Memory of Jesus crucified

Memorial of Saint Anthony the Abbot (+356). He followed the Lord into the Egyptian desert and was father of many monks. A day of reflection on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Hebrews 4,1-5.11

Let us beware, then: since the promise never lapses, none of you must think that he has come too late for the promise of entering his place of rest. We received the gospel exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who did listen. We, however, who have faith, are entering a place of rest, as in the text: And then in my anger I swore that they would never enter my place of rest. Now God's work was all finished at the beginning of the world; as one text says, referring to the seventh day: And God rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. And, again, the passage above says: They will never reach my place of rest. Let us, then, press forward to enter this place of rest, or some of you might copy this example of refusal to believe and be lost.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The temptation that Christians face, and about which the author of the Letter wants to warn us, is similar to the temptation faced by the Israelites who had reached the border of Canaan, that is, the temptation to stay behind and not enter the promised land, the temptation to withdraw from God's love and refuse to be enveloped in God's embrace. And yet this is precisely the good news the Lord came to give humanity. And in the new time begun by Jesus, all of this is even clearer: he came to earth to love us; he not only takes nothing away from us, but gives us everything. Jesus too, we could say, does not "stay behind;" indeed he descended to the point of giving his very life for us. Instead, we are the ones who are tempted not to "enter his rest." Many times we are afraid of letting the Lord embrace us, letting him love us and we prefer the sadness of being alone. The author calls "disobedience" this behaviour by which we prefer ourselves to the rest God proposes to us. This is why Jesus comes towards us and says to us: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28). The Church, the community of brothers and sisters, is already living in the day of "rest," the "seventh day," in which God reigns over everyone with love. The author is right to urge believers to strive to enter this rest, "Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs."