The authority of Jesus and ours

(Mt 21:23-27)

"By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?" (Mt 21:23).

In the traditional Judaizing environment of the early communities, questions about Christ's authority in laying siege to the ordinary religious system, and his standing apart even from recognised prophets such as the Baptist, were bouncing around.

The only answer: the power of God expressed in the sign of the times - fermenting consciences.

Jesus' mission was not a regular one: he disconcerted the atmosphere, so his sharp, living Word had to be contained at all costs.

Such bold behaviour would have seemed irreverent towards the authorities, even if adopted by the expected Messiah himself. And a landless one could only be his false pretender....

The religious leaders whom the Lord confronted - rooted in established patterns of thought and strategies, even coinage - were always content to fit Heaven into closed dishcloths.

Even the faithful in the congregations of Mt seemed under the tutelage of interests, ways, words and deeds imposed by the despotic climate.

In the 1970s-80s, Jewish converts to the Lord were persecuted because they resisted the customs and pressures of established religious leaders and the power system.

Some had already thoughtlessly attempted the diplomatic route, trying to reconcile Faith and Empire.

As Paul, by now sadly aware of the defeat of his theology, said: 'Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh, force you to be circumcised, just so as not to be persecuted because of the cross of Christ'.

Mt tries to help his communities in Galilee and Syria: they should continue fearless, and not be seduced by official religious practices, nor polluted by the corrupt ideology of the various Caesars.

The evangelist also seems to suggest to the faithful in Christ to avoid punctilious diatribes, with the representatives of a world only apparently stable - on the contrary destined to implode on its own contradictions.

The Tao Tê Ching (v) writes: "To speak much and scrutinise rationally, is worth less than to be empty". And Master Wang Pi comments: 'He who does not talk and does not reason surely scrutinises the reason of things'.

After the expulsion of the sellers and usurer-profaners from the Temple (Mt 21:12ff), Jesus' fate is sealed.

The true god of the ancient high places is not touched: the sack of the 'masters' and the treasure of the priests involved.

Those in charge of the black affairs of the sacred precinct appeared believing and loyal, but only when scrutinised from the outside.

Their inner eye and activity well concealed under their cloaks and behind the scenes lay on anything but spiritual goods.

They were masters of everything, so no one had to take any initiative without their placet. Let alone affect religious commerce.

Who ever gave the imprimatur to a carpenter's son to stand in the way of lavish earnings, and undermine their prestige?

Useful beliefs and habitual income were 'vested rights'.

Unfortunately, the history of religions is punctuated with episodes of plagiarism and compromise, even in times when the economic and social situation became difficult or complex (like today).

Where the less affluent classes declined the risks, the more willingly they outsourced the difficult management of personal freedom - leaving the field open to business partners with God, manipulators of conscience.

But here - by dint of permits to be asked for with deference, similar proceedings (and smuggling 'cordatas') - that freshness full of wonder, typical of the soul open to adventure and the passion of love, was finally lacking.

Therefore, according to Jesus, no man can give 'permission' for any person to be reflective and dissolved.

There is an unpredictable path even for those who are used to being directed in every affair.

The seed borne by the wind of the Spirit makes its own plant, which does not necessarily resemble the surrounding ones: it does not bind itself in its particular expressiveness, and it also flies out of bounds.

Although the constituted authorities absolutely did not want to lose control of things and imposed the usual standard pious life - with its own spin-offs - according to Christ, God alone could have stewarded the seed, roots and development.

Through his intimates, the new Kingdom - untied - is to be proposed to the whole world, in the spirit of selflessness... and as a Surprise.

Unforeseen and unburdened attributes, which the Son reveals in his caring for the weak, and opposing the wily; in his Person.

We manifest independence and freedom, because Jesus himself demonstrated it, overriding all expectations and intentions.

The Master was not a qualunquist with those who hatched plots of trade and even demanded approval.Without seeking lexical concordances, he emphasised that orthodoxy should not be confused with repetition.

The guarantees of the past often clog up minds and clog up paths that then lead to frontier experiences.

In this way, sooner or later the leaders would have been dismayed by those who do not endure ratifications, finally acknowledging their ignorance.

They would run themselves aground - overwhelmed by their own cheating and their anxiety not to lose power over the people [increasingly intolerant of 'visas'].

This, even because of the desire not to expose themselves (vv.25-27a). 

Tactical perplexity, which reveals unbelief - lukewarmness - total lack of Faith.

As Pope Francis pointed out:

Jesus, with intelligence, answers with another question and puts the chief priests "in a corner", asking them whether John the Baptist baptised with an authority that came to him from heaven, that is, from God or from men. Matthew describes their reasoning, reread by the Pontiff "If we say, "From heaven", they will say to us, "Why did you not believe?"; if we say, "From men", people will come against us. And they wash their hands of it and say: 'We do not know'. This, the Holy Father commented, "is the attitude of the mediocre, the liars of faith".

"Not only did Pilate wash his hands of it," the Pope explained, these also wash their hands of it: 'We do not know'. This means, Francis continued, "not entering into the history of men, not getting involved in problems, not fighting to do good, not fighting to heal so many people in need.... 'Better not. Let's not get dirty'".

That is why, the Pontiff clarified, Jesus replies "with the same tune: 'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do this'". In fact, "these are two attitudes of lukewarm Christians", recalled Francis, "of us - as my grandmother used to say - "rose-water Christians"; Christians like this: without consistency".

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 16-17/12/2019].

In his commentary on the Tao (LXV) Master Ho-Shang Kung writes: "The man who possesses the mysterious virtue is so profound that he cannot be probed, so inscrutable that he has no limit.

The silence of those who in Christ are still educating the protagonists of the sacred places is often God's righteous echo, more eloquent than many brilliant disquisitions (v.27b).

Thus Jesus avoids the ambiguity of mental restriction or evasive semantics: in Him the non-answer to the leaders is transformed into a question.

The Lord remains silent, but without deflecting the question.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you demonstrate autonomy and emancipation from those who aspire to control your personality, only to make you a (licensed) labourer in (their) temple?

In your opinion: despite their pompous appearances of rank, did the people's spiritual leaders and temple officials have anything to do with the One they were celebrating?

Sometimes, perhaps - even us - little or nothing?

Translating power into humility

Jesus' word to the people immediately opens up access to the Father's will and to the truth about themselves. Not so, however, for the scribes, who had to strive to interpret the Holy Scriptures with countless reflections (...)

Divine authority is not a force of nature. It is the power of God's love that creates the universe and, by becoming incarnate in the Only-Begotten Son, descending into our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. Romano Guardini writes: 'Jesus' entire existence is the translation of power into humility...it is sovereignty that here lowers itself to the form of a servant' (Il Potere, Brescia 1999, 141,142).

For man, authority often means possession, power, dominion, success. For God, on the other hand, authority means service, humility, love; it means entering into the logic of Jesus who stoops to wash the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13:5), who seeks the true good of man, who heals wounds, who is capable of a love so great that it gives life, because it is Love. In one of her Letters, St Catherine of Siena writes: 'It is necessary that we see and know, in truth, with the light of faith, that God is supreme and eternal Love, and can will nothing but our good' (Ep. 13 in: Le Lettere, vol. 3, Bologna 1999, 206).

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 29 January 2012]

The words Jesus addresses to the people immediately give access to the will of the Father and to the truth about themselves. This was not the case for the scribes who instead had to make an effort to interpret the Sacred Scriptures with countless reflections (...)

The divine authority is not a force of nature. It is the power of the love of God that creates the universe and, becoming incarnate in the Only-Begotten Son, descending into our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. Romano Guardini wrote: “Jesus’ entire existence is the translation of power into humility... here is the sovereignty which lowers itself into the form of a servant” (Il Potere, Brescia 1999, 141-142).

Authority, for human beings, often means possession, power, dominion and success. Instead for God authority means service, humility and love; it means entering into the logic of Jesus who stoops to wash his disciples’ feet (cf. Jn 13:5), who seeks man’s true good, who heals wounds, who is capable of a love so great that he gives his life, because he is Love. In one of her Letters St. Catherine of Siena wrote: “It is necessary for us to see and know, in truth, with the light of the faith, that God is supreme and eternal Love and cannot want anything but our good” (Ep. 13 in: Le Lettere, vol. 3, Bologna 1999, 206).

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 29 January 2012]

This is not the appropriate place for quoting the confirmations of this fact which run through the whole history of humanity. What is certain is that from the most ancient times the dictate of conscience has guided every human subject towards an objective moral norm which finds concrete expression in respect for the other person and in the principle of not doing to that person what one would not wish done to oneself (41).

[41] "The moral law", Confucius says, "is not distant from us... The wise man does not make many mistakes regarding the moral law. He has as his principle: do not do to others what you would not wish done to you" (Chung Yung: Equilibrium and Norm, 13). A Japanese master of ancient times (Dengyo Daishi, also called Saicho, who lived 767-822 A.D.) urges people to be "forgetful of self, doers of good to others: this represents the summit of friendship and compassion" (cf. W.T. De Bary, Sources of Japanese Tradition, New York 1958, Vol I, p. 127). Nor can one fail to mention Mahatma Gandhi, who taught the "power of truth" (satyagraha), which conquers without violence by the dynamism intrinsic to just action.

[Pope John Paul II, Dilecti Amici n.7]

Two attitudes of lukewarm Christians - 'cornering God and washing their hands of Him' - are dangerous: because 'it is like challenging God'. If the Lord cornered us "we would never enter Paradise" and woe if he then "washed his hands of us". This is how Pope Francis, in his homily during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Monday 16 December, reread the Gospel of Matthew proposed by the liturgy: the one about the dialogue between Jesus and the chief priests, who ask him with what authority he teaches in the temple.

Jesus, the Pontiff recalled, exhorted the people, healed them, taught and performed miracles, and thus unnerved the chief priests, because with his gentleness and dedication to the people he attracted everyone to him. While they, the officials, were respected by the people, who however did not approach them "because they did not trust them". So they agreed 'to corner Jesus'. And they ask him, Francis continued, "By what authority do you do these things?" For 'you are not a priest, a doctor of the law, you have not studied in our universities. You are nothing'.

Jesus, with intelligence, answers with another question and corners the chief priests, asking them whether John the Baptist baptised with an authority that came to him from heaven, that is, from God or from men. Matthew describes their reasoning, reread by the Pontiff "If we say, "From heaven", they will say to us, "Why did you not believe?"; if we say, "From men", people will come against us. And they wash their hands of it and say: 'We do not know'. This, the Holy Father commented, "is the attitude of the mediocre, the liars of faith".

"Not only did Pilate wash his hands of it," the Pope explained, these also wash their hands of it: 'We do not know'. This means, Francis continued, "not to enter into the history of men, not to involve oneself in the problems, not to fight to do good, not to fight to heal so many people in need.... 'Better not. Let's not get dirty'".

That is why, the Pontiff clarified, Jesus replies "with the same tune: 'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do this'". In fact, "these are two attitudes of lukewarm Christians", recalled Francis, "of us - as my grandmother used to say - "rose-water Christians"; Christians like this: without consistency". Hence, the Pontiff explained, that attitude of "putting God in the corner: 'Either you do this to me or I will never go to a church again'".

The other attitude of lukewarmness, the Pope continued, is washing one's hands of it, like "the disciples of Emmaus that morning of the Resurrection": they see the women "all rejoicing because they had seen the Lord", but they do not trust them, because the women "are too imaginative"; and so they wash their hands of it and so they enter the confraternity "of St. Pilate".

"So many Christians," Pope Francis then denounced, "wash their hands of it before the challenges of culture, the challenges of history, the challenges of the people of our time; even before the smallest challenges. How many times, he recalled, "we hear the stingy Christian in front of a person who asks for alms and does not give it: 'No, no I do not give because then these people get drunk. He washes his hands of it'. And to those who reply, continued the Pontiff: "But he has no food.... - It's his business: I don't want him to get drunk'. We hear this many times, many times".

"Putting God in a corner and washing one's hands of him," was the Pontiff's warning, "are two dangerous attitudes, because it is like challenging God. Let us think what would happen if the Lord cornered us. We would never enter Paradise. And what would happen if the Lord washed his hands of us? Poor things". These are, Pope Francis concludes, "two hypocritical attitudes of the educated".

"No, not this one. I don't meddle", so the Pope voiced the hypocritical educated, "I corner people, because they are dirty people", while "in front of this I wash my hands of it because it is their business". Hence Francis' final invitation to see "if there is something like this in us"; and if there is to cast out "these attitudes to make way for the Lord who comes."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 16-17/12/2019]

Crisis of the titanic spirit

(Mt 11:2-11)

«What did you go out to contemplate in the desert? But what did you come out to see?» (vv.7.8.9).

The Lord wants to help us to become deeply aware of the stretch of road travelled and of what is still ahead of us.

We are not already in possession of Salvation. We have to reflect on the true Exodus still to be done.

Baptist and Jesus never attended court palaces. This is clear (v.8).

The spirit of hedonism or of domestication persuades and attracts us, but it softens and weakens the frankness, the vitality of every path.

Instead, Christ proposes another movement of Conversion: a further excavation, which distinguishes his proposal from that of the Precursor.

«Truly, I say to you, one greater than John the Baptist has not arose among the born of women; but the smallest in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him» (v.11).

For a journey of authentic and finally mature growth - sons in the Son - it is appropriate to free ourselves from every model of perfection.

Adopting a one-sided way does not lead to any blossoming, rather to making things worse.

In the positive (and intimate) itinerary there is no single road. Life is variety, change, resurrection experience.

At that horizon, the greatest obstacles in responding to the personal Call by Name arise precisely from identifications.

Resolute recognitions is always artificial. They do not awaken us from swampy situations, nor do they let us find the gold of mysterious, intimate, wise inclinations.

Existence and the people themselves are in fact not “either/or”. And the path of Life in the Spirit accepts the shades of typeface.

They can sometimes appear as confusing notes, typical of personalities to be corrected. This is how it was imagined until not so long ago; a situation that, however, tended to impoverish and level us.

The ancient devout idea - which has conditioned us so much - was in fact linked to the primacy of external moral "coherence" [correspondence between ideas and actions].

Christ replaces this banal thought with a completely different focus: the correspondence between inner states and their manifestation.

In short, a «little in the kingdom of the heavens» can also be a misfit and disturbing, an eccentric and reprehensible restless - but who would like to grow.

So he does not cover his own internal struggles.

Not infrequently circumstance smiles, moralisms, or the same good manners, veil ideas, impulses, opposite habits that somehow, sooner or later, will find their way to become protagonists.

Not to mention - even in religion - of the dirigiste attitudes, which we do not know well which "double" they hide.

They are not true linearity, authentic order; much less "discipline".

The Master dreams that his apostles turn away from rash judgments and abstract ideals. Too easy. They do not make us perceive clearly.

In short, we must suspend clichés about love for God and others, and the think coarse about ourselves - as well as absorbed opinions.

Contrasts are natural.

Discomfort is the primordial language of the soul that calls us to displace our gaze, to activate the spirit towards new trajectories to explore.

Only in this Exodus will we dock at the Promised Land, a virgin territory to be discovered. To be redone every day.

Not by cutting the Roots horizontally, but starting from them.

[3rd Sunday of Advent (year A) Gaudete, December 14, 2025]

(Mt 11:2-11)

Crisis of the titanic spirit. Perplexity of the Baptist

(Mt 11:2-6)

This is the so-called crisis of the Baptist. Ultimately, it is the crossroads of our own experience in the growth of Faith.

The name John means God-is-merciful, but here the last of the ancient prophets and forerunner of Christ is scandalised by excessive Mercy: without conditions.

Jesus performs all positive signs of recovery. No condemnation, no punishment: this is the prodigious Word!

The people of the righteous are now of a different nature - disconcerting, as they also include unbelievers.

As with Zacchaeus-Matthew [Lk 19:1-10]: those who are ashamed to show themselves and present themselves are not punished, but are rehabilitated in society. 

The bowels of God's mercy give life to those who have lost it.

Christ does not break, he fixes: even those who find themselves off the path 'according to religion' - and feel repugnant, repellent even to themselves.

He censures the vengeance (v. 5) of the messianic oracles of the First Testament [cf. Is 29:20ff. 61:2]: because the authentic 'Land that will give birth to shadows' (Is 26:19), the true 'parched ground that becomes springs of water' [Is 35:7 - it is not clear why this is excluded from the liturgy] will not be dirigiste or forensic.

Perhaps we too would not expect so many positions of concern, but the Master throws everything up in the air and replaces the appearances of the stone Sanctuary.

A sacred reversal: because in fact it promoted an unfair, opportunistic, corrupt, unscrupulous mentality.

A way of thinking useful to cunning comedians, to the strong and the quick; humiliating for those outside the circle.

It was not a Kingdom of God that was holed up there, but rather the camp of the 'great', who ultimately bent where the wind blew - in some cases of manipulation, even today sometimes expropriating people of themselves.

No one would have expected a cleansing of all the spiritual toxins that shaped the pious life of those who love power.

Jesus recovered with lightness, because his Word, his Works and his high Discernment awakened the most personal sides.

People's own characters did not lead them to regret kingdoms.

The intimate vocation invites us to get involved - igniting the love that turns the page, not the love that angrily plants itself in the traps of fear.

The Call by Name frees us from the shackles of artificial entrapments, which prevent us from continuing naturally.

Devoid of a titanic spirit, the new Rabbi awakened resources and courage that the least among us did not even suspect they had as an unexpressed gift.

The Master tirelessly stimulated their exceptional - even decisive - contribution to the history of Salvation.

He encouraged the impulses of those whom common devout opinion considered sick or unbalanced because they did not conform - but who had truly multifaceted gifts.

Warm and propulsive faces.

The young Master favoured dreams of transformation, not just of shelter - all with the usual colour (pyjamas or armour).

He welcomed the unleashing of natural sides and other identifications, more elegant and soft, or strange, fascinating in their uniqueness.

He taught not to give up and plan and practise, but to listen, welcome and accept oneself - waiting for new energies: profiles aroused by moments of need, by contact with one's own deep states.

It did not diminish the sense of Mystery brought about by the right time, or by the very annoyances that provide us with valuable insights [more than the boomerang of ascetic voluntarism, as ideal as it is artificial].

He made us rediscover the convincing charm of the beauty of life in subtle tones, without the exaggeration of continuous strong colours.

At that time, lacerations were also caused by nationalism, which accentuated wounds and altered the balance of the human family, on which the Father dreamed of 'resting'.

Well, Christ also praised the slowness of the less angry. Because the gentle pace brought out the inner root, the specific Mission and appearance even of the voiceless.

In this way, not with peremptory acts of muscle, but spontaneously, from within.

All this, with a transparent and sacred authenticity - starting from the custody of one's own qualitative Calling, brought to awareness without too many strokes of genius or strength.

Only when ready.

It stimulated the discovery of the codes of the unexpected, knowing how to wait for new readiness and evaluating... because those who begin to see their own story with new eyes are already on the threshold of change.

Being content with the old song [or joining in with the glamorous anthem] would not have developed the discernment of broad horizons and ways, regenerating even if only carried in the heart.

We would have been content with some disembodied fantasy, or a return to the usual ancient village, or somewhere else nearby.

The heaviness of ideas and conformism, clichés, traditions, guilt, activism and moralistic judgements caged personalities.

Never before Christ would the subjugated people have imagined the Most High as anything other than an energetic and spiritual vampire, full of plans and expectations of formal perfection.

Instead, thanks to the Son, they could discover that the Father blesses the personal and social recovery of opposites.

It is precisely eccentricities that complete us and stimulate [not only ornamentally] the conviviality of differences.

Saying, for example, 'this is our culture and way of doing things!' or 'we must do this and be à la page' limits our operational and innovative faculties and does not surprise or amaze anyone.

On the contrary, one-sidedness always accentuates external and internal enmity and limits achievements and independence of action (based on discrepancies).

Jesus also invited John the Baptist to ignite his inner world and change his outlook - because by focusing only on problems and controls, solutions are no longer visible.

You don't go back to being a child; you don't turn intruders into jewels. You don't encounter your own infinite part.

In short, he wanted him to personally undergo the Conversion from religiosity to Faith that he preached to others.

The Roots: the true Friend and the great enemy

John the Baptist, Jesus, the courts: differences in exodus

    'What did you go out into the desert to see? What did you go out to see?' (vv. 7-8-9).

The Lord wants to help us become deeply aware of the road we have travelled and what still lies ahead.

We are not yet in possession of Salvation. We need to reflect on the true Exodus that still lies ahead.

John the Baptist and Jesus never frequented the palaces of the court. This is clear (v. 8).

The hedonistic or domesticating spirit flatters and attracts us, but it dulls and saps the frankness and vitality of every journey.

Instead, Christ proposes another movement of Conversion: a further excavation, which distinguishes his proposal even from that of the Precursor.

'Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he' (v. 11).

For a path of authentic and ultimately mature growth - children in the Son - it is appropriate to free ourselves from any model of perfection.

Adopting a unilateral path does not lead to any flowering, but rather to a shrinking of things.

In the positive (and intimate) itinerary, there is no single path. Life is variety, change, the experience of resurrection.

In this horizon, the greatest obstacles in responding to our personal Call by Name arise precisely from identifications.

Resolute recognitions are always artificial. They do not wake us up from swampy situations, nor do they allow us to rediscover the gold of mysterious, intimate, wise inclinations.

Existence and people themselves are not black and white. And the path of Life in the Spirit accepts nuances of character.

These can sometimes appear as confusing notes, typical of personalities in need of correction. This was the belief until not long ago, but it tended to impoverish and level us.

The ancient devout idea - which has conditioned us so much - was in fact linked to the primacy of external moral 'consistency' [correspondence between ideas and actions].

Christ replaces this banal thought with a completely different focus: the correspondence between inner states and their manifestation.

In short, a 'little one in the kingdom of heaven' may also be a misfit and disturbing, an eccentric and reprehensible restless person - who, however, would like to grow. So he does not cover up his inner struggles.

Not infrequently, smiles of circumstance, moralising, or even good manners, veil ideas, impulses, and opposing habits that, sooner or later, will find their way to the forefront.

Not to mention—even in religion—authoritarian attitudes, which hide a "double" that is not well understood. They are not true linearity, authentic order, nor "discipline."

The Master dreams that his apostles will move away from rash judgements and abstract ideals. They are too easy. They do not allow us to perceive clearly.

In short, we must suspend the clichés about love for God and others, as well as the opinions we have absorbed.

Contrasts are natural. Discomforts are the primordial language of the soul that calls us to turn our gaze, to activate the spirit towards new paths to explore.

Only in such an Exodus will we arrive at the Promised Land, a virgin land waiting to be discovered. To be redone every day.

Not by cutting our roots horizontally, but by starting from them.

A different concept

1. In previous catechesis, we have tried to show the most relevant aspects of the truth about the Messiah as it was foretold in the old covenant and as it was inherited by the generation of Jesus of Nazareth's contemporaries, who entered the new stage of divine revelation. Of this generation, those who followed Jesus did so because they were convinced that in him the truth about the Messiah was fulfilled: that he himself was the Messiah, the Christ. Significant are the words with which Andrew, the first of the apostles called by Jesus, announces to his brother Simon: 'We have found the Messiah (which means the Christ)' (Jn 1:41).

It must be acknowledged, however, that such explicit statements are rather rare in the Gospels. This is also due to the fact that in Israeli society at that time there was a widespread image of the Messiah to which Jesus did not want to adapt his figure and his work, despite the amazement and admiration aroused by all that he 'did and taught' (Acts 1:1).

2. Indeed, we know that John the Baptist himself, who on the banks of the Jordan had pointed to Jesus as 'the one who was to come' (cf. Jn 1: 15:30), having seen in him with prophetic spirit "the Lamb of God" who came to take away the sins of the world, John, who had foretold the "new baptism" that Jesus would confer with the power of the Spirit, sent his disciples to ask Jesus the question when he was already in prison: "Are you the one who is to come, or should we wait for another?" (Mt 11:3).

3. Jesus does not leave John and his messengers without an answer: "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them" (Lk 7:22). With this answer, Jesus intends to confirm his messianic mission, referring in particular to the words of Isaiah (cf. Is 35:4-5; 61:1). And he concludes: "Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me" (Lk 7:23). These last words sound like a direct appeal to John, his heroic precursor, who had a different concept of the Messiah.

In fact, in his preaching, John had portrayed the Messiah as a severe judge. In this sense, he had spoken of the "imminent wrath" and the "axe already laid to the root of the trees" (cf. Lk 3:7, 9), to cut down every tree "that does not bear good fruit" (Lk 3:9). Certainly, Jesus would not have hesitated to deal firmly and even harshly, when necessary, with obstinacy and rebellion against the word of God, but he would have been above all the herald of "good news to the poor" and, through his works and wonders, he would have revealed the saving will of God, the merciful Father.

4. Jesus' response to John also presents another element that is interesting to note: he avoids openly proclaiming himself the Messiah. In the social context of the time, in fact, this title was very ambiguous: people commonly interpreted it in a political sense. Jesus therefore prefers to refer to the testimony offered by his works, desiring above all to persuade and inspire faith.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 4 March 1987]

3. In John's teaching, which foreshadows that of Jesus, a fundamentally positive view of society, classes and professions emerges: none of them excludes one from salvation, if one is committed to practising justice and charity. However, the Baptist is severe, even harsh, in his proclamation of Christ who will come with a winnowing fork to clean the threshing floor and put the axe to the roots. It is a frank and strong message that outlines the new relationships of justice among men.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus, December 1990]

The Church begins by evangelising herself

As an evangeliser, the Church begins by evangelising herself. A community of believers, a community of lived and shared hope, a community of fraternal love, she needs to listen continually to what she must believe, the reasons for her hope, the new commandment of love. As the people of God immersed in the world and often tempted by idols, it always needs to hear proclaimed "the mighty works of God" [41] that converted it to the Lord, and to be summoned and gathered together by him anew. This means, in a word, that it always needs to be evangelised if it is to retain its freshness, enthusiasm and strength to proclaim the Gospel. The Second Vatican Council recalled [42] and the 1974 Synod strongly reiterated this theme of the Church evangelising itself through constant conversion and renewal in order to evangelise the world with credibility.

[40] Cf. Acts 2:42-46; 4:32-35; 5:12-16

[41] Cf. Ibid. 2:11; 1 Pet. 2:9

[42] Cf. Ad Gentes, 5, 11, 12: AAS 58, 1966, pp. 951-952, 959-961

[Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi n.15]

The great Baptiser, smaller than the smallest

And why Elijah

(Mt 11:11-15)

St Augustine said: 'In the Old Testament the New is hidden, in the New Testament the Old is revealed'. But on a different level.

It is true that the message of the second Covenant arises from the humus of the first, just as the new reveals the meaning and is the culmination of the old.

It is also certain that throughout the history of Redemption, the Baptist was a crossroads of radical, unexpected, decisive proposals.

He had refused to be part of the priestly class, corrupt and resistant to the newness of the Spirit.

He preached social justice and the forgiveness of sins outside the Temple, thanks to a change of mentality that unfolded in real life.

According to John, the factor of salvation could not be a formal ritual, but rather concrete conversion and relationship: for example, no longer thinking only of oneself. 

But he did not reveal - like the Son - the depth of the Father's heart.

He believed that the work of the new prophets should bring immediate (summary...) justice.

He dreamed of being able to recover the ancient purity and strength by patching up the ingredients of the religion of the fathers; in short, of returning to the origins.

All this by purifying and updating the great Temple - not by supplanting it in its juridical-theological configuration.

According to Jesus, however, it remained radically deviant, because it was inclined towards force and incapable of valuing fragility and insecurity.

The God of archaic beliefs disdained contradictions. He came to judge and punish according to a cold code, as ideal as it was distant from everyone [even his own believers].

But a Most High sovereign who does not care for weak people or things he does not like does not seem lovable: he triggers and accentuates the sectarian mechanisms of competitive, anxiety-inducing, demeaning devotion.

And the problem 'Where do I find trust?' remains unresolved; it does not move an inch.

Well, we cannot draw energy from a severe, purist, forced and sterilising approach that is contrary to the flowering of our precious Uniqueness.

The constant mortification of the eccentricities that would make us fantastic demotivates us.

Locked in armour that does not belong to us, we become grim, enemies of life, instead of exceptional, unique, flourishing.

This is why Jesus announces the novelty of a Kingdom to be 'welcomed'.

Not to be set up with sweat and prepared with effort, according to cultural, legalistic, external dictates, but precisely to be welcomed and included; because it displaces, transcends, astounds.

The new eyes to discover the meaning of a whole journey are transmitted only by the one who is Friend.

And Christ does this not when we position ourselves well or equip ourselves strongly - remaining in a dirigiste attitude - but in total listening (v. 15).

In this sense, John is inferior to any of the least of the least and without weight (v. 11) who presents himself at the threshold of the community.

This person wants to enjoy fraternal life and learn how to internalise the transition from religious meaning to Faith, to self-fulfilment, to Love.

Even the Baptist's idea of the Messiah was not that of Christ willing to embrace, recover, value and even favour the voiceless or those far away who were considered impure.

Our Master and Brother, on the contrary, is an advocate of works of life alone, filled with happiness (vv. 2-6). Not of rudeness and harsh mortification - his own and that of his enemies - or accusations.

For Jesus, the mikròi (v. 11) - that is, the least, the strangers and the beggars - carry in their hearts and in the Kingdom the seed of the newness of the heavens torn open forever.

Although they have little energy, they bring the dove of peace [Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22].

They are icons of an energy that is no longer aggressive, even though they suffer it (v. 12) [cf. Lk 16:16].

And as Paul VI emphasised, at the price of a filial style, open to rethinking oneself, crucifying oneself - in the intimate virtue of reversal:

'This Kingdom and this salvation, key words of the evangelisation of Jesus Christ, can be received by every man as grace and mercy, and yet each must, at the same time, conquer them by force - they belong to the violent, says the Lord - through toil and suffering, through a life according to the Gospel, through renunciation and the cross, through the spirit of the Beatitudes. But first of all, each person conquers them through a total inner reversal that the Gospel designates with the name 'metanoia', a radical conversion, a profound change of mind and heart."

[Evangelii Nuntiandi, n.10].

The man of faith has strength, passion and determination - especially incisive when it comes to building his destiny (by Grace).

Yet he will never be a surly shouter or a belligerent bully.

For this reason, the Son of God can place before the distinguished personality of the great and famous Saint of the desert and the Jordan - an unblemished conqueror of crowds - not one of his veterans, but any inexperienced, new, limping, sinful person; who has been set free because they have been regenerated.

This is the new era, where no one is singled out and besieged anymore. The different Kingdom is one of non-institutional expectations (sometimes yawn-inducing).

The creative states of any infant - outside the loop, but sensitive - are welcomed and awakened, rather than pulled aside and silenced.

The authentic engine of history is a dedicated but open and calm spontaneous, natural, innate power.

Whether in reversals (even epochal ones), in the search for integral human development, or in the incessant search for peace, this baptismal attitude knows how to start from scratch.

'If it is a question of starting again, it will always be from the bottom up' [cf. encyclical Fratelli Tutti n.235], not from those who have already achieved.

Humble energy is in fact the typical resource even of the least capable and most insignificant of authentic disciples.

It is a unique virtue and an incomparable spirit that does not diminish the space for existence.

On the contrary, it unties the real knots and does not impoverish things.

To internalise and live the message:

What does everything mean to you?

And added value?

What if the least in the Kingdom were Jesus himself?

Whether you are miserable and incapable of triumphing, consider it nothing... or does it block you?

Does the community welcome your desires or pull them aside?

Why Elijah

At the time, economic difficulties and Roman domination in the Palestinian area forced people to fall back on an individual model of life.

Problems of subsistence and social structure had resulted in the breakdown of relationships (and bonds) both within clans and within families themselves.

These were cohesive groups that had always provided assistance, support and concrete defence to the weakest and most vulnerable members.

Everyone expected that the coming of Elijah and the Messiah would have a positive outcome in rebuilding fraternal life, which had been undermined at that time.

As it was said: 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers' [Mal 3:22-24 announced the sending of Elijah] in order to rebuild the disintegrated community.

Obviously, the recovery of the people's internal sense of identity was frowned upon by the system of domination. Imagine the significance of Jesus' calling people by name, which would have opened up a thousand possibilities for the pious life of the people.

John had strongly preached a rethinking of the idea of freedom conquered (crossing of the Jordan), a reorganisation of established religious ideas (conversion and forgiveness of sins in real life, outside the Temple) and social justice.

Having an advanced plan for reform in solidarity (Lk 3:7-14), in practice it was the Baptist himself who had already carried out the mission of the expected Elijah [Mt 17:10-12; Mk 9:11-13].

For this reason, he had been removed: he could reassemble a whole people of outcasts - marginalised both from the circle of power and from a top-down, accommodating, servile and collaborationist religiosity.

A compartmentalised devotion that allowed absolutely no 'remembrance' of oneself or of the ancient social community structure, which was inclined towards sharing.

In short, the system of things, interests and hierarchies forced people to take root in that unsatisfactory configuration. But here is Jesus, who does not bow down.

Those who have the courage to embark on a path of biblical spirituality and Exodus learn that everyone has a different way of taking the field and being in the world.

So, is there a wise balance between respect for oneself, the context, and others?

Jesus is presented by Matthew to his communities as the One who wanted to continue the work of building the Kingdom, both in terms of vocational quality and in terms of rebuilding coexistence.

With one fundamental difference: compared to ethnic-religious conceptions, the Master does not propose a sort of body ideology to everyone, which ends up depersonalising the eccentric gifts of the weak - those that are unpredictable for a consolidated mentality, but which trace the future.

In a climate of reinforced clans, it is often the weightless and those who know only abysses (and not peaks) who are driven to accept a reassuring conformation of ideas - rather than a dynamic one - and a forge of wider acceptance.

Those who know only poverty and not heights are the first to be invited by adverse circumstances to obscure their view of the future, especially in times of crisis.

The poor remain unable to look in another direction and move on, charting a different destiny - precisely because of external factors beyond their control: cultural, traditional, income-related or 'spiritual'.

All recognisable boxes, perhaps not always alarming, but far from our nature.

And immediately: with condemnation within reach of common judgement [for failure to conform].

A sentence that seeks to clip our wings, destroy the hidden and secret atmosphere that truly belongs to personal uniqueness, and lead us all - even in an exasperated way.

The Lord proposes a communal life of character, but not obstinate or labelled - not inattentive... as in the measure in which it is forced to follow the same old route as always. Or in the same direction as the chieftains.

Christ wants a more flourishing collaboration, which makes good use of resources (internal and external) and differences.

A structure for the unprecedented: in such a way that, for example, failures or inexorable tensions are not disguised - on the contrary, they become opportunities, unknown and unthinkable but very fruitful for life.

Here, even crises become important, indeed fundamental, in order to evolve the quality of being together - in the richness of the 'polyhedron' which, as Pope Francis writes, 'reflects the confluence of all the partialities that maintain their originality within it' [Evangelii Gaudium n.236].

Without regenerating ourselves, merely repeating and copying collective modes - from a sphere model (ibid.) - or those of others, i.e. from nomenclature, not personally reworked or validated, we do not grow; we do not move towards our own unique mission.

The lacerating sense of emptiness is not filled.

By attempting to manipulate characters and personalities to guide them to 'how they should be', one is not at peace with oneself or with others. One does not convey to the many different people a perception of esteem and adequacy, nor a sense of benevolence - let alone joie de vivre.

Curved trajectories or trial and error are in keeping with the Father's Perspective and our unique growth.

Difference between religiosity and Faith.

For his Name

(Kingdom of God, Messianic Kingdom, Divine People gathered in the Church)

1. We read in the Constitution Lumen gentium of the Second Vatican Council that "believers in Christ (God) wanted to call them into the Holy Church, which . . . prepared in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant . . . was manifested by the outpouring of the (Holy) Spirit" (Lumen Gentium, 2). We dedicated our previous catechesis to this preparation of the Church in the Old Covenant, in which we saw that, in Israel's progressive awareness of God's plan through the revelations of the prophets and the events of its history, the concept of a future kingdom of God, far greater and more universal than any prediction about the fate of the Davidic dynasty, became increasingly clear. Today we turn to another historical event, rich in theological significance: Jesus Christ begins his messianic mission with the proclamation: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1:15) . Those words mark the entry "into the fullness of time," as St Paul will say (cf. Gal 4:4), and prepare the transition to the New Covenant, founded on the mystery of the redemptive incarnation of the Son and destined to be an eternal Covenant. In the life and mission of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is not only "at hand" (Lk 10:9), but is already present in the world, already at work in human history. Jesus himself says: "The kingdom of God is among you" (Lk 17:21).

2. The difference in level and quality between the time of preparation and that of fulfilment - between the old and the new Covenant - is made known by Jesus himself when, speaking of his precursor John the Baptist, he says: "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Mt 11:11). John, from the banks of the Jordan (and from his prison), certainly contributed more than anyone else, even more than the ancient prophets (cf. Lk 7:26-27), to the immediate preparation of the ways of the Messiah. Nevertheless, in a certain sense, he remains on the threshold of the new kingdom, which entered the world with the coming of Christ and is in the process of being manifested through his messianic ministry. Only through Christ do human beings become true “children of the kingdom”: that is, of the new kingdom far superior to that of which the Jews of his time considered themselves the natural heirs (cf. Mt 8:12).

3. The new kingdom has an eminently spiritual character (...)

4. This transcendence of the kingdom of God is given by the fact that it originates not only from a human initiative, but from the plan, design and will of God himself. Jesus Christ, who makes it present and brings it about in the world, is not only one of the prophets sent by God, but the Son consubstantial with the Father, who became man through the Incarnation. The kingdom of God is therefore the kingdom of the Father and his Son. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of Christ; it is the kingdom of heaven that has opened up on earth to allow men to enter this new world of spirituality and eternity (...)

Together with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit also works for the realisation of the Kingdom already in this world. Jesus himself reveals this: the Son of Man 'casts out demons by the power of God's Spirit', and for this reason 'the kingdom of God has certainly come upon you' (Mt 12:28) (...)

7. The messianic kingdom, brought about by Christ in the world, reveals itself and definitively clarifies its meaning in the context of the passion and death on the cross. Already at the entrance into Jerusalem, an event takes place, arranged by Christ, which Matthew presents as the fulfilment of a prophetic prediction, that of Zechariah about "the king riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9; Mt 21:5). In the mind of the prophet, in the intention of Jesus and in the interpretation of the evangelist, the donkey signified meekness and humility. Jesus was the meek and humble king who entered the city of David, where by his sacrifice he would fulfil the prophecies about true messianic kingship.

This kingship becomes very clear during Jesus' interrogation before Pilate's court (...) before the Roman governor

8. It is a declaration that concludes the entire ancient prophecy that runs through the history of Israel and becomes fact and revelation in Christ. Jesus' words allow us to grasp the flashes of light that pierce the darkness of the mystery condensed in the trinity: Kingdom of God, Messianic Kingdom, People of God gathered in the Church. In this wake of prophetic and messianic light, we can better understand and repeat, with a clearer understanding of the words, the prayer taught to us by Jesus (Mt 6:10): "Thy Kingdom come." It is the Kingdom of the Father, which entered the world with Christ; it is the Messianic Kingdom which, through the work of the Holy Spirit, develops in man and in the world to ascend into the bosom of the Father, in the glory of heaven.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 4 September 1991]

Dear brothers and sisters, next to the invitation to rejoice, today’s Liturgy, with the words of St James that we have heard, also asks us to be constant and patient in waiting for the Lord who comes and to be so together, as a community, avoiding complaints and criticism (cf. Jas 5:7-10).

In the Gospel we heard the question asked by John the Baptist who was in prison: John, who had proclaimed the coming of the Judge who would change the world, and now felt had that the world has remained the same. Thus he sends word to Jesus asking: “Are you ‘He who is to come’, or shall we look for another?”. Is it you or should we expect another? 

In the past two or three centuries many have asked: “But is it really you? Or must the world be changed in a more radical manner? Will you not do it?”. 

And a great tide of prophets, ideologists and dictators have come and said: “It is not him! He did not change the world! It is we!”. And they created their empires, their dictatorships, their totalitarianism which was supposed to change the world. And they changed it, but in a destructive manner. Today we know that of these great promises nothing remained but a great void and great destruction. It was not they.

And thus we must see Christ again and ask Christ: “Is it you?” The Lord, in his own silent way, answers: “You see what I did, I did not start a bloody revolution, I did not change the world with force; but lit many I, which in the meantime form a pathway of light through the millenniums”. 

Let us start here in our Parish with St Maximilian Kolbe, who offered to die of hunger himself in order to save the father of a family. What a great light he became! How much light shone from this figure and encouraged others to give themselves, to be close to the suffering and the oppressed!

Let us think of Damien de Veuster who was a father to lepers, and who lived and died with and for lepers, and has thus brought light to this community.

Let us think of Mother Teresa, who gave so much light to people that, after a life without light, they died with a smile because they were touched by the light of God’s love.

And thus we shall be able to continue and we shall see, as the Lord said in his answer to John, that it is not the violent revolution of the world, but rather the silent light of the truth, of the goodness of God that is the sign of his presence and gives us the certainty that we are loved to the end and are not forgotten, that we are not a product of chance but of a will to love.

Thus we may live, we may feel God’s nearness. “God is close”, says today’s First Reading, he is near us but we are often distant. Let us draw near, let us move into the presence of his light, let us pray the Lord that through contact with him in prayer we ourselves will become light for others.

And this is precisely also the meaning of the parish church: to enter here, to enter into conversation, into contact with Jesus, with the Son of God, so that we ourselves may become one of the smallest lights that he has lit to carry his light into the world which feels it must be redeemed.

Our spirit must be open to this invitation and let us thus walk joyfully towards Christmas, like the Virgin Mary who awaited the Redeemer’s birth in prayer, with intimate and joyful trepidation. 

Amen!

[Pope Benedict, homily, 12 December 2010]

It is significant that, when the messengers sent by John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask Him: "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?", He answered by referring to the same testimony with which He had begun His teaching at Nazareth: "Go and tell John what it is that you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them." He then ended with the words: "And blessed is he who takes no offense at me".

Especially through His lifestyle and through His actions, Jesus revealed that love is present in the world in which we live - an effective love, a love that addresses itself to man and embraces everything that makes up his humanity. This love makes itself particularly noticed in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty - in contact with the whole historical "human condition," which in various ways manifests man's limitation and frailty, both physical and moral. It is precisely the mode and sphere in which love manifests itself that in biblical language is called "mercy." 

Christ, then, reveals God who is Father, who is "love," as St. John will express it in his first letter; Christ reveals God as "rich in mercy," as we read in St. Paul. This truth is not just the subject of a teaching; it is a reality made present to us by Christ. Making the Father present as love and mercy is, in Christ's own consciousness, the fundamental touchstone of His mission as the Messiah; this is confirmed by the words that He uttered first in the synagogue at Nazareth and later in the presence of His disciples and of John the Baptist's messengers.

[Dives in Misericordia n.3]

On this third Sunday of Advent, known as the Sunday “of joy”, the Word of God invites us on the one hand to joy, and on the other hand to the awareness that existence also includes moments of doubt, in which it is difficult to believe. Joy and doubt are both experiences that are part of our lives.

To the explicit invitation to joy of the prophet Isaiah: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom” (35: 1), the Gospel opposes the doubt of John the Baptist: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Mt 11: 3). Indeed, the prophet sees beyond the situation; he discouraged people before him: weak hands, trembling knees, lost hearts (cf. 35: 3-4). It is the same reality that in every age puts faith to the test. But the man of God looks beyond, because the Holy Spirit makes his heart feel the power of His promise, and he announces salvation: “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance” (v. 4). And then everything is transformed: the desert blooms, consolation and joy take possession of the lost of heart, the lame, the blind, the mute are healed (cf. vv. 5-6). This is what is realized with Jesus: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Mt 11: 5).

This description shows us that salvation envelops the whole person and regenerates him. But this new birth, with the joy that accompanies it, always presupposes a death to ourselves and to the sin within us. Hence the call to conversion, which is the basis of the preaching of both the Baptist and Jesus; in particular, it is a question of converting our idea of God. And the time of Advent stimulates us to do this precisely with the question that John the Baptist poses to Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Mt 11: 3). We think: all his life John waited for the Messiah; his lifestyle, his very body is shaped by this expectation. This is also why Jesus praises him with those words: no one is greater than him among those born of a woman (cf. Mt 11: 11). Yet he too had to convert to Jesus. Like John, we too are called to recognize the face that God chose to assume in Jesus Christ, humble and merciful.

Advent is a time of grace. It tells us that it is not enough to believe in God: it is necessary to purify our faith every day. It is a matter of preparing ourselves to welcome not a fairy-tale character, but the God who challenges us, involves us and before whom a choice is imposed. The Child who lies in the manger has the face of our brothers and sisters most in need, of the poor who are “a privileged part of this mystery; often they are the first to recognize God’s presence in our midst” (Apostolic Letter Admirabile signum, 6).

May the Virgin Mary help us so that, as we approach Christmas, let us not allow ourselves to be distracted by external things, but make room in our hearts for the One Who has already come and Who wishes to come again to heal our illnesses and to give us His joy.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 15 December 2019]