Healing wounds<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
What Jesus was doing left the Baptist perplexed.<\/b>\u00a0 He was expecting a Messiah who would eradicate sin from the world and impose God\u2019s rigorous judgment, not a Messiah dedicated to healing wounds and alleviating suffering.\u00a0 From the prison of Machaerus he sends a message to Jesus: \u00a0\u201cAre you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus gives him as an answer his life as a healing prophet:<\/b>\u00a0 \u201cGo and tell John what you hear and see:
\nthe blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.\u201d\u00a0 This is the true Messiah: \u00a0the one who comes to alleviate suffering, heal life and open a horizon of hope to the poor.<\/p>\n
Jesus feels he is sent by a merciful Father who wants a more dignified and happy world for everyone.\u00a0 That is why he devotes himself to healing wounds, curing illness and liberating life.<\/b>\u00a0 And hence, he asks everyone:\u00a0 \u201cBe merciful as your Father is merciful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus does not see himself as someone sent by a harsh Judge to sentence sinners and condemn the world.<\/b>\u00a0 Hence, he does not frighten anyone with gestures of vindictiveness, but offers sinners and prostitutes his friendship and forgiveness.\u00a0 And that is why he asks us all: \u201cStop judging, that you may not be judged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus never heals in an arbitrary way or just to amaze.<\/b>\u00a0 He heals moved by compassion, seeking to restore life for those sick, dejected and broken people.\u00a0 They are the first ones who should experience that God is a friend who advocates for a life of dignity and wholeness.<\/p>\n
Jesus never insisted on the wondrous quality of his cures, nor does he think of them as easy prescription to eliminate suffering in the world.\u00a0 He presented his healing activity as a sign to show his followers the direction their action should take in order to open up paths to that humanizing project of the Father, which he named \u201ckingdom of God.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Pope Francis affirms that \u201cto heal wounds\u201d is an urgent task:\u00a0 \u201cI see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity \u2026.\u00a0 Heal the wounds, heal the wounds \u2026 [is] to start from the ground up.\u201d\u00a0 He then speaks of taking \u201cresponsibility for the people,\u201d accompanying \u201cthem like the good Samaritan who washes, cleans and raises up\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He also speaks of walking \u201cthrough the dark night with\u201dpeople, knowing \u201chow to dialogue and to descend \u2026 into their people\u2019s night, into the darkness, but without getting lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he entrusts his mission to his disciples, Jesus doesn\u2019t imagine them as people with doctorate and position in the hierarchy, as liturgists or theologians, but rather as healers.\u00a0 Their task will be two-fold: \u00a0to announce that God\u2019s kingdom is at hand and to heal the sick.<\/b><\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 Antonio Pagola<\/b><\/p>\n
December 15, 2013
\n3 Advent (A)
\nMatthew 11, 2-11<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"