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Exploring the word

05 Jul 2015 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Knowledge is power, according to Francis Bacon. This phrase is chiseled into the lintels of many a school to confirm that the pursuit of knowledge is worthwhile. Too often, however, we equate knowledge with the random acquisition of facts and figures. I personally recall memorizing the imports and exports of foreign countries as part of my homework. Olive oil and bananas, textiles and technology: What good did these frail and variable facts do us then, much less now? Without context and its attendant web of relationships, such charts of information remain quaint memorabilia of our school days, filed away and fairly useless. Scriptural knowing isn’t a matter of collecting facts but of intimate encounter. The phrase is applied narrowly to marital intimacy, but biblical knowledge concerns deep relationship. Knowing God, for example, doesn’t mean knowing about God, that God exists, what the divine attributes might be, or being able to define God in theological terms. We might know “God” in these ways, but this isn’t what the Bible means by knowledge of God. We need the personal encounter, the heart-to-heart connection, the deep understanding of God’s ways that covenant relationship involves. Until then, we might recite the catechism front to back, but without the context of vital relationship, such knowledge is vain. This is evident in the people of Nazareth who were quite convinced they knew Jesus. After all, he grew up in their town. They were acquainted with his family. They were aware of his background and his trade. Having assembled the facts about Jesus, they simply could not put them together with the man before them, teaching with such authority in their synagogue. That Jesus did not add up to this Jesus. They concluded he must be a poser, a phony. Jesus didn’t fit their facts! The great mistake of the citizens of Nazareth was trying to squeeze Jesus into their pre-established packet of facts. Instead of concluding that something’s not right about Jesus, they might have considered that the fault was in their selective and limited facts about him. When it came to having an intimate encounter with Jesus himself, they were not showing up for the invitation. In Mark’s Gospel these folks take their place along with the religious establishment, prepared to put Jesus to death on the basis of a few reports (3:6); and his family members, convinced he’d gone mad because they couldn’t make sense of his actions (3:20). Consider: No one healed by Jesus, forgiven by him, or who took his teachings deeply to heart enough to follow him ever questioned his origins. For them, genuinely knowing Jesus in the sacred encounter was enough! Related scripture links Calls to prophesy: Exod. 3:4-14; 1 Sam. 3:1-10; Isa. 6:1-10; Jer. 1:4-10; Jon. 1:1-3 Women prophets: Exod. 15:20-21; Judg. 4:1-5:31; 2 Kings 22:8-20; Isa. 8:3; Luke 2:36-38; Acts 21:8-9 Who’s responsible for the message: Ezek. 3:17-21 Nothing but Christ crucified: 1 Cor. 2:1-5 Great turnarounds: Luke 19:1-10; 23:39-43; Acts 9:1-19

Authors Alice Camille

Wisdom Encounter Connection Relationship

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Homily themes

12 Aug 2012 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

"The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The epistle and gospel readings pick up where they left off last Sunday, and there are a number of lines of continuity. Last week the Israelites “grumbled” again at Moses and Aaron for letting them starve, while today the people “murmured about Jesus” because he did feed them—but with what was for them the problematic bread from heaven. The gospel this week also continues a shift of emphasis from belief in Jesus’ words to the necessity of eating his flesh, which is the living bread. In addition the readings point toward encounter: Ezekiel’s anticipated journey to the mountain of God; the goodness of the Lord so palpable one can “taste and see” it; Ephesians’ exhortation to imitate God; and Jesus, who is the “bread that came down from heaven.”

Authors Joel Schorn

Bread israelites Encounter

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The inner word

06 Sep 2009 - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Is there anyone whose heart is not frightened at some time or another? Thus, the Lord’s message in Isaiah is directed to all of us. When we encounter Jesus we will experience vindication and recompense. Am I willing to admit I have blind spots—about people, about opinions, even about God? What can I do to be healed of these? Who am I deaf to? Do I “show partiality” in listening to some in my congregation rather than others? What part of my life seems like a desert lately? How might I prepare myself to expect and welcome refreshing streams bursting forth in my own life? In the life of my community?

encounter jesus blind deaf

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