A Reflection for Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” (Lk 4:16-30)
“Physician, cure yourself” is one of my favorite lines in the Gospels. It is succinct, dramatic and laconic—Jesus uses it to anticipate criticismand reflects the hypocrisy back at his critics. It is not the only time that Jesus uses a phrase meant to highlight hypocrisy; famously, of course, he says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”
I love Jesus’ penchant for calm and cool rhetoric. It comes up quite a bit in the Gospels and often showcases his considerable skill at being a teacher. After all, he would not have drawn a following if he were not good at it (and it helps that all of his messages are quite literally the Word of God). But what’s even more interesting to me are the ways in which we as a church have continued this tradition of rhetoric.
In the church’s earliest days, Simon Peter was Jesus’ preferred spokesman. He was the petros, or “rock,” of the church. The moment where Jesus established Peter’s primacy is the foundation upon which 2000 years of rich history were built, and that tradition continues to this day. Every pope since Peter has tried his best to communicate the Word of God and to guide the global flock, but each one did so differently.
Peter himself, of course, was not a natural pacifist. He was a rowdy person; originally a fisherman, he thought like a fisherman would: always on the lookout for what he wanted and he tried to get it as soon as he could, because his survival depended on it. This would sometimes lead to situations wherein he would pick up a sword and cut someone’s ear off if he felt as if Jesus or the other disciples were being threatened. However, he eventually learned to cool his temper and wound up spreading the Word to Antioch and Corinth before eventually being martyred in Rome.
Future popes would naturally tackle the issue of dialogue in different ways, and one need only look at the modern examples of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis to see this. Where Pope Benedict would take a more even-tempered approach owing to his background as a theologian, Pope Francis famously has a tendency of speaking his mind on a variety of different topics. Rhetoric may change, of course, but the overall message stays the same. This raises a series of questions: is there an ideal way to deliver the Word of God? Is there an ideal way to act in a Christian manner? Must all Christians be peaceable at all times?
One need onlylook again at Christ for guidance on this question. Jesus tended to approach volatile situations with a zen-like composure, smothering flames with the power of his words. Yet at certain times, Jesus would show raw emotion, as we see when he goes into a marketplace and starts flipping tables. This tells us two things: first, that Jesus was not a monolith and knew when to adapt different behaviors for different situations; and two, that there was absolutely a time for peace and a time for righteous anger.
Harmony and wellbeing should always be our goals, regardless of whowe interact with. Jesus’ penchant for cool rhetoric shows that one should generally bring a diplomatic temperament to situations of great gravity. That said, even Jesus acknowledged that there are limits to diplomacy; when push comes to shove, the best rhetoric might be active participation in movements for justice. One cannot always argue one’s way out of everything; after all, even Jesus was not perfectly persuasive.
St. Ignatius of Loyola once said, “Love is shown more in deeds than in words.” Words can be powerful tools but, like Jesus, make sure to pair those words with actions calibrated toward goodwill and compassion. That is what effective rhetoric is all about.
