Reconciliation

Fish and birds

The 4th day, dome of Genesis. Basilica of San Marco, Venice (13th century). We are fish about to be caught, plucked from the turbulent waters where the law of the strongest reigns, to be led towards the calm waters of the source of divine love. Animated by this Spirit of love, like birds soaring towards heaven, we will seek out celestial realities and the Kingdom of God.

On the fifth day of creation, the fifth stage of our spiritual journey, the fish of the sea and the birds of the air bear fruit and multiply. Now, these are two very important animals in the Bible, to speak to us about our spiritual path, our attitude towards God and towards our fellow man. The animal in Hebrew is called “living soul” (נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה nefesh ḥayah), yet the soul is the vital principle that commands the body, that moves the body. What is decisive is the spirit, i.e. with what spirit we perform this or that act. A spirit of jealousy, rivalry or hostility, or one dictated by love, friendship or benevolence? Animals in the Bible, as in all ancestral cultures, are always the subject of tales. Indeed, to avoid offending or judging anyone, we use the example of animals and their characteristic, fixed behavior to allude to our own human behavior. In this way, we can freely criticize certain actions, without passing judgment on the person who performs them, thus fulfilling the old Christian adage that we can judge the act, but not the person who performs it. This attitude of citing the example of animals is widespread in many cultures around the world. Animals, of course, feel no guilt when they take advantage of their strength to eat another animal smaller than themselves – it’s in their nature and their need to survive. But for human beings, it’s different: the spirit in which we carry out our actions is very important. This spirit enables us to direct our instincts towards the good of others. The spirit can be well or poorly inspired. Thus, the fish that lives in the water can easily be the image of the person who has found salvation in the water of baptism, of the person whose nets have snatched him from the turbulent, salty sea and who has been led by faith to the calm waters of baptism. Thus Jesus, addressing the apostles, said to them: “I will make you fishers of men” and also “the Kingdom of God is like a net that is cast into the sea to catch every kind of fish”. Christ himself was depicted as a fish by the early Christians. Indeed, the word Ichtus, which in Greek means fish, sums up the whole Christian faith in Jesus Christ, who not only offered himself as food and multiplied fish on several occasions during his life, but also because the initials of this word conceal the summary of the Christian faith: I for Iesus, Ch for Christos, T for Theos, God, ‘U for ‘Uyos, son, S for Sōtēr, Savior, i.e. Jesus Christ Son of God Savior.
Thus, these fish are the image of those who have found the relationship to life, to the source of life, the water that descends from the sky on the second day, and have oriented themselves towards the love of God and neighbor, tearing themselves away from the violence of the sea, its waves, its laws where the larger fish eats the smaller. When God gives life to this world, He sees how what is in darkness can find light, and unfolds Himself to show it the way. Jesus himself will be a fish in the midst of this world, offering his life as a grilled fish that becomes food, and he will also be a fisherman, casting the net of his word and deed to draw people to the Kingdom of God.
Once we’ve taken this step, let’s see what the birds have to say. Birds, too, figuring our human attitudes, can direct their attention to heaven or earth, to earthly and fleeting goods or to spiritual and eternal, heavenly goods. They can be birds of prey who take advantage of the weakness of others, vultures who feed on the disgrace of others, or they can be beautiful, candid and images of love, fidelity and tenderness, like the dove or the hen. From the very beginning of the Bible, the bird is an image of the Holy Spirit, of God’s love. Its attachment to its young, which it incubates and protects at the risk of its own life to ensure the opening of the eggs, or by taking them under its wings, is the very image of God’s attachment to his creatures. (See Genesis 1, 2 Ruach – God’s Spirit is feminine). The bird that personifies the Divine Spirit in the Bible, particularly in its dove aspect, is indeed the one that can soar towards heavenly realities, towards the kingdom of God, once it has found the source of life, in the loving relationship of God and neighbor. In the love dialogue of an engaged couples at the heart of the Bible, in the Song of Songs, the bridegroom praises the beauty of the bride by comparing her eyes to those of a dove. Now, the dove’s eyes are beautiful because the dove represents the one who has found the source of life, because he has been able to see beyond appearances and recognize in his neighbor the beauty of God’s children, and so has been able to drink from the source by serving him. It’s when we welcome our neighbor and put ourselves at his service that the spring gushes forth within us, a source of profound joy and peace. For Christians, the dove that hovered over Jesus at his baptism by John the Baptist is not only an image of the Holy Spirit, but also of the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters of creation, infusing them with his spirit, his life, his love (Genesis 1:2). (See the article Genesis 1, 2 Ruach – God’s Spirit is feminine). It is the Spirit who turns our human, earthly water into a spring gushing forth into eternal life, as Jesus says. This is what baptism celebrates: the human spirit, rediscovering its filial and trusting link with the source above, with the origin of life, is in communion with the Spirit of God, and finds in him the fullness of love. The image of the dove will spread throughout Christian iconography, especially in sarcophagi, tombstones and, of course, mosaics. Often, we’ll see the image of two doves around Christ, the chalice of his blood, his life or the initials of his name, one on the right and one on the left. This is the sign of the love of God, leading to unity, to the same source, those who were separated, divided, who are now reconciled by the blood of Christ, by the forgiveness offered to humanity. (See the article on Animals confronted on the art-sacre.net website, with several images presented in the “Developments” section of the “Associated documents” section at the bottom of the page.)

Colombes. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy (5th century). Many Christian tombstones feature doves, the image of the baptized, of those who have found the source of living water in the blood and water that flowed from Christ’s side. Often, two doves drinking from the same cup are a sign of peace, of reconciliation between peoples who were once divided and are now reconciled by Christ’s forgiveness.

Holy Thursday

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. Mosaic from the Duomo of Monreale, Italy (12th century). We see the perplexed attitude of the disciples, who wonder about the meaning and appropriateness of this gesture. Jesus wants to show us that it is necessary to recognize our daily lack of love, in order to be united as members of the same body. Accepting the need to be purified is the premise of our reconciliation.

The time of Lent has long prepared Christians to meditate on the events of the so-called Paschal Triduum, the three days during which Christ’s passion, death and resurrection took place. The first of these is the fifth day of Holy Week, the week in which Jesus freely chose to enter Jerusalem, where he was arrested, suffered his passion and rose again. The fifth day of Holy Week is therefore Holy Thursday, the day on which we remember Jesus’ last meal with the apostles, his agony in the Garden of Olives, his arrest and condemnation in the religious and civil courts.
Jesus’ purpose in leaving the apostles was to reconcile them with each other and with God. This is a step towards the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus had carefully arranged everything so that on that evening, the first day of the Passover celebrations, he and the apostles could sit down together at the same table, in a secluded place where everything had been prepared to welcome them. In fact, on this evening, he was going to sum up everything he had wanted to accomplish by coming into this world. To reconcile people with him, with God, and to reconcile them with one another, bringing them back to unity. The Gospels tell us over several pages of Jesus’ speeches and prayers that evening, but first and foremost, the gesture that would lead the apostles and the faithful who would follow them to reconciliation.

Before the meal began, Jesus took a towel around his waist and a basin of water, and invited the apostles to let him wash their feet:
” Jesus, knowing that the Father has given all things into his hands, that he came out of God and is going to God, rose from the table, laid aside his garment, and took a towel which he tied around his waist; then he poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and wipe them with the towel he had tied around his waist. Then he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Is it you, Lord, who washes my feet?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know now what I want to do; later you’ll understand.” Peter said to him, “You will not wash my feet; no, never!” Jesus answered, “If I do not wash you, you will have no part with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Then, Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” He knew well who would betray him; and that’s why he said, “You are not all pure.” So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?  You call me ‘Master’ and ‘Lord’, and you are right, for truly I am. So if I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you too must wash one another’s feet. This is an example I have given you, so that you too may do as I have done for you. Amen, amen, I say to you: a servant is not greater than his master, nor a servant greater than the one who sent him. Knowing this, happy are you if you do it. I’m not talking about all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but the Scripture must be fulfilled: He who eats bread with me has struck me with his heel. I tell you these things now, before they happen, so that when they do happen, you will believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you: if anyone receives him whom I send, he receives me; and he who receives me receives Him who sent me.” When Jesus had said this, his spirit was overwhelmed, and he testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you: one of you will betray me.” (John 13:3-21).
Like so many of Jesus’ other gestures, this one represents what Jesus would accomplish for humanity, how he would lead humanity towards the clarity of God, towards that Kingdom where all are one.
Already at the beginning of his preaching, Jesus said: “When you go to present your offering at the altar, if you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and present your offering.” (Matthew 5:23-24). We’re talking about reconciliation here, and this spiritual reality is represented by the washing of feet. Jesus himself knows that the apostles will not immediately understand this gesture, but once they have witnessed his death and resurrection, they will be able, with the help of the Holy Spirit and with the further explanations that Jesus will give them once he has risen, to understand the reality represented by this gesture.

In fact, not only were the apostles often at odds with each other, but one of them was about to betray their friendship and trust. Jesus’ aim was to bring peace and love to perfection among those seated at the same table. Indeed, a few minutes later he tells them:
“May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you. May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are ONE: I in them, and you in me. May they thus become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me.” (John 17:21-23).

But, to achieve this unity, this perfect love, it is necessary to silence the accusations we can all raise against each other. When we want to establish whose fault it was, who started the argument and why, everyone will accuse each other. So there’s no alternative to recognizing, together, before each other, and those who can, also before God, that we all have a part of responsibility in the division that reigns in this world. Each one of us, consciously or unconsciously, is in debt every day for the love he could show to his neighbor, in order to live this unity to the full. So Jesus takes water, which later becomes the sign of purification and forgiveness of sins, and removes from their feet the daily dust that is trampled underfoot. In other words, in the earthly reality in which we live, we each trample on our fellow man in the course of the day. We can all admit to each other that perhaps we have offended, scorned, trampled on our neighbor. And if we are prepared to take our share of responsibility, if we are prepared to listen to our neighbor who may have something against us, as Jesus invites us to do, then and only then will reconciliation be possible. This is why Jesus said to Peter: “If I do not wash you, you will have no part with me”. To have part with Jesus means to be in communion with him, to be perfectly filled with his love, to be one – with God and the neighbor. This is what the meal means when we all sit at the same table and eat the same bread and drink from the same cup, which becomes a cup of covenant. This is also the case in many ancestral traditions, outside the Christian tradition, where a covenant, a marriage, is celebrated with a meal, and we drink from a covenant cup that seals a pact. So, the first step towards communion with one another is to let ourselves be forgiven, to admit that we need to be cleansed and washed. But the purification God offers us is not simply a matter of erasing our faults and leaving us at zero. It’s about admitting us to a deep communion with him, a communion of love, in which it’s his Spirit who dwells within us, that is, he reveals through us all his love, the fullness of his love. Not only does he not hold our faults against us, but he invites us, as his own children, to share with him. He shares everything with us, he offers us life, his own life, and once re-established in this filial, trusting relationship, we regain all our dignity as children of God, children of light. The result is that the love with which God fills us makes us a multitude of brothers, ready to forgive one another, ready to recognize each other’s wrongs. Didn’t Jesus say at that meal: “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. This is an example I have given you, so that you too may do as I have done for you.”

Reconciled by Christ

The victorious cross. Sarcophagus (4th century). The Christogram (the initials of Christ’s name) is surrounded by a wreath, a sign of the martyr’s victory over death. The doves, representing the baptized and the people reconciled by Christ’s forgiveness, feeding on the tree of life.

In this ancient stele, we see the summary of Christ’s work for us, represented by the first Christians. At the bottom of the cross we see two soldiers, one asleep, not looking up, in darkness. The other looks up, ready to welcome the light of hope that Christ brings to the world. Above, two doves, images of reconciled humanity. As St. Paul tells us, Christ has come to abolish the wall that divided us, to make one of the two:
“But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have become close through the blood of Christ. It is he, Christ, who is our peace: of the two he has made one; in his flesh he has destroyed the barrier of the wall of enmity that divided them.” (Ephesians 2:13-14)
There’s a passage between the bottom floor of this image and the one above the arms of the cross. Those who welcomed  Jesus, were reconciled and forgiven. By revealing the infinite measure of his love for all humanity on the cross, Jesus allowed a glimmer of hope to penetrate our darkness, to awaken us from our slumber. He awakened the dead, i.e. those who had died to divine life, to the source of joy that springs within us in the love of our neighbor, in the gift of our life.
Thus, the two doves look to Christ, represented by a crown of glory, for he is thus victorious over evil and death through the superabundance of his love and forgiveness.
In the middle of the crown, the initials of Christ’s name, the letter Chi (Χ) from the name Christos, which looks like an X in the Latin alphabet, and the letter Rho (Ρ) i.e. R in the Latin alphabet, which looks more like a P. Let’s remember that Christos means the anointed one, the one who, like the olives, in the Garden of the olive trees, suffered the passion, his spirit broken and crushed, like the olives, in order to bring a light of hope, in order become himself an oil lamp.

This passion, this suffering, came not only from the physical suffering he endured on the cross, but also from the pain of seeing himself betrayed, abandoned by his own, hated by the crowds, his message and testimony of love despised. Let’s see how the evangelist St. John tells us about the upheaval Jesus experienced in his spirit, at the moment of announcing that he was going to be betrayed:
“Jesus was deeply troubled in his spirit, and gave this testimony, “Amen, amen, I tell you: one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at each other with embarrassment, not knowing who Jesus was talking about. Leaning against Jesus at the table was one of his disciples, the one Jesus loved. Simon Peter beckoned him to ask Jesus who he was talking about. So the disciple leans against Jesus’ chest and says, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus replies, “It’s the one to whom I’ll give the morsel I’m going to dip in the dish.” He dips the morsel, and gives it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” But none of the guests understood why he had said this to him. As Judas held the common purse, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy something for the feast, or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and went out immediately. Now it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said: “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him; and he will glorify him soon.” (John 13:21-32).
We can see how hard it was for Jesus to accept this reality, to accept that he would soon be betrayed, delivered up to the contempt of human beings, and yet at the same time, he affirms that by accepting this, and only in this way, will he be able to reveal to the world the glory of God, the immensity of his love, who comes to the rescue of humanity in darkness, who is ready to sacrifice his life, in order to save mankind.

Once again, the language of God’s Word is important: it speaks to us through images of visible nature that nevertheless express and represent our invisible, spiritual reality. Thus, the gospel emphasizes that Judas went out into the night, was enveloped in darkness, listening to the voice of the tempter, Satan, who drove him to despair, to a lack of confidence in the work of Jesus. In this way, we are also shown the importance of probing the thoughts that come to mind, evaluating them carefully before giving them our consent and translating them into action. Judas gave in to his desire to ensure his material survival on earth, at the cost of sacrificing the love of his neighbor, his loved ones, in order to enrich himself; he betrayed his friends and Jesus. He pursued a material profit that deprived him of the source of joy and happiness of love for others and for God. Jesus came to the rescue of this blinded humanity, imprisoned in a commercial logic, to pull us out of the darkness and give us access to the gratuitousness of filial love, to trust in the Father’s unconditional love for his children.

This is summed up in the words of Saint Paul:
“And you were dead men, because of the faults and sins which marked your conduct in the past, subject to the evil forces of this world, to the prince of evil who stands between heaven and us, and whose spirit is now at work in those who disobey God. And we too were all of these, when we lived according to the lusts of our flesh, giving in to the whims of the flesh and of our thoughts, we who were, of ourselves, doomed to wrath like all the others. But God is rich in mercy; because of the great love with which he loved us, we who were dead through our faults, he gave us life with Christ: it is indeed by grace that you have been saved. With him he raised us from the dead and made us take our place in heaven in Christ Jesus”. (Ephesians 2:1-6)

In St. Paul’s words, we can now sit in heaven in Christ Jesus, that is, united to his person as members of his own body, able to turn to God and call him Father, for he has led us to filial trust, he has given us access to the relationship that eternally unites him to the Father. Let’s look at the very words of Jesus, who speaks to us of this filial relationship in which all that belongs to the Father is offered to the Son, for this is the Father’s love: to want to pass on to the Son all that makes him happy. Let’s look at a few extracts from the long speech that Jesus addresses to the apostles during the last supper, aiming to show them where he comes from and which is God the Father’s design for leading his children to the fullness of his joy:

“On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who receives my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and manifest myself to him.” (John 14, 20-21)

This is followed by lengthy explanations of the relationship between God, the Son and those whom the Son leads to him, so that they can enter into the same trusting, filial relationship Jesus has with God in divine eternity. The Gospel also tells us of Jesus’ last words as he went out to face his passion:
“Thus spoke Jesus. Then he raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you. Just as you gave him power over every being of the flesh, so he will give eternal life to all those you have given him. And eternal life is that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by doing the work you gave me to do. And now, glorify me with you, Father, with the glory I had with you before the world existed. I manifested your name to the men you took from the world to give them to me. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they kept your word. Now they have recognized that everything you gave me came from you, because I gave them the words you gave me: they received them, they truly recognized that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them, not for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine; and I am glorified in them. From now on, I am no longer in the world; they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them united in your name, the name you gave me, that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:1-11)

Jesus’ last words remind us of those addressed by the father of the prodigal son to his eldest son: “You are always with me, and don’t you know that all that is mine is yours?” (See the parable of the prodigal son in the article Luke 15, 11-32 The prodigal son).
And then Jesus concludes with a prayer, so that they can all be reunited in the Father’s love, so that human beings too can enter, as he did, into a filial relationship with God who gives them his life:
” I pray not only for those who are here, but also for those who, through their word, will believe in me. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you. May they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are ONE: I in them, and you in me. That they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me, and that you have loved them as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to behold my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and they have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26)

And St. Paul sums up God’s plan: so that we too can experience the joy of loving as God loves:
” God made us, he created us in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which he prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10 )

Give us this day our bread from above

Christ multiplies the loaves and fishes. Mosaic from Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (6th century). After this miracle, Jesus explains at length that he is the true bread that came down from heaven; he is the Word of God made flesh, and we can feed on him, not only by listening to him, but also by seeing his attitude towards his creatures, and by receiving the bread he has commissioned the apostles to distribute to the world, gathering men and women of all origins to the same table.

Throughout his public life, Jesus prepared his disciples for the meal he would eat with them on Holy Thursday evening. Indeed, during this meal, they were to partake of the bread and wine that would seal God’s covenant with mankind. Through this communion of bread and wine, Jesus announced his willingness to offer his life, proof of God’s attachment to his children, and a sign of the Father’s forgiveness of humanity that had turned away from him.

This covenant celebrated in advance and forever the covenant that would be sealed in blood the day after, when Jesus would offer his life on the cross. But Jesus wanted to make present to all humanity after him this divine gesture in which every human being can welcome God’s love, regain confidence in his benevolence and rediscover the filial relationship. In this way, bread and wine become the visible image of that eternal reality in which God offers life to the world and invites his creatures to welcome his love, to enter into a trusting, filial relationship with him. The broken bread makes visible and present God’s offering of life to human beings, the wine makes visible and present the blood that flowed from Christ’s body on the cross. This is why Jesus said, as he broke the bread: “This is my body, offered in sacrifice for you”, and, as he gave the cup to the apostles: “This is the cup of my Blood, the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant; it will be shed for you and for all, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me”. The bread is the body of Jesus himself, and what he has accomplished manifests God’s eternal love for humanity, always offered. So it’s always possible to welcome the Father’s love, to enter into a filial relationship with him. Eating from this bread and drinking from this cup means accepting the gift of divine life. In order to offer everyone this possibility, Jesus entrusted the apostles and their successors with the task of perpetuating this gesture, of continuing to invite human beings of every age to welcome God’s love. The understanding of the meaning of this meal was prepared, announced and explained by Jesus at length throughout his public life. Indeed, one of his greatest miracles was the multiplication of the loaves in front of an enormous hungry crowd that no one could satisfy. This humanity hungry and thirsting for meaning, in front of Jesus, no longer cares about resting and is ready to stay with him for days without eating. Jesus’ words nourish this crowd, which is looking for meaning in its life, searching for God’s love, in need of a visible sign, a proof of this love, in need to be comforted and reassured. So, after instructing the apostles to distribute five loaves of bread and two fish to thousands of people, this food has multiplied so much that there are still twelve baskets full remaining. Jesus begins to explain at length what kind of food he has come to bring to mankind. He explains that he himself is the bread that came down from heaven, that he is true food, for human beings do not feed on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He himself is the word of God that became flesh, that came down to us. It is always this bread from heaven that he speaks of, when he teaches the apostles how to pray. Indeed, at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer is the request for bread, but Jesus had already taught them to seek out the realities above, the heavenly, spiritual realities. And so, the Gospel text, in Greek, brings us a word that is more unique than rare, often translated as “daily” or “of this day”, but whose meaning is far more complex. It is the word epioúsious, which is formed from “epi” meaning above and “-ousious“, which comes from the verb to be and can be translated as “that whose being”. Taken as a whole, this word indicates “that bread whose being is from above”. It is the bread that came down from heaven, the bread of God’s word made flesh, that came down to us. So why does Jesus link his presence in this world to the element of bread? Not only because it is an indispensable, daily food, but also because it is formed from a multitude of seeds, brought together in a single dough. So, just as the assimilated food becomes part of the body of the eater, by feeding on the body of Christ, we also become members of his body by assimilating his life. His spirit of love leads us to unity as members of the same body. The same is true if we drink his blood, his life, the life of God, which is a relationship of love, which is perfect unity, just as the seeds of the grape become one wine. In the prayer he passed on to us, Jesus teaches us to seek the source of our life in the love that unites us to God and to our neighbor, and to nourish ourselves with it.

By receiving, then, the bread that Jesus broke for us, the life that he offered us and that the apostles passed on to us, we can be united with him, filled with his love that gathers us together as members of the same body, as seeds forming one bread, animated by his love. United with God like a drop of water poured into wine, becoming one with him.