FROM THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT CROSSES IN THE MOUNTAINS TO THE PEAKS AND HEIGHTS OF THE WORD OF GOD

«Venite a me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your life. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Like a storm in a glass of water last week the controversy over the summit crosses erupted [see, WHO], among other things, it arose from statements never made, which held the spotlight for a few days in national newspapers. Once again, at the end of the speeches, there was a risk of trivializing and passing off as an imposition what is the symbol par excellence of Christianity, the cross of Jesus visual representation of love until the end [cf.. GV 1, 3] offered to us by the Lord.

Because of this, just like that fresh water that you sometimes find in the mountains after a steep climb, welcome the sequence of readings of this one XIV Sunday of time for a year. It is not always the case that in a single Liturgy of the Word we find a series of writings where every single phrase is so beautiful in itself that it should be preserved and remedied over the course of the week.. At the climax of it we read the evangelical pericope [Mt 11, 25-30] which is so precious, how rare, because it offers us a glimpse of what was the profound conscience of Jesus, his filial conscience. It is no coincidence that this passage from Matthew has been defined as the most Johannine of all the Synoptic Gospels. Usually, indeed, it is in the fourth Gospel that we find similar heights and depths, often, as here in Matthew, in a context of prayer in which Jesus addresses the Father, as in the well-known pericope, that so-called of his hour: "Dad, The time has come: glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" [GV 17, 1]. Here is the passage from next Sunday's Gospel:

«At that time Jesus said: “I give you praise, Dad, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and have revealed them to little ones. Yup, or Father, because so you have decided in your benevolence. Everything was given to me by my Father; no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. Venite a me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your life. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.".

The opening line of the passage in the Greek text specifies: "During that time, answering[1], Jesus said". What is Jesus responding to and why at this crucial moment [2]? To previous events that were not happy. First the question of John the Baptist through the disciples, for he was imprisoned: «Are you the one who must come or we must wait for someone else?» [11,3] and then the lack of response to the preaching and action of Jesus from the three towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernao, where he experienced failure or at least limited success [11, 21-24].

Who can say they haven't felt discouraged faced with a situation of impasse, of failure or lack of understanding on the part of others of who we really are? Jesus integrates these unpleasant situations into prayer. He puts everything, even failure, before the Father and renews his "Yes" [v. 26] since he understands that everything is part of his benevolence project. The "no" he received becomes a "Yes" free from success in view of a more radical adhesion.

With prayer that opens to thanksgiving - "I give you praise" - even failure, or what we judge as such, like pastoral failure, the absence of fruits of the ministry, the sterility of preaching, the rejection or disinterest of others, becomes not a cause of discouragement or abandonment, but a moment of paradoxical confirmation of the following of the Lord.

It is at this point that Jesus takes us into the depths of his relationship with the Father, as his Son. St. John would say that this is where we should “remain” as beloved disciples. But this speech, But, it would take us too far. Matteo, instead, da by suo[3] presents Jesus as the one who reveals[4] the profound intention of the Father that only he knows because everything has been handed over to him alone.

«Everything was given to me by my Father; no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him ".

Everything was given to Jesus because he is the Son of the Father, he whom the Father alone knows, until we can say about him: «You are my Son, the beloved" [Mt 3,17; 17,5]. But even Jesus alone fully knows the Father, It gave, because from him came into the world, and only Jesus can make God known to his disciple, because no one goes to the Father except through him [GV 14,6]. Here is the revelation of the identity of Jesus, of his relationship with God and of the disciple's knowledge of God. We are at the summit of the divine revelation of Jesus according to the first Gospel. This mystery is now handed over to the disciple: mystery to be adored, to be welcomed in silence, to be lived daily in the faithful following of Jesus who leads us to the Father.

The Gospel also tells us to whom this revelation is addressed and who can understand it. They are the little ones (babies), who as such are voiceless. They are those who testify to John the Baptist that the kingdom is here and there is no need to wait for anything else: «the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the Gospel is proclaimed to the poor" [11, 5]. And the little one according to Jesus is blessed because «he finds no reason to scandalize me!» [11, 6].

Instead, revelation is closed to the wise – «The wisdom of the wise will perish and the intelligence of the intellectuals will be eclipsed» [Is 29,14] - Why, despite having seen and heard, they were not able to open themselves to the good news of the Gospel and welcome it.

To return to the initial example, I don't know if you have had the experience of climbing the mountains. When you reach the summit, together with the satisfaction of having arrived there and enjoying the splendid view of what is around, the best thing is being able to rest, leave your backpack and poles on the ground, eat and drink, regain your strength.

Likewise Jesus after having led us to the summit of his intimate and profound relationship with the Father now invites us to rest:

«Venite a me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your life. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." [vv 28-30].

Only he knew the path, in fact he himself walked away [GV 14, 6], that could take us up there. Now here we rest and recuperate, in intimacy with him who embodies the bliss of those to whom the earth has been given, who are children of God, children in the Son[5]. A land taken not with violence and war because its distinctive feature is peace, justice and mercy[6].

Thus Zechariah prefigured the Messiah in today's first reading: «He will make the war chariot disappear from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, the war arc will be broken, will announce peace to the nations" [Zac 9, 10]. And the psalm answers him: «The Lord is merciful and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love. The Lord is good to all, his tenderness expands on all creatures" [Shall 144].

And finally the yoke. What did Jesus want to say?? Allow me to refer again to the mountain. If there is one of the most inadvisable things to do when walking along the paths, it is to go outside, to do their own thing despite the danger and against the guide's instructions. Especially on certain terrains, don't follow the trail, it means putting yourself and the group at risk. In a positive way: it is advisable to stay in a group so as not to miss anyone, proceed on the marked route, listen to what the guide suggests.

Likewise in the Christian life. A yoke remains a yoke and seems like a burden and an imposition. But following the line that the Gospel has traced up to this point, in the words of Jesus it appears more like a bond that keeps us united without subjugating us. We are not dumb oxen for him. He makes the journey with us and if it happens, "he supports those who falter and raises anyone who has fallen" (today's psalm).

Happy Sunday everyone!

from the Hermitage, 9 July 2023

 

NOTE

[1] answered: answering

[2] At that time: at that time

[3] Some commentators have seen a similarity in the tripartite structure of Matthew's passage with the wisdom text of Sir 51. A hymn of thanks (vv. 25-26), a monologue on the relationship between Jesus and the Father (v. 27) and the invitation to learn from Jesus and take on his yoke (vv. 28-30). in Sir 51 we have a song of thanksgiving (vv. 1-12), a monologue on the search for wisdom (vv. 13-22), an invitation to go to the school of wisdom and take its yoke upon oneself (vv. 23-30). It is no coincidence that in Mt 11,19 we speak of the works of Wisdom referring to the works of the Messiah (cf.. Mt 11,2-6): Christ is the Wisdom of God.

[4] “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known” (10, 26)

[5] "Beati and miti, because they will inherit the land... Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called children of God" (Mt 5, 5-9)

[6] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the peacemakers” (Mt 5, 6-9)

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San Giovanni all'Orfento. Abruzzo, Mount Maiella, it was a hermitage inhabited by Pietro da Morrone, called in 1294 to the Chair of Peter on which he ascended with the name of Celestine V (29 August – 13 December 1294).

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