Jesus in Dialogue by Jorge Mario Bergoglio

A POSTOLIC JOY is nourished by the contemplation of Jesus Christ, that is, by observing how he moved about, how he preached, how he healed, how he saw the world. The heart of the priest should be steeped in this contemplation and through it resolve the main challenge of his life: his friendship with Jesus Christ. I propose here to contemplate a few of Jesus' dialogues with different types of people. We want to reflect here on how Jesus speaks, first, with those who want to lay down conditions; then, with those who are trying to entrap him; and finally, with those whose heart is open to the hope of salvation.

THERE ARE MANY ACCOUNTS in the Gospels of persons who approach Jesus but only with certain conditions. For example, Luke 9: 57-62 mentions three persons who want to follow Jesus, but not unconditionally. In the Gospel of John, we read the stories of Nicodemus (John 3: 1-21) and of the Samaritan woman (John 4: 1-41), both of whom also approach Jesus with conditions. The three persons in Luke's Gospel seek to limit their commitment to Jesus for particular reasons: concern for wealth, for friends, for parents. The Samaritan woman, on the other hand, attempts to deflect her dialogue with Jesus because she wants to avoid what is crucial; she prefers to speak of theology rather than explain about her husbands. The case of Nicodemus is different but also conditional; he visits Jesus only when he can do so safely, under the cover of night. Jesus realizes that this man is not quite ready and so leaves him wrapped up in his musings, which serve as his refuge to avoid the demands of loyalty.