The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the paradox of having certain faith in God that we can only approach understanding through metaphors and pointers.
Path to Certainty
The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy foretells the coming of a New Prophet like Moses.
* [18:15] A prophet like me: from the context (opposition to the practices described in vv. 10–11) it seems that Moses is referring in general to all the true prophets who were to succeed him. This passage came to be understood in a quasi-Messianic sense in the New Testament (Mt 17:5; Jn 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:22; 7:37).1
Psalm 95 is a call to Worship and Obedience.
* [Psalm 95] Twice the Psalm calls the people to praise and worship God (Ps 95:1–2, 6), the king of all creatures (Ps 95:3–5) and shepherd of the flock (Ps 95:7a, 7b). The last strophe warns the people to be more faithful than were their ancestors in the journey to the promised land (Ps 95:7c–11). This invitation to praise God regularly opens the Church’s official prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours.2
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians challenges us to be free from anxieties even as the world changes.
* [7:29–31] The world…is passing away: Paul advises Christians to go about the ordinary activities of life in a manner different from those who are totally immersed in them and unaware of their transitoriness.3
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus exorcises the man with an unclean spirit.
* [1:24–25] The Holy One of God: not a confession but an attempt to ward off Jesus’ power, reflecting the notion that use of the precise name of an opposing spirit would guarantee mastery over him. Jesus silenced the cry of the unclean spirit and drove him out of the man.4
Rev. Richard Gabuzda (2015) notes that throughout the gospel of Mark, amidst the continual teaching and miracle-working of Jesus, the question lingers: Who is this man? This continues until, at the moment of his death on the cross, another unlikely voice reveals Jesus’ identity: the Roman soldier who sees Jesus die calls out: “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
We can admire the teachings of Jesus. And why not? They have had a major influence on the western world and much beyond. We can marvel at the miracles described in the gospels. But do we really grasp and abide in the truth of WHO HE IS? Jesus, not merely a “good man” or the “best of men,” but the Holy One of God, the Son of God...Have we encountered Jesus in this way, (similar to Thomas Merton’s experience) as someone alive and who is in relationship with us? Or do we still relate to him as someone from “back then” and “out there”? Pope Francis, in quoting words of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”5
Don Schwager quotes “Knowing without loving,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Those words show clearly that the demons had much knowledge, but entirely lacked love. They dreaded receiving their punishment from him. They did not love the righteousness that was in him. He made himself known to them to the extent he willed; and he willed to be made known to the extent that was fitting. But he was not made known to them as he is known to the holy angels, who enjoy participation in his eternity, in that he is the Word of God. To the demons he is known as he had to be made known, by striking terror into them, for his purpose was to free from their tyrannical power all who were predestined for his kingdom and glory, which is eternally true and truly eternal. Therefore, he did not make himself known to the demons as the life eternal, and the unchangeable light which illuminates his true worshipers, whose hearts are purified by faith in him so that they see that light. He was known to the demons through certain temporal effects of his power, the signs of his hidden presence, which could be more evident to their senses, even those of malignant spirits, than to the weak perception of human beings. (excerpt from CITY OF GOD 9.21)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 1:21-28 notes that in one way or another, we have all reacted strongly against Jesus and his message of salvation. We all have pockets of darkness still lingering in our hearts. Maybe we have refused to forgive someone. Maybe we have knowingly chosen sin in a tempting situation. Or maybe we have denigrated a fellow believer who thinks differently than we do. Still, Jesus continues to love us and offer the grace we need to change. What was true in that synagogue in Capernaum is still true today: the darkness of sin can never overpower the light of Christ.
Don’t be surprised if you experience some form of opposition to Jesus in your heart today—maybe in prayer or as you’re trying to focus at Mass or as an opportunity to serve your family arises. Instead, take comfort from it. Trust that the light of Christ will not only expose your darkness; it can expel it as well. “Thank you, Jesus, for exposing my darkness—and for setting me free from it!”7
Friar Jude Winkler notes that a prophet is one who speaks in the name of God as described in Deuteronomy. Vatican II clarified that serving family is not inferior to serving as a vowed religious. Friar Jude reminds us of the power of the Holy One to move people to drop everything and seek healing.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that when we speak of God and things transcendent, all we can do is use metaphors and pointers. No language is adequate to describe the holy. As in a familiar portrait of Saint John of the Cross, we must place a hushing finger over our lips to remind ourselves that God is finally unspeakable and ineffable. Or, sharing Jewish tradition, we may even refuse to pronounce the name “YHWH.”
The Bible, in its entirety, finds a fine balance between knowing and not-knowing, between using words and having humility about words. The ensuing Christian traditions have often not found that same balance. What I’ve called “Churchianity” typically needs to speak with absolutes and certainties. It thinks it has the right and the obligation to make total truth-claims and feels very insecure when it cannot. Thus, it is not very well trained in insecurity and trust.8
Our certainty in the Mystery of God is Love.
References
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