DIVES IN MISERICORDIA - When Christ began to do and teach In the presence of His own townspeople, living in Nazareth, Christ recalls the words of prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19). These sentences, recorded by St. Luke, are his first messianic declaration. They are followed by actions and words known through the Gospel. Through these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men. Significantly, the people involved are, above all, the poor, those without means of livelihood, those deprived of their freedom, the blind who cannot see the beauty of creation, those living with anguished hearts or suffering from social injustice, and finally sinners. For these especially the messiah becomes a remarkably clear sign of God who is love, He becomes a sign of the Father. In this visible sign the people of our time can “see” the Father just like those people of times past.
It is significant that, when the messengers sent by John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask him: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Lk 7:19) Jesus answered them by referring to the same testimony with which He has begun his teaching at Nazareth: “Go and tell John what it is that you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them.” Then he concluded: “And blessed is he who takes no offense at me!” (Lk 7:22-23).
Especially by His life-style and His actions, Jesus showed that love is present in the world in which we live. This love is an effective love, a love that turns to man and embraces everything that makes up his humanity. This love is especially recognized in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty encompassing the whole historical “human condition,” which in various ways shows man’s limitation and frailty, both physical and moral. It is exactly in this way and with this scope that love is revealed and called “mercy” in the language of the bible.
Christ then reveals God, who is Father, who is “love,” as St. John will express in his letter (1 Jn 4:16); Christ reveals God as “rich in mercy,” as we read in St. Paul (Eph 2:4). This truth is not just the subject of a teaching, but its a reality made present to us by Christ. Making the Father present as love and mercy is, in Christ’s own consciousness, the fundamental proof of His mission as the messiah. He points this out by the words He uttered first in the synagogue in Nazareth and later in the presence of His disciples and the messengers of John the Baptist.
-- On the basis of this way of making present God who is Father of love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal topics of His preaching. As usual, He primarily teaches “in parables,” because they best explain the essence of things. It is enough to recall the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32) or the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37), but also by way of contrast, consider the parable of the merciless servant (Mt 18:23-25). However, there are many passages in the teaching of Christ that show love –mercy under some ever new aspect. We need only consider the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep (Mt 18:12-14; Lk 15:8-10). St. Luke is the evangelist who distinguishes himself in the number of times he treats mercy in the teaching of Christ and so his Gospel has earned forever the title: “The Gospel of Mercy.”
When one speaks of teaching, one encounters a major problem of meaning of terms and the content of concepts, especially the content of the concept of “mercy” (in relationship to the concept of “love”). A grasp of the content of these concepts is key to understanding the very reality of mercy and this is what is most important for us. But before devoting a further section of our consideration to establishing the meaning of the terms and clarifying the content of the concept of “mercy,” we must note that Christ, in revealing the love – mercy of God, at the same time demanded from the people that they also be guided in their lives by love and mercy. This demand forms the very essence of the messianic proclamation, and the very essence of the Gospel’s distinguishing character (ethos). The teacher expresses this both in the form of the commandment which He calls “the greatest” (Mt 22:38), and also in the form of a blessing when in the Sermon on the Mount He proclaims: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7).
In this way the messianic proclamation about mercy keeps the characteristic divine-human dimension. Christ the very fulfillment of the messianic prophecy – by becoming the incarnation of love, which is seen with special force in the face of the suffering, the unfortunate and sinners, makes present and so more fully reveals the Father, who is God “rich in mercy.” At the same time, by becoming for people a model of merciful love for others, Christ proclaims by His actions, even more than by His words, the call to mercy which is one of the essential elements of the Gospel’s distinguishing character (ethos). Here, it is not just a case of fulfilling a command or an obligation of an ethical nature; it is also a case of satisfying a very major condition so that God could reveal Himself to man: “The merciful ... shall obtain mercy.” JOHN PAUL II
DIVES IN MISERICORDIA - When Christ began to do and teach
RispondiEliminaIn the presence of His own townspeople, living in Nazareth, Christ recalls the words of prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19). These sentences, recorded by St. Luke, are his first messianic declaration. They are followed by actions and words known through the Gospel. Through these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men. Significantly, the people involved are, above all, the poor, those without means of livelihood, those deprived of their freedom, the blind who cannot see the beauty of creation, those living with anguished hearts or suffering from social injustice, and finally sinners. For these especially the messiah becomes a remarkably clear sign of God who is love, He becomes a sign of the Father. In this visible sign the people of our time can “see” the Father just like those people of times past.
It is significant that, when the messengers sent by John the Baptist came to Jesus to ask him: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Lk 7:19) Jesus answered them by referring to the same testimony with which He has begun his teaching at Nazareth: “Go and tell John what it is that you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the good news preached to them.” Then he concluded: “And blessed is he who takes no offense at me!” (Lk 7:22-23).
Especially by His life-style and His actions, Jesus showed that love is present in the world in which we live. This love is an effective love, a love that turns to man and embraces everything that makes up his humanity. This love is especially recognized in contact with suffering, injustice and poverty encompassing the whole historical “human condition,” which in various ways shows man’s limitation and frailty, both physical and moral. It is exactly in this way and with this scope that love is revealed and called “mercy” in the language of the bible.
Christ then reveals God, who is Father, who is “love,” as St. John will express in his letter (1 Jn 4:16); Christ reveals God as “rich in mercy,” as we read in St. Paul (Eph 2:4). This truth is not just the subject of a teaching, but its a reality made present to us by Christ. Making the Father present as love and mercy is, in Christ’s own consciousness, the fundamental proof of His mission as the messiah. He points this out by the words He uttered first in the synagogue in Nazareth and later in the presence of His disciples and the messengers of John the Baptist.
-- On the basis of this way of making present God who is Father of love and mercy, Jesus makes mercy one of the principal topics of His preaching. As usual, He primarily teaches “in parables,” because they best explain the essence of things. It is enough to recall the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32) or the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37), but also by way of contrast, consider the parable of the merciless servant (Mt 18:23-25). However, there are many passages in the teaching of Christ that show love –mercy under some ever new aspect. We need only consider the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep (Mt 18:12-14; Lk 15:8-10). St. Luke is the evangelist who distinguishes himself in the number of times he treats mercy in the teaching of Christ and so his Gospel has earned forever the title: “The Gospel of Mercy.”
RispondiEliminaWhen one speaks of teaching, one encounters a major problem of meaning of terms and the content of concepts, especially the content of the concept of “mercy” (in relationship to the concept of “love”). A grasp of the content of these concepts is key to understanding the very reality of mercy and this is what is most important for us. But before devoting a further section of our consideration to establishing the meaning of the terms and clarifying the content of the concept of “mercy,” we must note that Christ, in revealing the love – mercy of God, at the same time demanded from the people that they also be guided in their lives by love and mercy. This demand forms the very essence of the messianic proclamation, and the very essence of the Gospel’s distinguishing character (ethos). The teacher expresses this both in the form of the commandment which He calls “the greatest” (Mt 22:38), and also in the form of a blessing when in the Sermon on the Mount He proclaims: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7).
In this way the messianic proclamation about mercy keeps the characteristic divine-human dimension. Christ the very fulfillment of the messianic prophecy – by becoming the incarnation of love, which is seen with special force in the face of the suffering, the unfortunate and sinners, makes present and so more fully reveals the Father, who is God “rich in mercy.” At the same time, by becoming for people a model of merciful love for others, Christ proclaims by His actions, even more than by His words, the call to mercy which is one of the essential elements of the Gospel’s distinguishing character (ethos). Here, it is not just a case of fulfilling a command or an obligation of an ethical nature; it is also a case of satisfying a very major condition so that God could reveal Himself to man: “The merciful ... shall obtain mercy.” JOHN PAUL II