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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 19, 2005

+ Wednesday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17 Mark 3:1-6

“I’m for law and order!”

“Then he said to them, ‘Is it against the law on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing.” [Mark 3:4]

It was an oft-repeated ‘mantra’ back in the ‘Nixon’ era as was the bumper sticker ‘proverb,’ “My country, love it or leave it.” Both of these phrases contain an element of truth but are more often used simplistically and applied defensively to those who dare to challenge the status quo. Who isn’t for law and order and what true patriot does not love his or her country despite their differences with its body politic?

Jesus did not come to do away with the law OR the prophets but his accent was definitely on the prophetic. He was more interested in the ‘spirit’ of the law rather than the letter of the law. [II Cor 3:6]

Politicians on both sides of the aisle and from a variety of religious persuasions take great pride in quoting the Scriptures to support their agenda as if to suggest that divine law is on their side. Some church people have done the same and alas, in recent times, even some victims of abuse have slipped into the harshest application of the ‘letter of the law.’

The heart of Jesus is greater than the law. In the words of St. Paul, those who live in Christ have been freed from the law,[Rom 7:6] free not to vengeance but to redemption. Jesus is the new law in whom we live and move and have our whole being. [Act 17:28]

Those who live in the Spirit are fulfilling the law of love.