+ Some say “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But this old dog just learned something he never knew before, nor had he ever even heard of it.
In answer to the question, “What is it called when one phrase or word is repeated?”
The answer given is, “Epizeuxis, also known as palilogia.” This is the repetition of a word or phrase, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis. A less educated person like myself might have just remembered the old saying about repetition, namely, “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
An even less educated person like myself might even refer to something like the repetition of a word in an echo, when perhaps someone shouts a single word like hello once, then hears it repeated in the same voice with the same tone again and again, perhaps five or six, or seemingly countless times.
Well, today’s word is not unlike an echo, and the ideas are certainly repeated so often in both Acts and John’s gospels.
In Acts once again, Paul reminds his listeners that “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” had Jesus killed without sufficient cause, placed him in a tomb, from which God raised him up, and to many of his disciples he appeared several times; and we are here among you telling you this news because this news brings salvation.
Furthermore, John’s Jesus has the Lord once again preaching and teaching about who he is, why he had come to them, and what he was inviting them to share.
Jesus taught this again and again and again in many different words and emphasized it in many different ways.
Today, Jesus reveals who he is in one of the most memorable phrases in the Gospel. I am not sure if this is an “epizeuxis” or a “palilogia,” but it certainly is one of the most recognizable phrases of Jesus when he declares —
“I am the way and the truth and the life.”
And further Jesus declares that this “way” is not just to anywhere, but directly to “the Father.”
Jesus further declares that “no one can get to the Father except through him,” which has caused a lot of consternation for those who wonder if Jews and Muslims — even rock worshippers — can get to heaven. And in answer to that, Jesus simply says that he is the way.
His answer is very explicit, and for followers of him and his way and his teachings and example, that is simply so. It is explicit. But his way is also so large and eternal and all-inclusive and super saving — not unlike the expansive and totally saving love of a grandma or grandpa.
Like when a grandma or grandpa says to their baby grandchild, “You are SOOO cute. I could just eat you!”
Yikes! Double yikes! Even triple yikes!
Chill! It isn’t meant literally! But it is meant explicitly! The love of grandma or grandpa is maybe something like the love of the Lord.
And how blessed is the child who explicitly receives, and even better, recognizes and appreciates the power of that love.
