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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

Much ado about nothing or, is there something to it?

Readings: Acts 19:1-8 Psalm 68:2-7 John 16:29-33

Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” [Acts 19:1-3]

Depending on one’s sacramental theology and pastoral practice, this text has been variously interpreted. For example, those who work with the RCIA (catecheumenate) hold that the sacrament of Confirmation should be administered with Baptism as it was in the early Church. It is one of the sacraments of initiation—Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. The Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church has retained the tradition of administering all three at Baptism. Yes, the infant receives a small piece of the Eucharist bread. And so in the Eastern Rite, there is no formal celebration of First Holy Communion at the age of reason or Confirmation by the bishop at whatever age the local diocese has determined the age of maturity appropriate for Confirmation. All three sacraments are administered shortly after birth.

Others feel that the celebration of First Communion and Confirmation at a later age ensures the participation of youngsters in parish religious education programs – at least until Confirmation. In this case, many Catholics view Confirmation as the completion of or graduation from religious studies.

In recent years I have become convinced that the RCIA folks and the Eastern Rite Catholics have it right. All three sacraments of initiation should be administered together. First Holy Communion and Confirmation have become more social than spiritual. I do not mean to suggest that there is no connection or that there should be no celebration after sacramental ceremonies but for many, the accent is on the wrong syllable.

The path from Baptism to Christian maturity is life-long and the benchmarks for progress are not easily measured by grouping children by age or grade level for a period of preparation that is largely academic.

This is not to suggest that religious education is optional. Faith development is unique to each person within the context first of family and then of parish. Religious education / formation is intended to provide insight into faith development at an age-appropriate level.

Catholicism has become ‘child-centered’ the result of which, we have an adult population whose religious and spiritual development stopped at Confirmation.

The celebration of Eucharist is the primary setting for faith formation. Religious education is a necessary component but detached from Eucharist, it remain just another subject to master.

Of course this all assumes that the parish celebration of the Eucharist is truly inclusive and meaningful rather than just an empty ritual. The parish at worship should be a rendition of a community of faith that strives to live its faith ‘in the town square’ as I mentioned in Sunday’s homily.

Notwithstanding my commitment to religious dialogue, I do believe that effective dialogue is based on the assumption that although both parties are knowledgeable about the topic. Though they may have different perspectives, they are not based on ignorance of the subject.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Sunday February 6, 2005

Be Salty for God

Although not a title which she coined, I can still hear my mother describe particular individuals as “salty characters.” Even as I speak it, the phrase conjures up in my own mind the image of the salty sea captain of a storm-tossed but still sea-worthy vessel. But the expression borrowed I’m sure, from the glossary of a mariner is aptly applied to a man and even to a woman who has weathered not only the storms of the sea but also the storms of life.

It refers not only to someone who may have sailed into the jaws of death and come out alive but to one who has lived the mystery of life to the fullest narrowly escaping spiritual ruin through temptation and even moral failure. They are deeply spiritual people many of whom do not wear their religion on their sleeves but who know the mystery of God deep within their souls. They are in touch with their source of power and use it not to control but to empower others.

Think of the greatest heroes and heroines in your life; they were people who cared not so much for their own safety as for the safety of others. Think of the brave fire fighters and rescue workers who entered the burning towers without hesitation to save even one life. They were lights that drew attention not to themselves but to the mysterious energy that fired them.

The scriptures on this final week before Lent were selected to fire us up to our Christian vocation. Jesus used simple metaphors to make it easier for his followers and for us to understand our call as his disciples. Last week, we read the constitutional document for Christians—the beatitudes.

This week Isaiah issues a kind pre-Lenten ‘wake-up call,’ drawing our attention to authentic believers who lived what they believed and practiced what they preach. Having chastised the Israelites for their phony ritual fasts while they oppressed the poor, he issues a call for spiritual integrity: “Is this not the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to lift the weight of the heavy yoke, to let the oppressed go free! Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house…? Then will your light break forth like the dawn and the glory of the Lord will shine through your good works.” Fasting is not to appease God or to lose weight but to empty ourselves so that our souls may be filled to the brim with the Spirit of God because having our souls filled with the Spirit of God empowers us to live for others. Good works bear fruit and give glory to God.

Saint Paul continues to remind the Christian community at Corinth and us that our salvation does not depend on our status, education, or material possessions, but on the awareness of our dependence on God. “I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit [which is God’s power] so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”
In other words, it is not our human effort that guarantees success but our surrender to the power of God placed within us at Baptism—and even prior to Baptism when we were loved into existence. The cross remains the symbol of surrender. It is not that God willed the death of Jesus as a payment for sin (God is not sadistic and Jesus was not a masochist!) but that God willed Jesus’ faithfulness as an example of the cost of true discipleship which leads to fullness of life—something like the fasting that empties the body so that the soul may be filled with grace which is the free gift of God. There are no cheap graces for the Christian.

But the climax of today’s message is given to us in Matthew’s Gospel. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Think about salt. It’s a simple substance that has been around for light years. It has the capacity to flavor and preserve. If you use just the right amount, it will enhance the flavor unique to a particular food. If you put just a small amount into the boiling water—chefs pay heed—the salt explodes and compliments the entire aliment with just the right taste. This is similar to our surrender to God as we work at our daily chores and challenges with faith. The grace of God explodes and the product of our hands reveals the disposition of hearts. Moreover, salt as a preservative is like the sea of God’s sustaining grace in which we swim but never tire.

The light of course, remains the primary metaphor because it makes manifest more than a flame. In effect, the light enables even the light-bearers to see beyond themselves into the faces of humanity. As Christ is the epiphany or the light of God, so we, the Disciples of Christ, are the reflection of the light and through our good works give glory and praise to God.

It is interesting that Matthew quotes Jesus as saying: “You ARE the salt of the earth; you ARE the light of the world.” Not, you are to become the salt and the light. In other words, he is challenging us to be who we already are. No matter what our particular call or career, we have a common vocation as Disciples of Christ to grow into the fullness of what were created to be. Living the spiritual life is living within the matrix of God’s life. It is a deeply religious call but not a call lived out only through the religious life. On the contrary, for most it is lived out in the secular life. In the words of Teihard de Chardin, “For the true believer, nothing in creation is profane; all is sacred in God’s sight.”

The title of the document of Vatican defining the Church is, “Lumen Gentium,” Light of the World for that is what we are. But it takes the daily recognition of the mystery of God deep within us, and a daily commitment to live the rhythm of God’s life through prayer and good works.

I hope that some day, someone will say about you and me that we “we were salty characters” for God; people well acquainted with the human struggle but true lights which gave birth to a new day for many people whose lives we touched.