(Mt 4:12-23)

 

Conversion and Kingdom Near

 

Accepting and not transferring assessments

(Mt 4:12-17)

 

The Kingdom is near if, thanks to our involvement, God comes to earth and happiness knocks at the door, converting us to something profoundly new: choices of light instead of judgement, possession, the exercise of power, and the display of glory.

The Gospel of Matthew was written to support the communities of Galilee and Syria, composed of converted Jews who suffered accusations of having betrayed the promises of the Covenant and welcomed pagans.

The purpose of the text is to bring out the figure of Jesus the Messiah [no longer the son of David] who brings salvation, extended beyond the boundaries: not only to the chosen people and those who observe its normative clichés.

He excludes no one, and everyone must feel adequate.

Already in the initial genealogy, Matthew heralds the universal ecclesiology of the new Rabbi as a source of abundant blessing, even outside Israel and its observances.

This is not an ambitious reality, an alternative to the Empire or to the life of restricted cultures - absolutely not set up or ruled by us.

 

To encourage his faithful not to fear being excluded, and to recognise themselves in the Master, the evangelist reiterates the criterion of redemption without boundaries.

He does so in the text of the Magi and in the one in question: salvation proposed as a journey, and without too much struggle against it.

The sad situation of ancient times (vv. 14-16) is behind us.

Even in the Sermon on the Mount - for which Matthew 4 prepares the audience - the evangelist emphasises the specificity of the vocation of Christian fraternities.

Their special trait: turning to the whole earth, even to enemies. Without presumption, without any preclusion.

In Christ, there is no longer any imperfection, mistake or unstable condition that can keep us apart.

Everyone is indispensable and precious. Everyone is legitimised. No one has to atone.

In this way, the call not to feel marginalised, the vocation not to neglect oneself and not to neglect others, is reiterated throughout the book.

 

The authentic and divine Herald does not raise his voice or his pace, does not break the bruised reed (Mt 12:2-3), and transcends the boundaries of purity and race.

This is the basis of good formation of those who are close to him; there is no cultural, ethnic or religious gap.

The young Announcer then sends his disciples to all peoples - in the style of opening up without hesitation and not being picky.

The complete idea of what we would today call the 'culture of encounter' was already born in the confrontation with the internal reality of the school of the Baptist.

The son of Zachariah and Elizabeth claimed to be able to prepare well for the Coming of the Kingdom. Conversely, it remained unpredictable.

John's environment was one in which the Announcement was not only positive, nor always full of life and only joy and welcome: often it was judgemental and sharp.

The Baptist did not fully legitimise spontaneity or each person's own ways. He did not dispel the fears of every perplexed soul, the fear of being 'wrong'.

Instead, if the Kingdom with its unexpected facets is here, all we have to do is live it fully and with wonder.

 

Following the Baptist [and pupil, together with his first disciples], the new Master had definitively grasped the difference between reductionist ascetic dynamics and the Father's plan of salvation.

A stimulus towards all-round humanisation - based on the exchange of gifts, the creative freedom of love, and a spirit of broad understanding.

 

The luminous and universal mission of the Son of God is understood by only a few - all fragile and insignificant people - and was slow to establish itself.

This is the condition of the faithful to whom Matthew addresses himself.

The Lord's friends must not give up if they cannot convince everyone immediately.

It is too difficult to make veteran religious and their established realities believe that no one has the exclusive right.

Even the strong and self-confident must simply accept the Life that comes - let alone the weak and errant.

But until the Precursor himself is imprisoned and silenced, even the authentic Messiah lives almost in the shadow of the last of the ancient prophets (cf. Jn 3:22-23).

Then he is forced to flee even from his small, traditionalist and nationalist village (Mt 4:12-13, 25).

No one could believe in a Kingdom without grand proclamations and arduous conditions.

It seemed impossible that the Eternal One could share his life in such a broad way, already among us, so ordinary and nothing exceptional.

As if he were a Father who transcends but draws us all close, without prior conditions of purity.

 

It seemed unlikely to move from the idea of the imminence of the announced empire of power to its daily and unspectacular presence.

All the more so in the Person of the Messiah as servant; not as executioner, leader, or self-sufficient avenger.

Such a humble closeness, nothing sensational, just like his friends, who were converts from popular Judaism and paganism.

To animate the churches at a critical moment, Matthew brings out in the Lord's own story the characteristic experiences and the same peaks of discrimination suffered by the poor members of his tiny fraternities.

Like Jesus, they were not to be overcome by fear, condemnation, narrow-minded separatist and distinctive ideas, nor by feeling like a minority - or by fears of persecution.

In fact, those reborn of such a broad Spirit were no longer to stifle their tendencies and innate inclinations, perceiving their minds and natural abilities as a conflict to be adjusted according to models.

We are not called to a small and stagnant delegation, but to be Light and Presence - in motion - towards ourselves and the multitudes we recognise inside and outside ourselves (vv. 23-25).

Even with silent and not frenzied Faith.

 

The innate wisdom transmitted by God the Creator to each of us can emerge anywhere, in the authenticity of the Gospel.

The Word crosses sacred boundaries: especially when it echoes our essence in a non-artificial way and calls upon our good-natured instinct.

It is a new Voice: one that recomposes the intimate energy of all and unfolds its higher Guidance.

A radical appeal that addresses and even fulfils the disturbances in every woman and man - a world that belongs to us, only apparently inferior.

And it goes beyond the absolute piety of exclusive plans or mortifications.

A reality that does not transfer evaluations beyond the person - but knows how to wait for them and does not dictate procedures, measures, or the rhythms of others; elective.

No foreground, not even religiously 'correct'.

Openness, not effort.

 

Commenting on the Tao Tê Ching (i), Master Ho-shang Kung states: 'Mystery is Heaven. He says that both the man who has desires and the man who has none receive the ch'i from Heaven in the same way'.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

How can you avoid cultural, doctrinal or charismatic closures (everything already planned and regulated) and live the universality of the new humanisation? 

What is the yardstick by which your ecclesial reality approaches those who are different?

 

 

Meaning of "Gospels" and Integral Healing

 

In today's liturgy, the evangelist Matthew presents the beginning of Christ's public mission. It consists essentially in preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, to show that this Kingdom is near, indeed, that it has already come among us. Jesus begins to preach in Galilee, the region where he grew up, a 'peripheral' territory with respect to the centre of the Jewish nation, which is Judea, and in it Jerusalem. But the prophet Isaiah had foretold that this land, assigned to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, would have a glorious future: the people immersed in darkness would see a great light (cf. Is 8:23-9:1), the light of Christ and his Gospel (cf. Mt 4:12-16). The term "gospel" in Jesus' time was used by Roman emperors for their proclamations. Regardless of their content, they were called "good news," that is, announcements of salvation, because the emperor was considered the lord of the world and each of his edicts a harbinger of good. Applying this word to Jesus' preaching therefore had a strongly critical meaning, as if to say: God, not the emperor, is the Lord of the world, and the true Gospel is that of Jesus Christ.

The "good news" that Jesus proclaims can be summed up in these words: "The kingdom of God - or kingdom of heaven - is at hand" (Mt 4:17; Mk 1:15). What does this expression mean? It certainly does not indicate an earthly kingdom limited in space and time, but announces that it is God who reigns, that God is Lord and his lordship is present, actual, and is being realised. The novelty of Christ's message is therefore that God has become close to us in Him, reigning among us, as demonstrated by the miracles and healings He performs. God reigns in the world through His Son made man and with the power of the Holy Spirit, who is called "the finger of God" (cf. Lk 11:20). Wherever Jesus goes, the creative Spirit brings life and people are healed of their bodily and spiritual illnesses. God's lordship is thus manifested in the integral healing of man. In this way, Jesus wants to reveal the face of the true God, the God who is close to us, full of mercy for every human being; the God who gives us the gift of life in abundance, of his own life. The kingdom of God is therefore life triumphing over death, the light of truth dispelling the darkness of ignorance and falsehood.

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, that she may always obtain for the Church the same passion for the Kingdom of God that animated the mission of Jesus Christ: passion for God, for his lordship of love and life; passion for man, encountered in truth with the desire to give him the most precious treasure: the love of God, his Creator and Father.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 27 January 2008]

 

 

An arduous journey, but not without joy

 

The call of the fishermen

(Mt 4:18-23)

 

It is not the call of a leader, but the invitation of a Friend who lives first-hand what he proclaims, exposing himself.

It is he who takes risks and goes before, offering himself as the Lamb. He does not sit down to lecture and teach doctrines.

His "Good News" [Mk 1:15] reveals a divine face opposite to that preached by the official guides: the Father does not absorb our energies, but gives them in fullness and freely.

'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (v. 17) is the famous parallel in Mark: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel'.

Both expressions are, in fact, hendiadys: for example, the two coordinated terms 'repent and believe' express the same meaning. 

But not in a separatist or doctrinal sense.

In short:

The Kingdom is near if, thanks to our involvement, God comes to earth to replace the daily grind, and happiness knocks at the door.

Transformation that comes; change that bursts in. It is not planned down to the smallest detail; it is not built as if it were a scaffold.

It turns us towards something profoundly new: choices of light instead of judgement, possession, the exercise of power, the display of glory.

 

The Baptist claimed to prepare for the coming of the Messiah; Jesus proclaims the Kingdom already close at hand and deeply in tune with human beings - present, therefore simply to be welcomed, in order to live fully.

Following John [his pupil, together with his first disciples], the new Master had definitively grasped the difference between ascetic - reductionist - dynamics and the Father's plan of salvation.

A stimulus towards an all-round humanisation based on the exchange of gifts, the creative freedom of love, and a spirit of broad understanding.

The luminous and universal mission of the Son is understood by only a few - all fragile and insignificant people - and is slow to assert itself.

It is too difficult to make long-standing Judaizing religious leaders and their established realities believe that no one has exclusivity: everyone must simply accept the new Promises of the Covenant.

 

Until John [even more famous than Christ during his public life] is imprisoned and silenced, the Son of God lives almost in the shadow of the Precursor (cf. Jn 3:22-23).

Then he is forced to flee even from his small, traditionalist and nationalist village (Mt 4:12-13).

No one could believe in a divine reality without grand proclamations and arduous conditions.

No one could have imagined a widespread Jerusalem, already among us, so spontaneous, ordinary and open-ended - transcending but bringing us all together.

It was too difficult to move from the idea of the imminent empire of power to its unifying, unspectacular Presence - in the Person of a servant Messiah, not a self-sufficient avenger.

Such a humble closeness, nothing exceptional, like his faithful - 'converts' both from the religion of their fathers and from paganism, and therefore marginalised.

 

In the First Testament, Galilee appears only fleetingly, because observant Jews did not appreciate its contamination of beliefs.

Yet that region of suspicious people becomes the land of change.

In concrete terms, the unexpected invitation to conversion on Galilean soil (v. 18) means: 'Turn the ladder of values upside down!'.

There is indeed a freedom to be regained, but the scene is quick, because the young Master teaches not as the know-it-alls do: with his life.

God says to Abraham, 'Go to the land that I will show you'. Jesus does not say 'Go', but 'Come'.

Abraham is only an envoy; the disciple of Christ on his journey proposes a Person, his whole story.

He is interested in real life: he does not advocate a return to the Temple, to the ancient religion, to the cult that would have had to patch up its already recognised practice.

In this way, here are the first ones called: from 'fishers' to 'fishers of men' (vv. 18-19). The meaning of the expression is clearer in Luke 5:10 [Greek text].

Our mission is to raise to life those who no longer breathe and are suffocating, enveloped by impetuous waves (the forces of negativity).

The true task of the Apostle is to pull everyone out of the polluted environment, where they live in a dehumanising way.

And to place everyone in transparent water, with values that are no longer those of a closed and corrupt society - a habitat of obsessive blocks, useful only to the strong, quick and cunning.

The Son of God calls us to cut away what degrades the experience of personal fulfilment.

He promotes in each person the DNA of the communal God. Transmitted inwardly and unconditionally.

[Commenting on the passage from the Tao Te Ching (LXV), Master Ho-shang Kung emphasises:

'The man who possesses the mysterious virtue is opposed to and different from creatures: they want to increase themselves, the mysterious virtue gives to others'.

 

It is essential to abandon the 'nets' (v. 20): that which envelops, impedes, and stops. Even the 'boat' (v. 22), that is, the way of managing work.

Even the 'father' (v. 22): the imposed tradition that obscures the new Light.

All these are chains that must be broken.

In fact, the Lord must begin far away from the observant region and the holy city - Judea, the capital Jerusalem.

This means a new approach, even if one can continue to live one's previous life.

But values are no longer static and trivial: seeking consensus, settling down, keeping things for oneself, and so on.

Frivolous sparkles that instil external idols.

Too 'regular' and normal, uniforming; without uniqueness or decisive peaks. They pose a thousand obstacles to the free expression that is our right.

 

To give these unprecedented impulses, Jesus does not choose sacred environments and perhaps devout people who would not know how to regenerate anyone.

He flies over the court palaces, from which nothing would have been born (cf. Jn 4:1-4).

Nor does he designate anyone with the title that belongs to him alone: 'Shepherd'.

And even today, it is not clear why all denominational traditions have (immediately) filled themselves with 'shepherds', that is, guides, teachers, directors of the 'flock'.

 

We need attention, not leaders who judge and pass sentences of inadequacy. Nor do we want tracks that do not concern us, useless mental models.

Women and men of all times need only wise support; travelling companions who help them discover the hidden, unknown, secret sides that can flourish.

Teachers who let us complete ourselves, allowing our personalities to embrace the aspects that are still in the shadows.

This inner alliance will be a source of fulfilment, a sense of confidence and a fullness of life.

But to this end, someone must teach us to distract our minds from the known, and thus embark on the Path of 'beyond'.

Of course, this is a danger for those who like to interpret things with a sense of permanence: in short, there are no shortcuts without unknowns.

It is a path that changes our own and others' mental atmosphere; it overlooks the usual, indifferent, superficial way of seeing things.

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

Here we are in the gamble of the Gift received: only in this way are we able to contact our deepest states; to know ourselves, and thus realise unexpected dreams of open and complete experience.

Precisely by activating dormant energies.

Like Jesus, able to set anyone he meets into action; recovering the opposite sides and eccentricities, for a humanising, total ideal.

 

Natural Wisdom says, in the Tao Tê Ching (LXV):

'In ancient times, those who practised the Tao [the Way] well did not use it to make the people insightful, but strove to make them obtuse'.

The theme - from the biblical evangelical point of view - is precisely that of Exodus: the allusion to the 'sea' [v.16; actually a lake].

Therefore, the 'Conversion' forward that the new Rabbi proposes is not a U-turn - as is often said.

'Conversion' does not concern a devout return to worship and the Temple, but a change of mentality and orientation.

And 'Kingdom of God' does not allude to a world 'in' Heaven: it does not refer to the afterlife, but to areas where the Beatitudes are lived.

'Conversion'? Authentic, without the punishments of a mortifying religion. Nor - as will unfortunately happen - the submission of consciences.

Obviously, no subjection to the cycle of profits without sharing.

 

The obtuseness of ancient, passing, insipid, provincial power - even of an ecclesiastical nature - is to believe that a voice of denunciation cannot be replaced by a more incisive Herald.

But it can (vv.11-12).

 

In Christ, we will launch radical changes, bringing out and activating in people awareness that is valuable and lasting.

No longer will we insist on seeking false, glossy, glamorous or papier-mâché securities, but we will know how to transmit life, taking all the risks of love.

Faith will stand out everywhere over conformist devotion, good for all seasons. This is because it does not plan for further stagnation, but rather a ceaseless journey.

Way, homeland, and way of seeing the world, unanchored from certainties of little specific weight: ultimately, they produce situations that are as reassuring as they are poor.

Then we will be ourselves in the fullness of the power of the Spirit [cf. parallel passage Lk 4:14], that is, in the unknown of unpredictable Love.

And in the risk of contamination: only in this way will we be able to realise the dreams of others for an open and complete life that goes beyond (Lk 4:15).

Like Jesus, and in Him, for our brothers and sisters. With his new way of taking action and marching forward.

Not: held back, in order to 'prepare' assurances and fine-tune according to clichés of manner.

 

Moving forward without the background: every trajectory is personal.

An orientation that draws us into exploration and action, towards a total ideal.

Openness, not effort.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

Do you care about assurances? What certainties do you still need to leave behind?

Do you cultivate vital openness?

In the Church, do you feel closeness and life moving forward?

Or do the background, judgements, cataloguing, anonymity, ostentation and detachment prevail?

If you met Jesus walking, travelling, going beyond: how and according to what inclinations do you think your sterility could become fruitful?

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In today's liturgy the Evangelist Matthew, who will accompany us throughout this liturgical year, presents the beginning of Christ's public mission. It consisted essentially in preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, showing that this Kingdom is close at hand and is already in our midst. Jesus began his preaching in Galilee, the region where he grew up, the "outskirts" in comparison with the heart of the Jewish Nation which was Judea, and in it, Jerusalem. But the Prophet Isaiah had foretold that this land, assigned to the tribes of Zebulun and Napthali, would have a glorious future: the people immersed in darkness would see a great light (cf. Is 8: 23-9: 2). In Jesus' time, the term "gospel" was used by Roman emperors for their proclamations. Independently of their content, they were described as "good news" or announcements of salvation, because the emperor was considered lord of the world and his every edict as a portent of good. Thus, the application of this phrase to Jesus' preaching had a strongly critical meaning, as if to say God, and not the emperor, is Lord of the world, and the true Gospel is that of Jesus Christ. 

The "Good News" which Jesus proclaims is summed up in this sentence: "The Kingdom of God - or Kingdom of Heaven - is at hand" (cf. Mt 4: 17; Mk 1: 15). What do these words mean? They do not of course refer to an earthly region marked out in space and time, but rather to an announcement that it is God who reigns, that God is Lord and that his lordship is present and actual, it is being realized. The newness of Christ's message, therefore, is that God made himself close in him and now reigns in our midst, as the miracles and healings that he works demonstrate. God reigns in the world through his Son made man and with the power of the Holy Spirit who is called "the finger of God" (Lk 11: 20). Wherever Jesus goes the Creator Spirit brings life, and men and women are healed of diseases of body and spirit. God's lordship is thus manifest in the human being's integral healing. By this, Jesus wanted to reveal the Face of the true God, the God who is close, full of mercy for every human being; the God who makes us a gift of life in abundance, his own life. The Kingdom of God is therefore life that asserts itself over death, the light of truth that dispels the darkness of ignorance and lies. 

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy that she will always obtain for the Church the same passion for God's Kingdom which enlivened the mission of Jesus Christ: a passion for God, for his lordship of love and life; a passion for man, encountered in truth with the desire to give him the most precious treasure: the love of God, his Creator and Father.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 27 January 2008]

Dear brothers and sisters.

1. […] Dear friends, being here in Pomposa Abbey, where since the ninth century many people have lived together to follow Christ exclusively, gives me the opportunity to remind you that every Christian, and each one of you, is called to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.

The ascetic and material work of the monks was, in fact, always at the service of the religious and human growth of the people of this area. And the artistic beauty of the Abbey expresses the truth, freedom and dignity of the person who works in a Christian manner.

Here we can clearly see that "work must not be a mere necessity, but must be considered an authentic vocation, a call from God to build a new world, in which justice and brotherhood coexist, a foretaste of the kingdom of God, in which there will be neither shortages nor limitations" (Address to workers, 30 January 1979).

2. Some of you may wonder how it is possible to realise the sublime gift that is the vocation to be children of the Almighty Lord. There are many difficulties that man encounters in recognising God's plan in his own life. In addition to self-love, which causes him to withdraw into himself, the conditions of social life, often conceived and structured without reference to God, who - unfortunately - is considered by many to be alien to authentically human interests, often act as an obstacle.

Yet Christ, who called the holy abbot Guido, St Pier Damiani, Guido d'Arezzo and many other monks whose names are unknown to us, also addresses his invitation to you, so that in your daily life and work you may accept his invitation to follow him.

One might then ask: "What form should the vocation of the lay faithful, who live and work in the world, take?" Configured to Christ through Baptism, every believer is a witness to divine mercy, which, as it has regenerated us, recreates everything through us, associating us with the plan to "recapitulate all things in Jesus" (Eph 1:10).

In this 'new creation', Christians are called to work with 'the Word of life' (1 Jn 1:1). In their lay state, they persevere in their work, on land or at sea, aware that what they are doing is not merely cooperation, but union with Christ in his redemptive work (cf. Gaudium et spes, 67).

3. Faith is a gift, and believers, recognising God as Father, attain the fullness of their humanity: they then know how to live and die, how to hope, how to love, spreading serenity and peace around them. In this way, they contribute to the building of the new earth and the new heavens (1 Pt 3:13).

I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, not to resist Christ, not to reject the Word who became flesh. Rather, welcome him without reserve, because around him all human existence and the whole world are called to gather in unity and be renewed.

The Abbey in which we find ourselves shows, in its history, how this is possible. The monk, in fact, knowing full well that religious dependence on God does not lead to death but fulfils life in its fullness, consecrates himself exclusively to him. In the rhythm marked by 'Ora et labora', he praises the Lord and points the world towards the One to whom each of us must constantly turn our gaze and our mind. He follows Christ in poverty, obedience and virginal consecration; he offers himself to him totally and definitively. The lay faithful also live by Christ if they converse with him in prayer, encounter him in the sacraments and show him their love by observing the commandments.

Personal and liturgical prayer and moral commitment are intimately connected with friendship with the Redeemer and with the apostolic and missionary task that follows from it.

Dear brothers, always feel yourselves in deep communion with those who in monasteries unceasingly praise the Lord and, supported also by their prayer, bear fruits of holiness with an irreproachable conduct of life in every moment of your existence.

4. This spiritual solidarity shows that work and time devoted exclusively to God are not opposed to each other, but complement each other, as we can clearly see in the 'Ora et labora' of the monks of St Benedict. Devotion to God (the 'ora') is the foundation of authentic dedication (the 'labora') to people and to the earth, which is their home.

Whatever field you work in, you are always called to be witnesses and evangelisers, that is, to make Christ visible, who 'was portrayed before you' (cf. Gal 3:1). Work springs from prayer, just as charity flows from faith. Adhering to Christ and entrusting oneself to his hands generates total openness to the divine will.

Moreover, work, though tiring, when done in close union with Christ, makes us love life, no longer seen as a source of anxiety, but as a training ground for virtue that forms us in serenity and peace.

5. Brothers and sisters, I invite you, finally, to offer your generous contribution to the new evangelisation, which contemporary society so badly needs, and to work actively for the spread of the Gospel in your workplaces. Bring to everyone that hope and solidarity which every person constantly longs for and which can only be found in Christ. Always nourish yourselves with God and with a concrete love that speaks of him to those you meet. I entrust each of you to the Virgin Mary, that you may know how to listen, welcome and cherish the Word made flesh.

May the awareness of the maternal presence of the Mother of God be for you and your families a daily comfort and stimulus to do good.

Once again, I thank you for this invitation, for this very evocative meeting. The Benedictine monks who left us this sanctuary are always present here with their inspiration. But here, at the same time, over the centuries, there has lived and continues to live a population that, from generation to generation, has distinguished itself above all for its agricultural work and fishing. All this constitutes a special synthesis, I would say evangelical. We know well how in the Gospel there are those who work the land as well as fishermen, people loved by Jesus, transformed into apostles.

Today, the Pope, the successor of Peter, who was one of these fishermen, comes to say to you fishermen and to you workers of the land: you are called to be apostles, not by changing your profession and the conditions of your life, but by following Christ, according to the simple and prophetic words of the Benedictine Abbey, of St. Benedict: 'Ora et labora'. This is your method in the apostolate, the simplest and most effective. I hope that this "Ora et labora" will become your daily programme and, despite all the difficulties of agricultural and maritime life, will also make you serene, happy and bearers of good to others.

[Pope John Paul II, speech at Pomposa, 22 September 1990]

Today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 4:12-23) presents us with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. This occurred in Galilee, a land on the periphery of Jerusalem that was looked upon with suspicion because the population was mixed with Gentiles. Nothing good and new was expected from that region. However, it was precisely there that Jesus, who had grown up in Nazareth in Galilee, began his preaching.

He proclaimed the central core of his  teaching in his condensed appeal: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 17). This announcement is like a powerful ray of light that pierces the darkness and splits the fog and evokes the prophecy of Isaiah that is read on Christmas Eve: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined” (Is 9:2). With the coming of Jesus, Light of the world, God the Father showed  his closeness and friendship to humanity. These [gifts] are freely given to us  regardless of our merits. Closeness to God and friendship with God, are not deserved but gifts  freely given by God. We must safeguard these gifts.

The appeal to conversion that Jesus addresses to all men and women of good will is fully understood, precisely in view of the event of the manifestation of the Son of God, on which we meditated on recent Sundays. It is often impossible to change life, to abandon the path of egotism, of evil, to abandon the way of sin because we centre our commitment to conversion only on ourselves and on our strengths, and not on Christ and his Spirit. However, our adherence to the Lord cannot be reduced to a personal effort, no. To think this would also be a sin of pride. Our adherence to the Lord cannot be reduced to a personal effort. Instead, it must express itself in a trusting opening of the heart and of the mind in order to welcome the Good News of Jesus. This is — the Word of Jesus, the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel — that changes the world and hearts! We are thus called to trust Christ’s Word, to open ourselves to the Father’s mercy and to allow ourselves to be transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

This is where a true journey of conversion begins. Just as occurred to the first disciples: the encounter with the divine Teacher, with his gaze, with his Word spurred them to follow him, to change their lives by placing themselves concretely at the service of the Kingdom of God.

The surprising and decisive encounter with Jesus began the disciples’ journey, transforming them into proclaimers and witnesses of God’s love for his people. May each of us follow in the footsteps of the Saviour to offer hope to those who thirst for it, imitating these first heralds and messengers of the Word of God.

May the Virgin Mary whom we address in this prayer of the Angelus, support these intentions and strengthen them with her maternal intercession.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 26 January 2020]

Overwork Mission Family, by unbalanced

(Mk 3:20-21)

 

Today’s short Gospel can be interpreted according to different reading plans: let’s start with a vocational approach.

The family core of society should also be a springboard to the adventure of Faith that urges other bonds.

The kinsmen can be dismayed by our desire to give ourselves entirely to God in sisters and brothers in a wider sense.

And sometimes the affections and natural constraints can prevent the fulfilment of the Mission to which we are called.

Sometimes, even important commitments in the Church’s action remain half or completely frustrated - due to a “fondness” and impediments that we are unable to ‘cut’.

 

Now we come to the historical level:

Jesus also had serious problems in his “house”, but the Gospel passage refers to the nascent Church in Peter’s dwelling in Capernaum, very close to the Synagogue.

Over time, the two almost adjacent realities found themselves fiercely facing each other.

Yet in the Abode of Peter at one point the number of those from Judaism, as well as pagans, who converted to the Lord's proposal exploded.

The People themselves and the religious culture that generated Christ [his «Family»] had difficulty questioning themselves. And the first reaction was rejection.

That new portion of the Jewish lineage that recognized Jesus Messiah seemed to want to do more and more of its own.

 

Social aspect:

Indeed, the hearth and its own clan had become alarmed, because adult Jesus did not follow a submissive behavior.

So the relatives decided to bring him back by force (cf. vv.31-35) considering him an unbalanced who wore out their internal and with authorities on the territory relations.

But the beliefs now crystallized in the Synagogue - as well as the theological and ‘cordial’ heritage of all its compromise reality - no longer seemed viable. Why?

The imperial system implanted in Galilee had weakened the sense of sharing and fraternity. Closures strengthened by the religiosity of the time.

The increasing observance of purity standards was a factor of serious social and cultural marginalization.

Entire sections of the population were excluded from the relationship with God: precisely those most in need of hope, and of a lovable ‘face’.

Instead of promoting acceptance and participation, the devoted rules even favoured separations and exclusions.

Political, economic and social structure, and sacred ideology, conspired in favor of weakening the central values of the spirit of communion.

 

In today’s Gospel passage we note precisely how the narrow limits of the family went to conflict with the proposal of the new Rabbi, to recover the clenchement of solidarity..

In short, it was in the House of Peter that every small family gained breath, opening up itself not only to the nation, but to the wider human Family.

Integral Assembly, even with women and sickly ill persons, or of uncertain and distant.

An absolutely new reality; no longer gathered only for worship but unable of ‘living together’.

 

 

[Saturday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 24, 2026]

Overwork Mission Family, unbalanced

(Mk 3:20-21)

 

"And he came into the house; and again the crowd gathered together, so that they could not even eat bread. And when they had heard, his [those around him] went out to get him, because they said, He is beside himself".

 

Today's short Gospel can be interpreted on different levels: let us begin with a vocational approach.

The family is the nucleus of society of all times, but Christ and the believer know that it should not constitute a cage.

Rather, it should be a springboard towards the adventure of Faith, which solicits other bonds.

Life in the Spirit activates us for the building of the Hundredfold, in the great ecclesial and human family.

The kinsmen may be dismayed by our desire to give ourselves entirely to God in the brothers.

Faced with exhausting activity they become apprehensive, because we are always going against the grain... so close relatives worry about our health, or the honour of home.

Sometimes, affections and natural ties can impede the fulfilment of the Mission to which we are called.

Of course, when those who do not understand are precisely those from whom one expects the most help, the suffering becomes great.

Sometimes, even important commitments in the work of the Church remain half-hearted or completely frustrated - due to affections and impediments that we are unable to cut off.

 

Let us come to the historical level.

Jesus had good problems at home too, but the Gospel passage refers to the nascent Church in Peter's dwelling in Capernaum.

A more instinctive and less 'qualified' reality, but very close to the traditional house of prayer [synagogue] of the place, located on the same small road perpendicular to the lake, just a little higher up.

In the course of time, the two almost adjacent realities faced each other bitterly in theology - even to the point of competing architecturally, as archaeologists well know.

The more 'noble' and ancient of the two accused the other of being an uprooted - hence unacceptable, eccentric to the sacred identity customs of the chosen people.

Yet in Peter's dwelling at a certain point the number of those from Judaism explodes, as well as pagans who convert to the Lord's proposal.

Thus the first community of believers in the Lord begins to be perhaps more substantial than the assembly in the Synagogue, just a few steps away.

 

The very people and religious culture that generated Christ [his "Family"] struggled to question themselves. And the first reaction is one of rejection.

That portion of the Jewish lineage that recognised Jesus as the Messiah seemed to want to go its own way.

 

Social aspect:

Indeed, the hearth and clan proper were alarmed, because the adult Jesus did not behave submissively.

He compromised the name of his household, spent energy on others - to the point of exhaustion... absurdly in favour of outsiders, perhaps 'enemies' of the Jewish nation.

So the relatives decided to bring him back by force (vv.31-35) considering him an unbalanced person who was wearing out the internal relations and the relations of the entire dynasty with the authorities in the land.

But we know that by extending the bond of 'blood' to those who would listen, Jesus did not allow external evaluations to remove him from his task.

 

Let us see what the situation was.

In ancient Israel, the sense of community and the clan formed the basis of coexistence. The goal of the Law was: "There shall be no needy among you" (Deut 15:4).

And like the great prophets, Christ and his intimates attempted to strengthen the sense of sharing, returning to the deep spirit of what were once articulations of coexistence.

Precisely: clan, hearth, community - expressions of God's love manifesting itself.

The 'big family' ensured protection for particular families and the less well-off.

It was a guarantee of land ownership; hence it gave a sense of freedom - and was a vehicle for the possibility of adhering to one's own tradition.

Besides cultural defence, it was in community life that the people of that era expressed the spirit of concrete solidarity.

For Christ, too, defending the clan, its spiritual baggage, its fraternal action ... was to defend the Covenant itself.

But the House of Peter [the nascent Church] was beginning to overtake all the ancient reality.

The convictions now crystallised in the Synagogue, as well as the theological and benevolent bearing of all its compromise truth - no longer seemed viable. Why?

The imperial system implanted in Galilee had debilitated the sense of broad and minute communion, indeed of clan and hearth.

Herod the Great - who died in Jericho in 4 BC. - and his son Herod Antipas (37BC-39AD) had brought families to such a crisis level that they had to fend for themselves and shut themselves away from the most pressing needs. 

The taxes to be paid to the government and the temple were increasingly exorbitant, which accentuated indebtedness.

Here and there the Hellenistic mentality crept in with traits of individualism previously unknown to the Semitic mentality.

The imposed duty of receiving soldiers and giving them hospitality in homes where they did what they wanted even on women, and the frequent threats of violent repression, forced people to deal with problems of survival.

All this led to closure, to retreating to one's immediate needs.

There was less and less practice of hospitality, the sharing of goods, the canteen, and the asylum of the marginalised. Expressions of fraternity and care in which the early Christians were already champions.

In this way, closures were reinforced by the religiosity of the time.

The ever-increasing observance of purity rules was a factor of serious social and cultural marginalisation.

Entire sections of the population were being excluded from their relationship with God: precisely those most in need of hope and a face.

Instead of fostering acceptance and sharing, devout norms even favoured separations and exclusions [in particular: all women, children, foreigners, the sick or the handicapped...].

Political, economic and social structure, and sacred ideology, conspired to weaken the core values of the spirit, and the practice of sharing.

In today's Gospel passage, we see precisely how the narrow limits of the nuclear family came into conflict with the new Rabbi's proposal: to recover the unitive afflatus, both in a broad and detailed sense.

In short, it was in the House of Peter that the small family acquired breath, opening up not only to the Nation, but to the wider Family of the Human Community.

An integral assembly, even of women and the shaky, or uncertain and distant.

 

An absolutely new reality, no longer gathered for worship but unable to coexist.

When Jesus, during his time on earth, went from village to village preaching the Good News of truth and love, he caught the attention of those who listened to him. Unlike the Scribes, who were rejected because of their hypocrisy, we are told that the Lord amazed because "he taught them as one having authority" (Mk 1:22). Indeed, every human community needs, and therefore seeks, strong and inspiring leaders to guide others along a path of hope [...].

No one can be exempt from this process. Although no culture can use the damage done in the past as an excuse to avoid facing the difficulties of meeting the contemporary social needs of its people, it is also true that only through a willingness to accept historical truth is it possible to gain a healthy understanding of contemporary reality and adhere to the vision of a harmonious future [...].

Commitment to truth opens the way to lasting reconciliation through a healing process that involves asking for and granting forgiveness, two indispensable elements of peace. In this way, our memory is purified, our heart made serene and our future filled with a hope well founded on the peace that flows from truth.

[Pope Benedict, Letter for the 20th anniversary of John Paul II's visit to Australia, 22 September 2006]

1. Spiritual life needs enlightenment and guidance. This is why Jesus, in founding the Church and sending the Apostles into the world, entrusted them with the task of teaching all the nations, as we read in the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), but also to "preach the Gospel to the whole creation", as the canonical text of Mark's Gospel says (Mk 16:15). St Paul also speaks of the apostolate as "enlightening everyone" (Eph 3:9).

But this work of the evangelising and teaching Church belongs to the ministry of the Apostles and their successors and, in a different capacity, to all the members of the Church, to continue forever the work of Christ the "one Master" (Mt 23:8), who brought to humanity the fullness of God's revelation. There remains the need for an interior Master, who makes the teaching of Jesus penetrate the spirit and heart of mankind. It is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus himself calls the "Spirit of truth", and whom he promises as the One who will guide into all truth (cf. Jn 14:17; 16:13). If Jesus said of Himself: "I am the truth" (Jn 14:6), it is this truth of Christ that the Holy Spirit makes known and spreads: "He will not speak of Himself, but will tell all that He has heard . . . he will take of mine and proclaim it to you" (Jn 16:13-14). The Spirit is Light of the soul: "Lumen cordium", as we invoke it in the Pentecost Sequence.

2. The Holy Spirit was Light and inner Master for the Apostles who had to know Christ in depth in order to fulfil their task as his evangelisers. He was and is so for the Church, and, in the Church, for believers of all generations, and especially for theologians and teachers of the Spirit, for catechists and leaders of Christian communities. It has been and is also for all those who, within and outside the visible confines of the Church, wish to follow God's ways with a sincere heart, and through no fault of their own find no one to help them decipher the riddles of the soul and discover the revealed truth. May the Lord grant all our brothers and sisters - millions and indeed billions of men - the grace of recollection and docility to the Holy Spirit in moments that can be decisive in their lives.

For us Christians, the intimate teaching of the Holy Spirit is a joyful certainty, based on Christ's word about the coming of the 'other Paraclete', whom - he said - 'the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have spoken to you" (John 14:26). "He will guide you into all truth" (Jn 16:13).

3. As is clear from this text, Jesus does not entrust his word only to the memory of his hearers: this memory will be aided by the Holy Spirit, who will continually revive in the apostles the memory of events and the sense of the mysteries of the Gospel.

In fact, the Holy Spirit guided the Apostles in the transmission of the word and life of Jesus, inspiring both their oral preaching and writings, as well as the writing of the Gospels, as we have seen in the catechesis on the Holy Spirit and Revelation.

But it is still He who gives the readers of Scripture the help to understand the divine meaning included in the text of which He Himself is the inspirer and main author: He alone can make known "the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10), as they are contained in the sacred text; He who was sent to instruct the disciples on the teachings of their Master (cf. Jn 16:13).

4. Of this intimate teaching of the Holy Spirit the Apostles themselves, the first transmitters of the word of Christ, speak to us. St. John writes: "Now you have the anointing received from the Holy One (Christ) and you are all taught. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and because no lie comes from the truth" (1 John 2: 20-21). According to the Church Fathers and the majority of modern exegetes, this "anointing" (chrisma) designates the Holy Spirit. Indeed, St John states that those who live according to the Spirit have no need of other teachers: "As for you," he writes, "the anointing you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but just as His anointing teaches you all things, and is true and does not lie, so stand firm in Him, as He teaches you" (1 John 2: 27).

The Apostle Paul also speaks of an understanding according to the Spirit, which is not the result of human wisdom, but of divine illumination: "The natural man (psychicòs) does not understand the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because he can judge of them only by the Spirit. The spiritual man (pneumaticòs), on the other hand, judges everything, without being able to be judged by anyone" (1 Cor 2:14-15). 

Therefore Christians, having received the Holy Spirit, Christ's anointing, possess within themselves a source of knowledge of the truth, and the Holy Spirit is the sovereign Master who enlightens and guides them.

5. If they are docile and faithful to his divine teaching, the Holy Spirit preserves them from error, making them victorious in the constant conflict between the "spirit of truth" and the "spirit of error" (cf. 1 Jn 4:6). The spirit of error, which does not recognise Christ (cf. 1 Jn 4:3), is spread by the "false prophets", ever present in the world, even in the midst of the Christian people, with an action that is now uncovered and even clamorous, now insidious and creeping. Like Satan, they too sometimes disguise themselves as "angels of light" (cf. 2 Cor 11:14) and present themselves with apparent charisms of prophetic and apocalyptic inspiration. This was already the case in apostolic times. That is why St John warns: "Do not put faith in every inspiration, but test the inspirations, to see if they really come from God, for many false prophets have appeared in the world" (1 John 4:1). The Holy Spirit, as the Second Vatican Council recalled (cf. Lumen gentium, 12), protects the Christian from error by making him discern what is genuine from what is spurious. On the part of the Christian, it will always take good criteria of discernment regarding the things he hears or reads in matters of religion, Holy Scripture, manifestations of the supernatural, etc. Such criteria are conformity to the Gospel, because the Holy Spirit cannot but "take from Christ"; harmony with the teaching of the Church, founded and sent by Christ to preach its truth; the uprightness of the life of the speaker or writer; the fruits of holiness resulting from what is presented or proposed.

6. The Holy Spirit teaches the Christian the truth as the principle of life. It shows the concrete application of Jesus' words in one's life. It makes one discover the relevance of the Gospel and its value for all human situations. It adapts the understanding of the truth to every circumstance, so that this truth does not remain merely abstract and speculative, and frees the Christian from the dangers of duplicity and hypocrisy.

This is why the Holy Spirit enlightens each one personally, to guide him in his behaviour, showing him the way to follow, opening up at least some glimmer of the Father's plan for his life. This is the great grace of light that St Paul asked for the Colossians: "spiritual intelligence", capable of making them understand the divine will. Indeed, he assured them: "We do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you have a full knowledge of his (God's) will with all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, that you may conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work . . ." (Col 1:9-10). This grace of light is necessary for all of us, to know God's will for us well and to be able to live our personal vocation fully.

There is never a shortage of problems, which sometimes seem insoluble. But the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of difficulties and enlightens. He can reveal the divine solution, as at the Annunciation for the problem of reconciling motherhood with the desire to preserve virginity. Even when it is not a unique mystery such as that of Mary's intervention in the Incarnation of the Word, it can be said that the Holy Spirit possesses an infinite inventiveness, proper to the divine mind, which knows how to unravel the knots of even the most complex and impenetrable human affairs.

7. All this is granted and worked in the soul by the Holy Spirit through his gifts, thanks to which it is possible to practise good discernment not according to the criteria of human wisdom, which is foolishness before God, but of divine wisdom, which may seem foolishness in the eyes of men (cf. 1 Cor 1:18, 25). In reality, only the Spirit "searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10-11). And if there is opposition between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God, Paul reminds Christians: "We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God to know all things that God has given us" (1 Cor 2:12). Unlike the "natural man", the "spiritual man" (pneumaticòs) is sincerely open to the Holy Spirit, docile and faithful to his inspirations (cf. 1 Cor 2:14-16). Therefore he habitually has the capacity for right judgement under the guidance of divine wisdom.

8. A sign of real contact with the Holy Spirit in discernment is and always will be adherence to revealed truth as proposed by the Magisterium of the Church. The interior Master does not inspire dissension, disobedience, or even unjustified resistance to the pastors and teachers established by Him in the Church (cf. Acts 20:29). It is the authority of the Church, as the Council says in the constitution Lumen gentium, "not to quench the Spirit, but to examine everything and hold fast to what is good (cf. 1 Thess 5:12, 19-21)" (Lumen gentium, 12). This is the line of ecclesial and pastoral wisdom that also comes from the Holy Spirit.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 24 April 1991]

"Times change and we Christians must constantly change". Pope Francis repeated this invitation to change several times during the Mass celebrated on Friday morning, 23 October, in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta. An invitation to act "without fear" and "with freedom", keeping away from tranquilising conformisms and remaining "firm in faith in Jesus" and "in the truth of the Gospel", but moving "continually according to the signs of the times".

The starting point for the reflection was offered to the Pontiff by the readings of this last part of the liturgical year, which propose in particular the letter to the Romans. "We emphasised," he recalled in this regard, "how Paul preaches with such strength, the freedom that we have in Christ". It is, the Pope explained, "a gift, the gift of freedom, of that freedom that saved us from sin, that made us free, children of God like Jesus; that freedom that leads us to call God Father". So Francis added that 'to have this freedom we must open ourselves to the power of the Spirit and understand well what is happening within us and outside us'. And if in the "past days, last week", we had dwelt "on how to distinguish what happens within us: what comes from the good Spirit or what does not come from him", that is, on discerning what "happens within us", in the liturgy of the day the passage from Luke's Gospel (12, 54-59) exhorts us to "look outside", making us "reflect on how we evaluate the things that happen outside of us".

Here then is the need to question ourselves on "how we judge: are we capable of judging?". For the Pope 'we have the capacity' and Paul himself 'tells us that we will judge the world: we Christians will judge the world'. The Apostle Peter also says something similar when he 'calls us a chosen race, a holy priesthood, a nation chosen precisely for holiness'.

In short, the Pontiff clarified, we Christians 'have this freedom to judge what happens outside of us'. But, he warned, 'to judge we must know well what happens outside of us'. And so, Francis asked, "how can we do this, which the Church calls 'knowing the signs of the times'?"

In this regard, the Pope noted that "times change. It is proper Christian wisdom to know these changes, to know the different times and to know the signs of the times. What means one thing and what another'. Of course, the Pope is aware that this 'is not easy. Because we hear so many comments: "I heard that what happened there is this or what happens there is the other; I read this, I was told this...". But, he quickly added, 'I am free, I have to make my own judgement and understand what it all means'. Whereas 'this is a job we don't usually do: we conform, we reassure ourselves with "I've been told; I've heard; people say; I've read...". And so we are quiet". When instead we should ask ourselves: 'What is the truth? What is the message that the Lord wants to give me with that sign of the times?".

As usual, the Pope also offered practical suggestions "to understand the signs of the times". First of all, he said, "silence is necessary: be silent and watch, observe. And then reflect within ourselves. An example: why are there so many wars now? Why has something happened? And to pray'. So 'silence, reflection and prayer. Only in this way can we understand the signs of the times, what Jesus wants to tell us".

And in this sense there are no alibis. Although in fact each of us may be tempted to say: 'But, I didn't study that much.... I didn't go to university or even to secondary school...', Jesus' words leave no room for doubt. For he does not say: 'Look how university students do, look how doctors do, look how intellectuals do...'. On the contrary, he says: "Look at the peasants, the simple: they, in their simplicity, know when the rain comes, how the grass grows; they know how to distinguish the wheat from the weeds". Consequently, 'that simplicity - if it is accompanied by silence, reflection and prayer - will make us understand the signs of the times'. Because, he reiterated, 'times change and we Christians must change continuously. We must change steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, steadfast in the truth of the Gospel, but our attitude must continually move according to the signs of the times'.

At the end of his reflection, the Pontiff returned to his initial thoughts. "We are free," he said, "because of the gift of freedom that Jesus Christ has given us. But our work is to examine what is happening within us, to discern our feelings, our thoughts; and to analyse what is happening outside of us, to discern the signs of the times". How? "With silence, with reflection and with prayer," he repeated at the conclusion of his homily.

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 24/10/2015]