Based on a chapter called the Final Judgement in Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini’ s book “Piccolo Manuale della Speranza – Vivere con Fiducia il Nostro Tempo” [A Small manual of Hope – Living our lives in Trust]. Giunti Editore S.p.A. Milano, 2012.
All biblical quotations are from ‘The Jerusalem Bible’, Darton, Longman & Todd, London, 1966.
We have tried to explain with simple words that the word Gospel refers to the divine salvation initiative: God reaches out to us offering us his mercy and his power (the power of God is not the power as we understand it, but that is for another time).
Now we must highlight an important aspect that we find in the opening words of Mark’s Gospel: “The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ”.
The Gospel that we are and will continue to base our reflections on is about the good news regarding Jesus Christ, that forms part of his life, his death, and his resurrection.
This is the starting point of the Christian message: If the Gospel is the good news that God is reaching out to us, the specific Christian Gospel is the good news that God is reaching out to us offering his mercy and power through Jesus Christ.
But what does this mean? It is a formula that may appear abstract and repetitive. However, it means that God has shown Himself to us, and still manifests Himself to us today, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
How Jesus lived, the way he died, and his resurrection reveal God’s interest in us. They show that God loves us, and they make clear to each of one of us God’s salvation.
This Gospel’s power, which is in Jesus’ resurrection, reaches every man and woman. It reaches those that are open to receive God’s salvation offered to us through Jesus. What Mark describes– “Repent and believe the Good News” -happens to us when we open up to receive the offered salvation: we experience conversion.
The word “conversion” may frighten some of us, as it may makes us think about the great changes experienced by saints that had astonishing effects on their lives.
In realty the experience we are called to make and that we call conversion is simply “a turning point”, a change in direction. In those who listen, the Gospel marks a turning point, a change in the way of thinking, a change of perspective.
From where does this change start off? We find the starting point in Mark (7,21) *, where we find a list of all the bad things that are found in the heart of man: “From it is from within, from men’s heart, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.”
Conversion starts from this life situation, closed, self-centred. We are only capable of thinking only about our needs, and eventually yearning to gain all attention to ourselves and to be above all others, we arrive at a point where we crush others, even while we verbally profess good faith. This is where Christian conversion begins.
Where does conversion take us? It leads us towards that which we can express from a statement made by Jesus and found in Luke (6,27)* “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse him your tunic.”
We can easily see the enormous gap that there is between the starting point and the point of arrival. Many ask whether they could go through such a huge and difficult change successfully. Nevertheless, we need to bear in mind that it is not our heroic effort to undergo the change that matters. Rather it is the Gospel, the power of God, that change our hearts. So, each one of us is invited to ask the question: currently, what do I want to change in myself? And what can I ask God for, so that he can change my heart?
It might help us to repeat and to make ours, extracts from the prayer in psalm 32[31], that describe the joy of one who has experienced change:
Happy is the man whose fault is forgiven,
whose sin is blotted out;
happy the man whom Yahweh
accuses of no guilt,
whose spirit is incapable of deceit!
At last I admitted to you I had sinned;
no longer concealing my guilt,
I said, ‘I will go to Yahweh
and confess my fault’.
and you, you have forgiven the wrong that I did,
have pardoned my sin.
You are a hiding place for me,
you guard me when in trouble,
you surround me with songs of deliverance.
Rejoice in Yahweh,
exult, you virtuous,shout for joy, all upright hearts.
Mk 7,21 means Mark, chapter 7, line 21.
** There are 150 psalms, numbered from 1 to 150. Regrettably, the Jewish and Christians numbering systems differ from psalm 9 onwards. This is because some psalms are merged in one system and not in the other. That is why you will see 2 numbers for each quoted psalm with a number higher than 9.