Incarnation. Security is in the insecurity: Coming, Prayer and turning, amid roaring waves.

(Lk 21:25-28.34-36)

What kind of Coming is it?

And why do we want the Lord to make himself present in our lives?

Are we waiting for a shortcut - an act of power - that will even out the stormy sea?

Indeed, it does not seem in the style of Good News to speak of "the roar of the sea and the billows" or to reiterate: "watch over the weighed down hearts".

But there is a wise way to understand these expressions, which is not the one already placed in the moral paradigm of religious cultures.

In the observant tradition of all peoples, insecurity is perceived as a disadvantage.

According to commonplaces, spiritual masters note progress when a soul with a mixed and disordered existence overcomes its turmoil in favour of order and tranquillity.

But the experience in the Spirit is more intimately restless than overt. Nor is it the same as a generic 'spiritual life' animated by a devout sense that detaches itself from transversal instances, for an ideal of 'consistent calm'.

Thus conditioned by a standardised indoctrination to know how to 'be in society', we wait to piously meet our Lord in dark times, but for Him to restore our fortunes.

We wait for him in times of economic troubles, so that he may give us an advantage with a win; in humiliating events, so that he may make us rise again.

In loneliness, that he may bring the right person together. 

In dangers... wishing that He at least conveys strength to turn the situation around.

And in sickness, we imagine that He restores youthful vigour.

So in babel, that (finally, at least) He communicates relaxation - better, triumph.

In the Gospels Jesus tries to make his own understand where and when to authentically encounter God.

But in the expectation of his 'Promises' - and that he will even manifest himself as 'our-Justice' [First Reading] - we find it difficult to proceed beyond the external.

We also project our ideas into religion - but Faith detaches itself from them. It evaluates with an opposite mentality.

For example, it happens that we fail to meet a friend because we get the time and place of the appointment wrong.

It also happens with God.

The insecurity proclaimed in the Gospels resembles "the roar of the sea and the billows" (v.25)... but it is glad tidings!

Although we tend to give a sense of permanence to what we have experienced and thought we 'were', time and again we experience that our certainties change - just like the waves.

Jesus teaches that true self-doubt paradoxically arises from some self-identification of ours that attempts (comically) to balance the waves of life.

Instead, the essence of each one springs from a living Source, which does what it must every day.

Habits, views, reassuring ways of being with people and dealing with situations, cut off the richness of our precious nuances; much of our very faces.

And births and rejuvenations that belong to us.

The inner impact of the many solicitations of this cosmic [and personal] Core insinuates an inevitable and fertile imbalance, which we risk, however, interpreting negatively; precisely, as annoyance.

In the mind of the man who dodges oscillations, that kind of 'wave' that comes to make us reason about ancient things is immediately identified as an identity danger.

Providence itself - the 'wave' that sees ahead - is perhaps branded with disquiet, even by those who advise us.

In the ideal man as chiselled by normalising moralisms, the swampy 'water' of drives is the one that dirties and drags down. And Heaven would always be clear and clean 'above' the earth.

Instead, it is often the thought, a cultural identification upstream, that produces insecurity and torment.

Prejudice overwhelms us far more than objective reality, which comes in to refresh our souls and make them as light as the cruelly embodied 'sea foam'.

For an evolution towards improvement, Jesus wants a disciple who is permeable to the novelties that shake the old 'status'.

The lack of doubt that the Lord intends to convey does not rhyme with the mechanism of habits.

The certainty he wishes to give us is not the false one - of the lazy immutability of things that are always the same.

The state of defensiveness and 'prevention' may be characteristic of a life spent in self-interested withdrawal, dribbling away the shocks - not a figure of Life in the Spirit.

Today's Gospel wishes believers to be highly critical, and even insecure: it does not say "you must be like this", nor "you are this" - "we have made it, why not you?".

[St Benedict's identity is not that of St Francis, although they are both deeply rooted (like circumstances) in the same Source; original Source, however of gushing water].

We must dive into the 'waves', we must know these 'waves'; for our stationary point is not in the external things or things that we showcase, but in the Scattering of Being.

The Scrutiny of appearances condemns us to the worst of fluctuations, to the least advantageous of insecurities: to believe that by maintaining (e.g.) economic levels or prestige, reaching that goal, climbing the scoreboard, etc., we will avoid frustrations, avoid anguish, finally be without conflict and even be happy.

But in doing so, our soul is not strengthened, nor does it fly to territories as yet unknown; rather, it rests in the enclosure of the most homologising barnyard.

Instead, we are alive, and the youthfulness that conquers the Kingdom comes from the chaos of upheaval.

Missionaries are animated by this one certainty: the best stability is instability: that "roar of the sea and the waves" where no wave resembles another.

In short, based on the Word of God, perhaps even the liturgical colour purple should take on a reinterpretation - much more vital, biting and profound than the one we thought we understood.

To internalise and live the message:

Advent: why do you want the Lord to come and make Himself Present in your life?

Today the Church begins a new liturgical year, a journey that is further enriched by the Year of Faith, 50 years after the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The first Tempo of this itinerary is Advent, formed, in the Roman Rite, by the four weeks preceding the Christmas of the Lord, that is, the mystery of the Incarnation. The word 'Advent' means 'coming' or 'presence'. In the ancient world it indicated the visit of the king or emperor to a province; in Christian language it refers to the coming of God, to his presence in the world; a mystery that envelops the cosmos and history in its entirety, but which knows two culminating moments: the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. The first is the Incarnation; the second is the glorious return at the end of time. These two moments, which chronologically are distant - and we are not given to know how far apart -, in depth touch each other, because with his death and resurrection Jesus has already achieved that transformation of man and the cosmos that is the final goal of creation. But before the end, it is necessary that the Gospel be proclaimed to all nations, says Jesus in the Gospel of St Mark (cf. Mk 13:10). The coming of the Lord continues, the world must be penetrated by his presence. And this permanent coming of the Lord in the proclamation of the Gospel continually requires our collaboration; and the Church, which is like the Betrothed, the promised Bride of the crucified and risen Lamb of God (cf. Rev 21:9), in communion with her Lord collaborates in this coming of the Lord, in which his glorious return already begins.

This is what the Word of God calls us to today, outlining the course of action to follow in order to be ready for the coming of the Lord. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says to the disciples: "Let not your hearts be heavy with dissipation, drunkenness, and the cares of life ... keep watch and pray at all times" (Lk 21:34, 36). Therefore, sobriety and prayer. And the Apostle Paul adds the invitation to "grow and abound in love" among ourselves and towards all, to make our hearts firm and blameless in holiness (cf. 1 Thess 3:12-13). In the midst of the upheavals of the world, or the deserts of indifference and materialism, Christians receive salvation from God and bear witness to it with a different way of living, like a city set on a mountain. "In those days," announces the prophet Jeremiah, "Jerusalem shall live quietly, and shall be called: Lord-our-justice" (33:16). The community of believers is a sign of God's love, of his righteousness that is already present and at work in history but not yet fully realised, and therefore must always be awaited, invoked, sought with patience and courage.

The Virgin Mary perfectly embodies the spirit of Advent, made up of listening to God, of a deep desire to do his will, of joyful service to one's neighbour. Let us allow ourselves to be guided by her, so that the God who comes may not find us closed or distracted, but may, in each of us, extend a little of his reign of love, justice and peace.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 2 December 2012]

Watch and pray at all times, that you may have the strength . . . to appear before the Son of Man" (Lk 21:36).

These words of Christ, taken from the Gospel of Luke, introduce us into the profound meaning of the Liturgy we are celebrating. On this first Sunday of Advent, which marks the beginning of the second year of immediate preparation for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, the exhortation to watch and pray, in order to be ready for the encounter with the Lord, resounds more vividly than ever.

The thought goes first of all to the meeting next Christmas, when once again we will kneel before the cradle of the newborn Saviour. But the mind also races towards the great date of the Year 2000, when the whole Church will relive the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word with a very special intensity. Towards that goal we are invited to quicken our pace, letting ourselves be guided, especially during the present liturgical year, by the light of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, "among the primary commitments in preparation for the Jubilee is the rediscovery of the presence and action of the Spirit, who acts in the Church" (Tertio millennio adveniente, 45).

In this perspective, the Great Jubilee Committee continues to carry out its work with commendable commitment. Its valuable ecclesial service deserves to be encouraged, especially at this stage so close to the historic deadline. Thanks to the initiatives of animation and coordination put in place by this central body, the path that will lead the People of God to cross the threshold of the third millennium can be better directed and stimulated.

6. "Behold, days will come . . . in which I will fulfil the promises of good that I have made" (Jer 33:14). Through the action of the Spirit, the Lord leads the history of salvation through the centuries to its supreme fulfilment.

"Send forth thy Spirit and renew the face of the earth!" As upon Mary, Virgin of Advent, send your Spirit upon us. Send your Spirit, O Lord, upon the city of Rome and renew its face! Send your Spirit upon the whole world as it prepares to enter the third millennium of the Christian era.

Help us to welcome, like Mary, the gift of your divine presence and protection. Help us to be docile to the promptings of the Spirit, that we may proclaim with courage and apostolic ardour the Word who became flesh and came to dwell among us: Jesus Christ, the God made Man, who redeemed us with his death and resurrection. Amen!

[Pope John Paul II, homily 30 November 1997]

The Gospel of today's Liturgy, the first Sunday of Advent, that is, the first Sunday of preparation for Christmas, speaks to us of the coming of the Lord at the end of time. Jesus announces bleak events and tribulations, but precisely at this point he invites us not to be afraid. Why? Because all will be well? No, but because He will come. Jesus will return, Jesus will come, He has promised it. He says: "Arise and lift up your heads, for your deliverance is at hand" (Lk 21:28). It is good to hear this Word of encouragement: to rise up and raise our heads because it is precisely in the moments when everything seems to be over that the Lord comes to save us; to wait for him with joy even in the midst of tribulations, in the crises of life and in the dramas of history. Waiting for the Lord. But how do we raise our heads, how do we not let ourselves be absorbed by difficulties, sufferings, defeats? Jesus shows us the way with a strong reminder: 'Watch yourselves, lest your hearts become heavy [...]. Watch at all times by praying" (vv. 34.36).

"Watch," vigilance. Let us pause on this important aspect of the Christian life. From Christ's words we see that watchfulness is linked to attention: be attentive, be vigilant, do not be distracted, that is, stay awake! Watchfulness means this: do not allow your heart to become lazy and your spiritual life to soften into mediocrity. Be careful because one can be a "sleeping Christian" - and we know: there are many sleeping Christians, Christians anaesthetised by spiritual worldliness - Christians without spiritual impetus, without ardour in praying - they pray like parrots - without enthusiasm for the mission, without passion for the Gospel. Christians who always look inwards, unable to look to the horizon. And this leads to 'dozing off': getting on with things out of inertia, falling into apathy, indifferent to everything except what suits us. And that is a sad life, going on like that - there is no happiness there.

We need to be vigilant lest we drag our days into habit, lest we be weighed down - Jesus says - by the burdens of life (cf. v. 34). The burdens of life weigh us down. Today, then, is a good opportunity to ask ourselves: what weighs down my heart? What weighs down my spirit? What makes me sit in the armchair of laziness? It is sad to see Christians 'in the armchair'! What are the mediocrities that paralyse me, the vices that crush me to the ground and prevent me from lifting my head? And with regard to the burdens on the shoulders of the brothers, am I attentive or indifferent? These questions do us good, for they help guard the heart from sloth. But, Father, tell us: what is acedia? It is a great enemy of the spiritual life, even of the Christian life. Acedia is that laziness which causes one to fall, to slide into sadness, which takes away the zest for life and the will to do. It is a negative spirit, an evil spirit that pins the soul in torpor, robbing it of joy. You start with that sadness, you slip, you slip, and no joy. The Book of Proverbs says: "Guard your heart, for from it springs life" (Pr 4:23). Guard your heart: this means watchfulness, vigilance! Be awake, guard your heart.

And let us add an essential ingredient: the secret to being vigilant is prayer. For Jesus says: 'Keep watch at all times by praying' (Lk 21:36). It is prayer that keeps the lamp of the heart burning. Especially when we feel our enthusiasm grow cold, prayer rekindles it, because it brings us back to God, to the centre of things. Prayer awakens the soul from sleep and focuses it on what matters, on the purpose of existence. Even in our busiest days, we do not neglect prayer. Now I was watching, in the programme "In His Image", a beautiful reflection on prayer: it will help us, watching it will do us good. The prayer of the heart, repeating short invocations often, can help us. In Advent, get used to saying, for example: "Come, Lord Jesus". Only this, but say it: 'Come, Lord Jesus'. This time of preparation for Christmas is beautiful: we think of the crib, we think of Christmas, and we say from the heart: 'Come, Lord Jesus, come'. Let us repeat this prayer throughout the day, and the soul will remain alert! "Come, Lord Jesus": it is a prayer we can say three times, all together. "Come, Lord Jesus", "Come, Lord Jesus", "Come, Lord Jesus".

And now let us pray to Our Lady: she, who waited for the Lord with a watchful heart, may she accompany us on the journey of Advent.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 28 November 2021]

The Call of the fishermen

(Mt 4:18-22)

It is not the call of the boss, but the invitation of the Friend, who lives firsthand what he preaches, exposing himself.

To Abraham God says «Go to the land that I will point you to». Jesus does not say «Go», but «Come»: it’s He who risks and goes ahead, offering Himself as Lamb.

Abraham is only an envoy; the disciple of Christ on the way reproposes a Person in relationship and his whole story.

«Fishermen of men»: the meaning of the expression is clearer in Lk 5:10 [Greek text]: our mission is to raise to life those who no longer breathe, suffocate, enveloped by impetuous waves, by forces of negativity.

Pull them out of polluted eddies where one live dehumanizing. To place everyone in transparent water, with values that are no longer those of the folded up and corrupt society of the cunnings.

The Son of God calls us to cut off what degrades the experience of personal fullness. He promotes in each one the dna of God who doesn’t create competition, but communion.

It’s essential to abandon the «nets»: what envelops and prevents, blocks. Even the «boat», that is, the way of managing work.

And the «father», who in the family passed on the tradition, customs which risked blurring the new Light.

All jerseys to be broken. It means: a new approach, even if you continue to carry out the previous life.

Values are no longer static and banal [seeking consensus, settling down...]: fatuous glitters, that inculcate external idols, regulating and uniformizing.

To give these new impulses, Jesus flies over the court palaces, from which nothing would have been born.

Nor does he designate anyone with the title that belongs to Him alone: «Pastor».

We need attention, not directors and leaders who judge, or binaries that do not concern us; nor unnecessary mental patterns.

The woman and the man of all times need only wise support; traveling companions who help discover their hidden sides, unknowns, secrets, that can flourish.

The Person dimension is essential.

Of course, we must distract the mind from the known, and take the Way of the ‘farther’: no shortcut free of unknowns.

Road traveled on foot, which changes one’s own and other people’s mental atmosphere; wich flies over the custom, used, whatever, external way of seeing things.

Here, standing in our Call and naturalness, we’ll be all-round ourselves. And we will be surprised.

This in the gamble of unpredictable Love: only in this way can one contact one’s own deep states, to know each other; thus realizing unexpected dreams of open and complete life, by activating dormant energies.

And like Jesus, able to put into action anyone who we meet - recovering the opposite sides and eccentricities, for a total ideal.

[St  Andrew the Apostle, November 30, 2024]

Call of the fishermen

(Mt 4:18-22)

It is not the call of the leader, but the invitation of the Friend, who lives personally what he preaches, exposing himself.

To Abraham God says "Go to the land that I will show you". Jesus does not say 'Go', but 'Come': it is He who risks and goes ahead, presenting Himself as the Lamb.

He does not sit down to lecture and teach doctrines.

Abraham is only an envoy; Christ's disciple on the way re-presents a Person in relation to him and his whole story.

"Fishers of men": the meaning of the expression is clearer in Lk 5:10 [Greek text]: our mission is to lift to life those who are no longer breathing, suffocating, enveloped by raging waves, by forces of negativity.

Pull them out of polluted whirlpools where people live in a dehumanising way. Place them all in transparent water, with values that are no longer those of the bent and corrupt society of the cunning.

The Son of God calls to invite us to cut away that which degrades the experience of personal fullness. He fosters in everyone the DNA of the God who does not create competition, but communion.

Fundamental is to abandon the "nets": that which entangles and prevents, blocks. Even the "boat", that is, the way of managing work.

Even the "father", who in the family transmitted tradition, customs (which risked obscuring the New Light).

All links to be broken. It means: a new approach, even if one continues with one's former life.

Values are no longer static and banal [consensus-seeking, settling down...]: fatuous glitter, inculcating external, regulating and uniforming idols.

To give these new impulses, Jesus does not choose sacred environments and (perhaps pious) people who could not regenerate anyone.

The Lord passes over courtly palaces, from which nothing would be born.

Nor does He designate someone with the title that belongs to Him alone: 'Shepherd' [and it is not clear why all denominational traditions were then immediately filled with 'shepherds'...].

We need attention, not judging directors and leaders, or binaries that do not concern us; nor do we need useless mental models.

The woman and man of all times only need wise support; fellow travellers who help discover their hidden, unknown, secret sides, which can flourish.

The Person dimension is essential, but for the realisation of oneself and the Kingdom of God, it is perhaps impossible to stand alone and face Heaven face to face.

Of course, one must distract the mind from the known, and take the albeit dangerous path of "further on": no shortcut without unknowns.

A road trodden on foot, which changes one's own and others' mental atmosphere; which glosses over the used, external, qualunquistic way of seeing things.

Here, standing in our Calling and naturalness, we will be ourselves in the round. And we will surprise ourselves.

This in the hazard of unpredictable Love: only thus able to contact our own deep states, to know ourselves; thus realising unexpected dreams of open and complete life, activating dormant energies.

And like Jesus, able to put into action everyone one meets - recovering opposing sides and eccentricities, for a total ideal.

The Tao Tê Ching (LXV) says:

"In ancient times those who practised the Way well did not make the people discerning with it, but with it they strove to make them dull".

Master Wang Pi points out: "Perspicacious here means that he obfuscates his own simplicity, displaying cunning and falsehood. Obtuse means that he does not conform to spontaneity, knowing nothing and keeping himself genuine'.

And commenting on the same passage from the Tao, Master Ho-shang Kung adds:

"The man who possesses the mysterious virtue is opposed to and different from creatures: the latter want to increase themselves, the mysterious virtue confers on others".

To internalise and live the message:

What certainties do you still have to leave behind?

Do you cultivate vital openings?

If you meet Jesus who walks, treads, goes further: how and according to what inclinations do you think your barrenness could become fruitful?

Andrew, the Protoclite

Dear brothers and sisters

in the last two catecheses we have spoken of the figure of St Peter. Now we want, as far as the sources allow, to get to know the other eleven Apostles a little more closely. Therefore let us speak today of Simon Peter's brother, Saint Andrew, also one of the Twelve. The first striking feature in Andrew is his name: it is not Hebrew, as one would have expected, but Greek, a not inconsiderable sign of a certain cultural openness in his family. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present. In the lists of the Twelve, Andrew occupies the second place, as in Matthew (10:1-4) and Luke (6:13-16), or the fourth place as in Mark (3:13-18) and Acts (1:13-14). In any case, he certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities.The blood bond between Peter and Andrew, as well as the common call addressed to them by Jesus, emerge explicitly in the Gospels. We read: 'As Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting their nets into the sea, because they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, I will make you fishers of men'" (Mt 4:18-19; Mk 1:16-17). From the Fourth Gospel we gather another important detail: at first, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist; and this shows us that he was a man who sought, who shared the hope of Israel, who wanted to know more about the word of the Lord, the reality of the Lord present. He was truly a man of faith and hope; and from John the Baptist one day he heard Jesus proclaimed as 'the Lamb of God' (John 1:36); he then moved and, together with another unnamed disciple, followed Jesus, the One who was called by John 'the Lamb of God'. The evangelist relates: they "saw where he was staying and that day they stayed with him" (John 1:37-39). Andrew therefore enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account continues with a significant note: "One of the two who had heard John's words and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He met his brother Simon first and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which means the Christ," and led him to Jesus" (John 1:40-43), immediately showing an uncommon apostolic spirit. Andrew, therefore, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Precisely on this basis, the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honours him with the appellation Protóklitos, which means 'first called'. And it is certain that also because of the fraternal relationship between Peter and Andrew, the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople feel that they are sister Churches in a special way. To underline this relationship, my predecessor Pope Paul VI, in 1964, returned the distinguished relic of St Andrew, until then kept in the Vatican Basilica, to the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of the city of Patras in Greece, where according to tradition the Apostle was crucified.

Gospel traditions particularly recall the name of Andrew on three other occasions that make us know this man a little more. The first is that of the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. At that juncture, it was Andrew who pointed out to Jesus the presence of a boy who had with him five barley loaves and two fish: very little - he remarked - for all the people gathered there (cf. Jn 6:8-9). It is worth emphasising, in this case, Andrew's realism: he noticed the boy - so he had already asked the question: "But what is this for so many people?" (ibid.) - and realised the insufficiency of his few resources. Jesus, however, was able to make them sufficient for the multitude of people who had come to listen to him. The second occasion was in Jerusalem. On his way out of the city, a disciple pointed out to Jesus the sight of the mighty walls that supported the Temple. The Master's response was surprising: he said that not stone upon stone would remain of those walls. Andrew then, together with Peter, James and John, asked him: "Tell us when this will happen and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be fulfilled" (Mk 13:1-4). In response to this question, Jesus gave an important discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, inviting his disciples to read the signs of the times carefully and to remain ever vigilant. From this we can deduce that we must not be afraid to ask Jesus questions, but at the same time we must be ready to accept the teachings, even surprising and difficult ones, that he offers us.

Finally, a third initiative of Andrew is recorded in the Gospels. The setting is Jerusalem again, just before the Passion. For the feast of Passover,' John recounts, 'some Greeks had also come to the holy city, probably proselytes or God-fearers, who had come to worship the God of Israel on the feast of Passover. Andrew and Philip, the two apostles with Greek names, served as interpreters and mediators of this small group of Greeks to Jesus. The Lord's answer to their question appears - as so often in John's Gospel - enigmatic, but it is precisely in this way that it reveals itself to be rich in meaning. Jesus says to the two disciples and, through them, to the Greek world: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, if the grain of wheat that falls into the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (12:23-24). What do these words mean in this context? Jesus wants to say: Yes, the meeting between me and the Greeks will take place, but not as a simple and brief conversation between me and some people, driven above all by curiosity. With my death, comparable to the falling to the ground of a grain of wheat, the hour of my glorification will come. From my death on the cross will come the great fruitfulness: the 'dead grain of wheat' - symbol of me crucified - will become in the resurrection bread of life for the world; it will be light for peoples and cultures. Yes, the encounter with the Greek soul, with the Greek world, will take place at that depth alluded to in the story of the grain of wheat that draws to itself the forces of earth and heaven and becomes bread. In other words, Jesus prophesies the Church of the Greeks, the Church of the Gentiles, the Church of the world as the fruit of his Passover.

Very ancient traditions see in Andrew, who transmitted this word to the Greeks, not only the interpreter of some Greeks in the encounter with Jesus now mentioned, but they consider him to be the apostle of the Greeks in the years that followed Pentecost; they let us know that in the rest of his life he was the announcer and interpreter of Jesus for the Greek world. Peter, his brother, came from Jerusalem via Antioch to Rome to exercise his universal mission there; Andrew, on the other hand, was the apostle to the Greek world: they thus appear in life and in death as true brothers - a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special relationship of the Sees of Rome and Constantinople, truly sister Churches.

A later tradition, as mentioned, tells of Andrew's death in Patras, where he too suffered the torture of crucifixion. At that supreme moment, however, similarly to his brother Peter, he asked to be placed on a different cross from that of Jesus. In his case, it was a decussate cross, i.e. a cross with an inclined cross, which was therefore called 'St Andrew's cross'. Here is what the Apostle is said to have said on that occasion, according to an ancient account (early 6th century) entitled Andrew's Passion: 'Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the body of Christ and adorned with his members, as if they were precious pearls. Before the Lord ascended thee, thou inculcatedst an earthly fear. Now instead, endowed with a heavenly love, you are received as a gift. Believers know, in your regard, how much joy you possess, how many gifts you keep prepared. Surely therefore and full of joy I come to thee, that thou also mayest receive me exultant as a disciple of him who was suspended to thee ... O blessed Cross, who received the majesty and beauty of the Lord's limbs! ... Take me and bear me away from men and render me to my Master, that through thee I may be received by him who by thee redeemed me. Hail, O Cross; yes, hail indeed!". As we can see, there is here a very profound Christian spirituality, which sees in the Cross not so much an instrument of torture as the incomparable means of a full assimilation to the Redeemer, to the Grain of wheat fallen to the earth. We must learn from here a very important lesson: our crosses acquire value if they are considered and accepted as part of the cross of Christ, if they are reached by the reverberation of his light. Only from that Cross are even our sufferings ennobled and acquire their true meaning.

May the Apostle Andrew, therefore, teach us to follow Jesus promptly (cf. Mt 4:20; Mk 1:18), to speak enthusiastically of Him to all we meet, and above all to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with Him, well aware that only in Him can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 14 June 2006].

Dear brothers and sisters

in the last two catecheses we have spoken of the figure of St Peter. Now we want, as far as the sources allow, to get to know the other eleven Apostles a little more closely. Therefore let us speak today of Simon Peter's brother, Saint Andrew, also one of the Twelve. The first striking feature in Andrew is his name: it is not Hebrew, as one would have expected, but Greek, a not inconsiderable sign of a certain cultural openness in his family. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present. In the lists of the Twelve, Andrew occupies second place, as in Matthew (10:1-4) and Luke (6:13-16), or fourth place as in Mark (3:13-18) and Acts (1:13-14). In any case, he certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities.

The blood bond between Peter and Andrew, as well as the common call addressed to them by Jesus, emerge explicitly in the Gospels. We read: 'As Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting their nets into the sea, because they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me, I will make you fishers of men'" (Mt 4:18-19; Mk 1:16-17). From the Fourth Gospel we gather another important detail: at first, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist; and this shows us that he was a man who sought, who shared the hope of Israel, who wanted to know more about the word of the Lord, the reality of the Lord present. He was truly a man of faith and hope; and from John the Baptist one day he heard Jesus proclaimed as 'the Lamb of God' (John 1:36); he then moved and, together with another unnamed disciple, followed Jesus, the One who was called by John 'the Lamb of God'. The evangelist relates: they "saw where he was staying and that day they stayed with him" (John 1:37-39). Andrew therefore enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account continues with a significant note: "One of the two who had heard John's words and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He met his brother Simon first and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which means the Christ," and led him to Jesus" (John 1:40-43), immediately showing an uncommon apostolic spirit. Andrew, therefore, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Precisely on this basis, the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honours him with the appellation Protóklitos, which means 'first called'. And it is certain that also because of the fraternal relationship between Peter and Andrew, the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople feel that they are sister Churches in a special way. To underline this relationship, my predecessor Pope Paul VI, in 1964, returned the distinguished relic of St Andrew, until then kept in the Vatican Basilica, to the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of the city of Patras in Greece, where according to tradition the Apostle was crucified.

Gospel traditions particularly recall the name of Andrew on three other occasions that make us know this man a little more. The first is that of the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. At that juncture, it was Andrew who pointed out to Jesus the presence of a boy who had with him five barley loaves and two fish: very little - he remarked - for all the people gathered there (cf. Jn 6:8-9). It is worth emphasising, in this case, Andrew's realism: he noticed the boy - so he had already asked the question: "But what is this for so many people?" (ibid.) - and realised the insufficiency of his few resources. Jesus, however, was able to make them sufficient for the multitude of people who had come to listen to him. The second occasion was in Jerusalem. On his way out of the city, a disciple pointed out to Jesus the sight of the mighty walls that supported the Temple. The Master's response was surprising: he said that not stone upon stone would remain of those walls. Andrew then, together with Peter, James and John, questioned him: "Tell us when this will happen and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be fulfilled" (Mk 13:1-4). In response to this question, Jesus gave an important discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world, inviting his disciples to read the signs of the times carefully and to remain ever vigilant. From this we can deduce that we must not be afraid to ask Jesus questions, but at the same time we must be ready to accept the teachings, even surprising and difficult ones, that he offers us.

Finally, a third initiative of Andrew is recorded in the Gospels. The setting is Jerusalem again, just before the Passion. For the feast of Passover,' John recounts, 'some Greeks had also come to the holy city, probably proselytes or God-fearers, who had come to worship the God of Israel on the feast of Passover. Andrew and Philip, the two apostles with Greek names, served as interpreters and mediators of this small group of Greeks to Jesus. The Lord's answer to their question appears - as so often in John's Gospel - enigmatic, but it is precisely in this way that it reveals itself to be rich in meaning. Jesus says to the two disciples and, through them, to the Greek world: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, if the grain of wheat that falls into the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (12:23-24). What do these words mean in this context? Jesus wants to say: Yes, the meeting between me and the Greeks will take place, but not as a simple and brief conversation between me and some people, driven above all by curiosity. With my death, comparable to the falling of a grain of wheat into the earth, the hour of my glorification will come. From my death on the cross will come the great fruitfulness: the 'dead grain of wheat' - symbol of me crucified - will become in the resurrection bread of life for the world; it will be light for peoples and cultures. Yes, the encounter with the Greek soul, with the Greek world, will take place at that depth alluded to in the story of the grain of wheat that draws to itself the forces of earth and heaven and becomes bread. In other words, Jesus prophesies the Church of the Greeks, the Church of the Gentiles, the Church of the world as the fruit of his Passover.

Very ancient traditions see in Andrew, who transmitted this word to the Greeks, not only the interpreter of some Greeks in the encounter with Jesus now mentioned, but they consider him to be the apostle of the Greeks in the years that followed Pentecost; they let us know that in the rest of his life he was the announcer and interpreter of Jesus for the Greek world. Peter, his brother, came from Jerusalem via Antioch to Rome to exercise his universal mission there; Andrew, on the other hand, was the apostle to the Greek world: they thus appear in life and in death as true brothers - a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special relationship of the Sees of Rome and Constantinople, truly sister Churches.

A later tradition, as mentioned, tells of Andrew's death in Patras, where he too suffered the torture of crucifixion. At that supreme moment, however, similarly to his brother Peter, he asked to be placed on a different cross from that of Jesus. In his case, it was a decussate cross, i.e. a cross with an inclined cross, which was therefore called 'St Andrew's cross'. Here is what the Apostle is said to have said on that occasion, according to an ancient account (early 6th century) entitled Andrew's Passion: "Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the body of Christ and adorned with its members, as if they were precious pearls. Before the Lord ascended thee, thou inculcatedst an earthly fear. Now instead, endowed with a heavenly love, you are received as a gift. Believers know, in your regard, how much joy you possess, how many gifts you keep prepared. Surely therefore and full of joy I come to thee, that thou also mayest receive me exultant as a disciple of him who was suspended to thee ... O blessed Cross, who received the majesty and beauty of the Lord's limbs! ... Take me and bear me away from men and render me to my Master, that through thee I may be received by him who by thee redeemed me. Hail, O Cross; yes, hail indeed!". As we can see, there is here a very profound Christian spirituality, which sees in the Cross not so much an instrument of torture as the incomparable means of a full assimilation to the Redeemer, to the Grain of wheat fallen to the earth. We must learn from here a very important lesson: our crosses acquire value if they are considered and accepted as part of the cross of Christ, if they are reached by the reverberation of his light. Only from that Cross are even our sufferings ennobled and acquire their true meaning.

May the Apostle Andrew, therefore, teach us to follow Jesus promptly (cf. Mt 4:20; Mk 1:18), to speak enthusiastically of Him to all we meet, and above all to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with Him, well aware that only in Him can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 14 June 2006]

Christ, who commanded to pray for the labourers of the harvest, also called them personally. His words of call are preserved in the treasury of the Gospel: "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mt 4:19). "Come and follow me" (Mt 19:21). "If any man will serve me, let him follow me" (Jn 12:26). These words of call are entrusted to our apostolic ministry and we must make them heard, like the other words of the Gospel, "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). It is Christ's will that we make them heard. The People of God have a right to hear them from us.

The admirable pastoral programmes of the individual Churches, the Vocations Works which, according to the Council, must dispose and promote all pastoral activity for vocations (cf. Optatam Totius, 2) open the way, prepare the good ground for the Lord's grace. God is always free to call whom he wills and when he wills, according to the "extraordinary riches of his grace through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2, 7). But ordinarily he calls through our persons and our word. Therefore, do not be afraid to call. Go down among your young people. Go out personally to them and call. The hearts of many young, and not so young, are predisposed to listen to you. Many of them are looking for a purpose to live for; they are waiting to discover a worthwhile mission, to consecrate their lives to it. Christ has tuned them in to his and your call. We must call. The rest will be done by the Lord, who offers each one his particular gift, according to the grace he has been given (cf. 1 Cor 7:7; Rom 12:6).

[Pope John Paul II, Message for the 16th World Day for Vocations]

"Today, in this Mass, we will make ourselves close to the Church of Constantinople, the Church of Andrew, we will pray for the Church, for the unity of the Churches". With these words, at the beginning of the celebration on Friday 30 at Santa Marta, Pope Francis wished to recall the liturgical feast of Saint Andrew. And the vocation of "Peter and Andrew" was recalled by the Pontiff with the words of the entrance antiphon: "On the shores of the Sea of Galilee the Lord saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew, and he called them: "Come after me, I will make you fishers of men" (cf. Matthew 4:18-19)". The proclamation of the Gospel, the Pope went on to say, is "testimony" and "consistency" even to the point of martyrdom: it is a mission that involves "a single ticket". And it has nothing to do with 'proselytism' and the 'logic of marketing'.

In his homily, the Pontiff first of all took up the contents of Paul's letter to the Romans (10:9-18) proposed as the first reading. The apostle, he explained, "tells the Romans that the proclamation of the Gospel is important: to bring this proclamation, that Christ has saved us, that Christ has died, risen for us". But the apostle also says "how these people must invoke the name of the Lord in order to be saved: 'how will they invoke him in whom they have not believed?'". For "without faith one cannot invoke". And again, the Pope went on to repeat Paul's words, "how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? How will they hear of him without someone announcing him? And how will they proclaim him, if they have not been sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good!'"

"The proclamation of Jesus Christ is to bring, yes, news, but not simple, common news: the good news," Francis explained, adding that in reality it is "not even good news" but the news, "the only great good news".

And "this announcing of Jesus Christ for the disciples of the first times and also of this time," said the Pontiff, "is not a job of publicity: to advertise a very good person, who did good, healed many people and taught us beautiful things". Advertising, he insisted, 'is not publicity, nor is it proselytism'. So much so that 'if someone goes to speak about Jesus Christ, to preach Jesus Christ in order to proselytise, no, this is not the proclamation of Christ: this is the work of a preacher, governed by the logic of marketing'.

So, the Pope asked, 'what is the proclamation of Christ, which is neither proselytism, nor advertising, nor marketing, and how to describe it?' It is, he replied, 'first of all, to be sent, but not like the head of a company looking for new partners', but rather as 'sent to the mission'. And 'the proper sign, that one is sent to the mission' is 'when one's own life comes into play: the apostle, the envoy, who carries out the proclamation of Jesus Christ does so on condition that he puts his own life, his own time, his own interests, his own flesh on the line'. And 'there is a saying that can explain it, a common saying said by simple people from my land, which says: "to do this you have to put your own flesh on the grill"'. The question, Francis reiterated, is 'to put oneself at stake and this journey of going to the proclamation risking one's life - because I put my life, my flesh at stake - has only the outward ticket, not the return'. Because "to return is apostasy".

"Announcing Jesus Christ with witness" therefore. And "testimony means putting one's life on the line: what I say I do," the Pontiff reiterated. Moreover, "Jesus rebuked the doctors of the law of that time who said many good things, but did the opposite". Not by chance, "the advice Jesus gave the people was: 'Do whatever they say, but do not imitate what they do'". Indeed, he added, 'the word to be proclamation must be testimony'.

But "how much of a scandal we Christians give when we say we are Christians and then live as pagans, as non-believers, as if we had no faith", the Pope acknowledged, inviting people to have "coherence between the word and their own life: this is called witness". And so "the apostle, the one who brings, the announcer, the one who brings the word of God, is a witness who plays his life to the end". And 'he is also a martyr'.

At this point, Francis suggested, 'someone may wonder who invented this method of making a person like Jesus known: it is a method proper to Christianity. Who invented it? Perhaps St Peter or St Andrew? No, God the Father, because it was his own method of making himself known: sending his Son in the flesh, risking his own life'.

In fact, the Pontiff pointed out, 'the first act of faith is: "I believe that the Son became flesh"'. And even this statement 'scandalised so much and continues to scandalise: God became one of us". This too 'was a journey,' Francis said, 'with a one-way ticket only: the devil tried to convince him to take another road and he did not want to, he did the Father's will to the end'. But his 'proclamation must go the same way, the witness, because he was the witness of the Father made flesh'. And also "we must make ourselves flesh, that is, make ourselves witnesses: do, do what we say, and this is the proclamation of Christ".

"Martyrs are those who prove that the proclamation was true," the Pope explained. They are "men and women who gave their lives - the apostles gave their lives - with blood". But they are "also many men and women hidden in our society and in our families, who give witness every day in silence to Jesus Christ, but with their own lives, with that consistency of doing what they say".

"All of us are baptised and have with our baptism the mission of proclaiming Jesus Christ," the Pontiff relaunched. Therefore "if we live as Jesus taught us to live, live in harmony with what we preach, the proclamation will be fruitful". But "if we live without coherence, saying one thing and doing another contrary thing, the result will be scandal; and the scandal of Christians does so much harm, so much harm to the people of God".

"Let us ask the Lord for the grace" - Francis concluded - to do "like Peter and Andrew, James and John who left boat, net, father, family: to leave everything that prevents us from going forward in the proclamation of witness". Because "we all have something to leave inside, all of us. We look for what? We leave. That attitude, that sin, that vice: everyone knows his own". That is why, he repeated, we ask for "the grace to leave in order to be more consistent and to announce Jesus Christ, so that people will believe with our witness."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 01/12/2018]

XXXIV Sunday in Ordinary Time (year B) [24 November 2024]

First reading Dn 7:13-14

*A coronation scene

The prophet Daniel describes a coronation scene "in the clouds of heaven", i.e. in God's world with a "son of man" (in Hebrew it simply means a human being) approaching the Old Man, whom a few verses earlier (v.9) he describes seated on a throne: it is understood that he is God. The Son of Man advances to be anointed king: "he was given power, glory and kingdom...his is an eternal power that will never end", a universal and eternal kingship that, however, he does not conquer by force and, as Daniel points out, he does not approach the throne of God on his own initiative. This Sunday's reading stops here, but to better understand, one must go a little further and realise that this "son of man" is not an individual but a people: "I, Daniel, was troubled in my soul .I approached one of the neighbours and asked him the true meaning of all these things, and he gave me this explanation: "The four great beasts represent four kings, who shall arise from the earth; but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess it for ever and ever" (vv15-18). In a few verses later he repeats: 'Then the kingdom and the power and the greatness of the kingdoms that are under heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom shall be eternal, and all empires shall serve and obey him' (v27). This son of man is therefore 'the people of the saints of the Most High' which, in biblical language, means Israel and in the age of persecution, is the small faithful remnant. We are at the most painful time of Antiochus Epiphanes' persecution around 165 B.C. when only a small group really remained. When Daniel states that the people of the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, he means to encourage them to resist because the final deliverance will soon come, and since shortly afterwards Antiochus Epiphanes was driven out, his prophecy was interpreted by some Jews as referring to the expected Messiah-King, who would not be a particular individual, but a people. When Jesus was born centuries later, although everyone in Israel awaited the Messiah, not everyone imagined him in the same way: some awaited a man, others a collective Messiah called 'the little Remnant of Israel' (an expression from the prophet Amos 9.11-15), or 'the son of man' in reference to the prophet Daniel. Jesus is the only one (no one else does this) to use the expression 'Son of Man' coming on the clouds of heaven more than 80 times in the gospels, referring to himself, but his contemporaries could not recognise in Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, the Messiah, i.e. 'the people of the saints of the Most High'. Moreover, Jesus substantially modifies the definition because, referring to Daniel, he says: "Then...you will see the Son of Man coming, surrounded by clouds, in the fullness of power and glory" (Mk 13:26), and again in the Gospel of Mark he adds: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him" (Mk 9:31). Only after the resurrection will the disciples understand that the title of Son of Man on the clouds of heaven is attributed to Jesus, because he is both man and God, the first-born of the new humanity, the Head who makes us one Body and, at the end of history, we shall be as "one man, grafted into him and thus "the people of the saints of the Most High". While Daniel said a "Son of Man" Jesus changes it to "Son of Man"": son of man meant "one man", while son of man means "Humanity" and therefore "Son of Man" means Humanity. By attributing this title to Himself, Christ reveals Himself to be the bearer of the destiny of the whole of humanity, fulfilling the divine creation project, that is, to make humanity one people: "God created man in His own image...male and female He created them...He said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth" (Gen 1:27-28). For St Paul, Jesus is the new Adam: 'As by one man's disobedience all were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience all will be made righteous' (Rom 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:21-22, 45-49), while in the Fourth Gospel, Piato's phrase 'Ecce homo, Behold the man' (19:5) is always striking.

*Responsorial Psalm 92/93 (1,2,5)

*We proclaim God our King 

By proclaiming Christ our King we affirm our faith/hope with the courage to realise his kingdom, certain that by rising he has defeated death and by forgiving the murderers he has destroyed hatred. However, while we dare to say that Christ is already king, everything in the world seems to be going backwards: death kills, hatred spreads in all its forms of violence and injustice. Psalm 92/93 proclaims God's victory over the world in spite of appearances, and the Jews also celebrate God the King by having the same faith and hope as they await God's 'Day'. In proclaiming his victory over the forces of evil, however, they rely on the experience of the Exodus by worshipping God who by freeing Israel offered his Covenant, while we Christians rely on the resurrection of Christ. To sing the kingship of God this psalm looks to the model of the coronation of kings: in the throne room the new king, invested with the royal mantle, sat on the throne and, having signed the enthronement charter, took possession of the royal palace. At this point, the people shouted 'Long live the king,' an acclamation that in Hebrew is called 'térouah' and was originally a cry of victory against the enemy. In this psalm, the acclaimed king is God, and more than others he deserves the terouah because he has defeated the forces of evil: "The Lord reigns, he is clothed with majesty, he is girded with strength": these are the clothes of the Creator.  The Hebrew expression: "He girded his strength" evokes the gesture of tying a garment to his hips, as the potter does with his apron to work the clay".  Singing that his throne "is stable from everlasting, from eternity thou art", the psalm hints by contrast at idols that are within everyone's reach and evokes the fragility of earthly kingdoms, particularly the kings of Israel, some of whom reigned a few years, even a few days. Throughout the psalm, God is proclaimed king over creation because he dominates the forces of the waters that are often untamable for man: "more than the roar of rushing waters, more mighty than the billows of the sea, mighty on high is the Lord" (v.4). The billows of the sea recall the Sea of Rushes (in Hebrew Yam Suf, and suf means reed or rush)) identified with the Red Sea, which God made his people cross. Since then, the Lord's faithfulness has never faded, as verse 5 expresses so well: "Worthy of faith are all your teachings". The expression "worthy of faith" in other versions is rendered as "unchanging", a word that has the same root as Amen and evokes faithfulness, stability, truth, immutability, steadfastness. This is God's faithfulness to his people, of which the Temple of Jerusalem was a symbol, an icon of God's presence and a reflection of his holiness: "Holiness befits your house". Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem and pulled down the Temple of Solomon, deporting most of the population to Babylon, and having destroyed the kingdom of Judah in 586 BC, there were no more kings in Israel because the last one was Sedekiah who was captured, blinded and taken into exile. From that moment on, the expression: 'Holiness befits your house' celebrated God's sovereignty in the expectation of the Messiah-King, God's faithful image.  Every year, during the Feast of Tents (in the autumn), this psalm was taken up to celebrate in advance the fulfilment of the whole of history, the definitive Covenant, the Wedding between God and Humanity: in fact Israel with the whole of humanity will one day share the kingship of the Messiah, as the Queen sits next to the King.

Second Reading Rev 1:5-8

*He who is, who was, and who is to come

 "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth": the phrases of this short text, which is the beginning of the Apocalypse, are dense and evoke the whole mystery of Christ and each word reveals an aspect of it. "Jesus" is the name of a man from Nazareth and means "God saves"; "Christ" indicates the Messiah filled with the Spirit of God; "the faithful witness" connects to Jesus' words to Pilate that we hear today in the gospel: "I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth". The statement: "the firstborn from the dead" encapsulates the faith of the early Christians who saw in Jesus, a mortal man like everyone else, the firstborn of a long line, resurrected by God to lead all his brothers and sisters, and the phrase: "the Sovereign of the kings of the earth" reinforces the concept of the Messiah who placed all his enemies under his feet, as Psalm 109/110 sings. Since in Revelation numbers are symbolic and ternary expressions are reserved for God, the three qualifications: "faithful witness, firstborn of the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth" attributed to Jesus affirm that he is God. The second sentence takes up and amplifies the first: "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen'. Here we find the traditional tenets of faith: Christ's love for all men; the gift of his life signified by the expression "blood shed" to redeem us from evil, while the statement: "He has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father" indicates that in Christ the promise "You shall be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" contained in the book of Exodus (19:6) has been fulfilled.  In the third sentence: "Behold, he comes with the clouds" it is the Son of Man, spoken of by Daniel in the first reading, who advances to the throne of God to receive universal kingship. The first dimension of his kingship is triumph. The second dimension is that of suffering: "Every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him, and for him all the tribes of the earth shall beat their breasts", a clear allusion to the cross and the soldier's lance (Jn.19:33-34). Here St John refers to the prophecy of Zechariah: "I will pour out upon the house of David and Jerusalem a spirit of kindness ... they will look upon him whom they have pierced ... they will mourn for him as for an only son ... they will mourn for him as for a first-born ... a spring will flow ... as a remedy for sin and impurity". ( Zech 12:10; 13:1).  With the spirit of benevolence God will transform the human heart and turning their gaze to the one they have pierced, men will see an innocent man unjustly slain in clear contrast to the religious authorities of the time. Looking at the crucified Messiah suddenly eyes and hearts will open and, when the hearts of all men will be transformed, Christ will be King because it is the opening of the heart that introduces us into the grace and peace of eternity in God: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world" (Mt 25:34). Finally, the final expression of the second reading: "He who is, who was, and who is to come" (v. 8) is one of the translations of the name of God (YHVH, Ex 3:14) in the Jewish commentaries (Jerusalem Targum). 

Gospel Jn. 18:33b-37

*So you are king?

John's gospel is the only one to report the long dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, a text of considerable interest for the Feast of Christ the King because statements about Christ's kingship are rare in the gospels and only during his passion does Jesus openly declare that he is king.  During his public life whenever they wanted to make him king he withdrew, when they publicised his miracles he imposed silence and this even after the Transfiguration. Only now that he is chained and condemned to death does he claim to be king, i.e. at the least convenient time according to human calculations.  Undoubtedly he has an alternative way of conceiving kingship and he explained it to the disciples: the leaders rule over the nations, but this must not be the case for you; if anyone wants to be great let him be your servant, if he wants to be first let him be servant of all, imitating the Son of Man who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom (i.e. deliverance) for the multitude (cf. Mk 10:42-45). It is during Pilate's interrogation that he declares himself to be the king of mankind, thus at the very moment when he gives his life for us showing that his only royal ambition is service. On closer inspection, in the dialogue between Pilate, a high representative of the Roman empire, and a man condemned to death, the parts are reversed: it is not Pilate who judges him but Christ who judges the world, and the Roman power ends up recognising Christ as the true king. Jesus was captured because the religious leaders, frightened by his success, acted deceitfully, fearing their destruction with the arrival of the Romans: "If we let them, the Romans will come and destroy us". It is a murder that stems from the will of the ruling priestly caste while for Pilate Jesus represented no danger. Today we read in John's gospel the first questioning of Pilate: "Are you the king of the Jews?" In this trial it is not the judge who questions the accused but the reverse and the sentence will be passed by the accused. In fact Jesus does not answer, but asks. "Do you say this of yourself or have others spoken to you about me?". And Pilate: "What have you done?  Jesus replies: "My kingdom is not of this world". Pilate insists: "So you are king?" and Jesus: "You say so" in the sense that if you are affirming it (su legeis) you have understood it well and therefore proclaim it. It is, however, a different kingdom from all earthly ones defended by soldiers and based on power, domination and lies. Mine, on the other hand, is the kingdom of truth that relies on no other defence than the truth: 'For this I was born and came into the world: to bear witness to the truth. Whoever is of the truth hears my voice', and he adds: 'For this I was born and for this I came into the world: to bear witness to the truth'. And he concludes: 'Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice'. He does not say: 'Whoever has the truth', but 'whoever is from the truth', since truth is not a doctrine to be possessed but the believer's way of life. In the second reading from Revelation, John states that Jesus is the "faithful witness", the "only-begotten Son full of grace and truth," as we already read in the Prologue of his Gospel (Jn 1:14). If Pilate, a son of the Greco-Roman world, asks the question "What is truth?" (Jn18:38), the Jews, on the other hand, knew from the very beginning of the Covenant with God that truth is God Himself.  Truth in the Bible means God's "steadfast faithfulness" and has in Hebrew the same root as "Amen" which means stable, faithful, true, as it appears today in Responsorial Psalm 92/93. The Truth is God Himself so no one can claim to possess it but it is indispensable to listen to it and let oneself be instructed by it (cf. Jn 8:47). Only God can tell us "Listen", as the Torah continually repeats: "Shema Israël".  

Some Testimony on Christ King of the Universe: 

*St. Augustine, in his sermon on Psalm 2, writes: "Christ has no temporal kingdom, but he reigns in the hearts of men. His throne is the cross, His sceptre is love, and His crown is made of thorns. He is a king who does not conquer with weapons, but with truth and justice."

* Saint Nicholas Cabasilas Orthodox (14th century) is credited with this sentence: "Christ reigns because he has conquered our hearts, not with violence, but with sacrifice. His cross is his throne, and from the cross he judges the world with love, offering eternal life to those who submit to his divine will."

*St. Catherine of Siena, in her work "The Dialogue of Divine Providence" writes: 

"Christ is sweet king, because his kingdom is not founded on pride nor on strength, but on love and humility. He made of his flesh a bridge between heaven and earth, that man might cross it and reach the eternal kingdom. His crown is of thorns, a sign of the love with which he took upon himself the pains of his subjects; his throne is the cross, from which he ruled with mercy and justice."

*Dietrich Bonhoeffer Protestant pastor in his book 'Discipleship' writes: "Christ is the King who bears the cross, and his kingdom is the kingdom of the cross. Those who follow him enter into his lordship not with power or glory, but with the humility of one who accepts the weight of his yoke. Christ reigns over us because he chose to die for us, and in this is our true freedom."

*G.K. Chesterton in his book 'Orthodoxy' writes: "Christ is not only a king, but the king of paradoxes. His crown is made of thorns, yet it is the most glorious; his throne is the cross, yet it is the highest; his power is manifested in surrender, yet no one has ever reigned with greater authority. He is the king who turns sorrow into joy and death into life."

Happy Solemnity of Christ King of the Universe to you all!

+ Giovanni D'Ercole