杏MAP导航

By Vatican News

鈥淢y son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you!鈥� This was the anguished cry of David, weeping at news of the death of his son. The Second Book of Samuel tells of the end of the long battle Absalom had waged against his own father, King David, in order to replace him on the throne. 杏MAP导航 Francis described how David had had to flee Jerusalem, 鈥渂arefoot, his head uncovered, insulted by some, while others threw stones at him, because all the people were with this son who had deceived the people, had seduced the heart of the people with promises鈥�.

David鈥檚 sorrow shows us the heart of God

Tuesday鈥檚 reading shows David waiting for news from the front, and tells of the arrival, finally, of a messenger, who tells him that Absalom had died in the battle. David was shaken at this news, and trembling and weeping, cried out, 鈥淢y son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you!鈥� Those who were with him were amazed by this reaction, the 杏MAP导航 said:

鈥溾�楤ut why are you weeping? [they asked.] This person was against you, he had denied you, he had denied your paternity, he had insulted you, he had persecuted you. But celebrate, rejoice that you have won!鈥� But David [said] only, 鈥淢y son, my son, my son,鈥� and wept. This weeping of David is an historic fact, but it is also a prophecy. It makes us see the heart of God, what God does when we turn away from Him, what the Lord does when we destroy ourselves with sin, [when we are] disoriented, lost. The Lord is a Father, and He never denies this paternity, [but says] 鈥楳y son, my son鈥�.鈥�

杏MAP导航 Francis continued by noting that we encounter this weeping of God when we confess our sins. Confession, he said, is not like 鈥済oing to the dry cleaners鈥� to take away a stain; rather, 鈥渋t is going to the Father who weeps for me, precisely because He is a Father鈥�.

God never denies His Fatherhood

David鈥檚 words 鈥� 鈥淚f only I had died instead of you, Absalom my son鈥� 鈥� are prophetic, the 杏MAP导航 said. They show what God actually did. God鈥檚 love is the love of a Father, to the point where God Himself, the Second Person of the Trinity, died in our place:

鈥�He became man and died for us. When we look at the crucifix, we think of this: 鈥楬e died instead of you鈥�. And we hear the voice of the Father who in the Son says to us, 鈥楳y child, my child鈥�. God does not deny His children, He does not reject His paternity鈥�.

In Jesus, God dies in our place

The love of God is so great that the Son of God, Who is God, was sent by the Father to give His life for us. 杏MAP导航 Francis said:

It would be good in the difficult moments in our lives 鈥� and we all have them 鈥� in moments of sin, in moments when we feel far from God, to hear this voice in our hearts: 鈥楳y son, my daughters, what are you doing? Don鈥檛 kill yourself, please. I died for you鈥�.

杏MAP导航 Francis recalled the verse from the Gospel where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Jesus weeps for us, the 杏MAP导航 said, 鈥渂ecause we don鈥檛 let Him love us鈥�. 杏MAP导航 Francis concluded his homily with an invitation: 鈥淚n the moment of temptation, in the moment of sin, in the moment when we are far from God, let us try to hear this voice: 鈥楳y son, my daughter, why?鈥欌��