Today, 4th of December, we celebrate
Saint John Damascene
1 Cor 15:1–11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the Apostles,
not fit to be called an Apostle,
because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.
Ps 118:1b-2, 16ab-17, 28
R./ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
R./ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
"The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has struck with power."
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
R./ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.
R./ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Lk 7:36-50
A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
"If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Simon, I have something to say to you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?"
Simon said in reply,
"The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven."
He said to him, "You have judged rightly."
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The others at table said to themselves,
"Who is this who even forgives sins?"
But he said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Dear friends,
The Gospel of Herod states, “I longed to see Jesus.” This brings to mind the Greeks who asked Philip, “We want to see Jesus,” or Moses: “Show us, Lord, the glory of your face,” or as the psalmist said: “I will seek your face, Lord.” What a good desire! Unfortunately, it was corrupted in Herod by suspicion and frivolous gossip before “the miracles” that they told about Jesus. They will see each other’s faces at the time of the Passion, and Herod will not get away with his pretensions.
The viceroy Herod is seized by fear at the mere sight of the strength and power emanating from the very life of the prophets, John and Jesus. As always, the worldly power will use and instrumentalize the good fame of the prophets to its advantage. He killed John to get rid of the competition. This Herod was not the same one who ordered the death of the Innocents. He was born in the year 4 BC and died in the year 39 AD. He left his wife to be with Herodias, his brother’s wife. As before the death of Jesus, the viceroy was determined to satisfy his curiosity with one of those incredible displays that they discussed at length, regarding the Master of Nazareth. Jesus did not confront him, but stood his ground. In fact, he even called him a “fox” on one occasion. Herod’s curiosity aroused the mystery of Jesus’ identity. There were opinions to suit all tastes: whether he was the resurrected John, or Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets. The difficulty came from the dialectic between the hopes of a Messiah, political and grandiose, and the simplicity of the prophet of Nazareth. In fact, they could not get his identity right. But Jesus has taught us where to recognize him.
Today, the figure of Jesus continues to captivate the curiosity and interest of many. Two thousand years ago, a stone slab sealed the entrance to his tomb. The majority were convinced that everything had ended forever. And it is alive and well, still stirring so many lives. Many have lived and died for the love of him. The frivolous curiosity, absent-mindedness, and easy religious consumerism continue even now. The hippie or guerrilla Christ, the Gospel, the Jesus Christ Superstar, the Christ of the T-shirt, an emulator of Che Guevara. And let’s not forget the Christ and his terrible messages of certain revelations and apparitions that arouse so much magical and mystical fervor. We have it so easy. We can read, delve into, and pray the Gospel. It is the living source of God’s revelation to men. We can draw exactly the Christ sent by the Father. Everything is simple in his parables and miracles, in his Death and Resurrection. We are invited to confess him, love him, follow him, imitate him, and live and die for him.
GodgossipIntroduction
Today we hear a man who is puzzled: Qoheleth, Ecclesiastes, the preacher (the man who speaks in the assembly) in search of answers to the problems of life; he is apparently a disillusioned man; “the inspired pessimist” as he is sometimes called, but he is a believer, and there must be answers.
Herod, too, was puzzled about this man Jesus. He wanted to see this strange prophet about whom there were so many rumors. Does Jesus, do the gospel and life and our faith puzzle us? Are we in constant search of the deeper meaning of our Christian life?
Lord our God,
you came to make all things new
through Jesus Christ, your Son.
Let him question us
and let us question ourselves
whether we give him in our lives
the place he deserves.
Make him the meaning
of all we are and do,
for he is our risen Lord for ever.
– Lord, keep us always searching to understand you and our gospel better, we pray:
– Lord, let our faith be a light that makes us see the meaning of our lives, we pray:
– Lord, make us patient with those who are lax in their faith, that we may not extinguish the smoldering wick, we pray:
Lord our God,
through these offerings of bread and wine
your Son will appear in our midst
as the Lord of life.
Let him touch our hearts,
that we may fully believe in him
and that we may be alive
with the life he brought us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
God our Father,
we know Jesus, your Son:
he has spoken to us
and shared his table with us.
Make us anxious
to see and recognize him
in the events of life
and in the people around us,
that life may not be empty and vain
but ever beautiful and new
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Is everything really in vain? Is there no meaning in life? In moments of doubt and questioning, we ask ourselves perhaps this question. But then we remember we are people of faith, and our faith and our life are very meaningful. Let God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.