Consider for example, Madame Stahl, a minor character in Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina:
Some said that she had made a social position for herself as a virtuous, highly religious woman, while others said that she was at heart that same highly moral being she made herself out to be, living only for the good of others. No one knew what religion she adhered to—Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant—but one thing was certain: she was in friendly relations with the highest persons of all Churches and confessions.
Madame Stahl encourages her new acquaintance Kitty to read the Gospel. Under her influence, her niece Aline seeks out unfortunate people, helps them as much as possible and reads the Gospel to the sick and dying...
The next move for us to take is the same move made by Job after all his fussing and fuming at God: Finally I “see” the whole picture; I get it! In the same way we say everyday, “I see” when we finally understand something someone has tried her best to describe in words, we can finally say, I get it. Joining such an unlikely witness as the “blind” Bartimaeus, who “saw” what others had missed, relying only on what he had heard, we, too can declare this “Son of David” as “my teacher.” I (finally) begin to “see” how God works in the world. I am no longer “blind” to God and God’s unique ways. I am now ready to follow “in the way.”
(Resources listed here reference more than one reading and are normally shorter than the resources listed under the individual texts above. If you are looking to link the readings, check these resources.)
(Resources listed here reference more than one reading and are normally shorter than the resources listed under the individual texts above. If you are looking to link the readings, check these resources.)
(Resources listed here reference more than one reading and are normally shorter than the resources listed under the individual texts above. If you are looking to link the readings, check these resources.)
(Resources listed here reference more than one reading and are normally shorter than the resources listed under the individual texts above. If you are looking to link the readings, check these resources.)
(Resources listed here reference more than one reading and are normally shorter than the resources listed under the individual texts above. If you are looking to link the readings, check these resources.)