(Lk 17:5-10)

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord,

Luke 17:6 'Increase our faith!'. The Lord replied, 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you.

Luke 17:7 Which of you, having a servant ploughing or tending sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, "Come and sit down at table"?

Luke 17:8 Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare my supper, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterwards you may eat and drink'?

Luke 17:9 Will he be grateful to his servant because he did what he was told?

Luke 17:10 So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants. We have done what we ought to have done.

Two fundamental elements are highlighted here, and only apparently juxtaposed: the growth of faith (vv. 5-6) and service, meaning the task that the apostles perform within the community of believers for which they are responsible. This must be done for the benefit of the community and not for oneself (vv. 7-10). Growth in faith and service to the community are closely related precisely because of the very nature of service, which must be carried out in the light of a mature faith in order to avoid decline and abuse of believers. There can be no authentic service, free from ulterior motives and personal interests, unless it is supported by a strong faith that is mature and consistent with one's life and the mission to which one is called.

But how can a strong faith be reconciled with a faith as 'small' as a mustard seed, yet capable of uprooting a mulberry tree and transplanting it into the sea? What is the truth underlying Jesus' answer? Faith, when it is alive and vital, when it contains the seed of life in the same way that a mustard seed contains it, is capable of great things, and Jesus wants his disciples to have a living and vital faith in everything.

The question is developed through a short parable in the form of a rhetorical question, so that the reader already knows the answer as it is being formulated. This is developed on three levels aimed at demonstrating how the servant is only a servant and is at the service of his master and that he can claim nothing. The first (v. 7) emphasises that no master gives his servant respite; the second (v. 8) contrasts with the first, thus highlighting what the master will actually and naturally expect from his servant: to be served, because every servant is such because he is at the service of his master and never of himself; the third level (v. 9) concludes the parable by pointing out that the master does not have to be grateful to his servant for serving him, since this is part of his nature and his duties as a servant.

The parable aims to clarify the relationship between community leaders and God himself, the true master. Their authority and responsibility in the believing communities is therefore considered a service that they perform in the name and on behalf of God. The invitation to consider themselves merely useless servants after having done all that was their duty to do should not be read as contempt for these servants, who devote themselves to their master, but rather expresses the distance between them and God himself, to whom they are servants and in whose name and on whose behalf they perform this service. Communion with God transcends all human performance and cannot be debased by an earthly concept of wages. God cannot be outdone in generosity: there will be a reward, but it will be free and infinitely greater than human merit.

But we can also extend this reading to every single believer, not just those in positions of responsibility. Jesus wants each of his disciples to consider themselves servants before others. His humility is service. Service is his obedience. His usefulness lies in obedience and service. After obeying and serving, he must consider himself useless. Why useless? Because his essence is service and obedience. Outside of service and obedience, he is no longer useful. He has no other task. He must consider himself in every way similar to a tool. What is the usefulness of a tool? To serve. Once its service is over, it is useless. It no longer serves its master. It is stored in a drawer or a closet. But it is no longer useful except for the next service and the next obedience. If the master's will uses it, it is useful. If he does not use it, it is useless. And so it is useful and useless at the same time. Its usefulness comes from the master's will. Its uselessness also comes from the master's will. Just as the tool does not complain when it is used and does not complain when it is not used, so it is with every true servant of the Lord, every disciple of his. If it is used, it obeys. If he is not used, he obeys all the same. Thus, whether he is used or not, he is always obedient to his master. If his master needs him, he will always say, 'Here I am'. If his master does not need him, he will remain at peace, because this is his master's will: that he be a useless servant, that is, a humble servant. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

Lk 16:19-31

Luke 16:19 There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

Luke 16:20 At his gate lay a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores,

Luke 16:21 and longed to fill his belly with the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Luke 16:22 One day the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luke 16:23 In hell, among the torments, he looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus far away beside him.

Luke 16:24 So he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.

Luke 16:25 But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that you received your good things during your lifetime, and Lazarus likewise received his bad things; but now he is comforted and you are in torment.

Luke 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who wish to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they cross over from there to us.

Luke 16:27 He replied, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house,

Luke 16:28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.

Luke 16:29 But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.

Luke 16:30 But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.

Luke 16:31 Abraham replied, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.

"There was a rich man." This man, unlike the poor man, is not defined by his name, which deprives him of his personal identity, but is presented from the outset as a person shrouded in anonymity and destined for oblivion, which is the worst condemnation for a man and characterises the realm of the dead. On the other hand, this man is defined only by his state of life: rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, feasting every day. A state of life made up of ephemeral things, on which he has based his life and to which he is devoting himself and beyond which he does not go, suffering the fate of their inevitable perishability. In fact, all that is said about him is that he is buried, unlike Lazarus, who is lifted up by the angels. He is, therefore, a man who lives in an immanentistic way without any future prospects, wasting his time on frivolities.

Juxtaposed with this character, who lived in luxury and softness, Luke presents another who is diametrically opposed. The rich man is now contrasted with the poor man; the purple and fine linen clothes that cover the rich man's body are contrasted with the sores that cover the poor man's; the rich man's lavish banquet is contrasted with the poor man's desire to feed himself with some leftovers from this banquet, while dogs lick his sore body with their tongues. But unlike the rich man, shrouded in anonymity and destined for oblivion in hell, this poor man has a name that identifies him and gives him substance, since in ancient times a name expressed the essence of the person who bore it: Lazarus.

Verse 22 is characterised by two contrasting movements, ascending for Lazarus and descending for the rich man, and at the same time acts as a watershed between two worlds that do not communicate with each other. In this context, death constitutes the obligatory passage from 'here' to 'there'. But while death unites the two characters, the manner in which the passage takes place is different: Lazarus 'was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom', while the rich man was only buried. In reality, there was no real transition for the latter, but simply a burial; he is associated, pending his complete assimilation, with the land for which he had spent his life. The fate of Lazarus was very different, as he was accompanied to Abraham's bosom by angels. This was a sort of apotheosis emphasised by two elements: the angels as ferrymen and Abraham's bosom. The former closely resemble Charon from Greek mythology, the ferryman of the souls of the dead, who accompanied them to their final resting place, crossing the river Styx, which marked the boundary between the two worlds... but that is another matter.

The second element concerns Lazarus' destination, 'in Abraham's bosom', the patriarch who was the repository of the promise, filled with divine blessing for his faith and obedience, father of a people as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Abraham's bosom, therefore, becomes the image of a safe place, permeated by God himself, who in Abraham began the history of salvation. Lazarus, then, ferried by the angels, will become part of this salvific world, which is not described to us, but is left only to be intuited. After all, it was not Luke's intention to describe the afterlife, but simply to construct, through images, a context for reflection on the destinies of the future life, which are played out here on earth.

Verses 23-26 open with a topographical note, which serves as a frame within which the scene of the dialogue between Abraham and the rich man is set: Luke uses the word 'Hadē' rather than 'hell', which was the realm of the dead for the Greco-Hellenistic world to which Luke was writing and which would have had difficulty understanding the corresponding Hebrew term 'Sheol'. It was an underground world, located in an unspecified place unreachable by man, where souls live in a larval state, their consistency that of a shadow, enveloped in oblivion and the darkness of the shadows, which takes away all hope and where it is no longer possible to praise God.

Hadē, therefore, like its Hebrew counterpart Sheol, should not be understood as a place of eternal damnation, but only as a sort of warehouse, a repository where souls are collected and crammed together awaiting the final judgement. Already in intertestamental Jewish literature, although the place is the same for everyone, there is a division between good and bad, between the righteous and the unrighteous, a sort of anticipation of what the final judgement will be. This is attested to in verse 26: 'A great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they cross over to us from there'. This abyss, rather than a physical demarcation, defines a sort of insurmountable barrier that separates the righteous from the unrighteous and, in some way, represents the divine judgement that already weighs on these shadows.

The last part of the passage, which concludes the story, is the most interesting from a catechetical point of view, as it presents a faith based not on sensationalist miracles, but on the Scriptures, the solid rock on which to build the house of one's life: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." Abraham draws attention to the Scriptures as a sure guide for one's life. In other words, those whose hearts are engulfed in earthly riches cannot perceive the will of God contained in the Scriptures. Not even the appearance of a dead person could lead them to repentance and conversion.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:1 He also said to his disciples, 'There was a rich man who had a steward, and he was accused before him of squandering his property.

Luke 16:2 He called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be my steward.

Luke 16:3 The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my stewardship? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

Luke 16:4 I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship, someone may receive me into his house.

Luke 16:5 He called each one of his master's debtors and said to the first,

Luke 16:6 'How much do you owe my master? ' He replied, 'A hundred measures of oil. ' He said to him, 'Take your receipt, sit down and write fifty.

Luke 16:7 Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He replied, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your receipt and write eighty.

Luke 16:8 The master commended the dishonest steward for acting shrewdly. For the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.

Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

The unfaithful steward, finding himself in a very critical situation, reflects on his life and comes to a decision on which he will stake his whole self and his future: "I know what to do" (v. 4). It is a kind of enlightenment that can be benefited from to the extent that one looks within oneself, because it is here, in the sanctuary of one's conscience, that one encounters God and receives the enlightenment that is decisive for one's life. And although what Luke intends to highlight here is the prudence and determination with which this steward operates in his life, we should not overlook, in the second instance, the primary source of this determination, which the evangelist nevertheless emphasises: 'The steward said to himself, "What shall I do?"' From here, from his inner self, from his questioning of life, from his wondering what to do for his own future, to avoid failure in life, begins the recovery that will allow him to get back up and implement his plan. Ultimately, what is at stake is existential success or failure. Luke, therefore, seems to indicate as the decisive element in one's choices the path of reflection, of inner silence, of knowing how to confront oneself and, above all, the Word, symbolised here by the master's judgement on his steward's actions, following which everything changes for him.

"I know what to do." What he intends to do is recounted in verses 5-7: to call his master's debtors and reduce their debt. Here Luke highlights the skill, shrewdness and commitment that this man, now at the end of his stewardship, puts into the little time he has left to build a secure future for himself.

His master's appreciation for him does not concern the fraud he has suffered, but rather the shrewdness of his steward, who has somehow managed to parry the blow, turning a situation of dramatic precariousness to his advantage.

The application of the parable plays out entirely on the comparison between the children of this world and the children of light, from which a certain bitterness shines through due to the lack of commitment of believers in this world, who should instead ferment like yeast within the dough; like salt that gives flavour; like the light of a lamp that illuminates all those around it. In other words, they should bear witness to their faith in the world so as to become leaven, salt and light.

The 'dishonest wealth' of verse 9 is literally 'mamōna tes adikias' (mammon of unrighteousness). What is the mammon of unrighteousness from which to draw friends who have the ability to welcome us into eternal dwellings? What is the connection between this mammon of unrighteousness and the eternal dwellings where we will be welcomed? And what does 'when it fails' allude to? Finally, who are these friends who can be acquired with the mammon of unrighteousness?

The term 'mammon' is Aramaic and has a meaning similar to 'wealth'. It refers not only to accumulated money, but also to property. We would say 'movable and immovable property'. All this is mammon, which here is defined as 'unrighteous', that is, belonging to this world corrupted by sin. It is unthinkable, in fact, that Jesus would urge us to make friends by trafficking illegally and immorally, seeking to create criminal associations. The expression 'unrighteous mammon', therefore, should be understood as 'earthly goods; goods of this world'. Luke's suggestion is to make friends with these material goods. The only way to make these friends with the 'material goods' one possesses is to give them away. In other words, to divest oneself of one's material goods by giving them as alms to those in need.

These beneficiaries are defined as "friends", i.e. people who relate to us in a beneficial way, such as friendship - which in this context should be understood in the sense that the benefit they receive results in them welcoming us into "eternal dwellings". In this sense, these beneficiaries become "friends" to us. The verb 'welcome' means that it is the alms given to them that procures the benefit of divine eternity, here defined as 'eternal dwellings'. In other words, divesting oneself of one's possessions in favour of others has a positive resonance in heaven, where, through these gestures of love, one's eternal dwelling is being built, where one will be welcomed 'when the mammon of iniquity is gone', that is, when it is no longer possible to use the goods of this world, because one's life journey has come to an end and earthly goods no longer have any value, except for the spiritual value produced by their good use.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse - 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

(Jn 3:13-17)

John 3:13 Yet no one has ever ascended into heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from heaven.

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

John 3:15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

Verse 13 opens with the verb "anabébēken" (he ascended); this is a perfect indicative, which by its nature indicates a present state, as a consequence of a past action, which John here places as exclusive to the Son of Man: "no one has ever ascended into heaven except...". That 'no one' removes any possible competition or comparison with the Son of Man, assigning him a unique position. The Son of Man, therefore, is seen in his state of definitive glorification, as the one who has already ascended to heaven and is so definitively and permanently as a result of a past event, which took place here in history and is specified in the following verse 14.

If the first part of verse 13 contemplates the unique and exclusive event of the glorification of the Son of Man, thus exalting his divinity, the second part captures him at the beginning of his earthly adventure, that is, in his descent, with clear reference to his incarnation. The verb 'katabás' (descended), in fact, is an aorist past participle, which expresses the occurrence of an event captured in its initial temporal appearance.

If verse 13 presents the two extremes of God's saving action, the incarnation and ascension of the Son of Man, verse 14 places between the two events the intermediate events of Jesus' death and resurrection, and does so starting from an image taken from Numbers 21:6-9, where Moses made a bronze serpent and placed it on a pole; when a snake bit an Israelite, if he looked at the bronze snake, he remained alive. The context in which the Old Testament episode is set is that of a revolt of the people against Moses and against God, who sent poisonous snakes to punish the Israelites with death. The story closely recalls the fall of Adam and Eve: there too there was a revolt against God; there too there was a serpent that injected into them the deadly poison of rebellion against God; there too there was an act of divine mercy, which promised the mortally fallen man the victory of the Woman and her Offspring over the Serpent (Gen 3:15). The reference to Moses raising up the serpent evokes this set of ancient stories, so that the figure of the Son of Man raised up becomes the definitive fulfilment of those images and the answer to the expectations and hopes of humanity fallen and corrupted by sin.

Verse 14, in fact, triggers a comparison between Moses' raising of the serpent and that of Jesus; but while Moses' raising is expressed with an aorist ("hípsōsen", raised), which circumscribes the salvific event in time, the raising of Jesus presents some peculiarities that give it a unique and exclusive meaning that transcends time: "hipsōthēnai dei", "he must be raised". Two verbs, one in the aorist passive infinitive (hipsōthēnai) "to be lifted up", which in New Testament language refers the action to God himself; the other in the present indicative ("deî"), "must", expressing a state of necessity, which implies that the raising up of Jesus, in its dual meaning of death and resurrection, is part of a pre-established divine plan, which is fulfilled in the raising up of Jesus himself. But if the Mosaic raising was confined in time, making its salvific effects relative to the circumstances, that of Jesus transcends the limits of space and time, making the salvific effects of his raising universal, since they are removed from the relativity of history.

Verse 15 attests that believing in Jesus allows access to eternal life. For John, faith is not an abstract concept but an action rooted in life, qualifying it as a believing life, in which, precisely because it is believing, the life of God is reflected, which is essentially a life of love. The believer, therefore, becomes a sort of reflection of God among men, a witness to his divine life, in which he is placed and lives precisely because of his belief. It is no coincidence that the term 'faith' never occurs, not even once, in John, but is always replaced by the verb 'to believe'. The verb, in fact, always expresses an action and is therefore more suited to the very dynamics of life.

The raising up of Jesus, therefore, points to the restoration of every man to divine life through faith in the Raised One. The sense of the universality of the divine plan is rendered with that 'pâs' (whoever), which involves man of every time and every place. It is, therefore, a universal salvific action, addressed to all and based on the premise of 'believing in him'. The Greek expression 'ho pisteúōn en autō', 'the believer in him', is significant. The present participle verb indicates how the action of believing becomes a constant, which qualifies man's life and determines his existential orientation. The verb 'to believe' is followed here by the expression 'en autō', which indicates a state in place: 'in him'. The purpose of believing, therefore, is to place the believer 'in him' and through him to obtain 'eternal life'.

Verse 16 constitutes the summit of John's thought on Jesus, who sees the descent of the Son of Man from heaven as the consequence of an act of love by the Father; a love that becomes a gift and a gift that becomes salvation for the believer. It is not, therefore, an ethereal or mystical love, but a concrete love, which historically takes on the face of Christ and in him becomes visible and accessible to all; and the gift is the very life of God.

The exclusivity of this gift is emphasised in the attribute with which the Son is described: Only Begotten; an expression that expresses the uniqueness not only of the Son in relation to the Father, but also of the relationship that binds them in a close communion of love.

The verb 'dídomi', however, does not only mean 'to give, to donate', but also 'to hand over, to entrust'. The gift that the Father gives of his Son, therefore, not only expresses his nature of love, but is also a handing him over to men, a handing over that has in itself a sacrificial and redemptive value, 'so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life'.

The phrase 'whoever believes in him' is taken up again in essentially the same form in verse 15, but here there is a small, very significant variation: the particle 'in', rendered in verse 15 as 'en', is replaced here by the particle 'eis'. The first (en) indicates a state in place, emphasising how believing places the believer in the same divine life (eternal life); the second (eis) expresses a movement to a place and gives the believer's belief a strong dynamism, which orientates him existentially towards Christ. The particle 'eis' therefore highlights a faith on the path to salvation, which has not yet been definitively acquired, since the prospect of perdition also appears in the background, albeit expressed in negative form ('let him not die').

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)

(Lk 14:25-33)

Luke 14:25 As many people were going with him, he turned and said to them,

Luke 14:26 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:28 Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?

Luke 14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying,

Luke 14:30 'This man has begun to build and has not been able to finish.

Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to war against another king, does not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men those who come against him with twenty thousand?

Luke 14:32 If not, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to ask for peace.

Luke 14:33 So therefore, whosoever of you will not forsake all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke clarifies Jesus' position with regard to the people who follow him, recounting that "he turned and said". This turning around shows how Jesus precedes these people, like a shepherd guiding his sheep; like a teacher who precedes and guides his disciples who walk with him.

Then Jesus presents the first rule concerning discipleship, which radically cuts short the disciple's family and emotional ties, and is accompanied by a way of discipleship that frames it in a context of suffering. The reason why it is necessary to overcome emotional ties in order to enter the Kingdom of God stems from the fact that the family context can be an impediment.

In order to understand how this can happen, it is necessary to place oneself in the historical context of the early Church: those who wanted to become disciples generally came from Jewish or pagan families, who found it difficult to understand their family member's choice. Then there was the social, civil and religious context in which the new believer and his family found themselves, which was hostile to believers and persecuted them. Hence the need to overcome one's family and emotional ties, and one's carnal origins, in order to embrace the Kingdom of God with determination.

If verse 26 establishes the first rule for discipleship, the overcoming of carnal parental ties, verse 27 establishes the modalities of both access to and conduct of discipleship: "Whoever does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." It is a discipleship that has the cross as its backdrop. What is said here takes on particular significance precisely because Jesus is moving forward on his journey to Jerusalem, where the mysteries of salvation will be fulfilled, passing through suffering and death on the cross. And it is precisely within this journey towards suffering and death on the cross for salvation that Luke states that "many people were going with him," thus projecting the reader into a discipleship that is moving towards Jerusalem.

At this point, Jesus, through two rhetorical questions, leads the disciple to carefully evaluate the choice to follow him, so as not to find himself in the sad and shameful necessity of having to abandon him. The first question concerns the construction of a tower; the second concerns a war that is about to break out between two kings. Both are, on the one hand, an exhortation to prudence and to carefully weigh one's choice; but, on the other hand, each of them says what following means: it is not so much about building a tower as it is about building a new relationship with oneself, with others and, even more so, with Jesus, who is walking the way of the cross; a following that also promises to be a hard battle with the hostile world. The disciple must also evaluate this last aspect.

After this careful reflection on what following Jesus entails and the need to weigh it up carefully, Jesus introduces the third and final rule, which contains within itself a kind of condemnation: 'So whoever of you does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple'. The choice of poverty in order to follow Jesus is in fact a choice of freedom, which allows one to offer oneself entirely to God, without hesitation or second thoughts. Hence Jesus' exhortation to those who have decided to follow him to free themselves from material possessions. 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)

(Luke 14:1-7, 14)

Luke 14:1 One Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of one of the leading Pharisees to eat, and the people were watching him closely.

Luke 14:7 Noticing how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable:

Luke 14:8 "When you are invited to a wedding, do not take the place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited and he who invited you and him say to you, 'Give him your place'.

Luke 14:9 Then you would be ashamed and would have to take the lowest place.

Luke 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, "Friend, move up to the place of honour." Then you will have honour in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.

Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 14:12 Then he said to the one who had invited him, 'When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.

Luke 14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

Luke 14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The passage opens with a verb dear to Luke, with which the evangelist marks the unfolding of the history of salvation, linking it to an event that takes place on a Saturday in the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees: 'Kaì egéneto' (and it came to pass). What is now being recounted, therefore, has to do with the realisation of salvation in the present day of Jesus and in the present day of the Church.

Verse 7 opens with Jesus telling a "parable" about the abusive behaviour of the guests. The story directly involves the diners and places them in a hypothetical wedding banquet where Jesus dictates rules of "good manners" to them. But Jesus' teachings are thought to go far beyond what appears to be simple rules of good social behaviour. The nature of these rules primarily concerns the guests, among whom Jesus is also present, who stands among them as their teacher, and all of whom are inside a house. These are all images that refer to the community of believers. Therefore, these exhortations are addressed to the community, urging believers to behave with helpful humility within their community, on which divine judgement weighs heavily.

The theme of humility shines through the entire New Testament and has its beginning in Jesus himself, who did not come to be served but to serve, and demonstrated this by washing the feet of his disciples shortly before his passion and death, revealing in this gesture the truest and deepest meaning of his death: a service of redemption and salvation for humanity. And it is precisely by virtue of this helpful humility that believers find their true nature in Christ, who, humbling himself in obedience unto death on the cross, paradoxically found his exaltation in this humbling of himself.

In this way, this humble and helpful attitude towards the community of believers takes on such importance that it is subject to eschatological judgement: 'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted'.

After establishing the golden rule of humility, which is service within the community of believers, on which the threat of divine judgment weighs heavily, Jesus dictates a new rule, addressed to the master of the house; a metaphor, in a way, for that beautiful, wealthy world that revels in itself, exchanging favours: "Spend your money on those who cannot repay you because of their sad condition." This is pure generosity, which expects no reward, but is done solely in the name of Jesus and of the love that must bind every believer and in which the Father's love for all is reflected, regardless of personal circumstances. This is a rule that must characterise the believer's way of life and distinguish him as an authentic disciple of Jesus, on whom he is called to reorient his life. It is a rule that should not be taken as mere good advice, but is made binding by the beatitude with which the exhortation concludes: 'and you will be blessed because they have nothing to repay you. You will be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous' (v. 14). In other words, the choice of magnanimity towards the needy has its inevitable resonance on the last day, the day of the resurrection of the righteous; and the same is true of selfish behaviour, which, although not explicitly mentioned, nevertheless shines through between the lines.

Luke makes it clear that everything we do here on earth, whether good or bad, has its final outcome. The logic of recompense for what is done here in this life also resonates in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Our salvation is not only at stake here on earth, in this life, but it will be determined by the way we live. A life, therefore, that must be taken extremely seriously, since the eschatological judgement, which is final, already weighs upon it.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in comparison – In defence of the faith

 The Church and Israel according to St Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)

(Luke 13:22-30)

Luke 13:22 He was passing through towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

Luke 13:23 Someone asked him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" He answered,

Luke 13:24 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to.

Luke 13:25 When the master of the house has risen and closed the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us." But he will answer, 'I do not know you, nor do I know where you are from.

Luke 13:26 Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.

Luke 13:27 But he will declare, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!

Luke 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrown out.

Luke 13:29 People will come from east and west, from north and south, and will sit down at the table in the kingdom of God.

Luke 13:30 And behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and some who are first who will be last.

The question posed by the anonymous character ("someone asked him...") was much debated and concerned the number of people who would be saved in Israel. There were those who argued that all the children of the Covenant would participate in the future world. Others, however, maintained that only a few would be saved.

The answer that follows emphasises two elements: the difficulties for Judaism in accepting the proposal of the Kingdom and, for those who accepted it, the difficulty of remaining faithful, leaving behind the Mosaic cult (v. 24); and the urgency of adhering decisively to Jesus while it is still possible, since divine judgment will come without mercy (v. 25) and it will be useless to try to claim to be Jewish and to have shared something with Jesus if there has not been the most sincere and total adherence to him (vv. 26-27). This will lead to their rejection by the eschatological judge, who will cast them out of the Kingdom, where instead will sit both the Fathers and the Prophets, who had foretold that Kingdom, and the pagans who sincerely accepted his proclamation (vv. 28-29), so that the Jews, who were chosen by God from the beginning of his plan of salvation and destined to become a holy people and a kingdom of priests, will be the last; while the pagans, so despised and rejected by Judaism, but who were able to accept Jesus' proclamation, will precede them in the Kingdom (v. 30).

The passage addresses a very important question: that of the position of Judaism towards Jesus and, associated with this, that of the Judaizers, i.e. those Christians who came from Judaism but had never abandoned it, continuing to combine the new teaching with that of Moses, indeed, affirming that the salvation brought by Jesus was only possible by submitting to the Mosaic Law.

Such a position was unacceptable, as it nullified the message of salvation brought by Jesus, bringing new believers back into the fold of Judaism. The issue is addressed in specific terms in the Gospels only by Luke, both because of his closeness to Paul and because of his own ecclesiological interest and, finally, because, as a missionary like Paul and very close to him, he was able to witness first-hand the deleterious action of the Judaizers. The issue will be addressed passionately by Paul in his Letters. In Romans 9-11, he develops a long reflection on Judaism's rejection of Jesus and attempts to give a [very elaborate] answer that reveals all his suffering.

The message is addressed above all to those who have eaten and drunk at the Lord's table after accepting his message (v. 26). It is a message that speaks of "efforts" and of a "narrow gate" through which many try to enter but cannot, revealing the difficulty for Jews to accept the person of Jesus. Many Jews had tried, but they had not been able to make the definitive choice in favour of Jesus, because they tried to reconcile the two teachings, that of Moses and that of Jesus, not having fully grasped the unique and exclusive newness that He brought.

That "strive" (v. 24) reveals how accepting Jesus was not a simple matter, because it led Jewish Christians to break with their social and religious context, suffering heavy retaliation from the religious authorities; and at the same time, family relationships were compromised, creating deep divisions within the family circle. Perhaps this is why, in addition to the inability to definitively leave the religion of their fathers, deeply rooted in the soul of the pious Jew, they tried to make Jesus and Moses coexist, to soften the blow of joining Jesus.

The consequence of this compromise is expulsion from the Kingdom, which weighs on them like a sentence of condemnation. In fact, there is talk of a master of the house who 'will rise and shut the door'; there is talk of a verdict being passed that qualifies them as 'workers of iniquity'; there is talk of a place 'where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth', an expression that we always find in a judicial context of condemnation. This condemnation is aggravated by the fact that these Judaizers see that a part of Israel, the part faithful to the Fathers and the Prophets, enters while they are thrown out. Similarly, when they see the pagans coming from every corner of the earth, here indicated in its extremities as "east and west and north and south," the same thing will happen.

The passage concludes with the sentence in verse 30: 'there are some who are last who will be first, and some who are first who will be last'. The pagans will precede Israel in the new world and take its place because of their willingness to respond to the call.

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – exegetical commentary 

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

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the mystery of the Trinity

The prophetic discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

 The Church and Israel According to St. Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

(Lk 12:49-53)

Luke 12:49 I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already burning!

Luke 12:50 I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

Luke 12:51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

Luke 12:52 From now on, in a house of five people

Luke 12:53 three will be divided in the house, two against one and one against two; father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

Verse 49 is divided into two parts: on the one hand, the coming of Jesus brings fire with it; on the other, Jesus expresses his desire that this fire should already be lit. In biblical language, fire is associated with the very being of God and his actions, and expresses the judgement of condemnation carried out by God himself. In the New Testament, fire reproduces meanings and images borrowed from the Old Testament, but also takes on new aspects with reference to eschatological contexts, marked by the action of the Holy Spirit.

Faced with such a varied meaning of the term 'fire', how can we interpret the meaning that Luke attributes to this noun in such a way that it fits in with the rest of the passage? Two elements help us to understand its meaning: this fire placed on earth, meaning the space-time dimension inhabited by man, was brought by Jesus, who is the manifestation and revelation of the Father. It is God's action among men; it is Jesus who, through exorcisms, declares that he has come to destroy the kingdom of Satan and to re-establish the Kingdom of God among men, and he does all this with the power of God that is his own. Perhaps this is precisely what Luke meant by the fire that Jesus came to bring to earth. Hence Jesus' desire: "How I wish it were already burning!", that is, already affirmed. A desire that goes beyond his time and projects itself into the post-Easter time of the Church, characterised by this fire which is the Holy Spirit, whose regenerating power works in the Word.

But between Jesus' today and the time of the Church there is the passion and death of Jesus, signified by the baptism with which Jesus must be baptised. A passion and death that take on an eschatological meaning, inasmuch as the death of Jesus is unique, unrepeatable and definitive, and is decisive for man who, despite himself, is directly involved in it.

In fact, God's judgment was passed on Jesus' death, thus becoming decisive for human beings: accepting it and living it in one's own life becomes a promise of resurrection for the believer. Otherwise, the death of Jesus becomes an element of condemnation. In this sense, it is significant how the assembly responds to the celebrant's announcement: 'We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we proclaim your resurrection, we await your coming'.

The believer, therefore, is called to proclaim in the daily life of his or her own life the death of Jesus, which is death to the old man; but which at the same time becomes a proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus, the proclamation that in this death-resurrection new times have been inaugurated, which prelude the definitive ones. And all this, the proclamation of death and the proclamation of new life, takes place in anticipation of his coming.

Having defined the meaning of the mission of the historical Jesus (vv. 49-50), Luke goes on to examine its repercussions and consequences for the Church, in particular the divisions and upheavals within the family circle. Certainly, the announcement that Jesus has come to bring the Fire of God to a land deeply marked by sin and which reasons in terms antithetical to those of God is not very reassuring and certainly does not promise an idyllic world for believers. And so here is the announcement, which is articulated on three levels:

 The statement of principle: Jesus did not come to bring peace, but division. The tone is clearly eschatological and closely recalls the community of Qumran, which had elaborated in detail the 'rule of war' of the children of light against the children of darkness, preparing its followers for the final battle in a climate of intense eschatological tension.

This war will be waged within the family. "From now on, in a house of five people, three will be divided against two and two against three." That "from now on" refers to the time of the Church. It is from this moment that the war begins, which has now shifted from against Jesus to against the Church. Luke speaks here of five members of the family, probably a typical family, in which "three against two and two against three" fight each other.

 The adversaries within the family are father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. It is a very close family relationship, but precisely because of this intimate and profound union and communion of relationships, it highlights even more how deeply this war disrupts not only the family structure but also the social structure. Note how the conflicts occur between people of the same sex: father and son, mother and daughter, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. It is almost as if the upheaval is not only confined to the close family circle, but also to the very identity of the person, which is their sexual identity. 

In this description of family breakdown, a prelude to social breakdown or perhaps a reflection of it, there is a progression that, starting from the general statement in verse 51, penetrates ever deeper, passing through verse 52 and finally reaching verse 53, within the intimacy of the family and the very sexual identity and family roles of its members, as if to say that nothing will escape this war, which will overwhelm even the most intimate and dearest relationships of man and in which everything will be questioned and overturned. A disruption, therefore, from which no one is spared, removing all security and identity.

This text by Luke seems to have been written yesterday, not two thousand years ago, so well does it fit today's family and social situation.

Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Apocalypse – 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 in Comparison – In Defence of the Faith

 The Church and Israel According to St. Paul – Romans 9-11

(Available on Amazon)

(1Cor 10,1-6.10-12)

3rd Sunday in Lent (year C)

1Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant, O brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all crossed the sea,

1Corinthians 10:2 all were baptized in relation to Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

Paul, in this passage, refers us to the history of the past, to the lesson of history. He reminds us of the deeper meaning of history, which is the history of salvation. It is said that history is a teacher of life, but the pupils learn nothing. Paul instead says that from the history of Israel one must learn. The history of Israel is not just any history, but it is a way in which divine revelation was historically manifested. Revelation, in fact, was not manifested through the explanation of concepts, but through certain historical facts that are then also read and interpreted. The history of Israel is an exemplary history, so it is right and proper, if one wants to understand Jesus Christ, to see all the sacred history that prepares him. Among other things, this also accustoms us to reading our own little personal history, which is also salvation history because the Lord walks with us.

"For I do not want you to be ignorant": The Corinthians were supposed to know the facts narrated here, but the apostle wants them to know the typological significance that these facts have, and which is not to be ignored. Jesus Christ is the end result of a long journey, and we must know the journey that preceded it. Paul is very respectful of Israel's history and feels he must tell it. He refers us to these examples from the past that are extraordinary events, but they are also events of sin, and yet always instructive because they show what God's way is.

"Our fathers". Christians can consider the ancient Israelites as their fathers, because the Church succeeded the synagogue, and they are the true heirs and children of Abraham.

"They were all": Three times Paul repeats this expression. As if to say that salvation had been given to all. For all were led by the cloud, that is, by the presence of God, and all crossed the sea. All gained freedom from slavery and all were guided by God on the way to the promised land. Hence, on God's part, no exclusion, no preference towards some at the expense of others. He brought all his people out of Egypt, for all he parted the sea, for all he willed the cloud. All were in the condition of grace and truth that would enable them to conquer the promised land and possess it forever.

This universality of grace and truth for Paul is akin to a baptism. There is an immersion also of the children of Israel, even though their baptism is merely a figure of that instituted by Jesus Christ. However, there is a true immersion of the Israelites in the sea and in the 'cloud' and this immersion for them is true salvation, true deliverance.

Israel lived under the cloud, that mysterious cloud that guided the Israelites through the desert and sheltered them from the sun: signifying the presence of God, the Shekinah. To be under the cloud is to be under God's protection. They crossed the sea and were baptised: the passage from the land of slavery, which is Egypt, to the promised land, takes place through the crossing of the Red Sea, and this is a baptism because it signifies the detachment from the slavery of Egypt, liberation and purification, and the journey to the promised land.

"To be of Moses". Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, was a figure of Jesus Christ, and the Israelites led by him to the promised land were a figure of the Christians led by Jesus Christ to heaven. Now, just as Christians through baptism are incorporated into Jesus Christ and made subject to him as their Lord, whose laws they are bound to observe, so for the Israelites the mysterious cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea were a kind of baptism, whereby they remained subject to Moses and obliged to observe his laws. From that moment on, the people were separated from Egypt forever and belonged to the God who liberated them and to the prophet-mediator whom God gave them as their leader.

The mysterious cloud, a perceptible sign of God's presence, and of the favour He bestowed on His people, was a figure of the Holy Spirit, who is given in the baptism of Jesus Christ, and similarly the dry-foot passage through the Red Sea and the consequent deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh, were figures of our deliverance from the bondage of sin through the waters of baptism.

Having stated this truth, Paul reminds us that it is not enough to come out of Egypt to have the promised land. The going out is one thing, the conquest and possession of the land is another. Between going out and conquering the land, there is a whole desert to cross. For the Israelites, the desert lasted for forty years; for Christians it lasts their whole life.

With baptism we come out of the slavery of sin, with a life of perseverance striving to conquer the kingdom of heaven we walk towards the glorious resurrection that will take place on the last day.

 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)