Christianity is a simple story – it is the story of grace, freely given, to chosen individuals!
The following words were taken from a talk by Fr. Giacomo Tantardini, (whose his last book opened with a preface by Pope Francis in 2012 (the year in which Fr Tantardini died)
Scripture Reading (John1:35-42)
John was standing with two of his disciples;and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?”
And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Christianity is something else entirely
Compared to all the religions and morals of the world, Christianity is something else entirely.
Two thousand years ago, Joseph and Mary saw God with their own eyes, not in a mystical vision.
Mary gave birth. And Joseph and she looked at him in wonder.
This is how the Christian story began.
They were there, looking at God.
That same night, the angels announced to the shepherds that a Savior had been born to them in the city of David for God is faithful to his promises.
The shepherds went and saw a baby.
That child was God.
So when in the Creed we say “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God [that child], begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through him all things were created, for us men and for our salvation [for us men, for man who is content with lust, usury and power, for this man, not for men of good will (the good will is His), but for this concrete man], for us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven and through the Holy Spirit He became incarnate…”.
Like every child, Jesus began to exist and grow, counting the days, hours, months, and years.
Over time, he grew while remaining eternal.
After living in Nazareth for thirty years and obeying his parents, his mission began when John and Andrew met him on the banks of the Jordan River that afternoon.
John the Baptist had indicated, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him Who taketh away the sins of the world,” and John and Andrew followed Him.
They followed Him attracted by Him.
And then Jesus turned to these two young men”
Jesus asked a question of these two young people: “What are you looking for?”.
They didn’t respond (thinking) “We seek the truth. We seek happiness”.
They didn’t even tell Him that they were seeking the Messiah.
They had the Messiah right in front of them.
They had Him in front of them. The heart is infallible in this.
There is a beautiful thesis of Catholic theology that speaks of the infallibility of faith.
The infallibility of the magisterium is secondary with respect to the infallibility of faith.
Faith is infallible.
They had Him before them, the one they were looking for, the one their hearts wanted.
In response to the question, “What do you seek?” they asked the only question that could be asked.
When one encounters what the heart desires, one can only hope that it will remain.
“Master, where do you live?”
That is “where are you staying?”.
Where are you staying so that I can stay with you?
Publicly, here. With Mary and Joseph, let’s say, privately.
The thirty years of private life, private but with very many public episodes: the shepherds, then the Magi, then when twelve years old in the Temple… And still a private story.
Here is the beginning of the public story, the story of why we’re here tonight.
Because of this, there exists in the world the simple story of people who are amazed because they have met Him.
A simple story: they were amazed because they met him and then having once met it depends on Him,
it does not depend primarily on you, it depends on Him to remain with you.
It is simple because of this.
Otherwise, given that grace is at the beginning of Christianity (if one is Christian, this must be said), a different dynamic is introduced.
No! What happens once you meet Him?
What have you done to meet Him? Nothing.
So, look, do not busy yourself, because it depends on Him.
It depends on Him who met you and remains faithful.
His faithfulness does not depend primarily on yours.
It depends on Him. Because of this, it is simple.
It is simple because He met you.
It was He who went to the meeting in the beginning.
It depends on Him who remained with the first ones.
It depends on Him who did it again the next day with the first ones.
It depends on Him who did it again the day after that.
That night, Andrew went home and told his brother Peter, “We met the Messiah.”
Another amazing thing is that the first time Peter caught a human glimpse of the mystery made flesh, he was looking at his brother’s face.
He had never seen Andrew’s face like that before, because grace reverberates within the human spirit.
It is visible, grace is visible! It has an invisible source, but a visible reverberation.
The reflection of grace is seen and unmistakable.
The reflection of grace is infallible,
It is unmistakably its own kind of beauty.
Beauty is what the heart was created for.
It is not only He who comes forward to be met; it is He who remains.
In fact, the next day when Jesus saw Peter, he said to him:
“You are Simon son of John, you will be called Peter”.
And so from two apostles, they became three and added others until he had twelve apostles.
But think about who took the initiative in those three years.
It was not of those who followed Him, the initiative was always His.
