The Interpretation of Scripture ... By Jesus Himself!

We sometimes struggle to properly interpret the Word of God in Sacred Scripture.  To discover a passage in which Jesus Himself explains something is rather extraordinary.  Yet, that is what we find in the Gospel of St. Mark, Chapter 4.

Here is the passsage, and Jesus is speaking.  "Hear this!  A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and the birds came and ate it up.  Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.  It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.  And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.  Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.  And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.  It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."  And, as if for emphasis, he said this:  "Whoever has ears ought to hear."  (Mark 4:3-9).

After the disciples expressed their lack of understanding, he interprets for them.  (Mark 4:14-20).  The seed represents the Word of God.  The birds represent Satan.  The path represents people who have access to the Word of God.  Satan acts so that the people do not hear the Word of God and so it has no chance to grow and be nurtured.  The rocky ground represents people who  receive the Word of God with "with joy," but do not take it to heart.  As soon as "tribulation and persecution" come, they "fall away."  The thorns represent secular or earthly distractions, such as "worldly anxiety, the lure of riches," and other cravings that people allow to take over their lives causing them to ignore the Word of God.  But the rich soil represents people who hear the Word of God and fully accept it such that they produce extraordinarily good works and grow in faith and holiness.

Jesus began his interpretation by saying "Whoever has ears ought to hear."  (Mark 4:9).  This sounds like he wants the message to be in bold print and underlined!  So let's summarize.  We should pay close attention to, diligently study, and properly interpret the Word of God.  We should avoid serious sin and not give in to the word of Satan, meaning not give in to any temptation to sin.  We should allow the Word of God to "take root" in our lives and we should force ourselves to act accordingly.  If problems arise, such as the persecutors from the secular world attacking us, or serious calamities and accidents disabling us, we should allow the Word of God to strengthen us.  And, finally, we should not allow the lure of riches or sexual and other cravings to ruin us.

And what as far as properly interpreting the Word of God?  The Catholic Church is the Church Jesus founded.  Let us look to it for proper interpretation.  Some will not want to do this.  If you are one of them, I suggest you take on a full study of  Catholicism, such as in a RCIA class in your local parish.  The bottom line is that God wants a world filled with faithful and holy people.  Let us do our level best to accommodate him.  Amen!

Great Minds and Their Disagreements

Throughout history, we have had many people step into our world that are known especially for their intelligence.  Yet, when it comes to a discussion of what is true, these people have widely differing opinions.  Why is that?  After all, the truth is just that, the truth, and it would seem that intelligent people, who have looked at all the variables and all of the evidence, should all agree.  Right?  But we are divided.  In Issue after issue, the divisions run deep. 

Let us take a look at the existence of God, for example.  This coming Monday, January 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas.  Thomas stepped into our world in the year 1225.  He was a Catholic and became a Dominican priest.  He was known for his great intelligence and became a famous philosopher.  He authored arguably the most important text in the history of the Church, Summa Theologica, a comprehensive treatise on the existence of God.  In it, he gives us five essential proofs for God’s existence.  This text is still used today to train seminarians in Catholic philosophy.  Obviously, in Thomas’ brilliant mind, God exists, and has given us Christianity to save us from our sins.

Now let us take a look at another famous personality:  Carl Sagan.  Dr. Sagan, born in 1934 was also very intelligent and very famous.  He was an astrophysicist, a cosmologist, and has also authored some highly respected works in his field. He drew attention to the cosmos with his popular video series, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.  He was an atheist.  Here is a quote attributed to him that I ran across recently:  "Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.  In our obscurity, in all thuis vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhare to save us from ourselves."  

When I read that quote, I wanted to scream at him and tell him that indeed help HAS come from elsewhere ... from heaven!  Haven't you seen the "hints?"  God exists, and has saved us from ourselves already.  We must recognize this, become believers, and follow his teachings!  Oh, brother!

Why great minds can't agree on life's issues is one of the great mysteries.  Jesus said:  "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except thought  me."  (John 14:6).  Why can't everyone believe that?  

This Water is Holy

When we enter a Catholic Church, one of the first things we see is the holy water font, a small (or large) bowl that has water in it located just inside the door.  A Catholic will dip the tips of his/her fingers into the water and make the “sign of the cross” by touching the forehead, breastbone and shoulders with the wet fingertips.  For many Catholics, this has become a routine ritual that takes maybe three seconds.  But what is this water, and what does this sign of the cross mean?  Protestants, atheists, and even Catholics who have not been properly schooled in Catholic rituals likely have no clue.

First, why is it called holy, i.e., holy water?  It is water that has been specially blessed by a priest, bishop, or deacon, usually, but not always, at the Easter Vigil service (Holy Saturday night).  Having been blessed in this way creates what the Church calls a sacramental.  The word “sacramental” is not to be confused with the word “sacrament.”  A sacrament is a ritual instituted by Christ himself that is necessary for the flow of grace that sanctifies a Catholic each time it is validly received.  Examples are Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and Matrimony.  A sacramental is an object or action instituted by the Catholic Church that assist us in our prayer.  Examples are holy water, rosaries, statues, etc.

Second, what does the sign of the cross mean?  The sign of the cross doesn’t always use holy water as described above.  It usually begins any formal prayer, such as the Mass, a rosary, etc.  It is a blessing … a Catholic making the sign of the cross invokes God’s blessing on himself/herself.  The action is usually accompanied by the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  In addition, making the sign of the cross with holy water reminds us of our Baptism and our baptismal promise to reject Satan.  When we enter a Catholic Church, we are entering an exceedingly holy place in which a Eucharistic element, the transubstantiated bread, is stored in the tabernacle.  In other words, we are entering into the presence of the Son of God himself, what Catholics refer to as the Blessed Sacrament.  The sign of the cross using holy water is the way a Catholic acknowledges this.

Though it has become very routine, I try hard nowadays to call to mind my Baptism and my rejection of Satan when I make the sign of the cross with holy water upon entering a Catholic Church.  Accompanied by the silence that should be a characteristic of a Catholic sanctuary, it immediately starts my prayer engine, especially as I enter a pew and kneel before the Blessed Sacrament.  I feel I am in contact with God at that moment and that he is listening to my prayer.  What better way is there to prepare for the Holy Mass that follows?  Amen!

My Government Representatives

While walking the track at my local healthy living center recently, I suddenly came to an important awareness, and that is that my representatives in government are just that – my representatives.  They represent me.  They are me, or rather, they are my proxies, studying the issues and making voting decisions on my behalf.  They have to mirror me.  Their minds must look like my mind.  They must think like I think.  Their outlooks on life must be the same as my outlook.  Knowing these things, I must have the confidence that they will make legislative decisions that would be my decisions if I were the one in government who studies the issues and votes on legislative bills, amendments to the Constitution, resolutions, and whatever else might come up.

Now, my voice in government is obviously heard through my vote.  So how do I make voting decisions on election day?  I must vote for the candidates who I would best trust to study the issues and vote the way I would vote if I had I studied the issues myself.  So I make decisions on people rather directly on the issues.

Too many candidates for government offices today are relativists.  They make decisions based on the concept that “what is right for me is not always right for everyone.”  Their beliefs therefore do not reflect who they are, and so people get elected that do not truly represent others like them.  They do not want to “impose” their beliefs on people who are not like them.  In my view, this attitude is wrong where moral standards are concerned.  For example, I could never vote for someone who is Catholic who believes abortion, gay marriage, etc., are wrong, yet does not vote accordingly on these issues.  Such people do not represent me.  They are not me.  However, they do have constituents that think like them and they will get elected if such constituents are in the majority.  But I am against relativism.  I believe that things that are morally right for me are morally right for everyone and things that are morally wrong for me are morally wrong for everyone.  Abortion is wrong because it takes a human life.  Taking a human life is wrong for everyone.  And anything that obviously promotes immoral behavior is wrong for me and is wrong for everyone.

Problems occur for me when I don’t have a good choice of candidates.  Who do I vote for if neither candidate looks like me?  I suppose I then vote for the one most closely aligns with me.  So it can wind up to be a vote for an ideology rather than a person.  I’m registered as a Republican and so I almost always vote Republican.  Sometimes that can be a very repugnant vote, but that is what it must be.

On Belief Systems, Judging, and Imposing My Beliefs on Others

Today I’m thinking about the different belief systems that are out there and how these systems respond to some current issues in society.  I would like to consider examples of what might be called crimes by some and sins by others.

Most people, regardless of their belief system, have a basic moral character about them.  In other words, there are some crimes that are forbidden in all belief systems.  Examples are taking the life of another and rape.  Everyone, without exception, probably agrees that murder and rape need to be on the absolutely forbidden list.  Even the perpetrators probably believe this.  So we have laws on the books so that these perpetrators are brought to justice.  All would judge the perpetrators as being guilty of wrongdoing

There are crimes or sins that some believe should be forbidden but others think they should not.  Examples are viewing pornography and abortion.  Those people say that as long as no one gets hurt, they can commit these things in private or in consultation with their doctor.  Abortion is thought to be murder in some belief systems but not in others, hence those who oppose abortion want it to be forbidden while those who do not oppose abortion want it be a matter of personal choice to be considered a form of health care for the mother.  This latter group also says that it is religion interfering in personal choices.  And so we would have people accusing other people of judging them for their private acts based on a misguided belief system, which then results in resentment and more conflict.

There are also crimes (or perhaps “sins” would be the better term here) which indeed only particular religions forbid.  Examples are pre-marital and extra-marital sexual relations and missing religious services (Mass) on Sundays.  The Catholic Church, for example, have deemed both of these acts as very serious mortal sins.  Finally, there are also many perhaps trivial acts that the Catholic Church would consider venial (less serious) sins while everyone else wouldn’t think twice about committing them.  So we have a wide array of acts that run the full range of urgency in public opinion resulting from a wide range of beliefs.

So what is my take on all of this.  Everyone who regularly reads my blog or knows me personally knows that I strive to be a devoted Catholic.  I believe that if everyone could would have this striving that there would be much more harmony in the world.  Everyone would be striving to be a good person who believes in God and in his son, Jesus Christ.  There would be no difference of opinion as to what is right and wrong.  Everyone would go to Mass and receive the Eucharist daily.  Everyone would know that Satan exists and that he is working hard to bring everyone down by tempting them to serious sin.  Everyone would resist this.  Judgements could be made without resentment.  And it would not be imposing my faith on others, as is often claimed.  You would still have a choice.  I am simply stating what I believe is right and following Christ's mandate to "go and make disciples of all nations."  (Matt 28:19). 

What people should know is that God loves each of us immeasurably.  He is filled with mercy and wants us to love him back.  I love this famous passage from Scripture, the words of Jesus himself:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” And, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Mark 12:30-31).  How transformative this would be for everyone and what a wonderful world we would have!  Amen!