There are more than a few expressions in the Bible that qualify as “perplexing.” We might call these “hard to understand” or “head scratchers.” When we run across such passages, it is important to remember that, in the Scriptures, God speaks through people in a human fashion. In order to understand what God is communicating, we must carefully search for the intention of the sacred authors. That is why the Church stresses the importance of knowing the literary genres (or styles) of the texts in the Bible: “In determining the intention of the sacred writers, attention must be paid to ‘literary forms for the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts,’ and in other forms of literary expression.” (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, no. 12).
One of the “perplexing” expressions found in St. Matthew’s Gospel is when Jesus quotes the words of the Prophet Isaiah (Matthew 13, 10-17):
“Listen as you will, you shall not understand, look intently as you will, you shall not see. Sluggish indeed is this people’s heart. That is the problem. They have scarcely heard with their ears, they have firmly closed their eyes. And why have they acted like this? Otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts. And what would be the result of that? They might turn back to me and I should heal them.”
Don’t just look at the words on the page and take them at face value. The Catholic approach is to ask what the passage means to convey. Isaiah’s words, for example, are not meant to be understood as God deliberately blocking His Word from reaching people – that would not make any sense at all. The prophet is better understood as speaking in a strongly sarcastic tone. The point he is making (and which Jesus freely adopts for His own use) is this: if we are prepared to see the Lord and listen Him with open minds and hearts, it will mean a radical change in our lives, in our attitudes, in our values and priorities, and in our relationships. Many are not ready to have their lives turned upside down, but those who take their discipleship seriously are … or at least we hope we are!
