"I Have Come To Believe That YOU Are The CHRIST, The Son Of GOD, HE Who Is Coming Into The World."

"...many Jews had come to Martha and Mary, after the death of their brother, to comfort them.

When Martha heard that JESUS was coming, she went to meet HIM, while Mary remained sitting in the house.  Martha said to JESUS, 'If YOU had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that whatever YOU ask from GOD, GOD will give YOU.'  JESUS said, 'Your brother will rise again.'

Martha replied, 'I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.'  But JESUS said to her, 'I AM the resurrection.  Whoever believes in ME, though he dies, shall live.  Whoever lives and believes in ME will never die.  Do you believe this?'

Martha then answered, 'Yes, LORD, I have come to believe that YOU are the CHRIST, the Son of GOD, HE who is coming into the world.'" - John 11:19-27  

(I have come to believe that YOU are the CHRIST.  What more extraordinary profession of faith is there than Martha's!  It is like Peter's [Matthew 16:16], and in a short while it will be Mary who will tell about the resurrection to the same apostles.  Truly the Gospel is not male chauvinist, nor does it enthrone ecclesiastical hierarchy.)      

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The Righteous Will Shine, Like The Sun

"Then HE sent the crowds away and went into the house.  And HIS disciples came to HIM, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.'  JESUS answered them, 'The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one.  The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is the end of time, and the workers are the angels.

Just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of time.  The Son of Man will send HIS angels, and they will weed out of HIS kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil.  And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the just will shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their FATHER.  If you have ears, then hear." - Matthew 13:36-43  

(The field is the world.  This parable does not refer to what happens within each of us, or only in the Church, as described in the net [verse 47].  Rather it teaches that the kingdom of GOD exists and grows in the world, in all dimensions of the secular world.  Sacred history is more than an ancient history in the land of JESUS; it is the entire human story of which the risen CHRIST is LORD.

So will it be at the end of time.  JESUS speaks to us of a judgment.  The expectation of GOD's judgment on the world was an essential element of prophetic teaching.  Let us not only see in it a desire for vengeance on the part of honest people who suffered.  To know for certain that our life will be judged by one who knows us through and through is one of the bases of the Christian vision of existence.  This enables us to understand the tragic character of the decisions we make from day to day directing us either to the truth or a refusal of the light.

This certitude shocks many of our contemporaries just as in the past it terrified the majority of people.  It is for that reason they have often taken refuge in metempsychosis--a series of existences.  The faults of the present life could be rectified in the one that followed.  The importance of our choices is doubted, and the sense of sin is blurred just as is the sense of the presence of GOD.  Before long we could doubt the unique value of our life and of the human person.

While reaffirming the judgment, this short parable contains an extremely revolutionary element: the judgment is GOD's secret and up to the end of the world, both good and evil are in each of us, as well as in institutions.  When we read the Scriptures, we are perhaps shocked to see that not only in the Old Testament but also even in the New, the world is constantly divided between the good and the wicked.  It seems to us that it should not be: the inner being of a person is a deep mystery.  There isn't a group of the good [we, of course, and those who believe in GOD, and those who observe the same morality that we observe...] and then the others.  Why then does JESUS divide humans?

Our quick reply is that JESUS has spoken as the prophets spoke.  To speak of the good and the wicked was a simple way, suitable to the mentality of people less developed than us, to show that each one of us, in each of our acts, takes a step in one of two opposed directions.  For centuries women and men have felt themselves interpreted by this way of speaking: it is still effective and pedagogic for us on many occasions.  It is very important to understand that JESUS is not duped by images.  For the majority of us, the separation is not made, even if after a conversion or two, until we have taken decisive steps.

The servants represent the believers, but especially the "supervisors" of the Church.  Their zeal for repressing those they judge as straying in order to preserve what seems good to them may well be tainted interiorly.  They would like to suppress all the errors.  Rather they rely too much on force, or on authority.  If the "masters" of the faith were not to give the faithful the possibility to think for themselves and make mistakes, the Church would be without life.

GOD prefers to let matters clarify: HE wants people to learn from experience.  Evil is part of the mystery of the cross; in doing what is good and living in the light we defeat evil [Romans 12:21].)

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The Mustard Seed And The Yeast

"JESUS offered them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

It is smaller than all other seeds, but once it is fully grown, it is bigger than any garden plant; like a tree, the birds came and rest in its branches.'

HE told them another parable, 'The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took, and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole mass of dough began to rise.'

JESUS taught all these things to the crowds by means of parables; HE did not say anything to them without using a parable.  This fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophet: I will speak in parables, I will proclaim things kept secret since the beginning of the world." - Matthew 13:31-35 

(With the parable of the mustard seed JESUS shows us that the kingdom of GOD must be a sign; it has to be something very noticeable in the world.

Any spiritual aspiration, cultural innovation or revolutionary movement must be expressed concretely, through one or several institutions, to make it a clearer and more visible entity.  Likewise, JESUS projects HIS Church as the bearer [not the owner] of the kingdom of GOD.  Church means: 'Assembly of those called together.'  Two of the characteristics of this Church are indicated here:

- first, it must be very visible and fruitful for the world, like a tree giving shade to birds;

- secondly, it must be immersed in human reality.

Believers are not to separate themselves from those who do not believe, for they the yeast of the world.

JESUS does not want an "invisible Church," that is an emotional fellowship and spiritual communion among all those in the whole world who believe in HIM.  HE wants a gigantic tree [in another place JESUS says: a city built on a hill], so that everyone can recognize that the seed was good and full of life.  We need organized Christian communities, a hierarchy...  Nevertheless, the believers are not to enclose themselves in their chapels or little communities or to spend all their energies working for "their" Church.  They must be useful and fruitful in the world together with all people of goodwill.

Let them be yeast for the dough, not small separate and finer dough.  The yeast transforms human history, not by bringing all people into the Church, but by infusing into human activity the spirit that gives life to humankind.)

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The Treasure And The Pearl

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field.  The one who finds it, buries it again; and so happy is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in order to buy that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader, who is looking for fine pearls.  Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it." - Matthew 13:44-46  

(The parables of the treasure and the pearl invite us not to let opportunities pass by, when the kingdom of GOD comes to us.

Some have been waiting for years for that word, or person or sign of hope that would give new meaning to their lives.  One day they found it.  Sometimes it was found through simple things: a forgiving word, a friendly smile, a first commitment offered to them and accepted.  Then they understood that this was the way to gain all they were waiting for, and they entered the kingdom happily.

The parable says: he buries it again.  Ordinarily it is GOD who hides the treasure again after having shown it to us, for it will be really ours when we have worked for it and persevered.

Everything must be sold.  We have to divest ourselves of all those habits, pleasures... that occupy our hearts without filling them.  When trials come upon us like a frosty, icy night, we should not forget the treasure we have once seen, until we recover it.  Plato, the great pagan philosopher, said, "It is during the night that it is beautiful to believe in the light."

"The pearl" is, in a certain sense, CHRIST HIMSELF.  HE alone gives meaning to all the sacrifices of a Christian life.  These are not really "sacrifices," but the search for a love that has already been proven.)

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We Carry This Treasure In Vessels Of Clay

"However, we carry this treasure in vessels of clay, so that this all-surpassing power may not be seen as ours, but as GOD's.  Trials of every sort come to us, but we are not discouraged.  We are left without answer, but do not despair; persecuted but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed.  At any moment, we carry, in our person, the death of JESUS, so, that, the life of JESUS may also be manifested in us.  For we, the living, are given up continually to death, for the sake of JESUS, so, that, the life of JESUS may appear in our mortal existence.  And as death is at work in us, life comes to you.

We have received the same spirit of faith referred to in Scripture, that says: I believed and so I spoke.  We also believe, and so we speak.  We know that HE, who raised the LORD JESUS, will also raise us, with JESUS, and bring us, with you, into HIS presence.  Finally, everything is for your good, so that grace will come more abundantly upon you, and great will be the thanksgiving for the glory of GOD." - 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 

(We carry this treasure in vessels of clay.  Usually, GOD carries out HIS plans by using inadequate instruments.  Graham Greene became famous for his book "The Power and The Glory" in which we see a priest achieving heroic things despite his many personal faults.

For we, the living, are given up continually to death.  The apostle's death is necessary so that his work may live.  When a good job has been done in one sector of the Church, there has to come the hour of persecution, or of obedience to leaders whose authority we cannot reject, in spite of the fact that they may be unjust or mistaken.  Nothing grows without having died first.)

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Who Will Welcome The Word Of GOD?

"'Now listen to the parable of the sower.

When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is the seed that fell along the footpath.

The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word, and accepts it at once with joy.  But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while.  No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the word, then he gives up.

The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word; and it does not bear fruit.

As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.'" - Matthew 13:18-23  

(Who will welcome the word of GOD?  This has nothing to do with intelligence or ability to reflect, or interest in religious things: those who are open to hope receive the word.

The seed that fell along the footpath are those not interested in the word they have received, perhaps because they cannot see further than their own interests [they are selfish], or perhaps they have taken another direction in life.

Next come those who do not dare to face contradiction and are easily discouraged and cowed: these are soon burnt.  Yet to hope means to be firm despite any obstacle.  If GOD puts us on a road in life, this road will lead somewhere.  Hope is courage and endurance.

Next are those that fell among the thistles.  They are believers, but the fruits to be harvested along the difficult path seem not to satisfy them.  They want to "save their lives," to serve GOD and Money at the same time.  They are dragged down by their aim of winning material success, and hope in the kingdom of GOD becomes but a flimsy desire for them.)

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"Why Do YOU Speak To Them In Parables?"

"Then HIS disciples came to HIM and said, 'Why do YOU speak to them in parables?'

JESUS answered, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people.  For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance.  But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has.  That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see; they hear; but they do not listen or understand,

In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: However much you hear, you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive.

For the heart of this people has grown dull.  Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see.  If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they would turn back and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see, but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.'" - Matthew 13:10-17  

(To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom.  To you who took CHRIST's call seriously and decided to follow HIM.  Because you came to be the co-workers of CHRIST, the FATHER will reveal to you HIS secrets.

The quotation from Isaiah that follows may shock us due to the fact of our not fully understanding Hebrew expressions.  Does JESUS speak in parables because the audience does not want to understand, or so that they will not understand?  It could be both at the same time.

For the one who has will be given more.  Here has means produce, bear as does the tree that "has" fruit.  It will be given to those who are fruitful.)

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The LORD Is Risen!

"Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; and as she wept, she bent down to look inside.  She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of JESUS had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet.  They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?'  She answered, 'Because they have taken my LORD and I don't know where they have put HIM.'

As she said this, she turned around and saw JESUS standing there, but she did not recognize HIM.  JESUS said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?  Who are you looking for?'  She thought it was the gardener and answered HIM, 'Sir, if you have taken HIM away, tell me where you have put HIM, and I will go and take HIM away.'

JESUS said to her, 'Mary!'  She turned and said to HIM, 'Rabboni!' - which means Master.  JESUS said to her, 'Do not touch ME, because I have not yet ascended to the FATHER.  But go to MY brothers and say to them: I AM ascending to MY FATHER, who is your GOD.'

So, Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the LORD, and this is what HE said to me.'" - John 20:11-18  

(Do not touch ME, because I have not yet ascended to the FATHER.  Before HIS death, JESUS did not disapprove of the passionate feelings and actions of Mary.  Now this familiar gesture to take possession of her loved Master is no longer appropriate.

HE is now the Risen One, and though HE lets HIMSELF be seen by HIS disciples for a few days, HE is in the glory of the FATHER.  HIS disciples must relinquish the physical presence of JESUS with which they felt so much at ease.  From now on the followers and lovers of JESUS will embrace HIM in a secret and marvelous way, when they are given gifts of prayer and faith.  It is then that the contemplative spirit, who is represented by Mary, may enjoy the whole of CHRIST [see Song 3:4].

I have not yet ascended to the FATHER.  JESUS is revealing the great desire that filled HIS life.  HE came from GOD and must return to the FATHER.  This is "the greatest love in the world."  All the love that JESUS has for us is but a manifestation of that other love, because GOD the FATHER is the fountain and the goal of all love. 

It is not by chance that the word LORD is again repeated seven times, the last time by Thomas: "YOU are my LORD and my GOD."  This expresses the faith of the Church.

Let us remark that the persons concerned in this event did in fact call JESUS, "the Master."  However, John puts on their lips the word LORD.  Why?  From the first days of the Church, the believers had to find words to express their faith in JESUS, Son of GOD.  Being the Son, HE was not the same person as GOD, but HE was one with HIM.  How is this divine condition best expressed?

In Sacred Scriptures two names were given to GOD:  GOD and YAHWEH.  At that time the Jews no longer pronounced the name of YAHWEH and instead said: "the LORD."  Moreover, in the Greek Bible used by the apostles and the Church, YAHWEH was also translated as "the LORD."  So, the apostles decided very soon to retain the term GOD when speaking of GOD, the FATHER, and to call JESUS "the LORD," by this affirming that HE was not inferior to the FATHER.

The risen JESUS' apparitions to HIS disciples, besides fostering their hope and making them qualified witnesses of HIS resurrection, were necessary for their spiritual formation.  The disciples had to learn to recognize JESUS no longer through their senses but through faith.  Likewise, we have to learn to recognize and follow JESUS in the dim light of faith, in desolation as well as in consolation, thus we too will be among those whom JESUS blesses: Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe [verse 29].)

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"Who Is MY Mother? Who Are MY Brothers?"

"While JESUS was still talking to the people, HIS mother and HIS brothers wanted to speak to HIM and they waited outside.  So someone said to HIM, 'YOUR mother and YOUR brothers are just outside; they want to speak to YOU.'

JESUS answered, 'Who is MY mother?  Who are MY brothers?'  Then HE pointed to HIS disciples and said, 'Look!  Here are MY mother and MY brothers.  Whoever does the will of MY FATHER in heaven is for ME brother, sister, or mother'." - Matthew 12:46-50  

(If they were true brothers of JESUS, sons of Mary, the Gospel would say: "HIS mother and the sons of HIS mother," for this was the Jewish manner of speaking.)

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JESUS Criticizes HIS Own Generation

"Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.'  JESUS answered them, 'An evil and unfaithful people want a sign, but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  In the same way that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the monster fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the depths of the earth.

At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise with this generation and condemn it, because they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here there is greater than Jonah.  At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you.  She came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here there is greater than Solomon'." - Matthew 12:38-42  

(JESUS did not perform any miracle that day, because the experts in religion were demanding an account of HIM, instead of listening to HIM.

An evil and unfaithful people.  Gospel says in fact: "evil and adulterous".  This expression in the Bible means the unfaithful believer who, without denying GOD in words, keeps other gods to himself.

The Ninivites: see Jonah 3:5.

The Queen of the South: see 1 Kings 10.

The sign of Jonah is the resurrection of JESUS.  The similarity seen in the three days that Jonah was in the belly of the fish and the time JESUS spent in the tomb is somewhat forced.) 

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