XXIX Sunday Ordinary Time (B) - 20 October 2024

1. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many". The Son of Man of whom the gospel speaks is a clear reflection of the figure of "my righteous servant" announced by Isaiah in the first reading: he is Jesus, the humiliated and mockingly crowned with thorns Christ, who before Pilate proclaims himself king not of this world, he is the Saviour of humanity. But the only way to meet him and know him is to bend our intelligence to the incomprehensible because he is a God who surprises and amazes us, forcing us to enter into his logic that is totally different from ours: he makes himself a servant and humbles himself to the point of the impossible, he suffers the unjust passion and death on the cross, but rises again and humbles himself again to the point of becoming broken bread to nourish hope and love, the true nourishment of life that does not die. If you want to try to come closer to Christ, kneel before the mystery of the Eucharist and repeat with St Francis: "Who are you, God, and who am I"? If you want to follow him to the point of allowing yourself to be transformed by him, you must know that you risk misunderstanding, isolation and even persecution. Probably the episode that we read today in the gospel and Christ's response to the disciples found an echo in the community for which Mark writes the gospel: a community already under persecution and aware that the work of liberation from all that prevents one from encountering the true face of the God of Jesus Christ was not finished, but would require the contribution of many martyrs, which would last for centuries and millennia. What should make us reflect is that the absolute novelty of God becoming man and taking upon himself the sins of all mankind, becoming 'the guilty one' in our place, has not entered our hearts, and therefore our way of life is not converted.

2. A question arises: why did God want to go through the drama of death to save us?  Let us start from the last words of the Gospel text: "The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many". The word 'ransom' over the centuries has completely changed its meaning compared to Jesus' time, so that in interpreting its meaning with modern logic we risk going off the rails. In fact, if someone speaks of ransom today we immediately think of a hostage and therefore of the need to negotiate with the kidnappers and the ransom is the sum to be paid to free the kidnapped person. At the time of Christ, the word 'ransom' meant something else, it meant liberation, and the Greek word translated as 'ransom' comes from a verb meaning to loosen, to free. It would therefore be a contradiction to the Greek text of Mark's gospel if we thought that Jesus had to pay something on our behalf to appease the wrath of a God provoked by our sins. Jesus' disciples, who knew the Old Testament, knew well that the whole Bible speaks of a God who wants to free his people and later the whole of humanity from all forms of slavery. The God of the Bible is a God who liberates, and this constitutes the first article of Israel's creed. Furthermore, all the prophets fought against the practice of human sacrifice, calling it an abomination.  So when Jesus states that he must give his life as a ransom for many, it does not occur to anyone that God could demand the death of his only Son to appease anyone's anger. On the contrary, they were well aware that God has no resentment or hatred towards mankind and especially does not demand sacrifices, especially human sacrifices. Israel was waiting for deliverance, at first certainly from the occupation of the Romans, and this misunderstanding remained in their minds for a long time: in this key we can for example understand the behaviour of Judah.  The Jewish people were believers who, supported by the preaching of the prophets, awaited the liberation of mankind from all forms of evil, whether physical, moral or spiritual. The disciples, knowing the scriptures and in the school of Jesus, understand that he must consecrate his life for this liberation of humanity and know that true liberation comes through conversion of heart that makes one capable of giving life even unto death. And, precisely to sustain them in this faith, the Lord for the third time announces his passion, death and resurrection even though this effort of his does not seem to calm their restlessness and fear. The evangelist makes us understand this when, recounting that Jesus goes towards Jerusalem at the head of the group of twelve, they follow him without haste, seized by a dark foreboding because they know what awaits them. And when James and John, after Jesus announces his passion and death for the third time, seem to exorcise their fear by asking whether, after having faced the trial with him to the end, they too will be able to share in his glory, Jesus reiterates that the path of suffering and death is not avoidable even for them.

3. Instead, he insists that he did not come to be served but to serve. He does not present himself as a triumphant king, but as the "just servant" of God who will justify many by taking on their iniquities, recalling the prophecy of Isaiah who in the first reading speaks of the "just servant of God", a title insistently present in the four cantos of the "Servant of the Lord" of the so-called Deutero-Isaiah. If the early Christians immediately interpreted that the righteous servant is Jesus, the prophet was probably pointing to the small group of Jewish people in exile who were faithful to God despite many difficulties. But how to internalise this phrase: "It pleased the Lord to prostrate him with sorrows?" It would be nonsense to believe that God takes pleasure in making men suffer, and it also clashes with the oft-repeated statement that God is love. In no text of the Bible is it said that God took pleasure in prostrating his people with suffering. The verb 'it pleased', which is always used to say that God accepted the sacrifices and gave his absolution to all the people, emphasises that the righteous suffering servant imitates God in taking on suffering as a work of reparation and transforming it into a source of salvation. The expression: "prostrate him with sorrows" therefore recalls the image of the broken heart spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel and Psalm 50/51: a heart of stone that through suffering becomes a heart of flesh, especially when it is provoked by the afflictions inflicted by men. In every form of painful trial one reacts either by hardening the heart (with hatred and the desire for revenge) or with forgiveness and love, and in this way the suffering of the righteous servant becomes a path of light as Isaiah notes: 'after his torment he will see the light'.  From every evil God can draw a good, and it is in this mystery of hatred and forgiveness that the power of his love shines through. It follows that the righteous suffering servant contributes to the salvation of all, and of the injustice suffered he makes a path of light. The Lord accepts the intention of the heart and forgives all, even the executioners; that is, he accepts the attitude of the heart that offers him suffering and forgiveness as a sacrifice of atonement, and in his mercy he himself makes reparation and forgiveness. As Isaiah notes, crushed by the hatred of men, the righteous man responds with silence and forgiveness that becomes a saving force for those he persecutes and can convert their hearts. However, the most important message Isaiah summarises in this way: 'the will of the Lord will be done through him'. Through the sacrifice of the righteous, God saves humanity by freeing it from every chain of evil, hatred, violence and jealousy that devours the heart. For if the righteous servant makes his life a sacrifice of reparation, through this very giving of himself God will accomplish his will and reconciled sinners can begin a new life. "My righteous servant shall justify many, he shall bear their iniquities. The salvation of the persecutors is in the hands of the victims, and only the forgiveness given by the victims can melt the hardness of the persecutor's heart. Jesus prophesied: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself"(Jn 12:32) and the prophet Zechariah: "I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and consolation: they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced"(12:10; and "in that day there shall be for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem a gushing spring to wash away sin and impurity"(13:1).  Consoling and challenging is the message of God's word: humanity is saved when nonviolence, forgiveness, service, humility are the only means employed to change human hearts, and challenging is the programme that Jesus proposes to his disciples: "the rulers of the nations rule over them and their leaders oppress them. But let it not be so among you. All of you, my disciples, if you are the leaven and the seed of the new humanity, follow my example by sacrificing your lives as I do for the good of all.

+ Giovanni D’Ercole