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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.

I choose to be grateful...

Monday December 26, 2011

no matter what the feast.

It’s good to be back home. I’m sorry I have been out of reach for a ‘few days’ but know that I am working at life, one day at a time. I hope to reactivate my website in the days to come and I will catch up on email messages, I hope, before the New Year becomes old!

And what of gratitude?

It was a random survey
brief—no warning—in no sense scientific, informal.
Your preference, please,
Thanksgiving or Christmas?

A landslide victory for Thanksgiving!
Turkey and the trimmings?
No!
Freshly baked pies: apple and pumpkin?
Not at all!
Then why Thanksgiving over Christmas?

No countdown before the feast.
No trips to the mall.
No presents, only your presence!
A time to be together, no strings attached.
Come as you are.

But what of the birth of Jesus?
Did he not make a difference?
Does he not make a difference still?

Indeed, he did; indeed he does__
Jesus is the reason for the season and for the feast.
But except for a brief pageant in the parish church,
and a passing nod at the crèche
we are caught up in the heat of the night
rather than the Light that shattered the darkness of the night.

It occurred to me that giving thanks is all about tables,
the Jesus-table,
your table and mine
and the table of humanity.
It’s about keeping them all connected—Remember?

This brief reflection, the gift of a friend,
expresses it simply but so much more powerfully
than my feeble attempt at the same:

In the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper,
Jesus gave us something that he did not say
We needed to ‘think about’ or ‘agree upon,’
‘understand,’ ‘look at,’ or even ‘worship.’
Instead, he just said, ‘East this’
And ‘give thanks’ (eucharisteo, Luke 22:17)
To theone who giveyou bread,
And who is the origin of your own life and goodness.
It is something we do at the cellular level
More than the cerebral level.

Every day we must make a deep choice
for gratitude, abundance (‘there is enough’)
and appreciation,
which always de-centers the self
and its cravings.
It is the core meaning of worship.
Your life is pure gift,
And it must be ased on an attitude of gratitude.

[Adapted from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, pp 215-216 Everything Belongs, Richard Rohr, OFM, 2008]

No ‘bah humbug’ here…
Just getting reacquainted
With the real meaning of Christmas.

Love,
Father Lasch