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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 May 24, 2008

+ 7th Week in Ordinary Time

It makes perfect sense.

Readings: James 5:13-20 Psalm 141:1-3, 8 Mark 10:13-16

Are there among you those who are suffering? They should pray. Are there those in good spirits? They should sing a song of praise. Are there among you those who are sick? Let them summon the presbyters (elders) of the Church and they should pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. The pray of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, they will be forgiven [James 5:13-15]

It’s an interesting passage the unpacking of which contains an extraordinary revelation. It is a letter address to the community of believers with particular reference to the sick. What to do? First enter the realm of prayer and then summon the ‘presbyters’ the proper translation of which is not ’ ordained priests’ but ‘elders’, i.e., those chosen to preside over the community of faith. While it is possible that the term presbyters evolved into what we know as the institutionalized priesthood, it is not likely that presbyters were ordained in the same way we understand ordination.

Therefore, why should not respected members of a parish community be allowed to anoint the sick? In recent years, there are more lay ministers than priests who visit the homebound and those confined to nursing homes and hospitals. Over the course of time, they establish a relationship with those who are ill even to the extend that those who are terminally ill will request that the lay minister serve as Eucharistic ministers at their funeral.

Church theologians restrict the sacrament of the anointing only because this text implies that this sacrament is a source of the forgiveness of sins. But we know that the sins of people who are rightly disposed before God are forgiven without the direct intervention of a priest. I have witnessed many situations in which a lay minister was able to assure a dying person that his or her sins were forgiven. Why not?

There is a very beautiful connection between the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and the Healing Touch Ministry that is so powerful a source of comfort to those who are experiencing the stress of illness and especially to those who are dying. It would be difficult for me not to see in this ministry, the hand of God, the compassion of God and the assurance of God’s forgiveness.