Persuasion, causing someone to believe or do something, flows through this Sunday’s Gospel. John the Baptist persuades two of his disciples, one of whom is Andrew, to inquire after Jesus. Jesus, understands both men are seeking something deeper, a life of meaning. Jesus persuades them to come to where he is staying and learn from him. Andrew then persuades his brother, Simon, hence forth called Peter, to come and join them. Andrew has persuaded Peter Jesus is the Christ.
Persuasion, from the time of the ancient Greeks onward, is deeply reflective of meaning. Aristotle first postulated persuasion having three elements; the source, the audience, and the message. Aristotle referred to the three as ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos addresses the convincing character of the communicator; are they a person of character and meaning, able to be trusted. Pathos concerns itself with the people listening or watching and attempts to discover what they find meaningful so as to be moved emotionally, even inspired. Logos deals with the meaningfulness of the reasoning provided. It seems that no matter our circumstance, each of us seeks meaning. We seek to nurture it in our own character, in others, and we want to find meaning in the world around us. We seek a meaningful life. We seek a life flowing with character, inspiration, and wisdom. It is possible each element can be subject to manipulation, and therefore each of us can be as well. The more we nurture character, emotional health, and meaningful reason, the less likely we will be manipulated. Persuasion reveals the search for meaning as a deep longing within our human condition. In Man’s Search for Meaning, written after his Holocaust experience, survivor Viktor Frankl wrote: “Ultimately, we should not ask what the meaning of our life is, but rather must recognize that it is we who are asked. In a word, each person is questioned by life; and can only answer to life by answering for their own life.”
How shall we answer for our own life? Have we been persuaded that the meaning of our own life is inextricably connected to the meaning we find in lives connected with our brothers and sisters?
Prayer: Dear Ones, may our lives persuade others of the meaningfulness of their own.
Question: How does my life persuade and to what meaning?
January 18, 2015 Gospel John 1:35-42 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time