THROUGH UNTRUE By FR. ROLANDO V. DELA ROSA, O.P. For a loving relationship to endure, the element of mystery and surprise should not disappear. When couples become too predictable, intimacy degenerates into boredom. E.W. Howe writes: “Everything ceases to be wonderful the moment we get used to it.” A popular version of this is “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Or, as one cynic says: “Familiarity breeds attempt.” Has this become true as regards our relationship with God? Has God become too familiar for comfort? In today’s gospel reading, the people of Jesus’ own village rejected Him because they knew Him too well. They refused to acknowledge that He could be more than what they thought of Him. Their familiarity with Him got in the way of their faith. The gospel adds a sad note: “Jesus could perform NO miracles there”. When God becomes too familiar for us, we limit what He can do in our midst. We want Him to act according to our expectations. In the Old Testament, the Jews would not speak of God’s name for fear of disrespecting or misusing it. But today, many Christians casually call God, PAPA JESUS, HOLY MAMAW, or IYONG NASA ITAAS. In movies, actors pepper their dialogues with “Jesus Christ” as a curse, or an expression of surprise and disgust. There was a time when, as a sign of reverence, everyone went to Mass impeccably dressed. Today, many people attend Sunday Mass in their shorts, sandals, or in very casual or skimpy attire. On weekdays, some joggers would enter the Church still dripping with sweat, just in time for Holy Communion. There was a time when people lined up to confess before receiving Holy Communion. Today almost all Mass goers line up for Holy Communion but very few go to confession. That can be a sign that people today are holier than earlier Catholics, but it can also be an alarming indication that because of our familiarity with a forgiving God, we ignore his commandments and we no longer take seriously the effects of sin in our lives. We rationalize and say: “Jesus loves me. He will understand.” All of us want to be more intimate with God. But we must take care not to downsize and deflate Him to make Him more accessible and available in time of need, and easily disposable in time of plenty. God is not someone who is at our beck and call, always willing to go the extra mile, always giving and forgiving, and never demanding anything in return. Over-familiarity with God bleeds Him dry of his sacredness and transcendence. Our contemporary culture aggravates this. We are now a generation of avid watchers, not attentive listeners; spectators, not active participants. We prefer to see God fixed in pictures and images, instead of listening to His words. St. Paul wrote that faith is not about seeing: “Faith comes from hearing the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Authentic faith allows God’s words to confound our expectations. The unforeseen events that happen in our lives, whether joyful or disturbing, are also God’s “words” whose meaning de-familiarizes what we know about Him, bringing us to the limits of our own understanding and inviting us into a deeper appreciation of His unspeakable mystery.