(Lk 1:39-45)

Luke 1:39 In those days Mary set out for the mountain and hurried to a town in Judah.

Luke 1:40 When she had entered the house of Zechariah, she greeted Elizabeth.

Luke 1:41 As soon as Elizabeth had heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

Luke 1:42 And she cried with a loud voice, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Luke 1:43 To what do I owe that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Luke 1:44 Behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the child rejoiced with joy in my womb.

Luke 1:45 And blessed is she who believed in the fulfilment of the words of the Lord".

The passage opens with a note of time: "In those days". These are the days following the annunciation. In this context Mary is described in a decidedly dynamic existential condition: 'she set out'. It is the beginning of a new life caused by a transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit. It is the beginning of a new life that was created in her after receiving the annunciation. Mary is the one who begins a new journey under the aegis of the Spirit, who impels her "towards the mountain... in a city of Judah".

The verb, here translated as "she set out", is an aorist passive, "eporeuthē", which should be translated as "she was made to depart". It is a theological passive, whose action refers directly to God, the true author of Mary's departure. A departure that says how salvation history was set in motion in Mary, driven "to the mountain in a city of Judah". Such a generic indication shows how Luke is not interested in dwelling on details. Everything must focus on what is about to happen, on that liturgy of praise and thanksgiving that will constitute the true corpus of this story and with which the reader is called to join the two women. A generality that closely recalls Abraham's own mission: "The Lord said to Abram: Get thee out of thy country, and out of thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee" (Gen 12:1). It is an unknown land towards which Abraham is called to set out, letting himself be guided by God, time after time; without ifs and buts, without whys, in full and total trust in God. This is why God fills him with his blessing, making his descendants fruitful: "I will make you a great people and I will bless you, I will make your name great and you will become a blessing" (Gen 12:2). Similarly to Abraham, Mary is called to go to a destination that is unknown to her, to an unknown land that God will point out to her. Of course, she is going to Elizabeth, but unknowingly she is also embarking on the road that is leading her to Jerusalem; a journey towards the fulfilment of a divine plan of salvation. And similarly to Abraham, Mary too is blessed in a sublime way by Elizabeth: 'Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb' (v. 42).

It is no coincidence that the song of the Magnificat begins with a celebration of the greatness that God has wrought in Mary, and ends precisely with that which God has wrought in Abraham: "as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever" (v. 55). The promises made to the fathers and to Abraham are now being fulfilled in Mary, those promises Mary celebrates in herself. Abraham's journey towards the land that God had promised to him and his descendants now ends in Mary, who picks up the baton of those promises and, like Abraham, she will resume Abraham's journey, together with her son Jesus, towards the goal of Golgotha, where the Jesus of the evangelist John will proclaim that all is fulfilled (Jn 19:30).

V. 40 marks two new movements of Mary: "She entered the house of Zechariah" and "she greeted Elizabeth". The term house, in Greek, is rendered with two nouns: "oîkos" and "oikia". The first indicates the house as the physical dwelling place; the second has a figurative meaning and indicates the house as family, inhabitants, relatives, race, lineage, lineage. In our case Luke uses the first term, "oîkos", the place of dwelling of Zechariah, a member of the priestly class. Zechariah and his house, therefore, become a figure of the ancient Jewish cult, which has now come to its full fruition. It is here that Zechariah dwells, and it is here that Mary, who bears within herself the heir of the Promise, the true Lamb of God, who goes to replace the innumerable and ineffective animal sacrifices; she enters, as if to take within herself, effectively replacing it, the entire Judaic cult.  In this context, Mary's greeting to Elizabeth goes far beyond a simple act of good etiquette, to take on the value of an announcement: Mary is the one who bears within herself the One awaited by the nations. This is confirmed by Elizabeth's response and the song of the two women, who duet with each other the wonders of God that are being accomplished in them.

Elizabeth's song of exultation is to be understood as a kind of liturgical celebration. This is suggested by the context: that she is filled with the Holy Spirit, that she cries out in a loud voice, the jubilation of the child in her womb, which can be likened to a kind of joyful dance, the same greeting, which ends in bliss. This is what is happening in the house of Zechariah, who will complete this cry of exultation of Elizabeth with the singing of the Benedictus, in which Elizabeth's "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb" will be echoed by the "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up for us a mighty salvation in the house of David, his servant" (vv. 68-69).

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon) 

(Lk 3:10-18)

Luke 3:10 The crowds questioned him, "What shall we do?"

Luke 3:11 He answered, "He who has two tunics, let him give one to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."

Luke 3:12 And there came also publicans to be baptized, and they asked him, "Master, what shall we do?"

Luke 3:13 And he said to them, "Do not demand anything more than what has been set before you."

Luke 3:14 And some of the soldiers also asked him, "What shall we do?" He answered, "Do not mistreat or extort anything from anyone; be content with your wages."

Luke 3:15 For the people were waiting, and all wondered in their hearts concerning John, whether he was not the Christ,

Luke 3:16 And John answered them all, saying, I baptize you with water: but there cometh one mightier than I, unto whom I am not worthy to untie even the strap of his sandals: he shall baptize you in Holy Ghost and fire.

Luke 3:17 He hath in his hand the fan to purge his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into the barn: but the chaff, he shall burn with unquenchable fire."

"What shall we do?" (the crowds ask) ... "Master, what shall we do?" (the publicans ask).... "And what shall we do?" (the soldiers ask). The underlying theme on which the questions focus is love considered in its everyday life and made up of small concrete acts that range from sharing one's possessions to respecting people, their dignity and rights; from honesty and fairness in social relationships to putting a stop to one's own greed, gluttony and social arriviste, which inevitably lead to the overpowering and trampling of others. Luke sets the ethics of love as a benchmark of the sincerity of one's conversion.

"For the people were waiting ...". V. 15 introduces the theme of the identities of John and Jesus and the meaning of their missions. The people, qualified by expectation, is Israel, who for centuries had been awaiting the coming of a liberator and restorer of their kingdom Messiah. While the expectation was specific to Israel, the questioning of John's identity belongs to the whole of humanity. Waiting for the Messiah prompts everyone to question and interpret the signs of the times. The search for God is not simply a private matter, and although it can intimately involve every man, it must then lead to a confrontation with the faith of others, since the path of salvation is always a communal journey.

"John answered all saying": the answer John gives here is addressed to "all", that is to those who "wondered". Not to everyone indiscriminately, but to those who seek God in their lives. The starting point of any search is to question oneself about the meaning of one's life and to question the Word of God, from which the clarifying answer emerges. This is what must qualify the time of waiting.

"I baptise you with water, but ...". V. 16 concerns the personal confrontation between John and Jesus. The greatness of the two characters and the ages they somehow embody are defined by the expressions:

- "... he is stronger than I";

- "... I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals".

The comparison between John and Jesus is not made on a physical level, but in an exquisitely moral, indeed, ontological sense, and emphasises the absolute primacy of the coming one. The term "ischiroteros" (stronger), expresses a clear winning superiority of Jesus over the Baptist, to such an extent that the latter will declare that he is not even worthy "to untie the lace of the sandals", a task reserved for slaves. However, the relationship between the two is not even comparable to that between master and slave. In fact, while what distances the master from the slave is only the social position of one towards the other, here the distance is on an ontological level. The substantial diversity of the two characters, and the distance that separates them, is revealed by the substantial diversity of the two baptisms: "I baptise you with water ... he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire'.

We note how the name of Jesus, with whom John is confronted, is never mentioned, but he is referred to through two expressions: 'he is stronger than I am' and 'I am not worthy to untie the lace of his sandals'. The halo of mystery and unknowability that surrounds the mysterious unnamed refers us to the very mystery of God, knowable by his workings, but unreachable in his Name, which reveals the very essence of his Being.

The action of John's baptism is placed in the present, which is the very time in which he operates, that is, the Old Testament time; a time that finds its fulfilment and conclusion in him. His action therefore is the preannouncement of another action that is placed in the future and that recalls the ultimate and definitive action of God. This is why Luke says 'he will baptise you', because the future is God's space. It is therefore the comparison of two times: one preparatory (A.T.) to the other (N.T.), the one converging and finding its fullness in the other. The first time (A.T.) is characterised by water, the second (N.T.) by the Holy Spirit and fire.

The figure of Jesus is characterised by two verbs, one in the present tense ("one comes"), the other in the future ("he will baptise you"). The present indicative "he comes" speaks of the dynamism of a constant presence operating in the midst of men. This, however, is not exhausted in the present, but is projected into the future. The action of his coming is therefore dynamically projected forward, almost as if to signify how the Jesus event, with his coming, already opens a future space in the present, or rather, the action of Jesus is a future that already operates in the present.

It is significant then how Luke plays on the term "baptise with": John baptises with water; while when he speaks of the future baptism, the Greek expression says: "he will baptise you in (in) the Holy Spirit and fire". The difference is substantial. In the first case the water is only a symbolic instrument, which although preaching the future of the Spirit, nevertheless produces no effect; whereas in the second case there is a direct divine action that places man in the world of the Spirit, which is the very dimension of God.

Jesus' baptising action is characterised not only by the Holy Spirit but also by fire. His baptising, therefore, is not only the door that introduces man into the ultimate and definitive dimension of God, but also subjects him, consequently, to his judgement. The last time, therefore, is marked by two fundamental elements: a) the coming of God in the midst of mankind and operating in the person of Jesus, defined as the one who constantly comes, and directly challenges every man; b) the judgement, which discriminates humanity on the basis of the response given.

The judgement is therefore taking place and the parameter of discrimination is precisely the Holy Spirit, who has been poured out upon us in baptism and confirmation. It has already placed us in the divine dimension, it has already made us holy, and it now asks us to conform our lives to these spiritual realities in which we already live even if not yet fully. If we conform to the wind of the Spirit it makes us worthy wheat for the Lord, otherwise it will become burning fire that devours us like chaff for eternity.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)                                                                          

(Gen 3:9-15.20)

Genesis 3:9 But the Lord God called the man and said to him, "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:10 He answered, "I heard your footsteps in the garden: I was afraid, for I am naked, and I hid myself."

Genesis 3:11 He resumed, "Who let you know that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

Genesis 3:12 The man answered, "The woman whom you placed beside me gave me of the tree, and I ate of it."

Genesis 3:13 The Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" The woman answered, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you shall be cursed more than all cattle and more than all wild beasts; on your belly you shall walk and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: and she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt bruise her heel.

Genesis 3:20 And the man called his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

"But the Lord God called the man, and said unto him, Where art thou?" The voice of God now passes through a heart hardened by sin, which receives it in fear. Those who have denied Love no longer believe in Love and need to create for themselves a defence, a barrier. And this barrier is in a conscience that, having opened itself to the knowledge of good and evil, filters through it the Word of God. Adam does not accept a confrontation with God in the nakedness that comes to him from sin, openly and with an open mind. He responds at a distance and, above all, by keeping himself well hidden in the midst of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

It takes only a few leaves to conceal one's nakedness from one's fellow man; it takes more than that to hide one's misery from the Author of life! And why this, if not because he fears being punished by God? He no longer grasps the Lord's Love. There is still no judgement or condemnation, only the loving gaze of a Father who has lost sight of his children and calls them out loud, to see where they are, if they need his help. He does not ask them, in a threatening tone, what they have done, but simply where they have gone.

But by now Adam's heart is far from the Lord, he no longer distinctly hears his Word, but only his voice, and he hears it threateningly. He responds to God, but from his hiding place, not as one who is sought, but as one who is wanted. He defends himself before he is even blamed.

"He answered, I heard thy footsteps in the garden: I was afraid, for I am naked, and I hid myself". Before the sin he heard the Word of God and was not afraid of it, he was naked and did not hide. Now everything has changed: he no longer feels God's Love and no longer accepts his reality of being naked, that is, created from nothing and clothed by God. The Lord would have him acknowledge his guilt and make him confess his disobedience, to take care of him.

It was not God who made Adam burdened with his nakedness: it was his disobedience that made his own being created from nothing unbearable to him and drove him into hiding, under the illusion that he could clothe himself with his own garment, acquiring the knowledge of good and evil.

"And the man answered: The woman whom thou hast set before me gave me of the tree, and I did eat of it". Adam not only places all the blame on Eve, but even holds the most beautiful gift against God. Adam does not repent, but accuses the Lord of being responsible for his evil. With God, actions are always the person's. Responsibility is always personal. Temptation does not free us from our personal responsibility. In sin, however, one is also blind to our personal responsibility and wants to place it all on others.

"The Lord God said to the woman: What have you done? The woman answered, The serpent deceived me, and I have eaten". Could there have been a different attitude in she who formed with Adam one flesh? This is the difference between the sinner and the saint. The sinner always excuses his sins. He always removes all responsibility from himself. The saint, on the other hand, knows how to take responsibility for even the smallest venial sin. For the saint, the blame for what happens is always his own, never that of others. 

Who forced Eve to listen to the serpent's voice? All that is missing is for Eve to accuse God of having created the serpent. In this tragic game of Adam and Eve competing not in acknowledging their guilt, but in discharging their guilt, the serpent is the final link, preventing man from breaking the bond of sin. There can be no redemption for Adam unless the power Satan has to bind all men to himself is first destroyed.

For God does not curse man, but he who is the father of all sin (v. 14). He who lifted up his head of rebel and renegade to seduce man, henceforth shall crawl on his belly; he who wanted to devour the creatures of the earth, henceforth shall devour the earth trodden down by his creatures. But with the condemnation of Satan is already the announcement of salvation for man.

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt bruise her heel. The sin that binds the accuser to the woman shall be broken, there shall be enmity between the children of the Devil and the children of Eve. And all this not by virtue of the woman, but by virtue of a woman, not by virtue of the sons, but by virtue of a Son. According to the immediate grammatical context it refers to Eve, but the logical and prophetic context prevents this. In fact, here we are dealing with an enmity that culminates in the crushing of the serpent, that is, of Satan and all the powers of evil. And this cannot be said of Eve, who is not only subject to the other party by reason of her sin, but is subject to her own husband. The prophecy breaks away from the immediate context, and therefore points to another woman, who is well known in the mind of God. Everything here is directed towards the future. The mother of Jesus is referred to. Humanity, the lineage (the seed) of the woman will overcome the adversary through her individual representative: the Redeemer, that is, the 'seed' of her - of Mary - who is the Christ.

The act of 'crushing the head' is attributed, in the Hebrew text, to the lineage or seed of the woman ('hu' = 'it'); in the Greek translation of the 'Septuagint' it is attributed to an individual person ('autòs' = 'he'); and in the Latin version of the 'Volgata', to the woman ('ipsa'= 'she'). Therefore, on these nuances, the Hebrew text has been read as a clash between the seed of the serpent and that perfect descendant of the woman who will be the Messiah. He will be able to crush the head of evil forever.

In the 'Christian reading', then, it has been thought, that to 'crush' the head of the serpent, and its evil offspring, is the 'Woman' par excellence, that is, the Mother of the Messiah, and therefore the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ.Just as sin began with a woman, so salvation will have its beginning with a woman. He who made Eve lose her head, will lose his head crushed by the Son of a woman, Mary Most Holy. He can only lay snares at her heel, but not at her heart and will: he can hinder the path of salvation, but not prevail over it. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)

1 Thess 3:12 - 4:2

1Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make you grow and abound in love among yourselves and toward everyone, as ours abounds for you,

1Thessalonians 3:13 that your hearts may be made firm and blameless in holiness before God our Father at the time of the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

"May the Lord make you grow and abound in love among yourselves and towards all, as ours abounds for you."

Paul addresses a request to the Kyrios, a word that refers to Jesus. The content of the prayer concerns the full and abundant growth of love both in mutual relations within the community, and outside towards all; only an 'all-encompassing' love allows one to go peacefully towards the Lord. Paul does not pray for just enough love, but for abundant love, because little love is still not love.

In this prayer, which is actually quite simple, several truths are contained. The Lord must cause the Thessalonians to grow in love. Love is not a static reality, it is dynamic. It is like a tree that begins its life as a tiny twig of grass and then becomes a tall, sturdy plant, extending its branches in every direction. Paul wants for the Thessalonians that their love grows, that it does not remain small, stunted, insignificant, almost invisible.

Every Christian has a duty to grow in love, because that is his or her calling. Growth then must be visible, not only to the Lord, but also to men. As love grows, so do the fruits. Paul wants there to be no downtime in love, both in terms of growth and fruitfulness. This too is a commitment that the Christian must make. Never must he grow weary in producing fruits of love. Only then will he be credible in his Christianity. Growing and abounding in love is the hallmark of the Christian. Without this sign, no one will believe in his testimony.

Another characteristic of Christian love is this: it is directed towards all. Love, the Christian, gives it not only to those who believe, but also to those who do not believe. In love, he makes no distinction. Everyone is the object of his love, because everyone is the object of salvation from God.

Finally, and this is the last truth contained in this prayer, Paul sets before the Thessalonians his own love. Theirs must be like his. As he loves the Thessalonians, so they must love each other. His is a love of truth, of righteousness, of affection, of devotion, of suffering, of the will to salvation, of the gift of the gospel, of patience, of mercy, of forbearance, and of every other virtue.

"To make your hearts firm and blameless in holiness, before God our Father, at the time of the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."

The request concerns the strengthening of believers in their personal and profound sphere: 'to make your hearts firm and blameless in holiness'. Irreproachable means to be whole, it is the integrity required to "stand before God our Father". Love welds our hearts to Christ's and makes them one. The more we grow and abound in love, the more Christ's heart and ours become one heart. But if we become one heart with Christ, we also become one mission, one sacrifice, one worship and glorification of the Father. Paul sees in love the way to holiness and perseverance. Whoever wants to progress, whoever does not want to retreat from faith in Christ, must grow and abound in love, must make his life a sacrifice of love, a pure and holy oblation for our God and Father.

Whoever does not love, falls, loses himself, has no strength, because the nourishment of faith is love, as also of truth, of justice, of holiness, of every other virtue. He who truly loves nourishes his spirit. His spirit nourished by love becomes robust, strong, irreproachable, invincible. No one will ever be able to overcome a heart that loves, because love will be in him the element that gives all strength to his will so that it perseveres to the end.

"At the time of the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints". Here we have an eschatological orientation. The coming of the Lord Jesus must always be on the horizon. "With all his saints" is a phrase taken from the prophet Zechariah (Zech 14:5): "Then shall the Lord my God come, and with him all his saints". In Zechariah's text, the saints - in Hebrew qedoshim - can be either the angels who assist the Lord, or the risen righteous. When Paul uses the word saints in his letters - hagioi - in the plural, he means Christians.

It seems likely to us, therefore, that Paul means to speak of the one and the other, because the one and the other will form the court of the divine Judge, and the saints will also judge the world. In other words, Christians live in expectation of the Lord Jesus, who comes not only with his angels, but also surrounded by all the risen righteous who are associated with his glory. The Apostle's wish is that the Thessalonians will always be saints, so that one day they will be able to share with other saints the glory of accompanying the supreme Judge in the judgement he will come to pronounce on the world.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)

Rev 1:5-8

Revelation 1:5 and Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with his blood,

Jesus Christ is presented with three titles that highlight his saving role: the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. These three titles attributed to him take into account the main moments of his life: the passion (the faithful witness); the resurrection (the firstborn of the dead); the glorification (prince of the kings of the earth).

Jesus Christ is first and foremost 'the faithful witness' because he fulfilled the mission entrusted to him in human history by sharing the human condition. He is the faithful witness because he bore his testimony even unto death. He is the faithful witness to the will of the Father. He is the faithful witness because he fulfilled fully, in all things, always, the words and works of the Father. He is so faithful to the Father that it is the Father Himself who works and speaks through Him.

He speaks and it is as if the Father were speaking. He works and it is as if the Father worked. Whoever wants to truly know the Father can only do so through Jesus Christ. No other man in the world can claim to be a true witness to God. The supreme testimony to the Father, Jesus bore before Pontius Pilate: official, formal testimony, in a court of law, during an interrogation, at the price of his own life. From the end of the first century, the Christian who allows himself to be killed in order not to betray his faith in Jesus will be called a 'martyr' [in Greek 'witness' is 'màrtys']. 

"The first-born of the dead". Jesus Christ is the first-born of the dead in that he shared the mortal lot of men and gave rise to the new generation of the living, for he triumphed over death and rose to eternal life with a transfigured body. He is also the firstborn of the dead, for we shall all rise again in Him and for Him. He is the firstborn of the dead because it is He who will call us from the tomb and clothe us with His resurrection. He is firstborn of the dead because He has preceded us into the glory of the Father and is waiting for us because where He is we are also.

"And the prince of the kings of the earth", that is, sovereign ruler over all the powers that continue to operate in the world and in history. With these words the universal kingship of Jesus Christ is proclaimed. He is not king and prince insofar as God. Insofar as God is Creator and Lord of every man, everything was made through Him, everything is His. Jesus is the Prince of the kings of the earth, because in His humanity He was constituted judge of the living and the dead.

Since He is the Sovereign of sovereigns and the King of all kings, every ruler will one day have to stand before Him to give an account of how he has administered justice. But even today, in the time of history, he watches carefully. Ways and forms of this vigilance of Jesus Christ are shrouded in mystery. Only when the veils of history have passed and the curtain of eternity opens, will we see every action of God and Christ on behalf of our salvation and the redemption of humanity. But now is the time of faith and we must believe that Jesus is the Prince of the kings of the earth, he is the Lord of every other lord, he is the Ruler of every other ruler.

Revelation speaks of the majesty of the glorified Jesus and His universal power not only to express a reality of faith, but also to convey to the persecuted church that Christ is the King of all the kings of the earth: that is why the church must remain confident during persecution and perseverant in praise. To Him we must always turn that He may bring the consolation of His love and grace against all tyranny and abuse of power that do so much harm to men.

Who is Jesus again? He is "He who loves us and has freed us from our sins with his blood". This is a doxology [from the Greek doxology = glory, exaltation; it is a liturgical formula to glorify God, or Christ, or the Holy Trinity]. With these words, the whole mystery of Christ's love for man is announced. Jesus is called "He who loves us": in Greek "tō agapōnti hēmas". The verb "agapaō" means "to cherish" someone; hence the word "charity" (agàpē). Jesus' love for man is at the price of his blood. His love for us is deliverance from our sins on the cross, at the price of an atrocious death.

His blood is the price of the remission of our sins. The image recalls the lamb whose blood laid on the doorposts saved the Jews. God saves his church today as he had saved the Jews from slavery: with the blood of the lamb. Jesus is thus brought back by Revelation to the Sinai Covenant, to the first act of salvation wrought by God (the deliverance from the slavery of Egypt), but today he delivers from the slavery of sin. The expression "He who loves us" is in the present tense. The present tense indicates that Christ's love is perpetual; it is a continuous current of great love between him and us. Revelation is also the book that teaches Jesus' disciples this love. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon) 

Ps 15 (16)

"Miktam. Of David. Protect me, O God: in you I take refuge". Miktām is a disputed word. It is derived from 'katam' (to carve, to engrave). The word indicates something that has been carved and thus a permanent scripture, carved for its importance. The LXX Bible translates "stēlographia", an engraved writing; stēlē was the word for tombstone (for the inscription carved on it). Therefore "miktām" indicates that these kinds of Psalms are connected with death, but go towards the hope of resurrection. This is particularly true of Psalm 15; however, what is important that is 'carved' into these Psalms is to be gleaned from the reading of the Psalm itself. The reference is to the Son of David; and especially to his death and resurrection; this is the truth "carved" into this Psalm miktām.

It is a psalm of trust, the prayer in which a righteous man expresses his confidence in the Lord. One asks God for protection. In God one seeks refuge: Protect me, O God, in you I take refuge. The righteous person takes refuge in God, and asks him for protection.

We note the twofold movement: a) on the one hand, God protects the believer (downward movement); b) on the other, the believer entrusts himself totally to God (upward movement). This psalm, we might almost say, describes to us the concept of the sacraments: the meeting point between God's descending grace (hence the Lord who works) and man who draws on grace and worships the Lord.

V. 2 is a beautiful profession of faith: 'You are my Lord, without you I have no good'. Here is the faith of the righteous, the God-fearing man. God is his Lord. No one else is his Lord. If God is his Lord, it means that he will always walk according to the will of his God and Lord. 'Without you I have no good'. God who has given us life is not only the source from which good comes, but is 'the good'. This is true profession of faith, it is not only a faith thought out, but also witnessed to the community, it is a public profession. On the other hand, faith must be public, it must always be proclaimed before everyone, always.

"For the saints, who are on earth, noble men, is all my love" (v. 3). The "saints" and the "noble ones" are the people with whom the righteous man goes along. He recognises the value to be found in fellowship with the saints, with those whom God has set apart, and in whom His holiness is reflected. The new CEI translation (the 2008 one), translates: 'to the idols of the land, to the mighty gods went all my favour', making the text, which is already difficult in Hebrew, completely incomprehensible. It is difficult to understand how the Hebrew 'qeḏôšîm' can be translated 'idols' instead of 'saints'. The translation of the LXX and the Vulgate had made a clear choice, and it is the one that emerged in the 1974 translation: 'For the saints, who are on earth, noble men, is all my love'.

In v. 4, the profession of faith is made in reverse. The pious worshipper pledges not to favour idolatrous worship. "I will not pour out their libations of blood". One of the characteristics of idolatry was the 'libation of blood', which could also refer to human sacrifice, especially of children. "Nor will I utter with my lips their names". The distance must be clear. With idols one must have no fellowship, of any kind. Not even their names are to be uttered. On the lips of the true worshipper there must be only the name of his God. Idols do not deserve the honour of being named. Today, we might say, the righteous avoids participating in false worship.

"The Lord is my inheritance and my cup: in thy hand is my life" (v. 5). There are priestly symbols here. We know that in the partition of the land of Canaan, after the conquest, the tribe of Levi did not have its own territory but only cities of residence. Those who were consecrated to worship were not to be involved in social structures but were to act as intermediaries between God and the people. The land of the priests was God himself and this concretely meant the right to receive the tithes offered by the tribes for their sustenance. The psalmist, therefore, through imagery expresses this dedication of the priest to his God.

1.  The Lord is for him "part of an inheritance" that is, "part of a territory". 

2.  The Lord is for him his "chalice", i.e. his host, his familiar who welcomes him.

The "chalice" is a sign of God's hospitality to his faithful. It is God who offers the chalice, just as - from a strictly human point of view - it is he who receives in his own home who offers the host the chalice. At the Last Supper, who offers the chalice? It is Jesus the host, he is the guest in the Latin sense (for the Romans, in fact, the guest is the one who hosts and not the one who is hosted).

For the righteous and pious man, the Lord is his inheritance and his cup. The earth is not the righteous man's inheritance, nor are the things of this world. His inheritance is the Lord alone. The Lord alone is his cup of salvation, of true life. This man expects nothing from the earth. It is the Lord, in the present and in the future, his life, his well-being, his prosperity, therefore he places it in the hands of his God. This is total abandonment. He wants to be God's alone, always in His hands. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)                                                             

Mk 12:38-44

Mark 12:38 He said to them as he taught, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk about in long robes, receiving greetings in the public squares,

Mark 12:39 have the first seats in the synagogues and the first places at banquets.

Mark 12:40 They devour the houses of widows, and they boast of making long prayers; they shall receive a more grievous condemnation."

Mark 12:41 And sitting opposite the treasury, he observed how the crowd threw coins into the treasury. And many rich people were throwing many.

Mark 12:42 But when a poor widow came there, she threw in two pennies, that is, a quintrin.

Mark 12:43 Then calling the disciples to himself, he said to them, "Truly I tell you, this widow has thrown more into the treasury than all the others.

Mark 12:44 For they all gave of their surplus, but she in her poverty put in all that she had, all that she had to live on."

V. 38 opens by reminding the reader that one is in a teaching context, while noting the climate of tension that animates it. A teaching that takes its cue from the contradictory way of life of the scribes, who love to strut in public and present themselves as respectable people, but in reality are people lacking in moral scruples, who disguise themselves behind a public religious life, thus manifesting all the damage that devotion not lived in the spirit and sincerity of heart can create. Such behaviour is characterised by a substantial amorality, in which the ego lives and feeds at the expense of the other, especially towards those who cannot defend themselves or do not have the means to do so. This makes it all the more deplorable and condemnable.

V. 40 tells how the scribes were devourers of widows' houses. A thought that serves Mark to connect with the other story (vv. 41-44), where the protagonist is a widow, who, despite her precarious condition of life, will be able to impart a lesson of total self-denial in favour of the Temple, ultimately of God himself.

Two contrasting behaviours, narratively strung one behind the other, so that the contrast between predator and prey and between rich and poor stands out better. A comparison from which it emerges how the offerings made by the wealthy donors do not affect their patrimony and in any case do not affect their quality of life; on the contrary, they derive a public benefit from it, because everyone learns of their 'generous' offering. In contrast, the widow gives all she has and retains nothing for herself.

V. 41 opens the account of the widow by presenting Jesus who, sitting in front of the Temple treasury, was watching those who brought their offerings. Jesus' sitting in this context takes on a double meaning: on the one hand, he is continuing his teaching. Sitting, in fact, is the characteristic posture of the teacher imparting his teaching; on the other hand, the position of Jesus, sitting in front of the Temple treasury, as he attentively observes those who bring their offerings, suggests the posture of the judge who stands before the accused or the plaintiff and assesses their position, and then passes his sentence, set out in vv. 43-44, but which at the same time is also teaching his disciples.

V. 42 presents the main character, a widow, whom Mark describes as poor. A qualifying adjective that hints at the social condition of this widow, one of the social categories most at risk in that society, and most exposed to oppression and abuse. Her offering, just two pennies, testifies to her state of destitution. This offering was equivalent to a few cents, but it represented all his possessions, to which his existence was tied and could be the difference between living and dying. And it is at this point that the judge and teacher summons his disciples around him (v. 43) to impart his teaching and at the same time pass his sentence: 'this widow has thrown more into the treasury than all the others'. A judgement that pits two sides against each other: this poor widow, on the winning side, against all the other bidders, losers.

A reversal of values and perspective, the reason for which is given: "all gave of their surplus, she instead, in her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on". The evaluation, therefore, is not placed on the venal value of the offering, but on how much this has to do with the sincerity of one's heart and life. What assigns value or disvalue to things is what resides in man's heart and not in things. The sentence overturns the parameters of man's evaluation, showing all the distance that separates them from those of God, to the point of reaching the paradox: the nothing that this poor woman has given far outweighs the conspicuous offerings of the rich.And the reason for this paradox lies in the fact that "she put everything she had into her poverty, everything she had to live on". This widow drew everything she had 'in her poverty', or rather 'from her poverty' (ek tēs histerēseōs autēs). In other words, her state of deprivation did not prevent her from scraping the bottom of her poverty, collecting all she had, two coins, which define, even before the value of the offering, the depth of her state of penury. This is not, therefore, just any kind of destitution, as there was so much of it at the time, but a serious state of poverty, which called her very survival into question. Ultimately, this severely destitute widow, between herself and God, put God before her own life. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)

Ps 17 (18)

This monumental ode, which the title attributes to David, is a Te Deum of the king of Israel, it is his hymn of thanksgiving to God because he has been delivered from all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. David acknowledges that God alone was his Deliverer, his Saviour.

David begins with a profession of love (v. 2). He shouts to the world his love for the Lord. The word he uses is 'rāḥam', meaning to love very tenderly, as in the case of a mother's love. The Lord is his strength. David is weak as a man. With God, who is his strength, he is strong. It is God's strength that makes him strong. This truth applies to every man. Every man is weak, and remains so unless God becomes his strength.

God for David is everything (v.3). The Lord for David is rock, fortress. He is his Deliverer. He is the rock in which he takes refuge. He is the shield that defends him from the enemy. The Lord is his mighty salvation and his bulwark. The Lord is simply his life, his protection, his defence. It is a true declaration of love and truth.

David's salvation is from the Lord (v. 4). It is not from his worthiness. The Lord is worthy of praise. God cannot but be praised. He does everything well. It is enough for David to call upon the Lord and he will be saved from his enemies. Always the Lord answers when David calls upon him. David's salvation is from his prayer, from his invocation.

Then David describes from what dangers the Lord delivered him. He was surrounded by billows of death, like a drowning man swept away by waves. He was overwhelmed by raging torrents. From these things no one can free himself. From these things only the Lord delivers and saves.

David's winning weapon is faith that is transformed into heartfelt prayer to be raised to the Lord, because only the Lord could help him, and it is to Him that David cries out in his distress. This is what David does: in his distress, he does not lose himself, he does not lose his faith, he remains whole. He turns his faith into prayer. He invokes the Lord. He cries out to Him. He asks Him for help and succour. God hears David's voice, hears it from his temple. His cry reaches him.

God becomes angry because He sees His elect in danger. The Lord's anger produces an upheaval of the whole earth. The earth trembles and shakes. The foundations of the mountains shake. It is as if a mighty earthquake turned the globe upside down. The spiritual fact is translated into such a profound upheaval of nature that one has the impression that creation itself is about to cease to exist. In this catastrophe that strikes terror, the righteous is rescued.

The Lord frees David because he loves him. Here is the secret of the answer to the prayer: the Lord loves David (v. 20). The Lord loves David because David loves the Lord. Prayer is a relationship of love between man and God. David invokes God's love. God's love responds and draws him to safety.

"Wholesome have I been with him, and I have guarded myself from guilt" (v. 24). David's conscience testifies for him. David prayed with an upright conscience, with a pure heart. This he says not only to God, but to every man. Everyone must know that the righteous is truly righteous. The world must know the integrity of God's children. We have a duty to confess it. It is on integrity that truly human relationships can be built. Without integrity, every relationship is tightened on falsehood and lies.

"The way of God is straight, the word of the Lord is tried by fire" (v. 31). What is the secret because God is with David? It is David's abiding in the Word of God. David has a certainty: the way indicated by the Word of God is straight. One only has to follow it. This certainty is lacking in the hearts of many today. Many do not believe in the purity of God's Word. Many think that it is now outdated. Modernity cannot stand under the Word of God.

"For who is God, if not the Lord? Or who is rock, if not our God?" Now David professes his faith in the Lord for all to know. Is there any other God but the Lord? God alone is the Lord. God alone is the rock of salvation. To seek another God is idolatry. This profession of faith must always be made aloud (remember the 'Creed'). Convinced people are needed. A faith hidden in the heart is dead. A seed placed in the ground springs up and reveals the nature of the tree. Faith that is in the heart must sprout up and reveal its nature of truth, holiness, righteousness, love and hope. A faith that does not reveal its nature is dead. It is a useless faith.

"He grants his king great victories; he shows himself faithful to his anointed, to David and his seed for ever" (v. 51). In this Psalm, David sees himself as the work of God's hands. That is why he blesses him, praises him, magnifies him. God's faithfulness and great favours for David do not end with David. God's faithfulness is for all his descendants. We know that David's descendants are Jesus Christ. With Jesus God is faithful for ever. With the other descendants, God will be faithful if they are faithful to Jesus Christ.

Here, then, the figure of David disappears to make way for that of the perfect king in whom the saving action that God offers the world is concentrated. In the light of this reinterpretation, the ode entered the Christian liturgy as a victory song of Christ, the 'son of David', over the forces of evil and as a hymn of the salvation he offered.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon) 

(Mk 10:46-52)

Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was departing from Jericho with the disciples and a large crowd, Timothy's son Bartimaeus, who was blind, was sitting by the roadside begging.

Mark 10:47 When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was there, he began to cry out and say, "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!"

Mark 10:48 Many rebuked him to keep him quiet, but he cried out louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Mark 10:49 Then Jesus stopped and said, "Call him!" And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage! Get up, he is calling you!"

Mark 10:50 And he threw off his cloak, and leaped up and came to Jesus.

V. 46 frames the scene of the encounter between Jesus and Timaeus, a contracted name that was supposed to be "Timothy", i.e. "the one who honours God". This is a Greek name given to a Jew, which tells how profound the Hellenisation of Palestine was.

The same verse opens with a geographical note: Jesus' party, with his disciples and the crowd, enters Jericho and immediately leaves. A strange way to behave, since Jericho, as the last station before the long ascent to Jerusalem, was generally a place to rest and refresh oneself before ascending to Jerusalem. A very crowded and noisy city if one thinks of the comings and goings of priests and Levites going up and down from Jerusalem for the Temple service or taking turns in the weekly service. A city where pilgrims were coming up or down from Jerusalem. A city, therefore, very busy, rich, sumptuous, well-to-do and hospitable, but Mark emphasises in the opening of his account how Jesus enters and immediately leaves it, thus giving Jesus' journey towards Jerusalem a strong acceleration, leaving behind a world that belongs neither to him nor to those who have decided to follow him. But it is precisely on this road that one finds a blind man, Timaeus, who "sat by the wayside".

The verb 'to sit' is placed in the imperfect tense, a tense that indicates the persistence of that sitting of the blind man, who despite being on the same road as Jesus, the one leading to Jerusalem, in fact did not follow him, because he 'sat'. But it is precisely on this road that the decisive encounter takes place.

V. 47 presents two titles of Jesus, the first of which is the one by which he was known to the people: Jesus of Nazareth, a Jesus known by his historical origins and geographical provenance. But in Israel, a long tradition had formed, stimulating expectations, hopes and fantasies around the mythical figure of the Davidic Messiah. It was a matter, however, of recognising him and adhering to him existentially, thus believing that the promise that God made to David through the prophet Nathan had been fulfilled in Jesus. And this is what the blind man of Jericho will do.

In fact, Timaeus, upon learning of Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, did not hesitate to invoke him as the Davidic Messiah: "he began to cry out and say" and, therefore, to openly give his testimony of faith in the messianism of Jesus: "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me". An act of faith in Jesus' messianism, against everything and everyone.

The blind man's testimony about Jesus, in the form of an invocation, is transformed into an encounter with Jesus, a salvific experience, which will radically change the life of this blind man, since Jesus, seeing his faith, calls him to himself. Here we are faced with a call to follow. Mark, in v. 49, repeats the verb "to call": "call him", "they called him", "he calls you". Significant is that reminder: "Courage! Get up, he is calling you". A pressing invitation to get up from his blind condition, a metaphor for the non-believer, to answer Jesus' call. A sort of prelude to what will happen in v. 50: "He threw off his cloak, leaped up and came to Jesus". The cloak, like clothing in general, in the language of the evangelists is a metaphor for the condition of one's life. This "throwing off his cloak" indicates, therefore, the abandonment of his former life, that which had made him blind, in order to access Jesus; and he does so by "leaping to his feet", almost a kind of resurrection, the beginning of a new life. Notice how he was not accompanied to Jesus, as one would expect for a blind man, but went to Jesus on his own, because he was enlightened by faith. An approach to him, therefore, dictated by his faith, certainly still incipient, since he sees in Jesus only the son of David, the fulfilment in him of a promise, a passage therefore from Judaism to Christianity, but the road to reach Jesus, as Messiah and Son of God, is still long, and it will be necessary to arrive beneath the cross to hear him proclaim: "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mk 15:39).

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)

(Mk 10:35-45)

Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him, saying, "Master, we want you to do to us whatever we ask of you.

Mark 10:36 And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" They answered him:

Mark 10:37 "Grant us to sit in your glory one at your right hand and one at your left."

Mark 10:38 Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or receive the baptism with which I am baptised?" They answered him, "We can."

Mark 10:39 And Jesus said, "The cup that I drink you will also drink, and the baptism that I receive you will also receive.

Mark 10:40 But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not for me to grant; it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

v. 35 opens by presenting the protagonists of this episode and their request, which is narratively juxtaposed with the announcement of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, thus creating a jarring contrast between the interests of Jesus, who is speaking in dramatic terms of his imminent end, and those of the two brothers, who are thinking, instead, of grabbing the first seats.

James and John, two eminent figures, ask: "Grant us to sit in your glory one at your right hand and one at your left". It is a request for an investiture and a power that they want to share with Jesus. That "sit in your glory" refers not so much to the resurrection, the meaning of which was essentially unknown to them. The glory they were thinking of was the establishment of the new Kingdom of Israel in historical terms by Jesus. A hope this they nurtured to the very end. The "sit" indicates the position of privilege over others. What is required here, in essence, is for Jesus to recognise the two of them as heirs of his power and, therefore, to be his successors. An official and direct acknowledgement by Jesus in front of everyone would have gotten any discussion of "who is the greatest" out of the way. Hence the indignation of the other ten apostles, who had the object of their desires taken away from under their noses: "On hearing this, the other ten became indignant with James and John".

Jesus' response is divided into two parts. It opens by emphasising their non-knowledge: "You do not know what you ask" (v. 38). The request the two brothers had made to Jesus concerned temporal power. A request that shows how they had not yet truly understood what it meant that Jesus is "the Christ", nor what "Son of God" meant and what it all entailed. Everything was reparametered to their capacity of understanding, which could not transcend the horizontal level of Jesus' mission and the figure of Jesus himself.

The answer, therefore, continues in its second part, bringing everything back to the dramatic reality that was about to take place and that becomes central to this section: "Can you drink the cup that I drink, or receive the baptism with which I am baptised?" Jesus, therefore, does not refuse their request, but sets as a "conditio sine qua non" to reach the glory to which they aspire, the way of the cross. The "drinking of the cup" and "being baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised", are two metaphorical expressions that allude to events to which Jesus must be subjected in order to attain that glory that he does not claim for himself, but which the Father gives him, inasmuch as he has fully accomplished his will.

The response of the two brothers is astounding, because once again it shows how they have not understood what Jesus is talking about; and almost as if it were a game they reply: "We can" (v. 38).

Here too Jesus' response is twofold. In the first part of the response (v. 39) they are told that they too will be associated with the fate of their Master. Mark brings back the two expressions of the cup and the baptism, referring first to Jesus and now to James and John, suggesting that the two of them [but with them all the Twelve and in communion with them all believers] will also be associated with the same destiny as Jesus, for "there is no greater servant than his lord".

The second part of the answer (v. 40) gives a glimpse of how the glory of Jesus does not depend on Jesus, but all is deferred to the Father. A glory that is destined "for those for whom it has been prepared". They are those who have chosen the way of the cross and have been associated with Jesus' death and, because of this, also with his resurrection. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

(Buyable on Amazon)