"In Lent, it does us good to think about how the Lord helped us in our lives, how the Lord made us move forward, and we will find that He always did so with simple things."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - God's "style" is to act with simplicity, humility, in silence, not with "worldly show", said the Pope during the Mass celebrated this morning at Casa Santa Marta, inspired by the Gospel of the day, in which Jesus rebukes the people of Nazareth for their the lack of faith.

At the beginning, said the Pope, they listen to him with admiration, but then their "anger, disdain" explodes". "At that time, these people, who listened to Jesus with pleasure, but did not like what he said to one, two or three, and maybe some chatterbox stood up and said: 'Who's he to come and speak to us? Where did he study to tell us these things? Show us your degree! What University did you study at? This is the carpenter's son and know him well"'. "And they threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill." "They wanted to throw him off".

Similarly, the first reading that speaks of Naaman, the Syrian army commander, and leper. The prophet Elisha tells him to bathe seven times in the Jordan to heal and he is indignant because he believes a greater gesture is needed. Then he listens to the advice of the servants, does what the Prophet says and his leprosy disappears. Whether the people of Nazareth or Naaman, the Pope observed, "they wanted the spectacle", but "the good Lord's style is not spectacular: God acts in humility, in silence, in the little things." This from the Creation, where the Lord takes up no "magic wand", but creates man from "mud". It is a style that runs through "the whole history of salvation."

"When he wanted to free his people, he freed them because of the faith and trust of one man, Moses. When he wanted to bring down the mighty city of Jericho, he did it with a prostitute. Even for the conversion of the Samaritans he asked the work of another sinner. When He sent David to fight Goliath, He seemed crazy: little David in front of the giant, who had a sword, had so many things, and David only a sling and stones. When he told the Magi the King was born, the Great King, where did they find him? A baby, a manger. Simple things, the humility of God, this is God's style, it is never spectacular".

It  is also one of the three temptations of Jesus in the desert: the spectacular". Satan invites him to throw himself from the pinnacle of the Temple because seeing the miracle, people might believe in him.

"The Lord - instead - is revealed in simplicity, humility." "It would do us good this Lent to think about how the Lord helped us in our lives, how the Lord made us move forward, and we will find that more often than not he did it with simple things."

"This - concluded Francis - is how the Lord acts, He does things simply. He speaks silently to the heart. We recall the many times in our lives we have heard such things: the humility of God's style; the simplicity of God's style. And even in the liturgy, sacraments, how nice it is to manifest God's humility of God and not spectacular worldliness. It would do us good to think about the many times that the Lord has visited us with His grace, and always with this humble style, the style that He also asks us to have: humility. "

 

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