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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

Wednesday January 5, 2005

+ John Neumann, Redemptorist

Readings: I John 4:11-18 Mark 6:45-52

We are empowered to goodness and therefore to ‘Godness.’

“No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another, God will live in us and his love will be complete in us…. We have come to know and to believe n the love God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God in them.” [I John 4:12, 16]

No one who reaches out to rescue a stranger in distress can be an enemy of God. No one who feeds the starving can at the same time deny the power of God’s Spirit in the world.

As the tragedy of the tsunami continues to unfold in the day to day discovery of the dead, the incredible stories of survival and the extraordinary response of nameless heroes and heroines from every nation and of every occupation is a living testimony of that John was correct. “No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another, God will live in us.”

This reality has offset to some degree, our doubts and questions about God’s presence in the midst of natures most devastating incursion in human history. Theologians may be challenged for years to come in their attempt to explain the inexplicable but there can be no doubt that whatever the laws of nature, the higher law of love remains the strongest evidence that the power of goodness/Godness will prevail.

There is no other proof but the human response that continues to unfold before our eyes.

If our human response to nature’s attack can be so effective, do we not have the same energy for the manmade tsunamis of war throughout our world?