Why Parables?

Gospel Reflection for Thursday, July 27, 2023

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Mt 13:10-17

Why would Jesus purposeful speak to His people in a way they would not understand? As Christians, we believe that God wants a personal relationship with each, individual person so that each may be saved. It seems cruel that He would intentionally speak in a way that people, even people to whom he was related by blood, could not understand. Today’s first reading reminds us of the reason. God led His chosen people out of Egypt with power and great signs. He told them that if they would only be exclusively loyal to Him that they would be His people and He would be their God. Yet, even as He appeared to Moses through visible power on the mountain, they returned to the idols of Egypt.

How often are we told this story? How often is the story repeated, generation after generation throughout the Old Testament? How often were the prophets persecuted? How often was Israel nearly destroyed by pagan peoples because they would not live in faith and loyalty to the one, true God who worked so dramatically on their behalf? Again, and again and again. Now, the promised Messiah had come, and as was prophesized, they would reject Him and have Him killed. While the sins of the fathers were visited upon the sons, those present also had opportunity to believe and be saved… but, few did before Pentecost. We could say that Jesus should have made it easier for people to understand Him. But, God never violates our free will. They had been told. He performed all of the signs that would identify Him as the Christ. They freely chose to disbelieve “due to the hardness of their hearts.” Most turned away when He explained that only through eating His body and drinking His blood in the Holy Eucharist could one have eternal life. Even the Holy Apostles could not understand, but they believed in Him….. all but Judas.

It would be easy for us to condemn those in our Lord’s time who rejected Him or even to find fault with God because He was not more clear. But, to do so would be arrogant and short sighted. Afterall, we see the living and all powerful Jesus Christ before us at least every Sunday and Holy Day. How often do we fully appreciate the Real Presence? We are grieved, in fact, that many Catholics do not fully believe that Jesus is real in the Eucharist and that the majority of Christians in America, especially Protestants, adamantly deny that fact. It would be so much easier if Jesus made things more clear. But then, could we really withstand seeing things as they truly are? The ancient Hebrews and even Moses, himself, could not “see the face of God and live.” The Jews of Jesus’ time could not recognize God in their midst. How many of us could stand before God?

A priest who has had a great impact on me is Father Daniel Papineau at Saint Marry the Virgin Mother Catholic Church in Hartsville, SC. You may remember Fr. Dan from EWTN when he was at his former parish - he is a huge proponent of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Now, he is the priest in a tiny college town in a very economically depressed region of South Carolina. I found him by accident one day as I wandered through the town, just exploring the Pee Dee region. I found him to be a welcoming priest and a profound confessor. Fr. Dan is a quiet, small man with a big, clear and sonorous voice. His homilies are astounding. You see, Fr. Dan has been to Heaven and has seen God!

Fr. Dan was married and had a daughter before he became a priest. His family died - I am not sure of the circumstances. I know that he was devastated. His wife was a woman of deep faith. In his grief our Lord, through the intercession of our Lady, gave him the incredible consolation of being able to see his family in Heaven. Fr. Dan has seen Heaven. He has kissed his wife and daughter at whose urging he became a priest. He has spoken with and been comforted by Our Lady. Fr. Dan has even seen our Lord. I recall one homily in which he said that when he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself and could lift his eyes high enough to see more than the feet of our Lord.

Now, imagine if we could truly see the reality of the Eucharist. There, on the altar is the intersection Heaven and earth. We are “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” as Saint Paul said. All the angels and all the saints, and all of our family who has gone to their eternal reward are there with us. Here is a secret I learned from Fr. Dan… while I don’t know if we could see our beloved pets at Holy Mass, necessarily, Fr. Dan assures us that our deceased pets will be with us in heaven because, as he says, “all you love that is good is in Heaven.” While theologians have debated for centuries over such matters, because animals do not have souls like humans, Fr. Dan explains that the pets whom we loved and who loved us so purely and innocently will be reunited to us because the God who loves us will not deprive us of such love. How does Fr. Dan know? Because, Fr. Dan has seen Heaven!

Regardless, who among us could approach the altar if we could truly see our Lord and God, our Saviour, crucified for our sins, sacrificed before us? Who among us could receive His body and His blood? I could not. I would be prostrate on the floor, weeping, probably unable to breathe and unable to even look upon His feet! We think of Saint Mary Magdelene who wept as she bathed His feet with perfume. Now, image the “Lamb as if slain”, looking “upon Him whom you hath pierced.” For me, it would not be humanly possible. I wonder, had those in Jesus’ time been able to recognize His true nature, could they have even been able? No, I doubt it. Even the Holy Apostles did not fully understand. Perhaps only our Blessed Mother did, but even she was pierced with the human emotions of grief and agony by the Passion of our Lord. She did not stand by impassively, unmoved at the agony of our Lord, even though she knew His divine nature. I often think that if we could just see things as they truly are, things would be different. But, perhaps it is a blessing that we cannot. Faith, after all, is belief in things unseen. How merciful it is that God shields us from so many things.

Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner. Jesus, I trust in you!

BTW, Sunday and Holy Day Masses at Saint Mary the Virgin Mother Catholic Church in Hartsville, SC are streamed live on YouTube and archived. Check out Fr. Dan, if you get a chance. He will absolutely blow your mind, but he does so in a quiet, humble, profound way… nothing showy. I have only visited his parish once, several years ago, but I hope to return one day. I enjoy his homilies online - I hope you will join me one Sunday in so doing. If you do, shoot me a message and let me know if you enjoy them as much as I do…. remember though, watching Mass online doesn’t count for going to Mass on Sunday unless you are sick or otherwise unable to go. The church’s website is https://stmaryhartsville.org/ or you can go to their You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/live/G8XeJKin7-w?feature=share

If you ever meet Fr. Dan, tell him I said hello - he won’t remember me, but I will certainly never forget him! He said to me, “My son, you are home. This is your home. The Catholic Church is your home and you will always be welcome. We are your family.”

Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is Available in paperback on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic