Luke 10:17-24
“For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it” (Luke 10:24)
There is this great scene in the oft-reviled The Godfather III, where an aging Michael Corleone is talking with a high-up priest in Rome. It is assumed that Michael has some plans that could involve the Roman Catholic Church (and, given that he’s mafioso, probably not holy plans), but the priest isn’t interested. In fact, the priest seems to have given up on Christianity in Europe and America. To demonstrate this, he takes a rock from a nearby fountain and says that the rock represents Western Christianity and that the water represents the truths of God. He then smashes the rock on the ground and reveals that though the rock has been utterly immersed in that water/truth, it is dry on the inside. He then says, as a result, that the Church is turning its attention to the global south, where many are coming to faith.
I’ve always been struck by that scene. It stuck with me as important, even though I wasn’t yet a Christian the first time I watched it. After I became a Christian – and, especially, a pastor – I found that this fictional priest spoke some terrible truths.
In our gospel selection for today, the disciples are amazed at all they’ve been able to accomplish in Jesus Christ. In response, Jesus reminds them “that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” He adds to their joy and amazement and gratitude by noting how special they are.
I worry that we, American Christians, have been so long steeped in cultural Christianity that we’ve lost our sense of joy, wonder, and gratitude. I wonder if we are impenetrable rocks who assume that the waters in which we live will always be the waters of life. And it is when I wonder about this that my concern over that scene from The Godfather III grows.
All this to say, my friends, keep a porous soul. Do not become sealed off or calcified. Let the truth run through you, not just around you. Continue to find wonder, joy, and gratitude in all God is doing. Amen.
