Amid the murkiness of the scriptures, they are becoming clearer all the time

A reflection on the daily readings, for Tuesday of the Christmas Weekday, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

+ In a memorable conference the rector of the seminary had with a seminarian student, the rector abruptly barked at the student, “Well, do you or don’t you?!”

The question and the searched-for answer was black, or white; yes, or no; did, or did not.

There was no permissible maybe, or kind of.

Would life be like that? Would that faith be that easy or clear?

But truth be told, most of life and faith are lived not in the black or white, but in the gray.

Like a journey, you do not leave and immediately you are there.

You travel in time and over distance, and gradually come closer and closer to your destination.

The inward journeys are the same.

There is both time and distance in the conversion process of moving from sin to grace.

And even after one experiences conversion, it is always possible to fall or trip into sin and need and seek the grace to walk again in righteousness and pureness.

Really, the journey never ends.

And although John is probably citing a perfect and clearly ideal image of grace and conversion, it really is not that simple.

It is not a do you, or don’t you.

There is a verse in the Gospel of Mark — specifically, Mark 9:24.

A boy was possessed of an evil spirit and his father begged Jesus to help him, crying out to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

To which Jesus responded: “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

And then the most remarkable verse is spoken (Verse 24) as the father so honestly responds to Jesus: “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.”

+ Not so black and white, huh?

There are so many stages and levels of faith and of life, and the journey goes further and deeper all the time.

Sometimes we look and it looks foggy. Other times it becomes crystal clear.

Even John in today’s Gospel confesses that he did not know him (Jesus), but that he was told he would know him when he saw the Spirit of God come down upon him.

John went from no knowledge to clarity of knowledge.

And let us not even get into the question of whether John and Jesus were cousins, as Luke tells us in his Gospel.

(Even the Gospels sometimes leave things a little murky and unclear.)

In any case, for some if not many, today’s Christmas readings actually reveal a language that is both murky and absolute at the same time —

“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed^* we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” ^b

Well that is clear, isn’t it? Well, kind of, sort of.

Maybe we can say it is becoming clearer all the time.

Maybe it is not a do you or don’t you statement; but rather, aren’t we becoming more and more each and every day?

And is not there always more to see, more to hear, more to know, more to find?

Maybe we can say everlasting — or forever!

---

Father Perry Dean Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com.