(1 John 4:11-18; Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13; Mark 6:45-52)
Every so often Sacred Scripture throws me a curveball, forcing me to really think about what’s being said. Today’s readings offer one such example. The reading from the First Letter of John begins: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” The first and last sentences are in keeping with my understanding of Catholic teachings . . . but hiding in there is a sentence that caused me to do a double-take.
“No one has ever seen God”? Wait . . . we definitely believe Jesus is God, and lots of people saw Jesus during his lifetime; doesn’t that count? What’s going on?
My Bible includes some cross references where a similar sentiment is echoed: John 1:18 (“No one has ever seen God. The only son God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.”) and 1 Timothy 6:16 (“. . . the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see”).
Okay; there are a few things here that I can see. It seems pretty clear to me that they’re probably talking about God the Father in these instances, which would be accurate. Not even Moses saw God; although he talked to the LORD “face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10) – meaning in a conversational manner – the Scripture is clear that he didn’t really see God’s face (see Exodus 33:18-23).
I also understand that it took a few centuries for mortal minds to fully wrap around the idea of the Trinity, even though it’s clearly in the Gospels (see, for example, Matthew 28:19). So it’s understandable that they say things that seem a bit askew to modern ears.
And yet . . . is there more wisdom to be gleaned here?
Look at today’s Gospel selection from Mark. It talks about how Jesus walked on water after the miracle of feeding the five thousand. “But at once he spoke with them, ‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!’ He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.”
Actually, Christ’s answer of “It is I” is literally translated as “I am,” which points to the divine revelation found – among other places – in Exodus 3:14 (“God replied, ‘I am who am,’ Then he added, ‘This is what you shall tell the Israelites: IAM sent me to you.'”).
Now, look at the last two sentences from Mark: “They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” What did they not understand? Why were their hearts hardened?
Simply put, they didn’t understand the signs of Christ’s divinity. Their hearts were hardened to the truth that was before them: That Jesus was God.
If you were walking along the street two thousand years ago and saw Jesus, you would not immediately know he was God. You would not “see” him. Similarly, if a nonbeliever saw the Eucharist, he would not “see” Christ, even though we know Scripture and Tradition clearly indicate he is physically there with us during that Sacrament.
And even if we believe we are practicing Catholics, in our hearts, are we sure we are “seeing” Christ? About half of American Catholics don’t believe that – during Communion – the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus. (I can’t find statistics worldwide, but I suspect there are a large number of Catholics across the globe who don’t understand or accept the doctrine of transubstantiation.)
In the Gospel of Mark, we learn of those who saw the truth but didn’t believe, and their hearts were hardened. Let us remain ever vigilant that – through Sacraments, Scripture, prayer, and more – we have ample opportunity to know God. If we fail to do so, the fault is with us.
