Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

2 Corinthians 5,14-21

For the love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all, then all have died; his purpose in dying for all humanity was that those who live should live not any more for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life. From now onwards, then, we will not consider anyone by human standards: even if we were once familiar with Christ according to human standards, we do not know him in that way any longer. So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see. It is all God's work; he reconciled us to himself through Christ and he gave us the ministry of reconciliation. I mean, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God. For our sake he made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that in him we might become the uprightness of God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Paul returns to explaining the meaning of his apostolic ministry, so that the Corinthians know how to respond to those who are acting full of themselves, proud of their religious experiences and of their wisdom. The apostle writes: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (v. 17) New things are God's things, those of a borderless love, those that lead to reconciliation and not division, to love and not hatred. Jesus' work is all aimed to reconcile us with God and among us. If we remain united to Jesus, we are reconciled with God, and we will be reconciled also among us. The apostle became a minister of reconciliation, ambassador of Christ, in order to reconcile all with the Father. Even today the apostle continues to exhort also us: "Be reconciled to God." In a world lacerated by divisions, devoured by evil, and mean in forgiving there is a need that believers may manifest mercy, piety, compassion. Jesus came to create a movement of reconciliation with the Father in heaven because he knows well that we can reconcile also among ourselves on this path. It is a movement to be lived in multiple ways starting from the confession of one's sins, from the encounter and dialogue among all even with the enemy.