What the Messiah wants to do, what the Son of God wants to accomplish, is to immerse himself in humanity. People’s judgments are very forceful against a God who does this without fear of being “contaminated.” The Son of God immerses himself in the homes of sinners, in the exploited days of prostitutes. He is… Read more »
Simeon, this child is just like any other child. Why do you hasten to him? Why are tears of astonishment streaming from your faded eyes? What do you see in him? How are you able to recognize him when he hasn’t done anything yet? Holding the child in his arms, Simeon addresses the Most High… Read more »
Christmas speaks to us about a God who chooses the hard way by calling a person to be a person. That’s what Christmas is: an invitation to be born again, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes. But it will be a rebirth for each of us only if we learn to take upon ourselves the… Read more »
Jesus does not need the baptism John is administering, but he goes to the banks of the Jordan anyway, where people’s sins are being removed like clots dissolved in running water; where sinners overcome their fear of revealing themselves for what they are: persons who need to rediscover their humanity. So Jesus joins the line …
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God is born in Bethlehem–even the stars indicate this. The Gospel seems to suggest that simply doing one’s job with commitment is enough to begin the journey of drawing closer to Jesus. Even though the Magi take a wrong road as they travel, it turns out to be the right road because through this…
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The shepherds set out for Bethlehem without delay. We admire and envy them because their haste is behavior typical of young people or idealists. It is typical of free people–those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain. To set forth without delay has nostalgic overtones: it harks back to a time when…
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While the authority figure of the time manifests his obsession with power by attempting to count the earth’s population, God is born. While people are forced to migrate because of an absurd census, God simply is born. He is only an infant, but he is there, at the heart of every story. He is at…
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“You are my beloved Son” Luke 3:15-16.21-22 John says: “Do you want to know the face and heart of God? Then listen to the words of Jesus and consider what he did for you.” But how does Jesus communicate God? By standing in line with sinners, by being baptized like them, that is, by descending… Read more »
Moving toward new horizons Matthew 2:1-12 Human beings are not completed works but perfectible ones–we are works in progress. Thus it is necessary to move ahead so as to discover new horizons, refusing to be satisfied with pre-established truths, sterile dogmatic definitions, and starchy catechisms. The Jewish tradition says: “Nothing is written once and for… Read more »
Mother of the bewildered Lk. 2:16-21 Virgin Mother, daughter of your Son, in whom your Creator did not disdain to become your creature” (Dante). Mary is the mother of those who find it hard to understand what is happening. With the serenity of a person permeated by love, she became her Son’s disciple. We know… Read more »
