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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

Tuesday April 10, 2007

+ Octave of Easter

It’s all about absorbing the mystery.

Readings: Acts 2:36-41 Psalm 33:4-5, 18-22 John 20:11-18

“On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people, ‘Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’” [Acts 2:36]

Peter was a Jew preaching to Jews. Jesus was a Jew who had come among his countrymen to arouse them to reform. He was not anti-Jew and even after the resurrection, it was not the purpose of Jewish believers, Peter and Paul among them, to persecute the Jews or to condemn them for the death of Jesus—no more so than we should be considered anti-Americans because we oppose the war in Iraq.

This period after Easter is called the ‘Mystogia’ and is in reality the continuation of the period of integration of the newly baptized and recently confirmed Catholics who have completed their initiation into the Church.

Absorbing the ‘mystery’ takes time not only for newly received members of the Church but also for all of us including those who were baptized at birth. The story is never over. The impact of Jesus life changes from year to year and should intensify as we reflect on our life in the light of Jesus’ teaching. It’s very possible that as we read the Scriptures in the light of world events and of our daily life experiences, we gain new insights into the teachings of Jesus. Of course, we also need to learn more about the Scriptures, their biblical authors, the context in which they were written and the latest insights of biblical scholars. To a great extent, biblical inspiration continues in the mind and heart of the reader.

I think it’s something like watching the sea—always the same, every changing. So too the mountains and prairies as the sun moves along its path from dawn to dusk and even in the light of the moon, we see things we have never seen before.

The Holy Spirit is alive. Jesus is truly risen.