are my witnesses,
declares Yahweh,
and the servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me and understand that it is I.
I, I am Yahweh, and there is no other Savior but me.
Thus says Yahweh, who made a way through the sea,
a path in the raging waters,
No need to remember past events,
no need to think about what was done before.
Look, I am doing something new, now it emerges;
can you not see it?
Yes, I am making a road in the desert and rivers in wastelands.
The people I have shaped for Myself will broadcast My praises.
5. CONTEMPLATION
The waters of the sea that cover the earth tell me of the flow of your life, Lord. When sky and sea blend at the horizon, it seems as if I am seeing all that You are being reloaded into our being. A flow that is a soft wave of presence and an unspeakable story of love, made up of names, events, ages, secrets, placid emotions and unforeseen troubles, a story made up of lights and grey times, of enthusiasms and calm drowsiness. This sea that is humanity invaded by Your peace contains words without end, the words of your Word who wanted profoundly to take on the vest of the sand of time. How many words on the shores and ocean beds that are silently gathered, if only I am disposed to listen, Your words that the waves of life bring to shore and that are roads for navigators, ancient and new words, words never forgotten and words wrapped in mystery. Lord, may the waves of humanity not sweep me away, but may they become trails of communion for the fragile boat of my journey. May I learn from You to launch into the deep to fish in the dark nights of the human story, when the fish are more prone to allow themselves to be caught. At Your word, my God, I will cast the nets, and when I bring the boats to shore, I will go on following the footsteps You have left on the shore of history, when You chose to clothe Yourself with our muddy clothes.
John the Baptist announces Jesus
as the Lamb of God
John 1:29-34
1. Opening prayer
In this prayerful reading of the Gospel of John, we recall the words of Saint John Henry Newman to accompany and stimulate us, words that he liked to use in prayer to the Lord: Stay with me, and I shall begin to shine as you shine; to shine so as to be light for others.
Jesus, the light will all come from you: nothing will be because of me. It will be You who shine on others through me. Grant that I may praise You thus, in the way that You like most, shining on all those who are around me. Give them and me Your light; enlighten them together with me, through me. Teach me to spread Your prais e, Your truth, Your will. Grant that I may make You known not through words but by example, that influence of solidarity that comes from what I do, visibly resembling Your saints, and clearly full of the love that grows in my heart for You» (Meditations and Devotions).
2. The text
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, 'Look, there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. 30 It was of Him that I said, "Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because He existed before me." 31 I did not know Him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptize with water was so that He might be revealed to Israel.' 32 And John declared, 'I saw the Spirit come down on Him like a dove from heaven and rest on Him. 33 I did not know Him myself, but he who sent me to baptize with water had said to me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit." 34 I have seen and I testify that He is the Chosen One of God.'
3. A prayerful silent pause
The Word of God demands that we want and welcome it through a meditation of silence. Quiet yourself, allow yourself to welcome the presence of God in His Word; a silence that makes room in your heart so that God may come and talk to you.
4. A symbolical reading
This Gospel passage speaks of two animals of great spiritual value in the Bible: the lamb and the dove. The first alludes to significant texts in the Bible: the paschal meal of the exodus (cc.12-13); the glory of the Christ-Lamb in the Apocalypse.
a) The symbol of the lamb:
Let us turn our attention to the symbol of the «Lamb (amnos) of God», and to its meaning.
- A first biblical allusion for an understanding of this expression used by John the Baptist to point out the person of Jesus, is the figure of the victorious Lamb in the book of the Apocalypse: in 7:17 the Lamb is the shepherd of the nations; in 17:14 the Lamb squashes the evil powers on earth. In Jesus’ time, people imagined that at the end of time a victorious lamb or one that would destroy the powers of sin, injustice and evil would appear. This idea conforms to the eschatological preaching of John the Baptist who warned that God’s anger was imminent (Lk 3:7), that the axe was already laid at the roots of the trees, and that God was ready to cut down and throw on the fire every tree that did not bear good fruit (Lk 3:9; Mt 3:12 and Lk 3:17).
Another very powerful expression with which the Baptist introduces Jesus is in Matthew 3:12: «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». It is not wrong to think that John the Baptist could describe Jesus as the Lamb of God who destroys the sin of the world. In fact, in 1 John 3:5 it is written, «Now you know that He appeared in order to abolish sin»; and in 3:8: «It was to undo all that the devil has done that the Son of God appeared». It is possible that John the Baptist greeted Jesus as the victorious lamb who, by God’s command, was to destroy evil in the world.
- A second biblical allusion is to the Lamb as the suffering servant. This figure of the suffering servant or of Jhwh is the subject of four canticles in Deutero-Isaiah: 42:1-4, 7, 9; 49:1-6, 9, 13; 50:4-9, 11; 52:13-53, 12. We need to ask ourselves whether the use of «Lamb of God» in John 1:29 is not colored by the use of “lamb” to allude to the suffering Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 53. Did John really consider Jesus the lamb as the suffering Servant?
There certainly are no clear proofs that the Baptist made such a connection, nor are there proofs that exclude such a possibility. Indeed in Isaiah 53:7 it is written that the Servant: «never opened his mouth, like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, never opening its mouth». This description is applied to Jesus in Acts 8:32, and so this likeness between the Suffering Servant and Jesus was made by the early Christians (see Mt 8:17 = Isa 53:4; Heb 9:28 = Isa 53:12).
Besides, in John the Baptist’s description of Jesus in 1:32-34, there are two aspects that recall the figure of the Servant: in v. 32 John the Baptist says that he saw the Spirit coming down on Jesus and resting on him; in 34 he identifies Jesus as the chosen of God. Thus also in Isaiah 42:1 (a passage which the synoptics also connect with the baptism of Jesus) we read: «Here is My servant whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom My soul delights (see Mk 1:11). I have endowed Him with my spirit». Again in Isaiah 61:1: «The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me». These biblical allusions strengthen the possibility that the Evangelist made a connection between the Servant of Isaiah (chapters 42 and 53) and the Lamb of God.
In other parts of John’s Gospel we also find Jesus described with the traits of the suffering Servant (12:38 = Isa 53:1).
One interesting aspect to be noticed is that the Lamb of God is said to take away the sin of the world. In Isaiah 53:4, 12, it is said that the Servant bears or takes on himself the sins of many. By His death, Jesus takes away sin or takes it on Himself.
Thus according to the second interpretation, the Lamb as suffering Servant, is Christ who offers Himself freely to eliminate sin from the world and restore His brothers and sisters in the flesh back to God.
We find a modern confirmation of this interpretation of Jesus as “Lamb of God” in a document of the Italian bishops: «The Apocalypse of John, going even to the ultimate depths of the mystery of the One sent by the Father, recognizes in Him the Lamb who is sacrificed “since the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8), the One whose wounds healed us (1 Pet 2:25; Isa 53:5)» (Communicating the Gospel in a changing world, 15).
- A third biblical allusion is the Lamb as the paschal lamb. John’s Gospel is full of Paschal symbolism especially in relation to the death of Jesus. For the Christian community for whom John is writing his Gospel, the Lamb takes away the sin of the world by His death. In fact, in John 19:14 it is written that Jesus was sentenced to death at midday on the eve of the Pasch, that is at the time when priests began to sacrifice paschal lambs in the Temple for Easter. Another connection of the paschal symbolism with the death of Jesus is that while Jesus was on the cross, a sponge soaked in vinegar was raised up to Him on a stick (19:29), and it was the stick or hyssop that was dipped into the blood of the paschal lamb to sprinkle the doorposts of the Israelites (Ex 12:22). Then in John 19:36 the fulfillment of Scripture that not one bone of Jesus would be broken, is clearly a reference to the text in Exodus 12:46 where it is written that not one bone of the paschal lamb must be broken. The description of Jesus as the Lamb is found in another of John’s works, namely the Book of Revelation: in 5:6 mention is made of the sacrificed lamb; in 7:17 and 22:1 the Lamb is the one from whom flows the spring of living water and this aspect is also an allusion to Moses who made water flow from the rock; finally, in 5:9 reference is made to the redeeming blood of the Lamb, another paschal motif that recalls the salvation of the houses of the Israelites from the danger of death.
There is a parallel between the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doorposts as a sign of liberation and the blood of the lamb offered in a sacrifice of liberation. Soon Christians began to compare Jesus to the paschal lamb and, in doing so, they did not hesitate to use sacrificial language: «Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed» (1 Cor 5:7), including Jesus’ task of taking away the sin of the world.
b) The symbol of the dove:
This second symbol also has several aspects to it. First of all, the expression “like a dove” was common to express the affective connection with the nest. In our context it says that the Spirit has found its nest, its natural habitat of love in Jesus. Moreover, the dove symbolizes the love of the Father that rests on Jesus as in a permanent dwelling place (see Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22).
Then the expression «like a dove» is used in connection with the verb to descend to express that it is not a question of the physical aspect of a dove but the way the Spirit descends (like the flight of a dove), in the sense that it does not strike terror but rather inspires trust. Such biblical symbolism of the dove does not have parallel symbolisms in the Bible; however an old rabbinical exegesis compares the hovering of the Spirit of God over the primordial waters to the fluttering of the dove over its nest. It is not impossible that in using this symbol, John wanted to say that the descent of the Spirit in the shape of a dove was a clear reference to the beginning of creation: the incarnation of God’s plan in Jesus is the summit and aim of God’s creative activity.
The love of God for Jesus (corresponding to the movement of the dove returning to its nest) urges Him to pass on the fullness of His divine essence (the Spirit is love and loyalty).
5. The message
a) Christ is our salvation: The Baptist had the task of pointing out in Jesus «the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world». The proclamation of the Gospel, the word of Jesus Christ, is as essential and indispensable today as it was yesterday. We never cease to need liberation and salvation. Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean communicating theoretical truths nor is it a collection of moral teachings. Rather, it means allowing people to experience Jesus Christ, who came into the world – according to John’s witness – to save humankind from sin, evil and death. So we cannot transmit the Gospel and at the same time not pay attention to the daily needs and expectations of people. To speak of faith in Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, means to speak to people of our time, first asking ourselves what do they seek in the depths of their hearts.
“If we wish to hold on to an appropriate criterion…, we shall need to nurture two complementary focal points… Jesus Christ is witness to both. The first consists of our effort to listen to the culture of our world so as to discern the seeds of the Word already present there, even beyond the visible borders of the Church. To listen to the most intimate expectations of our contemporaries, consider seriously their wishes and desires, seek to understand that which burns in their hearts and what makes them afraid and diffident”. Besides, paying attention to the needs and expectations of people «does not mean renouncing what is different in Christianity or the transcendence of the Gospel… the Christian message points to a fully human way of life but does not limit itself to presenting mere humanism. Jesus Christ came so that we may partake of the divine life, of that life which has been called “the humanity of God”. (Communicating the Gospel in a changing world n. 34)
b) The Spirit does not come only to rest on Jesus, but to possess Him permanently so that He may share Himself with others in baptism. Finally, “the lamb who pardons sins and the dove of the Church meet in Christ”. Here is a quotation from St. Bernard where he brings together the two symbols: “The lamb is among animals what the dove is among birds: innocence, sweetness and simplicity”.
c) Some practical suggestions:
- Renew our availability to collaborate with the mission of Christ in communion with the Church by helping people to be free of evil and of sin.
- To stand by men and women on their journey that they may live in hope in Jesus who liberates and saves.
- To give witness to one’s joy in experiencing the efficacy of the word of Jesus in one’s life.
- To live by communicating faith giving witness to Jesus, savior of all people.
6. Psalm 40
This psalm speaks of the situation of a person who, freed from some oppression, finds no more authentic attitude in reply to God than an existential and total availability to His word.
I waited, I waited for Yahweh,
then He stooped to me and heard my cry for help.
He put a fresh song in my mouth, praise of our God.
You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering,
but You gave me an open ear,
You did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin;
then I said, 'Here I am, I am coming.'
In the scroll of the book it is written of me,
my delight is to do Your will;
Your law, my God, is deep in my heart.
I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great assembly.
See, I will not hold my tongue, as You well know.
7. Closing prayer
Father, who on the day of the Lord
gather Your people to celebrate
the One who is First and Last,
the Living One who has conquered death,
grant us the strength of your Spirit so that, having broken the chains of evil,
we may render You the free service
of our obedience and love,
so that we may reign with Christ in glory.
For He is God, who lives and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
(From the Liturgy)
The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
Matthew 3:13-17
1. Opening prayer
“We praise You, invisible Father, giver of immortality: You are the source of life, the source of light, the source of every grace and truth, lover of humankind and lover of the poor, who reconciles all with You and draw all to You through the coming of Your beloved Son.
Make us living people, grant us Your Spirit of light so that we may know You, the true One and the One whom You sent, Jesus Christ.” (Serapion’s Anaphora)
2. Reading
a) Introduction:
This Gospel fragment (Mt 3:13-17) is part of a narrative section of Matthew the Evangelist, the section that introduces the public life of Jesus. After the flight into Egypt, Jesus lives in Nazareth. Now, as an adult, we find Him on the banks of the river Jordan. The meeting of the two is part of the concluding section dedicated to John the Baptist. Anyone who wishes to go deeper into the personality of John and his message (Mt 3:1-12 has already been presented to us in the liturgy of the second Sunday of Advent) needs to keep in mind the whole of chapter 3 of Matthew. Our passage concentrates especially on the acknowledgement of the divinity of Christ at the time of His baptism. God the Father reveals the identity of Jesus.
b) A division of the text as an aid to its reading:
Matthew 3:13 setting
Matthew 3:14-15 dialogue John-Jesus
Matthew 3:16-17 epiphany/theophany
c) The text:
13 Then Jesus appeared: He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 John tried to dissuade Him with the words, 'It is I who need baptism from You, and yet You come to me!' 15 But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.' Then John gave in to Him. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized He at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. 17 And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on Him.'
3. A moment of silent prayer
so that the Word of God may penetrate our hearts and enlighten our lives.
4. Some questions
to help us in our meditation and prayer.
a) Why does Jesus “appear” after His hidden life in Nazareth?
b) How does awareness of His identity and mission grow?
c) Have I, at some time, taken on something new in my life?
d) Who or which experience has most revealed to me my identity, vocation and mission?
e) What does the memory of my baptism mean to me?
5. Meditation
a) A key to the reading:
Together with a historical-chronological reading of the passage, the episode of the baptism of Jesus and His meeting with John before He begins His public life, we need to keep in mind also a symbolical reading, assisted by the Fathers of the East, a symbolism that is the framework of this liturgical season of Christmas and which concludes with the full manifestation of God as man: a synthesis of the manifestation-epiphany of the Son of God in the flesh.
b) A commentary on the text:
Mt 13: 13 The adult Jesus
After John “appears” on the scene (13:1), Jesus of Nazareth, the town where He spent His childhood and early youth (Mt 12:23), goes to the river Jordan. As a good Israelite, He watches the authentic religious movements that spring up among the people. He shows that He approves of the work of John and decides to be baptized with water, not, of course, to receive forgiveness for sins, but to unite Himself and share fully in the expectations and hopes of all men and women. It is not humankind that goes to Him, but He who goes towards humankind, according to the logic of the incarnation.
Mt 13:14-15 the dialogue of John with Jesus
John’s attempt to prevent the baptism of Jesus is his acknowledgement of the difference between the two and an awareness of the new (the New Covenant) making its appearance. “The one who follows me… will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire… his winnowing-fan is in his hand… will clear… will gather… will burn…” (vv.11-12). Jesus’ attitude is still one of submitting to God’s saving plan (in this way, do all that righteousness demands), respecting the manner (in humility-kenosis) and the times (the time-kairos). We also see the difference between the two from their families of origin (priestly for John), from the places (Jerusalem for John, Nazareth for Jesus) from the manner of conception (a proclamation to the father, Zachary, in the old style; a proclamation to the mother, Mary), the parents’ ages (those of John old). Everything points to the passage from the old to the new. Matthew prepares the readers for the newness of the Christ: “you have heard it said, but I say to you” (Mt 5).
Mt 13:16-17 the presentation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit
In Matthew’s Gospel we have the solemn “adoration of the Magi” in acknowledgement of the royalty and divinity of Jesus. Luke also adds the acknowledgement of Elizabeth (Lk 1:42-43), of the angels (Lk 2:13-14) of the shepherds (Lk 2:20), and of the aged Simeon and Anna (Lk 2:30; 28). All the Evangelists record the proclamation of the divine identity of Jesus by God the Father and the Holy Spirit present in the form of a dove. Matthew says clearly “This is” not “you are” my Son, the Beloved. Jesus is divine by nature and also the new Adam, the beginning of a new humanity reconciled with God as well as nature reconciled with God by means of Christ’s immersion in the waters. The heavens are reopened after being closed for such a long time by sin, and earth is blessed.
The descent of Christ into the waters prefigures His descent into hell and the words of the Psalmist come true (Ps 74:13-14), he crushes the head of the foe. The Baptism not only prefigures, but inaugurates and anticipates Satan’s defeat and the liberation of Adam.
However, it will not be easy to recognize the Messiah in His weakness. John himself has some doubts when in prison, and he sends his disciples to ask “are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for someone else?” (Mt 11:3).
6. For those who wish to go deeper into the liturgical and ecumenical aspects
In the tradition of the Eastern churches, the Baptism of Jesus is the most important liturgical feast of the Christmas cycle. On 6 January they celebrate together the baptism, birth, visit of the Magi, the wedding feast of Cana, as one fact. Rather than the historical development of the life of Jesus, they stress His theological-saving relevance. They do not dwell on the sentimental aspect, but on the historical manifestation of God and His acknowledgement as Lord.
Cyril of Jerusalem says that Jesus gives the waters of baptism “the color of His divinity” (III mystagogic catechesis, 1).
Gregory Nazianzen writes that the creation of this world and the creation of the spiritual world, once foes, reunite in friendship, and we humans, united in one choir with the angels, partake of their praises (PG 46,599).
The descent into the waters corresponds to the descent into the bowels of the earth symbolized by the birth in a cave. The destructive waters become waters of salvation for the just.
The Old Testament readings of the liturgical Vespers recall the saving waters: the Spirit hovers over the waters at the time of creation (Gen 1), the waters of the Nile save Moses (Ex 2), the waters open for the people of Israel to go through (Ex 14), the waters of Mara become sweet (Ex 15), the waters of the Jordan open before the Arc (Josh 3), the waters of the Jordan heal Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5) etc. Jesus then at the wedding feast in Cana transforms water into wine (Jn 2) as a sign that the time of salvation has come.
At this feast in the eastern liturgy, there is a tradition of blessing water in a spring or river by immersing the cross three times (the triple baptismal immersion). This recalls the prophet Isaiah: let the wilderness and the dry lands exult (Isa 35:1-10), come to the water all you who are thirsty (Isa 55: 1-13), draw water joyfully (Isa 12:3-6).
7. Psalm 114 (113)
Alleluia!
When Israel came out of Egypt,
the House of Jacob from a people of foreign speech,
Judah became his sanctuary,
and Israel his domain.
The sea fled at the sight,
the Jordan turned back,
the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like sheep.
Sea, what makes you flee?
Jordan, why turn back?
Why skip like rams, you mountains?
Why like sheep, you hills?
Tremble, earth, at the coming of the Lord,
at the coming of the God of Jacob,
who turns rock into pool, flint into fountain.
8. Closing prayer
Jesus, source of life, who comes to cancel Adam’s sentence, in the Jordan You killed hatred; grant us the peace that is beyond all thought. Resplendent Word sent by the Father, after You have uprooted the sins of mortals, come and dissipate the long and sad hours of the night, and by your baptism, let Your children rise resplendent from the waves of the Jordan. May the human race clothe itself in white, come out of the waters as children of God and transform creation into the image of the creator. (From oriental liturgical “chants”)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of heaven and earth,
hear our prayers,
and show us the way to Your peace in the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
3) Reflection
• The signs which accompany the proclamation or announcement of the Good News. Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and reproaches them because they had not believed the people who had seen Him risen. Once again, Mark refers to the resistance of the disciples to believe in the witness of those men and women who had had an experience of the resurrection of Jesus. Why would this be? Probably to teach two things. In the first place, that faith in Jesus goes through the faith of people who give witness. Second, that nobody should get discouraged when incredulity comes from the heart. Even the eleven disciples had doubts!
• Then Jesus gives them the mission of announcing the Good News to all creatures. The requirement which He gives is the following: to believe and to be baptized. To those who have the courage to believe in the Good News and who are baptized, He promises the followings signs: they will cast out devils, they will have the gift of tongues, they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison, and they will lay their hands on the sick who will recover. This happens even in our own day.
- To cast out devils is to fight against the force of evil which destroys life. The life of many people has improved for having entered a community and for having begun to live the Good News of the presence of God in their life.
- To have the gift of tongues is to begin to communicate with others in a new form. Sometimes, we find a person whom we never have seen before, but it seems to us that we have known her for a long time. This happens because we speak the same language, the language of love.
- They will be unharmed if they take deadly poison: there are many things which poison living together, e.g. gossip, which destroys the relationship between people. The one who lives in the presence of God goes beyond this and succeeds in not being bothered by this terrible poison.
- To cure the sick: wherever there is a clearer consciousness of the presence of God, there is also a special attention toward oppressed and marginalized people, especially the sick What helps the person to heal is to feel accepted and loved.
- Through the community, Jesus continues His mission: Jesus himself, who lived in Palestine where He accepted the poor of His time, revealed the love of the Father, this same Jesus continues alive in our midst, in the same way in our communities. Through us He continues His mission, revealing the Good News of the Love of God for the poor. Even today, the Resurrection takes place which urges us to sing, “Who will separate us, who will separate us from the love of Christ, who will separate us?” (cf. Rm 8: 38-39). No power of this world can counteract the force which comes from faith in the Resurrection (Rm 8: 35-39). A community which wants to witness to the Resurrection has to be a sign of life, should fight against the forces of death in a way that the world will be a favorable place for life, and should believe that a different world is possible. Above all in Latin America, where the life of the people is in danger because of the system of death which has been imposed, the communities have to be a living proof of the hope which overcomes the world without the fear of being happy!
4) Personal questions
• To cast out devils, to have the gift of new tongues, to be unharmed by deadly poison and by snakes, to impose the hands on the sick: Have you fulfilled any of these signs?
• Does Jesus continue His mission through us and through our community? Is He able to fulfill this mission in our community? In what way?
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, all nations,
extol Him, all peoples,
for His faithful love is strong
and His constancy never-ending. (Ps 117:1-2)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
All-powerful and ever-living God,
direct Your love that is within us,
that our efforts in the name of Your Son
may bring the human race to unity and peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Mark 3:22-30
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
3) Reflection
• The conflict grows. In the Gospel of Mark there is a progressive sequence. By the measure in which the Good News advances and people accept it, in the same measure it grows resistance on the part of the religious authority. The conflict began to grow and to influence all groups of people. For example, the relatives of Jesus thought that He was out of His mind. (Mk 3:20-21), and the scribes who had come from Jerusalem thought that He was possessed, that Beelzebul was in Him (Mk 3:22).
• The conflict with authority. The scribes slandered against Him. They said that Beelzebul was in Him and that it was through the prince of devils that He drove out the devils. They had come from Jerusalem, about 120 kilometers away, to keep an eye on Jesus’ behavior. They wanted to defend tradition against the new ideas that Jesus taught to the people (Mk 7:1). They thought that His teaching was against good doctrine. The response given by Jesus had three parts.
- First Part: The comparison with a divided family. Jesus uses the comparison of the divided family and the divided kingdom to denounce the absurdity of the slander. To say that Jesus casts out or drives out the devils with the help of the prince of the devils is to deny what is evident. It is like saying that water is dry, and that the sun is darkness. The doctors of Jerusalem slandered because they did not know how to explain the benefits worked by Jesus on behalf of the people. They were afraid to lose their power.
- Second Part: The comparison of the strong man. Jesus compares the devil to a strong man. Nobody, unless he is a strong person, will be able to take away the house from a strong man to rob it. Jesus is the strongest of all. And this is why He succeeds in entering the house and in dominating and overcoming the strong man. He succeeds in driving out the devils. Jesus wins over the strong man and robs his house. He liberates the people who were under the power of the evil one. The Prophet Isaiah had already used the same comparison to describe the coming of the Messiah (Is 49:24-25). Luke adds that the expulsion of the devil is the evidence of the coming of the Kingdom (Lk 11:20).
- Third part: The sin against the Holy Spirit. All sins are forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Spirit. Which is the sin against the Holy Spirit? It is to say, “The spirit which impels Jesus to cast out or drive out the devil, comes precisely from the devil!” The one who speaks in this way is incapable of receiving pardon. Why? Can the one who covers his eyes guess? He cannot! The one who closes his mouth, can he eat? He cannot. The one who does not close the umbrella of slander, can he receive the rain of pardon? He cannot! Pardon would pass by his side but would not reach him. It is not that God does not want to forgive. God always wants to forgive. But it is the sinner who refuses to receive pardon!
4) Personal questions
• The religious authorities close themselves up in themselves and deny the evidence. Has this ever happened to me, that I close myself off before the evidence or facts?
• Slander is the arm or weapon of the weak. Have you experienced this?
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)
Christmas Time
1) Opening prayer
Father, You make known the salvation of mankind
at the birth of Your Son.
Make us strong in faith
and bring us to the glory You promise.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."
3) Reflection
• In the Gospel of John, history and symbol join together. In today’s text, the symbolism consists in recalling texts of the Old Testament which reveal hints to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. In these few verses (Jn 1:29-34) we find the following expressions which contain a symbolical description: 1) Lamb of God; 2) Who takes away the sins of the world; 3) He existed before me; 4) The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove; 5) Son of God.
• Lamb of God. This title brings to mind the Exodus and the night of the first Passover. The blood of the Paschal Lamb, with which the doors of the houses were signed, was a sign of liberation (Ex 12:13-14). Jesus is the new Paschal Lamb who liberates His people (1 Co 5:7; 1 P 1:19; Rev 5:6-9).
• Who takes away the sins of the World. This recalls a very beautiful phrase of the prophecy of Jeremiah: “There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbor or brother: “You will know the Lord, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord; since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind” (Jer 31:34).
• He existed before me. This recalls several texts of the Books of Wisdom, in which God’s Wisdom, which existed before all the other creatures and which was with God, fixed her dwelling among the people of God (Pro 8:22-31; Eccl 24:1-11).
• The descent of the Spirit in the form of a dove. It denotes creative action where it is said that the “Spirit of God sweeping over the waters” (Gen 1:2). The text of Genesis suggests the image of a bird which flies over its nest. An image of the new creation is thanks to the action of Jesus.
• Son of God. This is the title which summarizes all the others. The best comment on this title is the explanation from Jesus himself: “The Jews answered Him: ‘We are stoning You not for doing a good work, but for blasphemy: though You are only a man, You claim to be God”. Jesus answered: “Is it not written in your Law: I said: you are gods?” So the word ‘gods’ refers to those people to whom the word of God was addressed (and Scripture cannot be set aside). Yet to someone whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world you say, “You are blaspheming because I said, I am Son of God? If I am not doing My Father’s work there is no need to believe Me, but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in Me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for certain that the Father is in Me and I am in the Father” (Jn 10:33-38).
4) Personal questions
• Jesus offered himself completely for the whole of humanity. What can I offer to help my neighbor?
• We have also received the Holy Spirit. How conscious or aware am I that I am His temple?
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)
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 11:1-4
Now it happened that Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when He had finished, one of his disciples said, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'
He said to them, 'When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.'
3) Reflection
● In yesterday's Gospel, we saw Mary sitting at the foot of Jesus, listening to his word. Anyone who listens to the Word of God has to give a response in prayer. In this way, today's Gospel continues with yesterday’s Gospel . This is the account in which Jesus, because of his way of prayer, communicates to the disciples the desire to pray, to learn to pray from him.
● Luke 11, 1: Jesus, example of prayer. "One day, Jesus was in a certain place praying and when He had finished one of his disciples said to him: ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples'". This petition of the disciples is strange, because at that time people learned to pray since they were children. Everyone prayed three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. They prayed often using the Psalms. They had their devotional practices, they had the Psalms, they had weekly meetings in the Synagogue and daily encounters at home. It seemed that this was not enough however. The disciple wanted more: "Teach us to pray!" In the attitude of Jesus he discovers that he could still advance more, and for this he needed some initiation. The desire to pray was in all of them, but the way of praying needs help. The way of praying attains maturity throughout life and changes through the centuries. Jesus was a good teacher: He taught how to pray with words and with witness.
● Luke 11, 2-4: The prayer of the Our Father. "Jesus answers: "When you pray this is what you have to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt with us. And do not put us to the test". In the Gospel of Matthew, in quite a didactic way, Jesus summarizes all of his teaching in seven petitions addressed to the Father. Here in Luke's Gospel their are five petitions. In these five requests, Jesus repeats the great promises of the Old Testament and asks that the Father help us to fulfill them. The first three (or two) speak to us about our relationship with God. The other four (or three) speak to us about the relationships among us.
Mt - Lc: Introduction: Our Father who are in heaven
Mt - Lc: 1st request: Hallowed be your Name
Mt - Lc: 2nd request: Your Kingdom come
Mt: 3rd request: Your will be done
Mt - Lc: 4th request: Our daily bread
Mt - Lc: 5th request: Forgive our offences
Mt - Lc: 6th request: Lead us not into temptation
Mt: 7th request: Deliver us from evil
● Father (Our): The title expresses the new relationship with God (Father). It is the basis of fraternity.
a) To sanctify the Name: the Name of Yahweh I am with you! God with us. God made himself known with this name (Ex 3: 11-15). The Name of God is sanctified when it is used with faith and not with magic; when it is used according to its true objective, and not for oppression, but for the liberation of the people and for the construction of the Kingdom.
b) Your Kingdom come: The only Lord and King of human life is God (Is 45: 21; 46: 9). The arrival of the Kingdom is the realization of all hopes and promises. It is the fullness of life, the overcoming of frustration suffered with the kings and human governments. This Kingdom will come when the will of God is completely fulfilled.
c) The daily bread: In Exodus, the people every day received manna in the desert (Ex 16: 35). Divine Providence passed for fraternal organization as well as for sharing. Jesus invites us to fulfill a new Exodus, a new way of sharing in a fraternal spirit which will guarantee bread for all (Mt 6: 34-44; Jn 6: 48-51).
d) Forgiveness of debts: Every 50 years, the Jubilee Year obliged everybody to forgive their debts. It was a new beginning (Lev 25: 8-55). Jesus announces a new Jubilee Year, "a year of grace from the Lord" (Lk 4: 19). The Gospel wants to begin everything new! Today, the external debt is not forgiven! Luke changes "debts" for "sins".
e) Not to fall into temptation: In Exodus the people were tempted and fell (Deut 9: 6-12). They complained and wanted to go back. (Ex 16: 3; 17: 3). In the new Exodus, the temptation was overcome thanks to the grace and strength that people received from God (1Co 10: 12-13).
● The witness of the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke:
- At twelve years old, He goes to the Temple, in the House of the Father (Lk 2: 46-50).
- When He was baptized and He assumes his mission, He prays (Lk 3: 21).
- When He begins his mission, He spends forty days in the desert (Lk 4: 1-2).
- At the hour of temptation, He faces the Devil with texts from Scripture (Lk 4: 3-12).
- Jesus usually participated in the celebrations in the Synagogues on Saturday (Lk 4: 16)
- He looks for the solitude of the desert to pray (Lk 5: 16; 9: 18).
- On the day before He chose the twelve Apostles, He spent the night in prayer (Lk 6: 12).
- He prays before meals (Lk 9: 16; 24: 30).
- He prays before presenting the reality and before speaking about his Passion (Lk 9: 18).
- In time of crisis, He goes up to the mountain to pray, is transfigured while He prays (Lk 9: 28).
- When the Gospel is revealed to the little ones, He says: "Father I thank you!" (Lk 10: 21)
- By praying He awakens in the Apostles the desire to pray (Lk 11: 1).
- He prays for Peter so that his faith will not fail (Lk 22: 32).
- He celebrates the Paschal Supper with his disciples (Lk 22: 7-14).
- In the Garden of Olives, He prays while his sweat fell like drops of blood (Lk 22: 41-42).
- In his anguish He asks his friends to pray with Him (Lk 22: 40.46).
- When He was nailed to the cross, He asks for pardon for the bandits (Lk 23: 34).
- At the hour of his death, He says: "Into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Lk 23: 46; Ps 31: 6)
- Jesus dies sending out the cry of the poor (Lk 23: 46).
4) Personal questions
● Do I pray? How do I pray? What does prayer mean for me?
● Our Father: I go over the five petitions and examine how I live them in my life
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, all nations,
extol him, all peoples,
for his faithful love is strong
and his constancy never-ending. (Ps 117:1-2)
Always be ready
God can come to us at any moment
Matthew 24:37-44
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 in 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. Reading
a) Key for reading:
In the Liturgy of the first Sunday of Advent, the Church gives us an extract of the discourse of Jesus on the end of the world. Advent means Coming. It is the time of preparation for the coming of the Son of Man into our life. Jesus exhorts us to be vigilant. He asks us to be attentive to the events in order to discover in them the hour of the coming of the Son of Man.At the beginning of Advent, it is important to purify our look and to learn anew how to read the events in the light of the Word of God. And this in order not to be surprised, because God comes without telling us, when we less expect Him. To show how we should be attentive to the events, Jesus goes back to the episode of the deluge in the time of Noah.During the reading of the text, let us pay attention to the comparisons which Jesus uses to transmit His message.
b) A division of the text to help in the reading:
Matthew 24:37-39: The coming of the Son of Man will arrive as in the days of NoahMatthew 24:40-41: Jesus applies the comparison to those who listenMatthew 24:42: The conclusion: “Stay awake”; be “Vigilant”.Matthew 24:43-44: A comparison to recommend vigilance.
c) The text:
37 'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. 38 For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, 39 and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept them all away. This is what it will be like when the Son of Man comes. 40 Then of two men in the fields, one is taken, one left; 41 of two women grinding at the mill, one is taken, one left.42 'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. 43 You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. 44 Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
3. A moment of prayerful silence
so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
i) Which part of the text struck you most? Why?ii) Where, when, and why did Jesus pronounce this discourse?iii) In what exactly does this vigilance, to which Jesus exhorts us, consist?iv) “One is taken, one left”. What does Jesus want to teach with this affirmation?v) At the time of Matthew, the Christian community, in a certain sense, expected the coming of the Son of Man. And today, what is our way of waiting for the coming of Jesus?vi) In your opinion, what is the center or origin of this teaching of Jesus?
5. For those who desire to go deeper into the theme
a) Context of the discourse of Jesus:
The Gospel of Matthew -
In the Gospel of Matthew there are five great discourses, as if it were a new edition of the five books of the Law of Moses. The text on which we are meditating this Sunday forms part of the fifth Discourse of this New Law. Each one of the preceding four discourses enlightens a determinate aspect of the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus. The first one: the justice of the Kingdom and the conditions for entering the Kingdom (Mt from 5 to 7). The second one: the mission of the citizens of the Kingdom (Mt 10). The third one: the mysterious presence of the Kingdom in the life of the people (Mt 13). The fourth one: to live the Kingdom in community (Mt 18). The fifth Sermon speaks of vigilance in view of the definitive coming of the Kingdom. In this last discourse, Matthew continues the outline of Mark (cf. Mk 13:5-37), but adds some parables which speak about the need of vigilance and of service, of solidarity and of fraternity.
Waiting for the coming of the Son of Man -
At the end of the first century, the communities lived expecting the immediate coming of Jesus (I Thess 5:1-11). Basing themselves on some words of Paul (I Thess 4:15-18), there were some people who had ceased to work, thinking that Jesus was about to arrive (2 Thess 2:1-2; 3:11-12). They asked themselves, “When Jesus comes, will we be taken up to Heaven as He was?” (cf. I Thess 4:17). Will we be taken or left behind? (cf. Mt 24:40-41). There was an atmosphere similar to that of today, in which many ask themselves, “Is this terrorism a sign that the end of the world is close at hand? What should we do in order not to be surprised?” An answer to this question and concern comes to us from the words of Jesus which Matthew transmits to us in the Gospel of this Sunday.
b) Comment on the text:
Matthew 24:37-39: Jesus compares the coming of the Son of Man to the days of the deluge“As it was in Noah’s day, so it will be when the Son of Man comes”. Here, in order to clarify the call to vigilance, Jesus refers to two episodes of the Old Testament: Noah and the Son of Man. The “days of Noah” refer to the description of the deluge (Gen 6:5 to 8:14).The image of the “Son of Man” comes from a vision of the prophet Daniel (Dan 7: 13). In the days of Noah most people lived without any concern, without being aware that in the events the hour of God was getting near. Life continued “and they were not aware of anything until the deluge came and drowned them all”. And Jesus concludes, “Thus it will be when the Son of Man comes”. In the vision of Daniel, the Son of Man will come on the clouds unexpectedly and His coming will decree the end of oppressive empires, which will have no future.
Matthew 24: 40-41: Jesus applies the comparison to those who listen to Him.“Two men will be in the fields: one is taken, one left”. These phrases should not be taken literally. It is a way to indicate the diverse destiny that people will receive according to the justice of the works they did. Some will be taken, that is, will receive salvation, and others will not receive it. This is what happened in the deluge: “You alone of your contemporaries do I see before me as an upright man” (Gen 7:1). And Noah and his family were saved.
Matthew 24:42: Jesus draws the conclusion: “So stay awake”, be vigilant.God is the one who determines the hour of the coming of the Son. But God’s time is not measured by our clock or calendar. For God one day can be equal to a thousand years, and a thousand years equal to one day (Ps 90; 2 Pet 3:8). God’s time (kairos) is independent from our time (kronos). We cannot interfere in God’s time, but we should be prepared for the moment in which God’s hour becomes present in our time. It can be today; it can be a thousand years from now.
Matthew 24: 43-44: comparison: the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.God comes when we least expect Him. It can also happen that He comes and people are not aware of the hour of His arrival. Jesus asks for two things: an always attentive vigilance and at the same time, a peaceful dedication of the one who is in peace. This attitude is a sign of much maturity, in which are mixed vigilant concern and the serene tranquility: maturity which combines the seriousness of the moment with the awareness that everything is relative.
c) Broadening the information in order to better understand the text:
How should we be vigilant to prepare ourselves? - Our text is preceded by the parable of the fig tree (Mt 24:32-33). The fig tree was a symbol of the people of Israel (Hos 9:10; Mt 21:18). In asking to look at the fig tree, Jesus asks to look and to analyze the facts that are taking place. It is as if Jesus were to say to us, “You should learn from the fig tree to read the signs of the times, and in this way you would discover where and when God breaks into our history!”
The certainty communicated to us by Jesus - Jesus leaves us a twofold certainty to orientate our journey in life: (1) surely the end will come; (2) certainly, nobody knows anything about the day or hour of the end of the world. “But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in Heaven nor the Son, no one but the Father alone!” (Mt 24:36). In spite of all the estimates or calculations that men can do on the date of the end of the world, nobody can calculate with certainty. What gives security is not the knowledge of the hour of the end, but the Word of Jesus present in life. The world will pass but His Word will never pass. (cf. Isa 40:7-8).
When will the end of the world come? - When the bible speaks about the “end of the World”, it refers not to the end of the world, but to the end of a world. It refers to the end of this world, where injustice and the power of evil reign: those things which embitter life. This world of injustice will come to an end and in its place there will be “a new heaven and a new earth”, announced by Isaiah (Isa 65:15–17) and foreseen in the Apocalypse (Rev 21:1). Nobody knows when nor how the end of this world will be (Mt 24:36), because nobody can imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him (I Cor 2:9). The new world of life without death exceeds everything, just like the tree exceeds the seed (I Cor 15:35-38). The first Christians were anxious to be present at this end (2 Thess 2:2). They continued to look up at heaven, waiting for the coming of Christ (Acts 1:11). Some no longer worked (2 Thess 3:11). But “It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). The only way to contribute to the coming of the end, “in order that the Lord may send the time of comfort” (Acts 3: 20), is to give witness of the Gospel everywhere, to the earth’s remotest end (Acts 1:8).
6. Prayer: Psalm 46 (45)
“God is our refuge! We shall not be afraid!”
God is both refuge and strength for us,a help always ready in trouble;so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil,though mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,and its waters roar and seethe,and the mountains totter as it heaves.
There is a river whose streams bring joy to God's city,it sanctifies the dwelling of the Most High.God is in the city, it cannot fall;at break of day God comes to its rescue.Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are tumbling,when He raises His voice the earth crumbles away.Yahweh Sabaoth is with us, our citadel,the God of Jacob.
Come, consider the wonders of Yahweh,the astounding deeds He has done on the earth;He puts an end to wars over the whole wide world,He breaks the bow,He snaps the spear,shields He burns in the fire.'Be still and acknowledge that I am God,supreme over nations, supreme over the world.'
Yahweh Sabaoth is with us, our citadel, the God of Jacob.
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.
Christmas Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord God, You are Love itself.
We know that You loved us first
before we could ever love You.
Let this unforgettable experience
of Your “beloved disciple” John
become also our deep and lasting experience.
May the love You have shown us
in Your Son Jesus Christ
move us to love You very deeply in return
and overflow to all those we meet in life.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading – John 20: 2-8
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we don't know where they have put Him.”
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in.
Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over His head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents to us the passage of the Gospel of John which speaks about the Beloved Disciple. This text was probably chosen to read and meditate on today, the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, because of the identification that we all make of the Beloved Disciple with the apostle John. But the strange thing is, in no passage of the Gospel of John is it said that the beloved disciple is John. From the earliest times of the Church, the identification of the two has always been assumed. This is why, in insisting that the two (John and the Beloved Disciple) are the same, we run the risk of losing a very important aspect of the message of the Gospel in regard to the Beloved Disciple.
• In the Gospel of John, the Beloved Disciple represents the new community which is born around Jesus. We find the Beloved Disciple at the foot of the cross, together with Mary, the mother of Jesus (Jn 19:26). Mary represents the people of the Old Covenant. At the end of the first century, the time in which the final version of the Gospel of John was compiled, there was a growing conflict between the Synagogue and the Church. Some Christians wanted to abandon the Old Testament and keep only the New Testament. At the foot of the Cross, Jesus says: “Woman, behold your son!” and to the Beloved Disciple: “Son, behold your mother!” Both must remain together as mother and son. To separate the Old Testament from the New in that time was what we would call today a separation between faith (NT) and life (OT).
• In the Gospel today, Peter and the Beloved Disciple, informed by the witness of Mary Magdalene, ran together toward the Holy Sepulcher. The young one runs faster than the elderly one and reaches the tomb first. He looks inside the tomb, observes everything, but does not enter. He allows Peter to enter first. Here is the way in which the Gospel describes the reaction of the two men to what both of them see: “He entered and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, he saw and he believed”. Both of them saw the same thing, but this is said only of the Beloved Disciple that he believed: “Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, he saw and he believed”. Why? Is it that Peter did not believe? Or is it to juxtapose Peter’s belief with the other’s new-found awareness?
• The Beloved Disciple looks and sees in a different way. He has a loving look which recognizes the presence of the uniqueness of Jesus. The morning after that night of working, looking for fish and then the miraculous catch of fish, it is he, the Beloved Disciple, who recognizes the presence of Jesus and says: “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:7). On that occasion, Peter, informed by the assertion of the Beloved Disciple, also recognizes and begins to understand. Peter learns from the Beloved Disciple. Then Jesus asks three times: “Peter, do you love Me?” (Jn 21:15, 16, 17). Three times Peter answers: “You know that I love You!” After the third time, Jesus entrusts the flock to the care of Peter, and in that moment Peter also becomes a “beloved disciple.”
4) Personal questions
• All of us who believe in Jesus are today beloved disciples. Do I have the same loving look to perceive the presence of God and to believe in his Resurrection?
• To separate the Old Testament from the New is the same thing as to separate faith and life. How do I live this today?
5) Concluding Prayer
The mountains melt like wax,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim His saving justice,
all nations see His glory. (Ps 97:5-6)
The justice of Joseph saved Mary’s life
Matthew 1:18-24
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 in 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. Reading
a) Key for reading:
The majority of the members of the Christian communities in Palestine and in Syria, for whom Matthew wrote his Gospel, were converted Jews. They accepted Jesus as Messiah and believed in Him. They were persecuted because of their faith. Their brother Jews said to them, “You Christians are deceived! Jesus is not, nor can He be the Messiah!” In the text which we are meditating on this Sunday, Matthew’s concern is evident. He wants to confirm the faith of the communities. It is as if he wished to tell us, “You do not live deceived! Jesus is truly the Messiah! “The intention of Matthew in chapters one and two of his Gospel is to inform the readers concerning Jesus, whose activity will be described beginning in chapter three. In the first two chapters, Matthew presents the credentials of Jesus, the new Legislator, the new Moses. In the genealogy (Mt 1:1-17), he had already shown that Jesus belongs to the race of David and of Abraham (Mt 1: 1). In these verses (Mt 1:18-25) Matthew continues to present Jesus to us describing His birth. He says how Joseph received the news that Mary was with child and, the prophecies which will be realized with the birth of Jesus, showing that He is the expected Messiah. During the reading, it is well to pay attention to what the text tells us on the person of Jesus, especially in what concerns the significance of the two names that He receives.
b) A division of the text to help the reading:
Matthew 1:18: A legal irregularity in Mary
Matthew 1:19: The justice of Joseph
Matthew 1:20-21: The explanation or elucidation by the Angel
Matthew 1:21-23: The melody in Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew 1:24-25: The obedience of Joseph.
c) The text:
18 This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally. 20 He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because He is the one who is to save His people from their sins.'
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: 23 Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'. 24 When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home; 25 he had not had intercourse with her when she gave birth to a son; and he named Him Jesus.
3. A moment of prayerful silence
so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection
i) Which point of this text struck you the most? Why?
ii) According to the words of the Angel, who is the Son who will be born of Mary?
iii) According to the words of Matthew, which prophecy of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus?
iv) What are the two names which the Child receives and what is God’s plan hidden in these names?
v) How is Joseph’s attitude to be understood? What does this attitude teach us?
vi) In what exactly does Joseph’s “justice” consist?
vii) What is our justice, compared with that of Joseph?
5. For those who desire to go deeper into the theme
a) Context of the evangelic text:
The genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:1-17) leaves us with a question. Next to the names of the forty-two paternal ancestors of Jesus (Mt 1:17), Matthew gives the names of four maternal ancestors only: Tamar (Mt 1:3), Rahab, Ruth (Mt 1:4) and the wife of Uriah (Mt 1:6). The four women conceived their sons outside the parameters of purity or of the legal justice of that time. Therefore, the state of these four women is irregular before the Law. The irregularity of these four ancestors is evident. It is sufficient to read the texts of the Old Testament where their story is described. And thus, at the end of the genealogy a question arises: “And Mary, the spouse of Joseph, from whom Jesus is born (Mt 1:16), does she also incur some irregularity of a legal type? The text on which we are meditating this Sunday speaks about this.
b) Commentary on the text:
Matthew 1:18: A legal irregularity in Mary
Mary is with child before going to live with Joseph, her promised spouse. The one who looks at things from outside is aware of an irregularity and will say, “Mary, how horrible!” According to the law of Moses, these errors merited a death penalty (Deut 22:20). To avoid this mistaken interpretation of facts, Matthew helps the reader to see the other aspect of Mary’s pregnancy: “She conceived by the Holy Spirit”. To human eyes this may seem a transgression of the Law, but in God’s eyes this was exactly the contrary!
Matthew 1:19: The justice of Joseph
The pregnancy of Mary takes place before she went to live with Joseph, not because of a human deviation, but because of the divine will. God himself made fun of the law of legal purity in such a way as to make the Messiah be born among us! If Joseph had acted according to the requirements of the law of that time, he would have had to denounce Mary and possibly she would have been stoned. Pregnancy before marriage is irregular and according to the law of legal purity, she should be punished with the death penalty (Deut 22:20). But Joseph, because he is just, does not obey the requirements of the law of purity. His justice is greater. Instead of denouncing, he prefers to respect the mystery which he does not understand and decides to abandon Mary in secret. The greatest justice of Joseph saves both the life of Mary and that of Jesus.
Thus, Matthew sends an important message to the communities of Palestine and Syria. It is as if he said, “Behold, what would happen if the rigorous observance were followed, which certain Pharisees demand from you! They would put the Messiah to death!” Later Jesus will say, “If your justice is not greater than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5:20).
Matthew 1:20-21: The explanation or elucidation of the Angel and the two names of the Son of Mary: Jesus and Immanuel
“The Angel of the Lord” helps to discover the deepest dimension of life and of events. He helps to make an X-Ray of events and to perceive God’s call which with our human eyes alone we cannot perceive. The Angel makes Joseph understand that Mary’s pregnancy is the fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit. God Himself, the day of creation, blew over the waters and filled with force the creating Word of God (Gen 1: 2). The new creation takes place in Mary. It is the beginning of the new heaven and the new earth, announced by Isaiah (Isa 65:17). The Son of Mary receives two names: Jesus and Immanuel. Jesus means “Yahweh saves”. Salvation does not come from what we do but from God, rather from what God does for us. Immanuel means “God with us”. In the Exodus, when getting out of Egypt, God goes down to be with the oppressed people (Ex 3:8) and tells Moses: “I will be with you” (Ex 3:12) and from that moment on God never abandons His people. The two names, Jesus and Immanuel, render concrete and even go beyond the hope of the people.
Matthew 1:22-23: The melody of Matthew’s Gospel
“All this took place in order that what had been said of the Lord by the prophet could be fulfilled”. This sentence or other similar ones are like a melody, words which are repeated many times in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 1:23; 2:5, 15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14, 35; etc.). This reveals the purpose which the author had in mind: to confirm for his readers of Jewish origin the fact that Jesus is truly the promised Messiah. In Him the promises of the prophets are fulfilled.
Here Matthew quotes the text of Isaiah: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, whom she will call Immanuel” (Isa 7:14). The title Immanuel more than a name reveals the meaning of Jesus for us. Jesus is the proof that God continues to be with us. The name itself of the Child is Jesus (Mt 1:25).
Matthew 1:24-25: The obedience of Joseph
Waking up from sleep, Joseph does what the Angel told him and took Mary to his house. And he continues to say that he had no relation with Mary, to confirm that Jesus is born from the Holy Spirit.
c) Extending the information:
A key for the Gospel of Matthew - The Gospel of Matthew is addressed to a community of converted Jews, who live a deep crisis of identity in relation to their Jewish past. When in the year 65 AD the revolt broke out against Rome, the Jewish-Christians did not participate and they abandoned Jerusalem. The Pharisees did the same thing. After the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70, the Pharisees reorganized the people who had remained and they lined up, always in a more decisive way, against the Christians, who at the end were excommunicated. This excommunication made the problem of identity even worse. Now, officially excommunicated, they could no longer go to their Synagogue, to their rabbi. And the question arose among them: To whom do the promises belong: to the Synagogue or to the Church? Who is the true People of God, they or we? Is Jesus truly the Messiah? Matthew writes his Gospel for this community. The Gospel of Matthew can be defined by the following three words:
i) The Gospel of consolation for those excommunicated and persecuted by their brother Jews who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah (Christ); it helps to overcome the trauma or shock of the breaking.
ii) The Gospel of revelation: It shows Jesus as the true Messiah, the new Messiah, in Whom is the summit of all the history of the Old Testament with its promises.
iii) The Gospel of the new practice: It describes the practice of Jesus, and shows how to attain a new justice, greater than that of the Pharisees.
This happened in order that it could be realized - by means of this phrase repeated many times in his Gospel, Matthew touches on the point of greatest tension between Christians and Jews. Starting from the Bible, they said, “Jesus is not and cannot be the Messiah!” Starting from the Bible itself, Matthew responds and affirms, “Jesus is truly the Messiah!”
The pregnancy of Mary - Matthew as well as Luke quote the text of Isaiah “A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, whom she will call Immanuel” (Isa 7:14). But there is a difference. Luke places Mary in the center and gives more importance to the sign of virginity (Lk 1:31). Matthew places Joseph in the center and gives more importance to the significance of the name Immanuel.
Joseph’s dream - the Angel appeared to Joseph in his sleep and helps him to understand. With the help of the Angel, Joseph succeeded in discovering God’s action in this event, which according to the opinion of the time, seemed to be only the fruit of deviation and of sin. Angel means messenger. He brings a message and a help to perceive God’s action in life. Today there are many Angels who guide us in life. Some times they act while we sleep, in our dreams, other times in our meetings, in conversations and in Biblical encounters, in facts, etc. So many Angels, so many Angels!
6. Prayer: Psalm 72 (71)
His Name endures for ever!
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.
Mountains and hills,
bring peace to the people! With justice
he will judge the poor of the people,
he will save the children of the needy and crush their oppressors.
In the sight of the sun and the moon he will endure,
age after age.
He will come down like rain on mown grass,
like showers moistening the land.
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.
The Beast will cower before him,
his enemies lick the dust;
the kings of Tarshish and the islands will pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Saba will offer gifts;
all kings will do him homage,
all nations become his servants.
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.
From oppression and violence he redeems their lives,
their blood is precious in his sight.
Long may he live;
may the gold of Sheba be given him!
Prayer will be offered for him constantly,
and blessings invoked on him all day.
May wheat abound in the land,
waving on the heights of the hills,
like Lebanon with its fruits and flowers at their best,
like the grasses of the earth.
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.
Blessed be Yahweh,
the God of Israel,
who alone works wonders;
blessed for ever His glorious name.
May the whole world be filled with His glory!
Amen! Amen!
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 what 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.
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2nd Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
You are near to us
in Jesus Christ Your Son.
When we go astray,
You look for us until You find us.
Bring us back to You,
show us the way to You
and to one another
through Him who is our way,
Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord,
who lives with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18: 12-14
Jesus said to his disciples: "What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."
3) Reflection
• A parable is not a teaching to be received in a passive way or just to be kept in the memory. Rather, it is an invitation to participate in the discovery of truth. Jesus begins by asking, “What do you think?” A parable is a question with a response which is not defined. The response depends on the reaction and participation of the listeners. Let us then seek the answer to this parable of the lost sheep.
• Jesus tells a very brief story and in a very simple way: a shepherd had 100 sheep, he lost one, and leaves the 99 on the mountain and goes to look for the lost sheep. And Jesus asks, “What do you think?” that is, “Would you do the same?” What would have been the response of the shepherds and of the other persons who were listening to Jesus tell this story? Would they do the same thing? What is my answer to Jesus’ question? Let us think well before answering.
• If you had 100 sheep and you lost one, what would you do? We should not forget that mountains are places which are very difficult to climb, with deep precipices, where dangerous animals live and where robbers hide. And you cannot forget that you have lost only one sheep, and therefore, you still have 99! You have lost very little. Would you abandon the other 99 on those mountains? Perhaps, would not only a person with little common sense do what the shepherd of the parable of Jesus did? Think about it!
• The shepherds who heard Jesus’ story perhaps thought and commented, “Only a shepherd without judgment would act that way!” Surely, they would have asked Jesus, “Jesus, excuse us, but who is that shepherd whom You are speaking about? To do what he did is foolish!”
• Jesus answers, “This Shepherd is God, our Father, and the lost sheep is you!” In other words, the one who does this action is God moved by great love for the little ones, for the poor, the excluded! Only a very great love is able to do something so foolish. The love with which God loves us exceeds prudence and good human sense. The love of God commits foolish things. Thank God! If it were not like this, we would be lost!
4) Personal questions
• Place yourself in the place of the little lost sheep and enliven your faith and your hope. You are that sheep!
• Take the place of the shepherd and consider whether your love for the little ones is true.
• How can we be instruments in God’s effort to return the lost sheep? In this season of harvest celebrations, thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, with family all around, do we leave to try to help and welcome those that are lost, poor, and without, as this shepherd would?
5) Concluding Prayer
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless His name;
announce His salvation, day after day. (Ps 96)
1. PRAYER
Holy Father, through Jesus Your Son, the Word made flesh for us, send me Your Holy Spirit, that my ears may be opened to hear the “letter of love” that You have written to me and enlighten my mind that I may understand it in depth.
Make my heart docile that it may receive Your will with joy and help me to give witness to it. Amen.
2. READING
From the Gospel according to Luke (7:1-10)
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
3. MEDITATION
• Chapter 7 of the gospel of Luke helps us to receive the call addressed to the pagans to adhere to faith in the Lord Jesus. The figure of the centurion becomes the example for all those who want to abide by the faith of Israel and then encounter and know the face of the Father in Jesus. In the meditation on this Gospel, we are also proposed to open ourselves to faith or to make our confidence in the Word of the Lord more firmly unshaken. Let us try, then, to follow, with our hearts, the example of this Roman centurion, so that in Him we may also be present.
• Perhaps the first aspect that emerges from the reading of the passage is the situation of suffering in which the centurion finds himself. Try to hear more attentively the words that try to give light to this reality. Capernaum, a border city, a city apart, on the margins, a city where the blessings of God seem slow to arrive. The grave illness; the imminent death of a dear person.
• But we soon see that the Lord enters into this situation, coming to share in it, to live in it with His loving presence. The words in italics confirm this truth: “asking Him to come”; “and Jesus went with them”; “He was only a short distance.” It is wonderful to see this movement of Jesus who moves near to him who calls Him, who searches for Him and who asks for salvation. This is how Jesus acts with each one of us.
• But it is also very useful to enter into contact with the figure of the centurion, who is here a bit like our master, our guide on the way of faith.
“When he heard about Jesus”. He received the announcement, he heard the good news and held it in his heart. He did not let it escape and did not close his ears to life. He remembered Jesus and now he goes in search for Him.
• “He sent.” Twice does the centurion carry out his action: first sending the elders of the people to Jesus, authoritative figures, then by sending his friends. Luke uses two different verbs and this helps us to understand better that in this man something took place, a state of passage: he became more and more open to the encounter with Jesus. Sending his friends is a bit like going to Jesus Himself.
“asking Him to come and save.” Two beautiful verbs that explain the whole intensity of his request to Jesus. He wants Jesus to come, to be near, to enter into his poor life, to come and visit his pain. It is a declaration of love, of great faith, because it is as if he was saying: “Without You, I cannot live anymore. Come!” And he does not ask for any mere salvation, a superficial healing, as the particular verb chosen by Luke helps us to understand. In fact, here it is a traverse salvation, one that crosses the entirety of life, of the entire person, and is capable of taking a person beyond, past every obstacle, every difficulty or trial, beyond even death.
• “I am not worthy.” Luke puts these words in the mouth of the centurion twice, and these words help us to understand the great transformation that has taken place within himself. He feels unworthy, incapable, insufficient, as the two different Greek terms used here indicate. Perhaps the first conquest on the road of faith with Jesus is exactly this: the discovery of our great need for Him, for His presence and the more certain knowledge that alone we can do nothing because we are poor, we are sinners. However, precisely because of this we are infinitely loved!
• “Say the word.” Here is the great leap, the great transformation in faith. The centurion now believes in a clear, serene and faithful way. While Jesus walked towards him, he was also completing his own interior journey, changing, becoming a new man. First, he welcomed the person of Jesus, then His word. For him it is the Lord as He is, His word is efficacious, true, powerful, able to do what He says. All of his doubts have crumbled; nothing remains but faith, the certain confidence in salvation, in Jesus.
4. QUESTIONS
• Does my prayer feel like that of the centurion, addressed to Jesus to come and save? Am I also ready to explain to the Lord my uneasiness, my need for Him? Am I perhaps ashamed to present to Him the sickness, the death that lives in my house, in my life? What do I need in order to fulfill this first step in trust?
• And if I open my heart in prayer, to the invocation, if I invite the Lord to come, what is the profound attitude of my heart? Is there also in me, as in the centurion, the knowledge of being unworthy, of not being sufficient solely of myself, of not being pretentious? Do I know how to place myself before the Lord with that humility that comes from love, from serene trust in Him?
• Is His Word good enough for me? Do I ever listen to it in its entirety with attention, with respect, even though, perhaps, I am not able to fully understand it?
And in this moment, what is the word that I want to hear from the mouth of the Lord for me? What do I want Him to say to me?
• The pagan centurion had such a great faith…and I, who am Christian, what faith do I have? Perhaps it is true that I must pray like this: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
5. FINAL PRAYER
Your words are a lamp for my steps, Lord!
How can a youth keep his way pure?
By observing Your word.
With all my heart I search for You:
do not let me deviate from Your commands.
Put again into my heart Your promise
that I may not sin against You.
Blessed are You, Lord:
teach me Your decrees.
With my mouth I recount
all of the wisdom from Your mouth.
On the way of Your teachings is my joy,
more than all other riches.
I want to meditate on Your precepts,
to consider Your ways.
In Your decrees is my delight,
I will not forget Your word.
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You.
Fill our hearts with love for You,
increase our faith,
and by Your constant care
protect the good You have given us.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 4:38-44
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, "To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent." And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
3) Reflection
● The Gospel today narrates four different events: the cure of Peter’s mother-in-law (Lk 4:38-39), the cure of many sick people at night, after Saturday (Lk 4:40-41), the prayer of Jesus in a deserted place (Lk 4:42) and His insistence on the mission (Lk 4: 43-44). With small differences Luke follows and adapts the information taken from the Gospel of Mark.
● Luke 4:38-39: Jesus restores life for service. After having participated in the celebration of Saturday in the synagogue, Jesus goes to Peter’s house and cures his mother-in-law. The cure causes her to render service immediately. Having recovered her health and dignity, she places herself at the service of the people. Jesus not only cures, but He cures in such a way that the person places herself at the service of life.
● Luke 4:40-41: Jesus accepts and cures the marginalized. At night, when the first stars appear in the sky, after Saturday is over, Jesus accepts and cures the sick and those possessed whom the people bring to Him. The sick and the possessed were the most marginalized people at that time. They had no one to whom to go. They were at the mercy of public charity; besides, religion considered them impure. They could not participate in the community. It was as if God rejected and excluded them. Jesus accepts and cures them, placing His hands on each one of them. Thus, it is clear in what the Good News of God consists and what He wants to do in people’s lives: to accept the marginalized and the excluded and to integrate them into the community, to live with others.
“Devils came out of many people shouting: “You are the Son of God!” But He warned them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.” At that time the title Son of God did not have as yet the density and depth that it has for us today. Jesus did not allow the devils to speak. He did not want an easy propaganda based on spectacular expulsions.
● Luke 4:42a: To remain united to the Father by means of prayer. “When daylight came He left the house and made His way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for Him, and when they had caught up with Him they wanted to prevent Him from leaving them.” Here we see Jesus praying. He has to make an enormous effort to have time available and a place suitable for prayer. He goes to a deserted place to be able to stay alone with God. Many times the Gospels speak about Jesus’ prayer, in silence (Lk 3:21-22; 4: 1-2, 3-12; 5:15-16; 6:12; 9:18; 10:21; 11:1; 23:34; Mt 14:22-23; 26:38; Jn 11:41-42; 17:1-26; Mk1:35;). Through prayer, He maintains His consciousness of His mission.
● Luke 4:42b-44: To maintain consciousness of one’s own mission and not think about the result. Jesus becomes known. People follow Him and they do not want Him to leave them. Jesus does not grant this petition and says, “I must proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.” Jesus was very clear about His mission. He does not stop at the result that He has already obtained, but He wishes to sustain His awareness of His mission. It is the mission received from the Father which directs Him when He has to make a decision. “I have been sent for this!” And here in this text this consciousness which is so alive springs up as the fruit of His prayer.
4) Personal questions
● Jesus spent much time in prayer and being alone with the Father, and He looked for this time. Do I dedicate time for prayer and solitude with God?
● Jesus had a clear awareness of His mission. As a Christian, am I conscious that I have a mission, or do I live without a mission?
5) Concluding Prayer
We are waiting for Yahweh;
he is our help and our shield,
for in Him our heart rejoices;
in His holy name we trust. (Ps 33:20-21)
Ordinary Time
1) Prayer
Show us Your continued kindness, Father,
and watch Your people,
as we acknowledge Your guidance and Your leadership.
Renew the work of Your creation
and guard what You have renewed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
2) Reading
From the Gospel according to Matthew 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, "Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
3) Reflection
• Context. Our passage has Jesus in his work of healing. After having stayed with the disciples alone in the region of Caesarea Philippi (16:13 to 28) Jesus climbs a high mountain and is transfigured before three disciples (17:1-10) and then reaches the crowd (17:14 - 21) and attempts a new approach to Galilee (17:22). What to think of these geographical shifts of Jesus? It is not to be discounted that they could have geographical value, but Matthew presents them as part of a spiritual journey. In his journey of faith, the community is increasingly called upon to retrace that spiritual journey which marked the life of Jesus from Galilee to His passion, death and resurrection: a spiritual journey in which the power of faith plays a crucial role.
• The power of faith. Jesus, after His transfiguration, with His small community of disciples, returned from the crowd before returning to Galilee (v. 22) and arriving in Capernaum (v. 24). In the crowd a man approached Him and begged Him to intervene in the evil that keeps his son imprisoned. The description preceding the intervention of Jesus is really clear: this is a case of epilepsy with all its pathological consequences on the psychic level. At the time of Jesus, this type of illness was traced to evil forces and specifically the action of Satan, enemy of God and man, and therefore the origin of evil and all evil. Faced with such a situation in which evil forces far beyond human capabilities are at work, the disciples find themselves powerless to heal the child (vv. 16-19) and because of their lack of faith (v. 20). For the evangelist, this young epileptic is a symbol of those who devalue the power of faith (v. 20), not mindful of the presence of God in their midst (v. 17). The presence of God in Jesus, Emmanuel, is not recognized. Understand something of Jesus is not enough. We need true faith. After Jesus rebuked the crowd, they bring the boy: "Bring him here" (v. 17). Jesus heals and frees him and rebukes the devil. This is not simply the miracle of healing a single person, but also the healing of the weak and uncertain faith of the disciples. Jesus approaches them, who are confused or dazed by their impotence: "Why could we not cast it out?" (v. 20). Jesus' answer is clear: "because of your wavering faith.” Jesus calls for faith that can move mountains to identify with His person, His mission, His divine power. It is true that the disciples have left everything to follow Jesus but have failed to heal the epileptic boy because of "little faith." It is not lack of faith, only that it is weak, vacillating for sure, with a predominance of mistrust and doubt. It is a faith that is not rooted entirely in relationship with Christ. Jesus goes beyond the language when He says, "If you have faith like a mustard seed" it can move mountains, it is an exhortation to be guided by the power of faith in action, which becomes especially strong in times of trial and suffering and attains maturity in the scandal of the cross. True faith can do anything, can even move mountains. The disciples, the early community, experienced that you must join in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Through meditation we observed that the disciples are placed in relation to the epileptic and to Jesus Himself. Do you find that your faith helps you to relate to Jesus as well as to others?
• Do you feel committed every day to move the mountains that stand between your self-interest and the will of God?
5) Final Prayer
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, stronghold in times of trouble. Those who honor Your name trust in You; You never forsake those who seek You, LORD. (Psalm 9)
