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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 1, 2009

+ 17th Week in Ordinary Time

The earth shall yield justice.

Readings: Leviticus 25:1, 8-17 Matt 14:1-12

This is to be a jubilee for you, each of you will return to his ancestral home, each to his own clan. You will not sow; you will not harvest the ungathered… The jubilee is to be holy thing to you, you will eat what comes from the fields. [Leviticus 25:10b-12]

The word ‘jubilee’ is taken from the Hebrew word for ram’s horn – the shophar. The Jubilee was observed in the fiftieth year occurring at the end of seven Sabbatical cycles of seven years each during which all land was returned to its ancestral owners and all Israelite slaves were freed. (Cf. Harber’s Bible Dictionary, Edited by Paul J. Achtenmeier, Harber & Row, San Francisco, 1985)

I have heard it said by both biblical scholars and economic wizards that in fact the Jubilee Year was not necessarily good for the economy and in fact never worked out as prescribed. Perhaps so. In any event, the principle was not without merit and though the ideal may never have been achieved, it instilled in the minds of the Israelites the importance of equity in society.

I suppose the same applies to the pursuit of justice today. We have yet to arrive at a perfectly just society. As the wise sage is apt to confess in his cute phrase, “I never promised you a rose garden!” However, the notion of equity, forbearance and tolerance can go a long way to pave the way for justice.

The continued wrangling about a health care plan that will satisfy the needs of an entire nations is at one time discouraging and hopeful. Discouraging because it is becoming clear that insurance companies and their lobbyists have more political power than politicians who supposedly represent the broad general population, especially those with no medical coverage. (Cf. Bill Moyer Interview on PBS.org. ‘Hijacking Healthcare. An insider exposes the insurance industry. It’s worth your time.)

I’m not sure we ever arrive at perfect justice in this world not to mention our own nation. Yet, we need to observe our sabbaticals – weekly, monthly, annually, as well as every seven years. And we need to celebrate our jubilees. A sabbatical is not a vacation but fallow time to reflect on who we are as children of a generous God and how we are contributing to the wellbeing of our neighbors especially to the poor. A nation is not judged by its wealth but how well it has taken care of its poor.

We seem to have had no difficulty in the bailout of banks and financial institutions “too big to fail” but somehow we can’t seem to muster enough courage to bit the bullet on healthcare.