"Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong!"
The Blind Men and the Elephant
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
I see, quoth he, the Elephant
Is very like a snake!
The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain, quoth he;
'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: Even the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!?
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
I see, quoth he, the Elephant
Is very like a rope!
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
Moral:
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
-- John Godfrey SaxeThe Mass in the Catholic Church stands or falls on the supernatural claims of our founder Jesus Christ: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Making the Real Presence of Christ at the Mass real in the hearts and minds of all Catholics is the way forward.
Surely, we can do a better job at explaining the Mass than the archbishop does, can't we?
Which is more important? The presence of Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist or the story of God that the Mass conveys to us? Which is more important? The presence of the storyteller or the story of the storyteller?
Indeed, Jesus is really present at Mass. Indeed, he is the guest of honor - the hero of the victory. Obviously, he is present. What would a victory party be without the hero? However, more is going on at Mass than his mere presence - much more.
Jesus revealed our God to us in a story - his greatest and final parable. His greatest and final parable unfolded on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. It didn't unfold in words. It is ironic but the Word of God (John 1:1) wasn't an author. He was a carpenter (Mark 6:3). The carpenter built his greatest and final parable into the very fabric of reality itself by participating in a lopsided 'conversation' that took place on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. There, we took from him his flesh and blood even though his flesh and blood did not belong to us. He forgave us (Luke 23:34) even though we did not deserve forgiveness. While we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), Jesus loved us first (1 John 4:19). He did not wait for our conversion before he forgave us (Romans 5:8) (Matthew 22:10) (Matthew 7:6) (John 8:10 -11). He forgave us to bring about our conversion. Jesus took the first step in the hope that we would take the second. We did not deserve forgiveness. Yet, our God forgave us anyway. That Jesus went out on a limb for us is the audaciousness of God's plan to rescue us from our dire predicament in the Valley of Tears. Audacity is the hallmark of our God.
We tortured and killed the God who loves us. We made him suffer and die. Yet, he forgave us for the evil that we did to him (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness (Luke 23:34) is the bridge (John 14:6) that Jesus built to span the pit (Luke 16:26) that we dug in our relationship with our God. Paradise is not found at the bottom of the pit but at the far side of the bridge. Our job is to stop digging the pit and to start crossing the bridge.
The Mass is the vehicle that Jesus created to propagate his greatest and final parable from then and there, across space and time, to us here and now. He created the clergy to operate the vehicle. God put the Church in charge of logistics. The Church's job is to get the knowledge of God into the hands of the children of Adam and Eve. Then, it must step aside and let God do the rest.
At Mass, the rabble and its ringleader take from Jesus his flesh and blood even though his flesh and blood do not belong to us. Jesus forgives us even though we do not deserve forgiveness. Jesus, by the gift of forgiveness, put an equal sign between his flesh and blood and our food and drink. By making the equation, Jesus transforms his flesh and blood into our food and drink, a sacrifice into a banquet, murderers into dinner companions, an ignoble defeat into a glorious victory.
What exactly was the victory that is being joyfully celebrated at Mass? The attempt to drain Jesus's most Sacred Heart of his love for us had failed. His love for us survived the evil that we did to him. Jesus clung to his love for us, held tight and refused to let go despite the evil that we did to him. The dial that controls his love for us is in his hands not ours. Moreover, it is set to the highest degree and locked in place (Jeremiah 31:3). Not even the evil that we did to him could budge it (Lamentations 3:22). His love for us is mysteriously intransigent, inexplicably persistent and radically stubborn love (Lamentations 3:22-23) (Jeremiah 31:3) (Psalm 8:4-8). This is the Good News of Great Joy - very good news for us indeed.
The presence of Jesus is mute. Close proximity to the mere presence of God does not transfer the knowledge of God to us. Osmosis does not work. Jesus's greatest and final parable that unfolded on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection tells us much, much more than the mute presence of Jesus.
By latching onto the mere presence, the Church has latched onto the wrong thing. Let us not just make the small claim that Jesus is really present in the most Holy Eucharist. Let us make the much bigger claim. Let us claim that the story of God is really present and being retold in the most Holy Eucharist.
Beware the Christian, especially the Christian cleric, who knows the presence of God but not the story of God. Beware him who has separated the storyteller and his story. A singer is known by his song, an artist is known by his art, a tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:43-45) and the storyteller by his story (not his presence). The story of the storyteller, not the presence of the storyteller, is the powerful truth that transforms us from godless people into people of God. The charisma of God is his story not his presence. Don't get hung up on his presence. Don't let the mere and mute - albeit real - presence of God interfere with his story - the story that unfolded on the road from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection. The story, not the presence, perfects our understanding of God.
Making the Real Presence of Christ at the Mass real in the hearts and minds of all Catholics is the way forward.
No, archbishop. Sorry. The real presence is only incidental to the story. Making the greatest and final parable of our Lord, Jesus, real in the hearts and minds of all of the children of Adam and Eve - not just Catholics - is the way forward. The Mass is bigger than his mere presence - much bigger.