Res Ipsa Loquitur 14: Radio Show

I'm interviewed by Fr. Dwight Longenecker on his radio program, More Christianity.

Book Review 5: Covenant and Communion

Guest-posted at Standing on My Head and linked to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

I have to admit I don't know one person's theology from another. I thought theology was theology, and it did not come in flavors. So this little book was a pleasant surprise: first, it's an overview of how Benedict XVI thinks about God; and second, it shows how Benedict thinks about God through the Bible.

I have to digress already. Last year I had this book fall into my lap:

What an unexpected delight! B16 takes the reader through a conversational exegesis of all the Bible bits concerning young Jesus, from the Annunciation of John to Jesus in the Temple. I thought it was terrific, and I still re-read parts of it. So I had a good idea about how the pope approached Scripture before I started on Covenant and Communion, which is a more learned and demanding book than The Infancy Narratives. If you're an unschooled layman like me, I'd recommend reading one of the Jesus of Nazareth books first. It will make it easier to grasp what Scott Hahn wants us to know about B16's thinking in Covenant and Communion.

In C&C, the author condenses what must be well-over a million words and several decades of Benedict's God-thinking into about 200 pages. Hahn quotes St. Jerome in the opening chapter's title: Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ, and writes, "How we read and interpret the Bible directly affects what we believe about Christ, the Church, the sacraments, and the liturgy." The rest of the book shows us what Benedict understands about those things, and also how the Bible shaped his thinking. Hahn provides just enough commentary and guidance such that the reader can understand big chunks of the Pope's original prose on its own terms. At the same time, by following Benedict one sees how he directly uses the Word itself as the primary written testimony of Catholic faith- say, as opposed to the Catechism, or a Bible study guide, or any number of other books that often mediate between an individual and Scripture.

And Benedict thinks big: C&C isn't about apologetics, doesn't focus in detail on discrete topics. Its God-scope is universal, as broad and deep as can be managed in a small package. It's the whole Faith; the whole Bible; the whole time.

Read Covenant and Communion: it's not the usual.   

I Never Noticed This Either #2

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets , Convert Journal, and Amazing Catechists

 

Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt

Last night I attended a mission at Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville, SC. The speaker was Michael Cumbie, whose faith journey is not the usual; I was pleasantly surprised by both the plot and the content of his 90-minute presentation (the 2nd of 3).

One of the Bible stories he covered was the Road to Emmaus, per Luke 24. I'm editing a bit:

"That very day two of them were going to Emmaus and talking about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding?" 18 Cleopas answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened?"  "What things?"  "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, and how our chief priests and rulers crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive." 25 And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

In catechism class I always thump on that last line. It reminds us that the disciples were average guys; and unlike scribes and Pharisees, didn't have wads of Scripture committed to memory. They didn't spend their workdays thinking about Isaiah; they thought about, oh, catching fish. Nor would it be obvious to even an expert that golly, Jesus sure has fulfilled an awful lotta Scripture on this, the very first Easter Sunday! So Jesus had to explain it all from God's viewpoint as they were walking; and he probably needed every minute of the journey to do so.

"So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, 29 but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. 30* When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight."

And I jump on that as well, and y'all are familiar with  it. The bread-breaking is a big deal, because that's the moment Jesus was recognized, not merely seen. In other words, anyone can see, but does everyone understand what they are seeing? Of course this alludes to Mass, and the necessity of not just seeing what things may look like, like, you know, bread; but recognizing what they are.

But Cumbie also pointed out that not only was Jesus recognized when he broke bread, but that he was not recognized during hours of Scripturally enlightening the two disciples about himself. And the two disciples seem surprised at that: "They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" Yeah....wouldn't that have been the time for recognition? Nope. They knew Jesus when he broke bread; not when he showed them how all Scripture had been fulfilled in himself. Huh.

I never noticed. But boy howdy am I using it in catechism class when we cover this passage in March. I expect to Go Negative, like so:

"Later on Easter Sunday, Jesus ran into a couple of sad disciples. Why would they be sad? 'Cause they thought Jesus was dead. Yes. Let's listen to Luke's Gospel: "That very day two of them were going to Emmaus and talking about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking, Jesus himself drew near and went with them." But y'all just said Jesus was dead. He's alive again, it's Easter! Oh, oh yeah, that's right. "But their eyes were kept from recognizing him." Who kept them from recognizing Jesus? Umm, I guess Jesus did. Yes, why? I don't know. That's ok, let's see if you can figure it out. Then Jesus said, "What is this conversation which you are holding?" 18 Cleopas answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened?"  "What things?"  "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, and how our chief priests and rulers crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company were at the tomb early in the morning 23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive." Who are they telling Jesus about? They're telling him about himself! Yes! Do they know who he is yet? No! Right! And Jesus said, O foolish men, y'all don't understand all the stuff the prophets predicted! Prophets like who? Isaiah! Yes. But are these guys Bible experts? No! Right, they need a little help: "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now once Jesus explained everything to them, did they recognize him? Yes! No! Trick Question! Jesus walked with them most of the day explaining how he fulfilled all those prophecies, but they still didn't know who he was!

"So they drew near to the village to which they were going. The disciples said, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them.  When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight."

"So tell me about it. They knew he was Jesus. Yes of course, but tell me how they knew. Jesus let them see. Yes, but why did Jesus let them see now? Why didn't he do it when they were having Bible Study all day [going negative]? OK, hard question? Y'all listen again and tell me why he waited:  "he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes-" It's like at Mass! Yes; what's like at Mass? That's what we say at Mass. Yes, what the priests says. So try again: why didn't he do it when they were having Bible Study all day? He wanted to wait until the bread stuff. Yes, good. Now can y'all recognize Jesus in the Bible? Yes. And can you recognize him at Mass? Yes. But which one of those ways is Jesus emphasizing in the story? Mass! Yes! And even the disciples are surprised: "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" See, even they notice that Jesus didn't let them recognize him until he "blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them."

The Bible never runs out of Catholic ideas.

King Kong

This post links to Convert Journal.

At a recent online discussion, someone asked "how the pastor could take the Scripture readings and leach all the dynamism out of them in his sermon."

I think it comes from the way we learn Scripture. The Bible gets domesticated by the assorted processes through which Scripture is taught to Catholics (and maybe others as well). But if one simply reads the Bible directly, without filtering, on its own terms, then it stands alone in the history of literature as a compelling work. Think of King Kong in the jungle; compare that to King Kong in chains on the stage in New York. See? 

So you don't like me likening the Bible to a giant movie ape. Try this instead:

 No.

Yes.

Don't experience the Bible only through veils and screens; repackaged, edited, condensed, mediated and managed. Pick it up and read it yourself. You don't need a reason, or an agenda, or a guide, any structure, or any preconceptions. Just read it, and don't quit reading it. It's not conveniently organized? Hard to understand? Good: it's not supposed to be mannered or easily tamed.

Let the Bible loose in your life and it will roar.



Gorilla by David C Berliner
Roaring Lion by Paul Fisher
Caged Lion from onearth  

Letter to Parents 2013

Wednesday Night Sunday School has changed a lot in the last 2 years, figured it was time to update my letter to the parents:


September 4, 2013

Dear Parents of 6th Grade Religious Ed Students,

1. You are invited to come to class anytime. Parents who do come tend to enjoy it, and every additional adult in the room improves the learning environment.

2. There's no book for this class, and no homework. Isn't that great? This year we'll cover the whole Bible, from Genesis through Revelations; and follow that with the Mass, and how the Bible relates to Mass. So if you've never looked at the Bible in one big sweep, now's your chance.

3. On the other hand, every week builds on the prior weeks' information, so the more your child comes to class and participates in discussion, the easier it is to keep up and have fun learning.  Encourage your child to pay attention, participate, and not interfere with other students' learning.

4. Sometimes the children will bring home color handouts of fine art that we use to spark discussion in class. Have your child explain what he or she learned about those handouts. Now that I think about, make them tell you what they learned after every class, handout or not. Explaining to you what they learn is part of their evangelization practice.

5. We take attendance; please have your child come to class regularly and on time.

6. Encourage your child to contribute to discussions, and to ask questions. At the start of each class students can ask any question about God/ religion/ Christianity/ Catholicism/ current events/ encounters with non-Catholics/ you name it. We want the kids to get answers to their faith questions; if they don't ask 'em, we can't answer 'em!

7. Encourage your child to sit toward the front; it's the easiest place to learn, and harder to be bored there.

8. You can contact me at 123-4567 or chrisleb1@aol.com with any questions or comments.


Thanks for your support,

Christian LeBlanc      

Catechists' Workshop

Demonstrated some of my favorite Bible-based catechizing techniques twice at a diocesan event this past weekend.  Had 75 minutes to work with each time, cut into five 15-minute units:

1. Drawing as a teaching tool

2. Using skits as a teaching tool.

3. Teaching through learning bits of New Testament Greek.

4. Using fine art as a teaching tool.

5. Using props as teaching tools.

I presented the first four methods the same way as I did last March at another event. A synopsis of that 60-minute session is here: Teachers' Conference.
 
For the 5th unit, I used a balloon, a rubber fetus, two beach towels, three volunteers, and an umbrella to make a few observations about Mary's perpetual virginity. The essential content is here.

It was the quickest 75 minutes of my life, and I'm ready for another gig.

Ледокол

 This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets
Originally posted at New Evangelizers

  *

Y'all know how the New Evangelization means you have to actually speak to, well, people. Sometimes people you don't know. Standing in front of you. About religious stuff. Aack. It's not for everybody.

Or is it?

I try to meet someone I don't know after Mass at least every couple of weeks. I have terrible social skills, but I do find people interesting. So it’s easier for me to ask questions at first instead jumping right into an impromptu conversation with strangers. This is typical:

"Hey, I don't know you from Adam, I'm Christian; that blonde over there is my wife Janet. Who are y'all? Hello...nice to meet you. Where ya from? Ya married, rite? How'd y’all meet? When did ya first consider him marriage material? Ha! And how did you propose? Wow. So what's your maiden name? Izzat Czech? Oh, Hungarian. What generation American are you?  Where were ya born? How’d ya'll wind up here? Are y'all Catholic or just visiting? Catholic? Cradle or convert? You're cradle...did you grow up in an ethnic parish? And you're a convert.  Janet's a convert, I'm cradle. So tell me a little bit of your conversion story...uh-huh...uh-huh. How's ya faith journey doin' since ya been Catholic? Yeah, there's a lot to learn. How’d ya pick this parish? How long ya been inna parish? Still suits ya? Did you do RCIA here? How'd you like it? Who taught it? How was he? Did you learn anything that was surprising? Yeah...uh-huh. Ya been ta da parish breakfas' yet? No? Ya wanna try dat, the food is way good an' not jus' coffee'n'flapjacks: eggs Benedict, omelets, way cool. Plus ya get some Cath'lic fellaship...yeah it's weird, idnit? But people like it. And kids eat cheap. These are yours, rite? So how old are y'all? Are y'all in catechism? Yeah? I teach 6th grade, you'll get me if I live another couple of years. This ya regular Mass? Yeah I like it too, I like all the singing. So it's been a couple of years, how's the New Translation suit ya? Yeah, I like it better too but I still hafta read the Creed..."

It's not a template like cold-callers use, but it's an approach that works for me. Maybe something similar would work for you. Be not afraid.
 




*Ледокол, Ledokol, Icepick, Icebreaker...geddit?