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 upagein – let 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 you – A 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»

 

 

 

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WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO MAKE YOURSELF SMALL TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples: “If your brother commits a crime against you, go and admonish him between you and him alone; if he will listen to you, you will have gained your brother; if he doesn't listen, take one or two more people with you, so that everything is resolved on the word of two or three witnesses. If he doesn't listen to them, tell the community; and if he won't even listen to the community, be to you like the pagan and the tax collector".

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One religious man who had a very practical sense of things and of men he often told me that societies are beautiful, in odd numbers, less than three. The old saying aimed to underline that as soon as communities expand in number and territorial distribution, problems immediately arise and, so, the need to derive rules to resolve them or at least contain them. The this Sunday's evangelical page, which reports some sayings of Jesus in this sense, in fact, it seems to have arisen from the difficulties that arose in the Judeo-Christian communities at the end of the 1st century AD. Here is the evangelical passage:

"During that time, Jesus told his disciples: “If your brother commits a crime against you, go and admonish him between you and him alone; if he will listen to you, you will have gained your brother; if he doesn't listen, take one or two more people with you, so that everything is resolved on the word of two or three witnesses. If he doesn't listen to them, tell the community; and if he won't even listen to the community, let him be to you like the pagan and the tax collector. Verily I say unto you: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Truly I tell you again: if two of you on earth agree to ask for anything, my Father who is in heaven will grant it to him. Because where are two or three gathered in my name, there I am among them" (Mt 18, 15-20).

We are in chapter eighteen of the first Gospel which reports the so-called "speech to the community" introduced by Jesus' gesture of placing a child at the center of the disciples and asking them to make themselves small like him to become "the greatest in the kingdom of heaven"¹. Below is the invitation not to scandalize the little child and not to despise him, under penalty of a miserable end down in 'Gehenna' where he will lie like an abandoned object in a landfill, while him, the little one, it will always have an angel above who will gaze at the face of God the Father.

Jesus' concern arises from the awareness that Christian communities, as it was for the first nucleus of his disciples, they will be crossed by relational and power dynamics that could generate scandals which will discredit the Christian experience not only in the eyes of the world, but they will also manage to weaken relationships within them; in particular towards those whom Jesus calls small and weak, who will necessarily accuse certain behaviors more than others. For Jesus no one should get lost, especially those who are in a minority position. In fact, before today's passage he narrated the short parable of the lost sheep:

«What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, he will not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go looking for the one that is lost? Verily I say unto you: if he can find it, he will rejoice over that one more than over the ninety-nine that were not lost. Thus it is the will of your Father who is in heaven, that not even one of these little ones gets lost"².

there, At that time, below sort of road map of the behavior to follow if the sinner's situation arises and causes scandal and division. In Jesus' words we hear the echo of experiences concretely lived in communities wounded by certain sins, who questioned their leaders in order to formulate gradual indications, to discretion and respect towards everyone. But also with firmness, as underlined by the repetition of conditional propositions five times, in the short space of three verses: «If your brother; If he will listen to you; If he won't listen; If he doesn't listen to them; If he doesn't even listen to the assembly". Testimonies of an ecclesial reflection on the concrete cases that occurred and of the birth of a disciplinary practice with rules and limits aimed at preventing the disintegration of the community and that certain episodes are repeated. This experience has developed a practice to follow if these situations arise:

« Go and admonish him between you and him alone; Take one or two people with you; Tell the community; May he be for you like the pagan and the publican".

These are clearly those sins that undermine communion in the Christian community, therefore of public faults and not just interpersonal ones. Why in this case, if it were a problem that arose between two believers, the only way forward would be that of forgiveness without measure:

«Then Peter approached him and said to him: "Gentleman, 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"". (Mt 18, 21-22).

But in the case of a public fault which causes damage to communion, despite Jesus' parable about lost sheep and teaching on forgiveness, the path to follow, done everything possible and with the community with its back to the wall, may even reach the painful choice of separation. We have a memory of it in the words of Saint Paul who knew a lot about community life:

"We hear that some among you are living a disorderly life, without doing anything and always in turmoil. Such people, urge in the Lord Jesus Christ, we order you to earn your living by working calmly. I will, siblings, do not get tired of doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of him and break off relationships, because he is ashamed; However, do not treat him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother"³.

And elsewhere:

«We urge you, siblings: admonish those who are undisciplined, give courage to those who are discouraged, support those who are weak, be magnanimous with everyone"⁴.

So how does this fraternal correction happen? if in a community a member sins ("If your brother commits a crime against you - But if your brother sins against you»)? In the Greek text we find the verb 'amartano – ἁμαρτάνω' which has the meaning of err, fail and by extension also sin and become guilty. The v.15 contains the expression 'against you' (in to), present in many witnesses of the text, but absent in others. In my opinion, if we keep as true what was said above about the difference between a public sin that undermines ecclesial communion and an interpersonal one, it could be an addition to harmonize the present sentence with the one that Peter will address to Jesus shortly afterwards and reported above: "Man, if my brother commits sins against me, how many times will I have to forgive him?»; a fairly frequent effect among copyists. If a brother sins, what then will be the process to follow for a truly Christian correction?? The journey will be carried out in three steps. First of all, personal correction, «between you and him alone», because if the brother listens and repents, the problem will be solved without the embarrassment of involving others. If this listening is not activated, the involvement of two or three witnesses will be necessary, as Deuteronomy already predicted: «A single witness will have no value against anyone»⁵. In this way, both the rights of the accused person and the solidity of the testimony brought to bear on 'every word' will be guaranteed. (became. pledge rhêma; the CEI text has: everything). We still remain at the level of dialogue and the possibility of explaining oneself, when speaking in the Church gives the opportunity to present one's opinions and open up to mutual listening. But if even in this case the audience declines then "tell it to the Church". The last instance will be the ecclesial community, the local assembly. The correction must at this point take place in the broader context of the entire community. But, both in a one-on-one relationship, than in front of some witnesses or in front of the assembly, the discriminating element of the correction will remain the relationship and the ability to listen. In other words that inner freedom, with the humility and openness that recognize the goodness of the reproach made and which leads to giving up defending oneself by counterattacking or denying and removing the reproach.

Unfortunately the ghost of the ego it always hovers over our personalities or our relationships, preventing true listening to the soul, both personal and community. With its tricks, which are egoic thoughts, will exercise a block that will prevent the care and listening of these souls and that is that 'returning to children' that Jesus spoke of, as mentioned above.

It is at this point that the paths of the community and the sinner can separate. When even the last instance of the correction sequence encounters non-listening, Jesus will say: «let him be to you like the pagan and the publican» (Mt 18,17). It is interesting to note that with this formula of exclusion the community is granted power, that of loosening and binding, which had previously been entrusted to the individual Pietro (Mt 16,19): to loosen and bind mean to forgive and exclude, allow and prohibit. The community, the ecclesial assembly, has the power of admission or exclusion, where excommunication will be the last choice (cf. 1Color 5,4-5)⁶, while the truly great power will be that of forgiveness. In fact, while fraternal correction is addressed to the sinner so that he may recognize his good, it is at the same time a gift of the Spirit⁷ for the same community that will never have to come to hate its brother, but continue to love him while he carries out the service of the truth:

«You will not hate your brother in your heart, but you will openly correct your neighbor, so you will not burden yourself with a sin against him" (Lv 19,17).

New Testament literature, which inevitably reports these situations, it is full of indications aimed at always considering the sinner as a brother:

«If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of him and break off relationships, because he is ashamed; However, do not treat him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2Tes 3, 15); «My brothers, if one of you wanders away from the truth and another brings him back to you, let him know that whoever brings a sinner back from his way of error will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins" (GC 5, 19-20).

Despite the possibility of separation, ultima ratio, in the words of Jesus there persists a space where it is still possible to find oneself and that is the prayer addressed to the Father. In fact, taking up the rabbinical saying «When two or three are together and the words of the Torah resonate between them, then the Shekinah, the Presence of God, he is among them" (Pirqé Abot 3,3), Jesus transformed him by placing his person as the center of the encounter: «Because where are two or three gathered in my name, there I am among them". Despite the separation, it will therefore always be possible to pray together for any conflict. Paul will stigmatize the Corinthians' habit of turning to pagan courts to resolve disputes and quarrels that arose between Christians: «It is already a defeat for you to have arguments among yourselves!»⁸. Because those who believe in the risen Jesus and possess his Spirit will always find a meeting place in Him (cf.. the verb sunaghin – synagogue del v. 20: gathered in my name) and in prayer to the Father the agreement; that 'La' which will once again begin the symphony of brotherhood among believers (cf.. the verb agree, sunfoneo – symphonéo al v. 19).

In all the comments on the Sunday Gospel passages which up to now I have produced for the Readers of The Island of Patmos I have kept as leitmotif the underlying theme of faith in Jesus. Because it seemed necessary to me, especially in the current era of the Church, do not forget how pre-eminent - not greater but in harmony with the works of charity - is faith in the risen Christ who represents the true 'specific' Christian. That faith in Jesus that opens horizons of meaning, it makes us full of visions, it becomes the hermeneutic capacity of the time we are given to live. Sometimes it risks disappearing from the horizon of the Church when it thinks it is bigger than Jesus who makes himself small, like that child placed among the disciples spoken of at the beginning of today's Gospel page. And at the end of it He will once again place himself at the center among the disciples who will want to rediscover harmony after the disputes through prayer.. If this center is not lost or hidden, we will have the opportunity to experience authentic brotherhood. Brother (adelphos – brother in v. 15) it is in fact the term with which the Gospel calls every member of the community that is the Church: «You are all brothers… because only one is your Father" (Mt. 23, 8-9). Fraternity is probably the other 'specific' Christian that I think we need to recover today: in everyone's deepest feelings, in daily living, within the worlds encountered and inhabited, in relationships and interactions, even in the virtual ones where polarizations have become acute and in the liturgical assemblies which are the point of arrival and resumption of Christian life. Fraternity was the first manifesto that caught the eyes of those who met the disciples of Jesus and was recognized as their distinctive trait, mentioned over and over again in written testimonies.:

«After having purified your souls with obedience to the truth to love each other sincerely as brothers, love each other intensely, from the heart, each other" (1PT 1, 22); «From this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (GV 13, 35); «We are brothers, we invoke the same God, we believe in the same Christ, we hear the same Gospel, we sing the same psalms, we answer the same Amen, let us hear the same Alleluia and celebrate the same Easter" (St. Augustine)⁹.

Happy Sunday everyone!

from the Hermitage, 9 September 2023

 

NOTE

[1] Mt 18, 4

[2] Mt, 18, 12-14

[3] 2Tes, 3, 11-15

[4] 1Tes 5, 14

[5] Deut 19, 15: «A single witness will have no value against anyone, for any fault and for any sin; whatever sin one has committed, the fact must be established on the word of two or three witnesses"

[6] «In the name of our Lord Jesus, being gathered you and my spirit together with the power of our Lord Jesus, this individual is handed over to Satan for the ruin of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord"

[7] "Brothers, if one is caught in any fault, butter, that you have the Spirit, correct him with a spirit of gentleness. And you watch over yourself, lest you too be tempted."(Gal 6, 1)

[8] 1Color 6, 7

[9] Augustine, On. in Ps. 54,16 (CCL 39, 668): «We are brothers, we invoke one God, we believe in one Christ, we hear one Gospel, we sing one Psalm, we answer one Amen, let us resound one Alleluia, we celebrate one Passover»

 

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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DENIALING YOURSELF AND TAKING UP THE CROSS IS AN EXALTATION OF PAIN? DO NOT, IT'S WAY TO THE WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE

«Through every event, whatever may be its non-divine character, a road passes that leads to God" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Resistance and surrender)

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The football championship has begun that, as enthusiasts know, It is preceded in the summer by the preparation that the teams do in retreat to try out schemes and tactics without revealing too much to their opponents, as it often happens, every major event is preceded by a time of waiting and silence. In a certain way it is also what happened to Jesus when he began a new stage in his life and mission. He asked his people not to reveal who he was, even though Pietro had just confessed it. I then report the passage from the Gospel of this one twenty-second Sunday weather for a year, with the initial addition of the verse 20 of the chapter 16 of Matthew which is not present in the liturgical passage:

«(Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.) From then on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer a lot from the elders, of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be resurrected on the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying: “God forbid, man; this will never happen to you". But he, turning around, he said to Pietro: «Go after me, Satan! You are a scandal to me, because you think is not God, but man!”. Then Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wants to come after me, disown yourself, take up his cross and follow me. Because who wants to save their life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake, You shall find. For what advantage will a man have if he gains the whole world?, but he will lose his life? Or what a man can give in exchange for his life? Because the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his deeds." (Mt 16, 20 – 27).

Jesus had just asked, to those who evidently knew a lot about him at that point, who he was to them (Mt 16, 15). Faced with Pietro's beautiful confession he felt he could then explain (literally: show) to his something new about his person and his destiny. Let it be a new beginning, perhaps even a change of perspective and matured awareness occurred in Jesus, the parallelism with Mt 4, 17 which narrates the opening of his ministry after John's arrest: «From then on Jesus began to preach and say». In the initial verse of today's text the evangelist uses the verb 'show' (token by epidemics) which postpones and counteracts the Pharisees' request to show a sign of his authority. The sign shown to them by Jesus will be the story of the prophet Jonah which is decoded to the disciples today:

«An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign! But no sign will be given to her, if not the sign of Jonah the prophet. In fact, as Jonah remained three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of man will remain three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mt 12, 39-40).

The identification of Jesus with the figure of the 'Son of man' returns. Initially we talked about hiding and Jesus loved to hide, until after, his deepest identity behind this celestial figure described in biblical literature (Book of Daniel, chapter 7¹ and in the Jewish apocryphal one (Ethiopian Enoch)² because this character lives hidden, who is close to God as a hypostasis and who has the task of judging, it represented for him the most suitable image of the Messiah, at least as the most ancient Gospel mainly tells us, Marco's. Despite the different stratifications agreed upon in the evangelical memories, it seems that Jesus literally ran away (cf.. GV 6,15) from the idea of ​​the Messiah descending from David and i.e. linked to power or its restoration. He could accept that the expression 'Son of David' was addressed to him by a blind man (MC 10,47), a poor man therefore who could only know things unless reported by others or by a pagan woman like the Canaanite; but Jesus, preferably identifying himself with the Son of Man, he communicated to the disciples that he was that 'secret messiah' and that from this moment he wanted to lead them towards a full understanding of the thoughts and wills of God regarding this messenger of his. An arduous undertaking, then and now, as witnessed by the episode of Peter. The opening words of today's passage - we have already reported it - are linked to what precedes ('since' – Since then), and corresponding to a new beginning ('began' – it started) they represent not only a change of scene in the text but also a sort of cold shower for the disciples because the moment Jesus announces his destiny of suffering Peter will reject it as an absurdity. The Son of man that Peter in fact knows is a powerful and glorious figure who can only be victorious. The song, despite the apostle's bewilderment, instead it shows how much Jesus was aware of being something more than the Son of Man of Daniel derivation or as he was represented in apocryphal literature, which will require further revelation, disconcerting in its size, that, for this same reason, it would be hard to believe and accept if it came to him. It will therefore be the very voice of God on Tabor, to the Transfiguration, to make this revelation:

"This is my Son, the beloved: I have placed my pleasure in him. listen to him " (Mt 17,5).

The three disciples who will hear this revelation they will know that Jesus by now, of which they had some knowledge, he is the Son of God. It is that 'hidden' in the mystery of God, destined to reveal itself.

In order to understand the density of the text proclaimed this Sunday I would start from the surprising statement that Jesus addressed to his best disciple, Pietro:

«Go after me, Satan! You are a scandal to me, because you think is not God, but man!».

In my opinion it helps us to ward off a couple of pernicious temptations. The first is to be content to ease our conscience, by overturning on others those weaknesses inherent in human nature, therefore ours too, forgetting to look deeper. Maybe even just take a look at the drama on stage if the one moved by a faith capable of penetrating the greatest mystery that writing offers us every time can't.. We will do the same with Judas in the time of the passion and now with Peter who tugs at Jesus ('He took him with him' – and hiring him)³. It is true that Peter made that gesture and said those words («God forbid, man; this will never happen to you"), but the answer that Jesus gave, the response of one who has full awareness of who he was and profound knowledge of where he came from and who sent him, it doesn't even seem to be addressed to Pietro, rather to the one who had hindered him from the beginning by tempting him (cf.. Mt 4). The Lord warned, in the words of the apostle, the adversary's last attempt to block his mission. If He never stopped being patient and understanding towards his disciples, even when he scolded them, on the other hand, he knew very well who he was dealing with and it really posed a stumbling block to his mission. Even if at first sight Jesus does not spare harsh words to Peter: the beneficiary of the Father's revelation is now addressed as 'satan', the recipient of bliss is now a cause for scandal, the rock is now a stumbling block. In Peter these contradictory dimensions coexist, as the possibilities of faith and non-faith coexist in every believer, of understanding and ignorance, of loyalty and abandonment, of humility and arrogance. In particular of faith and sufficiency, of adherence to the Lord and of self-presumption.

The other temptation, maybe even worse, is to devalue the incarnation of the Son of God, as if a divine necessity or an inescapable fate hung on Jesus' words about his destiny, as if the divine will was an overwriting of his human experience with the intent of making Jesus suffer and die so that he could atone for sins as a victim or a sacrifice. A consequence that is true but should be read carefully, while instead it is frequently popular among believers who prefer a devotional and sentimental religiosity, with little desire to confront the world.

In the words of Jesus we understand, instead, all the freshness of an authentic human experience and the discovery of a vocation that corresponds to thatthink according to God that Pietro did not yet have. In the new announcement that Jesus gives and which will resonate twice more (Mt 17, 22-23; 20, 17-19) as he walks towards Jerusalem, the city that "kills the prophets" (Mt 23, 37), He communicates to his people the passion for the world which is the same as that of God: «For God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son, because anyone who believes in him is not lost, but have eternal life "⁴. Jesus knows well that he has solicited hostility with his words and actions and perhaps for this reason he also lingered in the northern part of the country, but the time had come not to postpone the meeting with those powers that can violently take life: a circumstance that those who prayed with the psalms and read the prophets knew well. This is the vocation of Jesus which he recognizes as a necessity – «he had to (because he sees) go to Jerusalem and suffer a lot" (Mt 16,21) – and which he welcomes with the freedom of those who think according to God.

We must be grateful for Peter's gesture which made it possible to remember a saying about the following of the disciple which is influenced by the eschatological tension that animated the preaching of Jesus, so nothing can be postponed since time has become short and this is the moment of decision.

«If anyone wants to come after me, disown yourself, take up his cross and follow me. Because who wants to save their life, will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake, You shall find. For what advantage will a man have if he gains the whole world?, but he will lose his life? Or what a man can give in exchange for his life?»⁵

Peter has just been sent back by Jesus, in the position of the disciple who follows the master. And if the passion of the Messiah had been announced before, now the disciple's message is communicated by Jesus. These expressions with a Semitic tenor (lose life – find life; earn – find) taken from a legal context, so in a court you can even choose not to defend yourself (deny oneself – take the gallows) just as Jesus will do, they are the way in which the Gospels offer us representations of the human story of Jesus which converge in recognizing their distinctive feature in eschatological faith. A faith concretely experienced as the ultimate and therefore deadly conflict with Satan, to whom the power and glory of all the kingdoms of the ecumene have been entrusted, according to the illuminating passage of the second temptation in Luke's version⁶. A faith that translates into gestures and words from which the relationship experienced by Jesus with the world shines through with all the desirable clarity, that is, concretely with the company to which they belong: family, Social classes, established powers, power relations between individuals, classes and genders, cultic and cultural expressions. This whole universe of relationships is as if seen from the outside, and certainly not because he was moved by a specific intent to denounce Judaism with a view to building a superior form of religious life, but because the world concretely offered itself to him in the case of the Judaism of his time. What opposes his requirement are Jewish men and institutions to the extent that they consciously or unconsciously recognized themselves in the world.

It is therefore not surprising that this same attitude be requested by Jesus of his followers, with all the disruptions that it entails and therefore also the risks; what is implicitly asked for is an act of moral courage and, if necessary, also physical: "Whoever loses his life because of me will find it" (Mt 10, 39). Courage of a special quality that is also combined with compassion:

«He will not break a reed that is already cracked, he will not quench a dull flame, until justice has triumphed" (Mt 12, 20).

because courage and compassion are inseparable aspects in Jesus of the same figure. In this sense, the invitation addressed to the follower to 'deny himself' had nothing arbitrary or contrary to self-respect. It must be understood as a way, as hard as you want, to make the disciple aware of the gravity of the rupture that Jesus was making: it was not a question of following a religious reformer or a teacher of wisdom, but to recognize in the worldly condition that 'earning authentic life' corresponded to accepting the radical consequences of his preaching.

In the words of Jesus, the resurrection is also prefigured in the end, after suffering and death. The fate of the defeated Messiah⁷, which will be clear and recognized in faith only after he has regained his life, it will then become part of the heart of the Christian message, as these words of the apostle Paul testify:

«While the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, instead we proclaim Christ crucified: scandal for the Jews and foolishness for the pagans; but for those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1Color 1, 22-24).

And finally the mystery of Jesus crucified and risen it will be recognized by the disciples as the true sign of God, because 'thinking according to God' involved Jesus' Easter. He will then be seen as the concentrated word (abbreviated word), for God has spoken only one word, when he spoke in his Son («God once spoke, When He spoke in the Son»”⁸) and that word was the love that he revealed:

«Before the Easter party, Jesus, knowing that his time had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them until the end" (Gv13,1).

From the Hermitage, 3 September 2023

 

NOTE

[1] «Still looking in night visions, behold, one like a son of man is coming with the clouds of heaven; he reached the old man and was presented to him. They were given power, glory and kingdom; all peoples, nations and languages ​​served him: his power is an eternal power,
that will never end, and his kingdom will never be destroyed." (And 7, 13-14)

[2] Chialà S., Book of Parables of Enoch, Paideia, 1997

[3] Mt 16, 22

[4] GV 3, 16

[5] Mt 16, 24, 26

[6] «The devil led him up, showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the earth and told him: “I will give you all this power and their glory, because it was given to me and I give it to whoever I want. Therefore, if you prostrate yourself in adoration before me, everything will be yours" (LC 4, 5-7).

[7] Dianich S., The defeated Messiah, the enigma of Jesus' death, Citadel, 1997

[8] Sant'Ambrogio, cf.. Henri De Lubac, Medieval exegesis, vol. III, Milan, Jaca Book, 1996, pp. 261-262

 

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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