Mar 27, 2025 Written by 

Knowing Christ is not an exterior knowledge

And it is the present that counts, not the genealogy

(Jn 7:1-2.10.25-30)

 

Unexpected origins, to be killed not to be replaced

 

"[Certainly] you know me and you know where I am from. Yet I did not come from myself, but he is true who sent me, whom you do not know. I know him, because I am from him and he has sent me" (John 7:28-29).

 

Christ reveals himself in a progressive and unconventional way.

He asks us to reinterpret and reveal him in an equally unprecedented, personal, creative way.

He cherishes only life, and life is always new. He does not cling to standards, to thinking, to explanations.

The Envoy obeys an unthinking, non-local Calling.

This is what distinguishes divine action and even geography, which goes beyond the territorially implanted 'synagogue'.

Recognising Christ as our Lord means accepting the dangers and rejection that such attunement and choice entails.

One can reject him by calculation, not spontaneously.

We are well aware that by rejecting him we exclude our root; however, by accepting him we risk everything and even our skin. What is to be done?

Is it not better to camouflage oneself to keep the situation quiet?

 

After the abandonment of some of the disciples in Galilee - following the discourse on the Bread of Life (Jn 6:60-71) - Jesus even ups the ante.

By pretending, we too could marginalise him, in order to preserve security in the immediate future - and perhaps gain from it.

But if we do not proceed to our Source, we will not encounter the crystal-clear water.

All of existence will become a useless compromise of theatrics, which in the turn of events to be staged disguise theatrics and self-interest, making authentic vocational implications pale into oblivion.

 

In the Fourth Gospel, the threat of death on the Lord is constant.

People are drawn, but in Him they stumble. For the authorities: unexpected origins, to be killed lest they be replaced.

Even today, a framework of respect and consternation is formed around the living Christ.

To obey one's Calling by Name is to experience the closure and opposition of the authorities.

All this, amidst the bewilderment of the people - perhaps also confused because they expect something else, and find it hard to recognise us.

Even those who proceed incognito - and yet are in Christ - cannot go unnoticed. And the present counts, not the genealogy.

Elaborate things or expected merits [fame, the great city, the lineage that counts...] do not touch the crux of the matter.

God's origin in us is inexplicable, enigmatic. But He presents us as His envoys.

The experts of the eternal city do not know the Father (v.28), despite the fact that they boast of possessing him exclusively: in their beliefs, in their norms, in their history, in the Temple, in their particular way of life.

 

In both popular and elite opinions, the Mystery was supposed to have an unknown and occult origin...

How to guess it in each one of us [deprived of the showcase of great titles, catwalks, pretensions, outward works]?

How to grasp it, if for public opinion we are nothing exceptional, nothing 'special' - and even inappropriate?

According to the Synoptics, during his public life Jesus is in Jerusalem only once, the time when he was condemned by the religious establishment.

According to the fourth Gospel, two or three, on the occasion of the Passover.

It is likely that He was in the holy city several times in private.

But the image of the hidden Christ here alludes to His sacred Presence in the ordinary faithful.

Especially after the rupture between synagogue and church (Ecclesia) at the end of the first century, believers in the Lord Jesus were forced not to make the adherence of the heart manifest.

 

Vocation is our destiny, the secret of life.

These ideas that we cannot contain launch new opinions and ways of being.

Eccentricities that end up generating doubts in others, and open opposition from those who hold the reins of power.

They are all recalcitrant defenders, without criticism of specific weight: co-opted by representation; of the world and ancient or established, well-known and quiet ways, or à la page.

Conversely, knowledge of God passes through the challenge of recognising a subversive, doomed and fugitive (v.1): The Nazzarene in us.

The arcane and real Christ, misunderstood fulcrum of our solemnities.

 

The feast of the Jewish festivals, the Feast of the Tents, commemorated the mirabilia Dei of the Exodus and cast its gaze towards a glorious future.

It celebrated hopes of prestige, the expected final victory over other nations (and their exploitation).

But the friends of the Son have no predatory ambitions.

Even if we were considered 'to be re-educated', it would be obvious to oppose the idea of violent and artificial prosperity.

We disdain the perverse influences of any empty, opportunistic, or dull, circumstantial spirituality. 

And should some interested parties want to lay hands on us out of interest [or perhaps just because we do not respect their ways, doctrines, and fantasies] the turn of events will keep the authentic Witnesses out of harm's way (v.30).

 

It will be the disregarded origins that will lead the Unknown to replace the official "educators" (v.28) clinging only to ideas.

The experience of divine glory that he lives is still sub contraria specie: in the kingship that pushes down.

Force-a-roar: it allows metamorphosis to surface and let us discover awe-inspiring metamorphoses.

In this way, by avoiding allowing the Lord to still be killed out of convenience, we will be able to safeguard both the community experience and personal transpositions of Faith.

A change of face and cosmos, albeit unthought of. Development and passage that convinces the soul.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

How do I safeguard my community life and my transpositions of Faith in Christ?

Or do I let the Lord be killed in me and outside for convenience?

 

 

Knowledge of God

 

The knowledge of God becomes eternal life. Obviously, 'knowledge' here means something more than outward knowledge, as we know, for example, when a famous person died and when an invention was made. To know in the sense of Holy Scripture is to become inwardly one with another. To know God, to know Christ always also means to love Him, to become in some way one with Him by virtue of knowing and loving. Our life thus becomes an authentic, true and thus also eternal life, if we know Him who is the source of all being and all life. Thus the word of Jesus becomes an invitation for us: let us become friends of Jesus, let us seek to know Him more and more! Let us live in dialogue with Him! Let us learn righteous living from Him, let us become His witnesses! Then we become people who love, then we act righteously. Then we truly live.

[Pope Benedict, homily at the Lord's Supper 1 April 2010].

17 Last modified on Thursday, 27 March 2025 04:07
don Giuseppe Nespeca

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

Knowing God, knowing Christ, always means loving him, becoming, in a sense, one with him by virtue of that knowledge and love. Our life becomes authentic and true life, and thus eternal life, when we know the One who is the source of all being and all life (Pope Benedict)
Conoscere Dio, conoscere Cristo significa sempre anche amarLo, diventare in qualche modo una cosa sola con Lui in virtù del conoscere e dell’amare. La nostra vita diventa quindi una vita autentica, vera e così anche eterna, se conosciamo Colui che è la fonte di ogni essere e di ogni vita (Papa Benedetto)
Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him. When we speak of this task in which we share by virtue of our baptism, it is no reason to boast (Pope Benedict)
I cristiani sono popolo sacerdotale per il mondo. I cristiani dovrebbero rendere visibile al mondo il Dio vivente, testimoniarLo e condurre a Lui. Quando parliamo di questo nostro comune incarico, in quanto siamo battezzati, ciò non è una ragione per farne un vanto (Papa Benedetto)
Because of this unique understanding, Jesus can present himself as the One who reveals the Father with a knowledge that is the fruit of an intimate and mysterious reciprocity (John Paul II)
In forza di questa singolare intesa, Gesù può presentarsi come il rivelatore del Padre, con una conoscenza che è frutto di un'intima e misteriosa reciprocità (Giovanni Paolo II)
Yes, all the "miracles, wonders and signs" of Christ are in function of the revelation of him as Messiah, of him as the Son of God: of him who alone has the power to free man from sin and death. Of him who is truly the Savior of the world (John Paul II)
Sì, tutti i “miracoli, prodigi e segni” di Cristo sono in funzione della rivelazione di lui come Messia, di lui come Figlio di Dio: di lui che, solo, ha il potere di liberare l’uomo dal peccato e dalla morte. Di lui che veramente è il Salvatore del mondo (Giovanni Paolo II)
It is known that faith is man's response to the word of divine revelation. The miracle takes place in organic connection with this revealing word of God. It is a "sign" of his presence and of his work, a particularly intense sign (John Paul II)
È noto che la fede è una risposta dell’uomo alla parola della rivelazione divina. Il miracolo avviene in legame organico con questa parola di Dio rivelante. È un “segno” della sua presenza e del suo operare, un segno, si può dire, particolarmente intenso (Giovanni Paolo II)
That was not the only time the father ran. His joy would not be complete without the presence of his other son. He then sets out to find him and invites him to join in the festivities (cf. v. 28). But the older son appeared upset by the homecoming celebration. He found his father’s joy hard to take; he did not acknowledge the return of his brother: “that son of yours”, he calls him (v. 30). For him, his brother was still lost, because he had already lost him in his heart (Pope Francis)
Ma quello non è stato l’unico momento in cui il Padre si è messo a correre. La sua gioia sarebbe incompleta senza la presenza dell’altro figlio. Per questo esce anche incontro a lui per invitarlo a partecipare alla festa (cfr v. 28). Però, sembra proprio che al figlio maggiore non piacessero le feste di benvenuto; non riesce a sopportare la gioia del padre e non riconosce il ritorno di suo fratello: «quel tuo figlio», dice (v. 30). Per lui suo fratello continua ad essere perduto, perché lo aveva ormai perduto nel suo cuore (Papa Francesco)

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