Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 54.3
«Why are you looking for Me?»
«To follow You, if You will allow us, because You have words of truth.»
«Follow Me? But do you know where I am going?»
«No, Master, but certainly to glory.»
«Yes. But not to a glory of this world. I am going to a glory which is in Heaven and is conquered by virtue and sacrifice.»
GRM 54.5
I want to be called the Son of man because I lower Myself taking upon Myself all the miseries of man, to bear them as My first scaffold, and cancel them, after bearing them, without suffering from them Myself. What a burden, My friends! But I bear it with joy. It is a joy for Me to bear it, because, since I am the Son of mankind, I will make mankind once again the child of God.
GRM 54.5
«Oh! My friends! And who is perfect but God?»
«You are!»
«I solemnly tell you that I am not perfect by Myself, if you think I am prophet. No man is perfect. But I am perfect because He Who is speaking to you is the Word of the Father: part of God. His thought that becomes Word. I have Perfection in Myself. And you must believe Me to be such if you believe that I am the Word of the Father. And yet, see, My friends, I want to be called the Son of man because I lower Myself taking upon Myself all the miseries of man, to bear them as My first scaffold, and cancel them, after bearing them, without suffering from them Myself. What a burden, My friends! But I bear it with joy. It is a joy for Me to bear it, because, since I am the Son of mankind, I will make mankind once again the child of God. As it was on the first day.»
Being a part of God, his Thought made Word, I have perfection in me. In a note to the second edition, it is written: "part is not to be understood as "portion" but as "belonging". Unlike man, who belongs to God not by nature, but by likeness (note 167.9), Jesus belongs to God by nature: in other words, he is God like the Father (he will say in 487.4: "I am his, both part and all with him"). This is why his perfection does not lie in the fact that he is a prophet (as he said above), but that he is God-Man. The human part of the God-Man was exhaustively completed by his victory over temptation (as he himself will say in 80.10 and as is clear from the end of the note to 174.9). Jesus' discourses in chapters 487 and 506 on the two natures, divine and human, are fundamental.
Son of man is the most frequent title given to Jesus and by Jesus to himself. Its general meaning is given in 343.4; but its messianic meaning is found here as well as, for example, in 126.3 and 603.1.
GRM 54.6
We need one another in this world, the good are mixed with the wicked, just like flowers in a field. Hemlock grows beside the salutary mallow.
GRM 54.7
54.7 «I would like to ask one thing…»
«What, Andrew?»
«John told me about the miracle You performed at Cana… We were hoping so much that You would perform one at Capernaum… and You said that You would not perform any miracles before fulfilling the Law. Why Cana then? And why here and not in Your own fatherland?»
«To obey the Law is to be united to God and that increases our capabilities. A miracle is the proof of the union with God, as well as of God’s benevolent and assenting presence. That is why I wanted to perform My duty as an Israelite, before starting the series of miracles.»
«But You were not bound to fulfil the Law.»
«Why? As the Son of God, I was not. But as a son of the Law, yes, I was. For the time being, Israel knows Me only as such… and, even later, almost everyone in Israel will know Me as such, in fact, even less. But I do not want to scandalise Israel and therefore I obey the Law.»
«You are holy.»
«Holiness does not bar obedience. On the contrary, it makes obedience perfect. Besides everything else, there is a good example to be given. What would you say of a father, of an elder brother, of a teacher, of a priest who did not give good examples?»
«And what about Cana?»
«Cana was to make My Mother happy. Cana is the advance due to My Mother. She anticipates Grace. Here I honour the Holy City, making her, in public, the starting point of My power as Messiah. But there, at Cana, I paid honour to the Holy Mother of God, Full of Grace. The world received Me through Her. It is only fair that My first miracle in the world should be for Her.»
GRM 54.7
To obey the Law is to be united to God and that increases our capabilities.
GRM 54.7
«Holiness does not bar obedience. On the contrary, it makes obedience perfect. Besides everything else, there is a good example to be given. What would you say of a father, of an elder brother, of a teacher, of a priest who did not give good examples?»
GRM 54.7
«I would like to ask one thing…»
«What, Andrew?»
«John told me about the miracle You performed at Cana… We were hoping so much that You would perform one at Capernaum… and You said that You would not perform any miracles before fulfilling the Law. Why Cana then? And why here and not in Your own fatherland?»
«To obey the Law is to be united to God and that increases our capabilities. A miracle is the proof of the union with God, as well as of God’s benevolent and assenting presence. That is why I wanted to perform My duty as an Israelite, before starting the series of miracles.»
«But You were not bound to fulfil the Law.»
«Why? As the Son of God, I was not. But as a son of the Law, yes, I was. For the time being, Israel knows Me only as such… and, even later, almost everyone in Israel will know Me as such, in fact, even less. But I do not want to scandalise Israel and therefore I obey the Law.»
«You are holy.»
«Holiness does not bar obedience. On the contrary, it makes obedience perfect. Besides everything else, there is a good example to be given. What would you say of a father, of an elder brother, of a teacher, of a priest who did not give good examples?»
«And what about Cana?»
«Cana was to make My Mother happy. Cana is the advance due to My Mother. She anticipates Grace. Here I honour the Holy City, making her, in public, the starting point of My power as Messiah. But there, at Cana, I paid honour to the Holy Mother of God, Full of Grace. The world received Me through Her. It is only fair that My first miracle in the world should be for Her.»
GRM 54.8
Blessed are those who are sincere and persistent in their will. You are all blessed. You are more than relatives to Me, because you are My children and My brothers, not according to the blood, that dies, but according to the will of God and to your spiritual wishes. Now I tell you that I have no closer relative than those who do the will of My Father, and you do it, because you want what is good.»
The vision ends in this way.
GRM 55.1-2
«It is a long way, it is a dark night, the Roman patrols are around the town. I say: stay with us, if you wish.»
«Oh! Master!» Thomas is happy.
«Make room for him. And each of us will give something to our brother.» Jesus gives him the portion of cheese He had in front of Him. He explains to Thomas: «We are poor and our supper is almost over. But there is so much heart in those who offer.» And He says to John who is sitting beside Him: «Give your seat to our friend.»
John gets up at once and sits down at the end of the table near the landlord.
«Sit down, Thomas, and eat.»
55.2 And then He says to them all: «You will always behave like that, My friends, according to the law of charity. A pilgrim is already protected by the law of God. But now, in My name, you must love him even more. When anyone asks you for some bread, a drop of water or a shelter in the name of God, you must give it in the same name. And you will receive your reward from God. You must behave so with everybody. Even with your enemies. And that is the new Law. Up until now you were told:
“Love those who love you and hate your enemies”. I say: “Love also those who hate you”. Oh! if you only knew how much you will be loved by God, if you love as I am telling you! And when anyone says: “I want to be your companion in serving the true Lord God and following His Lamb”, then he must be dearer to you than a brother by blood, because you will be joined by an eternal bond: the bond of Christ.»
«But if someone comes who is not sincere? It is easy to say: “I want to do this or that”. But words do not always correspond to the truth» says Peter, rather irritated. I do not know why, but he is not in his usual jovial mood.
«Peter, listen. What you say is sensible and fair. But, see: it is better to exceed in bounty and trust rather than exceed in distrust and hardness. If you help an undeserving person, what harm will befall you? None. In fact, God’s reward will always be active for you, whereas the person will be guilty of betraying your trust.»
«No harm? Eh! Very often a worthless person is not satisfied with ingratitude, but goes much further, even to the extreme of ruining one’s reputation, wealth and one’s very life.»
«True. But would that diminish your merit? No, it would not. Even if the whole world should believe in slander, even if you became poorer than Job, even if the cruel person should take your life, what would change in the eyes of God? Nothing. Or rather, something would change. But to your advantage. God, to the merits of your bounty, would add the merits of your intellectual, financial, physical martyrdom.»
«Alright! Perhaps it is so.» Peter does not speak any more. He sulkily rests his head on his hand.
Jesus addresses Thomas, then gives a lesson on hospitality.