Theologians

My fellow theologians ...

As St Anselm defined theology, it is faith seeking understanding.

And that fairly well describes us.

We have faith in God—week or strong or imperfect as it may be.

Some of our beliefs we simply accept, even though we don't fully understand.

So we'd like to understand more.

How can we increase our understanding?

There are some things we'll never fully understand in this life.

But certainly prayer and study can lead us to greater understanding of our God and our faith.

Scripture—The Word of God—is one major source of increased understanding.

We hear the Scripture proclaimed here at Mass.

On Sundays we have four readings.

Typically, one each from the Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles, and Gospels.

The book that contains the Scripture readings for each Mass is the Lectionary.

It was organized by a group of liturgists and Scripture scholars.

And often, they selected readings that complement each other.

They might present a Book of the Gospels in day-to-day serial installments.

And then select Old Testament and Epistle excerpts related to each daily Gospel passage.

For example, one day's Gospel passage quotes Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah.

And saying that, as Isaiah foretold, he has come to set the captives free.

The Old Testament selection for that day is that very portion of Isaiah that Jesus read.

And there's a Psalm selection that speaks of setting captives free.

Other times, especially on weekdays, the readings are not so complementary.

The Gospel might be serially progressing through Matthew.

And the First Reading might be serially progressing through the Book of Samuel.

And dealing with a totally different theme from the Gospel.

These Scripture passages can greatly aid our theological quest.

They can increase our understanding of God and of our own faith.

And like so many things, the more we put in the more we get out.

Hearing them, reading them, contemplating and praying with them.

We can make a practice of re-reading them after Mass, or pre-reading them before Mass.

We can use them as a study tool.

Or as a jumping off point for meditative or contemplative prayer.

We might ask ourselves, Why is this set of readings grouped together today?

Does the grouping itself emphasize some complementary lesson or theme?

Or do the individual readings each offer an independent message?

Scripture passages usually have multiple explicit and implicit messages.

The readings can all be found in the Bible, using the citations listed in our Sunday Bulletin.

They're more conveniently found in a book, a Missal, that is like the Lectionary.

It groups all the the Scripture readings for each daily and Sunday Mass.

Or you might subscribe to Magnificat, a monthly paperback that has all the readings.

If you prefer using your computer, there's a great, free, online site.

It's provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at usccb.org.

The home page shows a calendar, and you click on any date to see the readings.

As for today's readings, they do complement each other to give us a more complete message.

The linkage isn't quite so obvious as in the Isaiah-captives example.

But I don't think I'm stretching too far to find one.

Maybe it's what the Lectionary organizers had in mind, or maybe it's not.

But it's what I saw when I contemplated on today's readings.

You've just heard the readings too, maybe you already have your own impressions.

If you re-read and ponder them, maybe you'll have even greater insights and understanding.

Today's Gospel describes how St Peter, one of our greatest Saints, first found Jesus.

Our First Reading (from the Book of Samuel) tells us that God himself calls us to himself.

But, like Samuel we need help in recognizing the call.

How did Peter find Jesus?

Someone led him—his brother Andrew.

How did Andrew find Jesus?

Someone led him—John the Baptist.

How did John find Jesus?

Someone led him—The Holy Spirit.

John was very special, the Holy Spirit alone was enough for him.

Unless we're already in pretty intense direct contact with God,

And receive some special revelation,

We're not going to find Jesus without some sort of human guidance.

How did you find Jesus?

Probably for most of us—it was, at least initially, through parents and family.

But maybe instead or in addition it was friends, teachers, writers.

In this generation, this age, we're the ones called to be those guides.

It's up to us to answer the call like Samuel did, and as our Psalm proclaims.

Your Servant is listening. Here I am Lord, I've come to do your will.

Like John the Baptist and Andrew and Peter before us, we've all been led to the Messiah.

Now, like them, God is calling us to bring others to Jesus.

And, as we hear in our Second Reading (1 Corinthians), God is here to help us.

He didn't leave us alone without assistance.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, dwells right here—within each of us.

We see that we have a God who calls us and reveals himself to each of us individually.

But also a God of community, who relies on us to help each other hear and understand his call.

Today's Scripture adds to or reinforces the information we have for our theological quest.

It gives us a greater understanding of our God.

And hopefully that added understanding brings a little additional strengthening of our faith.

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jn 1:35-42      Read this Scripture @usccb.org