Van Wagner teaches Agricultural Science at a high school in Danville, Pa. But in addition to that he is a story teller. And he does it with music. Van chronicles the history of Northern Pennsylvania as he spins musical tales of coal miners, lumbar men, fishermen and the beauty of this little corner of the world. Through his songs one gets carried back in time peeking through a window to the past. Because of Van’s writing and singing, I have experienced felling tall timber with a crosscut saw. Walked with striking coal miners. Danced in the meadow with bears. And fought in the 1769 Pennamite wars between Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
But the song that helped convince me to move back to Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains was his song “North of 80”. 80 refers to Interstate 80 which runs along Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier. South of that line are the big cities of Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburg. But north? There lies the forgotten hamlets of Coudersport, Troy, Towanda and Tunkhannock. And Mainesburg. Where Elise and I live.
As you can tell, Van holds a special place in my heart. While he is not a big celebrity, I still get weak in the knees when I am around him. Not wanting to say something silly or embarrassing to someone who is larger than life…figuratively and literally. So, when I had managed to procure Van to perform at an event in Canton a few years ago, I was both excited and nervous. We set up a bonfire and he sang under the stars. When he performed North of 80, I could not help but ask him for clarification of one of the lines of the song. I raised my hand and queried, “What do you mean by the line, “100 miles off of Annie Mack?”” Well, he looked at me confused since he didn’t remember writing that line. It then came to him. In front of many of my friends, he corrected me. “The line is 100 miles off of ANY MAP!” I could have dug a hole and disappeared into it, right there. Why didn’t I just leave well enough alone and not raised my hand to ask a question?!
Apparently, the Apostles in today’s Gospel had a bit more sense than I had. When Jesus told them for maybe the fifth time that he was to suffer, die and resurrect from the dead they were confused by what he meant:
“…and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.” (Luke 9:45)
You can hardly blame them. After the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus and the Apostles got in a boat and began sailing across the sea. When Jesus spoke to them of the dangers of the yeast of the Pharisees (warning them of the corruptive influence of this religious class), they thought he was rebuking them for forgetting to bring bread along. He responded with:
“Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? ” (Mark 8:17-18)
Jesus’ occasional frustration with His disciple’s apparent inability to follow His teachings were likely obvious to them and would have influenced their reluctance to ask for clarification from Jesus at times. I know I will never ask Van Wagner to explain one of his songs ever again! But don’t we all show reluctance to question another person? Especially in a public setting. Fear of humiliation runs deep. I recall the line that goes something like, better to keep quiet in case people will think you are stupid. Rather than to speak up and remove all doubt.
But the danger in taking this approach with our faith is that we sometimes fail to educate when a misconception of Catholic teaching is being spread. I was at the Pennsylvania March for Life in Harrisburg, Pa this past week. After the March a group of Catholic High School students were gathered around a younger self-professed Evangelical who was reciting Anti-Catholic rhetoric such as: they should not be praying to Mary but should instead be speaking directly to Jesus. The adult chaperone quickly explained that we ask Mary to intercede for us with her Son as well as praying directly to Jesus. Just as we ask someone else to pray for us when we have a need, such as an ill friend or relative. He also claimed that if we were sinners we could not pray to God because God does not hear the prayers of sinners. When we know that Jesus said he came for sinners and gave the Apostles the power to absolve people of their sins.
While we may fear asking questions at times, without questioning and searching we fail to acquire the knowledge of our faith so that we can correct those misunderstandings of why we as Catholics believe what we do. Bishop Fulton Sheen once said:
“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
When we hear a criticism of the Church, we may not know what to say at the time. But we can later do some research and discover an appropriate response to the misconception. Then, at some later time when you may hear the same criticism, you can answer and educate. And maybe bring a soul a little closer to the Church. I would have to say that we have access to so much Adult Education in Catholic teaching like never before. Our parishes have Bible Study classes. There are multiple faith formation programs such as Be Formed in the Joliet Diocese of Illinois. The Bible in a Year and the Catechism in a Year by Father Mike Schmitz. Catholic Radio such as Relevant Radio. Catholic Answers, found on the website Catholic.com, where you can search for many, many topics on Catholic teaching and get a well crafted response by degreed Catholic theologians. And I am just scratching the surface.
Yes, we do put ourselves at risk by stepping out a bit and challenging those who misrepresent our faith. And it is likely that at times we may question someone whose response may make us feel a little less intelligent. But remember that old saying. There are no stupid questions. Well…except for wondering what “100 miles off Annie Mack means”. \
