Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter - Mass in the Morning

Lectionary: 302

It is this disciple who testifies to these things
and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually,
I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

 A s we watch the printed page fade from its former importance, and the rise of the Internet and social media, we have a hard time imagining the impact of the New Testament writings. 

When Saint Paul addressed his letters to the Corinthians, Thessalonians, and Romans, he wrote without editing or rewriting. As Pontius Pilate said, "What I have written, I have written." Or as Omar Khayyám wrote, 

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,

Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,

Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

Sometimes Saint Paul's Greek sentences run on and on, and translators struggle to place all the words in sentence form. He was brilliant, creative, and very excited; and, like a preacher of my acquaintance, sometimes got carried away. 

But when his letters arrived at their destination, and were read aloud to the gathered congregation, the effect must have been electric. It was as if he were there. Their diction and resonance were fresh and familiar, they knew his words and their meaning; He might have been standing in front of them. Given their importance as God's word, Zoom could not have the same effect today. 

When the Beloved Disciples, whom we call John, wrote his testimony,

...that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

the reading before the congregation had a similar effect. This is why a Catholic congregation stands up when the Gospel is read. It's as though The Man has just entered the room. He is speaking to us. 

Given the pervasive, intrusive, and obnoxious persistence of media today, and our jaded response, it takes extra effort to recall and re-experience the impact of the Word of God. 

Occasionally, as I have celebrated Mass with a congregation of teens, some of them have behaved as if I were on television. They talk to one another, or get up and leave the room, as if I am not standing there in the flesh, and able to see every move they make and hear every distracting sound. They are shocked when I speak directly to them, and ask them to pay closer attention to the sacred rite. Television never called me by name and told me to settle down! 

Because we must rely on a translator's reliability, God's word may be more remote We must deliberately and energetically ask the Lord to renew our vitality and give us an open availability to His word, their meaning, and their Spirit. 

Also, amid our 21st century cacophony, everyone wants to be heard, and few of us want to listen. To hear God's word we must be silent and willing to allow the Word to come to us. It must rearrange the furniture in our hearts, toss out trash and clutter,  and make itself at home. And that takes time. 

But the work is good because the Word is good. And, as John says, we want to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief we have may life in his name.