Freedom, the path of hope
We continue to go through, little by little, the Pope’s Message this Lent in which he invites us to go into the desert hand in hand with God, as the people of Israel did in the Exodus, to allow ourselves to be led to freedom.
I would like to point out to you a detail of no small importance in the Exodus story: it is God who sees, who is moved and who delivers, it is not Israel who asks for it. Pharaoh, in fact, destroys even dreams, steals the sky, makes a world in which dignity is trampled underfoot and authentic bonds are denied, seem unchangeable. It manages to keep everything attached to it.
Let us ask ourselves: do I desire a new world? Am I willing to break commitments with the old man?
This is what today’s first reading wants to teach us: for Abraham, God is the most important thing. He is willing to break commitments to the old world. What about me? What commitments bind me? What or who are my pharaohs?
The witness of many brother bishops and of a great number of those who work for peace and justice convinces me more and more that what needs to be denounced is a deficit of hope.
Otherwise it would not be explained that a humanity that has reached the threshold of universal fraternity and levels of scientific, technical, cultural and legal development, capable of guaranteeing the dignity of all, walks in the darkness of inequalities and conflicts.
To think and pray:
- It is God who sees, who is moved and who liberates. What do I see? What moves me? What does God want to free me from?
- What must be denounced is a deficit of hope. How hopeful am I? What is my wish? What are my dreams?
- A humanity that walks in the darkness of inequalities and conflicts. What do I contribute to this humanity? Do I work to maintain what is there or for equality, inclusion and peace?
