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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 August 7, 2007

+ 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Sorry, but God is no ‘dean of discipline’ or a God of capital punishment.

Readings: Numbers 12:1-13 Psalm 51:3-7, 12-13 Matthew 14:22-36

”_So angry was the Lord against them [Aaron and Miriam] that when he departed and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper _!” [Numbers 12:9-10

“After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel of his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.” [Matthew 14:34-36]

The Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Pentateuch, continues the story of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt through the desert wilderness to Moab, just short of the Promised Land. As with most of the ‘historical’ books of the Bible, though it contains some history, it is ‘faith’ history rather than ‘documentary’ history. In essence, it was written around 6 BCE by the priests of Zadok describe the dominant role that God has played in the history of the Jewish people.

In reading the Scriptures, we need to be very careful about the interpretation of stories such as that describing the punishment of Miriam. It is fraught with serious implications for an ‘innocent’ reader or careless speculator.

The Old Testament and even certain portion so the New Testament was written by human beings whose image of God was flawed. We have progressed in our understanding of God far beyond a primitive notion that would view God as inflicting such a punishment on Miriam because she challenged the authority of Moses. In fact it was both Aaron and Miriam who challenged the authority of Moses. Why didn’t God inflict him with the same punishment?

There is definitely a bias in the story that favored Moses—indeed, he was a heroic leader and clearly spoke with the authority of God but he was not God and proved that in time by his own questioning of God at Meribah where he “tried God’s patience” striking the rock for water twice because he doubted. We are told later that this is the reason why Moses did not cross over into the Promised Land.

What’s the point? That our understanding of God has evolved through the centuries. The Gospels surely provide a very different image of God in the person of Christ but even here church leaders must be careful that they do not read into the texts or put words into Jesus’ mouth, assuming greater authority in their office than in fact they have.

God voice is progressive and is always calling us to life, to love, to peace, to gratitude and to be instruments of the same for others. God’s bias is an indiscriminate love for all humanity. Any authority that limits the universality of God’s love must be held suspect.