Friday, March 8, 2002
Friday, March 8, 2002
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because
of their ignorance and hardness of heart.
This is exactly what happened to the Temple in Jesus' time. There were people in the Temple
who had been surrounded by the Temple for years, but the God of the Temple had not entered
their lives and penetrated their hearts. As John Wesley once put it: they had the form of
godliness, but not the real thing.
May we get the real thing.
(Ephesians 4.18
NRSV)
There is a powerful scene in the movie THE GODFATHER, PART III. Perhaps some of you
remember when the Godfather, Mr. Corleone, is forced to visit the distinguished Cardinal
Lamberto to tell him the bad news that a legitimate business deal involving the Vatican Bank
has gone bad. The bank is run by an Archbishop and a coalition of Catholic businessmen.
The Cardinal listens to the Godfather. Then the Cardinal says something quite profound. He
picks up a stone and says "Look at this stone. It has been laying in the water for a very long
time. The water has not penetrated it." Then he smashes the stone. "Look," he says peering
at the smashed insides of the stone, "perfectly dry. The same thing," the Cardinal continues,
"has happened to men in Europe. They have been surrounded by Christianity for centuries,
but Christ does not live in their hearts."
Lord Jesus, you are the real thing. Break into the hardness of my heart. Amen.
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