Apr 23, 2026 Written by 
Croce e Vuoto

How not to become a non-people?

How not to become a non-people?

Divine in Human: strong, dignified and fraternal gestures, not repertoire

(Mt 13:54-58)

 

«Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him. When we speak of this task in which we share by virtue of our baptism, it is no reason to boast. It poses a question to us that makes us both joyful and anxious: are we truly God’s shrine in and for the world? Do we open up the pathway to God for others or do we rather conceal it? Have not we – the people of God – become to a large extent a people of unbelief and distance from God? Is it perhaps the case that the West, the heartlands of Christianity, are tired of their faith, bored by their history and culture, and no longer wish to know faith in Jesus Christ? We have reason to cry out at this time to God: “Do not allow us to become a ‘non-people’! Make us recognize you again! Truly, you have anointed us with your love, you have poured out your Holy Spirit upon us. Grant that the power of your Spirit may become newly effective in us, so that we may bear joyful witness to your message!».

[Pope Benedict, homily 21 April 2011]

 

The Divine in the Human makes itself Present in the intense, welcoming relationships that open up inexplicable recoveries; then it leaks out in the strong, dignified and fraternal gestures - not repertoire.

 

In today's Gospel passage there is a significant difference with some earlier translations (vv.54.58).

The Lord helps us to grow with true «wonders», not with “miracles” [punctual events] but by working within, changing the shrunken heart and improving us with his Love.

The «prophetic» has nothing to do with the sensational.

Only in this way will one not grow weary of the good that is not brilliant; nor will one despise the existence of ordinary people because they lack prestige and titles.

Jesus' powerful works unfold over time - by educating, not impressing and subduing.

His 'signs', those inexplicable recoveries he performs, are the calibre and fruit of a growing Encounter-through-the-Way.

Work of Art (far better than accidental shortcuts) is for the profiteer to become righteous, the doubter to become more confident, the unhappy to resume hope.

It takes time, though astonishment can be immediate.

The Mystery of the power of the new God announced by Christ is hidden in 'Someone inside something'.

It is the web where the Signs of a great Reality nestle, to which despite the difficulties we have access and in which we participate.

 

Such is also the true craftsmanship of Joseph. The Person and Family of Jesus tell of a Father who does not fear that his holiness is endangered by contact with the world.

The higher Mystery is already in the common man.

So the conflict is not with outsiders, but with the usual stubborn 'neighbours' full of prejudice - habitual and habituated, who already know how it ends... But they inaugurate nothing.

Instead, the Son is no longer a “local child”: a quiet programme of the «village», the product of normal archaic ideas or of already transmitted intentions, which no Encounter will be able to arouse and move.

In his homeland, the Master does not astound as elsewhere: He encounters a diffidence that wears down of days all counted that protrusion of the believing that would fill indigence.

Even Joseph the manufacturer understands what cuts through the impossible Dream of Novelty, in Faith: our boasting is not from social status, nor from established gender.

It grasps its specific weight not in the folklore, but precisely in regenerating - through the incessant reactivation of intrinsic interest.

In this way, Faith is not rhetoric. With Jesus and Mary at his side, Joseph realizes that the state of doubt is more fruitful than conviction.

 

How does one become, then, a non-people?

Certainties leave no breathing space for the inventiveness of unusual doing, nor for the feeling or growth of strong Life, not disfigured by the repertoire of expected accomplishments.

 

 

To internalize and live the message:

 

How does your ordinary existence redeem the vicissitudes of shaky people?

How do you live the more of the Faith over habits and commonplaces?

 

 

[St  Joseph the Worker, May 1st]

134 Last modified on Thursday, 23 April 2026 13:59
Rate this item
(0 votes)
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Latest from don Giuseppe Nespeca

Next
Vine and branches: a new Mysticism »
back to top
His slumber causes us to wake up. Because to be disciples of Jesus, it is not enough to believe God is there, that he exists, but we must put ourselves out there with him; we must also raise our voice with him. Hear this: we must cry out to him. Prayer is often a cry: “Lord, save me!” (Pope Francis)
Il suo sonno provoca noi a svegliarci. Perché, per essere discepoli di Gesù, non basta credere che Dio c’è, che esiste, ma bisogna mettersi in gioco con Lui, bisogna anche alzare la voce con Lui. Sentite questo: bisogna gridare a Lui. La preghiera, tante volte, è un grido: “Signore, salvami!” (Papa Francesco)
May we obtain this gift [the full unity of all believers in Christ] through the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are remembered by the Church of Rome on this day that commemorates their martyrdom and therefore their birth to life in God. For the sake of the Gospel they accepted suffering and death, and became sharers in the Lord's Resurrection […] Today the Church again proclaims their faith. It is our faith (Pope John Paul II)
Ci ottengano questo dono [la piena unità di tutti i credenti in Cristo] gli Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, che la Chiesa di Roma ricorda in questo giorno, nel quale si fa memoria del loro martirio, e perciò della loro nascita alla vita in Dio. Per il Vangelo essi hanno accettato di soffrire e di morire e sono diventati partecipi della risurrezione del Signore […] Oggi la Chiesa proclama nuovamente la loro fede. E' la nostra fede (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
God's grace does not suppress or suffocate the freedom of those who face martyrdom; on the contrary it enriches and exalts them: the Martyr is an exceedingly free person, free as regards power, as regards the world; a free person [Pope Benedict]
La grazia di Dio non sopprime o soffoca la libertà di chi affronta il martirio, ma al contrario la arricchisce e la esalta: il martire è una persona sommamente libera, libera nei confronti del potere, del mondo; una persona libera [Papa Benedetto]
For Jesus, faith has a decisive importance for the purposes of salvation. St Paul will develop Christ's teaching when, in conflict with those who wished to base the hope of salvation on observance of the Jewish law, he forcefully affirms that faith in Christ is the only source of salvation: "We hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law" (Rom 3:28) [John Paul II]
Ai fini della salvezza, la fede ha per Gesù un'importanza decisiva. San Paolo svilupperà l'insegnamento di Cristo quando, in contrasto con quanti volevano fondare la speranza di salvezza sull'osservanza della legge giudaica, affermerà con forza che la fede in Cristo è la sola fonte di salvezza: "Noi riteniamo, infatti, che l'uomo è giustificato per la fede, indipendentemente dalle opere della legge" (Rm 3,28) [Giovanni Paolo II]
Jesus did not shun contact with that man; on the contrary, impelled by deep participation in his condition, he stretched out his hand and touched the man — overcoming the legal prohibition [Pope Benedict]
Gesù non sfugge al contatto con quell’uomo, anzi, spinto da intima partecipazione alla sua condizione, stende la mano e lo tocca – superando il divieto legale [Papa Benedetto]
In the heart of every man there is the desire for a house [...] My friends, this brings about a question: “How do we build this house?” (Pope Benedict)
Nel cuore di ogni uomo c'è il desiderio di una casa [...] Amici miei, una domanda si impone: "Come costruire questa casa?" (Papa Benedetto)
Every time we open ourselves to God's call, we prepare, like John, the way of the Lord among men (John Paul II)

Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 1 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 2 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 3 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 4 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 5 Dialogo e Solstizio I fiammiferi di Maria

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.