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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 January 11, 2005

+ Tuesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Hebrews 2:5-12 Mark 1:21-28

Getting to know you, not just getting to know all about you.

“In the city of Capernaum, on a Sabbath, Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority…. And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.” [Mark 1:21, 28b]

It was a great show and later a great film, “The King and I.” Late one afternoon in 1966, I ran into Yuhl Brenner in a pharmacy in the heart of Rome. I almost flipped. He looked as if he had just stepped off the stage or the film set. It’s strange how those unexpected encounters can have such a lasting impression. I haven’t seen him live since that chance meeting. He was shorter than I expected which serves only to prove that most actors and actresses on stage or screen are bigger than life.

Not so with Jesus. What you see is what you get and more. But as with any star, getting to know Jesus cannot be accomplished in a chance meeting or even through a cursory reading of the Bible. It will take an investment of time and the risk of opening up to the Spirit of God in daily prayer “with the Scriptures in one hand and the daily newspaper in the other.”

During this first week of Ordinary Time, we are invited to probe and ponder the Scriptures, especially the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ early public ministry. In the words of John Kavanaugh, SJ, read them as if every word were true without getting stuck in the literal. This may seem contradictory. Consider it an oxymoron.

Several years ago, kids and teens were wearing WWJD (What would Jesus do?) bracelets that, alas, became one more piece of jewelry. To know what Jesus would do in our time and place requires more than a catechetical understanding of the life of Jesus in his time and place. We need to “ponder” the life of Jesus using our imagination and over time, you will “know” what Jesus would in our time and place – guaranteed!