You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
A spokesman for the airline industry said about the lost Malaysian air liner, "The industry hates a mystery. We will find that plane."
Despite their best efforts, intellectual elites are seeing the return of mystery. Some have learned to think in quantum terms, speaking as if two irreconcilable principles are both true. They've developed computers that act upon quantum principles; they can solve extremely difficult problems in seconds though their answers are only approximations. Scientists don't mind working with approximations any more.
It seems quantum is popping up in all kinds of places, as explanations for how chlorophyll transforms light into plant life and how the human brain functions. Instead of "It's a mystery," they say, "It's quantum."
In today's gospel the people of Jerusalem ponder Jesus' origins. Some are sure they know where he is from; others know where he should be from.
What they cannot comprehend is what Jesus explains in plain language, "I did not come on my own but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true."
The Jews in this gospel argue, "No one will know where he is from!" There is terrible irony here. How can the faithful not know the Messiah comes from, and is sent by, God?
They want to know the irrelevant, "Does he come from Nazareth or Bethlehem?" That's important to those who want to see the Messiah's credentials before they put their faith in him. It's not important to the disciples. We take him at his word because we have seen his glory.
Gazing directly into the darkness of mystery, we see the Glory of God. Those who want rational answers, analyzable and definable, can only be frustrated. They think that all knowledge should be broken down into facts and all experience is quantifiable.
The pseudo-scientists with whom you and I rub shoulders, the critics of religion who want God to fit into certifiable proof, are caught in a 19th century time-warp. They don't realize that two world wars and innumerable scientific and philosophical breakthroughs dismissed their confidence in scientific infallibility a long time ago. They're look at life through a soda straw and cannot find God.
Real scientists today appreciate how small their microscopes are, and how vast the universe; and how beautiful is the one who knows the Truth and comes from Him.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.