As declinações do amor : uma curiosidade do texto lucano

• Autor(a) principal: Mendonça, José Tolentino
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34632/didaskalia.2007.1842

It is well known that Luke gives considerable attention to the singular status of Jesus, having recourse to a considerable range of narrative typologies. A curious example, and one that encapsulates them all is, however, lexical in nature: the inflections of the verb love. Within the Synoptic Gospels, it is this Evangelist who makes the most frequent use of this verb. Moreover, whenever this verb is significant, it occurs in Jesus’ discourse. Without a doubt its sense extends as far as it was already fixed in Old-Testament tradition, where an experience of love unites the God of the Covenant to the chosen people, through faithfulness to the concrete requirements of the Law (Ex 19, 3-8). But in Luke, the verb love is furthermore inflected in an absolute sense. And this originality functions as an intensifying device (verbal and theological), announcing not only the unheard-of authority with which Jesus develops his prophetic programme, but also permitting a recognition, in Faith, of his identity and of his power to Save. Even for those placed ‘outside the Law’.