Toast with water and nervousness

(Jn 2:1-11)

(All the rest of the religious scene seemed to be the result of hysterical nervousness, out of intimate dissociation).

In the Bible, the most pregnant image expressing God's love for his people is the conjugal one.

The Lord is the Bridegroom who unceasingly goes to take back the beloved, even the betrayer, because he does not allow himself to be influenced by infidelity.

In contrast, one of the characteristics of pagan beliefs was the fear of divinity, which was attempted to be exorcised through repeated practices of purification.

The obsession with such an exhausting and anxiety-provoking relationship ended up placing the affairs of the simple and the lost in a contracted dimension. A prison with no way out.

Engrossed in looking after their own interests, those who should have noticed the lack of tenderness, momentum and vitality ('wine') pretended nothing was happening.

The hall master would have the task of providing - not for himself, but - for the reception and satisfaction of the people...

Scrutinising individuals not out of friendship but only to catch their transgressions, the religious leaders were content with a certain general demeanour, but disinterested in marriage - which did not work.

They willingly organised events, but to vainly preside over the Banquet, caring only for formal minutiae that disfigured further processes, and the brio of life.

The Covenant remained devoid of momentum, dragging on wearily. It dragged itself through the fearful and devoted people only out of habit; without a life-wave.

To the caste that had seized God, the merriment, the promotion and the liking of the people was of no interest whatsoever; as if it was none of their business.

The party had become heavy entertainment, a relationship of long faces; a monotonous, dull and restless affair. As separates at home, not animated by engaging passion.

Those responsible for the hospitality and service provided by the ancient synagogue (or still Judaizing church) were perhaps absorbed in the casuistry of arrangements and how sacred vessels and altar cloths were laid - not the disappointed people.

The nuptial joy and breath of a festive table had been replaced by a heap of fulfilments without proximity; therefore meaningless.

Even today Jesus calls his own to freedom from all burdens that dampen, demean and make people incomplete (creatures diminished by some manipulators, by customs and teachers of mediocrity).

For the experts in the room, the good was still in the reassuring world without impulses that had led them to float on others, a habitat now pale and sad.

Plus, as with wine... it is well known: what tastes like old times always attracts, exerts fascination.

At all times, the retrodated has its own undeniable mellow taste, which sometimes seems to appease us.

But the most authentic is Christ.

He does not bamboozle us with the usual 'little but good' - which nails the flame of spontaneous life and excludes new or sparkling wine.

The result of extinguished religiosity is a muddled and disappointing existence, like a wedding feast without a toast - marked by deadened emotional energies.

But the Father's superabundance is not revealed in subtractions, outward details and environments unnerved by meticulousness that bring widespread discouragement.

In Jn, the Lord does not "begin" from an absorbed, pensive and neutral ritual.

He expresses himself in a Feast, where caresses must not be lacking: this is the "prototype of the signs" (Jn 2:11 Greek text).

The episode of Cana is the emblematic summary of all the prodigies in which the Redeemer's action is manifested, also thanks to our choices.

As if to say: the work of Faith is tender, sympathetic and total; not exclusive or jealous. Thus it even becomes capable of inexplicable recoveries.

Ancient religion tended to convey a shrunken and normal, individualistic and distracted model of life.

But in the nuptial and festive one of the authentic believer, perfection rhymes with making oneself available.

Only those who have the freedom to come down and pay attention to the guests at the banquet realise and are able to make them understand (even the seasoned ones: Jn 2:9) how a discoloured and insipid panorama is revived.

Even if they were newcomers, those who make themselves servants and make themselves present know where the taste of love comes from.

They understand how pale dissatisfaction and one-sided disinterest is transformed into wonder and a desire to be there.

In short, 'believing in Jesus' is not baggage that is administered from time to time, but a growing relationship - always fresh.

While the hegemons may stand in the way, in the affection of people the Lord celebrates the Wedding with-us and proclaims his Glad Tidings.

We are not under the cloak of a Judgment that conditions and plagues, to render us sterilised; devoid of fragrance.Even to community leaders - when they are strict censors - he recommends that they finally pay attention: the Father does not express himself in codes, but in the happiness of his children, even beginners.

The best is not behind us and only suitable for grey, folded people, that is to say, à la page and without construct; survivors, co-opted and veterans, or disembodied idealists. It is yet to come!

Having shaken off the heat of prejudice, we are enabled to look at situations old and new as food, and all people as unique works of the Creator, his masterpieces.

Faith brings an attitude of such Fullness, which allows one to face events in harmony and perfection.

When, on the other hand, forensic, selective frost or abstract, spineless thinking takes over, here is the (desolating) panorama of irremovable jars of cold stone - even empty of water.

Not only incapable of purifying or quenching thirst, but not even useful for washing away the most epidermal dirt, along with the sophistications.

Only invaded by cobwebs.

A culture that tends to ignore clear moral criteria also lacks the festive wine: in the confusion everyone is urged to act in an individual, autonomous manner, often solely on the perimeter of the present. The fragmentation of the community fabric is reflected in a relativism that corrodes essential values; the harmony of feelings, of spiritual states and emotions seems more important than sharing a plan for life. Even basic decisions then become fragile, exposed as they are to the possibility of revocation that is often considered an expression of freedom, whereas in fact it points to the lack of it. The exaltation of the body, which in reality banalizes sexuality and tends to make it live outside the communal context of life and love, also belongs to this culture which also lacks the wine of the feast.

Dear young people, do not fear to face these challenges! Never lose hope. Be brave, even in difficulties, remaining steadfast in your faith. You may be certain that in every circumstance you are cherished and protected by the love of God, who is our strength. God is good. For this reason it is important that the encounter with God, especially in personal and community prayer, should be constant and faithful, as is the development of your love: loving God and feeling that he loves me. Nothing can separate us from God’s love! 

Rest assured, therefore, that the Church too is close to you, supports you and never ceases to look at you with great trust. She knows that you are thirsting for values, true values on which it is worthwhile to build your home! They are the values of faith, of the person, of the family, of human relations and of justice. 

Do not lose heart in the face of these shortages that seem to extinguish the joy on the table of life. When there was no more wine at the wedding in Cana Mary told the servants to turn to Jesus and gave them a precise order: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). Treasure these words, the last to be spoken by Mary as recorded in the Gospels, as it were, a spiritual testament of hers, and you will always have the joy of the celebration: Jesus is the wine of the feast!

[Pope Benedict, Meeting with young engaged couples Ancona 11 September 2011]

1. In the episode of the wedding at Cana, St John presents Mary’s first intervention in the public life of Jesus and highlights her co-operation in her Son’s mission. 

At the beginning of the account the Evangelist tells us that “the Mother of Jesus was there” (Jn 2:1), and, as if to suggest that her presence was the reason for the couple's invitation to Jesus and his disciples (cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 21), he adds “Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples” (Jn 2:2). With these remarks, John seems to indicate that at Cana, as in the fundamental event of the Incarnation, it is Mary who introduces the Saviour. 

The meaning and role of the Blessed Virgin’s presence become evident when the wine runs out. As a skilled and wise housewife, she immediately notices and intervenes so that no one’s joy is marred and, above all, to help the newly married couple in difficulty. 

Turning to Jesus with the words: “they have no wine” (Jn 2:3), Mary expresses her concern to him about this situation, expecting him to solve it. More precisely, according to some exegetes, his Mother is expecting an extraordinary sign, since Jesus had no wine at his disposal. 

2. The choice made by Mary, who could perhaps have obtained the necessary wine elsewhere, shows the courage of her faith, since until that moment Jesus had worked no miracles, either in Nazareth or in his public life. 

At Cana, the Blessed Virgin once again showed her total availability to God. At the Annunciation she had contributed to the miracle of the virginal conception by believing in Jesus before seeing him; here, her trust in Jesus' as yet unrevealed power causes him to perform his “first sign”, the miraculous transformation of water into wine. 

In that way she precedes in faith the disciples who, as John says, would believe after the miracle: Jesus “manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (Jn 2:11). Thus, Mary strengthened their faith by obtaining this miraculous sign. 

3. Jesus’ answer to Mary’s words, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4), appears to express a refusal, as if putting his Mother’s faith to the test. 

According to one interpretation, from the moment his mission begins Jesus seems to call into question the natural relationship of son to which his mother refers. The sentence, in the local parlance, is meant to stress a distance between the persons, by excluding a communion of life. This distance does not preclude respect and esteem; the term “woman” by which he addresses his Mother is used with a nuance that will recur in the conversations with the Canaanite woman (cf. Mt 15:28), the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:21), the adulteress (cf. Jn 8:10) and Mary Magdalene (cf. Jn 20:13), in contexts that show Jesus' positive relationship with his female interlocutors. 

With the expression: “O woman, what have you to do with me?”, Jesus intends to put Mary’s co-operation on the level of salvation which, by involving her faith and hope, requires her to go beyond her natural role of mother. 

4. Of much greater import is the reason Jesus gives: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). 

Some scholars who have studied this sacred text, following St Augustine’s interpretation, identify this “hour” with the Passion event. For others, instead, it refers to the first miracle in which the prophet of Nazareth’s messianic power would be revealed. Yet others hold that the sentence is interrogative and an extension of the question that precedes it: “What have you to do with me? Has my hour not yet come?”. Jesus gives Mary to understand that henceforth he no longer depends on her, but must take the initiative for doing his Father’s work. Then Mary docilely refrains from insisting with him and instead turns to the servants, telling them to obey him. 

In any case her trust in her Son is rewarded. Jesus, whom she has left totally free to act, works the miracle, recognizing his Mother’s courage and docility: “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water’. And they filled them up to the brim” (Jn 2:7). Thus their obedience also helps to procure wine in abundance. 

Mary’s request: “Do whatever he tells you”, keeps its ever timely value for Christians of every age and is destined to renew its marvellous effect in everyone's life. It is an exhortation to trust without hesitation, especially when one does not understand the meaning or benefit of what Christ asks. 

As in the account of the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:24-26), Jesus’ apparent refusal exalts the woman’s faith, so that her Son’s words, “My hour has not yet come”, together with the working of the first miracle, demonstrate the Mother's great faith and the power of her prayer. 

The episode of the wedding at Cana urges us to be courageous in faith and to experience in our lives the truth of the Gospel words: “Ask, and it will be given you” (Mt 7:7; Lk 11:9).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 26 February 1997]

This Sunday’s Gospel presents the prodigious event that occurred at Cana, a village in Galilee, during a wedding feast also attended by Mary and Jesus, with his first disciples (cf. Jn 2:1-11). The Mother points out to her Son that the wine has run out, and, after responding that his hour had not yet come, Jesus nevertheless accepts her request and gives to the bride and groom the best wine of the entire feast. The Evangelist underlines that this was the first of the signs Jesus performed; it “manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (v. 11).

Miracles, thus, are extraordinary signs that accompany the Good News and have the purpose of causing or strengthening faith in Jesus. In the miracle performed at Cana, we are able to glimpse an act of benevolence on the part of Jesus toward the bride and groom, a sign of God’s blessing on the marriage. The love between a man and a woman is therefore a good path through which to live the Gospel, that is, to set out with joy on the path of holiness.

Yet the miracle at Cana does not pertain only to spouses. Every human person is called to encounter the Lord in his or her life. Christian faith is a gift which we receive in Baptism and which allows us to encounter God. Faith intersects times of joy and pain, of light and darkness, as in every authentic experience of love. The narrative of the wedding at Cana invites us to rediscover that Jesus does not present himself to us as a judge ready to condemn our faults, nor as a commander who imposes upon us to blindly follow his orders; he is manifest as Saviour of mankind, as brother, as our elder brother, Son of the Father: he presents himself as he who responds to the expectations and promises of joy that dwell in the heart of each one of us.

Thus we can ask ourselves: do I really know the Lord like this? Do I feel him close to me, to my life? Am I responding to him on the wavelength of that spousal love which he manifests each day to everyone, to every human being? It is about realizing that Jesus looks for us and invites us to make room in the inner reaches of our heart. In this walk of faith with him we are not left alone: we have received the gift of the Blood of Christ. The large stone jars that Jesus had filled with water in order to transform it into wine (v. 7) are a sign of the passage from the old to the new covenant: in place of the water used for the rites of purification, we have received the Blood of Jesus, poured out in a sacramental way in the Eucharist and in the bloodstained way of the Passion and of the Cross. The Sacraments, which originate from the Pascal Mystery, instill in us supernatural strength and enable us to experience the infinite mercy of God. 

May the Virgin Mary, model of meditation of the words and acts of the Lord, help us to rediscover with faith the beauty and richness of the Eucharist and of the other Sacraments, which render present God’s faithful love for us. In this way we fall ever more in love with the Lord Jesus, our Bridegroom, and we go to meet him with our lamps alight with our joyous faith, thus becoming his witnesses in the world.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 17 January 2016]

Last Sunday, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we began the journey in the liturgical time called “Ordinary”; the time to follow Jesus in his public life, in the mission for which the Father sent him into the world. In today’s Gospel (cf. Jn 2:1-11) we find the narrative of Jesus’ first miracle. The first of these prodigious signs takes place in the village of Cana, in Galilee, during a marriage celebration. It is not by chance that there is a wedding at the beginning of Jesus’ public life, because in him, God espoused humanity: this is the Good News, even though those who invited him do not yet know that the Son of God is seated at their table and that he is the true bridegroom. Indeed all the mystery of the sign of Cana is based on the presence of this divine bridegroom, Jesus, who begins to reveal himself. Jesus manifests himself as the bridegroom of the People of God, announced by the prophets, and he reveals to us the depth of the relationship which unites us to him: it is a New Covenant of love.

In the context of the Covenant, the symbol of wine, which is at the heart of this miracle, is fully understood. Just as the feast is culminating, the wine runs out. Our Lady notices this and says to Jesus: “They have no wine” (v. 3). Because it would have been bad to continue the feast with water! An embarrassment for those people. Our Lady notices and, as she is a mother, she immediately turns to Jesus. The Scriptures, especially Prophets, point to wine as a typical element of the messianic banquet (Am 9:13-14; Joel 2:24; Is 25:6). Water is necessary to live but wine expresses the abundance of the banquet and the joy of the celebration. A feast without wine? I don’t know.... By transforming into wine the water from the stone jars used “for the Jewish rites of purification” (v. 6) — it was customary: to purify oneself before entering a home — Jesus effects an eloquent sign. He transforms the Law of Moses into Gospel, bearer of joy.

And then, let us turn to Mary. The words that Mary addresses to the servants crown the spousal picture of Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:6). Today too, Our Lady tells all of us to “Do whatever he tells you”. These words are a precious legacy that our Mother left us. And indeed, the servants in Cana obey: “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the steward of the feast.’ So they took it” (vv. 7-8). Truly, a New Covenant is pledged at this wedding. And a new mission is entrusted to the servants of the Lord, namely, the entire Church: “Do whatever he tells you”. To serve the Lord means to listen and to put his Word into practice. It is the simple, essential recommendation of Jesus’ Mother. It is the programme for a Christian’s life.

I would like to highlight an experience which many of us have certainly had in life. When we are in difficult situations, when problems arise that we do not know how to resolve, when we feel a lot of anxiety and distress, when we lack joy, go to Our Lady and say: “We have no wine. The wine has run out: Look at the state I am in, look at my heart, look at my soul”. Say it to the Mother. And she will go to Jesus to say: Look at this one: he or she has no wine. And then, she will come back to us and say: “Do whatever he tells you”.

For each of us, drawing from the jar is tantamount to entrusting ourselves to the Word and to the Sacraments in order to experience God’s grace in our lives. Then we too, as the steward who tasted the water that had become wine, can say: “you have kept the good wine until now” (v. 10). Jesus always surprises us. Let us speak to the Mother so that she may speak to her Son and he will surprise us.

May she, the Holy Virgin, help us to follow his invitation: “Do whatever he tells you”, so that we can fully open up to Jesus, recognizing in everyday life the signs of his vitalizing presence.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 20 January 2019]

Sitting and keeping eyes on the accounting records, only then rich - nay, ‘sir’

(Mk 2:13-17)

At the time when Mk drafted his Gospel, in the communities of Rome a friction arose over the kind of eligible participation in meetings, and on Breaking the Bread.

Opinions conflict that confronted one against the other the group of converts from paganism and the Judaizers.

Mk narrates the episode of Levi [avoiding explicitly calling him Matthew] to accentuate his derivation - and in this way describing how Jesus himself had faced the same conflict: without any ritual or sacred attention, except to man.

The evangelist thus intended to help the faithful to understand the leap from common religiosity to Faith in the Person of Christ, and trust in the brethren, without distinction.

To this end, the Gospel passage emphasizes that the apostles themselves (v.15) had not been called by the Lord at all to the rigourous segregation practice typical of ethnic-purist beliefs.

Mk’s Good News is that life of Communion is neither a gratification, nor a recognition.

The Eucharist is not a reward for merits, nor a discrimination in favor of sacral marginalization.

Prohibition must be replaced by friendship. Intransigence must be supplanted by indulgence, hardness by condescension.

The disciples of the Lord must share existence with anyone - even public sinners like the son of Alpheus.

This without first demanding any license, nor long disciplines of the arcane - or practices that celebrate distances [such as ablutions that preceded the meal].

In the parallel text of Mt 9,9-13 the tax collector is explicitly called by name: Matthew, in order to emphasize the identical appeal to the community.

Matathiah means «man of God», «given by God»; precisely «Gift of God» [Matath-Yah].

According to the direct teaching of Jesus himself - even towards one of the apostles - the only impurity is that of not giving space to those who ask for it because they have none.

The Lord wants to share with transgressors, not because of an ideological banality: it is the invitation to recognize themselves. Not to subject ourselves to some demeaning paternalism, but because allowing ourselves to be transformed from poor or rich into 'lords' is an asset.

«And it happens that He lies [at canteen] in His House and many tax collectors and sinners were lying down with Jesus and his disciples, because they were multitudes and they followed him» (v.15).

«They were lying down at canteen»: according to the way of celebrating solemn banquets by ‘free’ men - now all free.

How wonderful, such a ‘monstrance’! A living Body of Christ that smells of concrete Union, conviviality of differences - not of rejections for transgression!

It is such all empathetic and regal the beautiful awareness that paves the way and makes credible the content of the Announcement (v.17) - although it impacts the susceptibility of the official teachers.

But Jesus inaugurates a new kind of relationship, and a New Covenant, of fruitful divergences - even within us.

It is not ‘perfection’ that makes us love the Exodus.

[Saturday 1st wk. in O.T.  January 18, 2025]

But can he participate in the rite?

(Mk 2:13-17)

Jesus does not exclude anyone from his friendship. The good proclamation of the Gospel consists precisely in this: in the offer of God's grace to the sinner! In the figure of Matthew, therefore, the Gospels propose to us a real paradox: the one who is apparently furthest from holiness can even become a model of welcoming God's mercy and allow us to glimpse its wonderful effects in his own existence.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 30 August 2006].

At the time when Mk wrote his Gospel (civil war in the year of the four Caesars) friction arose in the communities of Rome over the kind of permissible participation in meetings, and the Breaking of Bread.

Conflict of opinion pitted the group of converts from paganism and the Judaizing group against each other: the latter did not like habitual contact with those far from their mentality, but rather distinction.

Friction arose both in the assemblies and in the quality of everyday fraternal life. E.g. those from Judaism did not like to enter the homes of pagans - much less did they like to share the table with the (supposedly) defiled.

These church brethren were accustomed to still sacredly consider it profane to have any contiguity with anyone, or even to accept the judged infected.

The devout conception of moral subdivisions led them to believe that it was necessary to keep newcomers at a distance, under the simple suspicion that they had perhaps not adapted to the (as yet undemythologised) identity weight of Semitic traditions.

The evangelist narrates the episode of Levi [avoiding explicitly calling it Matthew] to accentuate its paradoxically cultic and Semitic derivation.

Thus Mk wants to describe how Jesus himself faced the same conflict as above: without any ritual or sacral attention, except to man.

In short, according to the Master, in the journey of Faith, the relationship with the distant and different, and our own hardships or hidden abysses, have something to tell us.

Mk intended to help the Judeo-Christian faithful to understand the leap of Faith in itinere - compared with common religiosity, full of absurd beliefs, separations, squeamish attitudes.

The discriminating opening is hope in life itself, which comes and calls to surrender artificial positions, so here is the possibility of inserting the teaching, the story, the Person of Christ.

He leads to existential reliance, to global trust; to believing the story of the public sinner, who is everyone, to be his own.

To proceed on such a Path one starts from the unexpressed energies of one's own primordial states, recognised, assumed, made personally fruitful and dilated in one's brothers and sisters; without distinction.

To this end, the Gospel passage emphasises that in its time the apostles (v.15) had by no means been called by the Lord to the same rigorous practice of segregation typical of ethno-purist beliefs, which nevertheless prevailed around them.

Therefore, the believers of the late 60s did not have to keep themselves apart: rather, they needed to learn how to break the isolation of the norms of social and cultic conformity.

The Father is Friendly Presence.

The Glad Tidings of that pericope is that the life of fraternity and coexistence is not gratification or recognition.

The Eucharist is therefore not a reward for merit, nor a discriminator in favour of sacred marginalisation - or adult casuistry.

God does not complicate our existence, burdening it with too many obligations and duties that weigh down our days and our whole life; on the contrary, He sweeps them away.

For this reason, the figure of the new Rabbi touched people's hearts, without borders.

In short, for us too, prohibition must be replaced by friendship. Intransigence must be supplanted by indulgence; harshness by condescension.

In such an adventure we are not called to forms of disassociation: we start with ourselves.

Thus one arrives without hysteria at micro-relationships, and without ideological charges, at the current even devout mentality.

No more bogus goals, superficial objectives, obsessions and useless reasoning, nor mechanical habits, ancient or others' [never reworked in themselves].

With such an experience of inner excavation and identification, women and men of Faith must share life with anyone - even with known transgressors like the son of Alphaeus; seeing themselves in them, laying down artifices.

Without first demanding any license, nor long disciplines of the arcane or pious practices that celebrate detachment, such as the ablutions that preceded the meal.

In the parallel text of Matthew 9:9-13, the tax collector is explicitly called by name: Matthew. This is to emphasise the same content - the identical call to community. 

Matathiah in fact means 'man of God', 'given by God'; precisely 'Gift of God' (Matath-Yah) [despite the anger of the official authorities].

According to the direct teaching of Jesus himself - even with regard to one of the apostles - the only impurity the Father does not tolerate is that of not giving space to those who ask for it because they have none.

The Lord wants full communion with transgressors, not because of an ideological banality: it is the invitation to acknowledge, confess, agree, share.

Not to subject his intimates to some form of humiliating paternalism: knowing oneself to be incomplete and allowing oneself to be transformed from poor or rich into 'lords' is a resource.

"And it came to pass that He reclined at Canteen in His House, and many publicans and sinners were reclining with Jesus and His disciples, for they were multitudes and followed Him" (v.15 Greek text).

"They were stretched out [at table]": in keeping with the way solemn banquets were celebrated by 'free' men - now all free.

How wonderful, such a 'monstrance'! A living Body of Christ that smells of concrete union, conviviality of differences - not rejection by transgression!

It is this empathetic and regal beautiful awareness that smoothes out and makes credible the content of the proclamation (v.17) - even though it strikes the susceptibility of the official teachers.

From now on, the division between believers and non-believers will be far more humanising than between "born again" and not, or pure and impure.

A whole other carat - the principle of a saved life that unfolds and overflows beyond the clubs.

Christ also calls, welcomes and redeems the Levi in us, that is, the more rubric - or worn-out - side of our personality.

Even our unbearable or rightly hated character: the rigid one and the - equally our - rubricist one.

By reintegrating opposites, it will even make them flourish: they will become inclusive, indispensable, allied and intimately winning aspects of the future testimony, empowered with genuine love.

Being considered strong, capable of leading, observant, excellent, pristine, magnificent, performing, extraordinary, glorious, unfailing... damages people.

It puts a mask on us, makes us one-sided; it takes away understanding. It floats the character we are sitting in, above reality.

For one's growth and blossoming, more important than always winning is to learn to accept, to surrender to the point of capitulation; to make oneself considered deficient, inadequate.

Says the Tao Tê Ching [XLV]: 'Great uprightness is like sinuousness, great skill is like ineptitude, great eloquence is like stammering'.

The artificial norm (unfortunately, sometimes also the unwise leadership) makes one live according to success and external glory, obtained through compartmentalisation.

Jesus inaugurates a new kind of relationship, and 'covenants' of fruitful divergence - a New Covenant, even within ourselves.

Here, the Word alone 'Follow Me' (v.14) [not 'others'] creates everything.

The Master's Wisdom and the multifaceted art of Nature [exemplified in the crystalline wisdom of the Tao] lead all to be incisive and human.

It is not 'perfection' that makes us love Exodus.

To internalise and live the message:

What is your spiritual and human strength? How was it generated?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing the series of portraits of the Twelve Apostles that we began a few weeks ago, let us reflect today on Matthew. To tell the truth, it is almost impossible to paint a complete picture of him because the information we have of him is scarce and fragmentary. What we can do, however, is to outline not so much his biography as, rather, the profile of him that the Gospel conveys.

In the meantime, he always appears in the lists of the Twelve chosen by Jesus (cf. Mt 10: 3; Mk 3: 18; Lk 6: 15; Acts 1: 13).

His name in Hebrew means "gift of God". The first canonical Gospel, which goes under his name, presents him to us in the list of the Twelve, labelled very precisely: "the tax collector" (Mt 10: 3).

Thus, Matthew is identified with the man sitting at the tax office whom Jesus calls to follow him: "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me'. And he rose and followed him" (Mt 9: 9). Mark (cf. 2: 13-17) and Luke (cf. 5: 27-30), also tell of the calling of the man sitting at the tax office, but they call him "Levi".

To imagine the scene described in Mt 9: 9, it suffices to recall Caravaggio's magnificent canvas, kept here in Rome at the Church of St Louis of the French.

A further biographical detail emerges from the Gospels: in the passage that immediately precedes the account of the call, a miracle that Jesus worked at Capernaum is mentioned (cf. Mt 9: 1-8; Mk 2: 1-12) and the proximity to the Sea of Galilee, that is, the Lake of Tiberias (cf. Mk 2: 13-14).

It is possible to deduce from this that Matthew exercised the function of tax collector at Capernaum, which was exactly located "by the sea" (Mt 4: 13), where Jesus was a permanent guest at Peter's house.

On the basis of these simple observations that result from the Gospel, we can advance a pair of thoughts.

The first is that Jesus welcomes into the group of his close friends a man who, according to the concepts in vogue in Israel at that time, was regarded as a public sinner.

Matthew, in fact, not only handled money deemed impure because of its provenance from people foreign to the People of God, but he also collaborated with an alien and despicably greedy authority whose tributes moreover, could be arbitrarily determined.

This is why the Gospels several times link "tax collectors and sinners" (Mt 9: 10; Lk 15: 1), as well as "tax collectors and prostitutes" (Mt 21: 31).

Furthermore, they see publicans as an example of miserliness (cf. Mt 5: 46: they only like those who like them), and mention one of them, Zacchaeus, as "a chief tax collector, and rich" (Lk 19: 2), whereas popular opinion associated them with "extortioners, the unjust, adulterers" (Lk 18: 11).

A first fact strikes one based on these references: Jesus does not exclude anyone from his friendship. Indeed, precisely while he is at table in the home of Matthew-Levi, in response to those who expressed shock at the fact that he associated with people who had so little to recommend them, he made the important statement: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mk 2: 17).

The good news of the Gospel consists precisely in this: offering God's grace to the sinner!

Elsewhere, with the famous words of the Pharisee and the publican who went up to the Temple to pray, Jesus actually indicates an anonymous tax collector as an appreciated example of humble trust in divine mercy: while the Pharisee is boasting of his own moral perfection, the "tax collector... would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!'".

And Jesus comments: "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk 18: 13-14).

Thus, in the figure of Matthew, the Gospels present to us a true and proper paradox: those who seem to be the farthest from holiness can even become a model of the acceptance of God's mercy and offer a glimpse of its marvellous effects in their own lives.

St John Chrysostom makes an important point in this regard: he notes that only in the account of certain calls is the work of those concerned mentioned. Peter, Andrew, James and John are called while they are fishing, while Matthew, while he is collecting tithes.

These are unimportant jobs, Chrysostom comments, "because there is nothing more despicable than the tax collector, and nothing more common than fishing" (In Matth. Hom.: PL 57, 363). Jesus' call, therefore, also reaches people of a low social class while they go about their ordinary work.

Another reflection prompted by the Gospel narrative is that Matthew responds instantly to Jesus' call: "he rose and followed him". The brevity of the sentence clearly highlights Matthew's readiness in responding to the call. For him it meant leaving everything, especially what guaranteed him a reliable source of income, even if it was often unfair and dishonourable. Evidently, Matthew understood that familiarity with Jesus did not permit him to pursue activities of which God disapproved.

The application to the present day is easy to see: it is not permissible today either to be attached to things that are incompatible with the following of Jesus, as is the case with riches dishonestly achieved.

Jesus once said, mincing no words: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" (Mt 19: 21).

This is exactly what Matthew did: he rose and followed him! In this "he rose", it is legitimate to read detachment from a sinful situation and at the same time, a conscious attachment to a new, upright life in communion with Jesus.

Lastly, let us remember that the tradition of the ancient Church agrees in attributing to Matthew the paternity of the First Gospel. This had already begun with Bishop Papias of Hierapolis in Frisia, in about the year 130.

He writes: "Matthew set down the words (of the Lord) in the Hebrew tongue and everyone interpreted them as best he could" (in Eusebius of Cesarea, Hist. Eccl. III, 39, 16).

Eusebius, the historian, adds this piece of information: "When Matthew, who had first preached among the Jews, decided also to reach out to other peoples, he wrote down the Gospel he preached in his mother tongue; thus, he sought to put in writing, for those whom he was leaving, what they would be losing with his departure" (ibid., III, 24, 6).

The Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew or Aramaic is no longer extant, but in the Greek Gospel that we possess we still continue to hear, in a certain way, the persuasive voice of the publican Matthew, who, having become an Apostle, continues to proclaim God's saving mercy to us. And let us listen to St Matthew's message, meditating upon it ever anew also to learn to stand up and follow Jesus with determination.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 30 August 2006]

5. Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows "what is in man". He alone knows it.

So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life.

[Pope John Paul II, homily at the beginning of his pontificate 22 October 1978]

With his mercy Jesus also chooses apostles 'from the worst', from among sinners and the corrupt. But it is up to them to preserve "the memory of this mercy", remembering "from where one has been chosen", without getting head over heels or thinking of making a career as officials, pastoral planners and businessmen. It is the concrete testimony of Matthew's conversion that Pope Francis re-proposed while celebrating Mass at Santa Marta on Friday 21 September, on the feast day of the apostle and evangelist.

"In the Collect Prayer we prayed to the Lord and said that in his plan of mercy he chose Matthew, the publican, to constitute him an apostle," the Pontiff immediately recalled, who indicated as a key to reading "three words: plan of mercy, choose-choose, constitute".

"As he was leaving," Francis explained, referring precisely to the Gospel passage from Matthew (9:9-13), "Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me. And he got up and followed him. He was a publican, that is, a corrupt man, because for money he betrayed his country. A traitor to his people: the worst".

In fact, the Pope pointed out, some might object that 'Jesus has no common sense in choosing people': 'why did he choose out of so many others' this person 'from the worst, from nothing, from the most despised place'? Moreover, the Pontiff explained, in the same way the Lord "chose the Samaritan woman to go and announce that he was the messiah: a woman rejected by the people because she was not really a saint; and he chose many other sinners and made them apostles". And then, he added, 'in the life of the Church, so many Christians, so many saints who were chosen from the lowest'.

Francis recalled that 'this consciousness that we Christians should have - from where I was chosen, from where I was chosen to be a Christian - must remain throughout life, remain there and have the memory of our sins, the memory that the Lord had mercy on my sins and chose me to be a Christian, to be an apostle'.

So 'the Lord chooses'. The Collect prayer is clear: 'Lord, you chose the publican Matthew and made him an apostle': that is, he insisted, 'from the worst to the highest place'. In response to this call, the Pope noted, 'what did Matthew do? Did he dress up? Did he begin to say 'I am the prince of the apostles, with you', with the apostles? Am I in charge here? No! He worked all his life for the Gospel, how patiently he wrote the Gospel in Aramaic'. Matthew, the Pontiff explained, 'always had in mind where he was chosen from: from the lowest'.

The fact is, the Pope reiterated, that "when the apostle forgets his origins and begins to make a career, he distances himself from the Lord and becomes an official; who does a lot of good, perhaps, but is not an apostle". And so "he will be incapable of transmitting Jesus; he will be a fixer of pastoral plans, of many things; but in the end, a businessman, a businessman of the kingdom of God, because he has forgotten from where he was chosen".

For this reason, Francis said, it is important to have 'the memory, always, of our origins, of the place where the Lord has looked at me; that fascination of the Lord's gaze that called me to be a Christian, to be an apostle. This memory must accompany the life of the apostle and of every Christian".

"In fact, we are always used to looking at the sins of others: look at this, look at that, look at that other," the Pope continued. Instead, "Jesus told us: 'please do not look at the mote in other people's eyes; look at what you have in your heart'". But, the Pontiff insisted, "it is more fun to speak ill of others: it is a beautiful thing, it seems". So much so that "to speak ill of others" seems a bit "like honey candy, which is very good: you take one, it's good; you take two, it's good; three... you take half a kilo and your stomach hurts and you're sick".

Instead, Francis suggested, 'speak ill of yourself, accuse yourself, remembering your sins, remembering where the Lord has chosen you from. You were chosen, you were chosen. He took you by the hand and brought you here. When the Lord chose you, he did not do things by halves: he chose you for something great, always'.

'Being a Christian,' he said, 'is a great, beautiful thing. We are the ones who stray and want to stay in the middle, because that is very difficult; and to negotiate with the Lord' saying: 'Lord, no, only up to here'. But "the Lord is patient, the Lord can tolerate things: he is patient, he waits for us. But we lack generosity: he does not. He always takes you from the lowest to the highest. So he did with Matthew and he did with all of us and he will continue to do". 

Referring to the apostle, the Pontiff explained how he 'felt something strong, so strong, that he left the love of his life on the table: money'. Matthew "left the corruption of his heart to follow Jesus. Jesus' gaze, strong: "Follow me!". And he left", despite being "so attached" to money. "And surely - there was no telephone at that time - he must have sent someone to say to his friends, to those of the clique, of the group of publicans: 'come and have lunch with me, for I will make feast for the master'".

So, as the Gospel passage tells us, 'they were all at table, these: the worst of the worst in the society of that time. And Jesus with them. Jesus did not go to lunch with the righteous, with those who felt righteous, with the doctors of the law, at that time. Once, twice he also went with the latter, but at that moment he went with them, with that syndicate of publicans'.

And, Francis continued, 'the doctors of the law were scandalised. They called the disciples and said, 'how is it that your master does this, with these people? He becomes impure!": eating with an impure person infects you, you are no longer pure". Hearing this, it is Jesus himself who "says this third word: 'Go and learn what it means: 'mercy I want and not sacrifices'". For "God's mercy seeks all, forgives all. Only, he asks you to say: 'Yes, help me'. Only that".

"When the apostles went among sinners, think of Paul, in the community of Corinth, some were scandalised," the Pope explained. They would say, "But why do you go to those people who are pagans, they are sinful people, why do you go there?" Jesus' answer is clear: "Because it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick: 'Mercy I want and not sacrifices'".

"Matthew chose! He always chooses Jesus," the Pontiff relaunched. The Lord chooses "through people, through situations or directly". Matthew is "constituted apostle: he who constitutes in the Church and gives the mission is Jesus. The Apostle Matthew and many others recalled their origins: sinners, corrupt. Why? Because of mercy. For the design of mercy".

Francis recognised that 'understanding the Lord's mercy is a mystery; but the greatest, most beautiful mystery is the heart of God. If you want to get right to the heart of God, take the path of mercy and allow yourself to be treated with mercy'. This is exactly the story of "Matthew, chosen from the money-changer's desk where taxes were paid. Chosen from below. Established in the highest place. Why? For mercy'. In this perspective, the Pope concluded, "we learn what 'mercy I want, and not sacrifice' means".

[Pope Francis, at St. Martha's, Osservatore Romano, 22.09.2018]

Religiosity and Faith: unusual crossroads of Tenderness

(Mk 2:1-12)

Jesus teaches and heals. He does not announce the Sovereign of religions, but a Father - attractive figure, who neither threatens nor punishes, but welcomes, dialogues, forgives and makes us grow.

The opposite of what the official guides conveyed, linked to the idea of an archaic, suspicious and prejudiced deity, which discriminated between friends and enemies.

God expresses himself not in oppressive forms, but in the way of the family and interhuman Covenant: He doesn’t enjoy the perfect, sterilized and pure, but offers to all his Love without requirements.

In fact, imperfection is not an expression of sin, and in any case sin is not an absolute force (v.7).

The Lord’s co-workers bring to Him all the paralytics, that is, those who are stuck and continue to stay in their stretchers - where perhaps those of the common opinion have laid them down.

They are people who in life do not seem to proceed either in the direction of the Eternal, nor go to others. They cannot even meet themselves.

Only personal contact with Christ can untie these vegetating corpses from their depressing pond.

God’s friends «come bringing to him a paralytic supported by four» (Mk 2:3): they come from everywhere, from the four cardinal points; from very different origins, even opposite - that you do not expect.

They do everything to lead the needy to the Master, but sometimes they find themselves in front of a waterproof crowd, which does not allow a direct personal relationship (vv.3-4).

What to do? A dismantling action. Work pleasing to the Father - and which the Son evaluates as an expression of Faith (v.5)!

Faith that thinks and believes «an open world that makes room for everyone» [FT n.155].

The "synagogues" unbearable, on the contrary, promote a “binary division” [FT n.156] that attempts to «classify».

In short, there are refractory clubs that claim to appropriate poor Jesus. Therefore their "headquarters" must be uncovered and opened wide (v.4) - with extreme decision, in order not to make life pale.

We note that not the right stages, but only the unusual initiative overcomes the pond of the structures taken hostage - where you should just line up, wait for the turn, settle satisfied... and doze off.

The impetus for the demands of full, insightful life can and must overcome every sense of false collective compactness.

No sign of joy from the authorities (vv.7-8) who only draw negative diagnoses - instead people are enthusiastic (v.12).

Mk’s passage makes us understand that the ‘paralytic’ problem is not his discomfort, the sense of oppression, the apparent misfortune.

These are not the ruptures in the relationship with life and with God.

On the contrary, the impediment becomes a paradoxical reason for seeking therapy, and research of ‘vis-à-vis’.

The eccentric configurations - considered miserable - in fact contain secret doors, immense virtues, and the cure itself.

Even, they drive towards a new existence. They urge us, and oblige us to a personal relationship with our Lord. Almost looking for the Resemblance.

In short, we are called to choose in a very unusual way, compared to clichés.

And according to the Gospels the initiative of personal Faith is the decisive fork in the way - road of the impelling and universal desire to live completely.

Unusual crossroads of the Tenderness and Faith.

[Friday 1st wk. in O.T.  January 17, 2025]