Stranger Than Fiction

Celebrating the Sunday of the Word of God

01/26/2020

Matthew 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Let me share with you a story from a Catholic school religion class. Nine year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in his religion class that day. Joey began: “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelite people out of Egypt.” Joey continued: ‘When Moses got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across the sea safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent B-52 bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.” His mom frowned and asked: “Now, Joey, is that what your teacher really taught you?” Joey answered, “Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it.” Have you ever heard the old adage, “Truth is stranger than fiction,” especially when we discover that truth in the Sacred Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit.

                In other words, of all the tremendous truths our precious children learn in Catholic schools, there is none greater than the truth of our faith, enshrined in the Bible. I am convinced that if you could take all the literary genius of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, James Patterson and J.K. Rowling and roll it into one, you could not conceive of fiction as fabulous as the truth you find in the Bible. And that is what our children learn in Catholic schools, and why I believe parents ultimately should send them to Catholic schools, if at all possible.

In the gospel today, we discover more truth stranger than fiction, because it is truth inspired by people of extraordinary faith. Jesus calls his first apostles Peter and Andrew, James and John. What’s so remarkable about this story is that our Lord’s lips utter such a gentle invitation, but these professional fisherman immediately drop everything – they drop their nets, they drop their jobs and they even drop their father – and follow Jesus without any objection, any question or any comment. It would be easier to believe Moses built a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea and had B-52 bombers blow it up to save Israel.

A little later in the same passage from Matthew Jesus flexes his divine limbs by healing all the sick. We read: “Jesus went around all of Galilee…curing every disease and illness among the people.” Just imagine that scene in your mind’s eye. Suddenly this obscure carpenter from Nazareth burst into the public square, calls fishermen to forsake their livelihoods and their lakes, and to follow him by faith. And at the tender touch of his calloused carpenter’s hands, he heals every disease and illness among the people. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, especially the truth seen through the eyes of faith on every page of the Holy Bible.

This same fabulous truth – stranger than fiction – found in the scriptures inspired Pope Francis to solemnly declare today the “Sunday of the Word of God.” The Holy Father wrote: “I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (today) to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God.” In other words, the pope wants us to do three things today: love the scriptures, learn the scriptures, and live the scriptures (celebrate, study and disseminate). By the way, did you notice how we enthroned the Book of the Gospels next to burning candles immediately after the gospel was proclaimed? The pope said: “It is important that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word.” To say the bible has “normative value” means it becomes the standard by which we measure the authenticity of our Christian witness. Are we true Christians or not. In short, scriptures provide us with a Christian compass so we do not get lost in this wild world.

My friends, may I offer us three ways to implement Pope Francis’ urging to learn, love and live the sacred scriptures? First of all, send your children to Catholic schools, where they will be immersed in the scriptures. Here at Immaculate Conception School, our students memorize a bible verse each week. On Friday, they have a bible verse quiz. Our kids were doing that even before Pope Francis recommended it, so our kids are “more Catholic than the pope!” In a real sense, Catholic schools are large scale bible study schools, where the scriptures and the sacraments are at the core of all we study. My scripture professor in seminary loved to say: “There’s Scripture and everything else is commentary.” That’s true in every Catholic school: there’s scripture, and everything else we do is commentary.

Secondly, I suggest we take a page from the Protestant’s playbook, and find a “life-verse.” Have you ever heard of that spiritual practice? Basically you scour the scriptures until you find one verse that touches your heart deeply and inspires you profoundly. You memorize it. You repeat it daily. It slowly becomes your life motto. A life verse would be like the inscription on the coat of arms of a bishop. For example, the new bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana is a priest of our diocese, Msgr. Francis Malone. His episcopal motto on his coat of arms is derived from Psalm 116, “Accipiam calicem salutaris,” meaning “I will take up the cup of salvation.” If you have a life verse, you’re basically like a bishop.

And thirdly, dust off your bible and sign up for a bible study class. It’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution; we’re still in the first month of January. Make a resolution to sign up and faithfully attend a bible study this year. Our parish offers so many options all week long: Sunday evening, at lunch during the week, in the evenings, even Friday morning at 6 a.m. the Men of Faith meet! The bulletin is virtually brimming with bible study opportunities. I’m sorry, but you really have no excuse.

Let me leave you with a moving quotation from St. Ephraim, the 4th century deacon and doctor of the Church, who wrote: “Who is able to understand, Lord, all the richness of even one of your words? There is more that eludes us than what we can understand. We are like the thirsty drinking from a fountain. The Lord has colored his word with diverse beauties, so that those who study it can contemplate what stirs them.” In other words, the truth of faith in the Bible is not only stranger than fiction, it is more sublime than fiction. And that is why the Bible is better reading than James Patterson.

Praised be Jesus Christ!