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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 August 9, 2008

+ 18h Week in Ordinary Time

Hang on to the vision. It will be fulfilled.

Readings: Habakkuk 1:12-17, 2:4 Psalm 9:8-13 Matthew 17:14-20

Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that aone can read it readily. For the vision has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash one has no integrity, but the just, because of their faith, shall life. [Habakkuk 2:2-4]

This is one of those texts on which a week-long retreat could be built. Habakkuk was writing during the period between the Babylonian victory Carchemish and Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Judah. The times were desperate. Habakkuk scolded the Jews for their complacency and unfaithfulness. Babylon would be the bitter rod of their chastisement. However, he assures them that God will not abandon them. This is the section quoted above.

It’s a great boost for those who were able to look beyond their impending misfortune to the vision yet to be realized—their return to their homeland and more importantly, their restoration of the covenant with God. There is in the text the realization that just as God does not relent in his justice, so God does not relent in mercy. “In you, O lord, justice and mercy shall meet; truth shall spring out of the land.” [Psalm 85].

I think there is a parallel with the travail in which our church is embroiled. Our leaders have failed us in serious ways. They have acted like kings who lord it over the people. They have covered up crimes and have blamed victims for the damage done to church coffers. They have build protective walls around themselves and distracted the faithful from the essence of the gospel by initiating petty reforms that deal only with the surface of worship, changing words and phrases without changing hearts. They are instituting expensive and expansive programs of evangelization instead of applying the rules of hospitality and common courtesy at the most basic level of church life—the parish. They have hardened their hearts to the voice of the faithful in the pew.

But those in diaspora must know that the vision will be kept alive in the hearts of those who know the God who sees into the hearts of all and knows where integrity dwells.

“For the vision has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”