Lectionary: 296“I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God.
A long time ago many of us were given a simple introduction to the mystery of the virgin birth of Jesus. To the Angel's announcement, the Galilean maid asked, "How can this be since I do not know man?" In that sentence the word know includes more than a man's name, weight, and height. It concerns a very intimate and personal relationship.
Children of the twentieth century had to be reminded by our religion teachers that knowledge is not just what we find in books. It's not the information we learn in conversation, or the data we meet in fire hose amounts on the Internet.
Mary's knowledge concerns the encounter of mystery in the body/person of another human being. It's the interface of two or more embodied spirits that meet in communion.
We learned that of Mary's conversation with the Angel; hopefully we began to realize there was more to knowing than a grasp of the facts.
Facts have their usefulness. Like Lego bricks they can be built into fascinating systems. They can be discovered, accumulated, organized, identified, analyzed, broken down, reassembled, and discarded. They can be used to reveal the truth or hide it; to heal and to hurt, depending on one's intentions. They may be beautiful or not; and, in context, they may be knowledge to those who know what they mean and what they're good for.
In today's gospel Jesus tells us we shall know the Father, "I will tell you clearly about the Father." He will not tell us facts; they mean nothing in the encounter with God. God cannot be discovered like facts; God can only be revealed.
What exactly he will "say" will not translate into words or familiar constructs. This longed-for event, this telling us of the Father, will transpire on Good Friday as the Lord surrenders his life. In the sacrifice of his body and blood we see the Father. In the Eucharist we meet God face to face.
It is as real, as physical, as any life-changing encounter; as beautiful as Virgin Birth.
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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.