Great surprises awaited Mary at the presentation of her son in the temple. Several times the gospel says that Mary kept everything in her heart. When it came to her son, Mary did not understand many things. She walked her entire life in the faith that everything would turn out well, even when she saw that everyone was turning against him and against her. Her son never ceased to amaze and astonish her, from his conception to his death and resurrection. Mary did not understand all of it, but she accepted it all silently, and faithfully followed her son, near or far.
The presentation of her son in the Temple must have left both a bitter and a sweet taste in Mary’s mouth. The joy of Simeon and Anna, who had so patiently waited for this moment to see the liberator with their own eyes, must have brought joy to Mary's heart as well. The ambiguity of Simeon's prophecy, who presented himself as someone who had good and bad news, must have caused much perplexity and pain in Mary’s heart which, according to Simeon, would be pierced by a sword.
Jesus of Nazareth shook Israel and the world
Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ Luke 2:34-35
Jesus of Nazareth entered human history like a meteorite striking the ocean, making concentric circles that are felt first where it impacts and then far to the ends of the earth. The strongest impact was felt in Israel two thousand years ago, but his influence spread in time and space in such a way that it is still felt today and will be felt until the end of time, for he himself has said: ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’. (Matthew 28:20)
Such was the impact of Jesus on the world that he divided the history of mankind into two eras. Before Christ (AC) and After Christ (AD), the Year of Grace of the Lord... Christ is therefore the center of human history, because everything that happens in this world is referenced as happening before Christ or after Christ. Annoyed with this, the agnostics and atheists in the Western world have replaced AC with "before the common era" and AD with "common era".
However, if someone in the spirit of wanting to know, like children in the days when they question everything and bombard adults with questions, the people of the "common era" will have to explain what this "common era" is and why it is common, and when it began. If they are honest, which is not always the case these days, they will have to mention Christ’s name. The "common era" has Christ’s birth as its starting point. It is therefore not arbitrary or unconventional like the Fahrenheit scale for measuring temperature.
Jesus: cause of downfall or a stumbling block for many in Israel
‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ Matthew 11:4-6
The Greek word "scandal" means stumbling block. Jesus' words are harsh against the scandalous, but He himself admitted that he scandalized many people in a good way. Many were unable to digest and absorb many of his ideas; even when they were backed by many wondrous deeds. Against facts there are no arguments, the people say. However, the Jews in Jesus' time found arguments even against facts, like when they said that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Satan. Indeed, "there are none more blind than the one who doesn’t want to see”.
He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God... John 1:11-12
It is not God who judges man, but it is man who judges himself. His judgment is his reaction to Jesus Christ. If when confronted with Jesus his response is positive, he has faith and accepts His love, then he is saved and enters the kingdom of heaven. If, however, he remains still and coldly indifferent, or even actively hostile, then he is condemned, because he has condemned himself.
With regard to Jesus of Nazareth, one cannot assume a neutral position. Either we have faith in Him and surrender to Him or we are at war with Him. For many, pride will prevent them from choosing the surrender that will lead them to victory.
Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18
In Jesus' time, the Pharisees, the high priests, the rich, the abusers of power, the exploiters of the poor, stumbled upon the stone that is Jesus and thought that by removing the stone from the path, as they did by killing Jesus, they would be freed of Him. But this did not happen, for the same Jesus, in the person of his followers, became a pebble in their shoes to bother them eternally. Once he came into the world, he came to stay.
Jesus: cause of emergence, stepping stone and cornerstone for many in Israel
This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” Acts 4:11
Christ, true God and true man, is the way from God to men and from men to God. In the Bible, Jericho represents sin, so the man who fell into the hands of robbers came down from Jerusalem to Jericho, he fell from grace into sin. Jesus visits Jericho and heals Zacchaeus as he enters the city, and as he leaves, he heals the blind man Bartimaeus who joined the great multitude that was going up with Him to salvation and grace toward heavenly Jerusalem.
The Way, the Truth and the Life, Christ is the role model, the paradigm of human life. Christ, in his words, deeds and personal behavior, is normative, for he embodies 100% humanity. Whoever wants to be authentically and genuinely human, he is to compare himself to Christ and to no other. What is human is Christian, what is Christian is human, because a human ethics that is different from Christian morality does not exist.
Whoever is not with me, is against me
‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.’ Luke 9: 49-50
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters. Matthew 12: 30
These two texts seem to be at odds with each other; however, if we look from the context in which Jesus says these two opposing sentences, we will be able understand. Jesus says elsewhere that he has other sheep that are not of this fold, so it is possible that people outside the Church also do good, the so-called Anonymous Christians. Those who, by other ways and without being of our group, contribute to the building of the kingdom of God are Christians even without knowing why their attitudes are Christian or human.
The second statement is made in the context that no one goes to the Father except through me (John 14:6-14). That is, since Christ is the measure of the human and the divine, only those who resemble Him are saved, because, as he says next, whoever does not gather with me scatters, disperses, for there is no other with whom to gather. There is no equally valid alternative to Christ.
Not peace, but the sword
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me…’ Matthew 10:34-37
Love divides what was united and unites what was divided. We take as an example the classic love story of Romeo and Juliet. The families of these two lovers were visceral enemies, at war with each other. Before they met, each of the lovers lived in peace, harmony and love with their respective families.
When the spark of love arose between the two, division and discord also arose in their respective families because of the union of what was once divided. The same happens in families where some of their members decide to follow Jesus and others do not. It is in this sense that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, unwittingly, instead of bringing peace brings war and discord into the very families where before Him, love and harmony once reigned.
God's curse?
‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.’ Matthew 11:21-24
The curse of God is an anthropomorphism, that is, a way of understanding God in human terms. God is incapable of cursing; God only knows how to bless. To curse is to turn one’s back on God's blessing. Jesus did many miracles in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, for they were great cities in Jesus' time. Today only archaeological remains of these cities exist. In contrast, Nazareth and Bethlehem were small and tiny cities then, but today they are great cities.
"He who does not remember God, misses out". In his address to the people after leaving Egypt, Moses placed before the people the blessing and the curse. The blessing for those who accept God and follow his commandments, and the curse ipso facto for those who do not follow God's designs. The blessing comes from God, the curse results from the rejection of the blessing, not from God’s punishment because God does not punish.
‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate.’ Matthew 23:37-38
Jesus weeps in anger, pity, and helplessness over the ruin that was about to fall upon Jerusalem. A ruin caused by the city's own residents who could not recognize in Jesus the Messiah expected by the nations. The political and military messianism of the Jews brought them ruin, from the invasion of the Roman hosts, the destruction of the city and the temple, and the dispersion throughout the rest of the world for centuries, until the emergence of the state of Israel in 1948, by the pity and mercy of the Christian powers that won the war.
Conclusion: Christ being the measure of what is authentically and genuinely human, one cannot be neutral and indifferent to Him; indifference is already, in itself, a rejection.
Fr. Jorge Amaro, IMC