Sweet Bitter Tears

"And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance"

Genesis 45:7 NKJV

We are constantly overwhelmed by bitterness and disappointment, both regarding what is happening on a global scale and within our small church and family circles. Perhaps this is why, when we go to church, we want to hear only about joy, which leads some preachers—even if unconsciously—to be selective in their choice of biblical themes. I believe, however, that not everything that is sweet is healthy. Among the bitter themes to be rediscovered, “repentance” must certainly be included: that shift in thinking, that transformation of the heart, which allows us to stand before God full of hope, certain that we do not deserve His mercy. Yet it makes us aware that the Lord came to earth not to judge but to save, not for the righteous but for sinners. How many times in the past have we heard proclaimed that there is no forgiveness without repentance... Only those who know repentance can understand God’s infinite grace. There is no grace without change. Peter would never forget that night, when, meeting the Lord’s gaze, “… he remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ Then Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61–62).

The fisherman recognized his mistake, tasting its full bitterness as tears streamed down his face, before savoring the sweetness of the Master’s love and experiencing the power of divine forgiveness after being asked three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21). Love is stronger than any bitterness, capable of erasing or overcoming the pain suffered. It was love that allowed our Joseph of Genesis (the one sold by his brothers) to affirm that he was there and had endured all those misfortunes for a purpose willed by God. Years later, rewinding the tape and retracing the days of betrayal, loneliness, and captivity, he manages to find the meaning of everything that had happened. Those sufferings had certainly marked his life, but no resentment had taken root in his heart; despite the many wrongs done to him, he manages to feel patience, hope, and above all love toward those who had caused him so much pain. When his brothers came down to Egypt to ask for help, he was so overcome with emotion at seeing them again—especially the youngest, Benjamin—that he had to withdraw to his room to weep. Those tears were a sign of an emotional bond that had never been broken, even though he had tried to take revenge by hiding the golden cup in his brothers’ sacks and having Benjamin arrested.

However, when there is goodness and God’s love in the heart, one cannot bring oneself to do harm. The power of forgiveness erased all the suffering endured. If we are unable to forget a quarrel or a wrong, then we cannot become part of God’s story, written to bring about good. It is not always easy or clear. Joseph, a high official of the kingdom, asked them to bring their father there: “Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck” (Genesis 45:14). He had not been able to do so before, but now that he had confessed, he could embrace him again, in an embrace similar to that of the father in Luke’s parable of the prodigal son, who threw his arms around the neck of his long-lost son. Joseph wept for Benjamin and for his family; great was the power of his forgiveness! Probably we too, like him, must recognize that we are part of God’s story and mark it by leaving a trace of forgiveness, a trace of love for those dear to us and for those around us, learning to welcome them into our arms and to care for them, while there is still time. The apostle James also urges us to do this: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17).

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Piano di lettura settimanale

della Bibbia n. 24

08 giugno 2Cronache 30-31; Giovanni 18:1-18

09 giugno 2Cronache 32-33; Giovanni 18:19-40

10 giugno 2Cronache 34-36; Giovanni 19:1-22

11 giugno Esdra 1-2; Giovanni 19:23-42

12 giugno Esdra 3-5; Giovanni 20

13 giugno Esdra 6-8; Giovanni 21

14 giugno Esdra 9-10; Atti 1