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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, 2005

The New and the Old

Lutheran theologian, Karl Barth, said that a wise preacher holds the Bible in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other. The point is clear and consistent with Catholic tradition. Although God has revealed himself through the Scriptures, it is also true that God continues to reveal himself/herself through individual and collective life experiences.

Consequently, just as it is not sufficient to read the Scriptures without knowing the historical context in which they were written, people of faith need to read the ancient biblical texts through the lens of their rich human experiences – individual and communal.

Our Catholic faith is rooted in scripture and tradition.

Although there was no formal written biblical tradition in Solomon’s time, there was an oral tradition containing stories that preserved the memory of God’s intervention into the lives of his Jewish ancestors that demonstrated God’s faithfulness.

It was the memory of these interventions, which upheld Israel it is struggle for survival. These stories were eventually written down and became the historical books of the Old Testament. Although they contain some documentary history, they are considered ‘faith’ history. They are also contained in other forms of biblical writings such as the prophets, psalms, and wisdom literature. They are just snippets of how God relentlessly broke through the turmoil of discord, division and defeat to assure our Jewish ancestors that they were never out of God’s embrace.

So it was that on his succession as the King of Israel, Solomon, son of David, acknowledged God’s faithfulness and then prayed not for silver or gold, power or prestige but for wisdom:

“You were very good to my father, David,
because he walked before you in faithfulness like a shepherd,
with integrity and with great reverence for you.

“And now, O Lord my God,
you have chosen me to succeed my father,
although I’m just a mere youth
with no experience.

I ask only that you give me an understanding heart
so that I may to govern your people with wisdom
and the ability to judge right from wrong
for your people are vast and so diverse.”

Solomon recognized God’s faithfulness and he proclaimed his own unworthiness and so God gave him all he needed to lead his people.

In effect, God empowered Solomon to prudence—the ability to accept the demands of his office: to listen carefully before speaking, to see clearly and to judge wisely; to witness faithfully to God’s abiding goodness and love.

The author of the first Book of Kings exaggerated Solomon’s greatness, and despite Solomon’s personal unworthiness and eventual unfaithfulness, God continued to bring uphold the people of Israel.

Was Solomon’s prayer in the mind of Matthew as he recast the three parables that conclude his recording of Jesus’ sermon of parables? God’s wisdom is worth more than any treasure or pearl or multi-million dollar lottery!

The parables are overstatements for sure, but they were understood within the context of the laws and customs of those times. Jesus used simple analogies and allegories, but Matthew was also writing for believers of a later period – people who lived well after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was addressing divisions among the Jews and early Christian converts, divisions that would eventually lead to the separation of early Christians from the temple. As a wise sage, he applied ancient wisdom to a new situation.

We live in a world of turmoil and discord but as people faith we search not only for explanations but also for meaning. Why does God allow such disparate diversity not only among world nations but also within our own borders? Why does God allow the same divisions even within our Church despite its claims to infallibility in matters of faith and morals?

In this very congregation surely there is not a clearly defined unanimity of thought and conviction. People of faith listen to the same Scriptural texts but hear the stories differently. They pray the same words in the Eucharist narrative but speak the words with varied meanings and applications depending on their ethnic origin, social and educational background and political persuasion. I suspect that all are not democrats. In fact, there may even be some republicans and independents in this assembly!

Saint Paul had a remarkable flexibility 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—agreement on the essentials, respect for differences but in all things charity. When all is said and done, there are three things that matter, faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is (pause – wait for response from congregation)? – No, flexibility!

In our own time, there are strong movements for Church reform from both sides of the aisle as it were, from the left and from the right. Opus Dei, Legatus, Catholics United for the Faith, and other similar lay movements to the right lay claim to orthodoxy while members of Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful and other groups on the left lobby for reform in order to preserve what they consider foundational orthodoxy rooted in the Gospel and in the early practice of the Church.

I have friends and friendly foes among both and most are really nice people whose company I enjoy. I have friends to go to Medjagory and friends who are great devotees of Magdalene in pursuit of a greater recognition of women’s role in Church ministry.

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 the object of criticism from the left and right, they 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 a new truth that expands on the old bringing forth new insights into our rich Catholic and universal tradition.

Ordination to the priesthood or to the episcopacy is no guarantee of orthodoxy. Neither does membership in Opus Dei, Legatus or Voice of the Faithful. No one is exempt for the hard work of study, prayer and discernment.

The last words from the lips and the heart of Phil 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]

“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like he head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” [Matt 13:52]