WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD

1. God calls a people, prepares them for a great meeting and makes it a sign of salvation for all mankind. When the decisive moment comes, from the meeting established, God is present, but His chosen people are not. On the contrary, because of many tasks, many other goals and economic interest, the chosen people turned their backs on their Lord. In rejecting the Son of God, the leaders of the people were casting down salvation. The radicalism of this contempt is evident in the text, when it even cites the murder of the envoys, a sign of what they will do with the Savior, that is, with the Son. To kill the envoys is a display of total disregard, of total detachment, of absolute separation. So much so, that, according to the text, such action provoked the wrath of the "king." What will happen to these people?

2. "The wedding party is ready, but the guests were not worthy of it. So go to the crossroads of the ways and invite all those you meet to the party." "Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." In other words, the Word of God should not be stuck in the context of Israel. God is the Lord of all humanity, of all peoples, is the Lord Creator, who will no longer have a people among the peoples as a special people according to a condition of nationality, but will have a new people, fruit of faith and baptism, of life according to Jesus Christ, His Son, a people of those who have been and will be inserted into the Body of Christ. Consanguinity and Nationality will not be criteria of belonging to God, but only the ACCESSION OF CHRIST AND HIS WORK.

3. The chosen people, who denied Jesus Christ, were in themselves rejected, that is, when they forsook the Savior, they canceled their status as God's people. It is now necessary to believe in Jesus Christ in order to be the New People of God. Certainly, God wants the ancient people, but only through Jesus, in which the New and Eternal Covenant is established. Some, at the beginning of the Church, even claimed that God would not reject this people because of the promises made. The point is that the promises have been fulfilled. On the other hand, the people is that, searching for itself, it remained obstinate in the disbelief. What has happened to Israel, can also happen to either a community or anyone individually. It is in practice that we are truly faithful or not.

Salvation is, above all, a gift of God to all; it is God's action, first, then, it is our response. It means that it is not enough to have the divine call, which is essential, but also our response, which will indicate the choice. So many were called, but few were chosen, that is, not all responded to the call, not all really cared about their greater good, not all are willing to continue to love the truth, having to make serious resignations in life. Even in Christianity, some can be put out of the banquet (of salvation), because they do not adhere to the will of God through Jesus Christ. It is necessary to have the proper vestment, that is, with a life obedient to God's will, inserted in the practice of justice and identified with Christ. Salvation is not a magic formula. It demands adherence of the whole person, firm conviction, absolute decision by Jesus Christ.

A strong and affectionate hug.

Fr. José Erinaldo