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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

Monday July 21, 2008

+ 16th Week in Ordinary Time

Just do the right thing.

Readings: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23 Matt 12:38-42

You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8]

From my earliest years as a child and on into young adulthood, my mother would issue this advisory before I left the house to play or to embark on an excursion of one kind or other: Remember, you know what is right and what is wrong. Of course, occasionally she would add the ‘monitum:’ “And remember, God sees all things.”

I confess that I did not always heed her advice nor was I terribly guilt-ridden when I strayed from the straight and narrow. Fortunately, I never got into big trouble. I suppose it due less to the fear of God than to the consequences I would suffer at home. Mother’s have an uncanny instinct for knowing when their sons have been up to no good.

The text from Micah has probably appeared on more prayer cards than any other text in the Bible. I know I’m exaggerating just a bit but it’s true enough. Believers and non-believers love it for its simplicity. It’s not complicated with doctrine, dogma or legalisms.

What would our lives be like if we abided by this principle? What would the world be like if world powers abided by this counsel? It is a phrase that even those who do not believe in a personal God can adopt by simply replacing God’s name with “my higher power.”

Remember the old Baltimore Catechism response to the question “Why did God make you?” Response: “God made me to know him, to love him and to show forth God’s goodness in this live and to be happy with him forever in the next.” With some modifications in the exclusionary language, it still works!