December 3, 2010
Deacons reflect, react to new perspective on Scriptures
Joan Preske and Franciscan Father William Burton talk during a recent retreat for deacons and their wives in October. Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Editor’s note: The following article is based on e-mail responses from deacons who participated in a retreat in October, and on the website of the retreat presenter.
A recent retreat for deacons and their wives has already had an impact for better preaching. That is the experience of Deacon James King, following the retreat given by Franciscan Father Bill Burton.
The retreat helped the participants find greater understanding of the Eucharist by examining some of the context of the culture and times of Luke’s Gospel.
Deacon King said he found himself “employing some of what we were exposed to during the retreat in my homily the following week.” He heard familiar words from Scripture “in a new voice.”
Father Burton led the retreat at Santa Claus in late October, with 42 deacons attending. The retreat was also the occasion for Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger to administer the Rite of Admission to Candidacy to 14 aspirants, Oct. 22.
The retreat was a new experience for newer deacons and a valuable experience for those ordained much earlier.
“Diane and I personally enjoyed the retreat as we had no expectations going into it as it was the first that she and I experienced,” said Deacon King. “We are people who truly love the exploration of history and Scriptural context as they help put things into perspective for us. The retreat offered this perspective.”
Deacon Mike Morris said he found the retreat to be a “great experience and very educational.” He has begun reading a book recommended by Father Burton, “The Old Testament — An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt.” “The newer Deacons have studied this text but our training did not 25 years ago.”
A major point of retreats and missions given by Father Bur-ton is that it is important to prayerfully study the bible, not just prayerfully read it. Father Burton’s website makes the case:
“The texts of the Old and New Testaments are ancient and complex because God chose for their authors people from times, cultures and languages that are foreign to us. To understand them better we must understand these contexts from which they came — the culture, the lands, the languages, the peoples. It is from these contexts that God chose the writers for the transmission and emergence of his saving word.”
Father Burton points out how difficult it can be to understand the writings of William Shakespeare, “a western European Christian who wrote in English” less than 500 years ago.
The bible authors “came from non European lands. They did not write in English but in ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic . . . Some of these authors were from a world dominated by the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia, some were dominated by Hellenistic Greek culture and still others were from a Roman culture. All of these circumstances are quite foreign to us living in the 21st century!”
He said that fundamentalists have a laudable concern for total fidelity to the Word of God, but when they “relegate exegetes to the role of translators only . . . and refuse to follow them further in their studies . . . they proceed in fact along ways which will lead them far away from the true meaning of the biblical texts.”
He concludes that “Proper respect for inspired Scripture requires undertaking all the labors necessary to gain a thorough grasp of its meaning.” That is why prayerful study is required, not just prayerful read-ing.
Deacon Morris said, “The perspective of Jesus at Table clarified what Luke was explaining to us. Putting languages, cultures and politics in their proper relationships to the message helped me to really understand.”
Deacon King said he gained powerful insights during the retreat, especially understanding the meal culture of the time and learning what was perceived as unclean “and how Jesus understood these things.”
Deacon King said the way the gospel writer, Luke, “used his understanding of Jesus’ words and actions to reveal God’s love for the world” provides an insight “into how humans relate and how God seeks to help us understand our relationship with each other as a way for us to understand our relationship with him through and in Jesus.”
Deacon King said, “When Father Bill brought us into a more complete understanding in how we share in the Sacred meal in Eucharist I was deeply moved to discover that I was reminded that in the meal we share in there are many who are not at the table that should be.”
Deacon King said he and his wife came back from the retreat “feeling challenged” and “the challenge was how we help everyone we meet feel invited to the table.”
He said the retreat “started out as an academic exploration which led to the exploration of spiritual possibility, and Christ as we experienced the weekend was always central to the experience.”
Deacon Chris Borowiecki found the retreat “an uplifting time to be with brother deacons and spouses at Santa Clause. Father Bill was so knowledgeable of Scripture and brought the Gospel of Luke alive from his travels/experiences to Is-rael.”
Deacon Borowiecki said “Fa-ther Bill shared stories focusing on meals which Jesus would have with others. It was in these meals that Jesus taught and fed those present with the hope and love of God. Meals were about social status where people could be seen. Jesus shattered many of the norms associating with the poor and marginalized giving the wealthy and powerful much to think about.”
The retreat master “encouraged us to think of planning a future trip to Israel sometime as it would deepen our preaching for the people of God.
Deacon Phil Pierpont said, “At times I was nodding my head thinking ‘Yes, I agree with that,’ and at others thinking, ‘Now why didn’t I think of that?’ or, more often thinking, ‘Hmm! I didn’t even know that; how come?’”
He found the retreat to be “first class — truly excellent and mind-challenging.”