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Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

“Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Readings: Acts 20:17-27 Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21 John 17:1-11

I am in the world no longer, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. [John 17:11]

Shakespeare ‘penned’ the phrase quoted above. I didn’t understand it as a student of Shakespeare in high school but I began to understand it when I waved goodbye to my family as I sailed off to Italy on September 21, 1963 for a three-year stretch in Rome. In fact, it has multiple meanings and applications that I appreciate now more than ever before.

There is another phrase that perhaps gives credence to my thoughts so poorly expressed and it’s this: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Ah, that’s it. At times we need to separate from ‘the source’ in order to appreciate how important it is to stay connected.

The farewell speech of St. Paul in Acts and the farewell ‘prayer’ of Jesus in John’s gospel were more likely composed by the authors of these texts along the lines of the farewell speeches of great leaders of their times in order to attract the attention of Jesus’ followers.

The departure of Jesus and later that of Paul created ‘fallow’ time in the hearts of the neophyte believers that was absolutely necessary if they were to grasp the significance of Jesus’ message and the teachings of St. Paul.

We are once again in ‘fallow’ time as we prepare for Pentecost. It’s a time of discernment during which we are invited to ponder the words and deeds of Jesus so that in his absence, we may come to know his presence in the Spirit that remains within us and around us.

As we ponder, it is important to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and reverence of the Lord. And the fruits of the Holy Spirit are qualities that are characteristic of a community living in Christ: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty self-control and chastity.

There is much to ponder as we wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time 'B'

Sunday August 27, 2006

Hour of Decision

First a little disclaimer about the second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians. Husbands, pay attention! If you read the entire letter, you will understand that although Paul was acknowledging the place of women in the culture of those times, he is conveying a not-so-subtle admonition that Christ be the model for both husband and wife. Were Paul to write this letter today, he would express himself very differently indeed or risk being totally ignored! End of disclaimer!
_______________

The readings this weekend touched off in me the memory of the weekly rallies conducted by the revered evangelist Billy Graham during which thousands of searchers and seekers were challenged to make their decision for Christ. In fact, Billy Graham’s televised rallies were aptly titled, “Hour of Decision.”

Although his message was more than emotional rhetoric and surely contained doctrinal information of one kind or another, the tone of his exhortation was strong and emotions run high. Moreover, the volume of his delivery combined with the volume of the assembly created a synergism that occasioned even the most hardened unbeliever to consent and conversion. I was deeply moved by the procession of thousands as they moved from their seats to the center of the arena, hands held high with tears flowing freely from their hearts as well as from their eyes to the strains of that great hymn, “_Just As I Am_.”

There seemed to little doubt about their need to be ‘saved’ and their desire to be ‘born again.’

I am not aware of any statistics that testify to the quality of those ‘decisions for Christ’ and it would serve no purpose to speculate. However, one could make a case if not on empirical evidence at least on psychological theory that decisions based on pure emotion do not long endure without a concomitant commitment to engage in complementary activities such as prayer, study, worship and service all of which are needed to sustain that moment of graced conversion. Nevertheless, this ‘hour of decision’ may well have been the most significant for those who were graced and ready. I would like to think that their lives were never the same despite the setbacks and personal failures that pressed them to compromise.

I don’t think it outrageous to suggest that Joshua employed the tools of a successful evangelist as he addressed the Israelites and the unbelieving slaves among them who had escaped the horrors of Pharaoh and who were now mixed with Amorites at Shechem.

It was truly their hour of decision. Would they follow the gods their ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country they were now dwelling or would they follow the true God who led them, indeed, who carried them through the sea and the desert, feeding them and quenching their thirst lest they grow faint or starve along the way. Of course in the style of a melodramatic epic the author of the Book of Joshua is telling it not ‘like it was’ but as it should have been. But life is frail and there are no guarantees of total success or happiness in this life.

Nevertheless, the people responded to Joshua: “For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our ancestors up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great wonders before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

They made their “leap of faith.” Their decision was firm and final — well, firm but not really final.

Joshua’s address was selected as an introduction to the Gospel lesson of John that concludes his great dissertation on the Eucharist introduced several weeks ago.

John has been building up to a climax. In fact, last week we were treated to the “main course.” “Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you…”

This week we are challenged to decide whether or not we will accept the full implications of that teaching. “Many of those who were listening said, ‘This is hard; who can accept it?’”

What was the hard saying? Eating the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking his blood or accepting the whole Christ and all for which he stood — sacrificial love, justice, integrity, hard nosed compassion, forgiveness and unrelenting attention to the poor?

I have come to the conclusion that we have been getting a good dose of John’s Eucharistic theology and that is why one Sunday would never be enough to cover the lesson or exhaust the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the Church—in the life of the Christian. No, this is not about cannibalism or anything close to it. This is about the challenge to become so identified with the living Christ that with Saint Paul we can say, “I live now no longer I but Christ lives in me,”— the Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ of faith. They are indeed the same but the historical Jesus was only the beginning. It is the risen Christ that comes to us at this banquet through the power of the inspired word and the sacramental elements of bread and wine.

John has made some outrageous statements over the past four weeks all of them very challenging Jesus’ disciples and now to us. “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” Then turning to ‘the Twelve’ Jesus asks them if they will abandon him. Peter responds, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.” It was the same Peter who testified his love for Jesus in his response to Jesus threefold question, “Peter, do you love me more than these…” Peter responding impatiently, “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you!” and then on the night of Jesus’ arrest denied him three times.

It was a moment of decision for Peter but he still didn’t completely understand the identity of Jesus nor did he fully comprehend the implications of his teachings. He had yet to have his feet washed by Jesus but even that did not prepare him for Jesus’ arrest nor prevent his threefold denial.

So here we are once more at the Lord’s table, still not fully comprehending the reality, still grappling with the mystery, still struggling with the implications of the invitation to live in Christ, still confused about the relationship of the sinful Church as an institution and the Church as the bride and the Body of Christ.

But we all have our own stories that parallel the stories of the ancient Israelites as they lived under the oppression of Pharaoh and as they lived in fear of drowning in the Red Sea and has they hungered in the dessert. And we all have our memories of how God has saved us in the past. We are all survivors of one kind or another or we wouldn’t be here today!

This is our ‘hour of decision’ — again — and yet another opportunity to say to the Lord, “Master, to whom shall we go? We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.”