“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.
Often, when people hear an unexpected explanation of something which they thought was settled and familiar, they slue to the opposite opinion. “So, if you don’t believe in God, you must be an atheist!” or “If you don’t like Capitalism, you’re a Communist!” To make matters worse, the truth is not usually “somewhere in between.”
It's a “paradigm shift.” Google offers a definition (typically technological):
“A paradigm shift is a major change in the concepts and practices of how something works or is accomplished. A paradigm shift very often happens when new technology is introduced that radically alters the production process of a good or service.”
To get there you may have to “think outside the box.”
When Gutenberg introduced his moveable type, for example, his characters looked familiar, like handwriting. Readers were not ready for the paradigm shift from handwritten copies to the printing press. Only gradually did new fonts appear more suitable for printing. A second example: many older folks like me are delighted to send fast, inexpensive emails to our friends and family, but we’re still writing thousand-word missives like the old-fashioned snail mail. The people who liked to get long letters don’t always want to read a long email.
Jesus challenged his contemporaries with a “paradigm shift.” (I use this modern concept cautiously when speaking of spiritual matters.) He used the language of the law, the prophets, and the psalms. He was clearly a Jew and entirely faithful to the Jewish religion. What he knew, and his contemporaries could not get: he was the fulfillment of the entire Jewish religion. He was everything they had ever expected of God, everything they had been told of God, and more. He is God in the flesh, an undreamed-of presence appearing in human history.
That Revelation called for an entirely new way of thinking. And acting. And being. Saint Paul, in his first century (albeit sexist) language, called it “a new man.” The Gospel of Jesus called for a new congregation, with new prayers, liturgies, scripture, mission and theology -- and new urgency. The old Jewish religion could not contain Jesus, anymore than old wineskins could contain the explosive ferment of new wine.
However, when we consider Jesus’ mission as a paradigm shift, we admit that we have yet to make the transition. Much of our thinking is still as man thinks, and not as God. This Gospel reaches beyond our routine ways of thinking and acting to reveal the sins that are rooted in our language, custom and culture. The Light of God has yet to shine in many dark but all-too-familiar places.
Nor will the languages, customs, and traditions of our time readily welcome the new directions of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus challenged his contemporaries, the Gospel challenges us today. The Lord teaches us to think within the book, and outside the box.
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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.