Gospel tells us — in St Luke’s narrative — of the call of Jesus’ first disciples (5:1-11). The event takes place in the context of everyday life: there are several fishermen on the shore of the lake of Galilee, who, after working all night and catching nothing, are washing and arranging their nets. Jesus gets into one of the boats, that of Simon, called Peter, whom he asks to put out a little from the shore, and he starts to preach the Word of God to the crowd of people who had gathered. When he is finished speaking, he tells them to put out into the deep and cast the nets. Simon had previously met Jesus and felt the prodigious power of his word. Therefore, he responds: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets” (v. 5). And this faith of his did not disappoint: indeed, the nets filled with so many fish that they nearly broke (cf. v. 6). Facing this extraordinary event, the fishermen are greatly astonished. Simon Peter throws himself at Jesus’ feet, saying: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (v. 8). That prodigious sign convinces him that Jesus is not only a formidable master whose word is true and powerful, but he is the Lord, he is the manifestation of God. For Peter this close presence brings about a strong sense of his own pettiness and unworthiness. From a human point of view, he thinks that there should be distance between the sinner and the Holy One. In truth, his very condition as a sinner requires that the Lord not distance Himself from him, in the same way that a doctor cannot distance himself from those who are sick.

Jesus’ response to Simon Peter is reassuring and decisive: “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (v. 10). Once again the fisherman of Galilee, placing his trust in this word, leaves everything and follows the one who has become his Lord and Master. Simon’s workmates, James and John, do the same. This is the logic that guides Jesus’ mission and the mission of the Church: go in search, “fish” for men and women, not to proselytize, but to restore full dignity and freedom to all, through the forgiveness of sins. This is the essential point of Christianity: to spread the free and regenerative love of God, with a welcoming and merciful attitude toward everyone, so that each person can encounter God’s tenderness and have the fullness of life. Here, in a particular way, I think of confessors: they are the first who must give the Father’s mercy, following Jesus’ example, as did the two holy Brothers, Fr Leopold and Padre Pio.

Today’s Gospel challenges us: do we know how to truly trust in the Word of the Lord? Or do we let ourselves become discouraged by our failures? In this Holy Year of Mercy we are called to comfort those who feel they are sinners, unworthy before the Lord, defeated by their mistakes, by speaking to them the very words of Jesus: “Do not be afraid. The Father’s mercy is greater than your sins! It is greater, do not be afraid!”. May the Virgin Mary help us to ever better understand that being disciples means placing our feet in the footsteps left by the Master: they are the footprints of divine grace that restore life for all.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 7 February 2016]

Power of the Word

(Lk 4:38-44)

«To the other cities, too, I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, for I was sent for this» (Lk 4:43).

Leaving the place of worship, authentic disciples put themselves at the service of life, recovering people.

They want to put them back on their feet not out of almsgiving paternalism, but with dignity and respecting their inclinations; thus they become eager to transmit joy to others.

It’s the new experience that we are called to offer also to women and men of cultural backgrounds and mentality different from ours.

Peter’s mother-in-law is probably the emblem of a community coordinator - of the House of Peter [perhaps drawn from an ancient heritage of customs] - who, thanks to the decisive Meeting, experienced healing and full rebirth, even at the service of others.

In Semitic culture, at sunset and with the rise of the first star in the sky, a new day is born: here there is a new Creation.

Marginalised humanity is regenerated - first forced only to lower itself, inert - and resumes raising its head, and doing well.

All those considered impure, unworthy and inadequate, who didn’t know who to resort to and at the mercy of public benevolence, are now touched by God. 

He doesn't stop in the face of the hopes of redemption of the weightlesses.

A touch, that of the Lord and of those in the Church (or outside) who brings it - that absorbs the supposed unworthiness and shortcomings.

A caress that makes feel welcomed and adequate, and reintegrates into social coexistence even people considered repellent.

In the course of a first approach to the Way in the Spirit it may happen that the Son of God [who resembles God] is confused with «the» Christ (v.41) expected: «that» Messiah that everyone knew; glorious avenger, who would bring victory, health, immediate opulence.

The leader who would skillfully put things right with peremptory acts of force - and subdued the peoples, suddenly guaranteeing to the elect lineage an easy golden age at the expense of others.

Not bad: it would be one to be held without doubt (v.42). In the Master, instead, insistence on the Proclamation task prevails, without which stereotyped ideas become fixed, humiliating the life.

God cares for everyone, even those who are far away and unrelated to the Home interests - He is not someone that we can be taken possession of.

Personally caring for the brothers is tiring; and constantly moving beyond the borders of one’s own partnership or environment, too.

But this reveals the wonderful presence of the Friend: situations are created, and everyone discovers unexpressed Pearls that recreate the existence of the world.

Instead, when we think and stop at the results at hand, and do not keep alive the sense of Evangelization, reality becomes swampy; the Spirit is not unleashe - we choose the limit, and everything is dragged into indolence.

One would be satisfied (flattering) with great normalized and confined gestures: lights, exaltations, reassuring formulas... but there would no longer be a new grain that could be born every day.

To internalize and live the message:

Do you feel eclipsed in the Announcement and in the itinerance, or vice versa enhanced?

What gives you strength and puts you back on your feet, or seduces, bewitches, and blocks you?

[Wednesday 22th wk. in O.T.  September 4, 2024]

(Female Creativity)

(Lk 4:38-44)

"The essential thing is to listen to what is rising from within. Our actions are often nothing more than imitation, hypothetical duty or misrepresentation of what a human being should be. But the only true certainty that touches our lives and our actions can only come from the springs that gush deep within ourselves. One is at home under heaven one is at home anywhere on this earth if one carries everything within oneself. I have often felt, and still feel, like a ship that has taken on board a precious cargo: the ropes are cut and now the ship goes, free to sail everywhere".

(Etty Hillesum, Diary)

"To the other cities also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, for I was sent for this" (Lk 4:43).

Having left the place of worship, authentic disciples put themselves at the service of life, recovering people.

They put them back on their feet not out of paternalism of charity, but with dignity and respecting their inclinations; thus they become eager to transmit joy to others.

This is the new experience that we are called to offer also to women and men of a different cultural background and mentality from our own.

Peter's mother-in-law is probably emblematic of a community co-ordinator - of the House of Peter [perhaps drawn from an ancient heritage] - who, thanks to the decisive encounter, experienced healing and full rebirth, even to the service of others.

In the Semitic culture, at sunset and with the rising of the first star in the sky, a new day is born: here is a new Creation.

The marginalised humanity - previously forced only to lower itself, inert - is regenerated and starts to raise its head again and do good.

All those considered impure, unworthy and inadequate, who knew no recourse and at the mercy of public benevolence, are now touched by God. 

He does not stop at the hopes for redemption of the weightless.

A touch, that of the Lord and of those in the Church (or outside) who bear it - that absorbs presumed unworthiness and shortcomings.

A caress that makes one feel welcome and adequate, and reintegrates into social coexistence even those considered repulsive.

In the course of an initial approach to the Way in the Spirit it may happen that one confuses the Son of God [he who resembles God] with "the" Christ (v.41) expected: "that" Messiah whom everyone knew; the glorious avenger, who would bring victory, health, immediate opulence.

The leader who would skilfully set things right with peremptory acts of force - and subdue the peoples, abruptly granting the chosen race an easy golden age at the expense of others.

Not bad: he would be one to be held back without fail (v.42). Instead, the Master's insistence on the Mission of Announcement prevails, without which stereotypical ideas become fixed, humbling life.

God cares for everyone, even those who are distant and unconnected with Household interests - he is not someone one can take possession of.

Taking care of one's brothers personally is tiring; constantly moving beyond the borders of one's own sodality or environment, too.

But this reveals the wonderful presence of the Friend: situations are created, and everyone discovers unexpressed Pearls that recreate the existence of the world.

When, on the other hand, we think and stop at the results at hand, and do not keep the sense of Evangelisation alive, reality becomes swampy; the Spirit is not unleashed - the limit is chosen, and everything is dragged into indolence.

We would be content (flattering) with great normalised and confined gestures: lights, exaltations, reassuring formulas... but there would no longer be a new grain to be born each day.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you feel eclipsed in the proclamation and itinerancy, or vice versa empowered?

What gives you strength and puts you back on your feet, or seduces, bewitches, and blocks you?

The liberated mother-in-law and her (female) journey

A final note on Matthew's brushstroke on the story of Peter's mother-in-law, a 'woman' who rediscovers her unexpressed capacities through contact with the person of the Lord.

An icon of a mental model that is still narrow, that stifles the youth of being and doing.

Ancient figure, of a tradition (of inherited religiosity) that holds back the intimate resources of the people [in Hebrew Israèl is female].

A world of restraints that make one uncomfortable, because of stifled, compressed energies - before Christ disappeared. To the point of not realising they are still inside.

I imagine precisely that such an old woman who literally 'resurrects' can be reinterpreted with spiritual fruit, for the journey of us all.

The Lord frees; he heals "inflammations". He gives greater joy of life.

He imparts an elixir of youth - especially when we feel held as dependents or slaves, without space.

Stuck and rendered dumb by the transmitted culture or situation, not only of health."Now he rose from the synagogue and entered the house of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was oppressed with a great fever, and they prayed to him for her, and bowing down over her he threatened the fever and left her. Now rising on the instant he served them" (vv.38-39).

There are revealing symptoms of discomfort: e.g. a life - even a spiritual one - that does not fit... because it denies abilities, constrains them, keeps them in a corner, does not allow them to be used.

To the point of no longer knowing what they are.

Here come symptoms that lie us down: anxious, mortifying, and feelings of constriction and dependence.

One would perhaps like to do something different, but then there are fears, tightness in the chest that close the horizon and make one tense, (even at that time) uncomfortable, stressed, blocked.

In the soul of the ancient people, talents disregarded, denied, unused had become hardships.

Now in Christ Present, the return to a fluid life, as well as care for oneself and others, becomes easy, even with minimal gestures.

Capacities that had made intimate appeal, surface, dilate even in favour of others.

Relieved, the 'mother-in-law' breathes and overcomes ageing.

Before, sadness perhaps appeared, because the desire for a new birth was stifled by the many chores to be done or other cravings (fevers) that plant us there and do not restart feelings.

We know, however, that life restarts the moment someone helps to heal the sharp actions ["hand" constricted: Mt 8:15; Mk 1:31] and widen our gaze towards what is conversely blossoming in us.

By shifting perception from what nags us (torments and hinders) to what arises more spontaneously and is finally and unexpectedly valued, the blocks of tender, fresh energy disappear.

Then the garb of the ancient role is laid aside and we no longer give up expressing ourselves.

Also - for us - without closing ourselves off in the usual environment and way of doing things, which intimately do not belong to us.

Whoever gives the other a proper space draws on the virtues of our inner, evergreen primordial states - and opens up those of all.

All for a growth that does not only correspond to a precipitous elevation, but rather to a better grounding in the being of people.

By hibernating the burden of duties or models that do not correspond to us, life is renewed.

We realise that we are as if inhabited by divine Gold that wants to surface and express itself with breadth, instead of remaining tense and controlled.

This is the healing action of Jesus, all at everyone's doorstep.

Power of the Word and healing creativity of Jesus, in the feminine 

(Lk 4:38-39)

In the communities of pagan extraction in Lk, one wondered: do the "Beatitudes" and "Alas for you" of the "plain"... create exclusions (cf. Lk 6:17, 20-26)?

Or do they correspond to the hopes and deep feelings of the human heart, of every place and time (e.g. Lk 7.9.13.28-29)?

Those far from religious Judaism possessed a keen intuition for the novelties of the Spirit, and discovered the experience of Faith from other positions [not installed, less tied to conformist concatenations; perhaps uncomfortable].

Those who possessed the freshness of substantive intuition saw clearly. They proposed healthy jolts of outspoken Trust, wedded to the Newness of God.

Unlike those from habitual or markedly ethnic religiosity (even of Israel) the newcomers sensed that it was not necessary to explicitly ask for Christ's intervention - as was the case with the ancient gods, according to customary thinking. 

It was enough to communicate face-to-face with the Lord, in a sense of secure friendship (Mt 8:2-7) - not to urge Him to perform miracles: a fundamental acquisition, in order to be able to activate a new course even today, and finally emerge from the idea of a well-chiselled, organic culture.

It is the Risen One who authentically does the opportune good... and all the rest: as in Jesus - strengthened by the intimate experience of the Father in the Spirit - all we need is Faith, that is to say, nuptial and fertile confidence in the Word, effective (Lk 4:39) and inventive.

There is no need for any additions to this secret, in order to be born again.

God is immediate Action already in his Voice that "threatens" evil (v.39): he does not like to be "prayed to and reprimanded" - as if he were any kind of sovereign, who delights in forcing his subjects into deference [with a view to a consequent paternalism of relationships].

The relationship between the common man-woman and the Father in Christ is sober and instantaneous, without any mediating means: the work of Grace is in no way conditioned by acknowledgements and formulas, or 'internal' titles, veteran rank; nor targeted bowing, prior 'bribes', or rigmarole.

Starting from his simple experience, the centurion of the parallel passage in Mt (8:5-17) understands the "distant" value of the Word and the calamitous effect of true Faith [which does not claim "contacts" or material and local elements: Mt 8:8-9].It is not like magic: the intimate sensitivity of the direct personal relationship communicates to the eye of the soul a Vision of new genesis. Not doctrine, discipline, morals, ritual appointments (Lk 4:38) and so on.

It is a strongly existential picture; engaging not for a selfish result: it is for the promotion of life, everywhere. This corresponds to the deepest yearning of our hearts.

In fact, another great novelty of the new Rabbi's proposal - which was spreading - was the acceptance of women as we would say today "deaconesses" [v.39 Greek verb] of the Church [here in the figure of the "House of Simon": v.38].

This was what had been happening since the middle of the first century (cf. Rom 16:1) and still has much to teach us. With God, one cannot get used to (multi)secular formalities emptied of life.

But religious traditions resisted the onslaught of the Faith-Love experience: even in the mid-1980s, even the communities of Lk did not feel free to gather those in need of care until the evening had come (v.40).    

According to the parallel passage in Mk 1.21.29-34 [source of the passage in Mt and Lk] it was in fact the Sabbath day (v.38) - and after leaving the synagogue. The same impediment and delay is described in the Magdalene's episode at the tomb on Easter morning.

The cultural heritage and sacred religious conformity remained a great burden for the experience of the personal Saviour Christ, and the complete discovery of the power of full Life contained in the new total and creative proposal of Happiness "on a plain place" [cf. Lk 6:17] for "a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem": the observant centre.

The Tao writes (xxviii):

"He who knows that he is male, and keeps himself female, is the strength of the world; being the strength of the world, virtue never separates itself from him, and he returns to being a child. He who knows himself to be white, and keeps himself dark, is the model of the world; being the model of the world, virtue never departs from him; and he returns to infinity. He who knows himself to be glorious, and maintains himself in ignominy, is the valley of the world; being the valley of the world, virtue always abides in him; and he returns to being crude [genuine, not artificial]. When that which is crude is cut off, then they make instruments of it; when the holy man uses it, then he makes them the first among ministers. For this the great government does no harm'.

Master Wang Pi comments thus:

"That of the male is here the category of those who precede, that of the female is the category of those who follow. He who knows that he is first in the world must put himself last: that is why the saint postpones his person and his person is premised. A gorge among the mountains does not seek out creatures, but these of themselves turn to it. The child does not avail itself of wisdom, but adapts itself to the wisdom of spontaneity'.

In the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas we read in Nos. 22-23:

"Jesus saw little ones taking milk.

And he said to his disciples:

"These little sucklings resemble those

Who are entering the Kingdom.

They asked him:

"If we are like those babies, will we enter the Kingdom?"

Jesus answered them:

"When you make two things one and make

The inner equal to the outer and the outer equal to the inner

And the superior equal to the inferior,

When you reduce the male and the female to one being

So that the male is not only male

And the female does not remain only female,

When you consider two eyes as a unit of eye

But one hand as a unit of hand

And one foot as a unit of foot,

A vital function in place of a vital function

Then you will find the entrance to the Kingdom'".

"Jesus said:

"I will choose you one from a thousand and two from ten thousand.

And these shall be found to be one individual'".

The Gospel [passage] we have just listened to begins with a very nice, beautiful episode but is also full of meaning. The Lord went to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew and found Peter's mother-in-law sick with a fever. He took her by the hand and raised her, the fever left her, and she served them.

Jesus' entire mission is symbolically portrayed in this episode. Jesus, coming from the Father, visited peoples' homes on our earth and found a humanity that was sick, sick with fever, the fever of ideologies, idolatry, forgetfulness of God. The Lord gives us his hand, lifts us up and heals us.

And he does so in all ages; he takes us by the hand with his Word, thereby dispelling the fog of ideologies and forms of idolatry. He takes us by the hand in the sacraments, he heals us from the fever of our passions and sins through absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He gives us the possibility to raise ourselves, to stand before God and before men and women. And precisely with this content of the Sunday liturgy, the Lord comes to meet us, he takes us by the hand, raises us and heals us ever anew with the gift of his words, the gift of himself.

But the second part of this episode is also important. This woman who has just been healed, the Gospel says, begins to serve them. She sets to work immediately to be available to others, and thus becomes a representative of so many good women, mothers, grandmothers, women in various professions, who are available, who get up and serve and are the soul of the family, the soul of the parish.

And here, on looking at the painting above the altar, we see that they do not only perform external services; St Anne is introducing her great daughter, Our Lady, to the Sacred Scriptures, to the hope of Israel, for which she was precisely to be the place of its fulfilment.

Moreover, women were the first messengers of the word of God in the Gospel, they were true evangelists. And it seems to me that this Gospel, with this apparently very modest episode, is offering us in this very Church of St Anne an opportunity to say a heartfelt "thank you" to all the women who care for the parish, the women who serve in all its dimensions, who help us to know the Word of God ever anew, not only with our minds but also with our hearts.

Let us return to the Gospel:  Jesus slept at Peter's house, but he rose before dawn while it was still dark and went out to find a deserted place to pray. And here the true centre of the mystery of Jesus appears.

Jesus was conversing with the Father and raised his human spirit in communion with the Person of the Son, so that the humanity of the Son, united to him, might speak in the Trinitarian dialogue with the Father; and thus, he also made true prayer possible for us. In the liturgy Jesus prays with us, we pray with Jesus, and so we enter into real contact with God, we enter into the mystery of eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity.

Jesus speaks to the Father:  this is the source and centre of all Jesus' activities; we see his preaching, his cures, his miracles and lastly the Passion, and they spring from this centre of his being with the Father.

And in this way this Gospel teaches us that the centre of our faith and our lives is indeed the primacy of God. Whenever God is not there, the human being is no longer respected either. Only if God's splendour shines on the human face, is the human image of God protected by a dignity which subsequently no one must violate.

The primacy of God. Let us see how the first three requests in the "Our Father" refer precisely to this primacy of God:  that God's Name be sanctified, that respect for the divine mystery be alive and enliven the whole of our lives; that "may God's Kingdom come" and "may [his] will be done" are two sides of the same coin; where God's will is done Heaven already exists, a little bit of Heaven also begins on earth, and where God's will is done the Kingdom of God is present.

Since the Kingdom of God is not a series of things, the Kingdom of God is the presence of God, the person's union with God. It is to this destination that Jesus wants to guide us.

The centre of his proclamation is the Kingdom of God, that is, God as the source and centre of our lives, and he tells us:  God alone is the redemption of man. And we can see in the history of the last century that in the States where God was abolished, not only was the economy destroyed, but above all the souls.

Moral destruction and the destruction of human dignity are fundamental forms of destruction, and renewal can only come from God's return, that is, from recognition of God's centrality.

A Bishop from the Congo on an ad limina visit in these days said to me:  Europeans generously give us many things for development, but there is a hesitation in helping us in pastoral ministry; it seems as though they considered pastoral ministry useless, that only technological and material development were important. But the contrary is true, he said; where the Word of God does not exist, development fails to function and has no positive results. Only if God's Word is put first, only if man is reconciled with God, can material things also go smoothly.

The continuation of the Gospel itself powerfully confirms this. The Apostles said to Jesus:  come back, everyone is looking for you. And he said no, I must go on to the next towns that I may proclaim God and cast out demons, the forces of evil; for that is why I came.

Jesus came - the Greek text says, "I came out from the Father" - not to bring us the comforts of life but to bring the fundamental condition of our dignity, to bring us the proclamation of God, the presence of God, and thus to overcome the forces of evil. He indicated this priority with great clarity:  I did not come to heal - I also do this, but as a sign -, I came to reconcile you with God. God is our Creator, God has given us life, our dignity:  and it is above all to him that we must turn.

[Pope Benedict, St Anne 5 February 2006]

2. Paul VI's apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi reminds us that the first evangeliser is Christ himself.

Let us look in the light of today's liturgical pericope at what a day (and night) of Christ's evangelising activity looks like.

We find ourselves in Capernaum.

Christ leaves the synagogue and, together with James and John, goes to the house of Simon and Andrew. There he heals Simon's mother-in-law (Peter), so that she can immediately get up and serve them.

After the setting of the sun, "all the sick and the possessed are brought to Christ. The whole city was gathered before the gate" (Mk 1:32-33). Jesus does not speak, but performs the healing: "He healed many who were afflicted with various diseases and cast out many demons". At the same time, a significant remark: "he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him" (Mk 1:34).

Perhaps all this went on until late in the evening.

Early in the morning Jesus is already in prayer.

Simon comes with his companions, to tell him: "Everyone is looking for you" (Mk 1:37).

But Jesus replies: "Let us go elsewhere to the neighbouring villages so that I may preach there also; for this is why I have come" (Mk 1:38).

We read later: "And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons" (Mk 1:39).

3. In summary, based on that day, spent in Capernaum, it can be said that the evangelisation conducted by Christ himself consists of teaching about the kingdom of God and serving the suffering.

Jesus performed signs, and all of these formed the whole of a Sign. In this Sign, the sons and daughters of the people, who had come to know the image of the Messiah, described by the prophets and especially by Isaiah, can discover without difficulty that "the kingdom of God is at hand": he is the one who "has taken upon himself our sufferings, he has borne our sorrows" (Is 53:4).

Jesus does not only preach the Gospel as they all did after him, e.g. the wonderful Paul, whose words we meditated on just now. Jesus is the Gospel!

A great chapter in his messianic service is addressed to all categories of human suffering: spiritual and physical.

7. We read in today's Gospel that early in the morning Jesus persevered in prayer and Simon Peter came to him and said: "Everyone is looking for you".

As the distant successor of this Peter in the Roman See, I wish to repeat these words to Christ in the midst of your parish community: Lord, all seek you!

In these words you find confirmation, dear brothers and sisters, that you do "everything for the sake of the Gospel, in order to become sharers in it".

So be it!

[Pope John Paul II, homily 7 February 1982]

Gospel reading continues the narrative of Jesus’ day in Capernaum, on a Saturday, the Jewish weekly holy day (cf. Mk 1:21-39). This time the Evangelist Mark highlights the relationship between Jesus’ thaumaturgical work and the awakening of faith in the people he meets. Indeed, with the healing signs that he performs on all types of sick people, the Lord wants to arouse faith as a response.

Jesus’ day in Capernaum begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and ends with the scene of a crowd of townspeople who gathered outside the house where he was staying, to bring all the sick people to him. Marked by physical suffering and by spiritual wretchedness, the crowd comprises, so to speak, “the living environment” in which Jesus’ mission, made up of healing and comforting words and actions, takes place. Jesus did not come to bring salvation in a laboratory; he does not preach from a laboratory, detached from people. He is in the midst of the crowd! In the midst of the people! Just think that most of Jesus’ public ministry took place on the streets, among the people; to preach the Gospel, to heal physical and spiritual wounds. This crowd of which the Gospel often speaks is a humanity marked by suffering. It is a humanity marked by suffering, toil and problems. It is to this poor humanity that Jesus’ powerful, liberating and renewing action is directed. That Saturday ends in this way, in the midst of the crowd until late in the evening. And what does Jesus do after that?

Before dawn the next day, he goes out of the town’s gates unseen and withdraws to a secluded place to pray. Jesus prays. In this way, he removes even himself and his mission from a “triumphalist” view which misunderstands the meaning of miracles and of his charismatic power. Miracles, in fact, are “signs” which encourage faith as a response; signs which are always accompanied by words that enlighten; and, taken together, the signs and words arouse faith and conversion through the divine power of Christ’s grace.

The conclusion of today’s passage (vv. 35-39) indicates that Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God finds its most rightful place on the streets. To the disciples who look for him in order to bring him back to the town — the disciples went to find him where he was praying and they wanted to bring him back to the town — what does Jesus answer? “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also” (v. 38). This was the journey of the Son of God and this will be the journey of his disciples. And it must be the journey of each Christian. The street, as the place for the Good News of the Gospel, places the mission of the Church under the sign of “going forth”, of journeying, under the sign of “movement”, and never of idleness.

May the Virgin Mary help us to be open to the voice of the Holy Spirit which propels the Church to increasingly “pitch her tent” among the people, in order to bring to everyone the healing word of Jesus, the physician of souls and bodies.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 4 February 2018].

Preach and Heal

Preaching and healing: this is the main activity of Jesus in his public life. By preaching He announces the Kingdom of God and by his healings He shows that it is near, that the Kingdom of God is in our midst. Having come to earth to announce and realise the salvation of the whole man and all men, Jesus shows a special predilection for those who are wounded in body and spirit: the poor, sinners, the possessed, the sick, the marginalised. He is the true Saviour: Jesus saves, Jesus heals. Christ's saving work does not end with his person and during his earthly life; it continues through the Church, the sacrament of God's love and tenderness for mankind. Caring for a sick person, welcoming him, serving him, is serving Christ: the sick person is the flesh of Christ. Therefore, each of us is called to bring the light of the Word of God and the strength of grace to those who suffer and to those who care for them. family members, doctors, nurses, so that the service to the sick is carried out more and more with humanity, with generous dedication, with evangelical love, with tenderness. (Angelus, 8 February 2015)

[https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vangelo-del-giorno-e-parola-del-giorno/2019/09/04.html]

Jesus in the synagogue: Deliverance from quietism

(Lk 4:31-37)

In third Gospel, first ‘signs’ of the Lord are the quiet escape from death threats [agitated by his people!] and the healing of the possessed.

In this way of narrating the Jesus story, Lk indicates the priorities that his communities lived: first of all, it was necessary to suspend the intimate struggles, inculcated by the Judaizing tradition and by his "knowing how to stay in the world".

In the stubborn and conformist village of Nazareth, the Master is unable to communicate his novelty, and is forced to change residence.

He doesn’t resign himself, on the contrary: Capernaum was at the intersection of important roads, which facilitated contacts and dissemination.

Among people of all walks of life, the Son of God wished to create a consciousness strongly critical towards the approved doctrines of religious leaders.

He didn’t mechanically mention the teachings - modest - of the authorities, but started from his life experience and from the living relationship with the Father.

Thus he created clear minds and in each one an unusual, non-reductive shudder; which aimed to make reach a higher level to souls harassed by the automatic mentality of quiet living.

The Master still faces the power that reduces people to a condition without originality, allergic to differences.

In the Gospel, the person who suddenly makes sparks has always been a quiet visitor to the assembly, who tirelessly dragged his spiritual life into small areas without color, lacking in breath and rhythm.

But the Word of the Lord has in itself a real charge: the power of the bliss of living, of creating, of loving in truth - which doesn’t hate eccentric characteristics.

Where this Appeal comes, all the demons you don't expect are exposed and jump out of the burrows.

Whoever meets Christ is overthrown; he sees his certainties thrown into the air.

Upheaval that allows the hidden or repressed facets to do their part - even if they are not "as they should be".

In short, the Gospel invites us to welcome all that is in us, as it is, not attenuated; by multiplying our energies - because inside lurks the best of our Call to the personal Mission.

In Christ, our multifaceted faces [albeit contradictory] can take to the field together, without repressing the precious territories of the soul, of the essence, of the character; of another persuasion - even distant or unrepeatablely singular.

The habitué of the assemblies is indeed troubled and questioned, but he doesn’t remain abulic; on the contrary, he makes a showy progress from the dormant and ritual existence - bent, repetitive, off and fake.

He is freed face to face from all the clichés that used to keep him good, subjugated and on a leash.

Even through a protest that breaks apathy, the divine Call forces us to a life as saved sons, of new witness that seemed impossible.

Now no longer on the sidelines, but in the midst of the people (v.35), in the wonder of a deep, personal and unexpected Happiness.

Difference between common religiosity and living Faith.

[Tuesday 22th wk. in O.T.  September 3, 2024]

Freed from automatic mentality

(Lk 4:31-37)

In the third Gospel, the first signs of the Lord are the quiet escape from the threats of death [waved by his people!] and the healing of the possessed.

In this way of narrating the story of Jesus, Lk indicates the priorities that his communities were living: first of all, there was a need to suspend the intimate struggles, inculcated by the Judaizing tradition and its 'knowing how to be in the world'.

In the stubborn and conformist village of Nazareth, the Master is unable to communicate his newness, and is forced to change residence.

He does not resign himself, on the contrary: Capernaum was at the crossroads of important roads, which facilitated contacts and dissemination.

Among people from all walks of life, the Son of God wanted to create a consciousness that was highly critical of the homologated doctrines of religious leaders.

He did not mechanically quote the - modest - teachings of the authorities, but started from his own life experience and living relationship with the Father.

He did not seek support, neither for safe living nor for the proclamation - thus he created clear minds and an unusual quiver.

In this way, he suspended in souls the usual doubts of conscience, the usual battles inoculated by the customary-doctrinal-moral cloak, and his inner lacerations.

In a transparent and totally non-artificial manner, Christ [in his] still escapes evil and struggles against the plagiarising, reductive forces of our personality.

In the mentality of automatisms devoid of personal faith, it seemed at the time that one almost had to submit to the powers of external conviction.

All this to avoid being marginalised by the 'nation' [and by groups governed by conformity].

This also applies to us.

The duty to participate in collective rituals - here the Sabbath in the synagogue - risks dampening the intimate nostalgia for "ourselves" that provides nourishment for vocational exceptionality.

Originality in the history of salvation which, on the contrary, we could become, without the ball and chain of certain rules of quiet living, to the minimum - rhythm of customary social moments and symbolic days [sometimes emptied of meaning].

(All in the scruffy, mechanical ways that we know by heart, and no longer want, because we feel they do not make us reach a higher level).

The Master in us still faces the power that reduces people to the condition of ease without originality: a grey, perpetual trance allergic to differences.

Apathy that produces swamps and early camps, where no one protests but neither is surprised.

In the Gospel, the person who suddenly sparks sparks was always a quiet assembly-goer, who wearily dragged his spiritual life in small, colourless spheres, lacking in breadth and rhythm.

But the Word of the Lord has a real charge in it: the power of the bliss of living, of creating, of loving in truth - which does not hate eccentric characteristics.

Where such a call comes, all the demons you don't expect are unmasked and leap out of their lairs [previously simulated, agreed upon, artificially homologated].

He who meets Christ is knocked off his abstemious seat, turned upside down on the spot; he sees his certainties thrown to the wind

Reversal that allows hidden or repressed facets to play their part - even if they are not 'as they should be'.

In short, the Gospel invites us to embrace all that is within us, as it is, unmitigated; multiplying our energies - for within lurks the best of our Call to personal Mission.

In Christ, our multifaceted [albeit contradictory] faces can take the field together, no longer suppressing the precious territories of soul, essence, character, of another persuasion - even a distant or unrepeatably singular one.

The habitué of the assemblies is indeed disturbed and questioned, but at least he does not remain dumbfounded as before: he makes a conspicuous progress from the slumbering and ritual existence - bent, repetitive, dull and fake.

He is freed face to face from all the propaganda and clichés that previously kept him quiet, subjugated, on the leash of the 'authorities' and the conservative environment that repelled all enthusiasm.

The dirge of sacred place and time was a litany that all in all could stand, but the critical proposal of Jesus restores consciousness and freedom from inculcated territories, instilling esteem, capacity for thought and will to do.

Now no longer on the sidelines, but in the midst of the people (v.35).

From the weariness of purely cultic habituation, and even through a protest that breaks apathy, the divine Person and his Call awaken us.

They compel us to a saved life of new witness that seemed impossible.

Unceremoniously and to make us run free of the hypocrisies concealed within, the Lord also pulls out of us all the rages, the disagreements, the soul-quenching alienations.It is no longer enough to make a number [lined up and covered up], we must now choose.

The difference between common religiosity and living Faith? The wonder of a deep, personal, unexpected Happiness.

In fact, away from habitual and mental burdens, we extinguish wars with ourselves and go hand in hand even with our faults - discovering their hidden fruitfulness.

To internalise and live the message:

Has the encounter with the living Jesus in the Church freed you from forms of alienation and restored you to yourself, or has it made you go back to asking for support, sacred confirmation, and quiet - as if you were frequenting a relaxation zone?

Jesus not only drives demons out of people, freeing them from the worst slavery, but prevents the demons themselves from revealing his identity. And he insists on this "secret" because what is at stake is the success of his very mission, on which our salvation depends. Indeed, he knows that to liberate humanity from the dominion of sin he will have to be sacrificed on the Cross as the true Paschal Lamb. The devil, for his part, seeks to dissuade him so as to divert him instead toward the human logic of a powerful and successful Messiah. The Cross of Christ will be the devil's ruin, and this is why Jesus always taught his disciples that in order to enter into his glory he must suffer much, he must be rejected, condemned and crucified (cf. Lk 24: 26), for suffering is an integral part of his mission.

Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for love. On close consideration, it was in this way that he gave meaning to our suffering, a meaning that many men and women of every age have understood and made their own, experiencing profound tranquillity even in the bitterness of harsh physical and moral trials.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 1 February 2009]

1. As we have considered in previous catecheses, the name "Christ" means in Old Testament language "Messiah". Israel, the people of God of the old covenant, lived in expectation of the realisation of the promise of the Messiah, which was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. That is why from the very beginning Jesus was called Christ, i.e. "Messiah", and as such accepted by all those who "accepted him" (John 1: 12).

2. We have seen that, according to the tradition of the old covenant, the Messiah is king, and that this messianic King is also called Son of God, a name that in the Old Testament's jahvistic monotheism has an exclusively analogical, or even metaphorical meaning. It is not a question in those books of God's 'begotten' son, but of someone whom God chooses by entrusting him with a particular mission or ministry.

3. In this sense also all the people are sometimes referred to as 'sons', as for example in the words of Yahweh addressed to Moses: 'You shall say to Pharaoh: . . . Israel is my first-born son . . . let my son go forth to serve me!" (Ex 4:22-23; cf. also Hos 11:1; Gen 31:9). If therefore the king is called in the ancient covenant 'son of God', it is because, in the Israelite theocracy, he is a special representative of God.

We see this, for example, in Psalm 2, in connection with the king's enthronement: 'He said to me: You are my son, I have begotten you today' (Ps 2:7). Also in Psalm 88/89 we read: 'He (David) shall call upon me: You are my father . . . I will make him my firstborn, the highest among the kings of the earth" (Ps 89:27-28). Later the prophet Nathan will say of David's descendants: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he does evil, I will chastise him . . ." (2 Sam 7:14).

However, in the Old Testament, through the analogical and metaphorical meaning of the expression 'son of God', another one seems to penetrate, which remains obscure. Thus in the aforementioned Psalm 2, God says to the king: "You are my son: today I have begotten you" (Ps 2:7), and in Psalm 109/110: "From the womb of the dawn, as the dew, I have begotten you" (Ps 110:3).

4. One has to be aware of this biblical-Messianic background to realise that Jesus' way of acting and expressing himself indicates an awareness of a completely new reality.

Although in the synoptic gospels Jesus never calls himself Son of God (just as he does not call himself Messiah), nevertheless in various ways he affirms and makes it clear that he is the Son of God, and not in an analogical or metaphorical sense, but in a natural sense.

5. Indeed, he emphasises the exclusivity of his relationship as Son of God. He never says of God: 'our Father', but only 'my Father', or distinguishes: 'my Father, your Father'. He does not hesitate to affirm: "Everything has been given to me by my Father" (Mt 11:27).

This exclusiveness of the filial relationship with God is particularly manifested in prayer, when Jesus addresses God as Father, using the Aramaic word "abba", which indicates a particular filial closeness and in Jesus' mouth constitutes an expression of his total dedication to the Father's will: "Abba, Father! Everything is possible to you, take this cup away from me" (Mk 14:36).

Other times Jesus uses the expression "your Father"; for example: "how merciful is your Father" (Lk 6:36); "your Father who is in heaven" (Mk 11:25). In this way, he emphasises the specificity of his own relationship with the Father, while desiring that this divine fatherhood be communicated to others, as attested by the prayer of the "Our Father" that Jesus taught his apostles and followers.

6. The truth about Christ as the Son of God is the point of convergence of the entire New Testament. The Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, and the writings of the apostles, especially the Epistles of Saint Paul, offer us explicit testimony. In the present catechesis, we focus only on a few particularly significant statements, which in a certain sense "open the way" for us towards the discovery of the truth about Christ as the Son of God and bring us closer to the correct perception of this "sonship".

7. It is important to note that the conviction of the divine sonship of Jesus was confirmed by a voice from heaven during the baptism in the Jordan (cf. Mk 1:11) and on the mount of transfiguration (cf. Mk 9:7). In both cases the evangelists tell us of the proclamation made by the Father about Jesus "(his) beloved Son" (cf. Mt 3:17; Lk 3:22).

The apostles were similarly confirmed by the evil spirits that raged against Jesus: "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You have come to ruin us! I know who you are: the saint of God" (Mk 1:24). "What have you in common with me . Son of the most high God?" (Mk 5:7).

8. If we then listen to the testimony of men, the profession of Simon Peter near Caesarea Philippi deserves special attention: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mk 16:16). It should be noted that this profession was confirmed in an unusually solemn way by Jesus: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for neither flesh nor blood has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17).

This is not an isolated fact. In the same Gospel of Matthew, we read that when they saw Jesus walking on the waters of the Lake of Genezaret, calming the wind and saving Peter, the apostles prostrated themselves before the Master, saying: "You are truly the Son of God!" (Matthew 14, 33).

9. So then what Jesus did and taught nourished in the apostles the conviction that he was not only the Messiah, but also the true "Son of God". And Jesus confirmed this conviction.

It was precisely some of the statements Jesus uttered that provoked accusations of blasphemy against him. Particularly dramatic moments ensued, as the Gospel of John attests, where we read that the Jews "sought . . . to kill him: because he not only violated the Sabbath, but called God his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18).

The same problem was raised in Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin: Caiaphas, the high priest, questioned him: "I beseech thee, by the living God, that he may tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God". To this question Jesus answers simply: "You have said it", that is, "Yes, I am" (cf. Mt 26:63-64). And also in the trial before Pilate, although the charge was a different one, that of having proclaimed himself king, nevertheless the Jews repeated the fundamental indictment: "We have a law and according to this law he must die, because he became the Son of God" (John 19, 7).

10. Thus we can say that Jesus ultimately died on the cross for the truth about his divine sonship. Even though the inscription placed on the cross as an official declaration of condemnation read: "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews", nevertheless, St Matthew points out, "those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying: . If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross' (Mt 27:39-40). And again: 'He trusted in God: let him deliver him now, if he loves him. For he said: I am the Son of God!" (Mt 27:43).

This truth lies at the heart of the Golgotha event. In the past it had been the object of conviction, proclamation and testimony given by the apostles, now it has become the object of ridicule. And yet here too, the Roman centurion who oversees Jesus' agony and hears the words with which he addresses the Father, at the moment of death, gives a final surprising testimony, he a pagan, to the divine identity of Christ: "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mk 15:39).

11. The words of the Roman centurion on the fundamental truth of the Gospel and of the entire New Testament remind us of those addressed by the angel to Mary at the moment of the annunciation: "Behold, you will conceive a son, you will give birth to him, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High . . ." (Lk 1:31-32). And when Mary asks: "How is this possible?" the messenger answers her: "The Holy Spirit will descend upon you, the power of the Most High will spread its shadow over you. The one to be born will therefore be holy and called the Son of God" (Lk 1:34-35).

12. By virtue of the knowledge that Jesus had that he was the Son of God in the natural real sense of the word, he "called God his Father . . ." (Jn 5:18). With the same conviction, he did not hesitate to say to his adversaries and accusers: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am" (Jn 8:58).

In this 'I am' is the truth about the divine sonship that precedes not only the time of Abraham, but all time and all created existence.

St. John will say at the conclusion of his Gospel: "These (signs performed by Jesus) have been written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in his name" (Jn 20:31).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 13 May 1987]