A crisis of truth and authenticity
July 7—14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Ez 2:2-5; Psalm 123, R.
Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Gospel—Mark 6:1-6
Grace is always available, but we must ask for it” for it to have an effect in our life. These words of Jungian psycho-spiritual guru Robert A. Johnson in his book, “The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden,” have influenced me a lot in my understanding of the nature of grace.
Essentially, this is one of the messages of today’s Gospel. This will be our third and final point for reflection.
The first two points are from the changing moods of the crowd. Their initial response to the ministry of Jesus was one of astonishment, our first point for reflection.
Then as their thoughts and biases kicked in, this shifted. “And they took offense at him,” our second point for reflection. (cf. Mark 6:1-6)In many stories of Jesus doing his ministry, the initial response of the crowds was often one of astonishment, awe, etc. which in most cases led to believing in Jesus, or at the very least being awed by this authority and new teaching.
I think there is a lot for us to learn from this encounter. The initial response of the crowds reveals what I would consider a deep longing or desire in their hearts.
Think of the times when we spontaneously responded to a beautiful sunrise or sunset or heard an inspiring song. This is a similar experience to that of the crowds when they witnessed Jesus’ works and heard his words.
In our formation years in the novitiate, we were guided to get in touch with our feelings. Yes, these are the emotions, but much more. They are our affections, inner movements, desires, hopes, passion.This was how the crowds responded initially. Jesus’ presence, words and deeds elicited such responses.
This is my first invitation for our reflection. Get in touch with your inner movements, your interiority.
Fake news
Going to our second point, notice how the crowd was easily swayed by their thoughts and biases.
In the phenomenological reflection, there is a stage where one brackets one’s biases to allow the phenomenon to reveal itself.
What happens in this case is the reverse. The biases not only prevent the revelation of the phenomenon, but distorts the phenomenon.
Nowadays this becomes an important dynamic to be aware of. How many of us are easily influenced by fake news? We live in an environment where much of the public discourse and opinion is heavily influenced by social media.
There is little discernment that goes on with the flood of information and the general goal of social media to attract more eyeballs or likes or shares.
It is a crisis of truth and authenticity, and awareness of the crisis is important to make the right choices.
This was the dilemma of the crowd in today’s Gospel. The initial response came from a core element in their person, a core desire and passion for someone who teaches and works with authenticity and authority.
The moment biases and preconceived notions set in, though, everything is reversed. The crowd denied the phenomenon or reality of Jesus performing the work of God.
Consequently, they denied the grace that came with the encounter with or experience of Jesus.
The people in today’s Gospel failed to realize the powerful grace that was in their midst. This will have consequences in the end.
It is always pointed out that the same crowd—most of them, at least, though not all—were the ones who would be shouting to Pilate in Jesus’ trial, “Crucify him!”
Perhaps if only they realized the grace that Jesus brought into the world, they would not have been part of the mob.
“Grace is always available, but we must ask for it” for it to have an effect in our life. This reveals to us a God who respects and loves us so much to give us this freedom.
