Opening our eyes to Beauty, Truth and Goodness
John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things
came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be
through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Have you
ever been “moved to tears”? Occasionally, we experience something so
beautifully intense that it evokes the emotional response of tears flowing down
your face. I believe that what’s really happening in that instant is that an
invisible hand draws back the “veil” of the whole world that hides the Face of
God. The ancient Greek philosophers said we glimpse the three “transcendentals”
– Beauty, Truth and Goodness – because they “transcend” (they go beyond) our
everyday, earthly experiences. And when you are moved to tears you get a
glimpse of the great Beyond: you are in the presence of God. Pay close
attention when someone is moved to tears: something special and sacred is being
seen.
I’ll never
forget how my first pastor, Msgr. Gaston Hebert was easily moved to tears. As
he was preparing to retire, at a First Holy Communion Mass, he would sit in the
presider’s chair and weep as he beheld the innocent children receiving Jesus
for the first time. Seeing Monsignor’s emotions embarrassed me, but in those
little faces, Msgr. Hebert saw the Face of God: Truth, Beauty, Goodness. The
great physicist, Albert Einstein, revolutionized science with his theory of
relativity. But did you know he was also an accomplished violinist? He once
wrote: “I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin”
(Brian Foster, “Einstein and his love of music,” in Physics World 2005). It
moved him to tears. He also once wrote this to an editor: “I have to say this
about Bach’s work: listen, play, love, revere – and keep your trap shut.” In
other words, silence and tears are the only appropriate response to Beauty,
Truth and Goodness.
Today’s
gospel is taken from John, whose primary purpose in picking up his pen was to
pull back the veil that hides the Face of God. As we read John, we should be
moved to tears. Listen: “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
That’s better than Bach. Most scholars agree that John (or the school of John)
also wrote the last book of the Bible, called “Revelation.” But the Greek title
of that book is “Apocalpysis” which means “unveiling.” John wants to unveil the
Face of God so we can see Beauty, Truth and Goodness. That’s why John the
Baptist “cried out” – he was moved to tears – when he saw Jesus, and said,
“This was he of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me because
he existed before me’.” The literary artistry of the gospel of John consists
not only in telling the story of Jesus, but also in stopping to pull back the
veil of creation to reveal the Face of God – Beauty, Truth and Goodness. We can
almost apply Einstein’s comment about Bach’s music to John’s gospel: “Listen,
play, love, revere – and keep your trap shut,” because you are seeing the
Sacred.
My friends,
today take a moment to retrace the steps of your life and try to remember the
times you were “moved to tears.” Were you moved to tears when your future
husband knelt in front of you and asked you to marry him? Did you weep when you
held your newborn baby? Did tears flow freely as you walked your daughter down
the aisle on her wedding day? Did you cry at the funeral of a life-long friend?
Have you ever been moved at the innocent children receiving their First Holy
Communion? Did you ever cry listening to the music of Bach? Have you ever wept
for joy as you made love? In those moments an “apocalypsis” happened, an unveiling
of creation, and you saw the Face of God: Truth, Beauty, Goodness. And there is
only one good response in such sacred moments: “listen, play, love, revere –
and keep your trap shut.”
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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