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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.

Palm Sunday 'C'

Sunday April 1, 2007

The savagery or sovereignty of sin, which will it be?

Respected scriptural commentator, Pat Sanchez, had some interesting reflections in her commentary on the Palm Sunday readings for cycle ‘C.’ Except for the scene of Jesus in garden, I have been a severe critic of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” However, Pat provided an interesting perspective that I had not considered and although I have not revised my criticism of Gibson’s ‘atonement’ theology and anti-Semitic inferences, I think Pat made a good point.

This is what she wrote: For those who judge his portrayal of Jesus to be extreme, too realistic, or too savage, this writer asks ‘Isn’t human sin far more savage?’ Don’t the all too common realities of abuse, apathy and neglect speak a sad commentary on the savage nature of the selfish human heart? Isn’t genocide a savage act? Isn’t greed, either personal or corporate, that would rob another of his/her livelihood equally base? Could we not also describe as savage the rejection of another on the basis of race, social status, gender, age or religious persuasion?

Cannot war be deemed savage in that human lives are deemed expendable and that the helpless innocents caught in the crossfire are simply inevitable statistics of the struggles between the powerful? Indeed, wasn’t the passion of Jesus and all he innocently suffered for the sake of the guilty make all the more intense and unrelentingly extreme by human sin? Therefore, rather than be offended by a portrayal that shocks our sensibilities and leaves us disconcerted and uncomfortable, shouldn’t the horrifying sufferings of Jesus be our focus as we journey toward the celebration of life that is Easter and toward the forgiveness that has become our gift in Jesus? [The Savagery of Sin, Pat Sanchez, Celebration, NCR Publishing Co, Kansas City, MO, 2007]

With the Church, we enter the mystery of the crucified, buried and risen Christ this week. Take care not to commemorate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem as if you do not know the whole story. The liturgical event this Sunday and those to be celebrated during the coming week have as their purpose a ‘sacred remembrance’. Just as the rituals of our Jewish elders in faith bring the full impact of the Exodus to life at the ancient Seder meal, so through these sensuous liturgical rites and the “telling of the story” we make present today the dramatic implications of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection for our own personal and communal struggles. But the impact of Jesus’ struggle must move us to identity with the struggles of humanity, especially of the poor, the disenfranchised and the vulnerable.

Palm Sunday is the doorway to the ‘great week’ as it was called in the ancient Christian writings. We are here praising Jesus with palm branches but we must also confess openly our fear and our desire to run away from our association with Jesus. We are there in Jerusalem and Jerusalem is here and now.

If we live in Christ, then we can no longer separate ourselves from the horror of war, genocide in Darfur, the ongoing suffering of the abused, and the hungers of humanity. Our Church must lead the way in crying out for truth and justice within its walls and in every corner of the globe, divesting itself of privilege giving title not just to those who wear the cross but also to all who carry the cross.

There is no strength in justice if it does not lead ultimately to mercy. But there is no mercy where there is no truth and full accountability for the injustices heaped upon humanity.

The forgiveness of Jesus is indiscriminate but demands the acknowledgment of the savagery of the sin.

___

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