FAUSTI - Easter is near. The "many" who go up to Jerusalem will now be purified not by their rites, but by the river of living water that will flow from the temple (Ez 47:1-12), from the Blood and Water that will flow from the side of the Lamb sacrificed. After the resurrection of Lazarus, all seek Jesus. How can one not seek the One who gives life, who is Resurrection and Life? He will come for the feast. And it will be Easter, in which is realized that of which the resurrection of Lazarus has been the "sign of signs". The leaders, who are thieves and robbers, have decided to kill him. They are looking for partners to arrest the "beautiful Shepherd", Who exposes, disposes and places His life in favor of His sheep. He is the Son, who fulfills the command of the Father. It is the beginning of the last week in which Jesus completes His work. A banquet was held. We do not say who does the banquet. It is mentioned Martha that serves, and Lazarus, who lies with Jesus at the table, highlighting Mary and her love, the beginning of everything, both for God and for man.The word "banquet" comes out here and at the last supper. Here the gesture of love of Mary dominates, there the Lord will love us until completion and will give the command of love: the Master washes our feet, the woman smells His feet. This banquet is an action of thanksgiving for the gift of life, an anticipation of the feast that the community will celebrate after Easter. There are the living who "eat" and celebrate. The service of Martha, just mentioned, and the love of Mary, widely described, constitute the new life of believers, those who have passed from death to life. To serve is the concrete manifestation of love, in which the One who became Servant is celebrated (13,12...). Mary's gesture is particularly important. It certainly expresses gratitude for the return of the brother to life. But that does not explain why Mary made "this" gesture, whose meaning is so great that it is declared by Jesus as a foreshadowing of His mystery. It is a gratuitous love, exaggerated to the point of waste, which recognizes in Him the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes to give His life for His brethren. Jesus directly connects this anointing with His own death, but it is an implicit foretelling of His resurrection. In fact, Mary anoints the Living One, not a dead body, like Nicodemus. The real protagonist of the story is the perfume, which by its nature gives itself, spreads pleasure and joy. It is a symbol of God Love, who cannot but love and communicate Himself to everyone. But of love given one does not live, one can only die. He who loves gives his life and lives only if he is reciprocated. God is Love, fully loving and loved in the Trinity: on earth He pours out His perfume and lives wherever He is loved. Where there is love, there is God. The objection, posed by John in the mouth to Judas, by Matthew (26,8) is attributed to the disciples, by Mark to the bystanders (14,4). Among them we are also the readers. "Delivering" is the word used to indicate the gesture of Judas who betrays Jesus. It also indicates the handing over to Pilate, who hands Him to the cross, from where the Lord will hand His Spirit over to us. To our death deliveries, He responds with the delivery of His Life. More than two hundred money was used to feed the crowd, thirty pieces of silver was the sale of Jesus. This perfume is worth much more, because it is faithful and of great value, like love. Judas instead monetizes it. And it speaks of selling, to give to the poor. There are two opposite ways of thinking and acting, two different economies: on the one hand, calculation and sale, on the other hand, love and waste. One is the economy of man, who kills; the other is that of God, who gives life. The problem is not to give the poor something, but to "give oneself" out of Love.
-->This house, where life is celebrated in service and love, exerts an attractive force on the crowds. it is the image of the church, which has preserved and observed the scent of God, mutual love. For the leaders, Lazarus must also suffer the fate of Jesus (11:53). Those who do not listen to Moses and the prophets will not be persuaded even by one who rises from the dead. On the contrary, he will always try to eliminate the witnesses of life.
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Gospel of the day From the Gospel according to John 12:1-11
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.
The words of the Popes Christ utters these significant words: "The poor you always have with you" (Jn 12: 8). He does not mean by these words that changes of social and economic structures are not important and that we should not try different ways to eliminate injustice, humiliation, want and hunger. He means merely that man will have needs which cannot be satisfied unless with help for the needy and by sharing one's own goods with others... Of what help are we speaking? What sharing? Is it only a question of "alms", understood in the form of money, of material aid? Certainly Christ does not remove alms from our field of vision. He thinks also of pecuniary, material alms, but in his own way. More eloquent than any other, in this connection, is the example of the poor widow, who put a few small coins into the treasury of the temple: from the material point of view, an offering that could hardly be compared with the offerings given by others. Yet Christ said: "This poor widow has put in... all the living that she had" (Lk 21:3-4). So it is, above all, the interior value of the gift that counts: the readiness to share everything, the readiness to give oneself. Let us here recall St Paul: "If I give away all I have... but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). St Augustine, too, writes well in this connection: "if you stretch out your hand to give, but have not mercy in your heart, you have not done anything; but if you have mercy in your heart, even when you have nothing to give with your hand, God accepts your alms" (Enarrat. in Ps. CXXV, 5). (Saint John Paul II - General audience, 28 March 1979)
FAUSTI - Easter is near. The "many" who go up to Jerusalem will now be purified not by their rites, but by the river of living water that will flow from the temple (Ez 47:1-12), from the Blood and Water that will flow from the side of the Lamb sacrificed.
RispondiEliminaAfter the resurrection of Lazarus, all seek Jesus.
How can one not seek the One who gives life, who is Resurrection and Life?
He will come for the feast.
And it will be Easter, in which is realized that of which the resurrection of Lazarus has been the "sign of signs". The leaders, who are thieves and robbers, have decided to kill him. They are looking for partners to arrest the "beautiful Shepherd", Who exposes, disposes and places His life in favor of His sheep.
He is the Son, who fulfills the command of the Father. It is the beginning of the last week in which Jesus completes His work.
A banquet was held. We do not say who does the banquet. It is mentioned Martha that serves, and Lazarus, who lies with Jesus at the table, highlighting Mary and her love, the beginning of everything, both for God and for man.The word "banquet" comes out here and at the last supper. Here the gesture of love of Mary dominates, there the Lord will love us until completion and will give the command of love: the Master washes our feet, the woman smells His feet. This banquet is an action of thanksgiving for the gift of life, an anticipation of the feast that the community will celebrate after Easter.
There are the living who "eat" and celebrate. The service of Martha, just mentioned, and the love of Mary, widely described, constitute the new life of believers, those who have passed from death to life.
To serve is the concrete manifestation of love, in which the One who became Servant is celebrated (13,12...). Mary's gesture is particularly important. It certainly expresses gratitude for the return of the brother to life. But that does not explain why Mary made "this" gesture, whose meaning is so great that it is declared by Jesus as a foreshadowing of His mystery.
It is a gratuitous love, exaggerated to the point of waste, which recognizes in Him the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes to give His life for His brethren.
Jesus directly connects this anointing with His own death, but it is an implicit foretelling of His resurrection. In fact, Mary anoints the Living One, not a dead body, like Nicodemus.
The real protagonist of the story is the perfume, which by its nature gives itself, spreads pleasure and joy. It is a symbol of God Love, who cannot but love and communicate Himself to everyone.
But of love given one does not live, one can only die. He who loves gives his life and lives only if he is reciprocated.
God is Love, fully loving and loved in the Trinity: on earth He pours out His perfume and lives wherever He is loved.
Where there is love, there is God.
The objection, posed by John in the mouth to Judas, by Matthew (26,8) is attributed to the disciples, by Mark to the bystanders (14,4). Among them we are also the readers. "Delivering" is the word used to indicate the gesture of Judas who betrays Jesus. It also indicates the handing over to Pilate, who hands Him to the cross, from where the Lord will hand His Spirit over to us.
To our death deliveries, He responds with the delivery of His Life.
More than two hundred money was used to feed the crowd, thirty pieces of silver was the sale of Jesus.
This perfume is worth much more, because it is faithful and of great value, like love.
Judas instead monetizes it. And it speaks of selling, to give to the poor.
There are two opposite ways of thinking and acting, two different economies: on the one hand, calculation and sale, on the other hand, love and waste.
One is the economy of man, who kills; the other is that of God, who gives life. The problem is not to give the poor something, but to "give oneself" out of Love.
-->This house, where life is celebrated in service and love, exerts an attractive force on the crowds. it is the image of the church, which has preserved and observed the scent of God, mutual love.
RispondiEliminaFor the leaders, Lazarus must also suffer the fate of Jesus (11:53).
Those who do not listen to Moses and the prophets will not be persuaded even by one who rises from the dead.
On the contrary, he will always try to eliminate the witnesses of life.
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
RispondiElimina42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Gospel of the day
From the Gospel according to John
12:1-11
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
The words of the Popes
Christ utters these significant words: "The poor you always have with you" (Jn 12: 8). He does not mean by these words that changes of social and economic structures are not important and that we should not try different ways to eliminate injustice, humiliation, want and hunger. He means merely that man will have needs which cannot be satisfied unless with help for the needy and by sharing one's own goods with others... Of what help are we speaking? What sharing? Is it only a question of "alms", understood in the form of money, of material aid? Certainly Christ does not remove alms from our field of vision. He thinks also of pecuniary, material alms, but in his own way. More eloquent than any other, in this connection, is the example of the poor widow, who put a few small coins into the treasury of the temple: from the material point of view, an offering that could hardly be compared with the offerings given by others. Yet Christ said: "This poor widow has put in... all the living that she had" (Lk 21:3-4). So it is, above all, the interior value of the gift that counts: the readiness to share everything, the readiness to give oneself. Let us here recall St Paul: "If I give away all I have... but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). St Augustine, too, writes well in this connection: "if you stretch out your hand to give, but have not mercy in your heart, you have not done anything; but if you have mercy in your heart, even when you have nothing to give with your hand, God accepts your alms" (Enarrat. in Ps. CXXV, 5). (Saint John Paul II - General audience, 28 March 1979)