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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 24, 2004

+Christmas Eve

Readings: II Samuel 7:1-5,8-12 Luke 1:67-79

We are the house of God!

“The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House…. I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.” [II Samuel 9a, 11-12]

For many people, believers and non-believers, church buildings have an appeal beyond religious conviction. Millions of tourists pass through the great cathedrals and basilicas of Europe. The visitor cannot help but be awed by the art and architecture to say nothing of the creativity of the builders who painstakingly placed one stone upon the other. Many of these cathedrals took years and even decades to construct.

But as beautiful as are these ‘precious’ testimonies to faith, they can’t come close to the beauty of a Christian imbued with the qualities of Jesus. Right enough, no one of us would dare assume that we come close to imaging these beatitudinal qualities. But all us together can join hands and image those qualties together

Saint Paul said, “You are the body of Christ. Every one of you is a member of it.” [I Cor. 27} “It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body.” I Cor. 13]

It is not the testimonies of stone but about living human testimonies of faith that make credible the feast.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” [Isaiah 52:7]