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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.

Daily Scripture

Friday December 10, 2004

+ 2nd Week in Advent

Readings – Isaiah 48:17-19; Matt 11:16-19

“God only knows! Time will tell.”

“For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Many came, eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’” [Matt 11:18-19]

The family table was an important gathering place in our home. My sister and her family have continued family celebrations at their table. Despite the fact today everyone talks at once, there are sufficient pauses in the cacophony of words for fruitful exchanges in which true wisdom sometimes emerges.

As a kid I wanted to know the ‘whys’ and ‘how comes’ of everything. I still resent the fact that when I went to school, we had to memorize mathematical formulas. I wanted to know ‘how’ the formula came about.

When I would ask my mother a challenging question about life to which she had no answer, she would say, “God only knows! Time will tell.” I eventually learned that having no answer is itself an answer. Her response was not a put off. It was the sincere acknowledgment that we don’t have all the answers to life’s problems and difficulties. This is not temporizing with truth. What seems right today may turn out to be wrong tomorrow.

We need ‘fallow time’ to think and pray about our future as individuals, as a church and as a nation. Advent is ‘fallow time’ during which we are invited to seek God’s wisdom in the face of folly; the folly of sin in our personal lives, the folly of hypocrisy in our Church and the folly of war in our nation.