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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

We are to be consecrated in truth.

Readings: Acts 20:28-38 Psalm 88:29-30, 33-36 John 17:11b-19

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth. [John 17:18-19]

Read the Gospel very slowly and if possible, out loud and if necessary, three times! Although John’s literary style is quite complex, the farewell prayer of Jesus is as powerful as is Paul’s farewell message in Acts.

It is not likely that these passages are the actual words of Paul and Jesus. They are compositions that Luke and John or whoever wrote in their name and are based on the oral tradition of the sayings of Jesus and the preaching of Paul. They were written in the style of farewell addresses of prominent leaders of their times in order to win the attention of early believers to whom the message of truth was entrusted.

The ‘truth’ that is being proclaimed is not from a catechism nor is it a defined doctrine or dogma. It is the core truth about the God who spoke through the prophets and then through Jesus about the universality of God’s love.

During this time of immediate preparation for Pentecost, we are invited to think about our own responsibility to pass on the ‘truth’ of God’s goodness entrusted to us in Christ and how we are to live that truth in our daily lives, each in our own unique way. No one of us can do this alone and so we much join hands literally and figuratively within the community of believers everywhere.

To live the ‘truth’ is to live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ the fruits of which are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, moderation, self-control, reverence, etc. I’m sure you memorized these ‘fruits of the Holy Spirit.’

These are the true ‘marks’ of our authenticity as believers.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Saturday July 23, 2011

With Wisdom, Dignity and Compassion

So it was on his succession as King in the footsteps of his father, David, that Solomon prayed not for silver or gold; power or prestige but for wisdom. And God gave the qualities he needed to lead his people with wisdom.

In effect, God empowered Solomon to prudence—the ability to accept the demands of his office: to discern clearly how to rule wisely and judge rightly, faithful to God’s abiding goodness—treating his people with dignity and compassion.

But Solomon was held in great esteem in the biblical tradition not because of his personal charm but because of God’s grace and goodness.

Was Solomon in the mind of Matthew as he retold the three parables of Jesus? In essence, God’s wisdom is worth more than anything human reason alone can produce.

Jesus used simple analogies and allegories that ordinary people would understand. But Matthew was retelling the stories for believers of a later period – people who lived well after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thus he is directing their attention and ours to factions among the Jews and early Christian converts, divisions that would eventually lead to the expulsion of early Christians from the temple. He was using the perennial wisdom of God to deal with new realities.

In his letter to the Christians at Rome, Paul invites the new Christians among the gentiles to look ahead with hope as they attempted to integrate their lives into the reality of Rome under Caesar.

We still live in a world of turmoil and discord but as people faith we strive to keep our bearings. Why does God allow such disparate diversity not only among world nations but also within our own borders? Why does God allow divisions even within the Church? We search and pray for the wisdom to respond wisely and with compassion.

In this very congregation surely there is not a clearly defined unanimity of thought and conviction. People of faith hear to the same Scriptural texts but listen with different ears giving them a different twist depending on our ethnic origin, social and educational background and political persuasion and of course, our religious formation. I expect that all are not democrats. (A-hem) In fact, there may even be a few republicans and independents in this assembly!

Notwithstanding his reputation among some Christians, Saint Paul was remarkably flexible in dealing with the divisions in the communities he established and he did his utmost to identify with all of them without forsaking the essential unity that bonded them in Christ.

In our own time, there are strong movements for Church reform from inside and outside the Church, from the left and from the right. But such movements are not new to the Church.

I have friends and friendly foes on both sides of the aisle, as it were, and all of them are really nice people whose company I enjoy.

Before his untimely death, Cardinal Bernardin with the able assistance of the National Pastoral Life Center in New York headed by the much beloved Father Philip Murnion established a forum for dialogue called the “Common Ground Initiative.” Although criticized from the left and right, the forum insisted on the need for genuine dialogue among people of faith and good will in an atmosphere of trust and transparency. Only in such an environment can the Spirit breathe freely and enable participants to discover new wisdom that expands on old wisdom that yields new insights into our rich and diverse Catholic tradition.

Baptism and Confirmation do not guarantee wisdom. Neither does ordination. Wisdom comes from study, prayer, discernment and lots of dialogue.

The essence of Jesus’ life is best summed up in one word: compassion. Some consider him a reformer and a revolutionary but those who know him best do not see him as a combatant but the one who truly combines justice and mercy. “In you, O Lord, justice and mercy meet.” Psalm 87.

At a time when one of the qualifications for both political and church leadership appears to be the ability to “fight” the opposition and to demonize one’s enemies, it is refreshing to bring to mind the wisdom of leaders who have the ability to be attentive to the wisdom of the heart as well as the insights of the mind.
The last words from the lips and the heart of Father Murnion as he breathed his last at Calvary Hospital in New York were these: “Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.”

In the words of Thomas Merton: “Life is made up of encounters. A true encounter stimulates questions and answers. When you meet an interesting stranger you find yourself alert and curious. Who is this person? You seek to discover something of the mystery of his identity and of his history. At the same time if he inspires confidence, if he seems to be a person of unusual depth and experience, you begin to open up to him and share with him the secret of your own life. In this way, a true personal encounter brings us not only knowledge of another, fellowship with another, but also a deeper comprehension of our own inner self.” [Monastic Journey by Thomas Merton]

His prayer: Grant us prudence in proportion to our power,
Wisdom in proportion to our science,
Humaneness in proportion to our wealth and might.
And bless our earnest will to help all races and peoples
to travel, in friendship with us,
Along the road to justice, liberty and lasting peace:
But grant us above all to see that our ways
are not necessarily your ways,
That we cannot fully penetrate the mystery of your designs
And that the very storm of power now raging on this earth
Reveals your hidden will and your inscrutable decision.
Grant us to see your face in the lightning of this cosmic storm,
O God of holiness, merciful to men: [sic]
Grant us to seek peace where it is truly found! In your will, O God, is our peace! Amen.

________________________

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