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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 in Lent 'C'

Sunday March 4, 2007

Everyone needs a shot in the arm now and then.

Almost forty years ago, I traveled with a priest friend to Colorado. It was a bit of a lark. We didn’t go to ski — August is not a good month for skiing in Colorado. It wasn’t a trip we had planned for months or even weeks; we just packed up and flew to Denver, rented a car and headed into the Rockies toward Aspen before it had become a national resort.

One night we drove up to a very high point outside of Aspen to look at the stars. It was unbelievable. I had never seen as many stars in my life. It wasn’t that there were more stars over Colorado than over New Jersey; it was just that we could see them more clearly above the smog and atmospheric grit that hovers the earth at lesser heights. It was a mesmerizing experience. Although we didn’t climb the mountain to pray, the experience led us to prayer — not recited prayers, but prayer without words — contemplation — the opening of the soul to the mystery of God. It was awesome. I felt very small standing before the façade of the universe, yet I felt close to God. In fact, I think I saw God’s face in the heavens. I felt empowered to respond to the wonder of God, yet I was still in touch with my own humanity and mortality. We continued our journey through the mountains stopping here and there to “listen to the silence” of God’s ‘voice’ on the mountain. My reality looked so different from the mountaintop. The memory of that experience sustained me through the Moabe Desert, on to LA and back to New Jersey. It was a transforming experience, the memory of which has never left me and in fact has continued to sustain me when I have been tempted to lose hope or heart.

Mountain top experiences sometimes happen on mountains but not always. In fact a mountain is more often the metaphor for a spiritually transforming experience that enables us to see “our reality” more clearly and which empowers us not just to talk the talk but walk the walk of life with greater commitment, integrity, and enthusiasm. The Bible refers to these experiences as visions or dreams. The theological term for such is “Theophany” or the manifestation of God, a window to the soul. There are many descriptions of such visions and dreams in both the Old and New Testaments. As with Peter, James and John, the temptation to “freeze frame” is strong, but we must move out and on.

Abraham‘s experience is beautifully described in first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. It was his personal encounter with God that empowered him to move on to a new land with the promise that God would be faithful to him and his descendents. It is interesting that Abraham is revered as “Father in faith” to Jews, Moslems and Christians — we are all part of his posterity, in some sense the fulfillment of the promise made by God who never revoked the covenant made with Abraham.

The description of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke is the perfect sequel to Abraham’s vision. This story is a turning point in Luke’s Gospel as Jesus directs his steps toward Jerusalem and Calvary. As he was transfigured on the mountain, Moses and Elijah joined him. It was the belief of many Jews that Moses and Elijah would return at the end time. Jesus’ transfiguration was an affirmation of his call as Messiah — the seal of a new covenant. He is the new Moses and the fulfillment of all the ancient prophecies. His faithfulness to the covenant initiated with Abraham took him on a journey that would lead to another mountaintop called Calvary — not that God demanded Jesus’ death but rather his faithfulness to divine love. He was the epitome of divine love in human form. That kind of faithfulness and love is costly. It can and often does lead to death. But Paul assures us in his letter to the Philippians that the covenant does not end in death but to ultimate glory. “Our citizenship is in heaven and is from there that we expect the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform us.”

Marty Luther King had a dream that empowered him to journey to a place he had never been and ultimately to his death. His faithfulness to that journey changed the course of black history in this country.

I have a dream that one day our Church will be free of all scandal, a church in which there will be no exclusions—women and men equal at the table; young and old of whatever gender and orientation. All will be welcomed. Our God can make it happen but not without our consent.

Lent can be a mountaintop experience for the disciple of Christ. It’s a time not of testing but an opportunity to accept the challenge of contemplating the mystery of life in a new way. It’s a new opportunity to catch the rhythm of God through our daily prayer in whatever form it takes. It is yet another opportunity to encounter Jesus in our own personal passage [Passover] through the Red Sea [baptism] through the desert [the dryness of life] alert to God’s presence in both the pain and the consolations that accompany the daily embrace of life [“Lord, it is good for us to be here!”] So let us break bread together and sip some wine that one day we may come to the glory that was promised to Abraham, Moses, and all the prophets, fulfilled in Jesus, and given to us as disciples.

Lent can make a difference. In essence, it can be that shot in the arm that we all need no matter where we are on our journey.