|
It's a Mystery
A "FIRESTARTER"
Spiritual Essay by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Berinti, C.Pp.S.
Somewhere along the way, I think I
caught a glimpse of comedian George Carlin making an appearance on stage.
Carlin looked old, shriveled and damaged over 25 years ago; so I was not
surprised by his present condition, at least as it was presented in his
publicity photo (obviously, airbrushing photos doesn’t work 100%!). In some
ways, I couldn’t believe he’s still hitting the comedy circuit. Those of you
who may remember him know that, in his heyday, he was under constant
censorship. Unfortunately, by today’s standards (or should I say, lack
thereof), Carlin would be welcome to appear on Sesame Street!
Just about everything fell under
the rapier blade of George Carlin’s social-commentary-comedy in those days long
past, including the Church. I never really cared for his brand of humor, and
certainly wasn’t attracted to his foul mouth (definitely a candidate for a
thorough rinsing with Lux Liquid), but I do recall a particular shtick of his
that made fun of the Church’s “answer” to many perplexing questions. When faced
with an insoluble problem or teaching or baffling piece of life, Carlin
recounted that the Church’s recurring chant was: “IT’S A MYSTERY!” Of course,
for Carlin, and I’m sure for many others, the “mystery” response was simply
throwing a wet blanket over a blazing fire. It may have doused the flames…but
the stuff underneath continued to smolder!
Perhaps the criticism is valid.
Quite often in the life of the Church, we have avoided the hard questions and
perennially perplexing, nagging issues by shrugging them off with a quick “Hail
Mary” and a pious “Well, it’s a mystery!” Yet, in truth, we know in the depths
of our souls that so much of this life (and the one to come) is shrouded in
mystery. Because of the far-reaching tentacles of science, medicine and
technology, we have come to consciously and unconsciously believe that
everything is explainable. Now, we may be quick to acknowledge that each of us
can never have the ability to “explain” everything each of us wonders or
stresses about, but we assume that someone, somewhere has the answers. And at
least if they are not already in possession of these answers, they surely are
just over the horizon. Like the veil of the temple being torn in two at the
death of Jesus, so we experience the veil of mystery being torn into shreds and
strewn about the landscape. We simply have a hard time abiding with mystery for
very long.
Over these past couple of weeks,
this struggle has been on my mind, because as I look at my life and ministry,
there is so much that is veiled in mystery. The very nature of human
relationships is shrouded in mystery; we are often a mystery to ourselves (and
others); reaching out to God and trying to find God reaching out to us, despite
all the “spiritual technology” we attempt to apply to this communication, is
overwhelmingly mysterious. Despite all our attempts to “know”—ourselves, our
loved ones and our enemies, and our God—more often than not, we find ourselves
in murky waters, enveloped in misty shadows.
While I find this reality of life
baffling at best and debilitating at worst, my reflections come as a healthy
reminder of who I am, but more importantly, who God truly is!
Perhaps the greatest theologian of
the past century, Karl Rahner captured the truth of the God who comes to us when
he wrote: it is the “deepest, fundamental experience, which haunts the very
roots of our being…a God who remains mystery.” In his writing, Rahner often
refers to God as “ineffable and obscure.” Yet, he acknowledges that this God
finds ways to allow us to experience God in our fragile humanity. With all of
our Catholic liturgies and scriptures, our prayers and
sure-fire-say-it-for-nine-days-and-presto novenas, our learned scholarship and
sometimes autocratic authority, our claim to “possess the truth” and the ability
to dispense it to others—we are easily deceived about the hard truth that God
(and the life created by God) is ultimately mystery. And no matter what
“guarantees” we think we have, we cannot ever fully grasp or “handle” God.
Every wise spiritual leader and theologian, like Rahner, ultimately admit that
after all our prayers and homilies and dogmas are uttered, we will always fall
woefully short of anything that truly grasps the fullness of God’s mystery.
This is not always a comfortable
place to end up! It is a hard lesson, but one that challenges me to be less
controlling, less self-satisfied, less authoritarian—and more open, listening
and humble.
Thomas Merton, one of the most
influential religious figures of the 20th century, once wrote in his
journal: Respect for mystery; sense of the mystery of God, veneration of
the sacredness of mystery, awe and humility in approaching the ineffable
holiness of Him—these are essential virtues of a truly religious soul. To lose
these characteristics is to lose our religious spirit. To grow in them is to
grow in true interior life.
George Carlin always got a lot of laughs,
both from non-Catholics as well as Catholics when he made his “It’s a mystery”
crack. Little did he know that he was touching upon one of the deepest truths
about our lives, our world, and our God. Most of the time, my contemplation of
the “mystery” of God and life leaves me bewildered. Today, however, perhaps
this “Mystery” is touching me and calling me to a deeper virtue and humility.
Index to
Spiritual Essays
Nativity Home Page
|
