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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

Monday July 9, 2007

+ 14th Week in Ordinary Time

We are driven by our dreams and visions.

Readings: Genesis 28:10-22 Psalm 91:1-4, 14-15 Matthew 9:18-26

“Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot. Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its tope reaching to the heavens; and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.” [Genesis 28:11-12]

Jacob was continuing the ‘faith’ journey of his ‘father in the faith,’ Abraham. The story of his dream at ‘Luz’ that he re-named, ‘Bethel,’—house of God—is similar to other dreams and visions experienced by many Old Testament figures. They were written down to assure their descendants that God was actively involved in their history and that their migration was not capricious or arbitrary. They were driven by an active conviction that it was God who was leading them. It was God who would assure their destiny.

It became a paradigm for Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. It’s a good paradigm for the faith journey of all believers though we must be cautious not to let our dreams and visions get out of hand. That is, we need to know the difference between being driven by our dreams and being deceived by our selfish interests.

We need to have an inquisitive mind and a discerning heart at prayer. God may invite us to take a risk but God doesn’t call us to be silly or do things that damage the soul of another person or that disturb the delicate balance of justice—social justice, eco-justice, or any other kind of justice.

Last evening, Bill Moyers interviewed E.O. Wilson whose recent book on Creation that issues some well-taken cautions for people bent on disregarding the ‘laws of nature’ leading to the real possibility of eventual extinction. Oddly enough, Wilson is an admirer of some evangelical fundamentalists whose catastrophic visions warn of the doom of the end times but not for the same reason. Wilson is a professed humanist who believes that if we don’t reconsider the destiny of our precious ‘mother earth’ it will not long endure for posterity.

Sometimes our visions and dreams tell us that we are not in control of our destiny. God is in control and has not relinquished authority over the vast universe.