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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.

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Saturday August 27, 2011

“Life was meant to be great, not easy!”

The mechanism an MRI or CAT Scan surveys all or a portion of the human body and can identify signs of life-threatening illnesses before they mature and take hold of an individual. It’s really an extraordinary diagnostic.

Of course, it takes trained technicians to administer the scan and knowledgeable physicians to interpret the results. However, only after a careful review of the medical history and life-style patterns of the patient can an accurate diagnosis be made and the appropriate treatment applied.

From that point on, much depends on the disposition of the patient and his or her will to be well.

The spiritual lives of institutions and societies have a similar pattern to health diagnosis and a path to wellness. As with the physical health of the human body, the soul of an individual, the soul of the Church and the soul of a nation sometimes require an M.R.I. or a scan to detect symptoms of spiritual illness and social decay.

Among all the prophets, Jeremiah might be characterized best as one of the most effective ‘scanners’ of ancient Israel.

It was not a vocation he welcomed. He knew he would be rejected and rebuked by his contemporaries. His was a life-threatening vocation. At the lowest point of his career he refused to give up or give in to despair. In fact he experienced the power of God’s presence and spirit: “Within me there is something like a burning fire, shut up in my bones. I can hold it in no longer; I must speak up and speak out for the Lord.”

He had the gift of clairvoyance that enabled him to look into the soul of Israel and into the heart of its leadership. He challenged insiders and outsiders, the high and the mighty as well as the lowly. He was fired up with justice and had no choice but to speak the truth whatever the consequences though it cost him his life. Ultimately it did.

Jeremiah was a prototype of Jesus and his words this weekend prepare us for Jesus’ challenge to Peter and the disciples as recorded by Matthew.

Last week Peter in his own name and in the name of his colleagues confessed Jesus as the Messiah, [Matt 16:15-16] but he and they just didn’t get it. They didn’t have a clue to the meaning of his title and the cost of his mission.

To expand their understanding, Jesus issued a warning about what was to happen to the Messiah in Jerusalem. Peter became adamantly protective of Jesus, refusing to submit to such a prophecy. Instead of the “rock” (Peter’s name means ‘rock’), Peter became a stone and a stumbling block. Matthew cleverly connects this exchange with Peter to Jesus’ rebuke of Satan after the series of temptations in the desert in the beginning of his gospel But his rebuke to Satan, “Be gone; get out of here!” was a complete dismissal.

His rebuke to Peter on the other hand had a redemptive quality: ” Get behind me and follow me where I am going.” In other words, I am the leader, not you, Peter. Whereas Satan could never follow Jesus, Peter still had the opportunity to get on board and get in line. A transformation took place in that exchange and the disciples gained new insight into Jesus’ call. Moreover, they learned that discipleship with Christ was not about position, power and prestige but about truth, integrity and a self-giving love that demanded a careful examination of their lives and of their motivation for their ‘hanging out’ with Jesus.

There can be no neutrality in the life of the Christian. Whenever we gather in this assembly we take a risk knowing that the Word of God might prick our individual and collective consciences.

The word of God scans our souls as individuals, as a church and as a nation and there are prophets all around us who make us think. My godmother was a prophet in my life. She took her ‘vocation’ very seriously. She would call periodically to check up on me to make sure I was faithful to my vocation staying on the straight and narrow.

But we must be very attentive and take care not to be deceived by false prophets – those who justify evil in the guise of good, wolves in sheep’s clothing. In a world of easy access to whatever pleases us, we need to tune in to those who make us think rather than those who make us feel good.

We gather at worship to listen but also to respond, to act ethically and morally in the fulfillment of our daily responsibilities not only as individuals but also as a community of faith, as a global church and as a national citizenry in accord with our Christian conscience.

To be well as individuals, as a church and as a nation, we must enthrone God rather than ourselves, the president or even the Pope. To become whole as individuals and as a community, we must be faithful to Jesus unto death.

And here is a prophetic prayer from the pen of a twentieth century prophet that may stir the all two quiet waters of our spiritual indolence:

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 you 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 all:
Grant us to seek peace where it is truly found! In your will, O God, is our peace! Amen”

[Passion for Peace by Thomas Merton, Edited by William H. Shannon, Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1995. Appendix: Merton’s Prayer for Peace, pages 328-329]