Cambridge, MA. A note to the interested: In my entry on Saturday, I spoke of my existential moment, juggling watching the Pope in the UK, my most interesting and daunting life at Harvard, and the prospect of preaching on I Timothy 2, with its own triple focus on the king, the one God, and the one head of the family.
So how did my homily go? It is always hard, of course, for the preacher to know, since the congregation is both most kind, and very used to putting up with homilies good, bad, and indifferent. One thoughtful parishioner and I spoke about the matter for five minutes after Mass - he was particularly concerned about the slippery slope from adapting the Word in our culture, to making it mean whatever we want.
As far as I can see, at least I shared the challenge with my listeners, that we can neither accept a text like I Timothy 2 unchanged and unadapted, nor casually pick and choose the parts we like and parts we blithely ignore. The challenge of the Word really is a two-edged sword, and it does not allow us to be passive recipients.
It was then a good thing for all of us at the 7:30AM Mass, to ponder this complicated word and then realize that we really do need to meditate, pray, worship, and yes, still think, if we are to live out the living Word today.
