Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Christian waits with hope for the return of Jesus, but this attitude, although it creates interior freedom in the face of the world's fears, also increases his responsibility toward his brethren, and when he prays "come, Jesus," he is not asking for the end of the world so much as for the end of injustice, the rejection of God, violence.

This is the teaching of St. Paul, the focus of Benedict XVI today before the 15,000 faithful present at the general audience on a dreary November day. The pope spoke of the "new perspective" opened by the Resurrection, "the expectation of the Lord's return," "the relationship between the present time and the future, when Christ will hand over the kingdom to his Father."

Written around the year 52, the Letter to the Thessalonians speaks of the "parousia," "advent." With "an emphasis more lively than ever, and symbolic images," it proposes "a simple message: in the end, we will be always with the Lord," "our future is to be with the Lord." "In that we are believers, we are already with the Lord, the future has already begun." In the second letter to the Thessalonians, then, Paul "speaks of negative events that must precede the final event." He says that "we must not allow ourselves to be deceived as if the return were already imminent," and that "before his arrival there will be the apostasy, and there must be a man of iniquity, not very well identified, whom tradition would later call the antichrist."

The pope emphasized how "this anticipation does not excuse us from engagement with this world, but on the contrary it creates responsibility, it increases our responsibility to work in this world." Benedict XVI recalled in this regard the parable of the talents, where the Lord asks: "Have you brought fruit?", to reiterate that "expectation of the return implies responsibility for this world."

This is an attitude that is found in Paul himself, when "he is in prison and waiting for his sentence, which could be that of death. He thinks of his future with the Lord, but also about his community. 'To me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit'." "Paul is not afraid of death, on the contrary it means being with Jesus completely. But Paul shares the sentiments of Jesus, who did not live for himself, but for us. It becomes the program for his life, willingness for whatever God may decide. Living for Christ, and thus for the renewal of the world." Faith "creates great interior freedom even in the face of death."

"We can now ask what are the fundamental acts of the Christian concerning the last things." "In the first place, there is the certainty that Jesus is risen and with the Father is together with us forever, and no one is stronger than Christ: they can be safe and free from fear" which "was widespread in the world at that time, and even today missionaries find along with good things the fear of spirits, of powers that overwhelm us." Second, "the certainty that Christ is with me, and how in Jesus the future world has already begun," "the certainty of hope," "the future is not dark, even today there is so much fear of the future, but the Christian knows the future is not dark." Third, "the judge who returns is judge and savior at the same time." God "has given us his talents, and for this reason we have responsibility toward the world and our brethren before Christ, but in the certainty of his mercy." "Good and evil are not the same, we are charged to work so that this world may be open to Jesus. Christ is the judge, but he is good, and for this reason we can be sure of his goodness and go forward with great courage."

The pope's last point is "a little difficult," and regards when Paul at the end of the second letter to the Corinthians "repeats a prayer that emerged from the first Christian communities in the area of Palestine: Maranatha, come, Lord." "We can also pray in this way, but for us today it seems more difficult to pray that this world might perish." But "we can say come, Jesus. Of course, we do not want the end of the world, but we want an end to this unjust world, that it be fundamentally changed, that it be of justice and peace, without violence, without hunger, we want all of this - and how can this happen without the presence of Christ? Without the presence of Christ, there will never be a more just and renewed world: we should also say with great urgency in the circumstances of our time, 'come where there is injustice and violence, come to the refugee camps in Darfur, in North Kivu, come where drugs dominate, come also where the rich have forgotten you, and for them you are unknown; come and renew our hearts, come into our hearts so that we ourselves may become your presence, light, in this sense we pray with St. Paul 'Maranatha', come, Jesus, and that Christ may be really present today in our world, and renew it."