Alec McGowen, the famed Shakespearean actor, developed a one-man show where he would recite St. Mark’s gospel. It was a mesmerizing experience according to the critics, bringing a familiar story to new life. After the performance, he would ask if anyone had a favorite selection that they would like for him to recite. Usually they wanted Hamlet’s soliloquy or the Gettysburg Address or some such. One time, an old vicar stood up and kindly asked if he would mind reciting the 23rd Psalm. McGowen said that he would be glad to do it if, when he was finished, the vicar would recite it as well. The old gentleman nodded his head and sat back down. In a beautifully trained voice that resonated throughout the theater, the speaker began, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…” When he was finished, there was thunderous applause and a standing ovation. He then looked at the vicar and said, “All right, sir, it is your turn now.” In a trembling voice that was cracked by time, the old man began to recite, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” It is said that when he was finished, there was no applause, but neither was there a dry eye in the building. McGowen broke the silence when he said to the audience, “I know the Psalm, but that man knows the shepherd.”
Knowing the shepherd is at the heart of what it means to be a person of faith. In the gospels the unclean spirits, the demons, know about Jesus. “I know who you are – the Holy one of God.” But they do not have the connection, the intimate relationship that happens once you have moved from knowing about someone to actually knowing them in all their uniqueness. It is the disciples, even with all of their limitations and lack of awareness, whose relationship with Jesus proves vital in their coming to know who he truly is. All of which makes me wonder if we go about bringing people into the faith in the wrong way. Our creeds, catechisms, religious ed programs all seem designed to help us know about Jesus. But do they actually help us to know him as part of our lives? Tony DeMello told this story once: Ted was confronting his buddy BJ about his conversion to Christianity. “You must know a great deal about him. Tell me. Where was he born, when did he die, how many sermons did he preach?” BJ admitted sheepishly that he did not know. Ted scoffed, “You know precious little about the man you are claiming to follow.” BJ answered, “You are right. I need to know more about Jesus. But this much I do know. Three years ago I was a drunk, in debt, and my family would dread my return home each evening. Now I have given up drink, we are out of debt and ours is a happy home. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know of him.” Knowing Jesus more than knowing about him changes us.
Before giving some suggestions on getting to know Jesus, not just know about him, let me mention that this is NOT to suggest that the long tradition of the church captured in creed and catechism is unimportant. There are those who say “don’t get hung up on doctrine. Just love Jesus.” What doctrine does is ensure us that that we are not creating Jesus in how we would like him to be instead of how he really is. For example, the doctrine of the Incarnation defines the mystery that Jesus is both truly 100% human at the same time he is truly 100% divine. Because of that doctrine we have to recognize the infinite, divine, eternal value and worth of every human being because of their family resemblance with Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity demonstrates that being in a radical relationship of equality like the three divine persons is the way to find unity in diversity. So doctrines and creeds provide the essential ground work which makes it possible to come to know who Jesus is.
But how do we do it? How do we move from knowing about Jesus to knowing him? Three suggestions. The first idea is to use our imaginations when we are reading the Bible. St. Ignatius Loyola was a big proponent of this method. When we read from the Bible we place ourselves fully within a story from the Gospels. We become onlooker-participants and give full rein to our imagination. Take today’s account from Mark. You are there. What was in like in the synagogue? Look around at the people there and see their astonishment at Jesus’ teaching. What are the smells and sounds at that moment? What did the possessed man look like? See the desperation on his face and hear the rebuke of Jesus. Above all we watch Jesus—the way he walks, his gestures, the look in his eyes, the expression on his face. We hear him speak the words that are recorded in the Gospel. We go on to imagine other words he might have spoken and other deeds he might have done. We are with Jesus in the stories.
A second way of coming to know Jesus is meeting him as the Body of Christ. This, of course, has two meanings – the Church and the Eucharist. Since both of these possibilities are limited during the pandemic we have to small ways of encountering the Christ by keeping connected with the people who embody Christ for us.
A third method for coming to know Jesus is to connect with those who are hurting. Jesus told us that whatsoever we do to the least, to the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the poor and abandoned we are doing for him. Although we are not able to reach out during these days the way that we would like we can still see the face of God in those who are in need. Make sure that you are finding some way to truly see those who are feeling alone and suffering. For, you see, the shepherd looks remarkably like the sheep.
