The message
behind the risen Jesus’ encounter with his disciples near the Sea of Galilee is
beautiful a clear: only the presence of the risen Jesus can make the
evangelizing work of his disciples effective. The story describes for us, in
the first place, the work that the disciples are doing in the middle of the
night. It all starts with Simon Peter’s decision: I am going fishing. The other
disciples join him: We also will come with you. They are all together once
again, but Jesus is missing. They go out fishing, but they do not embark
listening to Jesus’ call, but following rather Simon Peter’s initiative. The
narrator makes it clear that this work is carried out at night and ends up
fruitless: that night they caught nothing. In the language of the evangelist,
night means the absence of Jesus who is the Light. Without the presence of the
risen Jesus, without his encouragement and his guiding word, there is no
fruitful evangelization. When dawn comes, Jesus appears. From the shore, he
communicates with his friends by means of his Word. The disciples do not know
it is Jesus, and they will only recognize him when they obediently follow his
directions and come up with a surprising catch. Such a thing can only be due to
Jesus, the Prophet who one day called them to be “fishers of men.” Today our parishes
and Christian communities are in critical situation. Do we need to continue
doubling our efforts and seeking the yield at any cost, or do we need to take a
pause to cherish the living presence of the Risen One in our work? In order to
spread the Good News of Jesus and work efficiently with him in his project,
what is important is not to do “a whole of things,” but to take better care of
the human and Gospel-based quality of what we are doing. What is decisive is
not activism but the witness of life that we Christians can radiate, and our
conversation time with Him. We cannot remain on the surface. These are times to
take care of what is essential, before anything else. We fill our communities
with words, texts, writings, but what is decisive is that Jesus is listened to
among us. We hold many meetings and plans and projects and capital campaigns,
but what is most important is that which brings us together for the celebration
of the Lord’s Supper. Only in Him does our strength to evangelize find authentic,
real nourishment. As our Holy Father says: «The primary reason for
evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of
salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him. What kind of love would
not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known?
If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray
insistently that he will once more touch our hearts. We need to implore his
grace daily, asking him to open our cold hearts and shake up our lukewarm and
superficial existence. Standing before him with open hearts, letting him look
at us, we see that gaze of love which Nathaniel glimpsed on the day when Jesus
said to him: “I saw you under the fig tree”[1].
How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed
Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he
once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life! What then
happens is that “we speak of what we have seen and heard”[2].
The best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with
love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart. If we approach it
in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us. But if this is to
come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to
realize ever anew that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us
more human and helps us to lead a new life. There is nothing more precious
which we can give to others»[3]
• AE
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario