Do you like
green eggs and ham?
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.
Would you like them
Here or there?
I would not like them
here or there.
I would not like them
anywhere.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am
—SNIP—
Sam!
If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.
Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat!
And I would eat them with a goat…
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good so good you see!
All of us old-timers can relate to Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. We either read them to our children, or the book was read to us by our parents. Young children love the rhyming structure of the book. And the constant repetition makes the book easier for young minds to memorize. All good teaching stories and teaching songs have short and memorable structures that make them easy to memorize. Whether they are Aesop’s Fables, Dr. Seuss stories, or the parables of the New Testament, the easiest way to teach something you wished passed on is to use a simple structure or a simple repetitive melody. This, to me, explains part of the comment that Saint Paul makes about philosophy.
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. … For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Of course simple repetition does not explain all that Saint Paul is saying in this 1st chapter of 1 Corinthians. But, it most certainly explains part of it. If I convince someone because I can out-argue them, I risk that their “belief” is not based on trust, but in their inability to think a way around my arguments. That faith may not be grounded in Christ, but only grounded until the next person able to out-argue the person who believes only because they were out-argued by me. Saint Paul is clearly not against philosophy itself, because he wrote some rather deep and philosophical arguments in various of his epistles. Rather, Saint Paul is against a faith that is based merely on philosophical arguments. So, he, and the other Apostles knew that it is important to communicate the faith in phrases that can be memorized, because of their rhythm and their meaning. Think of phrases such as:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son … [this phrase is used in the Divine Liturgy every time it is celebrated.]
And yet I show you a still more excellent way. … And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. [At how many weddings have you heard all of 1 Corinthians 13 read out loud?]
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
These are all phrases and sayings that ring in our ears and in our mind, and permit them to be easily memorized and repeated correctly so that parts of the faith may be easily communicated. But, there is a set of phrases that have been memorized by every priest and pastor, regardless of their affiliation: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Protestant. Many lay members could repeat them as well. And, regardless of the theological explanation, these phrases have made it to the heart of communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They form part of the story, part of the set of memorable rhythmic phrases that allow us to communicate the faith.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way that Scripture is full of memorable phrases, so is the Liturgy full of memorable phrases, motions, and actions. It has been a great joy, and of great interest, to me to watch various of our grandchildren growing up and kissing icons, making the sign of the Cross, etc. More than one of them could sing the simple hymns from the Liturgy rather early in life. They were learning not by philosophical explanations but by simple demonstrations. I agree that if their parents’ behavior is from Hell, then the lessons may not take. But, if their parents’ behavior is at all consonant with what they experience, then there is every good possibility that they will grow up believing what they have been shown in simple words and gestures.
Which brings us back to Dr. Seuss. “Sam! If you will let me be, I will try them. You will see. Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them Sam-I-am!” Every parent knows how there is more than one Sunday when you have to lay the law down and tell your children that they are going to church with you. This is not to take away their freedom. After all, they will eventually be able to make their own decisions. But, as they are growing up, you must ensure that they brush their teeth, that they go to bed at the right time, that they eat what is on their plate, particularly if it is a new dish that they have never eaten before, that they …, and that they go to church, until such a time as they become responsible for themselves. In the best of all worlds, this should be a slow process of handing the reins over to them little by little. Your hope is that there will come the day that they will try for themselves what you have been ensuring that they do, and that they will realize that they like it as well.
“Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them Sam-I-am!”
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