06/07/2008 - 14th. Ordinary Time - Year A
Ist. Reading Zech 9,9-10 Psalm 144 IInd. Reading Rom 8,9.11-13 Gospel Mt 11,25-30
"Died and was buried". Every now and then we read in the media the news that Jesus is still alive living in some remote and inaccessible part of the earth. That he didn't die, but that somebody else took his place on Calvary. This is like what Islam believes. Throughout history there has always been someone who would negate the mystery of the death of Jesus, because it might creates a problem to our intelligence and pride. It's not easy to accept that Jesus, the Son of God, died. Because this implies that God had entered into the deepest poverty of man, that he accepted what we don't succeed to accept, that he has consecrated with his presence even death, which we are so much afraid off. We do everything possible and impossible to escape death, push it away, to get rid of death, meanwhile our God accepted it! We believe it and through this faith we receive a new light, an unexplained power, as witnessed by the martyrs of Jesus. If Jesus died, it means that death is not the worst evil. If Jesus died, we also can die serene, and we are to prefer death than loose the faith and our communion with God! When we say that Jesus died, we are not simply repeating a historical fact witnessed by the four gospels and the apostolic writings, and confirmed by the prophesies of the Old Testament, but we affirming for sure that the incarnation of the Son of God was fulfilled: He became man assuming all the consequences of the human being! We also want to affirm that we want to look towards the end of our life without fear and disperation. "Died and was buried". The Jewish culture holds that the burial is the consequence of death. This culture hopes in the resurrection of the dead. There are people who instead of burying their dead, they burn them or give them to the birds or other animals of the earth and sea to be consumed. The body of Jesus was buried, laid in the ground that guarded him until the day of God's power, who resurrects the dead. The Gospels give certain details of the burial of Jesus, when they mention the sheets, the oils, and the new tomb hewn in the rock, of Joseph of Arimathea, the big stone at the entrance, the seals and the soldiers guarding the entrance of the tomb. Eventually the burial of Jesus is a confirmation of the uncontested reality of his death. St. Paul speaks of the action of the Spirit, the Spirit of God that has been given also to us. Thanks to the Spirit we are not the same ones as before, we are not any more "of the flesh", not given anymore to material interests, and not only to realities of things that pass. If we had to continue on the old way, before we embraced the faith, we would be destined only to die. Thanks to the Spirit it's been given us a project of life, eternal life! The invitation of the apostle to us is that "by the Spirit you put and end to the misdeeds of the body" so that we can really live! The deeds of the flesh that kills one are all those realities that express our ego, pride, emptiness, sensuality, ambition and attachment to money, from being offended into evil. Without the help of the Spirit we won't be able to put aside all that hinders our testimony of being sons and daughters of God Our God is truly a good and meek, humble and chaste in his greatness. We cannot say anything of him, if Jesus, his Son, didn't reveal him to us. He reveals him to us and we can accept this revelation because we are small and poor, simple and humble. If we had to be proud and arrogant it would not have been possible to know God and to communicate with him! This is what Jesus is trying to tell us. He himself came to us, as the prophet says, meek and humble, riding on those who are simple and humble, upon those we are committed and have no pretentious to be above others. He came to us to show us the true face of God. We pride and rejoice in God, because he is not a God who shuts us out, but a God who calls us to be like Father like son! That's why Jesus can tell us: "come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest"! And we who are tired and heavy with the pain of the sin of the world and always deceived by our sin, we go and meet him. He is the king who is worthy of all our trust. There is no other king like him who wants the fullness of our joy. The prophet calls him king, but he presents himself of meek and humble of heart. We willingly accept his authority: his yoke is easy! You too tried, like me, to get closer to Jesus, and call him in difficult moments, in moments in which you didn't know what to do, in heavy and painful times. He truly gave me rest and peace. I will keep on going closer to him and want to accompany you when you will ask my help or show me your pain. No one else is able to give life and peace to our heart!