May 5, 2025 Written by 

Radical yearning for mutual Knowledge

Complete vs Perfect

(Jn 10:22-30)

 

In the so-called ‘Book of Signs’ of the Fourth Gospel (Jn.1-12), a progressive revelation of the divine Mystery that envelops the Person of Jesus takes place.

As such an unveiling becomes more precise, both adherence and misunderstanding grow around his figure, even of his neighbours - to the extent that He departs from traditional expectations of the Messiah as a glorious leader and executioner.

Thus, in our vocational experience we have often realized that full existence and paths of indestructible quality (vv.28-29) are not subject to immediately satisfying demands of the common mentality.

The Life of the Eternal (v.28) reveals itself as a goad: not to mortify intentions, but to set us on paths of growth.

The Gospel is not confirmation of tastes, of preferences and convictions.

And Jn 10:22-24 applies this criterion blatantly - in the blow by blow friction with the chiefs of conformist religiosity: contradicting the mentality of the experts.

 

Religious rule developed the idea that the Torah could cleanse the mind of errors, and the inclination of impurities - in order to chisel out a people pleasing to God.

In this way, the authorities felt no need to search for the Mystery of God.

The top of the class wanted Jesus to define himself so that they could judge him according to the fundamentalist criteria that permeated their teaching and common mentality.

The Master, on the other hand, did not place himself in established ideas, into a fixed framework; He was not stuck on a wavelength.

Christ is a fraternal presence for us, not a “ratifier”.

Jesus, the authentic guide, was a «friend of publicans and sinners» in the sense that he taught to broaden the harmony of creaturely being.

The new Rabbi did not want to sterilize emotions or situations.

The inner world and anxieties were not to be silenced at all, but rather encountered and known.

 

To enter into the life of Faith and become liberators of others, one must be emancipated and tirelessly available, able to shake convictions - starting with oneself.

In short, for those who considered themselves already arrived and masters of the situation, the “new” one always had to present authorizations, credentials, permits - or he would not have the right to speak and act.

Instead, the Lord calls for confidence, unfiltered conversation, collaboration: a propitious climate that allows the Father to reveal himself.

And beyond words, which indeed can always be misunderstood, it is the works of life alone that are eloquent language (v.25).

But it is the soul that does not want to believe: a feeling of those who do not belong to Him (v.26).

The problem is the calibrated eye, or openness. Only the perception of the unsteady is free of affected ballast.

 

Being One (v.30) has motivated Christ, and still today guides the lesser family members to feel adequate, on an equal footing; He leads them to the Face to face.

Not to disciplinary obedience, but to prophetic likeness.

 

 

[Tuesday 4th wk. in Easter, May 13, 2025]

136 Last modified on Monday, 05 May 2025 05:41
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".

In this passage, the Lord tells us three things about the true shepherd:  he gives his own life for his sheep; he knows them and they know him; he is at the service of unity [Pope Benedict]
In questo brano il Signore ci dice tre cose sul vero pastore: egli dà la propria vita per le pecore; le conosce ed esse lo conoscono; sta a servizio dell'unità [Papa Benedetto]
Jesus, Good Shepherd and door of the sheep, is a leader whose authority is expressed in service, a leader who, in order to command, gives his life and does not ask others to sacrifice theirs. One can trust in a leader like this (Pope Francis)
Gesù, pastore buono e porta delle pecore, è un capo la cui autorità si esprime nel servizio, un capo che per comandare dona la vita e non chiede ad altri di sacrificarla. Di un capo così ci si può fidare (Papa Francesco)
In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Jn 10:27-30) Jesus is presented to us as the true Shepherd of the People of God. He speaks about the relationship that binds him to the sheep of the flock, namely, to his disciples, and he emphasizes the fact that it is a relationship of mutual recognition […] we see that Jesus’ work is explained in several actions: Jesus speaks; Jesus knows; Jesus gives eternal life; Jesus safeguards (Pope Francis)
Nel Vangelo di oggi (cfr Gv 10,27-30) Gesù si presenta come il vero Pastore del popolo di Dio. Egli parla del rapporto che lo lega alle pecore del gregge, cioè ai suoi discepoli, e insiste sul fatto che è un rapporto di conoscenza reciproca […] vediamo che l’opera di Gesù si esplica in alcune azioni: Gesù parla, Gesù conosce, Gesù dà la vita eterna, Gesù custodisce (Papa Francesco)
To enter into communion with God, before observing the laws or satisfying religious precepts, it is necessary to live out a real and concrete relationship with him […] And this “scandalousness” is well represented by the sacrament of the Eucharist: what sense can there be, in the eyes of the world, in kneeling before a piece of bread? Why on earth should someone be nourished assiduously with this bread? The world is scandalized (Pope Francis)
Per entrare in comunione con Dio, prima di osservare delle leggi o soddisfare dei precetti religiosi, occorre vivere una relazione reale e concreta con Lui […] E questa “scandalosità” è ben rappresentata dal sacramento dell’Eucaristia: che senso può avere, agli occhi del mondo, inginocchiarsi davanti a un pezzo di pane? Perché mai nutrirsi assiduamente di questo pane? Il mondo si scandalizza (Papa Francesco)
What is meant by “eat the flesh and drink the blood” of Jesus? Is it just an image, a figure of speech, a symbol, or does it indicate something real? (Pope Francis)
Che significa “mangiare la carne e bere il sangue” di Gesù?, è solo un’immagine, un modo di dire, un simbolo, o indica qualcosa di reale? (Papa Francesco)
What does bread of life mean? We need bread to live. Those who are hungry do not ask for refined and expensive food, they ask for bread. Those who are unemployed do not ask for enormous wages, but the “bread” of employment. Jesus reveals himself as bread, that is, the essential, what is necessary for everyday life; without Him it does not work (Pope Francis)
Che cosa significa pane della vita? Per vivere c’è bisogno di pane. Chi ha fame non chiede cibi raffinati e costosi, chiede pane. Chi è senza lavoro non chiede stipendi enormi, ma il “pane” di un impiego. Gesù si rivela come il pane, cioè l’essenziale, il necessario per la vita di ogni giorno, senza di Lui la cosa non funziona (Papa Francesco)

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