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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 February 7, 2005

+ 5th Week in Ordinary Time

“God don’t make no junk!”

Readings: Genesis 1:1-19 Mark 6:53-56

I know—it’s a double negative, which makes a positive. The quotation was taken from a child’s catechism. It is a child’s version of an adult commentary on Carl Jung’s insight into the human potential for goodness. Theologian, Matthew Fox uses the term “original blessing” to describe the state of humanity prior to the ‘fall.’ It’s not far from Catholic theology on justification, which states that in Baptism, we were restored to ‘original blessing.’ Baptism is not a cover up but a complete restoration!

The sin of Adam and Eve was not that they wanted to be like God but that they failed to see that they were already created in the image and likeness of God.

Indeed, God did not and does not make junk but despite our restoration, we struggle with our own will to power and over power. Control of is an issue for most of us – self-control, of course, and our need to control others.

Lent is an ideal time to get back into Godly thinking, i.e., to get into the rhythm of God’s life. Jesus is the paradigm and the assurance that when we live in God’s grace, we live in God and when we live in God, we think like God and when we think like God, our words and deeds reflect God’s thinking as did Jesus.

If Lent works for forty days, it can work for a lifetime.