Fog and Faith

Navigating through the fog of this world with faith

09/10/2018

Luke 6:6-11 On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Are you familiar with the word “perspicacious”? You can really impress your friends at cocktail parties if you casually use it in a sentence. It means “having a ready insight into and understanding of things.” It is the uncanny ability to pierce and penetrate the veil of what is visible. Now the funny part is how the same person can be perspicacious about some things but oblivious about others.

When I was an associate priest I served under Msgr. Hebert in Little Rock, who was a gourmet chef, and also perspicacious about a great many other areas. I, however, was not. Whenever I returned from someone’s home for supper, he invariably inquired: “So, John, what did they serve for supper?” I scratched my head and replied: “Well, uh, they had some kind of meat, and maybe a vegetable, and I think we also had dessert.” Before I could finish my Pulitzer prize description, he put up his hand and said, “Stop. Just stop.” But even though I was “out to lunch” when it came to culinary details, I had a keen memory for conversations. I would warn my hosts: “Be careful what you say to me, it may end up in next Sunday’s sermon.” You can see how Msgr. Hebert’s words wound their way into today’s homily, as an aid to understanding. To be perspicacious, therefore, means an ability to perceive and penetrate beyond the veil that covers the visible world. In the spiritual world, such perspicacity is simply called “faith.”

The Pharisees are also perspicacious people, but tragically not about the right things. St. Luke explains in one line how misguided they were in using their gifts. When Jesus teaches in a synagogue on a Sabbath, a poor man with a withered hand is present. St. Luke writes: “The scribes and Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the Sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.” They want to be perspicacious, have ready insight and penetrate the veil of Jesus’ human nature, not in order to believe and convert, but in order to blame and condemn. Romano Guardini, put it picturesquely, writing: “The form of one approaching through a fog is at first ambiguous. It can be almost anyone. Only two will know him: he who loves him and he who hates him. God preserve us from the sharpsightedness that comes from hell” (The Lord, 299). The Pharisees blindly beheld Jesus, like I beheld a gourmet meal: with no insight or appreciation into what was placed before me, that is, no perspicacity, no faith. The only way to see through the fog is with faith.

The Catholic Church is contending with her own fog as we peer through the clergy abuse scandal. Bishop Taylor will meet with all the priests in Little Rock today to talk about how we will drive through this fog using our faith. Next Sunday, he will send a homily to be preached at all Masses so that our faith might dispel this fog of scandal, sin and sadness. Please pray for us priests.

Another cause of the fog is self-centeredness and a lack of other-centeredness. When we are too self-absorbed in a conversation – worrying about what we will say next – we cannot hear what other people say with their words. How often we feel someone is not really listening when we speak. Archbishop Sartain, our former bishop, said “a good priest not only contemplates the Scriptures, he must contemplate his people.” That can be applied to every Christian, and that keen insight would give us faith to see through the fog.

As you come forward to the altar for Communion in a few moments, ask yourself, “What do I see?” Are you like Msgr. Hebert and see a gourmet meal of faith, or are you like me and cannot see beyond the fog of bread and wine? Answering that question will tell you how spiritually perspicacious you are, whether your faith will help you navigate the fog of this life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!