#dailygospel

The gospel of Mark relates that in the time of Jesus, the arrival of the Messiah and the day of judgment were associated with an ancient prophecy about Elijah, who is said to have not died but was taken to heaven: "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes" Malachi 4:5. And while Jesus was developing his ministry in Galilee, the gospel of Mark relates that his disciples, moved by the teachings of the Pharisees and the doctors of the law, asked him about the return of this mysterious prophet. And so Jesus taught his disciples that the prophecies of the Old Testament should not be interpreted literally but in a figurative sense. Jesus identified the prophet Elijah with the figure of John the Baptist without saying it openly. The Kingdom of Heaven, the dominion or empire of God's perfections, was coming to fulfillment with Jesus, and all the prophecies were coming true. And with these words, Jesus remembered the life of John the Baptist, who baptized with water in the Jordan for the forgiveness of sins: "And they asked him, ´Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?´ Jesus replied, ´To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him´" Mark 9:11-13. This teaching of Jesus is a reminder of an important sapiential teaching: "My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials" Ben Sira 2:1. In a world given over to sin, those who wish to serve God must be prepared for the contempt of those who love the things of the world.

The gospel of Luke relates that Jesus during his final journey to Jerusalem, where he would conclude his physical life in the world, gave important teachings about the Kingdom of God, the dominion or empire of God's perfections, and its promises. And in one of these teachings where Jesus demonstrated his wisdom, the divine teacher explained that whoever loves the things of the world, such as money, or honors cannot follow the path of God. In explaining this, Jesus returned to the teachings of the sapiential books, like the Book of Proverbs or the Book of Psalms, that explain that men must choose between two paths, righteousness and sin. With these words, Jesus explained that men have to choose between two forms of love, the love of money or the love of God (Agape): "´No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.´" Luke 16:13. But Jesus also had enemies, many Pharisees and doctors of the law, were against him because of his teachings where he questioned them for their falsehood and for promoting oppression in society. That is why Jesus insisted that God judges hearts and those who follow the path of error are reproved by the creator and his wisdom: "The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. Then he said to them, ´You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.´" Luke 16:14-15. The message of the Lord Jesus was essentially a call to conversion and repentance, and to seek the true goods such as mercy (compassion, kindness, gentleness) and righteousness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, according to the gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus not only taught the path to the true happiness, but also exposed the heresies, that is, the teachings of error, that distance man from the path of beatitude. Lies, deception, masks, and oppression were installed in society in Jesus' time, and constituted the main force of opposition to this Kingdom, this dominion of empire of God's perfections, that was beginning to manifest itself in the figure of Jesus. And among these heresies that were opposed to the kingdom, Jesus mentioned a particularly important one, the law of retaliation, which many considered a form of justice: "You have heard that it was said, ´Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.´" Matthew 5:38. For Jesus the law of retaliation was simply an expression of rigor or revenge, that is why Jesus opposed to this heresy, the path of mercy (compassion, kindness, gentleness), of perseverance, and the spiritual love (Agape). The spiritual gifts are progressive thinking, that is way, the gifts are also precision and accuracy, condition of truth, and when the truth is not enough, the gifts are life ("I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6). To love like Jesus loved means taking his love and his gifts to the ultimate consequences, that is why Jesus pointed out the path that those who want to follow his example should seek with these words: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" Matthew 5:39-42.

The gospel of John tells us one of the most mysterious moments in the life of the Lord Jesus, his meeting at night with the Pharisee Nicodemus; and this was probably because Nicodemus had a very relevant social position and did not want to be known as a disciple of Jesus. This is how the Gospel of John relates the beginning of this spiritual encounter: "Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ´Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him´" John 3:1-2. Nicodemus had heard about Jesus and most likely out of spiritual curiosity, he wanted to know the Lord. And in this meeting at night Jesus and Nicodemus spoke about a very special topic, the gnosis, the spiritual rebirth, the birth in fire and the spirit. And so it was that Jesus spoke to him about the need to perceive divine realities through the grace: "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" John 3:3. But Nicodemus responded to this as a carnal or natural man: "´How can someone be born when they are old?´ Nicodemus asked. ´Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!´" John 3:4. This misunderstanding of Nicodemus about Gnosis is a demonstration that the carnal mentality and the spiritual mentality are two completely different mentalities. Man cannot reach God and enter his kingdom through worldly needs, such as power, money or lust. That's why Jesus responded: "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" John 3:6. Sometime later and in another of his teachings, the parable of the sower, Jesus would explain the path to this new birth is the fear of God (constancy, firmness, devotion, equanimity).

The gospel of Saint Matthew recounts one of the most difficult tests of Jesus, he was taken by the spirit to the desert where he fasted and was hungry, and there the tempter, personified in the figure of Satan, tested his wisdom and spiritual determination. The desert in the Bible is considered a hostile place where life is difficult and lonely, a place of testing; and there Jesus confirmed that his path was not the search for power and riches, like Caesar or Alexander the Great, but rather that his path consisted of the search of humility and forgiveness to those most in need. With Jesus, the history of the world would never be the same. Jesus rejected the tempter's offer, something most ordinary people would not have refused, and with this test, Jesus was able to dominate concupiscence, that is, the inclination of the soul to sin, and to overcome with the forces of the spirit the needs of the flesh. This is how the gospel of Saint describes the temptation of Christ in the desert: "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ´If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.´ Jesus answered, ´It is written: ´Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.´ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ´If you are the Son of God,´ he said, ´throw yourself down. For it is written: ´He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.´ Jesus answered him, ´It is also written: ´Do not put the Lord your God to the test.´´ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdom of the world and their splendor. ´All this I will give you,´ he said, ´if you will bow down and worship me.´ Jesus said to him, ´Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ´Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.´ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him" Matthew 4:1-11.

The evangelist Luke wrote about the death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and recounted a very special moment, the dialogue of Lord Jesus with two thieves. And Luke told that moment with a very special intention, to demonstrate that the love of God (Agape) is always willing to forgive those who fear him from the heart, even when repentance is at the last moment of life. Because as the apostle Paul taught, God's love is unconditional, full of mercy (kindness, gentleness), and does not take evil into account: "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" 1 Corinthians 13:6-8. The gospel of Luke tells that Jesus was crucified in a place called the Skull, and that there the high priests and scribes mocked Jesus, telling him to save himself; and while one of the thieves also mocked Jesus, the other fearfully asked that Jesus receive him into his Kingdom and Jesus promised him so. With this, it could be said that the good thief achieved sainthood at the last moment of his life, and so it was. With these words, the Gospel of Luke tells the last moments of Jesus on the cross with the thieves: "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ´Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!´ But the other criminal rebuked him. ´Don't you fear God,´ he said, ´since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.´ Then he said, ´Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.´ Jesus answered him, ´Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:39-43.

The evangelist Luke recounts in his gospel a very special moment in the life of the child Jesus, his meeting with the doctors of the law in the temple of Jerusalem. The gospel of Luke relates that our Lord Jesus in his infancy was a child full of the spiritual gifts of wisdom, understanding, and discernment: "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him" Luke 2:40. These gifts are generally not present in children but rather in adults filled with the spirit, but in Jesus this was different because Jesus, the gospels tell, was the "son of man", that is, the personification of the perfections of God. With this simple story, Luke anticipated the public life of Jesus and his spiritual mission, to redeem the common and simple people from the oppression of deceit and error. For this reason, the main enemies of Jesus would be the priests and doctors of the law who had reduced religion and spirituality to a game of masks and appearances. This is how the gospel tells how child Jesus was found after three days of searching by his parents who had lost him after the celebration of Passover in Jerusalem: "After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, ´Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.´ ´Why were you searching for me?´ he asked. ´Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?´ But they did not understand what he was saying to them" Luke 2:46-50.

The Gospel of Luke tells us how Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man with a good social position, buried Jesus after his death and crucifixion. Joseph of Arimathea is described in the gospels as a man who feared God, rich in mercy, and who awaited the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Most likely this believer has been a secret disciple of Jesus and for fear of the high priests, he was not shown in public with Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea showed great courage, at a time when the people closest to Jesus, the eleven remaining disciples, were scattered and scared. Joseph of Arimathea is an example for all Christians of what holiness and the commandment of love mean; Joseph of Arimathea is in the last moments of Jesus and after his death the counterpart to Judas Iscariot, the traitor; the gospels in this way show us the opposition between grace and sin. The Gospel of John is more precise in the description of the burial of Jesus, and tells us that Joseph of Arimathea went to ask the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, for the body of Jesus, and that once the Romans handed him over, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took it upon themselves to put some fabrics along with Myrrh and Aloe that were used according to Jewish custom. With these words, the Gospel of Luke tells us about the burial of Jesus: "Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin" Luke 23:50-54.