(1Cor 12,12-30)

1Corinthians 12:12 For just as the body, though it is one, has many members, and all the members, though they are many, are one body, so also Christ.

1Corinthians 12:13 And indeed we were all baptized into one Spirit to form one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and we were all watered with one Spirit.

Through the simile of the body, Paul wants the Corinthians to understand the great principle of fellowship that binds all those baptised into Christ. The first rule of the principle of fellowship is this: the body is one, the members are many. No member alone forms the body, no body is formed by a single member. There is no opposition between unity and diversity. On the contrary, unity is given by diversity, and diversity is made for unity, just like in the human body.

Diversity is very important, otherwise, only God would exist. Therefore, the very condition to be able to exist is that we are different and distinct, and woe betide to abolish diversity, because the life of one member, its functionality, derives from the life of the other member and its functionality. No member works for itself, each member works for the other members. Each member receives vital help from the other members and lives as long as it is capable of receiving this vital help. Thus the life of one depends on the life of the other.

There is a reciprocity in the human body that for Paul must also be reciprocity in the body of Christ, which is the Church: 'so also is it of Christ'. Given that Paul used the human body as an analogy of the church, one would have expected him to have concluded by saying, 'so also is it of the church', instead he says, 'so also is it of Christ', and it is precisely this that the Apostle wants to make clear, namely that the 'church' is the body of Christ, so to say that we are of Christ is to say that we are church.

In last Sunday's reading, the Apostle Paul had reminded the Corinthians that there is one God, one Lord, and one Spirit. Now he adds another great truth: there is one body, that is, one church. The body of Christ is one, not two, not three, not many, and will be one until the consummation of history. Everything was made in Christ, for Christ, and with Christ - and we are all in him, members of his body. And the image of the church as one body is not just an image: it is the mystical and profound reality of redeemed humanity.

Unfortunately we experience diversity as a nightmare because we say that the other has something that I do not have, so there is a difference, so I have to appropriate what he has. So the gifts we have become the place of quarrel and fight, and man through gifts dominates and does evil.

The church is not a 'club' formed by people who have decided to agree on what to believe, to all think alike. On the contrary, the church is formed by Christians who have been subjected to a specific divine operation. Baptism symbolises this truth. One is part of the body of Christ the moment one is born of water and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the sacrament of our incorporation into Jesus Christ. When we come out of the waters we are no longer us, we come forth as the body of Christ, we come forth as his members. This is the new reality that is fulfilled in baptism.

To be baptised is to go deep, to be immersed, in what? In the one Spirit! We are immersed in the life of the Spirit that is given to us by the cross. We immerse ourselves in this love that God has for us; this is what unites us. We live by this love that is one for all. This gives my identity as a son, makes me love the Father, and love my brothers and sisters; this is the profound meaning of baptism. And this makes us one body, because we are united by one breath (the Spirit). One is the breath, one is the life, one is the body.

We form one body where each is a distinct member from the other, whether we are Jews or Greeks (the great religious differences); whether we are slaves or free (the great social differences); whether we are male or female (the great natural differences). Indeed, these differences are fundamental for the body to be articulate. If we are baptised, if we are immersed in the love that God has for us and live from this love that unites us to Christ, we live the life of God, and together with others who live the same life we form one person in God; and that is the total Christ. And this is the Church.

Just as the right hand and the left hand and the other parts of the body are distinct and different from each other, but have one life and form one person, so we have one life and are one person. From this truth comes a twofold obligation for those who have accepted to be part of the body of Christ. The first is to see and think of oneself as the body of Christ, a member of Him. Thinking of oneself as a member of Christ means living the law of communion in all its aspects.

The second obligation is to nourish oneself daily with the Holy Spirit, through personal and community prayer, and especially through the Eucharist - the sacrament of new life - so that assimilation to Christ occurs in a perfect manner; whole, without gaps. This configuration to Christ is necessary to abolish that past that could always return and enslave us, and feed the thoughts of the old man. Instead, the strength of the new man is in constantly drinking from the waters of the Holy Spirit. This is the secret of the saints. This must be the secret of every member of the body of Christ. If he constantly drinks of the water of the Spirit, the old man will have less and less strength, and Christ will grow more and more in him.

 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)

(1Cor 12:4-11)

2nd Sunday in O.T. (C)

1Corinthians 12:4 There are diversities of charisms, but one is the Spirit;

1Corinthians 12:5 there are diversities of ministries, but one is the Lord;

1Corinthians 12:6 there are diversities of operations, but one is God, who works all things in all.

1Corinthians 12:7 And to each is given a particular manifestation of the Spirit for the common good:

Three times diversity is spoken of and three times unity. Unity is attributed to the Spirit who is the Holy Spirit, to the Lord who is Jesus, and to God who is the Father. Practically, the Trinity underlies our diversity and unity, because the Trinity is the first place of diversity and unity. Distinction, diversity is necessary for relationship, for love. Diversity, in love, becomes unity, which maintains diversity. Since God is love, then love needs diversity; and diversity is the very place of unity, whereas very often for us diversity is the place of quarrel, because we do not accept diversity.

"There is diversity of gifts, but there is one and the same Spirit". Here we have the word charismatōn. Derived from the same root as the word 'grace', charis, it means 'manifestations of grace' and therefore 'gifts'. Charisma is a particular grace through which we can manifest God's richness to the world. Charisma is grace because it is freely given to man. No one can make a personal boast of it.

Having affirmed this first truth, Paul immediately affirms another. If charisms are many, only one is their author: the Holy Spirit of God. Why does Paul wish to specify this truth? The pagans believed that a person's different gifts should be attributed to different gods, one of whom gave wisdom, the other strength, etc. So that Christians would not think that something similar was happening with the different gifts given to them, the apostle warns them that although the gifts are different, one is the Spirit from whom they proceed.

"There is diversity of ministries. Ministries, diakoniōn, means: diakonia, services (those of the apostles, bishops, presbyters, etc.). So it introduces another concept: every charisma, every gift we have is a service to others. So there is a diversity of services because the gifts are manifested in the service one does to one's brothers.

"There is but one and the same Lord". All these services are established and regulated by the supreme will of the one head of the Church: the Lord Jesus. Thus every service finds its origin in Jesus, who made himself the servant of all, and every gift finds its model in Jesus.

'And there is a variety of operations'. Operations translates the term energēmàtōn, which comes from the word normally used for 'work'. The works we do for the service of the Kingdom are to be traced back to God the Father Almighty, who from the heights of heaven strengthens our will, infuses energy and vigour into the body, holiness into the soul so that we may work according to God.

"But there is but one and the same God". For the third time Paul asserts that there can be no divisions between Christians on the basis of 'gifts', because it is the same God who bestows the gifts in all their diversity. And precisely because all gifts proceed from God, they can only be directed to an end worthy of God.

Every man is an instrument in God's hands. If God uses one instrument for one thing and another instrument for another thing, may the instrument enter into jealousy, may behave with envy, may say to the Lord why do you use me and not the other, or why do you use the other and not me? If God has arranged for one to exercise a ministry with a particular charisma and another to act according to another ministry and with a different charisma, who is the man so that he can say to God why did you make me this way and why did you make me differently from others?

If it is God who works in us, then it is right to pray to God to act in us according to the gift with which he has enriched us, but also to empower the gift with which he has enriched others.

In these verses we have the deep scaffolding of the structure of a community life and also of a couple, that is, diversity and unity. They are not an obstacle to each other, but are necessary to each other, otherwise, it is impossible to live. The discourse is a grade because it applies both on a strictly personal level and on a social level. These are core values in which the fate of humanity is at stake, that is, how you live what you are. Today there is an attempt to abolish diversity. There is unity, but in foolishness, in non-identity, in the destruction of the person.

"Now to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good". This is a criterion for discerning gifts: common utility. Everything I have and am is for the purpose of loving God and neighbour, and if it does not lead in this direction, I am misappropriating it, and therefore I am using it diabolically. All gifts are gifts from God, but we can make right or wrong use of them. A ministry, a gift, a charisma, a grace are not for the person who receives them, they are for the common good. Everyone must feel enriched by the charisma of the other, because the other, his charisma, God has not given him for himself, but for the good of the Church.

From this principle enunciated by Paul, a serious problem of conscience arises for every Christian. If the charisma of the other is for my own benefit, can I disregard it, can I not make use of it if it is necessary to me? Ignoring the other's charism, not making use of it, not wanting this charism to bear fruit, is a sin that pours against me. If the charisma of the other is for me, by depriving myself of it, I deprive myself of the nourishment I need.

Rejection of the other's charism, and especially rejection for reasons of bad conscience, places me in serious danger of failing in my Christian life, because I deprive myself of the support and nourishment that the Lord has placed beside me.

 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 3:15-16.21-22)

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 Spirit and fire.

Luke 3:21 And when all the people were baptized, and while Jesus, having also received baptism, stood praying, the heaven was opened

Luke 3:22 and there descended upon him the Holy Spirit in bodily appearance, as of a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, "You are my beloved son; in you I am well pleased."

The question that is posed here and that will be the reason for revelation is the identity of John: "whether he was not the Christ", i.e. the Messiah awaited by Israel. V. 16 places John in direct confrontation with Jesus on the one hand, and with two different types of baptism on the other. Jesus is presented as the 'stronger' one. The title of "the stronger" is recognised in the Old Testament to God (Deut 10:17). If, therefore, Jesus is referred to as 'the strongest', Luke now quantifies the distance between John and the one who is 'the strongest', measuring it with the expression: 'I am not worthy to untie even the lace of my sandals'. Slave labour. Well, the distance is such that compared to 'the Strongest', John is not even worthy to be qualified as a slave. This is the distance that separates John from Jesus.

The effects of this gap between the two are indicated by comparing the modalities of the two baptisms: 'I baptise you with water [...] he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire'. The latter expression can be read as an endiad: the Holy Spirit who is fire. God appears to Moses on Mount Horeb in the form of a fire that does not burn and guides his people in the desert in the form of a pillar of fire that enlightens them and protects them from their enemies. A fire that also expresses both God's wrath and justice against the infidelities and enemies of his people. This fire is juxtaposed with the Holy Spirit and, read as an endiad, is the Holy Spirit and expresses the power of his disruptive nature, but at the same time it is placed in the midst of men as an action of divine judgement.

Note Luke's use of the tenses of the verb to baptise: the baptism of water is governed by the indicative present tense and says the present state of things; a baptism of penance and preparation in view of another baptism, but in itself devoid of any regenerating force. A baptism, therefore, still imperfect. On the other hand, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire is governed by the verb in the future tense, since it concerns the times after John, inaugurated by "the stronger" of him.

A Holy Spirit whom all evangelists describe with reference to the dove. The reference to the dove is somewhat peculiar, since nowhere in the Bible is God referred to the dove. The choice of the dove probably stems from two biblical images: from Gen 1:2 where it is said that "the spirit of God hovered over the waters"; and in the account of the universal flood, where it is said that Noah released a dove to see if the earth was still covered by water. In both cases Noah's hovering and the dove have to do with water, just as the Spirit has to do with the baptismal waters, those of the Jordan.

V. 22 presents the public investiture of Jesus, a kind of prophetic anointing in the Spirit, giving him all divine authority and power, with which he is clothed not only by mandate but also by his nature. Luke provides here the key to understanding not only the person of Jesus, but also his own mission: Jesus does not work on his own, but in a Trinitarian form. There is in fact here the presence both of the Father, in the form of a voice, who recognises in Jesus his Son: 'You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased'; there is the Holy Spirit who descends upon Jesus and remains there; and finally, there is Jesus himself, the Son of the Father. Father and Holy Spirit, therefore, work in and with Jesus, who is the action of the Father, the historical space where the Father works with the power of his Spirit. The entire mission of Jesus therefore acquires a markedly Trinitarian significance.

 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)

(Jn 1:1-18)

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word,

the Word was with God

and the Word was God.

John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God:

John 1:3 all things were made through him,

and without him nothing was made of all that exists.

John 1:4 In him was life

and the life was the light of men;

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness,

but the darkness did not receive it.

In vv. 1-5 there is a descending logic, which sees the Logos, first, in relationship with God (vv. 1-2), then, in relationship with himself (vv. 3-4), finally, in relationship with men (v. 5), so that from his being with God he finds himself being with men. A descent, therefore, spent on behalf of men.

We speak of a principle, which recalls by its formulation - "En archē" - the Genesis principle (Gen 1:1) and intentionally refers back to it. Here (Jn 1:1), in fact, as there (Gen 1:1), it begins with "En archē"; it continues with a reference to light and darkness (Jn 1:5), which in some way reflect Gen 1:3-5; the Word of the prologue is the exclusive creator protagonist of all that exists, possessing life in itself; similarly, the Genesis Word, which is repeated, almost like a litany, nine times ("And God said"), is creative power, which emanates life. There is in John a clear intentionality in assimilating the events of the beginnings of his Gospel to those of the Genesis creation, as if to indicate to the reader how the occurrence of the Jesus event constitutes the beginning of a New Creation.

Although there is a substantial reference to the first chapter of Genesis, the two "En archē" are substantially different, constituting two completely different contexts. The Genesian 'En archē' constitutes the temporal beginning of creation, merely indicating its divine origin. It is not a metaphysical origin, but a historical one. Of a different nature is John's "En archē", whose content is the transcendent, metaphysical existence of the Word. It is an absolute principle, which takes us not to the origins of creation, but to the very life of God. There is no longer the doing of God, but the Being of God, which is Word. The single and dominant verb in vv. 1-2, in fact, is the verb 'to be', which by its very nature always indicates the essence of its subject, always says something about its being and transports us into the area of ontology. It is here always placed in the imperfect indicative ("was"), highlighting the persistence of the Word's Being, which is placed in a principle that has no beginning, but which indicates the Word's absoluteness and its pre-eminence.

V. 1 presents the Word, or Word, in its relationality with God, which in John indicates the Father: 'the Word was with God'. Here too the verb 'to be' appears to indicate a constitutive aspect of the Word's being. Here too the verb is placed in the imperfect indicative, to signify how the Word's being with God is a permanent and persistent condition, the proprium of the Word's existence, highlighting its co-eternity. Its relationship with God is qualified by the particle "pros", which here holds the accusative ("ton theon", God), thus opening the relationship to a plurality of meanings, describing in different ways the relationship of the Word with the Father. The particle expresses a motion in place; it possesses, therefore, in itself a dynamism of its own, which indicates the direction of the Word: it is not only at the Father, from whom it comes, but is directed, by its very nature, towards the Father, expressing a strong relational tension, which attracts it towards Him and binds it inseparably to Him. The particle "pros", moreover, also takes on the meaning of cause, reason, purpose, highlighting another aspect of the Word in its relationship with the Father: its reason for being is its being for the Father, in His function and in His favour; in Him it finds the meaning of its existence and in Her the Father is reflected and found. She is a Word that is nourished by the Father's will, so that doing His will becomes an essential and constitutive element of her very living and being, indeed she is the very Dabar (Heb.: = word) of the Father. There are no personalisms or private initiatives, but the Dabar of the Father, by its very nature, reflects the Father in itself and gives effect to it in its saying/acting, becoming its witness and revealer in the midst of men.

"And the Word was God". The noun "God" is not preceded by the determinative article as is the case with "The Word" (kai theos ēn ho logos), suggesting that the noun "God" is predicate of the Word, which is the subject of the verb, thus emphasising its divinity on a par with the Father.

The intention of v. 2, "He was in the beginning with God", is to focus attention on the Word-Father relationality, a relationship that was such from the beginning. The focus, therefore, shifts to the relationality of the Word with the Father, whose eternity is attested with the expression "en archē". No longer the Word, therefore, is "en archē", but rather the relationship of This with God.

If vv. 1-2 contemplate the Word in its triple condition of eternity, of relationality with God, and of divine nature, focusing attention on the relational aspect, vv. 3-5 highlight the Word's double dynamism, placing it in close relation to men (v. 4), which is realised in its appearance among them (v. 5).

V. 3 opens with an absolute in the plural "panta" (all things), devoid of a determinative article, therefore all-encompassing, which has no limits and embraces everything without excluding anything, making the Word the exclusive source, first and last, of everything that exists. This exclusivity of this originative source of the All is reinforced by the following expression, placed in negative form, which excludes anything from occurring without its intervention. This absoluteness goes far beyond mere creation, to embrace the whole of what exists either as already in being, becoming or simply in potency. But what is most emphasised is the mediating action proper to the Word. The emphasis, therefore, falls not so much on the "panta" as on the prepositions "dià" (through) and "chōrìs" (without), which emphasise the mediating nature of the Word.

"In him [the Word] was life and the life was the light of men". Light and life, a binomial that closely recalls the very dimension of the divine Being. Light because by its appearance it has made itself visible and accessible to men; light because it becomes the revelation of God's will towards men; light because this is God's dimension, in which the new creation is placed, to which men are called to adhere existentially. A light that recalls Genesis v. 1:3. There, too, light appears, which constitutes the environmental context within which the first creation was placed. It is not the light of the stars, which will only appear on the fourth day, but the very dimension of God, in which the Genesis creation was placed, clothed and permeated. That is why, at its end, God will find himself in it and be reflected in it, recognising that "what he had made was a very good thing" (Gen 1:31). A creation, then, clothed and glowing - of God.

V. 5 closes the descending concatenation of the Word, which, contemplated in its being in the beginning with God, now appears in the midst of darkness. This bipolarity is part of the pattern of the human mind, which by contrast associates the positive with the negative, opening up a wide range of nuances between these two poles. The coexistence and co-existence of light with darkness belong to the primordial context of the Genesis creation. There, too, light appeared in the midst of darkness. It did not dissolve the darkness, but created a new context, a new reality, which contrasted with it, so that God separated them (Gen 1:4), assigning them their own role (Gen 1:5). Light and darkness, therefore, stand at the origins of life as two separate and irreconcilable entities, since they have to do with the deepest dynamics of man and life. Light and darkness speak of the dialectic of opposing views between God and fallen man. Darkness, as well as describing man's condition after the primordial fall, speaks of his inability to grasp the light, since darkness, by its very nature, is blind and encloses everything in its blindness. It is precisely this dialectic of contrasting light and darkness that characterises the history of salvation. That is why "darkness did not receive it" (v. 5).

There are two meanings of darkness in v. 5: in the first part, it indicates in a general sense the fallen human condition, shrouded in ignorance of God, so that the appearance of light in this context emphasises the illuminating and revelatory function of the incarnate Word, taking away all alibis from fallen man, bringing him to the knowledge of the divine will, before which he is called to take a stand. In the second part of v. 5, darkness is historicised and embodied in the pagan and Jewish worlds, as the historical places where it took root and opposed the Word. The first 'darkness', therefore, indicates the state, the condition of man before the coming of the Word; the second 'darkness' historically identifies the actors who embody 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)

(Lk 2:41-52)

Luke 2:41 His parents went up to Jerusalem every year for the feast of Passover.

Luke 2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up again according to the custom;

Luke 2:43 But when the days of the feast were past, and they were on their way back, the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, without his parents noticing.

Luke 2:44 Believing him to be in the caravan, they made a day's journey, and then set out to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances;

Luke 2:45 not having found him, they returned in search of him to Jerusalem.

Luke 2:46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them and questioning them.

Luke 2:47 And all who heard him were filled with amazement at his intelligence and his answers.

Luke 2:48 When they saw him, they were amazed, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I, distressed, were looking for you."

Luke 2:49 And he answered, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must attend to the things of my Father?"

Luke 2:50 But they did not understand his words.

Luke 2:51 So he departed with them and returned to Nazareth and was subject to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart.

One of the most difficult passages in all the Gospels, and one that opens up numerous questions: is it possible that the two parents were so clueless and superficial as not to ascertain where their first-born and only son was before they left? Is it possible that they only realised after a day's walk that Jesus was not with them? Is it possible that a young boy can sit quietly for three days in a row in the Temple, debating with the teachers of the Law, without the slightest concern for his family? And all this time who gave him food and sleep? And after the debate, where did he go? What did he do? How is it possible that this young boy, portrayed here as a seasoned and experienced adult, was completely indifferent to his parents' anxieties and rebukes, indeed it is he who rebukes them? One could continue with these questions, but Luke here is not chronicling an unfortunate incident, he is making theology and constructing his narrative in function of it; certainly not to satisfy the curiosity of his readers, let alone the logic of modern criticism. To continue down the road of questioning is to go nowhere. Here one must follow the author's thought and intent.

The scrupulous observance of the Torah by Jesus' family is an established fact. Its faithful and persevering observance is emphasised here: 'his parents went every year to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover'. The obligation to make the pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem burdened only males, although women and children were not excluded. A journey, that of the twelve-year-old Jesus, which is referred to as "according to custom" and therefore performed according to the prescriptions of the Torah.

Jesus' remaining in Jerusalem at the age of twelve indicates the place of Jesus' dwelling, where the Father's will will find its full fulfilment. Here the mission that the Father has assigned to him will find its definitive end and fulfilment. This is why the twelve-year-old Jesus, having arrived in Jerusalem, does not go back, but remains there in conformity with the will of the Father (v. 49). Significant is the verb that Luke uses here to indicate Jesus' "remaining" in Jerusalem: "hypémeinen", which among its various meanings also includes "to endure, to cope with, to support". His remaining, therefore, is dense with meaning and hints at the suffering of his suffering and death in Jerusalem, the place where the mysteries of salvation will be fulfilled. 

Vv. 44-45 narrate the bewilderment of this small family community as it realises that it has lost Jesus. Mary and Joseph's search is based on human logic: they look for him among relatives and acquaintances, hoping to find him among them, but to no avail. To find Jesus it is necessary to "return to Jerusalem". It is there, in the place of the fulfilment of the Mystery, that Jesus can be found. And they will find him as he speaks; they will discover him as the Word that resounds in the Temple; the Word that teaches; the Word that imposes itself amidst the astonishment of the ancient teaching of the Torah. To find Jesus, therefore, it is necessary to return to Jerusalem.

The finding of Jesus is framed in a significant double framework: temporal, "after three days"; and spatial, "in the temple, sitting among the doctors". The finding of Jesus "after three days" may allude to his resurrection, when, after the bewilderment of his passion and death, Jesus is found by his disciples. The question that Luke addresses here, however, is not so much the resurrection of Jesus, but 'how' Jesus is found after the 'three days': he is found 'in the temple sitting among the doctors'. Temple and doctors allude to the heart of Judaism: worship and Torah. "In the midst" of all this is Jesus in an unequivocal stance: "sitting", the characteristic position of one who teaches. In this position Jesus is described by Luke: "while he listened to them and questioned them", the two parameters within which the teacher-disciple relationship moved. The Risen One, therefore, is positioned within Judaism as the new Word, the new Teaching, the new Torah, destined to take the place of the old Teaching.

V. 48 attests to the astonishment of Mary and Joseph, who see their son sitting among the teachers of the Law, but do not understand what they see: 'Son, why has he done this to us? Behold your father and I, distressed, were looking for you". The answer Jesus gives them reveals Jesus' amazement at his two parents' inability to understand: "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must attend to the things of my Father?". A rebuke and an invitation to reflect on the motivations of their search, dictated more by human concerns than by a true understanding of the mystery that lives and permeates Jesus.

With v. 49, after a long preamble of misunderstandings and mutual amazement, we come to the revelation: "Did you not know that I must be concerned with the things of my Father?". Jesus never moves of his own accord according to his personal plans, but his actions, as well as his speech, have as their only referent source the Father, without whom he does nothing. 

After Jesus' act of 'insubordination', Luke wants to reassure his reader that Jesus was not a daredevil, but a good boy, respectful of his parents and was always submissive to them (v. 51). However, one should not exclude, in this submission of Jesus, a theological note that in some way refers back to Phil 2:5-11, where Paul highlights a process of emptying the Son of glory until he assumed human nature and "humbled himself by becoming obedient unto death and death on a cross". This faithful submission of Jesus to his parents is also, therefore, part of the process of inner stripping.

"His mother kept all these things in her heart". An attitude, this of Mary's, that also constitutes an invitation to "keep" the Mystery, which by its nature is not immediately accessible to reason, in the silence of one's heart while waiting for the light of the Spirit, who knows the depths of God, to illuminate the mind as well.

 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 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)