July 17 & 18, 2010: Head and Heart
July 18, 2010
About a week ago I was at a dinner party, and after a wonderful meal, a few of us (including Father Paul, Miguel, and Deacon Roger) made our way into the living room, while most of the others settled in the family room. The conversation quickly drifted to theology – and to the mystery of Jesus. I felt a bit out of my depth at times, but I enjoyed the discussion. I asked some questions and learned from the answers.
When smart people talk about these very complicated things, there’s a temptation to turn it into a competition. For most, but not all theological questions, there are “right answers.” Theologians have studied and prayed about many of these questions for hundreds or even thousands of years, and people who study theology learn these “right answers.” And in some similar discussions that I’ve been involved with, it seems almost like a game of Jeopardy, except the answers don’t have to be in the form of a question.
But this was a different kind of discussion. Good questions were asked and many of the “right answers” were given, but there was very little “theological testosterone” in the room. One of the people asked a question about whether Mary was the ultimate human person. As Father Paul was sharing his insights with us, I could see that Miguel was anxious to say something. I wondered if he was going to strut some of his “seminary book-learning.” I was impressed that while he shared some important ideas with us, those ideas came equally from his head and from his heart. Miguel didn’t see this as a quiz show. He had obviously thought deeply (in his head) about the Virgin Mary and her relationship with Jesus, but this understanding had also touched his heart, and affected his own relationship with Jesus and Mary.
And, in fact, that was the difference between the discussion that night, and so many similar discussions I’ve had in the past – the understanding that theology – the study of God and his interaction with us – must be more than a mental exercise. It cannot be limited to our heads, but must be shared with our hearts.
Last Sunday Father Paul talked to us about the story of the Good Samaritan. He told us that when Jesus asked the lawyer what the law said he had to do to inherit eternal life, the lawyer gave the right answer: “Love God and love your neighbour.” The lawyer knew that answer in his head. And then Jesus told the parable: how a priest and a Levite walked right past one of their neighbours who was beaten almost to death, lying on the side of the road. They knew all about the instruction to love God and neighbour. It went back to the Book of Deuteronomy – part of their scriptures. But they also knew that the law said that if they came in contact with blood, they would become ritually unclean, and the man on the side of the road was badly beaten. He might have even been dead, and they would become unclean if they touched a corpse. So they listened to their heads rather than their hearts – they passed by the injured man without offering any assistance. And we know that the Samaritan, who wasn’t operating from his head, acted with a much more profound understanding of this fundamental Jewish law than these two Jewish religious leaders. The Samaritan acted from his heart.
As you know, this was one of the most important themes of Jesus’ public ministry. He was constantly criticizing the Scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites, because they held the Law in their heads, and observed it scrupulously, but had no understanding of the purpose of the Law in their hearts. And this should not have been a big stretch for them. You remember in last week’s reading from Deuteronomy, God spoke to the people about the Law through Moses, and said: “It is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away…it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” Even in the Old Testament, God was telling his people to make the connection between head and heart – in fact, he was telling them that these laws were already written in their hearts – they just had to be aware of something that was already there.
And today we see the same sort of contrast between head and heart in the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was operating from her head. She took her job as hostess very seriously. When you have guests in your house, there are certain things that need to be done – it’s like an unwritten law. And Martha got angry when Mary didn’t help with the things that Martha thought were important. Mary was obviously operating from the heart. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary probably made Jesus feel more welcome in their house than Martha did with her chasing about, and Mary definitely gained more from the presence of Jesus in their house than Martha did. That’s why Jesus said to Martha: “Mary has chosen the better part.” We’re used to hearing Jesus beat up on the Scribes and Pharisees for operating only from the head, but in today’s gospel, we hear that regular people are also in danger of missing the message.
Each weekend, Father Paul, Father Andrew, and I talk to you about God, often in the person of Jesus. Father J and Deacon Roger will be joining the team soon. And we often say things that you’ve heard many times before. I wonder how many of these ideas – these truths of our faith – make it from your head to your heart. In fact, if you’re like me, your attention sometimes wanders, and these things never even make it to your head!
I’d like you to do something this week. I’m giving you some homework. So get out a pen and a piece of paper if you have one. I’m going to read five statements of our faith – things that you’ve heard very often – and I want you to spend some time each day this week with one of those statements – taking it from your head and giving it a resting place in your heart. They’ll also be on the parish website if you miss them. Remember, you only have to choose one – but you have to choose one.
First: “God is Love.” We hear this all the time, and none of us would disagree with the statement, but what will it feel like to fix that statement in our hearts. So that’s number one.
Second: “Jesus died for my sins.” Again, we know this in our head, but what does it mean to us when it becomes part of our heart.
Third: “Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. I am a branch.” Feel that in your heart.
Fourth: “Seek not the things of this world, but the things of heaven.”
And last: “I am a child of God.”
You might remember that when Father Paul does baptisms during Mass, you always hear him telling the parents that they must bring up their children to know God, not just know about God. You can know about God in your head, but to know God involves both the head and the heart. That’s the challenge that I’m giving you today. Good luck. You don’t know how important this is. After all, you don’t want to miss the gates of heaven by 18 inches (the distance from your head to your heart).