I Want to Be Like Him

"But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

Luke 13:8-9 NKJV

There is much to reflect on in this very short parable from Luke, a deep and full well from which to continue drawing water to quench the thirsty soul. In the first layer, we encounter the insistence of a tenant farmer that forces us to question ourselves. Why continue to care for a plant that does not yet bear fruit? That humble man is capable of changing the marked history of a barren tree, of overturning a foregone conclusion, of planting new hope in the barren soil of the vineyard. I was won over by him, and every time I encounter him, he manages to shake me up, making me feel inadequate and unworthy in the presence of such greatness. His request has become a model for my life. His daring has made him soar high like an eagle, forcing me to look up, while a sigh escaped me: “I want to be like him.” We all want to have people around us who believe in us for some reason, who are committed to supporting us, seeing our potential and respecting our timing, against the practice of “everything and right now,” who are willing to wait for us. However, for many, this remains a utopian desire, as they are increasingly caught in the grip of detractors and critics.

Nothing is as difficult and complex for those in positions of responsibility as taking care of others when they themselves are in great need of care. It is an experience similar to that of a flame that is gradually fading in its prolonged effort to transfer its fire, while barely managing to keep itself alive. This feeling of exhaustion can lead to the temptation of Jonah who, despite the task assigned to him by God, decided to turn his back on Him and go in the opposite direction. Perhaps this is a situation that some of you, including yourself, are experiencing right now. Even at the community level, what my eyes are seeing can only confirm this feeling. Regardless of apparent outbreaks of local and localized awakenings, sought after and proclaimed, forced and trumpeted, Jesus' words to the two disciples of the Baptist continue to echo in my mind and pass through me like the wind that Nicodemus could not discern: “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38b). The two disciples, hearing the words of their master John, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” did not hesitate to follow Jesus without being intimidated by that question. Perhaps this is the secret: to follow Christ even when it is not clear what we really need. Trusting is a challenge and an undertaking. After all, I believe that everyone has a “fig tree” in the vineyard of their life (or more than one) that fails to bear fruit and is therefore constantly threatened with being cut down to make room for something else. I have read and heard many times, and I myself have advised, that problems cannot be solved by running away from them, even if the first impulse pushes us in the opposite direction and makes us look far away. As I get older, however, I am discovering that not all difficulties can be faced. So the first impulse is to run away, to flee far away, flying like a dove into the desert, like David: “So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest.” (Psalms 55:6-8).

When a fierce wind blows through our lives, when the storm envelops and overwhelms us, the understandable desire and common aspiration is to flee. All this is comparable to the barrenness of our fig tree, which risks being cut down forever. When a mountain stands before us, rather than trying to overcome it, our instinct leads us elsewhere. Whatever place we choose as our destination, the common terminus should be prayer, not understood as a liberating outburst of the moment, but as the cry of those who need help from Above and know that He is totally Other. The more contingent situations push me to flee, the more I will strive to walk in the footsteps of the Master. I owe it to myself and to the One who called me. I don't know where His steps will lead me; I don't care, as long as He is walking ahead. His presence reassures me like no one else can. And I hope that these pages will instill all this in you, helping you (why not?) to find what you are looking for, or at least showing you the path to find it. The two disciples of the Baptist understood that they had to find out where He lived so that they could spend time with Him. What little faith I have left, which has not been shaken so far, assures me that if I should ever fail to see Him before me, He is behind me, watching over me and protecting my steps.

And now all you have to do is start by getting a copy of my book and letting yourself be fertilized by the Vinedresser, since what you have just read is only an excerpt from the introduction.

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Piano di lettura settimanale

della Bibbia n. 24

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

15 giugno Neemia 1-3; Atti 2:1-21