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Daily Scripture

+ Ascension Thursday

There is no proof; there are only witnesses.

Readings: Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:14-23 Luke 24:46-53

You are witnesses of all these things. And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high. [Luke 24:50-51]

In an age of technology and scientific progress, we have an explanation for everything or at least the promise of the same. Yet, there are still truly human experiences – both positive and negative—that defy human explanation. Death is one such experience. Doctors know the medical reasons for death but an autopsy doesn’t tell the whole story. Conversely, who can explain the field of energy that binds lovers for life?

During his life on earth Jesus created a field of energy that changed the course of history and it did not cease at his death or even at his resurrection. It continues to this day – locally and globally. Or else how explain the heroism of the saints of yesterday and the saints of today? Women and men, energetic witnesses who have said ‘yes’ to unconditional love under any and all circumstances continue to change the course of history in the face of those who attempt to chain the Word of God. No, most of them are not formal preachers or even religious teachers per se, but people who live the message of the Gospel of Jesus day in and day out.

The gospel today is typical of the departure of a hero. We might even consider it the conclusion of a hero story. Jesus assures his disciples that he is not abandoning them. Not only that but he will send an advocate who will empower them to continue his mission. “You will be clothed with power from on high.” They will be clothed with the mantle of Christ just as the ancient Elijah was clothed in the mantle of Elias before Elias departed in his chariot to the heavens. It’s metaphor and allegory, of course but the underlying truth of Jesus mission will continue to be proclaimed as Good News for all.

But hang in there until Pentecost when the gifts of the Spirit will be renewed and we will be empowered once more to preach the Good News—using words only when necessary.

Second Sunday of Advent 'C'

Sunday December 10, 2006

Let’s connect all the dots.

The word ‘glory’ is mentioned six times in the scripture readings assigned for this weekend. “Glory” is the biblical expression for God’s splendor, a word that is also used several times in these readings. If we combine these two words with joy and rejoice and connect all the dots we have no choice but to come to the conclusion that God has left no stone unturned to assure us that we shall indeed “see the salvation of God.”

But where is God in this world of chaos? We connect the dots but we come to different conclusions. We wait for the ‘Day of the Lord’ but it has never seemed more distant. The landscape of humanity has become rugged and ragged. Nations at war, armed to the hilt; religious institutions battling over truth and turf.

But the Advent readings speak of hope and the Scriptures today demand a response from true believers. Connecting the dots will inevitably lead Christians to Christ.

Luke’s gospel is very specific about who Jesus was, when he appears and what he was about. Luke will be our ‘gospel guide’ this year. His portrait of Jesus is a little different from the other gospel writers. His accent is on the demanding but gentle love of God for everyone—no holds barred! In many ways, Luke is an artist who draws a portrait of a Jesus clothed in compassion mercy—a healer who makes the crooked straight, the rugged smooth and the ragged safe and secure.

Luke seems to use his right side of his brain more often than the left and so I have decided that perhaps it would be better to use my right brain today to make sense out of the prophecy of Baruch, the prayer of Paul and the ‘Good News’ of Luke.

So, here goes my attempt to connect all the dots with a bit of poetry:

It has been said
more than once that
only prophets and poets speak “the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth.”

But what is truth?
And how do we recognize truth
when so many lay claim to it?
I suspect it may be more
a question of who is prophet or poet
and who is not.

Who are they who dare lay claim
to clairvoyant understanding of the movement of God
in human affairs?
When in this life of trial and travail
we see only glimpses of truth through reflections
in broken mirrors —
shattered glass upon the grass
remnant of visions shattered by earthen vessels of clay;
windows “stained” in mud
telling stories that belie true bravery
dreams, turned into nightmares,
mythic heroes refashioned by reality
into warriors of barbarism
history revised to shape our thinking into just war theories,
refurbished slices of past achievements,
tarnished by human pride.

“No poets and prophets allowed here!”
cry the king’s soothsayers
“We stand for peace not war!”
We strike only in reprisal less they strike us first
at our borders
or even at our doorsteps.
We dare not rest until they are no more.
“Stay the course,” they say,
“victory is on the way, around the corner”
yea, over the bodies and bones of fallen soldiers
and maimed but unnamed children.
In the face of madness we choose the lesser scandal
a different brand of insanity.

The ‘king’ cries out: “Away with you prophets
with swords of peace.
and words that shatter visions of imminent victory!”

Indeed, war doth make enemies of kin and kind
and strange bedfellows of the divided foe.
Perhaps to truth itself we would prefer
the odor of contentment,
air freshener that takes away the stench of death and destruction.

But in God’s house there will be no exclusions
saint and sinners dwell together,
coming to table to break the bread of their lives;
searches and seekers who yearn for a better way.

So then let us pave the way,
and make safe the path for wayfarers
from those who prey on the poor and the hungry.

Let us tear down mountains of hate
and fill the deep valleys with hope
and connect all the dots for those who have lost their way.

Advent has come again
and with it, the prophets’ promise.

Will Jesus’ coming make a difference this year?

You and I must be that promise and that ray of hope.