If God is with us...

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

In our Western world, which seems to be becoming increasingly indifferent to religion, God’s name is invoked very often. People defend themselves, take action and fight in the name of God. It is a story as old as the world. In the Bible, the chosen people claimed rights to the land, feeling strong in the name of a promise made by Yahweh. Nowadays, someone feels saved, arrogantly claiming to realise a divine project. But in the name of which God? The Christian God is not in our image or likeness. He does not play favourites and he does not condemn others. In the Bible, we read the words of the prophet Isaiah: “On that day, Israel shall be a third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land. When the LORD of Hosts blesses it: ‘Blessed be my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and my inheritance Israel’ ”(Isaiah 19:24-25). God is for all of us. If we read the Gospel attentively, we will understand that Jesus revealed a face of God that is very different from the one shown off nowadays. He prefers sinners (“it is not the healthy who need…