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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.

New Years Meditation

Saturday January 1, 2005

Again, as if for the First Time

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, however, 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 the affairs of men—and women;
when in this life of trial and travail
we see only glimpses of truth through reflections
broken mirrors—
shattered glass upon the grass
remnants of visions rejected;
windows “stained” in mud
telling stories that belie the madness of dreams turned nightmares,
mythic heroes refashioned into reality
history revised to shape our thinking into just war theories,
refurbished slices of the past.

No poets and prophets allowed here.
“We stand for peace not war—”
the less moral in the face of the immoral.
Our case and cause take precedence in the face of violence—
threats of mass destruction
making life ambiguous
and making us ambivalent about poets and prophets
soothsayers with swords of peace
words that shatter visions of imminent victory.
Indeed, war doth make enemies of friends and lovers
and of enemies strange bedfellows.
Perhaps to truth itself we would prefer contentment.

Though we continue to celebrate the birth of the Savior
we remain ‘Easter people’
who continue to expect the unexpected
to happen again as if
for the first time.

On this day of new beginnings
we think especially of those who have no alternative
but to start over again
from scratch
in the face of the brutal attack of nature.

None of us will get out of life alive
or will we?
Do we dare hope that our life in Christ
will or can sustain us in the face of the most wicked forces
even death itself?

The outpouring of help to the poorest of the poor
Throughout the world
In India and Indonesia and every island in between
is a more than a ray of hope
that Christ who came once
has come again;
Christ who died
has risen again.

Perhaps it will be true again this year
as true as it was the first time.