“’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves/Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:/All mimsy were the borogoves,/And the mome raths outgrabe.”
Do you remember those lines from childhood? They come from a nonsense poem, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll from his children’s book, Through the Looking Glass. The poem, first published in 1871, and the novel it comes from, speak of how hard it is to understand life when it takes a sudden change.
Not so different from here and now in COVID times. And, not so different from the first years of the church.
The Jabberwocky of Peter’s Experience
The first reading today can seem a bit jabberwocky, just because the daily readings skipped over what happened in Acts 10. In that chapter, a Roman centurion named Cornelius who was “religious and God fearing,” had a vision in which God basically said to him, “I have seen your goodness, and so I have chosen you to begin to expand the fledgling church to include Gentiles.” That vision concluded with directions to send for Peter, who was in near-by Joppa. Meanwhile, Peter had a vision that he describes in today’s reading.
Peter didn’t know what to make of that vision. It was jabberwocky to him. While he was trying to make sense of it, the messengers from Cornelius came to where he was. The Holy Spirit told him to go with them. He did, preached the kerygma Gospel to Cornelius and his household, and, BEFORE they were baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on all the people there.
This, too, was jabberwocky. The Holy Spirit baptized GENTILES? BEFORE they were baptized with water to be made clean of sin? How could that be?
Now, even though it may still have been jabberwocky, Peter concludes, “If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
Clues for Making Sense of Jabberwocky
Polarities in the Church create jabberwocky dilemmas for me. How do I recognize the guidance of God?
As I read Acts 10 and 11 today, I am very impressed with how readily Peter, Cornelius, and the disciples in Jerusalem all recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. It was true in the readings on Friday, too, when Saul responded immediately to the voice in his vision and Ananias responded—even though the voice was telling him to do something that could have cost him his life.
Today’s Gospel (John 10: 1-10) actually comes right before Sunday’s Gospel (John 10: 11-18). It builds up to “I am the good shepherd.”
Today Jesus tells us how to look and listen to, “whoever enters through the gate.” He says, “When he has driven out his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved.” “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Then in what we read Sunday, “A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” “I know the Father and the Father knows me.”
That gives me cues and clues for how to know what voice to follow:
- “Whoever enters through the gate”—whoever comes from the church—pope, bishop, priest, layman: who speaks in conformity with the church and church teaching?
- “I am the gate. Whoever enter through me will be saved.”—does a voice which speaks today match the words and way of life of Jesus?
- “I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”—does a voice give abundant life, life in the Spirit, life lived in the Fruits of the Spirit? Does it match what is likely to lead us to Eternal Life with God?
- “A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”—What is the level of self-giving of a voice? Does it extend to real sacrifice?
- “I know the Father and the Father knows me”—does this voice also include what we know of God the Father with his deep care for all and his standards of behavior?
- “When he has driven out his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice”—is the voice ahead of us, a voice to follow?
Looking at the Cues and Clues
These criteria are helps, but they don’t completely make sense of the Jabberwocky when it comes to polarities within the church. I am coming to the conclusion that the voice of the shepherd matches neither Communio nor Concilium nor Pact of the Catacombs to the exclusion of the others (three categories that are often used to describe how church leaders have come together in groups post Vatican II). The Good Shepherd’s voice at times speaks from the perspectives of each of the three divisions; at times the perspectives of each of the divisions do not match criteria for the Good Shepherd’s voice.
Sheep are supposed to be not-overly-bright animals, but…how can I be as smart as a sheep to hear God’s voice when it jumps around like it seems to be doing? How do I keep from getting lost in jabberwocky?
Back to Acts
If I go back to Acts, what stands out is that the Holy Spirit did not lead the disciples to hold fast to Jewish culture and tradition. It did not take the safe way. It was not in any way exclusive. It did not speak to leave people out. It welcomed—even before people met common criteria for welcoming: to be safe, to agree to the current standards of behavior, to be known.
Yet, it also did not expect that people could be left where God found them. Conversion didn’t have to come first, but it had to come. There was the expectation that followers of the Way would match and follow the standards of Jesus (which were also the standards of God the Father).
And So, a New Project….
Last summer, the church produced a new Directory for Catechesis. I have read and love it. It has the fire of fervor of Pope Francis, the logic of good pedagogy, a center of the kerygma (Great Story of God’s Love in Jesus), and the careful considerations of centuries of the catechism and Magisterium.
While I know various religious educators have discussed it, I have not been able to find an opportunity to discuss it as ordinary laity, wanting to fully follow Vatican II’s charge to laity:
“All the laity, then, have the exalted duty of working for the ever greater spread of the divine plan of salvation to all men, of every epoch and all over the earth. Therefore, may the way be clear for them to share diligently in the salvific work of the Church according to their ability and the needs of the times.” Lumen Gentium, (Constitution on the Church) paragraph 33
During Lent, I facilitated several groups over Zoom of A Catholic Moment readers to discuss Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It was a wonderful experience for me, as it was for others. I would like to facilitate one or more monthly groups to really study and discuss the new Directory for Catechesis.
The Directory for Catechesis is not such a universal document. To my knowledge, it is not available to download from a Vatican website. It is available for purchase in English from the USCCB and from the Bishop’s Conference in the United Kingdom. It is a document aimed at catechists and evangelists—though I think it has much to also say to anyone who wants to bring Christ into the world around them.
It comes across to me as very much a document to help us deal with jabberwocky. It speaks of dialogic religious formation, of speaking of faith to the “nones” and to lifelong Catholics who nonetheless know little of their faith. It speaks of teaching critical thinking skills as part of faith formation. It speaks again and again of faith formation that is vibrant, central to life, and that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus, an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, a trusting relationship with God the Father. It is, to me, the design for sowing seeds of faith in literally ANY contemporary life garden.
I hope to do another time-limited weekly study of a papal encyclical in the fall.
This study to begin in May, however, would likely be monthly and extend for up to a year. I’m hungry to dig my spiritual teeth into this document and would invite anyone who also would like to do that to contact me at mary@skillswork.org.
Prayer
You are the good shepherd, and I want to listen to Your voice. Teach me how to listen like the new Christians listened in the book of Acts. Then let me follow like the first Christians followed. Help me not give in to fear or apathy or politics or jabberwocky. Lead me, guide me, Lord.
