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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.

Christmas 2009

Friday December 25, 2009

But it’s just a door-opener!

I remember my first conscious Christmas – I suppose I was four or five. I woke in the middle of the night to a thump on the roof and shortly thereafter, to the sound of hustle and bustle in the living room. I roused my sister and said, “I think Santa Claus is here!” She cautioned me wisely to go back to bed and wait for mom and dad to give the signal that Santa and his helpers had completed their delivery and finished the milk and cookies that we had left for them on the kitchen table. Sleep was out of the question but I managed to doze long enough to miss mom and dad sneaking past my room having hung up their red suits trimmed with white fur after a long night’s work of trimming the tree and arranging the gifts beneath.

How often I have recalled those simple days when life seemed less complicated; when distances were greater but time moved more slowly. Childhood memories are cherished I hope for most of you but for some they may be mixed at best and there are not a few for whom the memory of Christmases past occasion a touch of sadness buried among the scattered wrappings. The Irish often refer to the holidays as ‘sad times’ because that is when they missed loved ones who had crossed the sea to find work in America, some never to return again.

Whatever the memories, preachers do well to tap into the Spirit that has hovered over all the ages into the Wisdom that has guided prophets and poets of every age bringing sight to the blind, hope to human hearts and healing to those wise enough to recognize the wounds they have suffered and humble enough to acknowledge the hurts they have imposed.

In essence, Christmas is an invitation from God to everyone in need of a fresh start and a new attitude but it’s just a door opener. There is something in the feast for everyone of good will no matter what the past, no matter our tradition or the circumstances that brought us here today or the place in which we find ourselves on life’s journey.

The scriptures during Advent, they are among the most powerful and enriching of the entire year of grace. But the Scriptures on Christmas are filled with kindly words that make dreams come true and promises come alive. The poetic prophecies of Isaiah, the songs of the psalmist, the lyrical verses of the canticles and the inspiring gospel stories stretch the imagination, touch the heart and animate the souls of believers of every age.

In the old days when priests were a-plenty, every priest was permitted to celebrate three Masses in succession on Christmas Day. It was not a needless repetition but the opportunity to be immersed in the heart of the full message of Christmas. There are different Scriptural texts for midnight, dawn and midday. From the decree of Augustus and the birth of Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem at midnight to the arrival of the shepherds at dawn to the prologue of John’s mystic gospel of signs at midday, every word is a door opener to a new day and a new way.

From Isaiah at Midnight: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light… for unto us a child is born… They name him Wonder-Counselor, God Hero, Prince of Peace…”

And from Isaiah at dawn: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who bring glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news.”

And from the Psalmist throughout the day: “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.”

Several years ago at a children’s liturgy at St Joseph in Mendham prior to school Christmas recess, I asked the children this question: “What did Jesus look like anyway?”

Most of the responses came from children ranging in age from eight to eleven. One young boy responded, “He had a beard.” A little girl said, “He had long hair — not too long and not too short, just like mine.” Another said, “He had blue eyes.” Still another, “He was Jewish.” Then I asked, “What color is Jesus in Africa?” They said, “Black!” And in India? “Brown.” Then referring to himself, this insightful response from a fourth grader: “He looked like me!” He’s well on his way to a graduate degree in Christology. Notice that not one of them described him as a babe in a manger. They described him as one like them.

The exchange of gifts, the celebrations with family and friends, the brief moment of worship and prayer and even the anguished hope of those still held captive by poverty, prejudice or personal anxiety, all signify that there is within the human heart and family, the potential for greater understanding and a more intense sharing of love.

For some adults, this Christmas may really be their first conscious celebration—a discovery, the beginning of an encounter with their deepest selves that life is more than what the eye can see. Something like a first love but not love at first sight.

True believers are people who know that Christmas is a mystery not to be explained but to be lived and there are people who live the ordinary in extraordinary ways every day.

In the midst of a “culture of death” these folks call attention to what is right in the world without denying what is wrong.

They challenge what is wrong but do not crush the wrongdoer.

They speak for justice and work for righteousness not with violence or vengeance but with love and hard-nosed compassion.

They do not build walls of hatred but open doors of understanding. They breathe life into lifeless hearts; they bring hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless and they can be found everywhere but especially wherever the need is the greatest.

What would it be like if you and I became door-openers for true dialogue among the wary and weary. What would it be like if we engaged one another in the pursuit of human understanding and the healing of those who have been estranged by indifference – those who continue to suffer the stigma the prejudice of race, color or creed or sexism of whatever kind.

Christmas is a feast for children because children are often more able than we to see the light in the darkness. Only in time do they learn to fear the dark and note the difference in the color of a man or woman’s skin. Santa Claus is not a pagan myth or a childish figure but a lens through which the spirit of divine giving and receiving is made more concrete and therefore more human.

And so on this feast on which we celebrate the mystery of God with human skin so that we might become more human with divine ‘skin,’ we are invited to reestablish our identity in Christ focusing not only on the past but also on the present and future.

May you be blessed with all the graces of this feast and my you be a blessing to all you meet this day and every day.

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