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Commentary on the Gospel for October 28, 2024
Stone upon stone
Today we are talking about houses. Or rather, house, in the singular. The word house in Hebrew (beyt) has a much greater meaning than a simple building. It is an extended family (the house of Israel, «all his house»), it is life (Bethesda: house of water; Bethlehem: house of bread), it is people. When Cornelius and «all his house» convert to Christianity, it is not a mere imposition of the father of the family; the personal identity is part of the identity as a people. The personal profession of faith is made in the context of a family, not in isolation. When Paul tells the Ephesians that «you are no longer strangers», it is not just to give them a citizenship certificate, but he recognizes their belonging to the family, to the house, to their identity. And he goes even further: «We are the house of God, built, joined together, one stone upon another, a living stone. We add ourselves, we insert ourselves into Christ, the cornerstone of the whole building. «They are no longer strangers» is not just a plea for immigrants. It is something much deeper: it is a call to be part of the building, of the home, of the family, of life, of the house, of the people; not to be a stranger is to be part of the family: to be a house, to be a people. And this has lifelong consequences. To live now as a living stone is to be faithful to Christ’s message of salvation; it is discipleship and following. It is abiding in this life and this bread.
Therefore, Jesus’ call to the twelve is much more than an anecdote of «discipleship». It is a complete change of identity. These twelve (including the one who would betray him, who denied himself) are now something else: they are part of this «house». And they are a very important part: they are the twelve of the house of Israel; they are the pillars of that house. Therefore, Judas’ betrayal is a terrible wound, not only for Judas himself, but for the whole house. A terrible wound that must be repaired immediately after the death of Jesus. The house must be complete: with its twelve apostolic pillars and with all its living stones. We are not strangers.