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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

Saturday January 22, 2005

+ 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Hebrews 9:2-3, 11-14 Mark 3:20-21

He’s a little eccentric but nice.

“Jesus went home and such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.” [Mark 3:20-21]

Polite people try to find something nice to say about people who are different. Of course wakes and funerals are great occasions for such. However, we find it difficult to ‘speak’ bouquets to the living for fear that they may assume that we condone all their oddities or fail to recognize their imperfections. Being so perfect ourselves, we are often the first to cast the stone, unwittingly, of course.

Anyone who takes the words and works of Jesus seriously may become an oddity to most and eccentric to many. It is in the nature of discipleship and the disciple is not above the master.

People who do not conform to the rules of the prevailing culture or economy because they are committed a higher norm tend to make the rest of us feel a little guilty and so we look for something to discredit in them or at least lessen the impact of their ‘oddities.’ It takes us off the hook and allows us to go with the flow and the prevailing politic that has a low toleration for those who rock the boat.