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Notes for this theme

The Pentateuch

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GRM 38.3-5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

38.3 Jesus is playing under the trees with two children who are about His own age. They have curly hair, but they are not blond. One, on the contrary, is very dark: a little head of a little black lamb which makes the skin of his little round face look even whiter, and two most beautiful large, wide open blue violet eyes. The other is less curly and his hair is dark brown, his eyes are brown and his complexion darker, but with a pinkish hue on his cheeks. Jesus’ little blond head looks like a blaze of light. They are playing in perfect harmony with some little carts on which there are… various articles: leaves, little stones, wood shavings, little pieces of wood. They must be playing at shops, and Jesus is the one who buys things for His Mummy, to Whom He takes now one thing, then another one. Mary accepts all the purchases with a smile.

Then the game changes. One of the two children proposes: «Let us play at the Exodus from Egypt. Jesus will be Moses, I will be Aaron, and you… Mary.»

«But I am a boy!»

«It does not matter. It’s just the same. You are Mary, and you shall dance before the golden calf, and the golden calf is that beehive over there.»

«I’m not going to dance. I am a man and I do not want to be a woman. I am a faithful believer and I am not going to dance before an idol.»

Jesus interrupts them: «Don’t let us play that part. Let us play this other one: when Joshua is elected Moses’ successor. So there will be no terrible sin of idolatry and Judas will be happy to be a man and My successor. Are you happy?»

«Yes I am, Jesus. But then You will have to die, because Moses dies afterwards. But I do not want You to die; You have always been so fond of me.»

«Everybody dies… but before dying I shall bless Israel, and since you are the only ones here, I shall bless the whole of Israel in you.»

They agree. Then there is an argument: whether the people of Israel, after so much travelling, still had the same carts they had when leaving Egypt. There is a difference of opinion.

They ask Mary. «Mummy, I say that the Israelites still had the carts. James says they didn’t. Judas does not know who is right. Do you know?»

«Yes, My Son. The nomadic people still had their carts. They repaired them when they stopped to rest. The weaker people travelled in them together with the foodstuffs, and the many things which were necessary for so many people were loaded into them. With the exception of the Ark, which was carried by hand, everything else was on the carts.» The question is now solved.

38.4 The children go down to the bottom of the orchard and from there, singing psalms, they come towards the house. Jesus is in front and He is singing some psalms in His gentle silvery voice. Behind Him, there come Judas and James holding a little cart which has been elevated to the rank of Tabernacle. But since they have also to play the part of the people, in addition to Aaron’s and Joshua’s, with their belts they have tied other miniature carts to their feet, and thus they proceed very seriously as if they were real actors.

They cover the whole length of the pergola, they pass in front of the door of Mary’s room and Jesus says: «Mummy, hail the Ark when it passes by.» Mary stands up smiling, and She bows to Her Son Who passes by, radiant in the bright sunshine.

Then Jesus clambers up the side of the mountain that forms the boundary of the house, or rather of the garden; He stands up straight on top of the little grotto, and speaks to… Israel. He repeats the orders and the promises of God, He appoints Joshua as the leader, calls him, and then Judas in his turn climbs up the cliff. He encourages and blesses him. He then asks for a… tablet (it is a large fig leaf) and He writes the canticle and reads it. It is not quite complete, but contains a large part of it, and He seems to be reading it from the leaf. He then dismisses Joshua who embraces Him crying, and He then climbs further up, right up to the edge of the cliff. And from there He blesses the whole of Israel, that is the two who are prostrated on the ground, He then lies down on the short grass, closes His eyes and… dies.

38.5 Mary, who has been watching from the doorstep smiling, when She sees Him lying still on the ground shouts: «Jesus, Jesus! Get up! Don’t lie down like that! Your Mummy does not want to see You dead!»

Jesus gets up smiling, runs towards Her, and kisses Her. Also James and Judas come. They also receive Mary’s caresses.

«How can Jesus remember that canticle which is so long and difficult and all those blessings?» asks James.

Mary smiles and answers: «His memory is very good and He pays a lot of attention when I read.»

«I too, at school, pay attention. But then I get sleepy with all the hubbub… shall I never learn then?»

«You will learn, be good.»

Detail

Jude, James and Jesus play in the garden of Nazareth as children. Mary is present.

Annotation

Book of Numbers, 27, 12-23: The Lord said to Moses: "Go up to Mount Abarim and see the land I have given to the children of Israel. You will look at it, and then you too will be reunited with your people, just as your brother Aaron was. Indeed, you rebelled against my word in the desert of Cine, when the community sought to quarrel with me, when the gushing water should have manifested my holiness in their eyes. This happened at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, the waters of the Kadesh quarrel, in the desert of Cine. Then Moses spoke to the Lord. He said: "May the Lord, God of the spirits that animate every being of flesh, establish at the head of the community a man who goes out into the field and comes back at their head, who brings them out and brings them in. So the community of the Lord will not be like small cattle without a shepherd." The Lord said to Moses: "Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man inhabited by the spirit. Lay your hand on him, then set him before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and give him your orders before their eyes. You will put in him a part of your radiance so that the whole community of the sons of Israel will listen to him. He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will submit him to the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word, all the sons of Israel will go out; at his word, they will return, he and all the sons of Israel with him, the whole community.

Book of Deutoronomy 34: Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dane, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean, the Negev, the region of the Jordan, the valley of Jericho, the city of Palms, as far as Soar. The Lord said to him: "This land you see, I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give it to their descendants. I show it to you, but you shall not enter it." Moses, the Lord's servant, died there, in the land of Moab, according to the Lord's word. He was buried in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Moab. But even today, no one knows where his tomb lies. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eyesight had not failed, nor had his vitality diminished. The sons of Israel mourned for Moses on the steppes of Moab for thirty days. The days of Moses' mourning came to an end. Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. A prophet like Moses, whom the Lord met face to face, never again arose in Israel. What signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to perform in Egypt, before Pharaoh, all his servants and all his land! With what a mighty hand, what a formidable power, Moses had acted in the eyes of all Israel!

GRM 41.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Do you not remember the star that was seen by the Wise Men from the East, which stopped over the sky in Bethlehem of Judah and that the prophecies and the visions, from Jacob onwards, indicate that place as the one destined as the birthplace of the Messiah, son of the son of Jacob’s son, through David who was from Bethlehem? Do you not remember Balaam? ‘A Star will be born of Jacob’. The Wise Men from the East, whose purity and faith opened their eyes and ears, saw the Star and understood its Name: ‘Messiah’, and they came to worship the Light that had descended into the world.

Annotation

Book of Numbers, 24, 17

Nbr 24, 17: This hero, I see him - but not for now - I catch a glimpse of him - but not up close: A star rises from Jacob, a scepter rises from Israel.

GRM 41.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

41.5 Shammai, glaring at Him: «Do you mean that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem-Ephrathah at the time of the Star?»

Jesus: «I do.»

Shammai: «Then he no longer exists. Don’t you know, Child, that Herod had all the born of woman, from one day up to the age of two years, slaughtered in Bethlehem and surrondings? You, Who are so wise in the Scriptures, must also know this: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah… it is Rachel weeping for her children’. The valleys and the hills in Bethlehem, which gathered the tears of the dying Rachel, were left full of tears, and the mothers have wept again on their slaughtered children. Amongst them, there certainly was the Mother of the Messiah.»

Jesus: «You are wrong, old man. The weeping of Rachel turned into a hosanna, because there, where she gave birth to ‘the son of her sorrow’, the new Rachel has given the world the Benjamin of the Heavenly Father, the Son of His right hand, Him Who is destined to gather the people of God under His sceptre and free it from the most dreadful slavery.»

Shammai: «How can that be, if He was killed?»

Jesus: «Have you not read about Elijah? He was carried off by the chariot of fire. And could the Lord God not have saved his Emmanuel so that He might be the Messiah of his people? He, Who parted the sea in front of Moses, that Israel might walk on dry ground towards its land, could He not have sent His angels to save His Son, His Christ, from the ferocity of man? I solemnly tell you: the Christ is alive and is amongst you, and when His hour comes, He will show Himself in His power.» Jesus, in saying these words, which I have underlined, has a sharp sound in His voice which fills the air. His eyes are brighter than ever, and with the gesture of command and promise He stretches out His right arm and hand and lowers them as if He were swearing. He is a boy, but is as solemn as a man.

Annotation

Jeremiah 31:15: "Thus says the Lord: A cry goes up in Ramah, a lamentation and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her sons; she refuses to be comforted, for her sons are no more."

Book of Exodus 14, 21-22: Moses stretched out his arm over the sea. The Lord drove out the sea all night with a strong east wind; he dried up the sea, and the waters parted. The sons of Israel entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall on their right and left,

Second Book of Kings, 2, 11-12: They were walking and talking when a chariot of fire, with horses of fire, separated them. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a hurricane. Elisha saw him and cried out: "My father!... My father! Chariot of Israel and his horsemen!" Then he stopped seeing him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.

GRM 46.6-9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

46.6 But what a fool I am! You are hungry and I am talking to You of women. Your energy is exhausted. That is why that fragrance of the earth, that flower of creation, the fruit that gives and excites love, seems without any value to You. But look at these stones. How round and smooth they look, gilded by the setting sun! Don’t they look like loaves? Since You are the Son of God, all You have to say is: “I want” and they will become sweet-smelling bread,just like the loaves housewives are now taking out of their ovens, for the supper of their families. And these arid acacias, if You only wish so, will they not be filled with sweet fruit and dates as sweet as honey? Eat Your fill, Son of God. You are the Master of the earth. The earth is bowing down to put itself at Your feet and appease Your hunger.

Don’t You see that You are turning pale and unsteady at the mention of bread. Poor Jesus! Are You so weak that You cannot even perform a miracle? Shall I perform it for You? I am not Your equal, but I can do something. I will do without any strength for a whole year, I will gather it altogether, but I want to serve You because You are good, and I always remember that You are my God, even if now I have forfeited calling You so. Help me with Your prayers, that I may…»

«Be quiet! “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.»

The devil starts with anger. He grinds his teeth and clenches his fists. But he controls himself and turns his grinding into a smile.

«I understand. You are above the necessities of the earth and You are disgusted at making use of me. I deserved it.

46.7 But come, then, and see what there is in the House of God. You will see how even priests do not refuse to come to a compromise between the spirit and the flesh. After all, they are men and not angels. Work a spiritual miracle. I will take You up to the pinnacle of the Temple and You will undergo a transfiguration and become most handsome. You will then call the cohorts of angels and will tell them to form a footrest for Your feet with their interlaced wings, and to let You down, thus, into the main yard. So that people may see You, and remember that God exists. One must show oneself now and again, because man’s memory is so weak, especially with regard to spiritual matters. You can imagine how happy the angels will be in forming a protection for Your feet and a ladder for You to descend!»

«It is said: “You must not put the Lord your God to the test”.»

«You understand that Your apparition would not change anything and the Temple would continue to be a market full of corruption. Your divine wisdom is aware that the hearts of the ministers of the Temple are nests of vipers that tear and are torn to pieces for the sake of prevailing. They are subdued only by human power.

46.8 Well, then, come. Adore me. I will give You the earth. Alexander, Cyrus, Caesar, all the great rulers, past or present, will be like the leaders of miserable caravans as compared with You, as You shall have the kingdoms of the world under Your sceptre. And with the kingdoms, all the wealth, all the beautiful things on earth, women, horses, armies and temples. You will be able to raise Your Sign everywhere when You are the King of kings and the Lord of the world. You will then be obeyed and respected both by the people and by the priesthood. All classes will honour and serve You, because You will be the Powerful One, the Only One, the Lord.

Adore me for one moment only! Appease this thirst of mine for being worshipped! It ruined me, but it is still left in me, and I am parched by it. The flames of hell are like a fresh morning breeze as compared to this fierce ardour burning inside me. It is my hell, this thirst. One moment, one moment only, Christ. You are so good! One moment of joy for the eternally Tortured One! Let me feel, what it is like to be god, and I will be a devoted, obedient servant for all Your life and all Your enterprises. One instant, one instant only, and I will no longer torture You!»

And Satan falls on his knees, imploring.

46.9 Jesus, instead, stands up. He has lost weight because of the long days of fast, and He now looks taller. His face is terribly severe and strong. His eyes are two burning sapphires. His voice is like thunder: it reverberates in the cave of the huge stone, and spreads over the stony, desolate plain when He cries: «Go away, Satan. It is written: “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve Him alone”.»

Satan, with a cry of fearful torture and indescribable hatred, springs to his feet, a dreadful sight in his furious, smoky figure. And he disappears with a last cursing yell.

Detail

Satan tempts Jesus in the desert.

Annotation

Deuteronomy 6, 13.16: You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, and take an oath by his name. You shall not follow other gods, the gods of the nations around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God in your midst. The anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the earth. 16. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you did at Massa.

Deuteronomy 8:3: He made you go through poverty, he made you feel hunger, and he gave you manna to eat - food that neither you nor your fathers had known - so that you would know that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

GRM 49.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Why are you crying? Because the Most High, Who was always good to His people, has now turned His face elsewhere and no longer allows His children to see His Countenance? Is He no longer the God Who parted the sea and made Israel cross it and led the people through the desert and nourished them, and defended them from their enemies and, that they might not lose the way to Heaven, He gave a Law for their souls, as He had sent them a cloud for their bodies? Is He no longer the God that sweetened the waters and sent manna to His worn out children? Is He not the God Who wanted you to settle in His land and made an alliance with you as Father with his children? Well, then, why has the foreigner struck you?

Annotation

The opening of the sea is found in Exodus 14:21-22: Moses stretched out his arm over the sea. The Lord drove out the sea all night with a strong east wind; he dried up the sea, and the waters parted. The sons of Israel entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall on their right and left.

Driving through the desert sands and eating manna is found in Exodus 16.

The pillar of cloud is found in Exodus 13:21-22: The Lord himself walked at their head: by day in a pillar of cloud to open the way for them, by night in a pillar of fire to give them light; so they could walk day and night. By day, the pillar of cloud never left the people's heads; nor, by night, the pillar of fire.

Finally, the softening of the bitter waters occurs in Exodus 15:22-25: Moses led the sons of Israel out of the Sea of Reeds, and they went out in the direction of the wilderness of Shur. They walked through the desert for three days without finding any water. They came to Marah, but could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; hence the name "Marah". And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. It was there that the Lord gave them a status and a right, where he put them to the test.

GRM 50.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Deuteronomy states what is to be done, nothing else was necessary. But do not judge those who acted for other people, not for themselves. Do what God commands. And above all, strive and be perfect in the two main precepts. If you love God with all your souls, you will not sin, because sin gives pain to God. Those who love do not want to give pain. If you love your neighbours, as you love yourselves, you will be respectful children to your parents, faithful husbands to your wives, honest merchants in your trade, without any violence against your enemies, truthful in bearing witness, without envy of wealthy people, without any incentive of lewdness for another man’s wife. And as you do not want to do to other people what you do not wish should be done to you, you will not steal, or kill, or slander, or enter someone else’s nest like cuckoos.

Annotation

Book of Deuteronomy

Deut 5:6-21: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods but me.

You shall make no idol, no image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth.

You shall not bow down before them to worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God: among those who hate me, I punish the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, to the third and fourth generation; but those who love me and keep my commandments, I show them my faithfulness to the thousandth generation.

You shall not call upon the name of the Lord your God for evil, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who calls upon his name for evil.

Keep the Sabbath day holy, according to the commandment of the Lord your God.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the day of rest, the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall do no work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your beasts, nor the sojourner who dwells in your city. So your servant and your handmaid will rest, just as you have rested.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of it with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That's why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may have long life and happiness in the land given to you by the Lord your God.

Thou shalt not commit murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not commit theft.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; you shall not desire his house or his field, his man-servant or his maid-servant, his ox or his ass: anything that belongs to him."

GRM 50.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Love. May your love become a ladder by which, like angels, you will ascend to Heaven, as Jacob saw them, when you hear the Father say to each and everybody: “I will be your protector wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this place; to Heaven, the Eternal Kingdom”.

Annotation

Book of Genesis

Genesis 28, 10-15 : Jacob sets out from Beer-Sheba towards Haran. On the way, he stops to spend the night and dreams of a ladder set up on the earth, the top of which touches the sky, with angels of God ascending and descending the ladder. The Lord stands by Jacob and makes promises, including to give him the land on which he rests and to protect him wherever he goes.

GRM 53.6-7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Listen, Israel! Deuteronomy states: “You are to appoint judges and scribes at all the gates… and they must administer an impartial judgement to the people. You must be impartial; you must take no bribes, for a bribe blinds wise men’s eyes and jeopardises the cause of the just. Strict justice must be your ideal, so that you may live in rightful possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “The priests and scribes and the whole of the tribe of Levi shall have no share or inheritance with Israel, because they must live on the foods offered to Yahweh and on His dues; they shall have no inheritance among their brothers, because Yahweh will be their inheritance”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the lack be of money or food or anything else. You may demand interest on a loan of a foreigner; you will lend without interest to your brother whatever he needs”.

The Lord said that.

But now you see that in Israel judgements are administered without justice for the poor. They are not inclined to justice, but they are partial with the rich, and to be poor, to be of the common people means to be oppressed. How can the people say: “Our judges are just” when they see that only the mighty ones are respected and satisfied, whereas the poor have no one who will listen to them? How can the people respect the Lord, when they see that the Lord is not respected by those who should respect Him more than everyone else? Does he who infringes the Lord’s commandment respect Him? Why then do the priests in Israel possess property and accept bribes from tax-collectors and sinners, who make them offerings to obtain their favours, while they accept gifts to fill their coffers?

God is the inheritance of His priests. He, the Father of Israel, is more than a Father to them and provides them with food, as it is just. But not more than what is just. He did not promise money and possessions to His servants of the sanctuary. In eternal life, they will possess Heaven for their justice, as Moses, Elijah, Jacob and Abraham will, but in this world they must have but a linen garment and a diadem of incorruptible gold: purity and charity, and their bodies must be subject to their souls, which are to be subject to the true God, and their bodies are not to be masters over their souls and against God.

I have been asked on what authority I do this. And on what authority do they violate God’s command and allow in the shade of the sacred walls usury on their brothers of Israel, who have come to obey the divine command? I have been asked from what school I come and I replied: “From God’s school” Yes, Israel, I have come from and I will take you back to that holy and immutable school.

53.7

He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.»

Detail

Context: Jesus has just purified Temple for the first time.

Annotation

Book of Deuteronomy

Deut 16:18-20: In all the cities which the Lord your God gives you, you shall appoint judges and scribes over your tribes; they shall judge the people in righteous judgments. You shall not deviate from the right, you shall not act with partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe blinds the wise and compromises the cause of the righteous. You shall seek justice and nothing but justice, so that you may live and possess the land given to you by the Lord your God.

Dt 18, 1-2 : he Levite priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no share or inheritance with Israel: they will feed on the sacrifices by fire offered to the Lord, and on his patrimony. This tribe will have no inheritance among its brethren, but the Lord will be its inheritance, as he has said to it.

Dt 23, 19-20 : You shall never bring into the House of the Lord your God, to pay any vow, the earnings of a prostitute or the wages of a "dog", for both are an abomination to the Lord your God. You shall not make your brother any loan at interest: money, food or anything else that might earn interest.

GRM 53.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

53.7 He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.

Annotation

John 14:6: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Exodus 14, 21-22: "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea all night with a strong east wind, and made it dry. The waters parted, and the sons of Israel entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, while the waters formed a wall on their right and left."

Deuteronomy 32, 36: The Lord will do justice to his people, he will pity his servants, when he sees that their hands are weakened, that there is neither slave nor free man left.

GRM 61.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

61.6 «And what about me?» asks the old man who is left last.

Jesus looks at him, but is silent.

«Nothing for me? You are not fair! You gave her six times as much as the others, and nothing to me. Of course… she was a woman!»

Jesus looks at him, but is silent.

«Look everybody; and tell me if there is justice! I have come from far away, because I was told that money was given here, and now I see that some get too much and I get nothing. A poor, old, sick man! And He wants us to believe in Him!…»

«My old man, are you not ashamed of telling such lies? Death is behind your back and you lie and endeavour to rob also who is hungry. Why do you want to rob your brothers of the offering that I received to give it with justice?»

«But I…»

«Be quiet! You should have understood by My silence and My action that I had recognised you and you should have followed My example and been silent. Why do you want Me to shame you?»

«I am poor.»

«No, you are a miser and a thief. You live for money and usury.»

«I have never lent on usury. God is my witness.»

«And is this not the most fierce usury, to rob those who are in dire need? Go. Repent. That God may forgive you.»

«I swear…»

«Be quiet! I tell you! It is said: “You shall not swear falsehood”. If I did not respect your old age, I would search you and in your breast I would find a purse full of gold: your real heart. Go away!»

The impudent old man, seeing that his secret has been discovered, goes away without any need for Jesus’ thundering voice.

The crowd threaten and scorn him, and they insult him as a thief.

«Be quiet! If he did wrong, do not do the same. He lacks sincerity: he is dishonest. If you insult him, you lack charity. A brother who makes a mistake is not to be insulted. Everybody has his sins. No one is perfect but God. I was compelled to shame him, because nobody must ever be a thief, and much less steal from poor people. But only the Father knows how much I suffered having to do it. You must also be sorry, seeing that a man in Israel infringes the Law endeavouring to defraud the poor and a widow. Do not be greedy. May your souls, not money, be your treasure. Do not be perjurers. Let your language be as sincere and honest as your actions. Life is not eternal and the hour of death will come. Live in such a way that at the hour of your death peace may be in your souls. The peace of those who lived an honest life. Go home…»

Detail

Jesus has just given a purse to a widow and her seven needy children. All that's left is a ragged old man.

Annotation

Leviticus 19:12: You shall not swear by my name, lying, for you would profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.