‘One pizza with four different toppings.’
Dear Margarita,
Thank you very much for your kind letter of July 21st. I’m sorry that you find some of the homilies rather tedious. You are quite right. Some of them are spectacular duds and it's no wonder your mind wanders to the four images carved into the pulpit and the brass eagle in Christchurch Hamilton. Well spotted and bless you for asking. I wish more people would ask these sorts of questions as it would be one way of keeping the parish priest up to the mark and helping turn the creaky wheels in his skull.
The four things you spied with your little eye are a man, an eagle, an ox and a lion.
Each of these is a symbol of the four gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
So let’s take a look and I hope that what I have to offer will be helpful for you and maybe a few others.
These four creatures first appear way back in the Old Testament in the book of Ezekiel. He writes in a very colourful and descriptive language so you have to be patient and wade through his language.
“Within it were figures. Their faces were like this: each of the four had the face of a man, but on the right side was the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, and finally each had the face of an eagle….”
Curiously these 4 creatures pop up again in the Book of Revelation. Again the language is florid and a bit over the cliff, but it's uncanny that these two pieces of literature which were written centuries apart, can align so closely.
“At the very centre, around the throne itself, stood four living creatures covered with eyes front and back. The first creature resembled a lion; the second, an ox; the third had the face of a man; while the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.”
These images in the Old Testament and the New Testament prompted St. Irenaeus (140-202) to liken them to the four Gospel writers because of their particular focus on Christ.
“The first living creature was like a lion” so in St. Mark we have a Jesus who is an effective and persistent worker. Like a lion he is always bounding onto the next miracle or the next parable with great speed. It’s almost embarrassing the way that he leaves the chaos he has created behind to sort itself out.
“The second was like a calf,” which is St. Luke’s gospel. The ‘Jesus’ in Luke’s gospel is the sacrificial Jesus. The one who marches on to Jerusalem whilst all the time spelling out the grizzly details of what is going to happen to him to his disciples. They seem oblivious to the shadow of the cross. The readers and listeners of this gospel would have well understood that an ox was the beast that would be sacrificed in the worship of the temple to benefit the spiritual needs of the people. Remember also how Luke’s gospel begins? Zechariah, John the Baptist’s dad is in the temple offering worship and Luke is the only writer who has the parable of the prodigal son who returns home to a party where the family fattened beast is slaughtered to celebrate.
This brings us to Matthew who is depicted as a man. It’s no accident then that Matthew begins his gospel with Jesus’ family tree. It's all rather tedious on the first reading but if you look closely there are a few ‘none do wells’ in some of the branches. Something I actually find rather encouraging. You know how it goes.. If they can make it across the line there’s hope for me also.
Matthew is the only one to give us the birth narratives with the shepherds, the angels and the grumpy publican whose pockets are jingling because of the census.
If you like Matthew's Gospel, it is the gospel of Jesus humanity, our flesh, blood and bone. It is the human Jesus who places his feet in the dusty streets of Palestine.
Last, we have St. John who is represented as a flying Eagle. The brass Eagle in Christchurch Hamilton has its wings spread wide almost as if to show that the gospel has taken off and we are called to the heights to pursue it. The eagle's talons are clasped around an orb or sphere, to show that the gospel has gone out to all the world.
Why does St. John get an Eagle? Well, John’s Gospel is a pretty lofty one. St. John’s Jesus engages in long, meaty, sublime conversations with several characters. Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, Mary and Martha to name but a few. He’s not as straightforward as Mark, but the effort you put in to ponder John’s gospel is always well worth it.
A phrase to take away Margarita. ‘One pizza with four different toppings.’ … The Gospel, is the gospel, is the gospel. Always the same, always nourishing, always enjoyable. The four corners each have their own flavours. Each has something to offer in their own unique way.
It’s tempting to favour one gospel over another but you need a balance of all four to have the most complementary diet.
I hope this has been helpful Margarita and might give you something to reflect on next time the homily is tedious and your vision wanders to the pulpit or the brass eagle.