Who says people are not interested in religion? As a result of a piece written about Corpus Christi in this column there have been letters on the subject running over four weeks.
Words have power, but they can also be misinterpreted and misunderstood. And people seem to be able to use and interpret words to suit their own way of thinking. When words help us to discover new ideas, when they make us think and analyse, then they are indeed good words. But often we seem to use words to further our own agendas. Demagogues like words too.
In Mark's Gospel, Chapter 6.34 Jesus has compassion on the crowds and he begins "a long teaching session with them". That certainly is an interesting idea, tying the notion of compassion with knowledge. And in this case it is about the knowledge of God, about the Good News that Jesus spent his life preaching.
When social economists and political commentators try to analyse the success of the current Irish economy a number of issues are mentioned. Certainly, membership of the EU has played a major role in making us prosperous. But the introduction of free secondary education back in the 1960s is generally acclaimed as a turning point in Irish society.
Education was no longer to be the preserve of the privileged few. It was to be available to all the children of Ireland. And it has paid extraordinary dividends.
Education, access to information, the ability and wherewithal to acquire knowledge has changed the face of this small island. Education is part of the reason why the developed world is so prosperous and the Third World experiences such poverty and hunger.
Knowledge sets us free. It is one of the tools that allow us develop and reach our true potential. Knowledge is never a burden. And it also helps rid us of superstition and old wives' tales. But knowledge in all its forms is never the preserve of a few. It is part of the scheme of things that the knowledge the world acquires is passed on to others down the generations. It is cumulative in that every piece of knowledge is used to learn more and build more information on it.
That is made clear in the current era of information technology when every discovery leads to new information and a new understanding of things. It is often argued that the world of banking is so powerful not because the banks have money, but because they know about people's money. So often information and power are linked together.
But there is always the tendency to keep our information to ourselves. It is one way in which we can have power over the other person. It is also a real tool in being competitive. But that is information rather than knowledge. Using information in such a fashion is everything but compassionate. When Christ expresses compassion, he teaches, he passes on knowledge to those who are around him. The goods of the world are for all its citizens; knowledge is not the preserve of any one group or class.
The Gospels are all about spreading the Good News. Everyone is invited to listen to it. True knowledge ultimately leads us to God. T.S. Eliot talks of "Knowledge of words and ignorance of the Word,/ All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,/ All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,/ But nearness to death no nearer to God."
It is our responsibility to decipher the signs of the times. It is up to us to make it our business to distinguish between what is of worth and what is worthless. True knowledge frees us. It is a force of liberation, it gives us the means of reaching our full potential and Christians believe that potential is found in Christ. And we should consider it a real privilege to share that knowledge with others.
The Good News of the Gospels is worth talking about. It is indeed a hallmark of our compassion for others when we want them to be part of that news. And it can never have anything elitist or exclusive about it.
M.C.