April 29^th 2018.  Fifth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL   John 15:1-8

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . This Sunday presents us with a text of profound wisdom. We hear of the vine, the branches and the vine grower. The vine grower cuts away that which does not bear fruit, while he prunes that which is fruitful. Either way he cuts! And it is the same with the Father. Whatever does not unite us to the Lord is cut off and burnt, whilst that which does bear fruit is pruned further so that it will bear even more. The Father does not do this with violence, but it happens nevertheless. Sometimes our initiatives are simply rejected by others and wither. Maybe the Father is saying to us: “These things were not my things. They did not have my eternity in them. They were initiatives of yours and nothing else”. We must constantly examine our consciences to see if our projects and our lives are filled with things which do not lead to the Father. Everything that is not joined to him must be abandoned immediately. Life must become a progressive process of simplification where he becomes everything, and that which is not joined to him is thrown on the fire. He alone will make us bear fruit. He alone will make us bloom.

The first reading tells of the acceptance of Saul by the other disciples. Now, finally, he is joined to the body and his preaching can bear fruit.

On this fifth Sunday of Easter, the first reading is from chapter nine of the Acts of the Apostles. Saul comes to Jerusalem after his conversion, but the other disciples are afraid of him. Barnabas shoes himself to be this marvellous, discerning figure who welcomes the controversial person into their midst. Barnabas appreciates the value of Saul and introduces him to the others. Once Paul has been accepted he is free to proclaim the Gospel, and he does so in a full and effective way because now, finally, he is united to the rest of the body. What must be accepted? What must be rejected? What inspires fear? These thoughts introduce us to the Gospel for Sunday, which speaks of the vine and its branches.

The Father cuts off the branches that are fruitless while he prunes the branches that bear fruit. He is always cutting, one way or another!

Three roles are mentioned in the analogy of the vine. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches and the Father is the vine grower. The description of the process of cultivation is truly enlightening “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” This reveals something fundamental of the way the Father works with each one of us. If a branch does not bear fruit, the Father cuts it. Anyone who does not remain in Christ is cut off, gathered and thrown in the fire – a terrible scenario! What is unfruitful is cut away by the Father. The surprising thing is that the branch that does bear fruit is also pruned so that it might bear even more fruit. So the branch that bears no fruit is cut while the fruitful branch is pruned. Does this mean that the Father is always cutting something away? Yes, the Father is always cutting away!

Life should be a process of progressive simplification, a shedding of that which does not lead us to God

We tend to think that we are in a general state of deprivation with regard to something or other, but the fact is that we suffer more from the excesses in our lives. The really good travellers travel light because they know that they need little. It is the same with God. Firstly, the Lord provides everything we need, and, secondly, when we are with the Lord we need nothing else because he is everything. Life is a process of growth in simplification. In other words, a process of becoming free from that which leads us nowhere. The Father cuts these things away. How does he do it? With violence? No, these things die by themselves and then other people come and dispose of these things entirely. The same is true in the ecclesiastical sphere. Many of the things we do are rejected by others. The fact is that many people are not interested in the things we have to say to them in our parishes, because these things we say and do are withered branches, detached from the Father, self-referential, self-celebratory. It is not so much that the world discarded these initiatives of ours but that the Father was never in them – they remained solely our own initiatives. On this matter we should examine our consciences regularly and accept the rejections that the world presents to us. It is as the Lord is saying to us: “My things have eternity within them. They pass through the crises of Easter, but they rise again. And if this initiative of yours does not rise, then maybe it does not come from me at all”.

The deadweight in our lives must be pruned away. All that must be retained is that which leads us to God

The things that do bear fruit are pruned. Where and how are plants pruned, normally? When I speak of these things with young people, I discover that few of them know how to prune a plant. Usually we prune a branch above the first or second bud. If the second bud looks promising then we prune above it, but if it does not look very healthy, then we prune above the first bud. The principle is that we retain nothing that is not going to be fruitful. In our lives there is so much deadweight! And we must allow the Lord to strip us of it. Many of the cuts we receive during life are not things to be complained about but rather welcomed wholeheartedly. The Lord does not want us to have one millimetre more than what unites us to him. Whatever is outside of our union with the Father does not lead us anywhere. All these things are for corruptibility and fire. This beautiful text is full of profound wisdom. It teaches us to free ourselves, or allow ourselves to be freed, from everything that does not lead to heaven. When St Philip Neri famously said, “I prefer Paradise”, this is what he was referring to. Whatever united him to authentic life would be retained by him. He was not speaking in an abstract way of where he would like his life to end up. Rather he was speaking of a choice that he was making moment by moment: the union with those things that lead to paradise and the abandonment of those things that lead to emptiness. How much energy we consume on so many projects that do not lead anywhere! Also in the world of the Church, so much time is spent on ecclesiastical bureaucracy that bears little fruit. This is not to deny that we need a certain order in the Church, but we need to be absolutely rooted in the Lord. Whatever makes us bloom is to be retained jealously. That which causes us to implode is to be abandoned immediately.

 April 22^nd 2018.  Fourth Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL   John 10:11-18

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   John 10:11-18

Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . As Peter says in the first reading, Jesus is the corner-stone and source of all salvation. But how does Jesus save us? By listing the obligations we have to fulfil in order to merit eternal life? In the Gospel, we see how Jesus saves us! He is the Good Shepherd who asks for nothing from us and lays down his life so that we may live. The Good Shepherd is compared with the hired hand. The hired hand will only defend the sheep if he is paid for it. Human society in general works in the same way. People usually do things in order to receive something in return. But Jesus is not like that! He asks for nothing. In so doing he liberates us from the oppression of thinking that we have to merit salvation. But surely the great saints of charity, like Vincent de Paul and Mother Teresa, poured themselves out in service of others. Isn’t that how they responded to Christ’s call? No! These saints are unanimous in asserting that our only task is to open ourselves to the love of God, to be recipients of his salvation. Once we receive his love, then we lose our insecurity and defensiveness and become capable of loving others. Our capacity to love has its source in the fact that we have been saved by the Good Shepherd who asks for nothing. He is not the hired hand who demands payment from us. His love enables us to love unconditionally in return.

Our salvation is in Christ. He is the stone rejected by our world, but ultimately he becomes the source of all salvation

The first reading from Acts 4 contains an important proclamation by Peter. Jesus, he says, is the only one in whom we can find salvation. He was the stone rejected by the builders. In fact, the “builders” of human affairs do not generally found their structures upon Christ. He is the stone that has been discarded, the one who has been reckoned unwise by the intelligent, and deemed blasphemous by the religious authorities of this world. The God that we did not know is revealing himself to us; this wisdom that is not human wisdom has become the place upon which to found our lives. He alone – Peter proclaims – is the only one in whom we can find salvation. It is true that the Lord has many different ways of saving us. Our God is a loving Father and guides us as best he can, respecting our freedom. Yet there can be no doubt that the fullness of salvation is in Christ and no one else. The Church is mother of all and values those who have different creeds than us. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, we have welcomed and esteemed the riches contained in other faiths, but we still affirm that the single and ultimate source of all salvation is Jesus Christ. The parable of the Good Shepherd in this week’s Gospel is an eloquent expression of the way in which Christ is the saviour of all.

How does Jesus become the source of salvation? By telling us of our obligations? By listing the things we need to do in order to be saved? No, by being the Good Shepherd. By going against the systems of this world, all of which demand payment in return for good. Jesus expects no payment and lays down his life for us.

The Good Shepherd stands in complete contrast to the hired hand. The hired hand works for pay, whilst the Good Shepherd does not measure how much he is being paid; rather, he is ready to lay down his life for his sheep. When the wolf arrives, the hired hand runs away but the Good Shepherd defends the sheep with his own life. All of our human, philosophical and political systems work in terms of payment, how much we receive in return for our efforts. This is also true for many of us in the Church. We tend to operate according to the same approach of the Jews under the Law: if you behave well, you are loved; if you behave badly you are rejected. The Good Shepherd, by contrast, does not operate according to this mentality. He sacrifices himself for the sheep and seeks nothing in return. The picture of the Good Shepherd in the three Synoptic Gospels is one of a shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep and brings him home on his shoulders. A chapter of the prophet Ezekiel is completed dedicated to the critique of shepherds who are only preoccupied with heaping obligations on their flock. Christianity, however, is born from above. It is directed to the living out of our vocation in the power of love.

Are we saved by our good deeds? No! Our task is to welcome Christ’s love in faith and trust. Once we do that, then God can work through us in the world

How often we tend to think that the problems in our lives can be sorted out if we offer more sacrifices, make greater efforts, exert more sweat. Surely these labours will merit salvation for us! No! Salvation is only merited in the Christian life through faith, through the welcoming of the working of God in our lives. Salvation is more a receptiveness than an active doing. St Vincent de Paul, an immense master of charity, said that the works of God carry on by themselves; what we have to do is welcome the work of God within us. The great saints of service and charity are unanimous in asserting that our task is to be open to the workings of God in our lives.

The love of the Good Shepherd for us is where our Christian existence has its source. This love liberates us from the oppression of thinking that we have to earn salvation. This love engenders in us a security and trust which enables us to love others in our turn

The Good Shepherd liberates us from the oppression of thinking that we have to merit salvation. We discover that God loves us because he loves us! He loves us because we are beautiful. Once we learn from him of our own beauty then we too begin to love. We love unconditionally, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta did, or St Francis of Paola, or St Francis of Assisi, or any of the saints that united themselves completely to those who were suffering. They were enabled to do this because they know that the Lord had united himself to them, that the Good Shepherd had laid himself down for them. We are able to love when we feel secure, when we are no longer on the defensive. If my life is in the hands of the Shepherd, the one who asks for nothing in exchange except that I trust in him, then I am enabled to love. Christian acts are extremely generous. Saints and other members of the faithful do incredible deeds, but not out of obligation, not because they are under a hired hand who must be paid, but because they have been loved. Our life begins from his love.

April 15^th 2018.  Third Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL   Luke 24: 35-48

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   Luke 24:35-48

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Many religions proclaim a life after death, but the Christian proclamation is a unique one. For us, life after death is not some kind of purely spiritual or immaterial existence. Our creed proclaims the resurrection of the body. It is hard to understand this kind resurrection, but it is part of our creed and is firmly rooted in the appearances of Jesus to his apostles. In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus appears and affirms that he is not a ghost (a “spirit”). Rather he has “flesh and bones”. He eats with them to demonstrate that he has a real body. St Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 tries to explain what this resurrected spiritual body is like. Just as a tree grows from a humble seed, so our resurrected body will arise from the humble seed of our earthly body. It is important to recognize that Christianity is not opposed to the flesh! One of the Church fathers, St Irenaeus, affirmed that our flesh is the pivot of salvation. It is in the flesh that we are saved and it is by means of our flesh that we love and serve others. Salvation is not the possession of abstract knowledge about God, as the Gnostics, past and present, claim. It involves encountering the risen Lord and going out to love and serve others using our bodies. We cannot love others abstractly! It is only in concrete acts that we can do so. The Lord Jesus rises in his flesh because our flesh is destined for the fullness of life of the children of God.

Jesus prepared the chosen people over centuries for his resurrection. In our personal lives too, God has prepared us in various ways to deepen our encounter with the risen Lord

In this third Sunday of Easter we hear the proclamation that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has glorified his servant Jesus. Why is this affirmation so important? We find it in the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostle, one of the first announcements by Peter following the resurrection of Jesus. The point is that Jesus does not appear out of nowhere: he is the fulfilment of ancient promises. In the Gospel he tells the disciples: "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." This is a precise description of the three parts of the Old Testament: the law, the prophets and the wisdom literature (represented by the psalms). The Lord Jesus prepared the world for his coming. His resurrection is the fulfilment of the history of his people. But in our personal stories also there are promises that the Lord brings to completion. There are things that prepare us for our encounter with him. In cases where people are converted to the Lord, one discovers afterwards that these conversions were prepared for over a long period.

Christianity proclaims a life after death, but this afterlife is not some kind of spiritual or ethereal existence. It involves the resurrection of the body, a notion that is difficult to comprehend, but firmly rooted in our faith

There is another important feature of this text. That which we proclaim in this joyful time of Easter is what is perhaps most obvious – the resurrection! This is not just about life after death. Other religions too speak of life after death. Christianity goes beyond vague references to the next life with its eleventh article of the creed which affirms belief in the resurrection of the body. We believe in a resurrection that is not some form of abstract or ethereal existence. But it is not easy to explain what is meant by the resurrection of the body.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul provides the analogy of the seed with the plant that eventually comes into existence from the seed. The plant is very different to the seed, but is nevertheless inextricably bound to the seed. In the same way, we will plant one kind of body and rise again with a different, spiritual, body, but the two bodies are nevertheless intimately linked. This mystery cannot be penetrated by rationalistic methods, but its basis in Scripture is clear. In the Gospel, the disciples think that Jesus is a ghost. The original Greek text refers to him as a “spirit”. Jesus says to them: "Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost [a “spirit”] does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." Jesus eats with them to demonstrate that he can engage in acts that imply corporeality. It is hard for us to comprehend the meaning of this: how can the risen Lord eat the things of this world? Nevertheless, the Church has seen in these appearances of the risen Christ a truth about the resurrection of the body that it is compelled to proclaim. The great fathers of the Church have been clear on this issue. St Irenaeus of Lyon, a martyr, had an essential motto: “Caro cardo salutis”. This means that the flesh is the pivot of salvation.

Christianity is not opposed to the flesh, but the contrary. It is in the flesh that we are redeemed. It is with our bodies that we are called to love others through concrete actions and service

Are we inclined to think that Christianity is against the flesh? The opposite is the case! The flesh is the place where we are saved. Without the flesh we cannot be saved. The business of redemption is not just mental comprehension. It involves acts and the globality of the person, our muscles and our bones, the things that make us who we are. When spirit and body are separated, we are dead, we are no longer complete! Completeness requires the unity of the human person. The first letter of St John emphasizes this point a lot and condemns those who deny that Christ has come in the flesh. The first heretical movements in the Church were the Gnostics, and they are still with us today. The attempt is to turn Christianity into a theory, a system of abstract values, a philosophy, a specialised form of knowledge. But authentic Christianity is nothing of the sort. The love of a man for a woman involves his body, his actions, his service. It is not a concept and not even a sentiment. In fact, it only becomes a genuine sentiment when it involves corporeal action. If our bodies do not manifest our faith, then our faith is worth nothing. St James says this in his letter, “I will show you my faith by my works”. How else can we demonstrate our faith if not in terms of concrete acts? If I truly encounter God, then this will illuminate every aspect of my person and life. The way I eat and sleep will be redeemed. The way I walk, work, welcome a child; the way I live things concretely, wash the dishes, the way I serve you. How can I love if not with the body? Love is not an abstract, idealised thing. Life is not an abstract thing. The Lord Jesus rises in his flesh because our flesh is destined for the fullness of life of the children of God.

 April 8^th 2018.  Second Sunday of Easter

GOSPEL   John 20:19-21

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   John 20:19-21

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nail marks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us of the life of community of the early Church. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the early Church was not some sort of unspecified power, but was oriented to the relationships between the believers themselves, a life lived out concretely in love. In the Gospel, Thomas is absent when the apostles gather on the Sunday after the resurrection. He refuses to believe that they have seen him and insists that he himself have the same personal experience that they had. And when does he have that personal experience? Exactly one week later, when the apostles gather again on Sunday and Jesus appears among them. The implication is clear: the normal place to encounter the risen Lord is in the Christian assembly, in the life of relationships that we live out with others. In his first letter, St John asks how I can claim to love the God that I cannot see if I do not love the brother or sister that I do see. We experience the risen Lord in our relationships with those around us. This is the place where he appears to us and where he wishes us to work out our salvation.

Why does Thomas not encounter the risen Lord?

On this Second Sunday of Easter – traditionally known as “Low Sunday” – we hear the account of what happened eight days after the resurrection when Jesus appears. Thomas is not with the others and they tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas replies that if he does not have the same experience that they had, they how can they expect him to believe? After all, they were not inclined to believe the testimony of Mary Magdalen when she came running from the empty tomb. Thomas refuses to believe unless he has a personal experience of the Lord. But why did Thomas not have this personal experience with the other disciples? Before answering this question, let us look at the first reading.

We have an appointment with the Christian community every week. This is the normal way to encounter the risen Lord, in the shared life of the Church. Thomas absented himself from the assembly and did not meet the Lord.

The first reading is a luminous proclamation of the life enjoyed by the early Church. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favour was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them”. It is worthwhile repeating these words because they give us a key for understanding what happened to Thomas. The life of the Christian is not the life of a superman, a perfect existence lived out by individuals. Rather it is a life of communion, having one heart and one mind, where everything is done with others in mind, where everything is done out of love. The new life which the Holy Spirit brought to the early church was not power of some unspecified sort, but oriented to the quality of the relations between believers. They became “one heart and one mind”. It was for this reason that Thomas did not encounter the Lord on the Sunday after the resurrection, and it was for precisely this reason that he did meet the Lord another week later. In other words, the real issue is not that Thomas did not see the Lord. The real issue is that he did not remain with the others. According to the typical way of counting days for the Jews, “eight days” indicates the passage of exactly one week. Every week we have an appointment with the Christian assembly, an appointment with communion. The resurrection is communion, fraternal love. Consequently, no one can live the experience of the resurrection as a private event. Thomas cannot experience the risen Lord until he is together with the others disciples. And, in fact, a week later Thomas is with the others and encounters the Lord.

We have the life of the Holy Spirit within us to the degree that we build up the Church, to the degree that we love one another

You might reply, did not Paul encounter the Lord in a completely private fashion on the road to Damascus? But Paul is left blind by the event and needs to be led by others. He does not receive his sight until he meets Ananias, the leader of the Christians that Paul was on his way to destroy. Ananias says to him, “Brother, the Lord Jesus has sent me that to you”. Ananias calls the very man who had come to destroy their community “Brother”! Until he meets the one who will welcome him as a brother, Paul will not recover his sight. Even in the most private of encounters, the experience is not complete until others are present. The experience of fraternity, the fact of living the life of the Church, this is the issue! Unless we build up the Church, our Christianity is fraudulent. The Holy Spirit is the communion between the Father and Son. If he enters into us then it is to put communion into our hearts. It is in the Church above all that one encounters the risen Lord because the Lord’s intention is that we be together! Life is beautiful when it is lived together, in relationship. A life of solitude is generally an unhappy one.

If we wish to experience the power of the risen Lord, then we need to do so in the place where he himself wishes to save us: through our relationships of self-effacing love with those around us

There are many things that could be said about this beautiful Gospel. The power of the gift of the Holy Spirit is proclaimed for the forgiveness of sins. We have focussed on just one aspect of the text. If you want to experience the risen Lord, then it is essential to remain with the Twelve, to remain with the Church. Do not seek to create a do-it-yourself Christianity. What individualism there is nowadays in various approach to the faith and in devotional practices! A faith that tries to function just between me and Jesus and Jesus and me does not work at all. To love God and to love our neighbour is the same commandment. The first letter of St John asks how I can claim to love the God that I cannot see if I do not love the brother that I can see? This Sunday proclaims that the place where the Lord appears is in relationship. We do not find him in some area of our private lives that we have constructed ourselves. Rather we find him in the place where he wishes to save us: in love, in relationship.