Abram Becomes Abraham

"Abram fell face down and GOD said to him, 'This is my covenant with you: you will be the father of a multitude of nations.  No longer will you be called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.  I will make you more and more famous; I will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, kings shall be among your descendants.  And I will establish a covenant, an everlasting covenant between MYSELF and you and your descendants after you; from now on I will be your GOD and the GOD of your descendants after you, for generations to come.  I will give to you and your descendants after you land you are living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession and I will be the GOD of your race.'

GOD said to Abraham, 'For your part, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation." - Genesis 17:3-9 

(Abram means venerated father, and Abraham: father of a multitude.  In changing the name of HIS servant, GOD enables him to begin a new life and to really become what his new name expresses.  JESUS will proceed in the same way with the first leader of HIS church [John 1:42].)

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The Annunciation

"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from GOD to a town of Galilee called Nazareth.  He was sent to a young virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

The angel came to her and said, 'Rejoice, full of grace, the LORD is with you.'  Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.

But the angel said, 'Do not fear, Mary, for GOD has looked kindly on you.  You shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call him JESUS.  HE will be great and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High.  The LORD GOD will give HIM the kingdom of David, his ancestor; HE will rule over the people of Jacob forever and HIS reign shall have no end.'

Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be if I am a virgin?'  And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born shall be called Son of GOD.  Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child, and she is now in her sixth month.  With GOD nothing is impossible.'

Then Mary said, 'I am the handmaid of the LORD, let it be done to me as you have said.'  And the angel Left her." - Luke 1:26-38  

(Only Mary could make known the mystery of JESUS' conception to the primitive church.  How could she express such an inner experience and how would it be reported?  

Therefore, in writing, Luke had to use biblical words and forms that would allow us to understand the mysterious encounter of Mary with GOD.

 

I am the handmaid of the LORD... In saying this, Mary does not lower herself with false humility; instead she expresses her faith and her surrender.  From her will be born the one who will be both the servant announced by the prophets [Isaiah 42:1; 50:4; 52:13] and the only Son [Hebrews 1].

 

Many persons are mistaken about the word "servant" in that they view Almighty GOD as using HIS servants to HIS own ends without taking time to look at them and love them.  For them GOD would lose HIS greatness if HE were to give Mary authentic responsibility in the incarnation of her Son.

 

This is quite contrary to the spirit of the Bible.  GOD loves people, HE wishes, HE who is GOD, to experience human friendship.  GOD had no need of a woman to make a human body, but HE wanted to have a mother for HIS Son; and for Mary to really be that mother, it was necessary that GOD looked upon her with greater love than HE had for any other creature.  Thus, Mary is called full of grace.

 

Grace is what we call the power GOD has to heal our spirit, to instill in us the disposition to believe, and to make us resonate with the truth so that the expression of real love comes from us in a spontaneous way.  We call grace that which came from the living GOD to blossom on earth: Isaiah 45:8; Psalm 85:11.

 

Mary is full of grace because JESUS was born of her as HE is born of the FATHER.  This is why the Church believes that Mary has a unique role in the work of our salvation.  She is the marvel that GOD achieved at the outset of transforming humankind into HIS image.)

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The Bronze Serpent

"From Mount Hor they set out by the Red Sea Road to go around the land of Edom.  The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against GOD and Moses.  'Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna.'

YAHWEH then sent fiery serpents against them.  They bit the people and many of the Israelites died.  Then the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, speaking against YAHWEH and against you.  Plead with YAHWEH to take the serpents away.'

Moses pleaded for the people and YAHWEH said to him, 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live.'

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard.  Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived." - Numbers 21:4-9  

(With regard to the bronze serpent, two quite different questions may be asked.  The first: what is the historical origin of this account?  An easy answer: near the Sinai mines a healing god was honored and little bronze serpents were offered in thanksgiving.  The stories of travelers must have inspired the narrative.  But the important question is the second: what does this page of the holy book intend to say?

The people complained.  The Israelites complain again: this is the inner rebellion of those who do not accept sacrifices and will not exert themselves in order to become better and who would rather blame others.

Make a bronze serpent.  A strange command to the Israelites, but the bronze serpent will be a prophetic sign: GOD intends to cure the sin with the very instrument of the sin.

Whoever looks at it shall live: another prophetic statement.  Sinners will not have to follow strict prescriptions: let them merely look with faith at the sign GOD sends for their healing.  JESUS will say: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up [on the cross] so that he who believes in HIM will have eternal life" [John 3:14].

The story of the serpent is one of those biblical images with a hidden meaning, and people had to wait for the day when CHRIST would give them meaning.  The same is true of the story of Melchizedek [Genesis 14] and the story of Joseph.

The same is true in our own lives; in our past there have been some incidents which we did not understand at that time.  Why did this happen to me?   Someday, the light of CHRIST will reveal the meaning.)

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The Adulteress

"As for JESUS, HE went to the Mount of Olives.

At daybreak JESUS appeared in the Temple again.  All the people came to HIM, and HE sat down and began to teach them.

Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery.  They made her stand in front of everyone.  'Master,' they said, 'this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but YOU, what do YOU say?  They said this to test JESUS, in order to have some charge against HIM.

JESUS bent down and started writing on the ground with HIS finger.  And as they continued to ask HIM, HE straightened up and said to them, 'Let anyone among you who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'  And HE bent down again, writing on the ground.

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and JESUS was left alone with the woman standing before HIM.  Then JESUS stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?  She replied, 'No one.'  And JESUS said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go away and don't sin again'." - John 8:1-11  

(The selection 8:1-11 is not found in most ancient manuscripts of John's Gospel.  Many think that this selection is from other sources.  Perhaps it did belong to the Gospel of Luke [compare 8:2 and Luke 21:38] and was later inserted in John's text.

If JESUS showed such respect to the sinner and refused to condemn her, as humans would, was it because HE did not consider her fault grave?  No, it was because GOD uses different ways than people do to bring sinners to repentance and to purify them through suffering.

There is a big difference between telling a person his ideas or deeds are wrong or sinful, and condemning him.  We usually condemn the person; we do not make room for change and mercy.  In this Gospel episode JESUS is both demanding and merciful towards the woman.)

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The Raising Of Lazarus

"...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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Jeremiah, The Weeping Prophet

"YAHWEH made it known to me and so I know!  And YOU let me see their scheming: 'Take care, even your kinsfolk and your own family are false with you, and behind your back they freely criticize you.  Do not trust them when they approach you in a friendly way.'

But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me that they were plotting, 'Let us feed him with trials and remove him from the land of the living and let his name never be mentioned again.'

YAHWEH, GOD of Hosts, YOU who judge with justice and know everyone's heart and intentions, let me see YOUR vengeance on them, for to YOU I have entrusted my cause." - Jeremiah 11:18-20  

 

(Jeremiah knew that in order to be faithful to GOD, one must be moved and transformed by HIM.)

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The Godless Say There Is No Other Life

"Led by mistaken reasons they think, 'Life is short and sad and there is no cure for death.  It was never heard that anyone came back from the netherworld.

Let us set a trap for the righteous, for he annoys us and opposes our way of life; he reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.

He claims knowledge of GOD and calls himself son of the LORD.  He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet him is burdensome to us.  He does not live like others and behaves strangely.

According to him we have low standards, so he keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean.  He emphasizes the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having GOD as FATHER.

Let us see the truth of what he says and find out what his end will be.  If the righteous is a son of GOD, GOD will defend him and deliver him from his adversaries.

Let us humble and torture him to prove his self-control and test his patience.  When we have condemned him to a shameful death, we may test his words.'

This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice.  They do not know the mysteries of GOD, nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed." - Wisdom 2:1. 12-22 

(Let us set a trap for the righteous for he opposes our way of life.  Secretly we all admire an upright person, but in any institution, her presence disturbs us--in the trade unions just as in the factories--because we cannot buy her conscience.

He does not live like others and behaves strangely.  When this was written the Jews were not well-thought-of by non-Jews because of all the things in their lives that were different from the pagan customs.  The same is true now, as well; even though believers try not to be distinct, their integrity and enthusiasm make them "strange."

Let us see the truth of what he says.  Because the godless are the friends of death, they necessarily come to persecute and even kill the good.  For them it is like a game to prove to what extent the righteous can remain firm, since they themselves believe in nothing.  They need to destroy others to convince themselves that they alone benefit from life.

If the righteous is a son of GOD, GOD will defend him.  The words in verses 16-20 reveal the situation of JESUS on the cross.  Matthew, in particular, will recall them in 27:43.

This is also verified in the lives of real believers, a scandal to a materialist who enjoys inflicting suffering on those who make sacrifices for others.  We have seen comfortable "Christians" rejoicing over the death of those who speak of justice and who, by their involvement, disturb the conscience of the satisfied.)

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JESUS Born Of A Virgin Mother

"This is how JESUS CHRIST was born:  Mary HIS mother had been given to Joseph in marriage but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy.  He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.  She has conceived by the Holy spirit, and now she will bear a son.  You shall call HIM 'JESUS' for HE will save HIS people from their sins.'

All this happened in order to fulfill what the LORD had said through the prophet.  The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and HE will be called EMMANUEL which means GOD-with-us.  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the LORD had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.  He did not have any marital relations with her.  When she gave birth to a son, Joseph gave HIM the name JESUS." - Matthew 1:18-25    

(JESUS is not the son of Joseph.  The beginning of the paragraph intends to remind us that JESUS is both a legitimate son of David through Joseph and the Son of GOD conceived through the Holy Spirit by a virgin-mother.

These short and almost bashful sentences do not dare to unveil the mystery of Mary, the virgin through whom life on earth touches GOD and offers itself as an oblation.  A messenger breaks through the night and speaks with silent words: the world is open to the active presence of GOD.

Mary was engaged.  Engagements gave to the Jewish people practically every right of marriage, especially conjugal rights.  The only difference was that women continued to live under the parents' tutelage and in their parental home.  The Jews were markedly a "macho" society. A woman necessarily belonged to a man, either to her father, her husband, or her son. Mary was already the wife of Joseph, but she could not be under his authority until he brought her to his home.

The virginity of Mary was not in keeping with the Jewish mentality that gave first place to fecundity.  It was not so unusual that Joseph would accept such a situation.  At this time certain Jews belonging to the party of the Essenes lived celibacy, as did the monks.

Joseph made plans to divorce her secretly.  The Gospel is not precise as to his reasons for so doing.  In any case it is unthinkable that people might have doubted Mary's fidelity.

The intervention of the angel in the Gospel is not to reassure Joseph but to inform him of his role in the plan of GOD.  You shall call HIM "JESUS', and you will receive HIM as your son.  Joseph was a "descendant of David" and JESUS adopted by Joseph would be a legitimate descendant of David. Most probably Mary did not even belong to the tribe of Judah, which was that of David, but like her cousin Elizabeth, she belonged to a family of priests of the tribe of Levi.) 

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"MY FATHER Goes On Working And So Do I."

"JESUS replied, 'MY FATHER goes on working and so do I.'  And the Jews tried all the harder to kill HIM, for JESUS not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made HIMSELF equal with GOD, calling GOD HIS own FATHER. 

JESUS said to them, 'Truly, I assure you, the SON cannot do anything by HIMSELF, but only what HE sees the FATHER do.  And whatever HE does, the SON also does.  The FATHER loves the SON and shows HIM everything HE does; and HE will show HIM even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.

As the FATHER raises the dead and gives them life, so the SON gives life to whom HE wills.  In the same way, the FATHER judges no one, for HE has entrusted all judgment to the SON, and HE wants all to honor the SON, as they honor the FATHER.  Whoever ignores the SON, ignores as well the FATHER who sent HIM.

Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears MY word and believes HIM who sent ME, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him, because he has passed from death to life.

Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the SON of GOD and, on hearing it, will live.  For the FATHER has life in HIMSELF, and HE has given to the SON also to have life in HIMSELF.  And HE has empowered HIM as well to carry out Judgment, for HE is SON of Man.

Do not be surprised at this: the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear MY voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

I can not do nothing of MYSELF.  As I hear, so I judge, and MY judgment is just, because I seek not MY own will, but the will of HIM who sent ME.'" - John 5:17-30  

(JESUS opponents were surprised to see how HE violated the law of the sacred rest; this, however, was only the first intervention of JESUS.  JESUS intends to do much more than just reform religion:  HE has to come to renew the whole of creation.

The books of the Old Testament spoke of GOD as only one.  Now JESUS shows us a new face of GOD: HE is FATHER and has sent HIS SON to complete HIS work.  In all that HE does, GOD endeavors to give us life, and the greatest of HIS works is the Resurrection.

This rising from the dead does not mean "to return to life" but to begin a new and transformed life.  The dead will rise again, of course, but we can also speak of the resurrection in the lives of those who become believers.  A word of JESUS accepted in faith gives us life and later takes root in us and transforms us.  Together, the FATHER and the SON raise us to new life.  GOD's love, which engenders life, reaches us through the voice of CHRIST.

JESUS then is not only human like us.  Though human, HE is also divine and reveals to us another face of GOD.  JESUS wants to replace in our minds any image of GOD as a jealous or paternalistic GOD.  The Gospel shows the FATHER giving all HIS authority to a human, to CHRIST.  This resonates with modern psychology and teaches that a person is not fully adult until he liberates himself from parental authority.  Our contemporary would rightly rejects a paternalistic GOD.

On numerous occasions, JESUS called HIMSELF the Son of Man.  Here John says a Son of Man; that is a Jewish idiom which means a human being.  By being human, JESUS saves humanity from within.

When JESUS claims to be the Son, HE repeats these two affirmations in various ways:

- Everything that MY FATHER does, I do; all that the FATHER has, I have.

- and: I cannot do anything by MYSELF.

In this way, JESUS is a model for the sons and daughters of GOD.  We also should commune with the FATHER, so that HE may teach us HIS works: there is no Christian life without prayer, that is, without a personal relationship with GOD.) 

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The River That Flows From The Temple

"The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the temple and flowing eastward.  The temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the altar.  He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside, to the other gate facing the east; and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand.  As he went towards the east, he measured off a thousand cubits; and led me across the water which was up to my ankles.  He measured off another thousand cubits and made me across the water, which came to my knees.  He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water, which was up to my waist.  When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent, for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, 'Son of man, did you see?'  He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river.  There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river.  He said to me, 'This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.  Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful; and the seawater will become fresh.  Wherever it flows, life will abound.

Near the river on both banks, there will be all kinds of fruit trees, with foliage that will not wither; and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop, because the water comes from the temple.  The fruit will be good to eat, and the leaves will be used for healing.'" - Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12  

(Note the vision of the river which makes the land fruitful and starts from the place where GOD is present.  The invisible GOD manifests HIMSELF in the life which HE gives to people.  The Holy Spirit, imaged in the stream of living water [see John 7:38], makes all the seeds of life blossom again in the world.

The stream flows to the Salt Sea or the Dead Sea.  [Its waters are so salty that there are no fish.  No plants can grow on the shores.]  This serves as an image of the healing that GOD brings to a world, sterile because of its sins.  The fruit will be good to eat, and the leaves will be used for healing.)

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