The Israelite Proclaims His Faith

"Then the priest shall take the large basket from your hands and place it before the altar of YAHWEH, your GOD, and you shall say these words before YAHWEH, 'My father was a wandering Aramean.  He went down to Egypt to find refuge there, while still few min number; but in that country, he became a great and powerful nation.

The Egyptians maltreated us, oppressed us and subjected us to harsh slavery.  So we called to YAHWEH, the GOD of our ancestors, and YAHWEH listened to us.  HE saw our humiliation, our hard labor and the oppression to which we were subjected.  HE brought us out of Egypt with a firm hand, manifesting HIS power with signs and awesome wonders.  And HE brought us here to give us this land flowing with milk and honey.  So now I bring and offer the first fruits of the land which YOU, YAHWEH, have given me.'" - Deuteronomy 26:4-10 

(My father was a wandering Aramean.  This paragraph is like a profession of faith for the Israelites.  They know they were chosen from among pagan Arameans and that GOD, after liberating them, had given them the prosperity they were enjoying.  Likewise, the various formulations of the "creed" which the Church now uses, place at the very center the liberating work that GOD, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, realizes for our benefit.)

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I Have Not Come To Call The Just, But Sinners, To A Change Of Heart

"After this, JESUS went out, and noticing a tax collector named Levi, sitting in the tax-office, HE said to him, 'Follow ME!'  So Levi, leaving everything, got up and followed JESUS.

Levi gave a great feast for JESUS, and many tax collectors came to his house, and took places at the table with the other people.  Then the Pharisees and their followers complained to JESUS' disciples, 'How is it, that you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'  But JESUS spoke up, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do.  I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to a change of heart.'" - Luke 5:27-32 

(The events related to this chapter show how JESUS situates HIMSELF in society and with what people HE relates: with a small group of fishermen who will be in charge of HIS new movement, with lepers and sick people who seek HIM.  HE calls people who, like Levi, belong to a despised group.)

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They Praised GOD For Giving Such Power To Human Beings

"JESUS got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to HIS hometown.  Here, they brought to HIM a paralyzed man, lying on a bed.  JESUS saw their faith and said to the paralytic, 'Courage, MY son!  Your sins are forgiven.'

Some teachers of the law said within themselves, 'This man insults GOD.'  JESUS was aware of what they were thinking; and said, 'Why have you such evil thoughts?  Which is easier to say: 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Stand up and walk'?  But that you know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,' HE said to the paralyzed man, 'Stand up!  Take your stretcher and go home!'  The man got up, and went home.

When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised GOD for giving such power to human beings." - Matthew 9:1-8 

(They praised GOD for giving such power to human beings.  This formula is rather clumsy.  The crowd is astonished to see how GOD's saving power is manifest among people, and through a man, JESUS.  Matthew has no wish to separate the Church from CHRIST: every Christian community received the gifts of GOD for healing and reconciliation.  It is known that the ministers of the Church have special authority to pardon, but the grace of GOD also flows in many other very different channels [1 Corinthians 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11].  When we establish relations of mercy and trust, and accept fraternal correction humbly, when their is mutual forgiveness between spouses, CHRIST is the one who forgives and pardons, and what is forgiven among us on earth, is forgiven in heaven [Matthew 18:18].

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If You Wish To Be A Follower Of MINE, Deny Yourself And Take Up Your Cross Each Day And Follow ME!

"And HE added, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things.  HE will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the law, and be put to death.  Then after three days HE will be raised to life.'

JESUS also said to all the people, 'If you wish to be a follower of MINE, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow ME!  For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for MY sake, you will save it.  What does it profit you gain the whole world, if you destroy or damage yourself?'" - Luke 9:22-25 

(Why did JESUS ask HIS apostles the questions we have just read?  The Gospel answers clearly: because the time had come for JESUS to announce HIS passion to them.  JESUS had not only come to teach people but to open for them the door leading to the Resurrection.  Since HIS apostles now know HIM to be the Savior promised to Israel, they must learn that there is no salvation if death is not conquered [1 Corinthians 15:25].  JESUS will obtain this victory when HE freely chooses the way of the cross: the Son of Man has to suffer much and be rejected by the authorities.

Immediately after that, JESUS adds that we must all share in the victory over death: You must deny yourself: this is the fundamental orientation of our life.  We must choose between serving and being served, sacrificing ourselves for others or taking advantage of them.  Or, as a well-known prayer puts it: Let me seek not so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.

It is in his early years that a child is helped towards this choice.  In a true family he is not the center and king, with his parents as slaves, but he learns how to serve and give himself.  He must accept his brothers and sisters, share with them and at times limit his own future for their good.

Take up your cross each day.   Here comes the acceptance of the cross which the LORD gives to each one of us and which we do not have to choose because we find it in our destiny.  We must not carry it because we are compelled to, but rather we must love it because the LORD wished it for us.

If you choose to save your life.  JESUS refers to the general orientation of our life.  HE has nothing in common with those who are only concerned about avoiding "sins," while they pursue their ambitions and their desire to enjoy this life to the fullest.  The mere fact of seeking to live without risks separates us from GOD's way.)

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We Present Ourselves As Ambassadors In The Name Of CHRIST

"So we present ourselves as ambassadors, in the name of CHRIST, as if GOD, HIMSELF, makes an appeal to you, through us.  Let GOD reconcile you; this, we ask you, in the name of CHRIST.  HE had no sin, but GOD made HIM bear our sin, so, that, in HIM, we might share the holiness of GOD.

Being GOD's helpers, we beg you: let it not be in vain, that you received this grace of GOD.  Scripture says: At the favorable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you.  This is the favorable time, this is the day of salvation." - 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 

(We present ourselves as ambassadors in the name of CHRIST.  This is not only true of the apostles and Paul.  It is also meant for us when we go to visit the sick or the needy; when, overcoming suspicion, we approach our brother or sister to create an atmosphere of confidence, so that, shortly, we may arrive at fraternal fellowship with others who have the same problems but who, in spite of that, often remain locked in their selfishness.

HE had no sin.  It is difficult to translate Paul's words: "HE made sin HIM who did not know sin," for obviously Paul here speaks according to Hebrew culture where the same word denotes both the sin and the victim who carries the sin.  Paul recalls the mystery of the cross: reconciliation is not achieved without voluntary victims who take on themselves the hatred and the sin of humankind.)

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Many Who Now Are The First Will Be Last, And The Last, First

"Peter spoke up and said, 'We have given up everything to follow YOU.'  JESUS answered, 'Truly, there is no one who has left house, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands, for MY sake, and for the gospel, who will not receive his reward.  I say to you: even in the midst of persecution, he will receive a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands in the present time; and, in the world to come, eternal life.  Do pay attention: many who now are the first will be last, and the last, first.'" - Mark 10:28-31 

(There is no one who has left house...  These words of JESUS that we find again in Matthew 19:29 and Luke 18:29 have been given here a notable addition: with persecution.  Once the Gospel had been preached the Church began to suffer persecution: From the Year 34, then again in 41 and 62 in Jerusalem, in 64 in Rome with the great persecution ordered by the emperor Nero.  During these persecutions Christians experienced the bonds that united them, often stronger than family relationships.  Hunted, obliged to hide, they found hundreds of brothers and sisters ready with houses to give them refuge.  JESUS does not only speak of reward in the next life.  Already in this world, in the midst of persecution, those who sacrifice themselves for the kingdom will find friendship, joy and human fulfillment far greater than anything they could have hoped for.)

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JESUS And The Rich Man

"Just as JESUS was setting out on HIS journey again, a man ran up, knelt before HIM and asked, 'Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?'

JESUS answered, 'Why do you call ME good?  No one is good but GOD alone.  You know the commandments: Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not cheat; honor your father and your mother.'  The man replied, 'I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.'

Then JESUS looked steadily at him and loved him; and HE said, 'For you, one thing is lacking.  Go, sell what you have, and give the money to the poor; and you will have riches in heaven.  Then, come, and follow ME.'  On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful, for he was a man of great wealth." - Mark 10:17-22

(He who comes to JESUS is a young man, according to Matthew [19:16].  Luke calls him an important man [18:18].

With deliberation JESUS asks him: Why do you call ME good?  As if JESUS is saying: "Do you not see that you are thirsty for GOD and that you will find HIM if you live with ME?"  

This man asks JESUS the way that leads to eternal life; but JESUS does not have any new commandment to teach.  In the Old Testament everything had already been said about what a person should do to win eternal life: by observing the commandments of justice and compassion.  Now JESUS proposes to him a new way and a new experience of liberty, through becoming HIS follower and imitator.

Sell what you have.  Happiness does not consist in leaving all one has, but in being free of it all in order to submit oneself to CHRIST.)

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Each Tree Is Known By The Fruit It Bears

"No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit.  And each tree is known by the fruit it bears: you don't gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles.  Similarly, good person draws good things from the good stores in his heart, and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart.  For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart." - Luke 6:43-45 

(No healthy tree...  These sayings were already mentioned in Matthew 7:15.  Here, however, Luke gives them a different meaning by referring to a pure conscience.  We must purify our mind and our spirit to become the tree that produces good fruits.)

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Whoever Does Not Receive The Kingdom Of GOD Like A Child Will Not Enter It

"People were bringing their little children to HIM to have HIM touch them; and the disciples rebuked them for this.

When JESUS noticed it, HE was very angry and said, 'Let the children come to ME and don't stop them, for the kingdom of GOD belongs to such as these.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of GOD like a child will not enter it.'  Then HE took the children in HIS arms and, laying HIS hands on them, blessed them." - Mark 10:13-16 

(JESUS, despite having no children of HIS own, opens to everyone the richness of HIS heart.  HE marvels at the mystery of life that begins full of hope, and discovers the likeness of the FATHER in every unknown child.  How could JESUS, who asks us to have hope, forget that the children are also our hope?

Whoever does not receive the kingdom of GOD like a child.  We must be like children in order to enter the kingdom of GOD.  We must forget our wisdom and self-sufficiency, and the bitterness of past experience in order to receive GOD's gifts and words in wonder and simplicity.

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True Friends

"A gentle word makes many friends, an agreeable tongue calls forth gracious replies.  Let your friends be many; but your counselors, one in a thousand!

If you would gain a friend, begin by testing him and do not put your confidence in him too quickly.  For there is the friend who is such when it suits him but he does not remain faithful in the time of your adversity.

There is the friend who becomes an enemy and, to your confusion, makes known why you quarreled.

There is the friend who shares your table but does not remain faithful when things go against you.  In times of prosperity he will be like your shadow and he will speak freely to those of your household.  But if you are humiliated, he will turn against you and will avoid meeting you.

Distance yourself from your enemies  and be careful about your friends.

The faithful friend is a secure refuge; whoever has found one has found a treasure.  A faithful friend is beyond all price; hold him as priceless.  A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, and those who fear the LORD will find one.

Whoever fears the LORD will make true friends for, as a man is, such will his friend be." - Sirach 6:5-17 

 (Here, we have a text concerning true friendship.  Ben Sira invites us not to be naïve or off guard.

We should reflect before confiding in a friend, but should also have this life-saving remedy which a true friend is, a grace that GOD grants to those who fear HIM.  Also see 12:8-18 and 37:1-15.)

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