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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

Friday May 2, 2008

+ Sixth Week in Easter

There is a time for speaking but there must be a reason.

Readings: Acts 18:9-18 Psalm 47 Ephesians 4:2-7 John 16:2-23

One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you.”[Acts 18:9]

Sooner or later, we are / will be held accountable for what we say and do. I’m not referring to ‘divine judgment’ after death but to our accountability on earth.

Paul believed he was accountable to the Lord, rather than to civil rulers. His crime was the preaching of the good news. But Paul also held himself accountable to the people who could surely speak in his behalf were they to have had that opportunity. No ‘empathy deficit’ nor ‘apathy surplus’ there!

We are fast approaching Pentecost. Although Easter, Ascension and Pentecost are technically one event, we can’t absorb them all at once and so we need to separate them into segments of the one mystery.

It is time for us to get into the full rhythm of the Gospel ‘using words when necessary.’

“There is a time for being silent. And there is a time for speaking out. It is a difficult balance. If we are not aware of how painful it is we have not even begun the journey of the Spirit. Amen?” [George B. Wilson, SJ]