John 18:1-19, 42

8 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. 4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” 9 This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” 12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him 13 and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. 17 “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” 18 It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself. ​19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

Good Friday, one of the most important and depressing days of the Christian calendar, honors the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. One of the numerous rituals that Christians around the world perform on this day to remember Christ's death is The Way of the cross which contains Stations of the Cross, I mean a series of 14 pictures or carvings portraying events in the Passion of Christ, from his condemnation by Pontius Pilate to his entombment. The images are usually mounted on the inside walls of a church or chapel, but may also be erected in such places as cemeteries, corridors of hospitals and religious houses, or on mountainsides, according to the Britannica.

Let's come to the bible, the Psalm 22, inspired by the "Songs of the Servant of Yahweh" (Is 52, 13-53, 12) and the "confessions of Jeremiah" (Jer 15, 15; 17, 15; 20, 7) ends, like them, with the proclamation that the passion of the righteous regenerates humanity. The development of thought takes us from the anguish of death to the exaltation of joy; It is a passage from the darkest night to the unexpected light, to Easter. A similar text seems deliberately predisposed to become the prayer of Christ (Mark 15, 34) and the Gospels also highlighted the details that seem to describe in advance the passion ofJesus, which renews the condition of humanity before God.

Is 52: 13-53, 12 is the fourth and final Canticle of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh, unlike the previous ones that narrated his vocation and the meaning of his mission, is limitęd to narrating the sufferings of the Servant and his final meaning. In vv 52,13-15, it is God who speaks, announcing in advance the triumph of the Servant despite his passion and death, which is narrated below, contrasting the contempt due to his humiliated condition (horrific, excessive sufferings). for other people's crimes, unjust judicial process, and ignominious death, typical of criminals and evildoers) With the saving meaning of that same suffering, since everything responded to a divine plan accepted by the same servant, his suffering and death take on a redemptive meaning as God exalts the Servant, declaring him innocent, and the rule of true fidelity and alliance. This song is perhaps the one that most influenced the first Christians when it came to interpreting the meaning of the passion and death of Jesus.

John 18:1-19, 42 in his account of the passion, has relied on the synoptics, but he has also used other sources, since he has exclusive details, such as the participation of the Romans in the arrest, the scene before Annas, the mention of the tunic, the presence of his mother next to the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross, and the spear. John strives to maintain his style and his own theological themes, such as "the hour," which throughout the gospel hints now of triumph, which will come on the cross. The "I am," a paraphrase of Yahweh, that Jesus continually attributes to himself, reaches great magnitude now of arrest, when he is almost able to stop what is coming. The change to the order that the synoptics give to Peter's denials achieves great drama when the second one arrives after the encounter with Annas, precisely when, when questioned, Jesus refers to the testimony of his witnesses, who personified him in Peter, they betray Him. John is almost silent about the judicial process before the Jewish authorities and concentrates on the process before the Roman authorities; Pilate's attitude is difficult to reconcile with the historical data we have about him, it seems that he is a puppet of the Jews, what John wants to emphasize is that the Roman is not before just any man, but before the truth made man, before which one cannot remain neutral. Throughout his life, Jesus did not want to accept the title of King, and now he must do it as a mockery. Jesus demonstrates his authority and lordship by carrying the cross himself, while in the Synoptics the Cyrenean appears. Much importance is given to the sign on the cross, which, being a mockery, is a proclamation of the universal title of Jesus that enthrones him on his throne, and which at the same time is a scaffold. John makes the death of Jesus coincide with the time of the Easter sacrifices in the temple. Jesus is the true lamb who takes away the sin of the world, who inaugurates the new Easter.

In Hebrews 4:14-16 and for Jesus followers, after having announced that we have been saved through the priestly mediation of Jesus Christ, the author goes on to exhort us to remain in the "confession of faith." He probably alludes to a symbol of faith recited in the baptismal liturgy and known very well by his readers. And, although we do not know exactly the form of this primitive creed, we know that it confessed that Jesus is the Lord and the same Son of God. Since Jesus is the Son of God, the only Son, and, on the other hand, one of us and in solidarity with all men, he is Mediator and our high priest. His priesthood is "great" and superior to that of the Old Testament priests. If they entered once a year into the "holy of holies," a place built by human hands, even though it was a sign of God's presence among his people, Jesus, crossing the sky, arrived at once. for all to the immediate presence of the Highest. Jesus is the true pontiff who builds the bridge between the two shores, between God and men. In him and through him we have been reconciled to God. Here, today, while we are next to the tomb of Christ, awaiting his resurrection, we are reviewing our life, our commitments to Him. We do not want to be Judas; we do not want to be cowardly apostles; We want to be faithful from now on.

We Are the World was a benefit single for victims of famine in Africa. It raised over $63 million, which was distributed to Ethiopia, Sudan, and other impoverished countries. On the morning of April 5, 1985 (Good Friday of that year), "We Are the World" received worldwide coverage. At 10:25 am, over 8000 radio stations simultaneously broadcast the song around the world. They played it to show their support for the relief of famine in Ethiopia. As the song was broadcast, hundreds of people sang along on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The simultaneous radio broadcast of "We Are the World" was repeated the following Good Friday. Good Friday reminds us that the real rallying cry for every human is the cross, not a song or somе other man-made campaign. Unity begins there, because we all come to the cross, sinful and broken in need of forgiveness and healing.

That light of Christ has become ours, and it will be the one that will illuminate the hour of our affliction, perhaps of our agony, of our death, as the one that was given to us at baptism with the words that we should carry it lit as a sign of faith until we meet the Lord. We must share these feelings of serene sadness, of hope in the glory of the Lord after his tragic death that was for the good of the world, that was voluntary, because He had said it: "I lay down my life, and I take it." Waiting for that moment when he will take his life again, in that holy expectation of the resurrection of the Lord. A very typical thought after Christ dies on the cross and is taken to the holy sepulcher, and next to the tomb, we remain dismayed at everything that has happened, is the thought that the creed expresses with these words: "He descended into hell."

Billy Graham explained that when Jesus said, "If you are going to follow me, you have to take up a cross," it was the same as saying, "Come and bring your electric chair with you. Take up the gas chamber and follow me." He did not have a beautiful gold cross in mind, the cross on a church steeple or on the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution.

When the creed assures that Christ "descended into hell," it means that in these hours of the separation of his soul and his body, his soul will unite with the souls of all those who waited. Let us imagine what joy that of Adam, that of Eve, that of the patriarchs, that of the prophets, that of the saints who waited for the Lord. If it is a great joy for us to feel redeemed by Christ, that hour of the encounter of souls with Christ must have been much greater. This thought can occupy the minds of all Christians next to the tomb of the Lord and accompany Jesus Christ in spirit, in that meeting that should have also been cried out as in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." All that procession of souls redeemed by Christ will accompany him like a beautiful procession to the tomb where his body lies inert. And when the soul of Christ is reintroduced into that corpse, and the resurrection is going to take place, and Christ will complete his passage from death to life, he does not go alone; he goes with his procession of redeemed people who begin the great procession of the redeemed of the New Testament.

​Lutheran Pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said... Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market... Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.3 We are already in the hope of our own salvation. And one day, all men, from Adam to the last man in history, will form the procession of Christ's redemption as the Revelation saw in those crowds that could not be counted and that sang: "Glory and honor, power and praise to the Lamb who was slain and who died to redeem us."We will live this joy, brothers, ifwe are faithful to that redemption that Christ brought us. 

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”​ 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The first recorded Palm Sunday dates to the 4th century in Jerusalem. The ceremony wasn't introduced to Western Christianity until about the 9th century. This is an important moment for our liturgical calendar because it represents the beginning of the Holy week and raises all the emotions related to the Kingdom of Jesus in Jerusalem, the highest moment in His earthly ministry in terms of recognition before His passion and crucifixion. The scene started with a parade as part of the entry into Jerusalem.

Have you attended a parade? What was the parade you remember as the most special? Have you ever marched in a parade? Well, let me share a funny story about a funny donkey in a parade. There is a nice story that pays attention to the "feelings" of the donkey. This little animal was calm in his house. Suddenly, two strangers came and took him away to march in a Parade. They treat it very well and, on top of that, they decorate it richly. Someone rides him in the parade, but the donkey doesn't notice because he is flattered by everything happening to him. And he begins to walk through the crowd. The people have made themselves branches of olive and palm trees and cheer him, proclaiming the king Messiah. Then the donkey realizes how famous and important he is. Well, as you can notice,e he was a little confused about himself, and we are going to talk about it later. For now, we can analyze the bible reading for this reflection.

Secular census records indicate there were at least 2,500,000 people in Jerusalem for the event. An exciting rumor spread through the city: "Jesus Christ is coming!" Jesus had spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. The two were no more than three miles apart. The text of the bible refers in Matthew 21:1-11 to a very good combination of different aspects to consider. I would like to highlight at least 3 of the more relevant: the realism, the symbolism, and the mysticism. The realism is base in the fact that the political and social tension contained in the Jerusalem society was a huge aspect of the context during the Jesus ministry. The reputation for Jews was as rebels, especially because just some decades before they led an uprising against the Maccabean, that revolt of 167- 160 BCE was a Jewish uprising in Judea against the repression of the Seleucid Empire.

The revolt was led by a country priest called Mattathias, and his military followers became known as the Maccabees. Successful, Jerusalem was captured, and the Temple of Jerusalem reconsecrated, an act still commemorated today in the Jewish Hanukkah festival. When the Roman Empire conquered Israel, they were well informed about the attitude prevalent among the Israelites, a mix of nationalism, cultural, and religious pride. Inside the Jews group, different tenders were defined, especially in relation to the Roman Empire; some of them as Pharisees and Sadducees, were more tolerant of the Roman domination above Isarel, especially because they received some benefits from this posture. On the other hand, other groups, like the zealots, were rebels looking for the opportunity to provoke a revolt. Essenes were totally indifferent about the earthly expectation, and they were more focused on the spiritual change for the humanity living a permanent retirement in the desert.

All these groups perceived Jesus from different expectations, all ofthem were impacted by the ministry of Jesus on the earth, and during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, they expected their position in relation to the Roman Empire. Even the expression Hosanna appeals for an earthly expectation, save us now, here from our oppressors. Moreover, they appeal to the Kingdom, but they interpret it in the line of the Davidic Kingdom, the highest moment for the earthly Israelite kingdom. Then we can read a eartlycture of the scene by jews during the Palm Sunday. 

The second aspect was the symbolism, Jesus showed a different perspective about all the earthly realities around him, but not exactly in the same expression as the Essenes. He was not avoiding people, nor the life in the community. He was sharing with the people, but here he is entering the city as a big leader, riding a donkey. Such a joke for the opposites and a real confusion for His followers. Why did this leader, with all His previous miracles and signs decided to do it in such a strange way? Why is He producing rather a sensation of weakness? The only explanation is the symbolism contained in the gesture. While all the legends about great conquerors were drawn with a lot of details related to power, this leader, who showed power even above nature and the demons, is acting as a simple villager, a humble farmer, or a modest carpenter, as equal with all the crowds cheering His name around.

That also was a strong message for the Roman Empire and its followers, including Pharisees and other due this simple guy had all the capacity to make tremble even the Roman Caesar's power with a simple sign or His wisdom coming from the Father. The third aspect is the mysticism contained in Him, due to all His previous miracles made in favor of a lot of people who were healed, resurrected, delivered from demons, the multiplication of the bread and the fishes, the calm of the waters in the Lake, a lot of clear signs of His supranatural power. This man is more than a carpenter; this man is surely the Messiah, even John the Baptist recognized in Him something superior to himself. I mean, the most relevant of the Essenes considered Jesus the Mesiah announced, and he declared in this way to his followers. No doubt about the mysticism contained in the figure of Jesus entering Jerusalem, acting as a simple human but being more than one. He is the Son of God; He is the real king, the only one. Then, with all these references this day, the confusion was extreme, while in other parts of the city, which was full of crowds due to the easter fast and full of Roman soldiers due to the tension that this scenario produced in the authorities.

The poor were represented in this new style of leadership as Jesus represented. The weak saw in Jesus the empathy and the authenticity of a real leader, the hunger and the thirst found in Jesus, the fountain of hope and love, and the sick found in Him the healing and the restoration. How a human being represents all this at the same time, without the need of an army, a ritual, or magic, without more than the value of the truth contained in his teachings. This was and until now is the mystery for humanity. 

This text corresponds to the third of the so-called songs of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh that Christians very early applied to Jesus when they saw how he had acted and how God had worked in him. Here, the servant presents himself with the characteristics of a prophet: it is the Lord who has given him a disciple's tongue to teach; The words he says to the dejected are not his; but he has heard them from the Lord, he does not resist God and, therefore, he does not back down from the suffering that the carrying out of his mission causes him: convinced that the Lord will defend him, he is not shamed before the men who They belittle him, attack him and make fun of his performance. 

The author speaks about the Christian vocation (12:1-29), evoking the revelation of Sinai (Ex 19-20), through fire, storm clouds, storm, and trumpet, but the signs of the manifestation of Jesus will be of another type, more personal, loving, and close. For God to speak to a person or a people was a sign of death (Dt 5:23; Ex 20:19). It was a type of revelation appropriate to a specific way of understanding God. With Jesus, we have seen and heard what many others desired (cf. Mt 13:16). At this moment in the Church, we have the certainty that the Son has spoken to us (cf. Heb 1:2). The current revelation of God surpasses the ancient way of manifesting God. The believer is on the mountain of God's presence and grace (cf. Is 2), a peaceful and welcoming city, the church of God. The new Jerusalem is the one in which Jesus is its foundation (cf. 11:10) and of which the city of David was nothing more than a shadow and prefiguration (Ps 48:9, Is 54:11). The new believer approaches the angels who are no longer signs of God's terror, but rather participants in salvation itself (cf. Lk 10:20; Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5). It is also participation with all those who have obtained the birthright in the new community of faith (cf. Ps 68:6) and together with all those who, in the measure of God's revelation, gave the level of faith required (cf. ch. 12). In short, it is an approach to God himself, the possibility of believing, feeling loved by God with the security that faith in Jesus, the Mediator, gives.

The psalm of Jesus on the cross (according to Matthew and Mark), which begins with the lament of a man so threatened and mistreated that he even seems abandoned by God, ends with thanksgiving and an invitation to the community to praise this God who, in fact, never abandons his Servant. This text is part of the third song of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (42,1-7; 49,1-7; 50,4-9; 52,13-53,12), a key figure in the message of hope that Isaiah transmits to his captive people in Babylon, and the starting point of a style of messianism identified with the suffering people. All this is very much following the fundamental intention of the Second Isaiah (40-55): Consolation. Thus, in this poem the servant presents himself as a comforting prophet, the words he says to the dejected are not his; but he has heard them from the Lord, he does not offer resistance to God and, therefore, he does not back down from the suffering that the carrying out of his mission causes him: convinced that the Lord will defend him, he is not ashamed before those who despise him.

The first Christians very soon identified Jesus with this Messiah announced by Isaiah, starting from the apostolic tradition that kept alive the memory of Jesus, identified with the poor and excluded of his time, and for this reason murdered, and starting from their own experience. of a suffering people, the experience of a story in which the presence of the risen one is a consoling force. 

Where are we marching to? Are we just going from the manger to the tomb? This is exactly how existentialism looks. The idea of just existing without any purpose or any cause, or any sense through our biography. This is not what the Scriptures say about life. The Bible says in gospel of John 10:10: Jesus came to us might have life, and that might have it more abundantly. We must avoid any kind of immediatism, and we must build our hope in the firm rock of Jesus as an individual and as a society, recognizing to change the human being has been the big challenge throughout human history, even all the political economical and social systems implemented. Political systems have passed through human societies, and the big question continues to be how to touch the human heart to produce enough loyalty, solidarity, justice, and love to generate a stable peace and love that we as humanity.

How are we marching through our lives? Are we just self-centred, considering our person as an individual is the most important thing? This is exactly how narcissism looks. We live in a consumerist culture in which the most important thing is selfishness. We think as consumers, but what happens when we lose our consumption capacity due to unemployment, stop, or structural poverty? Well, we find that we are just crowds or statistics for a global market. Jesus' message on Palm Sunday is about how to avoid any kind of narcissism, and we must be humble. I think that this story of the "bighead" donkey (because he believes himself to be more than he is) helps us to look at ourselves a lot. First, sometimes we put ourselves at the center of faith: we seek to be praised, recognized, listened to... We seek to have different, personal positions, at odds with the faith that our parents gave us... And, when we do this... we have some followers who applaud us... and we believe them... and we accept the "fair and proportionate" praise... and... Jesus ends up on the floor because we are the center. This happens to priests and all those who have the power of speech to take a stand on things. But it can happen to anyone. Do the following phrases sound familiar to you: "I believe my way"; "I am a Christian but not a fanatic"; "The Church has to change and adapt to the times"; "That was before, and now the fashion is different"... and the list could be long. (I'm sure you can suggest another one.) What happens is that the center of life is not God but the person, the believer... and Jesus ends up on the floor. 

How do we perceive the future? Do we have enough trust in humanity to believe that we can be better than we actually are? Or are we going to disclaim our vocation to the wellness and solidarity aspirations? To avoid any kind of secularism, we must believe with all our faith and transcend simplicity. Jesus didn't build an empire for Israel, even though He could have. His decision was invite all human beings to be transformed through repentance and the forgiveness coming from God. On February 27, 380, in Thessaloniki, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I (347 - 395) signed a decree in the presence of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian II (371-392) that made Christianity the religion of the state and punished the practice of pagan rituals. Then, that simple carpenter riding a simple donkey one Sunday in Jerusalem won the battle against the Roman Empire in the end, and he subjected human power under his humble feet because He is the real king. I am not suggesting everything was resolved with this political decision, not at all, but we can confirm that if we can trust that there is no power bigger than God's power, so we can do it better now, spreading the gospel with our word but also with our deeds and the signs of the Holy Spirit.

During the nineteenth century, it was Chancellor Bismarck of Prussia who entered the City of Jerusalem riding a white horse. So great was the number of soldiers and officials that an entire section of the city wall had to be removed. That was impressive, but not equal to that day in Jerusalem when this humble man who was the Son of God did it to start the pathway to the final victory above death forever. We'll find moments in our life when we feel loneliness, the evil can get us discouraged and reduce our faith, or we can experience the weaknesses in our flesh due illness or our age but God is our power all the time and His power is over everything around, we can trust in Him and change our loneliness in solitude, our weaknesses in humility, the evil in opportunities to be promotors of peace, love and witness of the God's Kingdom coming soon.

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 6 And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

We are living in a civilization controlled by stress. Bad news and agitations are the daily routine, at the same time we all are taking care of our health, our families, trying to build a legacy and looking to provide the best testimony as we can as Christians and believers while we are also being beaten by sickness, high cost of living and complex issues coming from the new realities relates with technology as the artificial intelligence and the harder ethical discussion about new trends impacting human behavior and we ask to ourselves what kind of future can we expect for our children? What kind of Hope can we pass on to the new generations? What is the fountain of peace and calm that we can have nowadays?

Have you controlled the level of stress under you? When was the last time that your pression warner you to take care of your heart? Have you ever been under so much stress that it caused a mental breakdown? That's what happened to William Cowper while preparing for his bar exam. His breakdown was so complete that he was admitted to an insane asylum until he recovered. During his time in the asylum, his life was forever changed when he came to know Christ. In 1764, William was reading the Bible and stumbled upon Romans 3:25, which says, "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood, to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished." After reading this passage, he gave his heart and life to Christ. Three years later, in 1767, William Cowper met the Rev. John Newton. Rev. Newton is best known for writing the hymn, Amazing Grace, although the men met before the popular hymn was written.

Together, Mr. Cowper and Rev. Newton produced the Olney Hymnal, which was published in 1779. These hymns were written for use in the rural parish where Rev. Newton was a minister. William Cowper wrote approximately sixty-seven of the 348 hymns, while John Newton wrote the remaining hymns. There is a fountain, one of the hymns William Cowper wrote for the Olney Hymnal. William had a difficult life. His mother died when he was six years old, and he was bullied at boarding school. He suffered from what we, today, call depression for much of his life. This popular hymn is based on the passage Zachariah 13:1, "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." The hymn was originally titled "Peace for the Fountain Opened."

Wesley said, it is the blood of Christ alone whereby any sinner can be reconciled to God; there being no other propitiation for our sins, no other fountain for sin and uncleanness. Every believer in Christ is deeply convinced that there is no merit but in him; that there is no merit in any of his own works.

Jr 31:31-34 Jeremiah to announce a "new alliance." ​31 "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

In a critical situation and starting from his own experience with God (cf. 15, 16), Jeremiah opens himself to eschatological hope to announce a "new alliance." It is the first time that this concept appears, which would later pass to the NT (Lk 22, 20; Heb 8, 8, and 13) and to the Christian church. The parties to this alliance will be the same as those agreed upon at Sinai: Yahweh and his people. However, it will not be a repetition of the Sinai alliance, but something truly new. Jeremiah does not refer to a simple religious restoration, as was, for example, the reform of Josiah (2 Kings 23). The old alliance has been a failure, and now we are trying to achieve the same objective through another path: The Law will not be written on tablets of stone but on the heart (2 Cor 3: 3).

Each one, under the influence of God's grace, will correctly know the demands of his Law (cf. Is 54, 23; Jn 6, 45). Everyone, from the small to the great, will recognize the Lord as such and will fulfill what he commands (22.16; Hos 4, 1; 5, 4; 6, 6). This internalization of the alliance with the entire people places the individual in an immediate relationship with God and gives rise to a spiritual community that transcends blood ties and national borders. Then the intervention of those prophets who had so little success with their warnings will no longer be necessary (5, 4s). This new alliance, written on the heart, will only be possible if God himself first purifies the hearts and forgives the sin that is recorded in them (17,1). Jeremiah's prophecy acquires all its meaning in the critical situation in which it was pronounced. Let us remember that these were times of national ruin, in which the temple with all its symbols collapsed.

Hebrews 5:1-10. The priesthood of Christ. 5 Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." 6, And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." 7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The author wants to clarify to his readers what the priesthood of Christ consists of and what his dignity is. It establishes a parallel between the priesthood of Christ and that of the priests of the AT, without forgetting that the former is far above the latter. Expanding on ideas already expressed in the previous chapter (vv. 14-16), he highlights two fundamental features that characterized the AT service, and that also occur but with greater perfection in the priesthood of Christ. One is solidarity with the people from whom the priest has been taken and whom he must represent before God; another is the vocation with which he must be called by God.

The priest will be more suitable to carry out his mission the more understanding he is of the miseries of others. The experience of his own weaknesses that surround him like a dress will help him keep alive the memory of his own origin and not distance himself from the people. This will make you understand. However, its understanding should not go further than the ignorance and weakness of men; For God, who always forgives the weak and straying (Lev 4,2.13.22.27; 5,24), resists the proud and does not forgive those who sin "with a raised hand" (Num 1,30f). These must be excluded from the community. The priest of the OT, who was a sinner like all men, offered sacrifices for the sins of the people and his own sins. Solidarity with the people was, in a certain sense, a consequence of complicity. On the other hand, Jesus became united with all men out of love, since he did not commit sin and offered himself for the sins of others. Also, the last root of his understanding is in that love for men that led him to become a man like us, equal in everything, except sin.

The other trait that the author is interested in highlighting in the priesthood of the OT is the vocation, for no one can claim the honor of being a priest if he has not been called by God. To exercise the priesthood, God called Aaron and his descendants (Ex 28:1; Lev 8:2, etc.). Jesus was also called by God, but not like Aaron, nor by Aaron's calling, since he was not his descendant nor of the tribe of Levi. When the fullness of time arrived, God once and for all called his own Son, born of the virgin Mary. The author proves both extremes with different biblical texts. the first, that is, that Jesus is the Son of God, with Ps 2 (cf. Hebr 1,5). And the second, that is his vocation, with Ps 110:4.

​The allusion to the priesthood of Melchizedek illustrates, on the one hand, that the priesthood of Christ is not in the line of the priesthood of Aaron and, on the other, that Christ is also king like Melchizedek. In any case, the priesthood of Christ appears as something unique and incomparable. Compared to the priesthood of the. T. is analogical and, in a certain sense, by contrast. No one can be a priest like Christ, who is the irreplaceable mediator. However, those who are priests in the church must imitate the priesthood of Christ, especially when it comes to solidarity with men.

Hebrews 5:1-6 All expectations (demands) that can be placed on the high priest are found in Christ. He has been called by God, as indicated by reference to two different texts. The first is taken from Ps 2:7, already cited previously in 1:5. The supreme priesthood is based on the metaphysical filiation of Christ. The second text, which is cited several times: Ps 110, explains how Christ possesses the dignity of high priest, even though he is not descended from the lineage of Aaron. But he has been instituted "priest forever according to the rite of Melchizedek", in whom he receives, along with the priestly dignity, also that of a king, since both are united. Nothing is said about the time (moment) of this institution. The only thing that is highlighted is the fact that it is the Father who has established the Son as a high priest. 

Heb 5, 7-9 The author describes the prayer and anguish of Jesus with moving and realistic words. It refers to the trance of Gethsemane when Jesus had to experience in his own flesh the natural disgust at an approaching death. The one who was going to be constituted mediator and priest of the new alliance approached men and went down to the depths of our pain. Although the Synoptics seem to assume that Jesus prayed in Gethsemane "with cries and tears" (Mk 14, 32-42; Mt 26, 36-46; Lk 22, 40-46), it is possible that the author was also inspired by other biblical texts, especially in the psalms. Jesus suffered and died on the cross after his prayer in Gethsemane.

However, it is said here that he was heard, this can have two equally valid meanings: that Jesus overcame his natural repugnance to death and accepted the will of the Father, or/and that the Father saved him from death by resurrecting him on the third day. Jesus is frequently spoken of in the NT, but this is the obedience of the Father, which is often shown as disobedience to men and human laws. But his obedience to the Father until death, and death on a cross. Jesus achieved a perfect, glorious, fulfilled life and was established as Lord who now gives life to all who obey him.

Jn 12: 20-33. The effectiveness of the death. 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip, in turn, told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 "Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. The Gentiles who accepted the faith of Israel, but had not been circumcised, were called "proselytes of the door" or "Godfearers" (cf. Acts 10, 2; 13, 16; 16, 14, etc.). It can be assumed that many of these proselytes were in Jerusalem during the Passover and that some, impressed by what they had seen and heard about Jesus, wanted to get to know him more closely. These Gentiles think that the best way get what they want is to go first. to the disciples of Jesus, specifically those who were familiar with his language or Hellenic customs. Philip and Andrew (both have Greek names and the first is from Bethsaida, in the Decapolis, which was a Hellenized region) seem to be the most suitable.

This episode, which has no connection with what follows in the story, serves as an explanation for the anger of the Pharisees, who, full of envy, whisper among themselves about Jesus' success: "Everyone is following him" (v 19). On the other hand, it is like a preview of the spread that the gospel would have among the Gentiles, thanks to the mission of the Apostles. All the clamor of the crowd and the triumph that accompanies it cannot prevent Jesus from going deep inside, for the "hour" of his "exaltation" of his death and of his true glorification on the cross has arrived. It is the hour appointed by the Father to carry out the necessary sowing, without which the harvest is not possible. And Jesus is the grain. He must die so that his work of salvation can spread throughout the world. The harvest that Jesus expects is none other than the salvation of the world through faith in his gospel. John always uses the expression "bear fruit" in this missionary sense.

The effectiveness of the death of Jesus for the extension of the kingdom of God among men and peoples is not automatic; it does not spare anyone the free option for the gospel. That is why Jesus, who has fulfilled in his life and his death the law of sowing, generosity, and giving, warns us that we must all do the same as him if we want to enter eternal life with him. For he who only takes care of himself and has no other concerns than saving his life, loses it, but he who lives and dies for others gains eternal life. Jesus obeyed the Father when his "hour" came. Jesus reminds his disciples that they must serve him and the gospel by following his path to the end. Then they too will come to the Father, like Jesus, and the Father will reward them with eternal life.

Jesus is frightened and afraid of death: what can he do? Does he perhaps ask the Father to free him from that "hour" and to remove the bitter chalice that he gives him to drink? He only asks that his will be fulfilled since that is why he has come into the world. He asks that the name of God be glorified, that is, that what God is and wants to be for all be manifested to men: Love. But this is not possible without the last proof: "In this was manifested the love that God has us: in that, God gave his only Son to the world so that we might live through him" (1 Jn 4, 9), "for God loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten to death" (Jn 3, 16) It is God's will to give us the final proof so that we believe that it is Love so that we glorify his name and achieve life through Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Jesus knows that the Father always listens to him, but men must know that the Father is always with him. That's why the voice came from heaven. This entire passage recalls Jesus' agony in Gethsemane and his transfiguration on Tabor. Juan, one of the three witnesses in both cases, does not expressly say anything about it, but here he vaguely captures the same experience. The "hour of Jesus is also the hour of the world. In it, it is manifested that God is Love, but the sin of the world is also revealed. It is the hour of Jesus' exaltation of his death and his glory. It is the hour of judgment against Satan and his ilk, but also the hour of forgiveness for all who believe in him. It is the hour in which God summons all the elect around him who is "exalted." For all we can hope for, and fear is the fruit and consequence of the victory and judgment that occurs on the cross of Christ.

The reality is our daily cross, I mean, during our life we carry on hard days and good days, we have no choice, we must do it. Days when we feel happy and full of energy, days when we are almost dying, suffering a lot of pain and sorrow. God is always with us every day of our lives, carrying on our problems and our tragedies. When we feel like we cannot continue, God renews our strength as the eagles. When we feel like all is lost and we have no choice, we find in prayer reason to be raised in God's promises. This is the miracle of faith; we can believe in the salvation and the restoration of everything around us, it doesn't matter the darkness of reality. When we see God's hands carry on the misery of humanity around the world, we can confirm 

This reflection could well be connected to the sequence we had in the month of January, talking about the Time. The coherence of the Bible about the fulfillment of times should serve us in our personal anguish to recognize that God acts in accordance with his absolute control over everything that happens, which is why his plans are perfect. Nature knows very well about the fulfillment of times, which is why the seasons occur with the simplicity of what God designed, and it does so with sufficient perfection, even despite climate change; The cycle of the seasons is still there, reminding us of the majesty of God. Also, the gestation of a baby in the womb of his mother is a wonder that occurs based on times defined by the wonderful hand of God.
 
In the liturgical calendar this is the time of Easter to remember the vicarious death of Christ on the Cross, in this way we can increase our dependence on Jesus, but it is also a time to discern our reality and confront it in the light of the gospel to illuminate the darkness of indifference and individualism and propose a more supportive and active attitude in the transformation of our lives and our relationships. This fourth Sunday of Lent, we celebrate with new hope. When it seems that all is lost, the Spirit of God is floating: his word, making calls, giving us guidance that is truly our salvation. Lent is a journey towards Easter; its perspective is the risen Christ who offers us a new life. Christ paid with his cross, with his passion for the miseries of human beings. God is offering us salvation in Christ! It is not simply a law as we meditated last Sunday: A moralism; It's about his love. Love for Christ is the best reason to live in holiness, to please Christ. If human beings let us be reached by that love, everything would be different. If the world is in crisis, it is because we do not believe in God. Obviously, for the unbelievers, this is an absurd explanation. Now is the time to believe in God and not only religiously but in the authenticity of a contextual and relational God.
 
On April 8, 2024, the country will witness an extraordinary celestial phenomenon: a total solar eclipse in Canada. This rare event will darken the midday skies over North America, giving observers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a breathtaking spectacle. Total solar eclipses are rare events, with NASA noting that they occur approximately two to four times a year. However, the probability of witnessing them is much lower. According to NASA, the area of land covered by total solar eclipses is narrow, only about 80 kilometers wide. Some specific areas may experience a total eclipse only once every hundred years. In the case of Canada, the last time a significant portion of the country experienced a total solar eclipse was on February 26, 1979. The event will be especially impactful in areas like Hamilton and Niagara Falls, where a true total eclipse will be experienced. However, before you get excited and look directly at the sky, experts warn about the need to take precautions to protect your eyes. NASA recommends using specialized "eclipse glasses" or indirect methods, such as a pinhole projector, to avoid eye damage. Regarding safety, we offer valuable tips to enjoy the eclipse safely. Eye protection is essential, and we provide information on recommended types of glasses and safe viewing methods.
 
Just as we can live this astronomical event with expectation, we must also prepare to live the event of the full realization of the Kingdom of God as part of our Christian responsibility and our hope. Let's go to the Bible to discern God's message.

Last Sunday, we were studying Moses on Mount Sinai. There, the story stopped being that of Abraham as a promise of a great people and became a reality. Four centuries had passed, and Abraham was represented in that crowd of Israelites walking towards the promised land; These people had to ally with God, they had to respond to so many privileges that God had granted them in the desert and throughout their history, the response had to be the fulfillment of this decalogue. God had designed all the relationships of human beings with God and with each other. The alliance included a law, and from that moment, a new phase in the history of salvation began, called the Mosaic Era, that is, Moses. The main characteristic of that stage was the law given to Israel.
 
The sin broke the alliance. The bibles says in Numbers 21: 4-9: They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people, and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. The,n when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
 
But in that time of Moses, in that time of the law that spanned several centuries, very good things happened, but also very bad things. When the Israelites, led by Moses, entered the difficult road of the desert, they murmured against him. This murmuring was punished in the desert. Some poisonous snakes appeared that bit, and whoever was bitten by the snake died. Faced with this calamity, they ran to Moses to tell him what was happening. Moses, as usual, prays to the Lord, and the Lord gives him the answer: "Build a bronze snake, lift it on a pole, anyone who looks at the snake with faith will be free from the poison of those poisonous snakes."
 
Who knows just what these serpents were?  The fact that they are called “fiery” literally in Hebrew could indicate that these were not ordinary snakes.  They sound like maybe a divine kind of sign or something.   But whatever they were, the main thing to know about these serpents is that they were lethal.  If the God who sent them doesn’t do something to get rid of them, the people would soon start to die in big numbers. As is the predictable pattern in Numbers, God does respond to Moses’ plea on behalf of the people.  Curiously, however, he does not respond by just evaporating the fiery snakes he had sent in the first place.   That would have been the logical thing to do.   God sends snakes, God removes snakes.   That’s what the people asked Moses to pray, too, and presumably, he did so; he prayed that God would “take the snakes away for the people.” In the New Testament, we find the words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians that say...
 
The resurrection of Jesus Christ and his exaltation as Lord at the right hand of the Father is the beginning of what we hope for, believing that the triumph of the “head” is at its root the triumph of all the “members” (Cor 2, 12; 3, 1-4); but it is nothing more than the beginning of the end that has yet to be fulfilled for the benefit of those of us who journey in hope. That is why we need to persevere, resist with patience (cf. Rom 8, 25) and keep hope in suspense (Eph 4, 4; Rom 8, 24). Paul places at the center of his attention what he has previously put in parentheses in v 5; that is, the gratuitousness of our salvation in Christ. The following verses until the end of the text offer a summary of his doctrine, widely explained in the letters to the Romans and the Galatians. Salvation comes from God and is not the final product of our good works and the demand of our merits. Therefore, we have nothing to boast about, and everything is a reason for thanksgiving to God. Although man can believe or not, reject or freely accept God's salvation, "good works" in the Pauline sense are already the fruit of the salvation received, an expression of grace.
 
In the gospel of John, we find again the figure of the desert serpent, now connected to Jesus Christ. John 3:14-21
 
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

With the story of the bronze serpent lifted by Moses in the desert (Num 21:8f.), John illustrates the "lifting" of the Son of Man on the cross. The word “elevation” is used in a double sense: elevation to the cross and elevation to the right hand of the Father. We Christians have translated it as "exaltation." John sees in the crucifixion, and not after it, the culminating moment of Jesus' life, the "hour" of his glorification. The “exaltation” is the transition of Jesus from the world to the Father, the saving Passover (Jn 12, 32), glorifying Jesus (17, 2; cf. 13, 31f). The best comment on this text is made by John in his first letter (4, 9s). "Perdition" (or death) and "life" are contrasted here, just as in the next verse, "condemnation" (or judgment) and "salvation." Man can only escape perdition and condemnation if, by believing in Jesus Christ, he receives life and salvation.
 
There are two ideas that I want to propose for this day about putting our Christian faith. First, we must think about the need to discern the times, and to do so, we must be attentive. Nowadays, there is a lot of misinformation about everything. Last week I talked about the enormous problem of consumerism, and now I want to add the problem of individualism. When we are uninformed, we are victims of the selfishness of our interpretations, we are victims of ideologies, and we can go so far as to deny God or fall into the idolatry of things.
 
According to John, salvation or damnation occurs when man resists the Gospel with his disbelief: for he who does not believe condemns himself and deprives himself of the last opportunity to achieve life. According to this, the “final judgment” would be nothing other than the divine confirmation of that sentence that man executes against himself, by handing over his existence to perdition and death. In front of the "darkness", which is presented here as a personification of evil, rises the "light" which is the Son of God himself in person (1:4s). The coming of "light" into the world denounces the existence of "darkness" and, although the Son of God does not come to judge anyone, his presence inevitably establishes a judgment. The "light", and therefore the proclamation of the gospel,  questions men and forces them to decide between faith and salvation, or unbelief and perdition. Many decide to disbelieve because their works are not good. We speak here of "making the truth" because for Juan, the truth, like the lie, is not two opposing theories. But two contradictory ways of living. Those who act perversely oppose the truth with the lie of their life and hide their evil deeds by fleeing from the light. On the other hand, those who do the truth seek the light, so that their good works may be seen.
 
To overcome individualism, we must face reality; we must not live with our backs to reality but be well informed about everything that happens in our reality, in our community, in our environment, because we are not isolated individuals, but we are part of a community and therefore, what affects one, affects us all. We must pray for our community and be supportive in prayer and accompany those who are in need due to illness or problems of different kinds. This week, while participating in the Prayer Breakfast in Toronto, I learned about the difficult situation of refugee shelters; we must pray so that the churches can contribute right here to find answers that dignify the human condition. Likewise, we must pray for places where there are armed conflicts, such as Ukraine and Palestine, so that sanity and justice reach especially the victims, and for there to be restorative justice.
 
Each one carries a cross, but all people are also called to hope, every day is an appropriate day to seek the cross, times are propitious for hope because they are bad times, times of human tragedy, because each person faces their own drama and is increased by the structural conditions of our societies dominated by complex economies and the high cost of living, in addition to the climate crisis, but the time of salvation is present in Christ's promise to restore all things, the cross It is the raised image but not for idolatry, last week we warned about the problem of idolatry, those that come from politics, consumerism and also from the theology of prosperity, we should not turn to idolatry in search of healing or solve our individual or structural problems, we must believe in Christ, in his word, in the Holy Spirit who works miracles on our behalf, that is why we must not faint or stop believing, we must not renounce against God because the acceptable time has come, God in his mercy will give us a way out.
 
We must bear the reality of individual and social sin, which lies in the lack of solidarity and indifference, we must respond communally in favor of those who need it most inside and outside our borders and do so in the name of who is the salvation raised for all who believe in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever.

From the beginning of time, the human being has tried to find divinity and has chosen to do it in special places or has tried to capture the idea of divinity in objects; this was strongly practiced during antiquity, but it persists until now, and we can call this religious effect naturalism. A mountain, a river, or a stone can be sacred for humanity when host special meaning due to its value or representation.

Places like Stonehenge, The Tiger's Nest/Paro Taktsang, or Sinai Mountain, even Mecca, are examples of places that hold special meaning for believers because they keep sacred meaning in the minds of crowds.

During the Christianism's history have had different representations for divinity, and even now we have emerging spiritualities in the new global society as a mixing of old meanings with values related with consumerism, for example, during the last century political ideologies as the nazims or communism have controlled lives of millions of people in the same way that was made by the Roma's church during the period called medieval obscurantism in the dark media age and actually, we can see how the consumerism control millions of lives through seeking pleasure and through the desire for have some fun. In the new secular religion era, a big football stadium could become a new temple where millions of people can be gathered to feel a spiritual experience based on a ritual oriented to offer worship to their ego or the selfishness of an artist, a band, or through social media penetration. Do you have an idea how many people can be gathered in person and online to watch the Super Bowl? O Did you know that around a million people were gathered in Buenos Aires when the Argentina national soccer team won the Soccer World Cup to celebrate the symbol of triumph.

This is the scenario about the new idolatry and its strong representation for crowds more than the Christian ethic or the principles coming from the Bible. As a result of these trends, a lot of people around the world live trapped by famine, wars, and corruption, others are suffering due consuming of drugs, even traffic, and some of them are considering suicide because they feel they are not loved to continue living. 

What's God's response to these crowds? How can we as a church offer to this world the hope and the restoration as the bible teaches, so that they can receive the pardon and find a new sense for their lives?

The objectives for this sermon are the next: First at all, to explore the idea of the temple in the bible as a place for God's worship but also as an institution representative of the ethic's project for the God's Kingdom, secondly, to reflect about the importance of the set of values contained in the Christianity as part of an understanding of spirituality and thirdly, to stablish the incarnation as the way used by God to show His mercy and His authority above everything even above the human comprehension of the divinity.

In Exodus 20:1-17, we found signs of faith, we found in the Old Testament signs of an organized faith and deep spirituality contained in the set of precepts given by God to Israel to preserve the coexistence. The word of God says in Exodus 20:

...And God spoke all these words: 2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Even though the temple appears as a concrete place to visit and to stay in, faith was more than this for God. The implications of belonging to the people of God included a clear understanding of new relations and responsibilities derived from the acceptance of God's kingdom. Part of this understanding was the innovative incorporation of the 10 commandment which represented, for this old time, a complex change amid the naturalism of its time. The decalogue is a code in which the clauses of the Sinai Pact or alliance are collected. We know another version of him (5, 6-22), with minimal differences. It presents the same structure and distribution as the Hittite covenants: a) introduction: "I am the Lord, your God"; b) historical prologue: "that I took you out of Egypt, out of slavery"; c) general stipulations or clauses, (3-6) and clauses (6-17).

In the "historical prologue," the theological motivation of the alliance is reported: The people who have been freed from the slavery of Egypt can now freely make a pact with Yahweh, their liberator. "You will have no other gods in my presence" excludes polytheism, affirms monotheism, and supposes the presence of Yahweh in the midst or before his people. The presence that does not accept the worship of intermediate divinities, this would be denying the presence of the true God. The prohibition of making idols and even images of Yahweh is an unprecedented fact in the history of religions. However, we know that some religious images were allowed in Israel (Ex 25, 18-20). 18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.

The relationship between Yahweh and Israel is often compared to that betweena husband and his wife. In this case, Yahweh's jealousy is understood when Israel prostitutes herself by worshiping idols. He then punishes the sin of the parents on the children to the third generation. Instead, He is merciful, for a thousand generations, when he fulfills the precepts of Yahweh and abides by the clauses of the covenant.

Perjury, false testimony, and abuse of God's name are prohibited. The Vulgate translates "the name of God in vain", which prohibits the frivolity that could be pronounced the name of God; But the most serious thing is the manipulation of his name to self-interestedly cover up the lie. While here only the religious motivation of the Sabbath precept is indicated, in Deuteronomy 5:14, the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey, or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest. Its humanitarian and social motivation is also revealed. "Coveting" means not only the desire, but also the act or attempt to appropriate what belongs to one's neighbor's "house." What is prohibited is an external action, but Jesus will internalize the Mosaic law and prohibit even the covetousness of the heart and the desire for adultery.

In 1 Corinthians 1, 22-25, we find the scandal of salvation, caused in the New Testament, we find a new comprehension of the spirituality which get over the simple human attempt to practice a religion. The  Bible says: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

In this passage, Paul preaches the same gospel to everyone, centered on Christ and his cross, which is the strength and wisdom of God. However, in Corinth, they do not understand it, while some, those from Judaism, focus on the salvation obtained by compliance with the law and the pride that this entails, others, the "Greeks", focus on the power of human capabilities and wisdom. Both forget that God's salvationhas been offered to us in Jesus, weak, poor, and executed. 

Such a salvation is scandalous for the Jews, since it eliminates the saving value of the strength with which man can and should dedicate himself to the fulfillment of the law; this would be blasphemy. While for the Greeks, it is something illogical. God revealed himself to the Jews with a strong arm starting from the exit from Egypt and throughout the entire history of Israel and showed his divine wisdom to the Gentiles who can see it in the works of creation as Rom 1:20 says: For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse; but neither one nor the other recognized him, so that "both Jews and Greeks are all under sin" as Rom 3:10 teaches. Finally, God wanted to manifest himself to Jews and Greeks, revealing his strength and wisdom in weakness and in the foolishness of the cross of Christ.

The shame is that the Jews continue to demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, even though everyone has been summoned to find in the crucified Christ the same strength and wisdom of God.

In John 2: 13-25 we can see that Jesus represents a new civilization. Jesus represents the total innovation in spirituality, because in Him God incarnated a new civilization. In this passage, as the bibles says: When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts, he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So, he made a whip out of cords, and drove allfrom the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves, he said, "Get these out of here! Stop turning my father's house into a market!" His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews then responded to him, "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. Now, while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 

He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.  John presents Jesus confronting the official religion and constantly opposes the faith ofthe disciples to the disbelief of the Jews. The expulsion of the merchants from the temple is a prophetic attack on the lords of the temple, it is a gesture that preludes Jesus' fight in which he would lose his life; but it is also the announcement of the destruction of that temple as a divine response to the disbelief of the Jews who did not know their hour and did not receive the Messiah that had been promised to them. Once Jesus rises from the dead, he himself will henceforth be the true temple of God. Taking this perspective into account, Juan prefers to place this event at the beginning of public life, contrary to the synoptics.

The sacrifices that were offered daily in the temple and the need to exchange the current currency, the Roman currency, for another special currency, to satisfy the religious tribute to which the Jews were obliged makes it understandable that animal sellers and money changers settled in the court of the Gentiles, with the permission of the Sanhedrin or the high priest Annas as Mathew 17: 24-27 says After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" "Yes, he does," he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes, from their own children or from others?" "From others," Peter answered. "Then the children are exempt," Jesus said to him. "But so that we may not offend, go to the lake, and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth, and you will find a fourdrachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."

The guardians of the temple do not immediately accuse him of disturbing the order; they first ask him for a sign, which demonstrates his authority.

The idea of the reification of the things appointed out by Heidegger is a clear sign of the current consumerist civilization. In a society as we live, things are objects of worship; when people buy, they adore the object as something with special meaning. The advertisement grants the created things attributes beyond their reality, for example, a television can create happiness, or a car can grant elegance or power. Even for Christians around the world, current trends like the Prosperity Theology have created the idea that the temple is the place to gather crowds, and larger churches have emerged in which the presence of the divinity in the temple and through specific rituals is more attractive for people than a consistent project for life, which would include commitments, commands, or responsibilities. We live between Manichaeism and the light spirituality, and the product offered for many churches is a bottle of religion served to people when they need it and in the measure that they need it, sometimes with the flavour that they prefer, like a bottle of faith produced oriented to a large target market and recyclable.

The religious temple can create in the people the idea of sanctification more than the real behavior; people come to religious spaces to feel holiness instead of practicing holiness in their daily life. Holiness is contained in a place to visit and to stand, and not something to assume and to develop as a part of a project; this is the main confusion about religion in the current time. Rituals are an easy way to meet the demands coming from the divinity more than the repentance emerging from the depths of the heart; this is the kind of reflection that must be provoked for Christianity today. We need to get over the naturalism and consumerist religion; we need to recognise that the consequences when we assume God's project are linked to an incarnation of new values, primarily as individuals and secondly as communities. We are not crowds under a roof, but we are more than this, we represent a new civilization, people who believe in a set of principles and taught which guide our behaviour and our decisions every day of our lives. We are not a mere doctrine with a set of precepts and rituals; even though we practice rituals because of our deep demands of representation, we do not consider the most important part of our faith to be our rituals, but our relations with God, with ourselves, with each other, and with the whole creation. This is the kind of understanding of the faith and the spirituality with which we can transform the world into a better one. Our life is the temple where we need to cultivate a flourishing spirituality capable of transforming our situation, it doesn't matter what could be, for good or for bad, we can trust in the presence of God coming from deep inside and present in everything around us, especially in people of faith who believe in the same God with the same commitment and conviction.