It happens to all of us. Someone says, “You don’t need me to tell you this” then proceeds to tell you something you know they know you already know. How does it make you feel? Why do you think they feel the need to say it? This conversational/instructional tactic is called paralipsis, and Paul used it in his first letter to the Thessalonians to reinforce the need for the community to continue loving each other:
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love the borthers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more.
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
As a virtuoso communicator, Paul realized simply repeating an instruction might seem like an insult to the fledgling Christian community. When someone repeats something to us that we already know, it’s common to respond with an annoyed “I know that!” Paul also realized there are different levels of knowing. The most shallow level is simply being able to parrot what we’ve heard. As a habitual soda drinker, I know in my head it’s not good for me, and will tell you that. What I have yet to do is to know it on a deeper level, to internalize the knowledge until I act on it. Paul knew people well enough to know the Thessalonian church would need continued encouragement until its members internalized the knowledge and beliefs he was trying to share with them.
As we prepare this Advent for the coming of the Christ, let’s be open to hearing some of the stories we’ve heard in Advents past. We may be surprised to discover yet deeper meaning than we have found in them before. We may also be surprised to find how much more deeply we know them than we have before. As Christians, we know these stories teach us to be hopeful. Let us move from knowing hope, to being hope.
Comfort: God is patient while we grow into our faith.
Challenge: Pick one thing you know in your head, that you wish to know more deeply in your heart. Since Advent is the liturgical “New Year,” resolve to find ways to internalize it in the coming year.
Prayer: God of Hope, teach me to know your ways in my heart.
Evening readings: Ps 130, 60
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