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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

Tuesday February 8, 2005

+ 5th Week in Ordinary Time

No phony baloney here!

Readings: Genesis 1:20-2:4 Mark 7:1-13

Another Lent will begin tomorrow. Lent comes from the German word for “lengthen.” Though it is only the second week in February, the days are becoming noticeably longer. Hooray! The seeds sown last fall will begin to sprout as the sun moves north on its measured pace toward the equator.

Lent is a time to put away the phony baloney and become what we were when God loved us into being, a return to what Matthew Fox calls, ‘original blessing.’ 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 like God. “In the image of God, they were created, male and female….”

The readings of Lent are basic, the rituals are simple but the 40 days can be the retreat of a lifetime. Lent is kairos time, i.e., the opportunity to allow God’s grace to activate our natural gifts permeating our days with goodness and Godness.

If Lent works well, then we’ll want to do Lent all year round.