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 …
Read more »
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…
Read more »
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…
Read more »
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…
Read more »
“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 »
Incarnating God in the World Luke 2:1-14 At Christmas, we remember our supreme existential task, the one that defines our reason for living: to incarnate the good by becoming more human. Yes, to incarnate the good, or–if we want to give flesh to God since God is the highest Good–then we can say: to incarnate… Read more »
Baptism is God’s declaration of love for me. This Love remains at my side; it never forsakes me no matter what happens to me or around me; it takes care of me without being ashamed of me. Jesus begs John the Baptist, and each one of us, to allow him to remain at our side,…
Read more »
I like to think of today’s Feast, the Epiphany, as a homage to restlessness. The Magi are restless individuals. Their lives can be described by verbs like: to depart, to abandon, to leave, to embark, to undertake, to venture, to doubt. They are adventurous people because they don’t see anything as certain. They are not…
Read more »