What apostles see and hear
A Gospel Enquiry
Introduction
The description of opposing forces found in the Gospel chosen for this Enquiry reminds me of the life and work of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn. Jesus and his disciples found themselves in opposition to the leaders of their society. Cardijn and the young workers who pioneered the Young Christian Workers Movement found themselves in opposition to the capitalist forces at work in society.
Even before he was ordained, Joseph Cardijn had realised that each person is gifted with both a temporal and an eternal destiny. He became painfully aware as a young teenager that the world of work that his peers entered was built on the denial of both destinies. Many of his friends abandoned their religious observance and their faith and sold their souls for a taste of financial security.
Early in his priestly life, Cardijn formed young women workers to be apostles in the workplace and to choose to be poor, so that they could give comfort to and support their fellow workers who were trapped in work situations that denied them both destinies.
Long after these experiences, he spoke to the delegates of the World Congress for the Lay Apostolate in Rome, 1951. Towards the end of his keynote address, he affirmed the work and leadership of the young workers he had formed:
What is needed is the active presence of pioneers who are fully conscious of their double vocation, as Christian, and as human beings, and who are bent on assuming their responsibilities to the full, knowing neither peace nor rest until they have transformed the environment of their lives to the demands of the Gospel.
Today, more than a century after Cardijn began forming young workers in his parish, movements, organisations, groups and individuals continue to draw on his legacy and.commit to action in the name of Christ.
The Gospel
The disciples went up to Jesus and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.
‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’ (Matthew 13:10-17)
The Enquiry
See
What does Jesus tell you about the people with whom he interacts? To whom do the words of Isaiah apply? Can you recall other times in the Gospel that reflect the situation described here?
What happens because people don’t understand or accept what Jesus tells them about God?
Why do some people not “see” or “hear” his message? What do they consider to be more important than what he teaches through his parables?
Judge
How did you react when you read this Gospel? Did you think that Jesus was being harsh?
Ideally, would all people “see” and “hear” Jesus’ message? What is needed in the world for Jesus’ words to be fulfilled?
In what way(s) do you find Jesus’ message challenging? comforting?
Act
Having reflected on Jesus’ words, what do you want to change in the world? in yourself?
What small action can you carry that will contribute to the change you want to see?
Who can you involve in your action, when, where and how often?
Image Source: Biblepics, CC BY-NC 4.0
Worth reading: 1912: The first worker apostles, by Dr Stefan Gigacz
Cardijn, J. (2020). Challenge to Action: Forming Leaders for Transformation. This is a collection of Cardijn’s lectures, originally translated into English by Fr Eugene Langdale and updated by Dr Stefan Gigacz. You may obtain a copy here. If you choose to download it, please consider making a donation to the Joseph Cardijn Digital Library to support its further development
.