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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.

First Sunday in Lent 'C'

Sunday February 25, 2007

It was not a passing event

In the movie, “The Passion of Christ,” the depiction of Satan is subtle but interesting. Satan appears first in the Garden of Gethsemane—the antithesis of the Garden of Eden—as Jesus is praying prior to his arrest, but the figure appears several more times at various stages of the passion. At crucial moments when Jesus might be tempted to succumb to the pain and to the power of the crowds, he nevertheless remains faithful to his commitment to life. “He was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” [Philippians 2:8] The word ‘obey’ comes from the Latin word ‘to listen.’ Jesus was not a subservient slave but a partner with God in the work of redemption.

As William Barclay points out in his excellent commentary on the temptations of Jesus, “We must not think that the three temptations came and went like scenes in a play.” His was a long battle that extended the length of his ministry right up to the cross. One of the difficulties with the movie is that Mel Gibson did not establish sufficiently the context of Jesus’ passion and death. It was his mission and ministry, his words and deeds that preceded the anguish of his passion that constitute the essence of who Jesus was for his disciples and who Jesus is for us.

Jesus’ life in ministry was not just a prelude to his passion and death. and it was not God’s will that Jesus should suffer and die but that he commit himself to the proclamation of life throughout his life without compromise to greed, self-doubt and worldly power. From the core of his being Jesus proclaimed that God’s love is indiscriminate, inclusive and surpasses all human boundaries.

In essence his passion was the rejection of his goodness and ‘Godness’ by humanity in the religious and political arena.

On this first Sunday of Lent, we are invited by Moses, Paul and Luke to reflect on the incredible magnanimity of God within the context of our own struggle with compromise.

Moses testifies to the good things that God did for the children of Abraham, our father in the faith, to the Israelites who were freed from the Egyptians with signs and wonders as they struggled for forty years in the desert with the same temptations to greed, compromise and power.

Paul testifies to the unconditional love of God that was made manifest in the inclusive love of Christ Jesus; unconditional because it is not based on any merit of ours; inclusive because there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, Irish or Italian, Republican or Democrat. “The same Lord is Lord of all…. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” In other words, what the eternal God did for our ancestors, God does for us in Christ.

The three temptations recorded in Luke’s gospel speak to three areas of Jesus life but must be connected with his entire life and ministry.

Jesus responds to the first temptation s by telling Satan that we will never find life in material things alone.” Not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Later in Luke’s gospel, Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes and in John’s gospel announces that he is the “bread of life.”

The task of Christianity is not about baking more bread, although the weight and voice of the church must be behind all efforts to feed the hungry. Its real task is to produce new men and women and in doing so, the hungry will be fed with bread that nourishes not only the body but also the soul.

The second temptation was to compromise. Compromise is a part of life but it does not mean lowering the bar on our commitment to the essential teachings of the Gospel. Jesus responded, “You must honor God above all things and him alone shall you worship in word and deed.” If God is the center of our lives as he was for Jesus, then we will know when to and when not to compromise.

The third temptation dealt with self-doubt and presumption to which Jesus responded: “Do not play games with God.” Political correctness and religious theological fluff are not good religious practice. To this extent, “The Passion of Christ” does indeed depict the cost of faithfulness. There are no cheap graces and the cost of unconditional love is sacrificial. Those who are faithful will ultimately pay the price if they are to reap the reward.

Still at the threshold of our Lenten journey, we are challenged to reflect on and revise as necessary our thinking about what drives us as disciples of Jesus. It has been stated wisely that only those who have traveled with Christ all their lives can truly understand the passion at the end of his life and participate in the power of his resurrection in this life.