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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.

Third Sunday in Lent 'A'

Sunday February 27, 2005

Conduits of God’s Grace

What would life be like without water? Sixty percent of the composition of our body is water. We can live for several weeks without food but only for several days without water. We are already on the path to dehydration at the first sign of thirst. Healthy people drink six to eight glasses of water daily!

Several years ago during a long New Jersey drought, I had the opportunity to banter about the weather with some of our parishioners of St. Joseph who happened to be in the parish house for their weekly volunteer service. It was customary to engage in a few humorous exchanges—even during Len t—just to keep our spirits up as we waited for spring.

In any event, one of our volunteers suggested that I initiate some special prayers for rain on the following weekend, to which I responded, ‘tongue – in – cheek’ of course, “So God doesn’t know we need rain?” We all chuckled but agreed that perhaps it would not be a bad idea to remind God about our dire thirst!

Of course, God really does not need the reminder; we do. That is, we need to be reminded that in the drought and in the dry seasons of life, our partnership with God endures. Indeed, we are partners in good times and bad. We rejoice in when the garden yields a rich harvest as if success may be attributed to the work of our hands rather than God’s. But when the drought occurs, we turn to God for a miracle or at least for divine intervention instead of investing even more heavily in our human resources in partnership with God. In dry seasons, we need to use less water so that others may have sufficient. Teens need to be reminded that three showers a day might be just a bit excessive. Although we cannot control the laws of nature, we can control our use of the earth’s resources, which inlludes oil!

The Israelites complained about their thirst in the desert. They assumed that God had hardened his heart toward them and they blamed Moses for leading them out to the desert to die. In fact it was the ungrateful Israelites who had hardened their hearts against God so quickly forgetting their liberation from Egypt and the cruel pharaoh.

The storyteller in the Book of Exodus appreciated the natural drama provided by nature and took advantage of the occasion to teach a great lesson not only to the Jewish people but also to people of all ages and races. God did indeed hear their grumbling but did not hold it against them, and through Moses led them to the water at the rock. Despite Moses’ hesitation, God provided water that not only quenched their thirst but also healed them of their self-absorption. God knew of their thirst before their grumbling.

Likewise, Jesus knew of the thirst of the woman long before she arrived at the well. The interesting exchange between Jesus and the woman so cleverly woven by John into the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem makes it quite clear that the narration is not about water but about living in God’s grace through the Spirit that has been poured out on all humanity. Jesus is the conduit, the living Sacrament of God’s grace, of God’s life.

The story is full of signs and metaphors. Water is a rich symbol in both the Old and New Testaments. In the 12th chapter of Isaiah, the prophet states, “With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” And in chapter 44, “I will pour water on the thirsty land.” And in chapter 55, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the water and drink without cost.” Ezekiel and Zechariah also speak of water flowing in the desert.

Water is the symbol of grace—the life of God. The Samaritan woman represented a race and cast rejected by the Jews. The five husbands were the religions imposed on the Samaritans by foreign powers. There is a clear progression of faith in the woman as she and Jesus conversed about water. She came to see in Jesus what even his disciples failed to see and she became a conduit of grace to the other members of the community.

As the conversation continued with his disciples, it became very clear that Jesus’ agenda was quite different from that of his disciples. They had not yet caught on that God’s word was his food and God’s will was his drink. His rebuke of Satan in the desert was reinforced by his total pursuit of God’s will.

But these scriptural texts were selected to support the progress of catechumens toward baptism and entrance into the Church, the living Body of Christ. Durng Lent, catechumens and candidates already baptized in another Christian assembly begin their final ‘ascent’ toward baptism and/or entrance into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. How appropriate that they should spend this remaining time reflecting on how God’s grace has been working in their lives over an extended period of time—for some, many years! This speaks of the relentless energy of a life-giving God, the ‘hound of heaven’ as it were, leaving no stone unturned to raise us to a consciousness of our connection with him. Baptism will be for catechumens, a re-birth. The renewal of vows and Confirmation will be for candidates (already baptized in another Christian tradition) will be a kind of re-birth, a fresh start, the re-ignition of the Spirit that they received at baptism.

We, who were baptized into the Church one ten or a hundred years ago, also take advantage of this period of scrutiny to search our souls and allow God’s grace to prevail in our lives. We are challenged to allow God to unleash the saving graces that perhaps have been covered by our grumbling and complaining; by our self-absorption in our own picayune agendas. The word crutiny doesn’t not mean obsessive introspection. It is rather an honest examination of our lives and our motivations in the light of God’s love, not God’s anger. We are slow learners. We find it difficult that God should respond to our feeble efforts and our grumbling with compassion and even more graces, but the Scriptures verify this categorically.

We do not need to “pray for rain” or for sunshine but allow God to raise our consciousness to the partnership which we enjoy with God, a partnership which began at the very beginning of our lives, the moment when we were loved into existence.

Saint Paul states clearly in his letter to the Romans: “Since we were justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand and we boast of our hope of sharing the glory [i.e., partnership] with God.”

Indeed, “we grow too soon old and too late smart” but God will never fail us. No matter how imperceptible the growth, God’s power prevails.

The corollary to all this, of course, is that day by day, we are becoming ‘conduits’ of God’s saving grace to others, God working through us, as it were, bringing mercy and compassion to troubled hearts and warring nations.

As we enter the church each Sunday during Lent and dip our fingers into the holy water font, we find no water. In fact, the fonts are covered with a purple strip to remind us of our thirst for divine grace and mercy.

Whether we pray or grumble, God will be there for us. Jesus provides living water each time we come to this table.

We are also to be there for others who are thirsty for God’s love whoever they are, wherever they live, whatever their story.