I Read Your Book

Learning about others and ourselves through writing

01/24/2022

Mk 3:22-30 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

If you really want to get to know someone read their book. During my week in Maryland giving the retreat at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary, I got to know Msgr. McLean Cummings, the seminary spiritual director. Before I left he gave me a copy of his small book, called “Three Questions from Your Uncle.” He wrote it to his twenty nieces and nephews about why they should be Catholic. Interestingly, though, the book not only gave me a doorway into the Catholic faith, it also opened a window into Msgr. Cummings’ heart. I glimpsed in every page I read what he loved, what he cared about, what he lived for, and even what he would die for: his faith. His book told me as much about him as it did about the subject he was discussing.

During one of our lunch conversations, Msgr. Cummings told me that Abraham Lincoln studied the geometry of Euclid and read Euclid’s books on “demonstration.” In other words, what made Lincoln such a formidable adversary in any argument, and even partly inspired him to write the elegant Gettysburg Address, was the pithiness and precision of a Euclidean “demonstration.” Lincoln dedicated days of his life reading Euclid’s books on geometry: to know the man and the math.

Here’s another example. After General George S. Patton defeated the Germans in Tunisia, North Africa, he triumphantly growled: “Rommel, you magnificent son-of-a-gun (Patton used more colorful language), I read your book!” That is, Patton really got into the mind and heart of his enemy, General Rommel, through reading his book, and he defeated him on the battlefield because he could anticipate his moves. If you want know someone, read their book.

Our Scripture readings today talk about the spirit that lead King David to victory, and the Spirit that guided the life of Jesus. In both cases, though, if you want to know who these two great men were, just read their books. The Old Testament book of Psalm is traditionally ascribed to the pen of King David, But even if he did not write all 150 psalms, he surely wrote most of them, and undoubtedly wrote Ps 51, and there we discover his spirit – David’s loves, his passions, his plans, his hopes and dreams, and even his sins. If you want to know King David, read his book.

As you know, Jesus himself never wrote a book, except for a few lines he scribbled in the sand in Jn 8:6, when the Pharisees brought to him the woman caught in adultery. But in another sense, Jesus, who is the Word of God, is present in every page and paragraph of the whole Bible because it was his Holy Spirit who was its principal author. That is why Jesus is so upset at the scribes in the gospel today who accuse him of being filled with an evil spirit.

Jesus fires back at them some of his most serious invective, saying: “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” In other words, to speak against the Holy Spirit is to speak against the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. That is, if you want to get to know Jesus, then read his book, the Bible. That is exactly why St. Jerome would famously warn: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” You don’t know Jesus unless you read his book.

Recently, one of our parishioners, Jerry Adams, gave me a copy of his autobiography called, “The Story Never Ends.” It was hilarious, and Jerry is an entertaining story teller. In one episode he has to give a speech at a hotel operated by Hugh Hefner – you may have heard of him. As Jerry is running late he gets on an elevator to the 7th floor with several Playboy Bunnys, and the elevator is packed with people. One of the Bunnys says to Jerry: “We’re sorry sir, if we’re crowding you.” Jerry, who was never at a loss for a quick come-back, turned several shades of red, and never said a word. But that episode revealed something special about Jerry, as did every page in his beautiful book.

Have you ever thought about writing a book? Another parishioner I knew wrote a book of her devotionals and prayer life, a sort of spiritual journal. It, too, revealed her heart and hopes. Maybe you could write a small book for your nieces and nephews like Msgr. Cummings about why it is important to you to be a Catholic, and why they should take their faith seriously too. And by the way, don’t use the excuse, “I don’t know how to write a book.” Just look at all the stuff people write on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. What is that but a chronicle of a person’s hearts and hopes, disappointments and desires, successes and failures? Just compile all those pearl of wisdom and come up with a catchy title.

Most importantly, whatever you write, even if it is only scribbling in the sand, it will inevitably say something about you, and hopefully it will reveal that you are a person of faith, hope and love. And I would love to be able to say one day about you: “You magnificent son-of-a-gun, I read your book!”

Praised be Jesus Christ!