Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 10, 2008 - Thursday in the Third Week of Easter
[Acts 8:26-40 and John 6:44-51]"Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
It could be an interesting exercise to think back and discern how it is we learned about Jesus and our faith. In the vast majority of cases, I would wager that we learned from someone else - another human or humans, and perhaps not a priest! Someone had to interpret the scriptures and the teachings of the apostles and the church to us. The early Christian community did not have the New Testament to read. They had the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament). In this incident involving Philip (a non-apostle - one of the first "deacons") and the Ethiopian eunuch, we have an example of a Spirit-guided disciple "instructing" a person who was struggling to understand the character of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah! By the time the Acts of the Apostles was put into writing, the Christian community had already begun to identify that character with the suffering of Jesus! From the very outset of Jesus' ministry, the evangelist Luke (author of Acts) makes that identification clear (cf. Luke 4). When I entered religious life back in the mid 1960's, I had received a typical catechetical/apologetic religious formation. I had been a dedicated altar boy. I knew the Baltimore Catechism and how to "defend" the faith. I knew only those scriptures that were handy for argument. The "Suffering Servant" in Isaiah as well as all the other wonderful treasures of our Catholic heritage were still ahead of me. It was when I began the study of theology that a wonderful world opened to me. I was blessed with very dedicated teachers who helped me to "understand what I was reading." The task for me then was the same as the one for that Ethiopian. Faith requires not just a good feeling and personal relationship, it demands understanding of the "mysteries of salvation." Even if we cannot attend formal theological classes, we can at least obtain a good Bible, read the articles connected with each book and reflect on what we are reading. We can access wonderful resources online in our day that will help us to understand our faith. "Instruction" is not lacking. What is needed is a heart open to learning and a willing instructor. May God grant us all both of these as Philip was provided to the Ethiopian. AMEN
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