Confusing Approach

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary reveal that the actions of Jesus and Paul to draw people to attend to the Word of Life were unexpected and confusing. Paul points to the Cross and uses the death of the Son of God on the horrific instrument of terror and intimidation of the Roman conquerors to make visible and real the nature of the Love of God for people. The victory of love and peace over fear and terror in Christ is his proclamation to Greeks, like those in Athens who Friar Jude Winkler comments were not moved by the philosophic persuasion of Paul, who could not accept God taking on human form and dying in the manner of thieves and troublemakers. The Jewish audience found it very hard to see the triumphant Davidic Messiah restoring the Kingdom in Jerusalem in the form of Jesus on the cross. Rejection of the Suffering Servant of God is the response of those who may be trapped in their own illusions of having special insight, intelligence and knowledge. The trouble in Corinth being addressed by Paul, according to Friar Jude, was the development of cliques which had a sense that they possessed special gifts of the Holy Spirit in knowledge and understanding. The great trouble of our elevation of knowledge and our ideas to Divine inspiration has troubled believers in many forms. The Gospel from Luke today describes the clash between the knowledge of the learned in Jesus community about His origin in poverty and His claim to be the Jubilee of God from whom would come peace, restoration and rejoicing for the dispossessed and burdened. The cognitive dissonance is unacceptable to them. Their confusion is resolved by driving Jesus away. The Church commemorates the feast of St Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church, who struggled in times in the 6^th century of much social, political and environmental disruption. St Gregory lived the counter cultural lifestyle of a pope who was the servant of the servants of God. The path presented for peace and love may be confusing to us and that is a good sign.