Daily Retreat 06/14/07
2007 Jun 14 Thu
2 Cor 3:15 – 4:1. 3-6/Ps 84(85):9ab and 10. 11-12. 13-14/Mt 5:20-26
From today's readings: "Since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged.... The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.... Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven...."
Unveiling the Gospel
Part of the universal appeal of the Gospel is the sincerity and simplicity of the words of Jesus - the Savior certainly "called a spade a spade," and spoke directly, forthrightly, and in a way that everyone could understand. Yet paradoxically, the words of Jesus were also intensely pregnant with deeper significance, and so the evangelists admit on many occasions that even those closest to Jesus often failed to fully discern the intent of His words.
This tension has only heightened with the passing of centuries. And so, we must avoid both the erroneous belief that the Gospel is hopelessly cryptic, but also the opposite extreme that presumes that all of Christ's words (and, by extension, all of scripture) are immediately self-evident and unambiguous. As St. Paul freely admits, "our Gospel is veiled," but he explains that the "veil" is not some secret code intended to hide the Gospel from the uninitiated; rather, the "veil" is to be found in the heart, mind, and attitude of the inquirer - "in whose case, [Satan], the god of this age, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ."
But we who are believers must also be careful here - who of us can dare say we are completely free of the Devil's deceptions, distortions and distractions even as we turn to God's Word? In other words, if I see a certain meaning in the words of Scripture, what is there to guarantee that my interpretation is not skewed by my own bias, ignorance, and sinfulness? Clearly, it's humanly impossible to disengage fully from our personal limitations and susceptibility to error, yet Paul insists "whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed." We turn to the Lord by carefully considering His words in their fullest context: the words of Christ in the context of the whole Gospels; the words of the Gospels in the context of the whole New Testament; the words of the New Testament in the context of the whole Bible; the words of the Bible in their historical and present context in the whole Church, to whom God reveals and unveils His Word!
2 Cor 3:15 – 4:1. 3-6/Ps 84(85):9ab and 10. 11-12. 13-14/Mt 5:20-26
From today's readings: "Since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged.... The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.... Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven...."
Unveiling the Gospel
Part of the universal appeal of the Gospel is the sincerity and simplicity of the words of Jesus - the Savior certainly "called a spade a spade," and spoke directly, forthrightly, and in a way that everyone could understand. Yet paradoxically, the words of Jesus were also intensely pregnant with deeper significance, and so the evangelists admit on many occasions that even those closest to Jesus often failed to fully discern the intent of His words.
This tension has only heightened with the passing of centuries. And so, we must avoid both the erroneous belief that the Gospel is hopelessly cryptic, but also the opposite extreme that presumes that all of Christ's words (and, by extension, all of scripture) are immediately self-evident and unambiguous. As St. Paul freely admits, "our Gospel is veiled," but he explains that the "veil" is not some secret code intended to hide the Gospel from the uninitiated; rather, the "veil" is to be found in the heart, mind, and attitude of the inquirer - "in whose case, [Satan], the god of this age, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ."
But we who are believers must also be careful here - who of us can dare say we are completely free of the Devil's deceptions, distortions and distractions even as we turn to God's Word? In other words, if I see a certain meaning in the words of Scripture, what is there to guarantee that my interpretation is not skewed by my own bias, ignorance, and sinfulness? Clearly, it's humanly impossible to disengage fully from our personal limitations and susceptibility to error, yet Paul insists "whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed." We turn to the Lord by carefully considering His words in their fullest context: the words of Christ in the context of the whole Gospels; the words of the Gospels in the context of the whole New Testament; the words of the New Testament in the context of the whole Bible; the words of the Bible in their historical and present context in the whole Church, to whom God reveals and unveils His Word!
posted by FrPitstick | 6/13/2007
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