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Master·evangeli.net

Today's Gospel + short theological explanation

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
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Gospel text (Mt 15:29-37): Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd (…)."

The Incarnation of the Son of God for our salvation

EDITORIAL TEAM evangeli.net (based on texts by Benedict XVI) (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)

Today, this panorama of healings (a sign of salvation!) challenges the dispute about Jesus messianism: did He actually redeem Israel? His mission, the way He lived it, doesn’t surely fulfill men’s expectations of an immediate messianic salvation, as they felt oppressed not so much because of their sins, but because of the poverty of their existence.

St. Joseph was commanded to give a name to the child; the same name also announced to Maria by the angel: “Jesus”, which means “God is salvation”. The angel who talked to Joseph in a dream enlightens the meaning of this salvation: “He will save His people from their sins.”

- When man disrupts his first and essential relationship – the one with God – then there is nothing left that can be truly well-ordered. Jesus wants to show to man the nucleus of his wickedness and make him understand: if you are not healed of “this”, despite all the good things you can find, you’ll never be really healed.