NOW THIS IS AN ALLEGORY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 28^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Now This Is An Allegory”.

In today’s first reading from Galatians, it hit me when I read, “Now this is an allegory.” 

I said, “Now that’s a theme I would like to clarify for myself.”

I remember reading somewhere, sometime, that in the early church about two theological, biblical and catechetical centers: Antioch and Alexandria. One was big on allegory and the other was not.

So I looked that up.

Alexandria was off on allegory - whereas Antioch was more into a literal understanding of scripture and theology.

Okay! That’s interesting, but is that something you’d be interested in?

I know that I’m more off on imagination and poetry and story - and others are more literal. There’s a lady who tells me at times that she doesn’t get what I’m talking about. I then say, “I know. We probably have 2 different kinds of minds.”

MORE! GIVE US MORE - BIBLE AND SPIRITUALITY AND PRAYER

This is a weekday Mass - so I assume that you come here for more - to be fed more - to give more glory to God - to pray - to hope for more.

During the past 50 or so years, I’ve noticed that surveys - of Catholics indicate that Catholics want more scripture, more spirituality, more prayer.

Well, Sunday Mass and weekday Masses certainly give us more scripture.

In a 3 year cycle on Sundays we do the gospels - as well as a good bit of the Old and New Testaments.

In a 2 year cycle on Weekdays, Catholics get even more scripture.

And sermons in the last 50 years are now called homilies - and a homily is supposed to be a reflection on the readings of the day.

Moreover, in many parishes, during the last 50 years - since Vatican Council 2, parishes have offered Bible Study - and people attend workshops on the scriptures.

So more of the Bible has been offered - so too more presentations on Spirituality as well as on Prayer.

We’re in the year 2016.  I believe we can say that the church has done what the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, asked to be done. In Chapter II, # 51,  reads,  “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s Word. In this way a more representative portion of the holy Scriptures will be read to the people over a set cycle of years.”

And in #25 of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum, we read the words of St. Jerome, “For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” [Commentary on Isaiah, Prol.; PL 24, 17.]

TYPES OF LITERATURE IN THE BIBLE

Having said that, let me now get back to the title and topic of this homily, “Allegory.”

As you have heard over and over again: the Bible is a traveling library.

Its many books - many scrolls - have various types of literature: fables, stories, songs, poetry, sayings, history.

When it comes to understanding the Bible, we have to know the following basic statement. There are various different types of literature in the Bible.  

The Catholic Church has come a long way in its teachings about the Bible.

When Biblical Scholars started to explore the Bible in newer ways in the late 1800’s - some experienced a lot of grief and opposition.

In pockets of Christians - still today - the Bible is taken literally - and often it’s in the King James or the Douay Rheims English versions.

So if we read in Joshua 10:13, “And the sun stood still, and the moon halted,” that needs to understood in the context of the text and the time it was written - with the scientific knowledge of the time.

So too the story of Balaam’s talking donkey in the Book of Numbers 22:28-30.

It took the Catholic Church a long time and a lot of struggles to say the following in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from Vatican II, “Those who search out the intention of the sacred writers must, among other things, have regard for ‘literary forms.’  For truth is proposed and expressed in a variety of ways, depending on whether a text is history of one kind or another, or whether its form is that of prophecy, poetry, or some other type of speech.” [# 12, Dei Verbum.]

If you walk into any library there is the children’s section - as well as various other sections.

In the kids section we’ll find books with talking trees and talking animals - and everyone knows that’s no problem.

In the history section we’ll find various types of history - narrative history of presidents and very exact - with lots of footnotes - types of history of the presidents.

Nobody has problems about different types of literature - that is - till we pick up a Bible.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

I say all this because of that one comment in today’s first reading, “Now this is an allegory.”

Paul goes into Jewish history and takes the example of Abraham’s two wives: Sarah and Hagar.

Next, using them as an allegory, he tells us what each stands for.

Paul compares Hagar to Sarah - saying each one represents the two covenants.

At the beginning of this homily I said that the Christian center of Alexandria would love this approach - whereas the Christian school of Antioch would be more literal.

So I hope I made my point. In fact, I’m assuming you know all this, so perhaps I was using a sledge hammer as a fly swatter.

That’s an image.

CONCLUION: I LOVE ALLEGORY

I love allegory.

How about you?

I like the allegories and stories in Tolkien and C.S. Lewis - as well as Harry Potter and so many other books.

I say this even though J. R. Tolkien once wrote, "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history - true or feigned - with it's varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers.  I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author."

I mention C.S. Lewis as well, even though he is not too quick to call his works, allegories. So let me present this quote from Lewis, "The function of allegory is not to hide but to reveal, and it is properly used only for that which cannot be said, or so well said, in literal speech. The inner life, and specially the life of love, religion and spiritual adventure, has therefore always been the field of true allegory; for here there are intangibles which only allegory can fix and reticences which only allegory can overcome" [Lewis, Love, 166].

A lot can be said in lots of different ways.

Let me close with a comment from Pat Conroy - from his new book, A Lowcountry Heart, Reflections on a Writing Life, “The most powerful words in English are, ‘Tell me a story.’”

Should I counter with, “Tell me an allegory.”