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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

Sunday February 6, 2005

+ 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 58-7-10 I Cor 2:1-5 Matthew 5:13-16

It was a song that remained at the top of the list for weeks on end. It’s a song that touches the soul. Some songs do that better than others. There are indeed people who light up our lives. I call them ‘good news’ people. They’re nice to be around because they lighten our burdens with their ‘lightheartedness.’ It is not that they make ‘light’ of the serious or fail to take life seriously. They seem to be able to strike just the right balance that enables us to distinguish between the serious, and the absurd. They challenge but never hassle. They laugh with us but never at us. They are always in the wings but they don’t crowd us.

Matthew opens today’s gospel lesson with the sequence immediately following the Beatitudes and the opening words of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” It’s the constitutional document for Christians. Indeed, it is the core of Christian teaching and sets the standard for righteous living. It’s an ideal, to be sure. It describes what life can be like in God’s dominion.

Of course, you and I are not really the light. Jesus is the light. He is the one whom it’s nice to have around because he enables us to be our best selves. Over time, his light becomes our light so that we too can “light up the lives of others.”