Every inch a prophet: Birthday of John the Baptist (Y-not question the Sunday Readings)

Tony, I just love the way you unpack all the symbolism in this story, symbolism I never dreamed was there.  It all makes so much sense looked at from this perspective.

After following with great interest the discussions about the interpretation of scripture and what can be taken literally, and what metaphorically, I came to this chapter 1 of Luke, and wondered should I just take it literally, or should I look for a deeper meaning?

And then I remembered somebody saying that when two Jews sit and argue about Torah, if they can't come up with 72 different interpretations, then they are not trying.  How on earth do they settle on just one interpretation to live by?  Perhaps they don't. Perhaps in the process of mulling over a particular passage, the fullness of meaning is only realized by having all these interpretations rubbing up against each other.  Then maybe some start to have a deeper resonance, while others retreat to the edges of the discussion.
Furthermore, what resonates at a gut level for one person, might find no response in another.

This rather suggests that there may be no definitive interpretation underlying a passage - just literal, metaphoric and symbolic interpretations sitting side by side.  Or it might not even be an actual meaning, but rather a grand poetic rolling of words, which on the surface seem not to make sense, but nevertheless hint at a mystery that is deeply attractive.

When I turned to the passage about the birth of John the Baptist, it was just a story about the birth of a child who was not given an expected family name.  The unusual part of the story was that Zechariah, the father of the child, had lost the power of speech, until he agreed the child should be called John.  This was taken as a portent that the child would be someone special, and, as we all know, that is what happened.  But does the story have any other purpose than this for being included in the narrative?  This is where I really began to appreciate the way you have opened it up and laid out the symbolic meaning of the story of Zechariah, Tony.

On the other hand, you did not expand on Elizabeth's presence, understandably, since the focus is on Zechariah.  By the way, did you find anything that resonated particularly for you in his story?

Anyway,  I began thinking about Elizabeth.  Like Sarah before her, she was past child-bearing age and had been unable to have children.  Now she is suddenly pregnant.  Then I remembered Mary.  A girl not yet married, not in a sexual relationship, and she too becomes pregnant.  In all these circumstances we would think that pregnancy would not be possible.  When I come to what seems impossible by nature, I often take that as an invitation to shift to a different level of interpretation.

The first question that came up for me then is whether this story is talking about a real, physical pregnancy or not.  Perhaps it's talking about a different sort of pregnancy altogether, a pregnancy of the soul, a spiritual pregnancy, where a divine spark strikes the soul, impregnating it.  The beginning of a mystical journey.  Perhaps a moment similar to that experienced by Jesus when he was baptized by John.

And what of the ensuing pregnancy, and then the pain of labour before the child is born?  Perhaps that is a woman's way of talking about a spiritual journey, from that first moment of grace when a small spark ignites the virginal soul, through the dark night of struggle and pain, to the final enlightenment when the spark finally becomes a flame, burning strongly and steadily.

Many years ago I read the spiritual autobiography of Irina Tweedie, a childless, Russian/English widow in her fifties who went to a Sufi teacher in India, wanting him to help her find God.  In the course of conversations with him in the first few days, he turned to her thoughtfully at one point and said slowly,

"It takes time to make a soul pregnant with God.  But it can be done; IT WILL BE DONE..."

Irina Tweedie.  Daughter of Fire; A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master.  p.14

To make a soul pregnant with God.  Such powerful, powerful words! Reading that passage for the first time set me wondering about the nature of Mary's pregnancy, for surely, hers was a soul pregnant with God. And now Elizabeth's pregnancy, something similar happening.

The meaning of the story that come from this for me, is that any woman can set out on a spiritual journey, whether young or old, whether unmarried or married.  It is never too late to begin. No vows of celibacy or sexual abstinence required! And I would think the same for any man too.

But this is to neglect the role of poor old Zechariah.  Why was he struck dumb when he questioned Gabriel, but Mary was not when she asked a similar question?  The only difference was that he was not the one becoming pregnant, and maybe that was an important difference.  

The only other thing that occurred to me, again from reading women's spiritual autobiographies, is that sometimes a husband is not happy when his wife wants to start exploring spiritual questions, mostly because he does not want their life together to change.  Perhaps Zechariah was a bit like that - not struck dumb, just sulking, refusing to talk - until he was finally reconciled, liking the changes that came about. But I have to say that this part about Zechariah does not particularly resonate with me, so Tony, I'm happy to sit back and enjoy your unfolding of the symbolism of it all.

As for the child John, he grew and became strong in the spirit, and was in the desert, until the day of his manifestation to Israel.  A real desert, or the desert within?  Perhaps both, for that is where the mystery of the universe discloses itself, and where John came from as a prophet.

What I have tried to do here is to give a mystical interpretation to these Gospel passages in Luke.  It is not a cultural/historical interpretation, it is not a literal one.  Nor is it a theological one.  All can overlay each other and add richness to the givenness of the words.

Can we expand that richness further? What does this scripture passage mean for others reading this?  What other interpretations could be added?

Sue 

Thank you, Tony and all.

"What will this child become?"
The question jumped off the screen at me!

A grandchild was born in our family recently and we were filled with great admiration and love for such a beautiful, tiny, vulnerable new child.
Of course we were all wishing him a wonderful life and we will do our utmost to support him.
No doubt our own births were the same.
Every birth can be seen as a gift, a sacred event. We, as sacred gifts ourselves, can reflect on what mark we have left and are leaving on God’s creation during our lifetimes, what our contributions have been.
We can look back over our lives and reflect on our efforts to let the light of Christ into our lives.
Christ was not about violent revolution to bring truth and justice into the world.
He came just like our children and grandchildren – helpless, vulnerable and gentle.
He taught us by example, reaching out to the vulnerable and the marginalised with love.
His life was about self-giving.
So that is why we, every day, in our own tiny ways try to show the faith, the conviction, the strength of spirit to speak and act with courage against injustice and evil in the world.
It is the right thing to do!

Many thanks, Tony, Sue, PMR and Jerome for your different and very awe-inspiring (I DO mean that literally!) perspectives on this week’s Gospel. As you say, Sue, diverse approaches to Biblical texts really do “overlay each other and add richness to the givenness of the word". So, while my contribution might not be so awe-inspiring, I hope it may nonetheless add to the richness of our understanding.

For a start, I've always loved the way that, when a major feast of the Church falls on a Sunday, the liturgy for the feast day takes precedence over the normal Ordinary Time liturgy. It's like the way a birthday or other special celebration breaks up the monotony of our own ordinary time! And this time the feast is actually a birthday, that of John the Baptist. (Alright, I know he probably wasn’t really born on that date, but that’s beside the point here!) It's strange in one way that he was made a major saint of the Church at all: technically, he wasn't even a Christian! But he was the precursor of Jesus, the link between the old way and the new way of Jesus, as Tony explains. So his birth was the beginning of a new era, or at least, a focal point between the old and the new.

Obviously, in the story of Elizabeth becoming pregnant in her old age, Luke would have intended a parallel with Sarah, who bore Abraham a son when it seemed that she was doomed never to do so. For Abraham, this son was the fulfilment of God’s promise that he would have limitless descendants (cf Gen. 21:12b) For Zechariah, the situation is the opposite: the child is not to bear his name, but a name that has no connection with his family, and he is destined for a role that will mean a complete break with the life which Zechariah and, presumably, his ancestors had lived for generations.

In this context a lot of modern parents could identify with Elizabeth and Zechariah. There are many parents these days, for instance, who are so unshakeably convinced about the rightness of their religious (or other) beliefs, and yet they see their children take a very different path. Or when their young adult offspring go “off the rails” and become lost in the world of drugs, alcohol, maybe even crime so that they end up in jail. In my own case, I have been very blessed in my children, now aged 29 and 25, in that they are two wonderful young people that any parent would be proud of. But right now, the deepest desire of my heart is to have a grandchild. There’s not much sign of it as yet! My daughter even split up with her long-time boyfriend – who I assumed would be the future father of her children – because she had a deep-felt need to spread her wings and experience life as a single adult. She still plans to get married and have children – eventually. Similarly, I think my son and his partner are planning to have children – eventually. Not long ago, I told someone about how I seemed to be having a long wait before becoming a grandma, and she replied, “Make sure you make good use of the waiting time!” Good advice. And waiting, of course, is something that we associate with the adult John the Baptist, as he fulfilled his role as the proclaimer of the long-awaited Messiah.

And waiting–times don’t have to be tedious, there are always birthdays and other celebrations to brighten them up!

Cathy Taggart

I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused. - James Broughton

Thanks Tony for your insight of the message within of this narrative. Like you I see it as the result of Luke's research and I see the basic events as historical. The benedictus likewise I see as a Lukan composition which expounds the great mystery of the imminent arrival of Yeshua the messiah promised of old. Such a story becomes a mail bag full of faith beliefs and content of the Good News. You are a breath of fresh air for me. Thanks Beehive

Brian Pitts

Especially for the window into charismatic spirituality, with people sharing their own experience. I'd like to add a word about my own. I've been to charismatic meetings a few times, respected their way, but found no desire to become part of it. Likewise a close friend over many many years was saved through the help she got in a (non catholic) healing ministry - after shock therapy made her worse, etc. She has flourished in that milieu, still listens to the voice of The Lord sending her to this or that needy person almost on a daily basis, and suffers as much as anyone in her compassionate concern for those who are suffering. The Holy Spirit will not be contained in any box.

Me. I just keep aware, much as I do towards partner Sue, and the kids, and the neighbours, and the two dogs, and the larger family, and Catholica folk. Even when you go for a nap you have to keep alert. If the Spirit has a "message", she'll know how to contact me - and that happens all the time, actually. The most amazing thing at present is in the preparing of these weekly comments on the readings. I focus on them at a certain level all week, and gradually the scene, the topic, the actors, the words all open up, questions come out, links become visible, meanings sometimes show up. Enough to write some sort of a comment that surprisingly others seem to find worth reading.

Thank you to all who offer support in this enterprise. I am often nearly drowning in it, but always thriving. Funny: that sounds a bit like something Paul said, although he was talking about real opposition from heavies inside the Christian communities and outside them. I lead a sheltered existence. What I'm saying is that the Spirit does speak in every heart and welcomes the chance to be heard through our words when we speak or write of our experience. At least, that's what I reckon.
tony

'TonyL
"A post is a free gift, and it will go where it pleases."'