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Daily Scripture

+ 20th Week in Ordinary Time

I’ll do it myself.

Readings: Ezekiel 34:1-11 Psalm 23:1-6 Matthew 20:1-16

Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep, I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths. [Ezekiel 34:10]

There is much talk about a vocation shortage—fewer young men entering the seminary and fewer still persevering to ordination. Not withstanding some notable exceptions this has resulted in the lowering of standards for ordination. Moreover, priests and candidates for the priesthood are being ‘imported’ from other countries whose needs are as urgent as ours.

The prevailing accent seems to be on the need to have a sufficient number of priests to ‘say Mass’ and provide for the sacramental needs of the faithful. But surely in the light of the Second Vatican Council, priests need to be more than presiders at Mass and providers of the sacraments, as important as are these roles.

The earliest experience of the Church can be instructive in this regard. The notion of presbyter provided the early church with presiders for worship and leaders for base communities. Celibacy was not an issue and there was no clerical caste. The gifts of the faithful were recognized in such a manner that men and women, married and single fulfilled the spiritual needs of the community including the sacramental needs.

Notwithstanding the inadequacy of the notion of shepherding people (sheeple?) the need remains for qualified men and women to minister to the needs of the community.

Ezekiel warned the priests and assured the people of Israel that God would find away to pasture his people.

Ezekiel’s words need to be taken to heart again and in fact we already see that God is indeed providing a way through the action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women, married and single, who are tending to the needs of the faithful.

Third Sunday of Easter 'A'

Sunday April 6, 2008

“There is a joy in the journey.”

Before embarking on a journey, it is normal for travelers to become preoccupied not only with their destination but also with travel plans no matter what the means of transportation. Depending on the purpose of the trip, the sense of anticipation is flavored with feelings of joy or sadness. However, not every journey has a specific plan other than to arrive safe and sound. There are joy rides and there are sad rides.

For many years during the post-Easter season, I used to travel to a Weston Priory for my annual retreat. Located in the heart of the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Benedictine priory provides a very peaceful atmosphere in which “the brothers” and their guests can ponder the great mysteries of life, indeed, the great ‘Mystery’ of life, God’s spirit within the core of our being. The sense of camaraderie engendered by the monks brings the Scriptures to life and makes the celebration of the Eucharist a genuine experience of Christian community.

What impressed me more than anything through the years was the monks’ intense awareness of the issues of the day that can easily dull the awareness of God’s presence in the world with all its turmoil. They may truly be separated from the world but they are not disengaged from it and certainly not disinterested in it. A visitor cannot escape the challenges of the world at Weston. On the contrary, one is confronted by the daily words of Scripture that touch the soul and the Eucharistic narrative that pulsates with the rhythm of God’s faithfulness to humanity in Christ.

It was the living Spirit of God that kept Jesus faithful and it is the same Spirit that dwells within us unconditionally that ebles retreatants to go back and build through works of justice and compassion what nations have destroyed through the ages.

The mystery we continue to ponder during this post Easter period is the ‘Mystery’ of God’s Spirit living in Christ and within us from the first moment and movement of our existence. The Scriptures are rich with meaning and give ample testimony to the reality of God’s profound presence in the world.

In his first witness talk, Peter testifies to the fact that even death itself could not prevent the message of Jesus from being proclaimed. More than this, his message continues to empower believers of all times and places to act in accordance with that proclamation, “in season and out of season, when convenient and inconvenient.” The manifestation of God in Christ as the living Word of God contains the power of grace to conversion, action, and faithfulness. We do not listen today as if in a classroom but we listen as if in the presence of Peter himself. This is the reason for my suggestion last week that put aside our early Catholic catechism and listen to the earlier witness of the apostles and evangelists as if for the first time.

Peter continues his witness through his letters, the first of which we ‘received’ a few moments ago. It is written in the form of a baptismal hymn to alert us to our personal call to salvation. It is a poetic sermon on the hope to which we must cling as if to an anchor. Our salvation is not complete until our awareness of God’s life within us is as full as it was in Jesus. This awareness is progressive and expands as we live out our lives in communion with Christ and one another in his Body, the Church. The death to which St. Peter refers is not a biological death but a spiritual death. No one is exempt from physical death but we are all protected from ultimate spiritual death, that is, the spiritual blindness and denial that prevents us from opening up to the power of God’s grace through whatever channel it is provided.

The story of Emmaus is one of the most powerful post-resurrection appearance stories recorded in the entire Bible. More than likely, Luke based this story on an original tale that formed a nucleus on which he developed his own portrait of Christ and the infant Church that emerged after Jesus’ resurrection. Notice the subtle liturgical language and the combination of word and sacrament as if to suggest that this experience might become the paradigm for the Church of all ages. It is from this passage that what we have come to know as the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) is based—the journey from darkness to light; from confusion to clarity; from death to life through reflection on the Scriptures and the Breaking of the Bread at Eucharist.

The story of Emmaus is our individual and communal story as we journey through life. We think we know where we are going but we are not necessarily fully aware of our ultimate destiny. Our lack of security and our fear of failure are always lurking at the side of the road. But as we come daily or at least weekly to the table of God’s Word and the breaking of this bread, sooner or later we come to know that God is never far from us, indeed, that God is within us at every turn. With eyes of faith we look beyond the turmoil of disillusionment and even despair and see the face of God in every situation and circumstance.

The memory of the funeral of John Paul II is still fresh in my mind. In the midst of such a diversity of purpose or opinion of those present, the ‘exchange of peace’ in the Communion Rite was a rich symbol of God’s presence in that vast assembly and it was every bit as powerful as Christ’s presence in the Eucharist as each person extended a hand and I hope their hearts to one another as a gesture of unity, if not already achieved at least ‘in pectore’ – a yearning for unity and peace at heart.

I also believe that the power of the Eucharist is such that even those in that vast gathering who did not completely understand its mysterious workings in some way became conscious that we are all bread blessed and broken for humanity and that there is enough bread to go around for the homeless and hungry everywhere. To that extent, I hope no one left that table empty-handed or fainthearted.

We do not walk alone and though we carry within us individually and as a community, the wounds of our world and of our Church, we know that they are also the wounds of Christ that have the potential to heal our own wounds.

This is why we come to this table—not to escape the challenges of living in the world but to reinforce our determination to live with integrity and honor no matter what the cost if for no other reason than the fact that God’s Spirit is everywhere within us and around us. Forty years ago, the Second Vatican Council defined the Church as “the People of God. ” Church leadership was re-defined as the ‘servants of the servants’ of God.

The Church exists not to serve itself and maintain its power over others but to become powerless in the service of humanity. That is our witness. Ours is the redemptive way that was chosen for us at Baptism; this is the way of salvation that is given to us to claim as our own individually and as a community.

May your journey be joyful. Bon voyage!