Capturing the human-ness of Jesus…

I have no theologies of Jesus being divine. For years I have struggled with the concept that clergy have known so much about the Great Mystery we dare to name God and Jesus as Son of God, human concepts that no human can fathom; some say "God's word" and others "coming from God" or "going home to God".

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland – Wikipedia photo

I have sat on the Giants' Causeway in North Ireland, multi-million year old volcanic columns that boggle the human mind and I have walked in California's Cowell State Park amidst the giant redwoods that are 2000 years old, humbly assenting to a Creator, a Power (human word) beyond my grasp and I dare not give limit or direction to the GREAT MYSTERY. (Morwood's Is Jesus God?).

When I study the ancient mythology (3- 4000 b.c.e.) of the God-Man and the Egyptian story of Isis I cringe at the limited education I have had concerning human religions. Jesus is my hero, one of the great teachers of all time, and I will follow his way and not waste my time arguing mental concepts that were imposed upon Christians by the Emperor Constantine and the likes of the Bishop of Hyppo. A woman angrily left my course on the many gods of humankind when she heard me say that I did not accept the Trinity as provable fact. I do not accept that Jesus founded a church and started a new priesthood, nor do I believe that popes are elected by the Holy Spirit, or that bishops and priests have some divine power ….

What is divine? People empower the clergy to guide them; clergy are human servants of the GREAT MYSTERY. In the name of a God they know nothing about clergy have hijacked the meaning of a eucharistic experience and used it for personal financial profit. The time has come for the people to take back their liturgical expressions, taking them out of the hands of the ordained clergy and along with Fr. Thomas Berry expressing awe and thanksgiving, servants of the Mystery made worthy by the Mystery. I accept the human version in Genesis that God (the Mystery) created them and saw they were good; out with O Lord, I am not worthy…

Some Stories…

I used to bring communion to an old German lady who in 1945 along with her teenage daughter Doris crossed a minefield to escape Russian military. Our communion service began with "VEE-GATES" (which I can't spell in German and I honestly don't know a good translation). We enjoyed our breaking of bread, even if it was merely wafer form. Years later I was instrumental in having Doris, herself a parish Eucharistic minister, bring Communion to a women dying of cancer, a French lady who had lived in Nazi-occupied Paris; they shared quite a eucharist/Eucharist. At another time I would be visiting cancer patient Frank when Doris and her husband Armin would come for a communion service. As we shared donuts and coffee after the spiritual repast I would educate all by saying "Jesus knocked on the door and brought Jesus to the ill man, and we all sat eating donuts as the Body of Christ". How humanly simple Jesus laid out the plan. When her pastor refused to visit the sick Doris told me once "when we get the Eucharist out of the hands of the clergy we will have a genuine Jesus experience".

Fr Bernard Haring

Recall brings me back to a morning, as a very young celibate priest, when I went on communion rounds at a local hospital; as I entered a room the woman was hunched up bearing her rear for the doctor's shot, I quickly departing this lesson in female naked anatomy; the nurse to whom I reported the experience was angry and misunderstood, quickly righting the situation by lighting a candle and preparing a glass of water and white cloth next to the now back in bed patient, as was the then custom. Eventually I was able to tell the irate nurse the whole truth: it was not for me a eucharist/Eucharist. I am one who joins Bernard Haring in saying that females should hear women's confessions and take care of their spiritual needs.

Wednesday morning found me at our mountain house on Donner Summit, 7000 ft., gazing into a forest of trees and in the silence practicing deep health breathing; my psychological pain is my inability to share the "gift" with the peoples of the world. I was there primarily changing the master bed room into a toddler's haven, while old grandpa makes a room for himself in attic space. I had fantasy that Sebastian (2) and Dominic (20 days) would someday share the Jesus Spirit of community that has pervaded the chalet for 30 years. We have broken the bread of friendship with so many. Fire destroyed the first building and I treasure bits of partially burned salvage, one a wooden toy box given to me by my priest uncle in 1937 that has etchings of the Golden Gate Bridge and an Indian on horse called the End of the Trail. As wonderful memories flood my mind I am ever grateful that I grew up in a community of love and concerned support.

Community minded and eucharistically inclined…

My family system was eucharistic; I am genetically wired to be community minded and eucharistically inclined. That I was trained in the Virginia Satir School of Family Therapy and my calling in life was to heal is no mystery. The touching and healing historical Jesus has been my model; when in seminary classes I would often day dream of imitating the Master as Jesus sat and talked with the troubled woman at the well. I need only appreciate his awesome humanity; I leave the discussion of his divinity to the academics, aware that over emphasis with the divine can be a cop out from a down-to-earth involvement with the Saviour's mission in the modern world. Michael Morwood does a great job on this in God is Near (Crossroad, 2001). Books by Marcus Borg and writings of Joan Chittister offer valuable insight. I am well aware that at 79 I am far from the end of my trail and my ordination commission of 1954 is still in working order. The back wall of the chapel in my seminary carries a large mural, Christ – The Light of The World and at his feet are the children of all humankind. A Christian's priestly mission is to educate and create community. Rome can take a man out of institutional Eucharistic ministry but they haven't the ability to take the eucharistic priesthood out of a human. The Vatican has a very narrow view of grace and priesthood.

Last night I had the privilege of hearing historian and Santa Clara University Professor of Theology Dr. Gary Macy as he offered a powerful and information loaded lecture DIVERSITY AS TRADITION — WHY THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IS LOOKING MORE LIKE ITS PAST. Macy is author of books on women's ordination, theologies of the Lord's Supper, essays on Medieval Religion and the Eucharist and has worked with Bernard Cooke on Christian Symbol and Ritual. I was familiar with much of Dr. Macy's presentation, fascinated with his history of ordination in the medieval church, and especially happy to hear that ordination to the position of sole presider at Mass came about in 1127 c.e.; before this all offices in the church had equal rank. I say no more here as I will soon be off to my seminary library where hopefully I will find his books, or I will buy them. Winter is a coming and its time to cuddle up before a fire and read.

End of the Trail

Such brings me to the end of my Catholica Australia trail on eucharist/Eucharist, not that I can't see more road ahead but it's time to take a break and fill up the spiritual gas tank. I am well into full recovery after open heart surgery and six by-passes in 2002 and I would like in time to prepare a series on priesthood for Catholica's 2008 consideration. In the meantime I will continue to use my Fridays to step into Catholica's Forum and learn from other's wisdom; one misses a lot when concentrating on one issue. Unlike the Indigenous Person in The End of the Trail my head is not bent, nor am I weary. Eucharist is here to stay and will continue to be a human mystery to share along with our life stories. The Creator is unique and creates human uniqueness; like the spokes of a bicycle wheel I feel my uniqueness has joined the uniqueness of many through the uniqueness that Brian through Catholica has created. I have enjoyed the privilege and the community. Hopefully we will continue to meet on others trails.

Reach out and touch someone (as the telephone ad once read) …. You may find the sound of your voice, your smile, or that gentle hand on an elder's shoulder may be very eucharistic. Bah humbug on the one who says the eucharist is about to disappear or depends on a male clergyman.

Tom here in San Jose, Ca., happy to be in touch and requesting you to keep in touch. 10/11/07…. and I just got my driver's license renewed. (my birthday is November 16th).

Tom McMahon, a former priest now married, lives a very fulfilled life in San Jose and continues to contribute voraciously to several Catholic discussion lists in the States. He has been an enthusiastic supporter and encourager of the Catholica Australia initiative from the very beginning.

What are your thoughts on this commentary by Tom McMahon? You can contribute to the discussion in our forum.

©2007 Tom McMahon

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