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| Father George W. Rutler |
As
with quotations that are variously attributed, journalists including
Charles Anderson Dana of the “New York Tribune” and John B. Bogart of
the “New York Sun” are said to have coined the aphorism: “‘Dog bites
man’ does not make the news, but ‘Man bites dog’ does.” Human nature is
fascinated by what is exceptional and scandalous. But “skandalon” really
means more than that. It is a “stumbling block” that trips up the way
mere mortals think things are supposed to be.
Theologically,
there is the “Scandal of Particularity.” It has two aspects. First is
the doctrine that the Creator of the universe has solicitude for every
minute detail of it, even every sparrow and each hair on your head (cf.
Matt. 10:29). This has ramifications even in mathematics where the
“Chaos Theory” proposes a “Butterfly Effect,” meaning that something as
slight as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in New Delhi might cause a
hurricane in New York. So too it is with people.
Every
human action can have consequences beyond fathoming. There is the prime
example of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914,
that started a domino effect leading to the First World War. His
chauffeur spoke only Czech and did not understand the orders of German
security officers to follow a route safe from assassins. So he drove
according to the original plan and came within feet of a radical Bosnian
who had not expected such luck. It might be said that 17 million people
eventually died because one man took a wrong turn.
The
second part of the Scandal of Particularity is the acknowledgement that
Christ, whose divine nature has no beginning or end, came to our small
planet with a human nature as the unique savior from sin and death. “In
the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times
and in various ways, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2a). His divine nature enables him
to see “the big picture” while his human nature involves him in the
minutest details of ordinary life. If this is scandalous, it is because
presently we are limited to categories of time and space, and we find it
hard to think of importance without being overwhelmed by size and
power.
In
another quotation variously attributed, Stalin is said to have
remarked: “The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of a million men
is a statistic.” The same dictator mockingly asked, “How many divisions
does the Pope have?” He knows now – though a bit too late. But the
biggest scandal of all to the limited mind, and so bold that it is
refreshing when it expands the mind, is the Lord’s declaration: “I am
the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father apart from
me” (John 14:6).
