Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci
Of the Order of Preachers
Presbyter and Theologian

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Father Gabriele

In the lordship of Christ King of the Universe to be little kings

Homiletic of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

IN THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST KING OF THE UNIVERSE TO BE LITTLE KINGS

Oscar Wilde wrote: "Selfishness does not consist in living as we please but in demanding that others live as we please"

 

Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear readers of the Island of Patmos,

The Liturgical Year ends, It's our last one of the Catholic year. The liturgical year ends with a great celebration, that of Jesus Christ who is King of the Universe.

Today the monarchy it is no longer a form of government typically adopted throughout the world, where instead the republic is preferred. This is why the figure of the "king" escapes us, if not perhaps for the recent coronation of King Charles of England. Jesus is King of the entire universe and of our lives. But not like the King of England, of Sweden or Belgium. His monarchy is not exercised in a political government. It is a monarchy of love that expresses its throne of glory, its exposure of maximum visibility in the cross; today this throne of glory is realized for us, in the compassion of Jesus. We read it at the beginning of passage from today's Gospel:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory […] he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the peoples will be gathered before him. He will separate one from another, how the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.".

Here the image of the king is combined with that of the shepherd. Effectively, the shepherd, it also has a governing role within the world of the farm. It was a world and a culture close to the imagination in which Jesus speaks. Here then are those on the right who are blessed by the Father. Those on the left don't. Effectively, the blessed of the Father, they are those who welcomed the poor and needy in the various situations of need that Jesus expresses. While those who will be in eternal fire, they were not attentive and compassionate towards these material and spiritual poverty. Thus Jesus shows us and asks us to imitate him as King in concrete Love, in active charity, that He wanted to do towards all the people he met: Nicodemus, the blind man of Jericho, the demoniac of Gerasa and other encounters. The Lord has always accomplished all these great works with an act of compassion and tenderness, with a truly human and truly divine heart. A small Christological heart for a great love.

From this comes the foundation of the works of mercy for us material and corporeal. The Lord, so, He asks us to follow Him, our King, in Catholic life precisely because we operate with a concrete and attentive love for others, trying to look at them with tenderness. Trying to look at our neighbor as if it were Jesus himself who, as a little one, asks us for this service. We become little kings in Jesus little king of the Universe.

On the contrary instead we find those who will go into eternal fire. Because they have completely escaped the logic of love and compassion. So, the goats on the left are the people closed in on selfishness, in the dimension of unique attention to one's own needs and requirements. The risk we run when we forget the practice of works of mercy is that we no longer recognize not only others, but of not recognizing the need for God in life. So the wicked in the eternal fire are those who do not recognize the centrality of the Lordship of God in life, of the King of kings, without which we can do nothing. The tension towards selfishness is therefore a substitution, a crowning of oneself as king, demanding that the Universe and God bow down to us.

Oscar Wilde wrote: "Selfishness does not consist in living as we please but in demanding that others live as we please".

We ask the Lord to be welcomed to his throne and his monarchy of love, and be witnesses from now on that authentic Love exists, and we live in communion with the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen!

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 25 November 2023

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Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe: a royalty built on charity

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

NOSTRO SIGNORE GESÙ CRISTO RE DELL’UNIVERSO: UNA REGALITÀ ERETTA SULLA CARITÀ

Tanto splendida è questa pagina dell’Evangelo proclamata oggi nelle nostre chiese, that every comment seems to spoil it a little. Better to leave it as it is, simply, ad indicare alle persone che la vita dell’uomo non è mai concepibile senza l’altro. Tragedia allora non sarà il conflitto, l’alterità, la differenza bensì i due estremi che negano questo rapporto: la confusione e la separazione

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In un breve ma celebre apologo by title Il Natale di Martin lo scrittore russo Lev Tolstòj1 raccontò di uomo, un ciabattino di nome Martin, che aveva misteriosamente incontrato il Signore nelle persone bisognose che durante la giornata erano passate davanti la sua bottega e citò espressamente la pagina del Vangelo di questa domenica.

San Martino dona parte del mantello al povero (dipinto, elemento d’insieme) di Bartolomeo Vivarini (SEC. XV)

La letteratura non è stata l’unica arte che questa mirabile pagina di Matteo ha ispirato, basti pensare agli affreschi del Buonarroti nella Cappella Sistina. Leggiamola:

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples: “Quando il Figlio dell’uomo verrà nella sua gloria, e tutti gli angeli con lui, he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the peoples will be gathered before him. He will separate one from another, how the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, e porrà le pecore alla sua destra e le capre alla sinistra. Allora il re dirà a quelli che saranno alla sua destra: “Come on, blessed of my Father, ricevete in eredità il regno preparato per voi fin dalla creazione del mondo, perché ho avuto fame e mi avete dato da mangiare, I was thirsty and you gave me drink:, ero straniero e mi avete accolto, naked and dressed me, sick and you visited me, ero in carcere e siete venuti a trovarmi”. Allora i giusti gli risponderanno: "Man, quando ti abbiamo visto affamato e ti abbiamo dato da mangiare, o assetato e ti abbiamo dato da bere? Quando mai ti abbiamo visto straniero e ti abbiamo accolto, or naked and clothe you? Quando mai ti abbiamo visto malato o in carcere e siamo venuti a visitarti?”. E il re risponderà loro: “In verità io vi dico: tutto quello che avete fatto a uno solo di questi miei fratelli più piccoli, you did it to me ". Poi dirà anche a quelli che saranno alla sinistra: “Via, away from me, cursed, the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, perché ho avuto fame e non mi avete dato da mangiare, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ero straniero e non mi avete accolto, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you visited me ". Then it will: "Man, quando ti abbiamo visto affamato o assetato o straniero o nudo o malato o in carcere, e non ti abbiamo servito?”. Allora egli risponderà loro: “In verità io vi dico: tutto quello che non avete fatto a uno solo di questi più piccoli, non l’avete fatto a me. And they will go: to eternal punishment, i giusti invece alla vita eterna”».

Con il brano di oggi finisce non solo, per quanto riguarda la liturgia, l’anno liturgico in corso, che lascia il passo all’Avvento, ma anche l’insegnamento di Gesù nel Vangelo secondo Matteo. Subito dopo la nostra pericope infatti l’evangelista da inizio al racconto della passione, morte e risurrezione di Gesù, with these words: «Terminati tutti questi discorsi, Gesù disse ai suoi discepoli» (Mt 26,1). Gesù insegnerà d’ora in poi in un altro modo, soprattutto con i gesti e l’obbedienza al Padre nella prova suprema della croce. Per questa ragione è rivestita di particolare importanza la pericope di oggi, l’ultimo discorso fatto da Gesù in Matteo, senza contare, l’invito del Risorto a fare discepoli e a battezzare in 28,18-19, e le poche ma importanti parole dette durante la passione, a partire dall’ultima cena.

Solo by the way occorre anche dire che nonostante una prassi interpretativa consolidata che prende l’avvio dai Padri della Chiesa e che porta a definire la scena come il giudizio “universale”, a partire dal XVIII secolo vengono sottolineati i tanti e buoni indizi nel testo, non solo di tipo lessicale, per ritenere che anziché di un giudizio per tutta humanity, il testo implichi, on the contrary, un giudizio solo per i pagani, ma non è possibile in questo contesto esplicitare questa interpretazione che richiederebbe troppo spazio.

La scena del giudizio è esclusivamente matteana, ed è costruita in modo magistrale, con l’uso di vari espedienti quali ad esempio la ripetizione, utili per la memorizzazione. Molti sono i confronti che possiamo fare con il linguaggio e la simbologia di stampo apocalittico correnti al tempo di Gesù che appaiono di volta in volta nella letteratura canonica ― Daniele e Apocalisse ― ma anche in quella apocrifa. Il dato originale, revolutionary, instead, la novità che apporta il discorso di Gesù è che lo stesso giudice, il Re, si consideri oggetto di tali azioni: «Ho avuto fame e mi avete dato da mangiare», or, «non mi avete dato da mangiare». Questo crea un effetto di sorpresa sia in quelli che gli hanno usato misericordia sia in quelli che gliel’hanno negata. Mentre nell’Antico Testamento il giorno del Signore è decretato da Dio stesso ed è quindi Lui l’unico che giudica, nella logica del Nuovo Testamento è Gesù, il Messia, che può intervenire in questo giudizio. Di conseguenza Dio compirà il giudizio, but this in nuce avviene già nel modo in cui ci siamo rapportati al suo Figlio in questo mondo, al Gesù presente nei poveri che hanno avuto fame e sete e che sono stati assistiti o meno da noi. Ecco perché alla fine dei tempi, sarà Cristo, l’Agnello, a prendere in mano il libro della nostra vita, quello che nemmeno noi siamo capaci di leggere e comprendere fino in fondo, e ad aprirne i sigilli (cf.. AP 5).

Colpisce poi che la grandiosa visione che abbraccia l’intera umanità si accompagni allo sguardo posato su ciascuno e, in particular, su quelle persone che normalmente sono le più invisibili: poor, malati, prisoners, affamati, assetati, foreigners, ignudi. Non a caso il nostro testo li chiama «minimi» (vv. 40.45). La carità verso il bisognoso, il gesto di condivisione che è così semplice, Human, daily, for everyone, believers and non-believers, diviene ciò su cui si esercita il giudizio finale. L’esempio di Martino di Tours, secondo la narrazione agiografica di Sulpicio Severo2, è emblematico. Dopo aver diviso con la spada il suo mantello per coprire la nudità di un povero mendicante alle porte di Amiens, in un rigido inverno, Martino ebbe la visione in sogno di Cristo che gli diceva: «Martino, tu mi hai rivestito con il tuo mantello». Cristo è identificato con il povero, come nella nostra pagina evangelica.

Tanto splendida è questa pagina dell’Evangelo proclamata oggi nelle nostre chiese, that every comment seems to spoil it a little. Better to leave it as it is, simply, ad indicare alle persone che la vita dell’uomo non è mai concepibile senza l’altro. Tragedia allora non sarà il conflitto, l’alterità, la differenza bensì i due estremi che negano questo rapporto: la confusione e la separazione3. The others, soprattutto se bisognosi, non costituiranno per me l’inferno quanto una benedizione: «Venite benedetti perché…». Due celebri pieces theatrical, una di Sartre4 con all’interno la famosa espressione: "Hell is other people"; l’altra di Pirandello, Vestire gli ignudi5, che nel titolo fa diretto riferimento al nostro brano evangelico, ci hanno raccontano drammaticamente che non escludendo l’Altro dal proprio mondo il problema sarebbe facilmente risolvibile e l’inferno cesserebbe di esistere. Quegli autori hanno inteso, on the contrary, constatare l’impossibilità di un’esistenza che escluda l’Altro. In altri termini, l’enfer, c’est les autres, perché dall’alterità non si può uscire, ci si rende conto che l’Altro detiene il segreto del proprio essere e, while, che senza l’Altro questo essere non sarebbe possibile.

Così il Signore Gesù, anche nell’ultimo suo discorso, ci ha sorpreso ancora una volta dando un nuovo significato alle ‘opere di misericordia’, già note nel giudaismo coevo, where they were, But, intese come una sorta di imitatio Dei, nel senso di un fare agli altri ciò che Dio stesso ha fatto per l’uomo. Non prevedevano invece che il giudice eterno si celasse dietro esistenze umilissime, disagiate e sconfitte. Nell’altro, nel fratello, c’è Gesù il quale aveva detto ai suoi discepoli: «Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, e chi accoglie me accoglie colui che mi ha mandato… Chi avrà dato da bere anche un solo bicchiere d’acqua fresca a uno di questi piccoli perché è un discepolo, verily I tell you: he will not lose his reward ". Mentre ora estende questa visione all’intera umanitàpanta ta ethne, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη del v.22: «Tutto quello che avete fatto a uno solo di questi miei fratelli più piccoli, you did it to me". Perché come recita un antico inno adoperato nella liturgia del Giovedì Santo: «Ubi caritas et amor, God is there».

Buona Domenica a tutti!

From the Hermitage, 25 November 2023

 

NOTE

[1] La rielaborazione di Tolstòj apparve per la prima volta anonima sulla rivistaRusskij rabocij” (L’operaio russo), no. 1 the 1884, with the title “Djadja Martyn” (Zio Martyn). In 1886 il racconto, with the title “Dove c’è amore c’è Dio”, fu inserito in un volume edito a Mosca da Posrednik assieme ad altri otto, tutti con la firma di Lev Tolstòj

[2] Severo Sulpicio,Vita di Martino, EDB, 2003

[3] Michel de Certeaux, Mai senza l’altro. Viaggio nella differenza, 1983

[4] J.P. Sartre, Porta chiusa, Bompiani, Milan 2013

[5] Pirandello L., Maschere nude. Vol. 5: Enrico IVLa signora Morli, una e dueVestire gli ignudi, Mondadori, 2010

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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We should reflect more on the sin of wasting time

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

DOVREMMO RIFLETTERE MAGGIORMENTE SUL PECCATO DEL PERDERE TEMPO

Comunque si voglia intenderli, since every parabolic tale is open to a plurality of interpretations, talents will remain a free gift that cannot be kept for oneself, nor does it hide, but it must be multiplied. They reveal that God, più che un padrone si dimostra Padre verso noi figli e fa nel corso del tempo molte di queste grazie a ognuno di noi e alle nostre comunità.

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Un dono può esser offerto con mille motivazioni, anche non nobili a volte. Ma ha dalla sua una caratteristica inconfondibile: rivela l’identità di chi offre e di chi lo riceve. Il Vangelo di questa Domenica presenta un Donatore molto speciale, il quale non elargisce un solo singolo dono, bensì ogni suo bene. Let's read:

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: «Avverrà come a un uomo che, partendo per un viaggio, chiamò i suoi servi e consegnò loro i suoi beni. A uno diede cinque talenti, a un altro due, a un altro uno, According to the capacity of each; poi partì. Subito colui che aveva ricevuto cinque talenti andò a impiegarli, e ne guadagnò altri cinque. Così anche quello che ne aveva ricevuti due, ne guadagnò altri due. Colui invece che aveva ricevuto un solo talento, andò a fare una buca nel terreno e vi nascose il denaro del suo padrone. Dopo molto tempo il padrone di quei servi tornò e volle regolare i conti con loro. Si presentò colui che aveva ricevuto cinque talenti e ne portò altri cinque, saying: "Man, mi hai consegnato cinque talenti; there, ne ho guadagnati altri cinque”. "Good, servo buono e fedele ― gli disse il suo padrone ―, sei stato fedele nel poco, ti darò potere su molto; prendi parte alla gioia del tuo padrone”. Si presentò poi colui che aveva ricevuto due talenti e disse: "Man, mi hai consegnato due talenti; there, ne ho guadagnati altri due”. "Good, servo buono e fedele ― gli disse il suo padrone ―, sei stato fedele nel poco, ti darò potere su molto; prendi parte alla gioia del tuo padrone”. Si presentò infine anche colui che aveva ricevuto un solo talento e disse: "Man, so che sei un uomo duro, che mieti dove non hai seminato e raccogli dove non hai sparso. Ho avuto paura e sono andato a nascondere il tuo talento sotto terra: ecco ciò che è tuo”. Il padrone gli rispose: «Servo malvagio e pigro, tu sapevi che mieto dove non ho seminato e raccolgo dove non ho sparso; avresti dovuto affidare il mio denaro ai banchieri e così, ritornando, avrei ritirato il mio con l’interesse. Toglietegli dunque il talento, e datelo a chi ha i dieci talenti. Perché a chiunque ha, verrà dato e sarà nell’abbondanza; ma a chi non ha, verrà tolto anche quello che ha. E il servo inutile gettatelo fuori nelle tenebre; là sarà pianto e stridore di denti». (Mt 25,14-30).

Il brano evangelico di questa domenica aggiunge una specificazione al significato della vigilanza che già era stato presentato nella parabola delle dieci vergini (Mt 25,1-13). Lì vigilare significava essere previdenti, essere pronti, preparations, dotarsi del necessario mettendo in conto una lunga attesa. Now, nella parabola dei talenti, la vigilanza viene specificata come attenzione e responsabilità nel quotidiano e declinata come fedeltà nelle piccole cose («sei stato fedele nel poco»: Mt 25,21.23).

Innanzitutto ricordiamo quale funzione abbia la parabola. Tale forma comunicativa prevede spesso l’uso di un linguaggio iperbolico, un’ambientazione paradossale, con volute esagerazioni che possono anche arrivare a scandalizzare per la violenza che vi è implicata. Ci colpisce, who, la punizione del servo malvagio. Ma sorprende anche il finale che, come spesso accade nei racconti fittizi parabolici, presenta un vero e proprio colpo di scena: il talento viene tolto a chi ne ha solo uno e dato a chi già ne ha molti. Nel lettore sorge la domanda: che padrone è colui che si permette di umiliare in tal modo un suo servo, che in fondo ha agito prudentemente?

Si diceva che la vigilanza non riguarda solo l’attesa escatologica ma investe in pieno il rapporto con il quotidiano, con le sue realtà di ogni giorno. La parabola di Matteo, che ha un parallelo un po’ differente e più complesso con Luca 19,11-27, è certamente inserita in un contesto escatologico ― il v.30 la situa nell’orizzonte del giudizio finale: «Il servo inutile gettatelo nelle tenebre, là sarà pianto e stridor di denti» ― ma questo non fa che ribadire che tale giudizio finale lo si prepara qui e ora, nell’oggi della storia, cosa che si mostrerà in tutta la sua evidenza nella parabola del giudizio universale (Mt 25,31-46) domenica prossima. Là apparirà chiaramente l’autorità escatologica dei piccoli e dei poveri. Il giudizio finale si baserà sulle azioni di carità e di giustizia compiute in loro favore oppure omesse. Il quotidiano si rivela così come il luogo escatologico per eccellenza, perché è il tempo che ci è dato. Così la parabola dopo la ripartizione dei talenti[1] in modo personalizzato, commisurata con le capacità dei riceventi, si dispiega fra il «subito» (v.15) di coloro che li fanno fruttare e il dopo «molto tempo» (v.19) del ritorno del padrone. Del resto non appare importante, almeno in questo racconto, la quantità dei doni ricevuti, poiché i due servi operosi, nonostante abbiano ricevuto talenti in misura diversa, percepiranno però la stessa ricompensa. Importante piuttosto è il tempo la cui durata fa emergere la verità delle persone, dei loro comportamenti, della loro tenuta e della loro responsabilità. Il trascorrere del tempo è rivelatore; infatti i primi due servi hanno saputo cogliere subito che esso era il primo grande dono di cui potevano usufruire e non lo sprecarono gettandolo via.

We should reflect more on the sin of wasting time. Se il terzo servo avesse riflettuto su questo ne avrebbe approfittato, perché alla fine la ricompensa sarebbe stata la medesima dei primi due servi che avevano ricevuto di più. Ma come si diceva più sopra il dono è, al pari del tempo impiegato, rivelativo dei personaggi di questa parabola. Così il donatore, anche se Gesù lo cela inizialmente dietro un anonimo uomo (v.14), è chiaramente Dio che infatti più avanti verrà chiamato ‘Signore’ (Kyrie, Κύριε dei v.20.22.24). Solo Lui è capace di fare dono di ogni cosa sua [2], in maniera preveniente e inaspettata soprattutto verso dei destinatari che per quanto intraprendenti sono pur sempre dei servi. Alcuni padri della chiesa hanno voluto vedere dietro al dono dei talenti quello della Parola di Dio, in ricordo della parabola del buon seme che porta frutto a secondo del terreno che trova. Ireneo di Lione, d. 202 d.C., vi vide il dono della vita, accordato da Dio agli uomini. Comunque si voglia intenderli, since every parabolic tale is open to a plurality of interpretations, talents will remain a free gift that cannot be kept for oneself, nor does it hide, but it must be multiplied. They reveal that God, più che un padrone si dimostra Padre verso noi figli e fa nel corso del tempo molte di queste grazie a ognuno di noi e alle nostre comunità. La capacità di riconoscerle e di farle fruttare è la qualità dei servi non pavidi che sanno correre anche dei rischi.

Il punto della parabola però non è di natura economica, cioè nella capacità di trarre profitti dall’investimento di un capitale, perché la ricompensa, in tale senso, avrebbe dovuta essere commisurata al merito e alla grandezza del patrimonio accumulato. Esso invece è incentrato sull’agire istantaneo e sul non rimanere inerti nel tempo che viene concesso. Tenendo conto che il padrone-Signore tornerà e chiederà ragioneponit rationem» traduce la Vulgata) di come avranno agito i servi. Essi scopriranno che ai suoi occhi ciò che contava era la bontà e la fedeltà nell’agire e quel che sembrava tanto in verità era molto poco rispetto alla ricompensa: "Good, servo buono e fedele ― gli disse il suo padrone ―, sei stato fedele nel poco, ti darò potere su molto; prendi parte alla gioia del tuo padrone».

La parabola diviene così un invito ai discepoli e alle comunità a non rimanere immobili e incantati davanti alle difficoltà dei tempi che corrono, pronti invece ad agire in ogni momento, consapevoli dei doni ricevuti e che questo che ci è dato è il tempo propizio. Le sfide che esso pone e le mutate condizioni culturali non dovrebbero impaurirci o farci rimanere contenti solo di quello che già si fa oppure inebriati da un attivismo solo fine a se stesso. La parabola chiede ai cristiani consapevolezza, responsibility, audacia e soprattutto creatività, tutte realtà condensate nelle parole: essere buoni e fedeli.

Infine ci chiedevamo prima perché il padrone, protagonista della parabola, trattò così male il terzo servo. Ciò che colpisce in questa vicenda è proprio l’idea che il servo si era fatta di lui. Mentre i primi due servi non hanno avuto bisogno di riflettere su questo, quasi fosse automatico per loro che se il padrone ti da un dono esso vada subito fatto fruttare, l’altro servo invece elabora una sua idea, potremmo dire una sua teologia, che ne blocca l’azione, perché a dominarla è l’idea di paura. Intrappolato in questa immagine che egli ha del padrone, quella di un uomo duro e pretenzioso, pur avendo nella sua disponibilità il dono grande di un talento non riesce a fidarsi di lui. È questo sarà il suo vero dramma.

Il suo non agire verrà giudicato in modo parallelo al buono e fedele, però come malvagio e pigro. Se avesse almeno aperto un conto di deposito ne avrebbe riscosso gli interessi attivi, ma preferì seppellire il suo dono e per questo, quando non ci sarà più tempo per agire, al momento del giudizio, verrà consegnato al pianto e allo stridere dei denti, un’espressione biblica che indica il fallimento della propria vita[3].

La fede che opera è importante nel vocabolario del primo Vangelo. Gesù parla della fede di coloro che credono in lui per poter essere guariti, quella del centurione (8,10), del paralitico (9,2), della donna emorroissa (9,22), dei due ciechi (9,29), della Cananea (15,28), e incita i suoi, mai criticati perché hanno «poca fede», ad averne di più (cf.. 6,30).

La nostra parabola potrebbe dunque voler dire qualcosa sul credere o non credere in Dio nel tempo intermedio che separa dal giudizio. Il terzo servo, malvagio, non ha più fede, l’ha persa col tempo: si è dimenticato che quanto gli era stato affidato doveva essere investito perché portasse frutto per il padrone, ma anche a suo favore: è divenuto perciò inutile (v.30). Che la parabola tratti del dono della fede, si può indirettamente evincere anche da un altro testo del Nuovo Testamento, dove San Paolo dice che questo dono è misteriosamente personalizzato, proprio come nella parabola che racconta Gesù:

«Per la grazia che mi è stata data, io dico a ciascuno di voi: non valutatevi più di quanto conviene, ma valutatevi in modo saggio e giusto, ciascuno secondo la misura di fede che Dio gli ha dato» (RM 12,3).

Per concludere potremmo chiederci: Quale visione abbiamo di Dio? Quella vendicativa, esigente e dura che incute paura o quella liberante, positiva che ci fa agire nella fiducia e nel non timore, come l’ha vissuta e ci ha insegnato Gesù?

From the Hermitage, 19 November 2023

 

NOTE

1 Il talento, che significava anche «ciò che è pesato, era un’unità di peso di circa 30-40 kg. corrispondente a seimila denari. Poiché un denaro, secondo quanto Matteo stesso spiega in 20,2 (Matteo è molto preciso nell’uso delle monete, e nel suo vangelo ne sono elencate diversi tipi), è il corrispettivo della paga per un giorno di lavoro, si intende qui una somma ingente data in gestione ai servi

2 Nella parabola dei vignaioli omicidi Egli non si perita di mandare anche suo Figlio (Mt 21,37)

3 «Ancora, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, which collects all kinds of fish. When it's full, the fishermen haul it ashore, they sit down, they collect the good fish in the baskets and throw away the bad ones. So it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the evil from the good and throw them into the fiery furnace, There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth " (Mt 13,47-50).

 

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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Father Gabriele

The love that comes from charity is the foundation of Christianity

Homiletic of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE LOVE THAT BORN FROM CHARITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY

Jesus teaches us that there is no love for God that is very great, devoted and authentic, and that it does not become love towards our neighbor. A love of charity which therefore means acting according to concrete and real works, to help others also grow in holiness. Therefore as the Provencals said, in love you either grow or diminish.

 

Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear readers of The island of Patmos,

«It's obvious: l'Love waxes or wanes and never stays the same'. We find this beautiful phrase in an ancient one Provençal Love Code. This maxim contains one of the fundamental laws of love which is continuous growth in the donation of oneself to others and to God. Love is a common experience that we have all experienced at least once in our lives. The foundation, therefore, of our human love, what love of charity and tenderness is always the love of God which being eternal, He asks us to love with an eternal love too.

This cornerstone is enclosed In the Gospel of this XXX Sunday of Ordinary Time, where the fundamental law of Christianity is stated. A true Copernican revolution within Judaism and the Greek world- romano. An absolute novelty where the center of everything is the relationship of love between God and man.

Once again we find the Pharisees all united to hold a council against Jesus Christ. Last week went badly for him, when they had sent the Herodians to try to turn him against the Romans. This time they send a doctor of the law, an expert who asks him a trap question. Which 613 Jewish precepts (take it easy) you think is more important, according to the Jewish hierarchy? This is also a trick question, according to the fallacy of false dichotomy. From i 613 There was in fact a hierarchy and importance to the precepts. Regardless of whether or not we remember this hierarchical scale - which for Jesus was simple - the trap consisted in listening to Jesus' response, whatever the answer would have been, reply that the precept cited was instead the least important one. In tal modo, they wanted to discredit and show Jesus' lack of connection with Jewish tradition and with God. Jesus once again frees himself from this argumentative trap. And he exploits the situation to offer the center and core of the teaching of Christianity. Jesus responds:

«”You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind”. This is the great and first commandment. The second one is similar to that one: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets ".

The news it consists first of all in the formulation of these two precepts. The first is taken from Deuteronomy 6,5 and it is linked together with the law of Holiness that we find in Leviticus 19,18. Here then is the inseparable link between love for God and neighbor already present and prefigured in the Old Testament and is then made explicit and announced by Jesus. This answer breaks any counter-answer. And it is an answer that is still valid for us today.

Jesus teaches us that there is no such thing as love towards God who is very great, devoted and authentic, and that it does not become love towards our neighbor. A love of charity which therefore means acting according to concrete and real works, to help others also grow in holiness. Therefore as the Provencals said, in love you either grow or diminish. We grow in love towards God because the works of mercy continually fuel our choice of faith which is a relationship with the eternal You of God, perennially in love with his creation and therefore with humanity. At the same time, to love with charity is to choose to engage responsibly in the Church, so that all other believers can encounter Christ through us. If you stop loving, also our life and our joy, little by little they fade. Thus our person also becomes more and more closed in on himself. Jesus asks us to put our authentic and tender love into circulation.

We ask the Lord the strength and courage of generous and merciful action, to all grow united on the path of holiness that leads to eternal life.

Amen.

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 29 October 2023

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"You will love your neighbor as yourself". On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets "

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

«AMERAI IL TUO PROSSIMO COME TE STESSO» DA QUESTI DUE COMANDAMENTI DIPENDONO TUTTA LA LEGGE E I PROFETI

Gesù andò subito oltre con la sorprendente novità che non ha riscontri nella letteratura giudaica antica: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. They, going back to the will of the Legislator, discerne che amore di Dio e del prossimo stanno in una relazione inscindibile tra loro: l’uno non sussiste senza l’altro.

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Nel lezionario, tralasciata la discussione con i sadducei a proposito della risurrezione, si giunge, col vangelo di questa XXX Domenica del tempo ordinario, ad una nuova diatriba che si apre con Gesù interrogato dai suoi avversari, ma, Once again, per metterlo alla prova.

"During that time, i farisei, avendo udito che Gesù aveva chiuso la bocca ai sadducèi, si riunirono insieme e uno di loro, un dottore della Legge, lo interrogò per metterlo alla prova: «Maestro, in the Law, qual è il grande comandamento?». She answered him: «Amerai il Signore tuo Dio con tutto il tuo cuore, con tutta la tua anima e con tutta la tua mente». This is the great and first commandment. The second one is similar to that one: "You will love your neighbor as yourself". On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets ". (Mt 22,34-40)

Sono gli ultimi giorni di Gesù nella città santa di Gerusalemme, prima dell’arresto e della passione, ed egli sa che il cerchio intorno a sé si sta stringendo sempre più. Nella nostra pagina di Vangelo entrano di nuovo in scena i farisei, e tra loro un dottore della Legge, un teologo diremmo noi, un esperto delle sante Scritture, che nuovamente si rivolge a lui chiamandolo: Rabbi (Maestro, διδάσκαλε). Infatti non si era mai vista una cosa del genere, che un carpentiere si fosse messo in testa di insegnare e dare consigli sulla Torah, su come si onori Dio, su cosa sia lecito e cosa proibito. La cosa non era ben vista come attestò Ben Sira al principio del terzo secolo a.C: «Chi è libero dalla fatica diventerà saggio»1; e nei Vangeli non si parla mai di una scuola esegetica di Gesù. Le sorprendenti interpretazioni della Torah, che gli permettono di contrastare le insidie dialettiche degli avversari, non verranno replicate dai suoi discepoli. Se Gesù viene chiamato rabbi (maestro) è per la sua autorità e per la capacità di approfondire la Scrittura in modo creativo. Non è però il genere d’insegnante che formi allievi, per trasmettere loro i propri metodi esegetici. Mentre nel giudaismo rabbinico, che si affermerà dopo la distruzione del secondo Tempio nel 70, l’allievo è destinato a sostituire e, if possible, a superare in sapienza il maestro, i discepoli di Gesù rimarranno per sempre tali, senza la possibilità di emularlo in campo intellettuale.

Proprio i rabbini avevano individuato nella Legge, la Torah, oltre le dieci parole (Is 20,2-17), ben 613 precetti, per cui la domanda posta a Gesù sembra pertinente e verteva sulla semplificazione: «Maestro, in the Law, qual è il grande comandamento?». Era un argomento dibattuto come testimonia questa risposta rabbinica: «Rabbi Simlaj disse:

«Sul monte Sinai a Mosè sono stati enunciati 613 comandamenti: 365 negativi, corrispondenti al numero dei giorni dell’anno solare, e 248 positive, corrispondenti al numero degli organi del corpo umano… Poi venne David, che ridusse questi comandamenti a 11, as it is written [nel Sal 15]… Poi venne Isaia che li ridusse a 6, as it is written [in Is 33,15-16]… Poi venne Michea che li ridusse a 3, as it is written: «Che cosa ti chiede il Signore, se di non praticare la giustizia, amare la pietà, camminare umilmente con il tuo Dio? » (Me 6,8) … Poi venne ancora Isaia e li ridusse a 2, as it is written: «Così dice il Signore: Osservate il diritto e praticate la giustizia» (Is 56,1) … Infine venne Abacuc e ridusse i comandamenti a uno solo, as it is written: «Il giusto vivrà per la sua fede» (Ab 2,4)» (Talmud babilonese, Makkot, 24a).

Jesus replied ponendo in evidenza, Once again, la sua capacità di far riferimento a ciò che è fondamentale e proponendo a seguire una sorprendente novità, legando un secondo comandamento al principale, dichiarandoli simili e facendo di ambedue una corda sulla quale sta in equilibrio tutta la struttura dei rimanenti comandi, anzi l’intero complesso della Parola di Dio. Se da essa si distaccano cadono a terra. Questo è il senso del verbo kremamai ― κρέμαμαι ― del verso v.40, ovvero essere appeso, sospeso, penzolare; che è stato reso con dipendere: «Da questi due comandamenti dipendono tutta la Legge e i Profeti».

Dove trovò Gesù il fondamento per giustificare la grandezza del primo comandamento? Nella preghiera, nella fattispecie quella dello Shemà (Ascolta) che apriva e chiudeva la giornata dell’ebreo religioso e in particolare quella di shabbat, il sabato:

«Listen, Israel: il Signore è il nostro Dio, il Signore è uno solo. Tu amerai il Signore tuo Dio con tutto il tuo cuore, con tutta la tua vita e con tutta la tua mente» (Dt 6,4-5). E chiosò: «Questo è il grande e primo comandamento».

Poi Gesù andò subito oltre con la sorprendente novità che non ha riscontri nella letteratura giudaica antica: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lv 19,18). They, going back to the will of the Legislator, discerne che amore di Dio e del prossimo stanno in una relazione inscindibile tra loro: l’uno non sussiste senza l’altro. Il comando di amare il prossimo è, nel Vangelo di Matteo, il testo veterotestamentario più citato: si trova anche in Mt 5,43 e 19,19. Significa che Gesù aveva insistito su questo precetto, ma anche che per Matteo era particolarmente necessario ricordarlo ai credenti in Cristo, quando questi non verranno più capiti ed accolti dalla loro stessa gente; Unfortunately, anche dai loro stessi fratelli ebrei.

Non a caso nel nostro testo il secondo comandamento è definito pari ― ὁμοία ― al primo, con la stessa importanza e lo stesso peso, mentre l’evangelista Luca li unisce addirittura in un solo grande comandamento: «Amerai il Signore Dio tuo… e il prossimo tuo» (LC 10,27). Gesù compie così un’audace e decisiva innovazione, e lo fa con l’autorità di chi sa che non si può amare Dio senza amare le persone.

L’amore essendo un sentimento umano non si può dire che rappresenti un proprium of the christian, lo è invece la fede in Gesù, the Christ, Figlio del Padre che si è rivelato. E al cuore di questo processo c’è la manifestazione di Dio come amore. Come tutti sanno gli autori del Nuovo Testamento che hanno esplorato la profondità di questo mistero sono Paolo e Giovanni. Proprio quest’ultimo, in una sua lettera affermerà che «Dio è amore» (1GV 4,8.16) e che «ci ha amati per primo» (1GV 4,19). San Paolo ci farà dono dell’inno alla carità (1Color 13). Tutte queste parole rivolte in prima istanza ai discepoli di Gesù di ogni tempo, sono ormai il segno distintivo di chi crede in lui, tanto da far affermare allo stesso Giovanni: «Se uno dice: Io amo Dio e odia suo fratello, è un bugiardo. Chi infatti non ama il proprio fratello che vede, non può amare Dio che non vede. E questo è il comandamento che abbiamo da lui: chi ama Dio, ami anche suo fratello» (1GV 4,20-21). E questo perché il riferimento sarà sempre a Gesù che pose se stesso come termine di paragone: «Da questo tutti sapranno che siete miei discepoli: if you have love for each other " (GV 13,35); ovvero quell’amore che mette in pratica “il comandamento nuovo”, cioè ultimo e definitivo, da lui lasciatoci: «Amatevi gli uni gli altri come io vi ho amati» (GV 13,34; 15,12).

Per tornare all’esempio della corda sospesa il cristiano si troverà sempre a camminare su questa via sottile evitando di non sporgersi troppo da un lato perdendo l’equilibrio dell’altro. L’amore verso Dio e verso il prossimo si mantiene in costante equilibrio e l’uno e l’altro non costituiscono l’emblema di una stagione. Anche se adesso, in the Church, si pone l’accento maggiormente sulla solidarietà e sull’accoglienza dei poveri e dei miseri, il cristiano sarà sempre un “uomo per tutte le stagioni”2. E secondo l’insegnamento di Gesù ci sarà sempre qualcuno che percorrendo la non sorvegliata scesa che da Gerusalemme porta a Gerico potrà correre il rischio di ritrovarsi mezzo morto: l’amore compassionevole sarà la risposta (LC 10,25-37).

Anche Sant’Agostino sembra pensarla così:

«Enunciando i due precetti dell’amore, il Signore non ti raccomanda prima l’amore del prossimo e poi l’amore di Dio, ma mette prima Dio e poi il prossimo. Ma siccome Dio ancora non lo vedi, meriterai di vederlo amando il prossimo. Ama dunque il prossimo, e mira dentro di te la fonte da cui scaturisce l’amore del prossimo: ci vedrai, in quanto ti è possibile, It gave. Comincia dunque con l’amare il prossimo. Spezza il tuo pane con chi ha fame, e porta in casa tua chi è senza tetto; se vedi un ignudo, vestilo, e non disprezzare chi è della tua carne. Facendo così, che cosa succederà? Allora sì che quale aurora eromperà la tua luce (Is 58,7-8). La tua luce è il tuo Dio. Egli è per te luce mattutina, perché viene a te dopo la notte di questo mondo. Egli non sorge né tramonta, risplende sempre… Amando il prossimo e interessandoti di lui, tu camminerai. Quale cammino farai, se non quello che conduce al Signore Iddio, a colui che dobbiamo amare con tutto il cuore, con tutta l’anima, con tutta la mente? Al Signore non siamo ancora arrivati, ma il prossimo lo abbiamo sempre con noi. Porta dunque colui assieme al quale cammini, per giungere a Colui con il quale desideri rimanere per sempre»3.

from the Hermitage, 29 October 2023

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NOTE

1 [Contadini, fabbri, vasai, e tutti i lavoratori manuali che si affaticano giorno e notte per un compenso] «Senza di loro non si costruisce una città, nessuno potrebbe soggiornarvi o circolarvi. Ma essi non sono ricercati per il consiglio del popolo nell’assemblea non hanno un posto speciale, non siedono sul seggio del giudice e non conoscono le disposizioni della legge. Non fanno brillare né l’istruzione né il diritto,
non compaiono tra gli autori di proverbi, ma essi consolidano la costruzione del mondo,e il mestiere che fanno è la loro preghiera» (Sir 38,24. 33-34)

2 Sylvester R. S., The “Man for All SeasonsAgain: Robert Whittington’s Verses to Sir Thomas More, Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 26, no 2,1963, pp. 147-154.

3 Agostino d’Ippona, Commento al Vangelo di san Giovanni, Homily 17, 7-9 (see WHO)

 

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci
Of the Order of Preachers
Presbyter and Theologian

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Father Gabriele

The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits

Homiletic of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL BE TAKEN FROM YOU AND WILL BE GIVEN TO A PEOPLE WHO PRODUCES ITS FRUITS

Today the New People of God are all of us, that is, we united in His Baptism, which God asks to bear fruit, therefore become fruitful. In this way each of us becomes the guardian and protector of that vineyard, which is our Catholic Church and the local Church in which we are active.

 

Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear readers of The island of Patmos,

we are all born and raised within a nation and a city. This being together with others has built a bit’ our identity. We have become "I" thanks also to many "You", our fellow citizens. We were then baptized and thus inserted within a particular and general ecclesial community, children of the Catholic Church. We were thus entrusted to a particular community, a local Church made up first and foremost of our family. Today we are adults, we are asked to be those who build and guard the Church. This is the summary of Today's Gospel.

The murderous winemakers, Illustrated French catechism from the 20th century.

Once again Jesus decides to propose this teaching in parables. So he tells a bit of a parable’ violent, If we want. The owner of a piece of land gives his vineyard to farmers to cultivate it and bear fruit. The time has come to collect the harvest, send several servants: first few, then many. These are killed. Finally the last envoy is killed, that is, the master's son.

At this point Jesus dialogues with the elders and leaders of the people about the fate of these farmers. They offer him an answer that seems clear: upon the return of the same master, the murderous peasants will be punished and killed. Quoting the psalm 118, very famous, Jesus offers them the definitive answer:

"I tell you: the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits"

Jesus' response is very strong: it will no longer be only the leaders of the Jewish people and the priests who maintain the alliance with God. There will be a new kingdom of God, a new vineyard, therefore a new people of God who will be fruitful and bear fruit.

Jesus therefore comes to lay the foundations of His Church, who will receive and maintain the final and Eternal Covenant, the New and Eternal Covenant between God and man. Therefore a New People of God, which will not coincide exclusively with the circumcised.

Indeed, today the New People of God are all of us, that is, we united in His Baptism, which God asks to bear fruit, therefore become fruitful. In this way each of us becomes the guardian and protector of that vineyard, which is our Catholic Church and the local Church in which we are active. This fruitfulness is achieved in different ways: first of all with the practice of charity and spiritual and material works of mercy. Also the exercise of the theological and cardinal virtues, with others and in communion with God, it is another way of being fruitful. Because fruitfulness and fruitfulness is giving the grace of friendship and God's love to others. The beauty of our faith then asks us to give this grace according to a fruitfulness that is original and entirely our own: therefore we all become fruitful because we are called with our beauty and uniqueness. This is a beautiful way in which God asks us to be part of the Church: neither dominant nor passive but fruitful. Open to God's plan but without becoming robots.

As John Stuart Mill wrote: «All the good things that exist are the fruit of originality».

We ask the Lord to become that new people of God able to enter into silent prayer, listen to the voice of the Eternal You of God, and bring this voice to a world that seeks endless love.

Amen

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 8 October 2023

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From homo Sapiens to murderous peasants in the Lord's vineyard

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

DALL’A wise man TO THE MURDERING PEASANTS IN THE LORD'S VINEYARD

Our ancestors sapiens when they began to domesticate those animal species and those few seeds that we still find on our table, they could not imagine the particular bond that would be created between man and the cultivation of vines. A relationship that smells of alliance and therefore of passion, of care and even love. I remember the farmers I met, when they wanted to express the effort of their specific job they said: «The land is low!». Because not only do you have to lean towards it, but also to support it and work on it with great effort.

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Historians of evolution they say that the transition to agriculture for our species began in a period ranging from 9500 all’8500 a.C. in a hilly region located between south-eastern Turkey, western Iran and the Near East. It started slowly and in a rather limited geographical area. Wheat and goats were domesticated approximately around 9000 a.C.; peas and lentils around 8000 BC.; the olive trees in 5000 a.C.; the horses in the 4000 a.C.; and the screw in the 3500 a.C. It is precisely about the soil that will take the name of vineyard from the vine that Jesus will speak in the Gospel passage about it twenty-seventh Sunday of ordinary time.

"During that time, Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: Listen to another parable: there was a man, who owned land and planted a vineyard there. He surrounded it with a hedge, he dug a hole for the wine press and built a tower. He rented it to some farmers and went far away. When the time came to reap the fruits, he sent his servants to the farmers to collect the harvest. But the farmers took the servants and beat one of them, they killed another, they stoned another. He sent more servants again, more numerous than the former, but they treated them equally. Finally he sent his son to them saying: «They will have respect for my son!». But the farmers, saw his son, they said to each other: «This is the heir. His, Let's kill him and we will have his inheritance!». They took him, they chased him out of the vineyard and killed him. So when will the owner of the vineyard come?, what will he do to those farmers?». They answered: «Those wicked people, he will make them die miserably and will rent the vineyard to other farmers, who will deliver the fruits to him in due time". And Jesus said to them,: «You have never read in the Scriptures: «The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was done by the Lord and it is a marvel in our eyes"? Therefore I tell you: the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits" (Mt 21,33-43).

Our ancestors sapiens when they began to domesticate those animal species and those few seeds that we still find on our table, they could not imagine the particular bond that would be created between man and the cultivation of vines. A relationship that smells of alliance and therefore of passion, of care and even love. I remember the farmers I met, when they wanted to express the effort of their specific job they said: «The land is low!». Because not only do you have to lean towards it, but also to support it and work on it with great effort. However, when they started talking about the vineyard and the wine they had tapped, the conversation changed, the memory of the effort and dedication disappeared: they appeared repaid, they became proud of the fruit obtained from the vine and therefore jealous of their vineyard. It is possible that this primordial experience inspired the biblical authors, especially the prophets, when they sang on several occasions the special bond between the farmer and the vineyard as an allegory of the alliance between God and his people Israel. The undoubtedly most famous passage is the one reported in this Sunday's first reading taken from the prophet Isaiah:

«I want to sing for my beloved my song of love for his vineyard. My beloved owned a vineyard on a fertile hill. He had dug it up and cleared it of stones and had planted valuable vines there; in the middle he had built a tower and also dug a vat. He waited for it to produce grapes; it produced, instead, unripe grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, be you judges between me and my vineyard. What else should I have done to my vineyard that I haven't done??» (Is 5,1-4).

So when Jesus began to tell the listeners instantly understood what he was talking about, unlike us who have lost that immediacy and need many explanations. In fact, the understanding of the parable called "of the murderous winegrowers" represented a significant moment in the history of Christian exegesis. There was a time, not very far from ours, in which it was thought that the verse «Therefore I say to you: the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruits" constituted a real punishment for Israel and an attack by Jesus on Judaism, so that the Church was not to be considered as a new Israel that replaced the old, but the real one1, as God had intended from the beginning. But throughout the Gospel of Matthew this attack is not evident and so that interpretation is today considered obsolete. As well as the idea descending from the previous one that Israel as a people had been rejected by God. Certainly Jesus was speaking in the temple addressing the elders and chief priests and his words reported the heavy punishment caused by the refusal of the emissaries of the owner of the vineyard. They were those envoys who will be spoken of in Mt 23,34: «So here, I send prophets to you, wise men and scribes: of these, some you will kill and crucify, others you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city.". Above all, Jesus announced the killing of his son. But he was addressing the leader religious, what he will call blind guides (cf.. Mt 23,16) and since the parable is now present in the Gospel those words will always be valid for the Church and its leaders. In particular the vineyard which is the holy Israel of God, the chosen people, it will not be burned or devastated like the city spoken of in the following parable (Mt 22,7) but rather it is there ready to bear good fruit; solo, the current winemakers will not be the ones to pick them: the vineyard, the people of the alliance, will be entrusted to other farmers. Therefore all the parables of Jesus and this one in particular must be considered as open works. Enclose them within a single interpretation, as a Procrustean bed, it would do them an injustice because the value lies in the concern that they will continue to arouse, combined with the questions that will press the faith of the disciples and their following, so that they are continually encouraged.

Jesus began the story by saying that there was a man, an owner – the term oikodespotes (host) it can also mean a family man, in fact the Vulgate translated: The man was the father of the family - who planted a vineyard and equipped it with everything necessary, then he entrusted it to some winemakers and left. The verb apodemeo (I'm emigrating from which resigned the v.33) indicates someone who goes outside the homeland, all’estero, moving away from your home. This man left taking with him the thought and memory of the vineyard, so when the time came for the fruits he sent servants to ask for them, but they were brutally treated by the foster carers. Evidently they were convinced in their hearts that the owner, having left, had also forgotten about the vineyard and that it was now theirs., so they grabbed it, replacing the real owner. But ultimately he only claimed the fruits, he wasn't claiming ownership. With a patience that would seem incredible if it were not ascribed to God, he again sent servants in greater numbers and these too suffered the same fate as the previous ones.. The readers of the Gospel who at this point will already feel the anger at the abuse building, hoping to see the re-establishment of justice even with the use of force, they will find themselves unprepared and shocked to read that the father is about to jeopardize the life of his own son. But the owner of the vineyard, we know it by now, he is an extraordinary father, as this Sunday's collection prayer will say: He adds "what prayer does not dare to hope for". So he did not send any more emissaries as representatives, but he sent his son directly, moved by an intimate hope: «They will have respect for my son!».

We know how things ended, it is useless to repeat it. The detail of the murder committed outside the vineyard remained engraved in the memory of the authors of the New Testament and so they mentioned it when it came to recounting the death of Jesus (cf.. MC 15,20; Mt 27,31, EB 13,12) or Stefano's (cf.. At 7,58). The son expelled from the vineyard was the tangible sign of the rejection of divine will and of the substitution that those farmers wanted to pursue: «This is the heir. His, Let's kill him and we will have his inheritance!».

The next words of Jesus introduced by the question about the fate of those murderous winemakers will take all the attention and, as we reported above, also that of future exegesis, passing over in silence a not insignificant detail that Jesus had mentioned and which could instead represent the heart of the parable, what illuminates it and gives it meaning, even more so than the very elimination and replacement of evil tenants. This detail refers to the thought of the owner of the vineyard who expected respect towards his sent son. The verb warehouse, I allow the v. 37 in the active form it means to change, to change, return to one's senses and into the passive one, as it is in the Gospel: be moved, bring respect, hesitate. The Vulgate chose to fear and reported: “They will fear my son“. In whatever way you want to translate that explicit desire, it is clear that the owner of the vineyard did not expect the violent death of his son. That was his dream, God's dream. In the Gospel of Matthew already Joseph and then the Magi (cf.. Mt 1,20; 2,12-13) by listening to a dream they were able to save Jesus. They had thus accomplished God's will. What would have happened if Pilate had listened to his wife's dream (cf.. Mt 27,19) narrated in the tale of the passion: he would have spared Jesus from condemnation? That phrase from the parable, apparently innocent, it undermines some easy and inappropriate theologies of redemption. In it we read not only the hope that Israel will convert, but also that the son is spared.

Of course without forgetting that three times Jesus will show that he ascends voluntarily, freely and knowingly in Jerusalem (cf.. Mt 16,21-23), where he would have met the death that he would accept even more decisively in Gethsemane: "Thy will be done" (Mt 26,42). Matthew even reread his delivery in the light of the Scriptures: «All this happened so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled» (Mt 26,56). However, one could not think so, always in the logic of Matthew's story, that the initial project was not this, but rather what Jesus himself will talk about - in truth after all three announcements of the passion - hinting at a palingenesis (cf.. Mt 19,282 e 25,31-46); that he would have liked to advance by restoring the Israel of God? However, when the plan began to deteriorate, then Jesus, like the son in the parable, he will show that he loves his vineyard so much to the point of dying for it. St. Ambrose's comment comes to mind: «Hi, vineyard worthy of such a great guardian: not the blood of Naboth alone but that of countless prophets has consecrated you, and indeed that, all the more precious, poured out by the Lord"3. The parable, so, who insisted on the master's mercy, he also let his son's free offer emerge in the background.

This parable certainly resonates as a judgment from God, but not on the people of Israel, but on those leaders of the people who rejected and condemned Jesus. Matteo, indeed, will record their reaction immediately afterwards; they tried to capture him but were afraid of the crowd and therefore postponed their plan for a few days, waiting for a more favorable situation (in the night and in Gethsemane, where there will be no crowd of his followers; cf.. Mt 26,47-56). In fact, they had understood that that parable identified them as the murderous winemakers. But the parable says that this will also be the judgment on the Church, especially on his bosses. The vineyard was taken away from those leaders of Israel and given a new human community (ethnos, without article of v.43): the community of the poor in spirit, of the myths that, according to the promise of the Lord, they will inherit the earth (cf. Mt 5,5; Shall 37,11), to that humble and poor people constituted heirs forever by the Lord (cf. Sof 3,12-13; Is 60,21; Gives 30,3).

It is very important on a theological level understand that the function of the Matthean form of the parable is not to exalt Christianity over Judaism, but rather to leave open the response to the renewed offer of reconciliation made by the raised Christ. In a sense, the Church finds itself in a similar position to that of Israel. In another sense, however, she has already experienced the miraculous intervention of God. The discarded stone now constitutes the corner header. It will be this generation of Christians who welcome the kingdom of God and produce fruits of justice, or it will be taken away from her to be entrusted to another? The aforementioned Ambrose of Milan saw that the danger of incurring punishment is for everyone, also for Christians: «The vinedresser is without any doubt the almighty Father, the vine is Christ, and we are the branches: but if we do not bear fruit in Christ we are cut off by the sickle of the eternal cultivator"4. Said this, it is clear that the parable is Christological and theological. The son of the owner of the vineyard is characterized with those attributes, like the idea of ​​inheritance, which are typical of Jesus' language when he wanted to talk about himself and his relationship with his father; his death outside the city walls will obviously remember the end of the Messiah. But the parable also says a lot about the Father: his judgement, strangely, late in arriving; God is even represented as far too patient. Any listener of the story, in the time of Jesus, he would have been struck by what might appear to be a weakness of character. That God, however, knows how to wait and continues to hope for a change in his winemakers who might even "respect his son" (cf.. Mt 21,37). Unlike what we do, God does not allow himself to be demoralized by a rejection, he persists in his proposal of salvation, He never wants the death of the sinner, but that he converts and lives.

I would like to conclude by remembering that the significance of this parable was grasped in a particular way by Benedict XVI, in a moment that we imagine was full of emotion and great fear for him. From the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica on the evening of his election he spoke thus of himself:

«They elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's vineyard. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with insufficient tools and above all I entrust myself to your prayers"5.

Happy Sunday everyone.

from the Hermitage, 8 October 2023

 

 

 

1 Trilling W., The real Israel. Studies on the theology of the Gospel of Matthew, Piemme, 1992

2 "And Jesus said to them,: “«Truly I say to you: you who followed me, when the Son of man sits on the throne of his glory, to the regeneration of the world, you will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.".

3 Sant'Ambrogio, Exposition of the Gospel according to Luke, New City 1978.

4 Sant'Ambrogio, on. cit.

5 See: https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/speeches/2005/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050419_first-speech.html

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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That not always understandable game of the first and the last in the Lord

Homiletic of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

QUEL GIOCO NON SEMPRE COMPRENSIBILE DEI PRIMI E DEGLI ULTIMI NEL SIGNORE

«Buona parte della mia perversione morale è dovuta al fatto che mio padre non mi permise di diventare cattolico. L’aspetto artistico della Chiesa e la fragranza dei suoi insegnamenti mi avrebbero guarito dalle mie degenerazioni. Ho intenzione di esservi accolto al più presto».

 

Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear readers of the Island of Patmos,

ci sono storie di conversione che fanno comprendere la bellezza di essere cattolici inducendoci a capire il senso del diventare operai nella vigna del Signore. Dio ci chiama in qualsiasi momento della vita: da bambini, da adulti e persino in punto di morte. Non molti sanno che uno di questi operai nella vigna fu proprio Oscar Wilde che si convertì in tarda età al Cattolicesimo, battezzandosi e ricevendo il viatico. L’autore irlandese pochi giorni prima di morire dichiarò al giornale Daily Chronicle:

«Buona parte della mia perversione morale è dovuta al fatto che mio padre non mi permise di diventare cattolico. L’aspetto artistico della Chiesa e la fragranza dei suoi insegnamenti mi avrebbero guarito dalle mie degenerazioni. Ho intenzione di esservi accolto al più presto».

Con la parabola degli operai dell’ultima ora racchiusa nel Vangelo di oggi Gesù viene a insegnarci questo. Everyone, nel grande mistero dell’amore di Dio, siamo chiamati e Lui conosce il giorno e l’ora della nostra risposta. Gesù racconta quindi una parabola che all’inizio può essere “fastidiosa”. Perché troviamo degli operai che vengono assunti a inizio giornata e altri invece solo all’ultima ora. Il padrone degli operai risponde però a muso duro a coloro che erano arrivati là per protestare:

«Io voglio dare anche a quest’ultimo quanto a te: I can't do what I want with my things? Or you're jealous because I'm good? So the last will be first and the first, ultimi».

Nella narrazione simbolica, quel padrone è proprio Dio che ha un concetto di primo e ultimo diverso del nostro. Effectively, la frase di Gesù circa gli ultimi e i primi è stata lungamente evocata, perché dislocata al di fuori del contesto della parabola. It gave, so, annuncia con una notizia bella e sconvolgente: Egli capovolge i nostri parametri umani: tutti siamo chiamati ad amare, a renderci santi e a santificare gli altri. Ciascuno di noi è operaio nella vigna, cioè nella Chiesa Cattolica, secondo talenti e doni che Lui stesso ci ha offerto.

La ricompensa finale sarà poi uguale per tutti: la sua amicizia e compagnia eterna in Paradiso. So, non esiste una diversa modalità di “pensionamento” per l’operaio nella vigna. Il bambino catecumeno martirizzato, il grande lavoratore della carità, il poeta maledetto convertito in vecchiaia, tutti quanti riceviamo come meta finale la Vita Eterna in Dio. Il grande mistero di Dio da accogliere è questo: Dio ci chiede un amore gratuito che non pretende e non reclama, ma si offre spontaneamente. Perché il primo ad offrirsi senza pretendere nulla in cambio è stato Gesù sulla croce.

A noi sta semplicemente di accogliere la chiamata e di mettere un podi buona volontà. Dio stesso con la sua grazia ci accompagnerà nel nostro essere vignaioli operanti e fecondi per Dio e il prossimo. La differenza del tempo che intercorre fra chiamata e risposta all’amore di Dio, non toglie nulla alla nostra felicità, sia che rispondiamo da piccoli o da adulti, se la nostra risposta è autentica, meditata e vera in Dio è sempre fonte di massima gioia per noi. So, essere primi in Dio non è essere primi nella logica del mondo. Instead, vuol dire agire con umiltà nello stato vocazionale in cui siamo, decentrando i nostri egoismo e superficialità, ponendo al centro il Signore: in quel decentrarci, Lui ci renderà una gloria ed una soddisfazione massima.

Chiediamo al Signore di diventare buoni come Lui, interiorizzando l’umiltà e la disponibilità ad accogliere un Progetto d’Amore più grande, per diventare giorno dopo giorno testimoni credenti e credibili della Misericordia senza fine.

Amen!

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 24 September 2023

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That communist spirit of the Master of the Lord's Vineyard

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THAT COMMUNIST PROLETARIAN SPIRIT OF THE OWNER OF THE LORD'S VINEYARD

This Sunday's Gospel will please the communists, at least to the hard and pure if there are still any. Those of everyone working but working less. If anything, the problems will eventually arise when it is discovered that the pay will be the same for everyone. The parable will give others a stomach ache, the behavior of the owner of the vineyard will appear so senseless and unjust.

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The Gospel this Sunday Communists will like it, at least to the hard and pure if there are still any. Those of everyone working but working less. If anything, the problems will eventually arise when it is discovered that the pay will be the same for everyone. The parable will give others a stomach ache, the behavior of the owner of the vineyard will appear so senseless and unjust. Aside from these cheap jokes of mine, what does Jesus say? Let's read it.

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out at dawn to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed with them for a denarius a day and sent them into his vineyard. He then left around nine in the morning, he saw others standing in the square, unemployed, and told them: “Go into the vineyard too; I will give you what is right". And they went. He went out again around noon and around three, and he did the same. Went out again around five, he saw others standing there and said to them: “Why do you sit here all day doing nothing?”. They answered: “Because no one hired us”. And he said to them: “You too go into the vineyard”. When it was evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his farmer: “Call the workers and give them their wages, starting from the last to the first". The five in the afternoon ones came, they each received a denarius. When the first ones arrived, they thought they would receive more. But they also each received a denarius. When picking it up, But, they murmured against the master saying: “The latter only worked for an hour and you treated them like us, that we have borne the weight of the day and the heat". But the master, replying to one of them, he said: “Amico, I don't do you wrong. Have you not agreed with me for a denarius?? Take yours and go. But I also want to give to the latter as much as to you: I can't do what I want with my things? Or you're jealous because I'm good? So the last will be first and the first, last”» (Mt 20,1-16).

First of all it must be said that this story is parabolic It's Matteo's own, that is, it is not found in the other Gospels. It seems to have been used by the Evangelist to detach himself for a moment from Mark's plot and make it become an explanation of what he was writing in this section of his work. It should also be noted that the parable has had a varied interpretative history. From those who have read the history of salvation and election from the beginning of biblical events (Adamo, Abraham, Moses) up to Jesus to those who have grasped an allegory of human and Christian life so that even those who will be called to the end of their lives will be able to save themselves, no more and no less than those who responded promptly from a young age. Modern exegesis has seen in it a metaphor for the justification of Jesus' behavior in the face of his detractors who accused him of preferring or colluding with sinners and the excluded who thus became the first in the Kingdom of heaven. However, there is another hermeneutic that can be followed on the basis of what has been mentioned, namely that Matthew wanted to respond with this parable to some dynamics that had already arisen in the primitive group of Jesus' followers and which would have recurred in the Christian communities to which the Gospel will be addressed.

It is no coincidence that the evangelical passage above begins, in the Greek text, with the preposition gar – gar, which means 'in fact'1, as if to say that now we will explain what had previously been reported. What immediately precedes is the phrase that we will find almost identical at the end of this Sunday's passage: “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Mt 19,30). This expression of Jesus was in turn linked to a question from Peter: "There, we left everything and followed you; what then will we have??», to which Jesus replied that he would receive along with the power to judge, also a hundredfold and eternal life, but always taking into account the possible interchangeability between the first and the last. Shortly before he had also stated: «This is impossible for men, but with God everything is possible".

We therefore have a background to this Sunday's passage which corresponds to the request for reward on Peter's lips. Now, like in films that recreate a saga, in addition to prequel we also have a sequel. Because later (Mt 20,17-19), immediately after the parable, Jesus will announce his passion for the third time, Death and Resurrection. Faced with such a solemn announcement, much to the reader's dismay, Matteo will report back soon (vv. 20-24) that two brother disciples, sons of Zebedee, they will make this request to Jesus through the mouth of their mother: «Say that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom»; provoking an indignant reaction from the rest of the group. If before then we had with Peter a request for reward, here we have a claim of merit with which the first places were claimed. We note that making these requests, except Andrea, Pietro's brother, they are the very first disciples called by Jesus (Mt 4,18-22)! We understand why Matteo, breaking away from Marco, wanted to add something from one of his sources. Perhaps the measure was full or perhaps he was aware of the pre-emption rights, careerism or profit and privileges will be temptations that will always attack the disciples of Jesus in the Church and forever, which means even today. The parable will then be Jesus' response to these exquisitely human logics and a reminder of the foundation on which everything is possible, which does no wrong because it is good and an invitation to the community to draw from it the consequences of authentic Christian life.

The parabolic tale proceeds with the scanning of some hours of the day starting from the first light of dawn, until the evening around the eleventh hour, seven in the afternoon, when there is only one hour left to get off work. The owner of a vineyard who needed workers went out very early for the first time and made an agreement with some workers for a penny a day. Then he showed up again at nine, the third hour, and he called others, telling them that he would give them what was right. At this point, the reader's perception and expectation come into play and he will begin to fantasize about how much this fair amount will amount to.. It will be, as it is reasonable to imagine, commensurate with the actual hours of work? But the owner of the vineyard is very strange because he will go out again at midday and then at three, surprised to find idle workers he will call them too. In the end, one hour before the end of the working day, at five in the afternoon, when it was now useless - who calls workers to work for just one hour? — will come out again and say: «Because you sit here all day doing nothing?». They replied: «Because no one hired us». And he said to them: «You too go into the vineyard». It is clear that Jesus is not talking about a naive or crazy entrepreneur, but of God who in his great freedom calls anyone at any time without paying attention to work needs or compensation, but driven by the sole desire that people be part of this work. His will is that everyone has the opportunity to stay and work in his allegory vineyard of the people of God, beloved plantation, as attested more than once in the Bible: «I want to sing for my beloved my song of love for his vineyard. My beloved owned a vineyard on a fertile hill" (Is 5,1); «On that day the vineyard will be delicious: sing it! the, the Sir, I am its guardian, I water it every moment; for fear of damaging it, I take care of it night and day" (Is 27, 2-3); «My vineyard, exactly mine, is in front of me" (Cantico 8,12a).

The second part of the parable it will take place almost at sunset as foreseen by the law in Deuteronomy: «You will give the worker his wages on the same day, before the sun goes down" (Dt 24,15). The release of wages according to the order given by the owner took place starting from the last workers called, a reference perhaps to that "the last will be first" (Mt 19,30) of the end of the chapter preceding ours. The expectation that, we had said above, took the reader will now involve the 'first' workers themselves since seeing a money delivered to the last arrivals they will expect to receive more than agreed upon. However, when they finally get their due, they will realize that it will be the same one that was given to the workers called last and this is where the resentment and grumbling will begin.: «The latter only worked for an hour and you treated them like us, that we bore the weight of the day and the heat" (v.12). In the resentful words of the workers called since dawn who could be the disciples of Jesus mentioned above, but also anyone in the Church who feels deserving of some privilege, you feel all the annoyance at what the master has just done. Indeed they say: we are not equal to them, “you lie”You have made them equal to us» — as the Vulgate translates v 12, in Greek You have done the same as us — which is more scathing than 'you treated them like us'; this equality is intolerable.

The response of the owner of the vineyard to the person who appears to be some sort of union representative he will first reiterate that he has been respectful of the contract, since they had been agreed upon a denarius a day and therefore there was no injustice in him, but he also added that what had moved him was a goodness that aimed directly at the good of people without paying attention to calculations of time or money: «Amico, I don't do you wrong. Have you not agreed with me for a denarius?? Take yours and go. But I also want to give to the latter as much as to you: I can't do what I want with my things? Or you're jealous because I'm good?» (v.15). The master's action, behind which, in the eyes of Jesus, lies that of God, appeared unjust to the workers at the first hour, not conforming to the worldly norm, scandalous, even the reader perceived it that way, annoying and unsettling. The evangelist Matthew, in the words of the owner of the vineyard, defines the disgruntled and envious worker as someone who has a bad eye, wicked’, as opposed to those who act because they are good. The expression "you are envious" is the translation of the Greek: Your eye is evil (Or ophthalmos your putting this thine eye is wicked). The organ of vision of these workers, perhaps tired from working hours — pride (pain) in Greek it is fatigue, work — he had lost sight of God's goodness towards everyone. He will affirm: I am good (I took the actions of him, I am good).

The climax of the parable it will be precisely in this revelation: "I am good". And since in Mt 19,17 2, a few verses earlier, it was said that "only one is good", in reference to God, the theological allusion of our parable is evident. Here emerges the essence of this metaphor which glimpses the escape from the iron logic of correspondence between work and pay, performance and remuneration, and allows us to glimpse a world marked by liberality and generosity, by relationships regulated not only by law, but also by being free; not only by the rigor of what is due, but also from the unexpected gratuitousness. In which merit is not the element that must decide the hierarchy of people, but the goodness of God.

I would conclude with two quotes. The first is a very well-known short phrase, taken from a text that had a great influence, Letter to a teacher at the Barbiana School3: “There is nothing as unjust as giving equal shares to unequals”. I choose this sentence that eight boys from Barbiana wrote under the supervision of the prior Don Milani because apparently it seems to go against the teaching of the parable. In my opinion it is the mirror of it because it was precisely the background evangelical, together with the ability to read the society and culture of the time, who guided those kids towards a new concept of merit and judgment within the educational institution. Thanks to the Gospel, for the first time the last were seen and no longer despised or downgraded. If there had not been the Gospel Don Lorenzo would never have gone house to house to remove the boys from the stables to take them to his school.

I chose the other quote for its ecclesial scope and for the sense of joy and faith that pervades it. It is by Pseudo-John Chrysostom:

«Who has worked from the first hour, receive the right salary today; who came after the third, give thanks and celebrate; who arrived after the sixth, don't hesitate: will not suffer any damage; who was late until the ninth, come without hesitation; who has only reached the eleventh, Don't worry about your delay. The Lord is generous, welcomes the last as the first, grant rest to those who have reached the eleventh hour as well as to those who have worked since the first. Show mercy to the last as well as to the first, grant rest to those who have reached the eleventh hour as to those who have worked since the first."4.

from the Hermitage, 24 September 2023

 

 

NOTE

1 «So is the kingdom of heaven – For the kingdom of heaven is like it." (Mt21,1)

2 "And here, a man approached him and told him: «Maestro, what good must I do to have eternal life? ». She answered him: «Why do you question me about what is good? There is only one good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments ".
3 The Barbiana school, Letter to a teacher, Florentine publishing bookshop, 1990

4 Pseudo John Chrysostom, With death he defeated death. Homily on Easter, LEV, 2019

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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Forgiveness is not a timed game but an infinite Christological challenge

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

FORGIVENESS IS NOT A TIMED GAME BUT AN INFINITE CHRISTOLOGICAL CHALLENGE

In the last decades, especially since psychology has become popular, the theme of forgiveness has gone beyond the confines of the religious and the classic places assigned to it such as the confessional, to land in setting psychoanalytic, where conflicts that generate anguish and disturbance are addressed. In that context the person burdened with unbearable burdens is invited to reevaluate forgiveness, often towards itself, especially when the other person who wronged them cannot be reached.

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In the last decades, especially since psychology has become popular, the theme of forgiveness has gone beyond the confines of the religious and the classic places assigned to it such as the confessional, to land in setting psychoanalytic, where conflicts that generate anguish and disturbance are addressed. In that context the person burdened with unbearable burdens is invited to reevaluate forgiveness, often towards itself, especially when the other person who wronged them cannot be reached.

The evangelical page this Sunday offers us the possibility of looking at forgiveness as Jesus intended it, which as often happens, through clear and clear words, presents us with a particular perspective. Here's the song:

"During that time, Peter approached Jesus and said to him: "Man, if my brother commits sins against me, how many times will I have to forgive him? Up to seven times?”. And Jesus answered him: “I don't tell you until seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. He had begun to settle accounts, when someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. Because he was unable to repay, the master ordered him and his wife to be sold, his children and what he owned, and thus pay off the debt. Then the servant, prostrate on the ground, he pleaded with him saying: “Be patient with me and I will give you everything back”. The master had compassion on that servant, he let him go and forgave him the debt. Just released, that servant found one of his companions, who owed him one hundred denarii. He grabbed him by the neck and choked him, saying: “Give back what you owe!”. His partner, prostrate on the ground, he begged him saying: “Be patient with me and I will pay you back.”. But he didn't want to, he went and had him thrown into prison, until he paid the debt. Given what was happening, his companions were very sorry and went to tell their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the man and told him: “Evil servant, I forgave you all that debt because you prayed to me. You shouldn't have had pity on your partner too, just as I had pity on you?”. Disdained, the master handed him over to his torturers, until he had repaid all the debt. So also my heavenly Father will do with you if you do not forgive from your heart, each to his own brother" (Mt 18,21-35).

To try to understand Jesus' response to Peter we have to take a step back in time. Because time is important when it comes to forgiveness. It is necessary to trace biblical history back to the generations following Adam and Eve, in particular to a descendant of the infamous Cain named Lamech. Cain, as is known, killed his brother Abel and, fearing retaliation, received an assurance from God that whoever touched him would incur seven times the same amount of revenge. (Gen 4,15). The text of Genesis will report the words of Lamech a little later who was a more violent man than his great-great-grandfather Cain, capable of killing for nothing, of which he boasted to his wives:

«Ada and Silla, listen to my voice; wives of Lamech, give ear to my words. I killed a man for my nick and a boy for my bruise. Cain will be avenged seven times, but Lamech seventy-seven" (Gen 4,23-24).

Pietro's request which was based on the acceptable quantity, wide and we imagine exaggerated - «Sir, if my brother commits sins against me, how many times will I have to forgive him? Up to seven times?» ― received an answer from Jesus based instead on time: “I don't tell you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven", that is, always. He thus established an immeasurable measure, because as he will explain in the next parable, every disciple will find himself in the condition of that servant who will not be able to repay an unpayable debt, it was so exorbitant. In the Lucanian version - «If your brother commits a crime, scold him; but if he will repent, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times, saying: “I am sorry”, you will forgive him" (Lc 17,4b) - even if the malicious action was repeated, at least there was some repentance, but in Peter's question in Matthew it does not appear: no excuses, no regrets. And Jesus responding placed Peter in front of an unconditional situation of such one-sidedness that it can only be accepted by that disciple who will have understood the immense forgiveness received from God, through Jesus. He thus implemented the reversal of the numbered revenge of the book of Genesis in favor of a liberation from the past with its burdens that oppress the heart. The revenge sung by Lamec is in fact the constant re-presentation to the soul of the past that caused wounds, that moment that cannot be forgotten when someone committed evil against me and that brings back the emotions of anger and revenge in my soul, corroding everything inside. To a human eye, the harm that has been done may appear to be unhealable or even forgotten, always comes back. To clear the air, I'll say straight away that the topic here is not justice settling a dispute or attempting to repair a wrong by applying the law, nor the fact that we should forget the evil that has been done.. The answer that Jesus gives to Peter regarding personal sin simply goes in the opposite direction to the past and towards the future. Whether it is seventy times seven or seventy-seven in the words of Jesus, Lamech's mocking purpose is reversed, so does the soul, freed from the pernicious effects of remaining anchored to past evil, will gain new freedom. Unlimited forgiveness, even when the offender does not understand it, in fact it will be a good thing above all for the offended person who will be amazed at having been the first to be pardoned: he was relieved of a great burden and debt, he can look at the future lightly because he is finally free.

The evangelist Matthew he used the verb for Peter's question opium (aphiemia) that the Vulgate translated as “to release” ― «Dominated, how often shall my brother sin against me, and let him go? Up to seven times?» - In fact, its first meaning in Greek is to send away, let go, to set someone free and by extension to set something back, for example a fault or sins and therefore absolve. The same verb will be used by Jesus in his rebuke to the servant who had been forgiven an enormous debt, who however had lashed out against his companion without using that greatness of spirit or patience (macrothymia forbearing) (cf.. Mt 18,29)1 which had previously been used on him: «Evil servant, I forgave you all that debt because you prayed to me. You shouldn't have had pity on your partner too, just as I had pity on you?»2. Paradoxically, with Jesus there is a reversal of perspective: It is no longer I who has suffered an evil who frees the other by forgiving him unlimitedly, but I'm the one letting go of the sin, I get rid of a burden that makes me feel bad, I for one benefit from it. I forgive because I have been forgiven. We can dialogue with these assumptions with modern psychology? I really think so and without fear and I'll stop there. Actually, I'll add one more thing, a combination that might appear strange. The last author of the fourth Gospel told the story of the dead Lazarus (GV 11), of Jesus who lingered for a while and then the intense dialogue with Martha and then Mary's question again, in a growing narrative tension because Jesus wanted to get into the head, or rather he wanted it to be received with faith that He was "the resurrection and the life", because “whoever believes in me, even if it dies, will live; whoever lives and believes in me, he will not die forever"3. Whoever keeps this faith will know that the dead will not 'be left' in the tomb. It is in fact the last word that Jesus will say to the disciples present, but not to Lazarus, Sara: "Let him go" (Aphete auton upageinlet him fall, Pay him off)4; the same verb used in Matthew for sin forgiven. Joining the two stories one could say that if you don't let go of sin, the harm that was done to you, you will never be truly free. Sin is the deadly condition, forgiveness is life and resurrection in Jesus Christ.

In the parable then narrated by Jesus on the king who, wanting to settle his accounts, began as is normal with those who owed him the most, the touchstone of every Christian forgiveness and the source from which to draw in order to be capable of the requested unlimitedness is presented. Because behind the figure of the king lies that of God the Father, the only one capable of condoning so much, a huge number, hyperbolic. Ten thousand talents corresponded to one hundred million denarii, taking into account that one denarius was more or less the average daily wage of a worker: impossible to repay for a servant. Now if the first servant in the parable had understood the gift received he would have had to love more, according to the other parable that Jesus told in the Gospel of Luke (cf.. LC 7, 41-43)5, but he didn't do it because he raged against his companion, arousing sadness in the others and the disdain of the king. Fixated as he was on how much he had been given, he lost sight of his greatness of spirit (macrothymia – long-suffering dei vv. 26) that had moved such a gesture and above all visceral compassion (I'm gutted, splanchnízomai del v. 27) which corresponds in many biblical instances to the mercy of God, an almost maternal trait and the only manifestable aspect of Him as this famous passage recalls when Moses wanted to see God:

"He told him: “Show me your glory!”. Answered: “I will make all my goodness pass before you and proclaim my name, man, in front of you. To whom I wish to be gracious, I will be gracious, and to whom I wish to have mercy, I will have mercy.". He added: “But you won't be able to see my face, for no man can see me and remain alive”… “The Lord passed before him, proclaiming: "The Sir, the Sir, Merciful and merciful God, slow to anger and rich in love and faithfulness, who preserves his love for a thousand generations, who forgives the guilt, transgression and sin, but it does not leave without punishment, which punishes the guilt of the fathers in the children and in the children's children up to the third and fourth generation"" (Is 33,18-20; 34,6-7).

Here then the foundation of every action of forgiveness is revealed: having been forgiven. The Christian knows that he has been forgiven by the Lord with free and foreseeing mercy, he knows he has benefited from an unexpected grace, for this reason he cannot fail to show mercy in turn to his brothers and sisters, debtors to him much less. Eventually, in the parable, it is no longer a question of how many times forgiveness must be given, but to recognize that they have been forgiven and therefore must forgive. If one does not know how to forgive the other without calculations, without looking at the number of times he granted forgiveness, and he doesn't know how to do it with all his heart, then he does not recognize what has been done to him, the forgiveness he received. God freely forgives, his love cannot be deserved, but we simply need to welcome his gift and, in a diffusive logic, extend the gift received to others. We thus understand the final application made by Jesus. The words he speaks are parallel and identical in content, to those with which he glosses the fifth question of the Our Father: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Mt 6,12); the only one he commented on.

«For if you forgive others their sins, your Father who is in heaven will forgive you too; but if you do not forgive others, not even your Father will forgive your sins (Mt 6,14-15). «Even so my heavenly Father will do with you if you do not forgive from your heart, each to his brother" (Mt 18,35).

I would like to conclude with a small anecdote which I experienced first hand. On the occasion of the Holy Year of 2000 among the many initiatives set up in the parish community to better experience that event there was also that of establishing small Gospel groups in the strong times of Advent and Lent. The parish was not large, but the initiative was liked and around twenty small groups were created, each more or less than ten, fifteen people. Basically whoever wanted, individual or family, for some evenings he would open his house and either invite the neighbors or they would come by themselves, also based on knowledge and friendship and for a couple of hours the group reflected on a specially prepared Gospel passage with an explanatory sheet and final prayers. Then each family had fun preparing sweets or things to offer, as is normal. One evening that I still remember he touched the song nail of the Holy Year, the parable of the prodigal son or the merciful Father, as they call it now. Incidentally I add that there had been a pilgrimage to discover Christian Russia and some had been able to see in the museum ofHermitage the painting by Rembrandt depicting the aforementioned evangelical scene which appeared on all the brochures of the dioceses and parishes. So I went to one of these little groups thinking I was walking on velvet, after dinner, all calm. Much to my surprise, when the time came for the discussion on the evangelical passage some, especially men, they showed displeasure towards the attitude of the father in the parable. For them it was inconceivable that a father would readmit his younger son who had wasted everything back into his home and leave the house to bring the older one in as well.. I was stunned, almost offended. Because these were not full-blown atheists, but parish people and some even with responsibilities. I remember the face of some good pious woman, now all deceased, who sent me glances to say: answer something. But I didn't add anything, partly because he was taken by surprise and partly by intuition.

Then reflecting on what happened I thought it was right like this and that the intolerability of that particular evangelical parable should be left that way, like a food that is difficult to digest. In conclusion, to accept it, we needed to have understood that we have been reached by the grace of God which is mercy and forgiveness, a grace received at a 'dear price'. The apostle Paul, who had understood and experienced it, worked with all his strength to make it accessible to many and expressed himself thus in a famous passage from the letter to the Romans:

«But God demonstrates his love towards us in the fact that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Even more so now, justified in his blood, we will be saved from wrath through him. If indeed, when we were enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, we will be saved through his life" (Rom 5, 8-10).

Maybe who knows, if this episode, like many other different ones, but more or less similar that followed, they contributed to making me discover the hermit life one day?

Happy Sunday everyone!

From the Hermitage, 16 September 2023

 

NOTE

[1] “Be patient with me and I will pay you back.”

2 «Sly work, leave all that debt to youA wicked servant, I have forgiven you all that debt, since you asked me» (Mt 18, 32)

3 GV 11, 25-26

4 GV 11, 44

5 «A creditor had two debtors: one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. Since they have nothing to repay, he forgave the debt of both of them. So which of them will love him more??». Simone replied: "I suppose he's the one he forgave the most". Jesus told him: «You judged well»

 

 

Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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