For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures…
I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty and intricacy of our English language. As many of you know, English has been influenced by several other languages, one of those languages is Latin. My six years of Latin studies both in High School and Seminary College has peppered my vocabulary with a numbered of Latin root words in English as well as a fascination with how those words influenced our English language.
Take, for instance, the English word ‘tradition.’ It comes from the Latin word, tradere, which means ‘to hand over.’ Interestingly, it also is the historic root word for the word, ‘traitor,’ one who ‘hands over’ another.
St. Paul in today’s second reading from his First Letter to the Church at Corinth speaks of how (He) hand on to you as of first importance what I also received… He then shares the very heart of the Gospel, the story of the dying and rising of Jesus upon which hinges the entire meaning of the Good News. It is precisely this reality that remains for all ages the core Tradition of the Christian faith. It is this Tradition that makes new and transforms our hearts with the power of the Risen Lord.
In the course of my priesthood, I sometimes hear folks describe themselves as traditional Catholics, which makes me think to myself, well, what am I, chopped liver??? So often such self-definitions are deeply ideological driven, in one profound sense, we are all traditional Catholics for we have all received the precious Good News that has been handed down to us from one generation to another shaping us to be the Catholic Christians we are today.
One wise person once said that Tradition is not so much wearing your grandfather’s hat but rather giving birth to a child! I love that quote since it speaks of the dynamic quality of Tradition to creatively present that ‘which has been handed down’ anew for every time and culture. The eminent Lutheran theologian, Jaroslav Pelikan beautifully defines Tradition, not the ‘dead faith of the living but rather the living faith of those who have gone before us.’
Our Church has witnessed 21 great moments when that Tradition has been both defined and rearticulated for the women and men of every great epoch in which she has found herself. We call these the 21 great Councils of the Church, beginning with the Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). These Councils have witnessed to the beautiful Latin expression: ecclesia semper reformanda est – The Church is forever in a state of change and reformation!
It is sad that there are those who cling to a nostalgic view of the Church where change and reform are alien. Only living realities change and grow; dead things remain the same and wither and die.
It is this living and dynamic faith in the power of the transforming love of Christ that inflamed the hearts of Peter, James and John in today’s Gospel to leave all things at the Lord’s call. That same call continues to go out in every time and place, beckoning us to surrender to the incomparable gift that our living Tradition of Faith offers. Deo Gratias!