04/29/01

Easter Tales: Are we happier when we’re confused?

The tales of Christ’s resurrection, read during this Easter season, are, first of all, stories of an empty tomb. That the tomb is empty is clear to all; what it means is not at first clear. The discovery that Jesus’ body is not in his tomb is greeted with consternation and confusion.

The second set of tales are stories of Christ’s appearances. These are stories of astonishment. Jesus is not recognized at first. It is Jesus, as the wounds on his body bear witness. The same body born from the womb of the Virgin Mary rose from the tomb on Easter Sunday. Yet there is a difference. The Jesus who has conquered death and come to new life has to be encountered anew by his friends and disciples. What is clear to all those to whom he appeared is that Jesus has truly risen; there is some confusion about the details.

The third set of post-resurrection stories are missionary tales; they are stories of the Church. The apostolic preaching recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and the stories of miracles performed by the apostles show clearly that the works of God first done by Jesus continue now, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Church. Those who receive the body and blood of the risen Lord in Holy Communion become his body for the world, living in their lives the pattern of his. The apostolic preaching is clear and the life of discipleship is demanding. What is sometimes confused, however, is the relationship among all those who call Jesus “Lord”. Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways. Peter and Paul disagree about how to act among gentile converts. The Letter to the Hebrews is probably a response to early defections from the community. Yet this same sometimes confused community clearly heard and obeyed Christ’s last command: “Go, preach, baptize....”

When confusion arose in the early Church’s life, it was regarded as something to be overcome. God’s self-revelation in Jesus was sharply outlined for all to see and hear. Clarity of understanding and in teaching the faith, unity and zeal in carrying out the mission that Christ gave his Church: these were the signs that the Holy Spirit was active in the Church. Today, however, confusion in teaching and hesitation to move together are sometimes treasured as means to protect individual freedom. Too much clarity, especially about religion, risks putting one’s self-satisfaction in jeopardy. The Church is valued because she responds compassionately to individual needs, not because she is clearly faithful to Jesus. The Church is welcome when she provides social services of various sorts but resented when she teaches with clarity or acts with decisiveness.

Most parishes in the Archdiocese have been using a program called “Disciples in Mission” during the last several Lenten seasons. This program has been designed to encourage Catholics to speak about the Lord and their faith in him with other members of the household of faith. The hunch is that, if believers can talk without confusion about their beliefs with other believers, they might then find the courage to speak about the Lord to non-believers with clarity and conviction. The Archdiocese would then become an evangelizing Church, a holy people ready to hear the call to a new evangelization at the beginning of a new millennium. We are trying now to get a clear idea of how “Disciples in Mission” has changed many Catholics’ willingness to evangelize. Has it brought greater clarity of purpose to our lives? What is the next step as we move along in sharing Christ’s gifts, both material and spiritual?

If evangelizing, sharing Christ’s spiritual gifts, is confused with proselytizing, then clarity of purpose and action will be resented. Evangelizing, however, calls the evangelizer to conversion while he or she is telling others who Christ is. A sense of gratitude for the forgiveness of our own sins should prevent a Catholic evangelizer from ever approaching anyone with anything other than respect. The Gospel is proposed; it must never be imposed. What we preach is not our own invention, nor is our faith anything other than a gift from God. Faith never justifies arrogance. What protects personal freedom is not confusion in religion but humility in the hearts of believers.

In some cases, of course, clarity may be established not through exhaustive examination, whether of God’s historical self-revelation or of his natural creation, but by refusing to look at the entire picture. In the decade just completed, to use a non-religious example, the value of stocks grew so greatly and the high-tech new economy expanded so quickly that many failed to step back and ask if the increased value of stocks accurately reflected increased wealth. People who invested by betting that the communications revolution would continuously create ever greater wealth eventually had their bets called. Since the stock market peaked, $4.6 trillion in investor wealth has vanished. Some investors who have lost much of the wealth they had gained in the last several years are suffering from depression, anxiety and damaged self-esteem. Some have found themselves paying taxes on money they had already lost. With their money lost, some also lost their happiness. With trends and popular certitudes of many sorts, a false clarity is sometimes persuasive; but it never lasts.

This Easter season, we should ask ourselves again about the sources of our certitude and our confidence, especially our confidence in the future. Do we value intellectual confusion because we are afraid of clarity? On the other hand, do we reach for a false clarity by ignoring facts we don’t like? Are we convinced, in hearing again that Jesus has risen from the dead, that we too are called to proclaim who Christ is? Finally, are we willing to follow Christ in perseverance, even when everything is not perfectly clear? That is Easter faith, when the joy of our surrender to the risen Christ makes us bold in proclaiming him while always conscious of our own fragility. God bless you.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Francis Cardinal George, OMI
Archbishop of Chicago

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