This week it’s
something different. Geoff Wood is someone whose writings are little known to
the general population. He writes for his parish in Sonoma, CA, and I’ve spent
a wonderful morning speaking with him. He writes a weekly reflection on the
Sunday Gospel. This reflection is for the Gospel for this Sunday (John 15:
12-15), when Thomas learns more than his pessimism might allow for. Geoff’s
other reflections are online: http://angelacentergeoffwood.blogspot.sg/
I decided to substitute this one for mine this week because 1) I can’t think of
anything better to say, 2) his words describe something that echoes my own
experience, and 3) it’s good to share interesting reflections by other people. On
the weekend when we celebrate Buddha’s birthday, the openness of the human
spirit to realities thought to be beyond our reach is a good thing to think
about.
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”
With startling
rapidity the faith of our civilization seems to be slipping away. As recently as my childhood Catholics and
Protestants for the most part didn’t question their creed. They were born into it and, as they grew up,
it was reinforced by a prosperous Church, plenty of priests and ministers,
family solidarity. We had no doubts
where we came from cosmically. The
catechisms were full of answers that were easily memorized. The sacraments were accompanied by gestures
that had become habitual, collectively uniform.
Now, I am speaking as an old man; I’m not sure someone born even 30
years ago has had the same experience.
But that’s my point! Times have
rapidly changed. The ethnic, creedal
solidarity we once assumed had been around forever has broken up. People of different cultural and even global
background have become our neighbors.
And then, 300 years of secular philosophies, of the “supremacy” of
science over religion have reduced Christ, for example, to another Socrates, at
best – and all options seem open as far as what truth might be.
And so I read today on the
Internet a blurb by an ex-Catholic who boasts of his newfound freedom – from
the whole “myth” he was taught in his youth.
He doesn’t take the Gospels seriously either literally or metaphorically. He now embraces an existence (for his kids
too?) that stops dead at death! And yet
he’s laughing. Obviously he has not
reached 40 let alone 50. And he is raising
his children as dogmatically in his skepticism even as he was raised
dogmatically in Catholicism. Except again
– there’s that Berlin Wall called death that he’ll have to deal with some way
or other – or steel himself to it with a display of theatrical defiance? But is it his fault? One must admit our Christian tradition shares
the fault. The essence of biblical and
liturgical theology poorly taught, poorly understood even by teachers can
contribute to disenchantment. Young
people in this day and age and under the influence of bright atheists or
agnostics are going to be better impressed.
But is it, after all, a matter
of a better Christian education?
Teaching, be it “literally” or “abstractly” done, won’t be enough. What has to happen is “conversion”. This being the Pentecost season, we should be
aware that conversion happens when one wakes up one morning a different person,
suddenly alive, aware of a spark having been struck in one’s mind, one’s
imagination, one’s soul. The mission of
teaching is to arrange the dry grass and wood chips, to strike the flint, to
create the spark – in other words educate in a way that allows a tongue of fire
to enkindle a blaze of genuine, living faith, hope and love within even
possibly a 60 year old Catholic who may have recited his creed his whole life
long - but never with a “tongue of fire”.
“I have much more to tell you,
but you cannot bear it now.” Jesus said
this at the Last Supper and scholars think he’s foretelling his coming
resurrection when he will deepen his disciples’ understanding of what he is all
about. Yet those words are addressed to
you too – that if in fact what you have learned about Christ and his mission
and origin is still a lot of “information” or piety – then he is telling you
there is more to come. It will not just
be a good course in theology. It will be
that waking up one morning aware of a depth and expanse to this universe far
beyond the range of any telescope, a sense of a grace permeating creation that
becomes a turning point you will never be able to reverse or explain to
others. It means suddenly seeing the
risen Christ and dropping to your knees not in a servile way but with
astonishment and blurting out: “My Lord and my God.” - Geoff Wood
