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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

Thursday November 8, 2007

+ 31st Week in Ordinary Time

We’re all connected.

Readings: Romans 14:7-12 Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14 Luke 15:1-10

“Sisters and brothers, none of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord and if we die, we die for the Lord.” [Romans 14:7]

We are all linked to the past—to our ancestors genetically and there are indicators that even psychologically and emotionally, we are linked. We inherit good and not-so-good qualities that we need to sort out as we progress through life. In the words of Scripture commentator, William Barclay, we are receivers of a tradition, an amalgam of all that our ancestors have made us. We cannot dissociate ourselves from the stock from which we have sprung and from the rock from which we are hewn. [Commentary on Romans, William Barclay]

We certainly cannot isolate ourselves from the present. We live in a global village and there is little that we do that does not have an impact on at least one other person and in most cases, many other people. We can influence others for good or for bad. Rarely do our interventions have a neutral effect.

And we cannot distance ourselves from the future. As we receive life, so we hand it on to those who follow us. We are a link in a chain. If we live in Christ, that link will not be a weak link.

“No human being can follow a policy of isolation.” We are bound to one another and to Christ by ties that neither time nor eternity can break. We can neither live nor die to ourselves alone. [Ibid]