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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

Friday September 17, 2010

+ 24th Week in Ordinary Time

What does it mean to be raised from the dead?

Readings: I Corinthians 15:12-20 Psalm 17:1, 6-7, 8, 15 Luke 8:1-3

But Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. [I Corinthians 15:20]

The Pharisees believed in resurrection though they never gave testimony about any specific person who was raised. Jesus may have been reared in the Pharisaic tradition and therefore would also have adhered to the teaching. In fact he spoke about his own resurrection in several passages, e.g., when he threw the buyers and sellers out of the Temple and said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” He was speaking of the temple of his body. And humility after the Transfiguration, he invited his disciples to join him on the road to Jerusalem where he would be delivered up by evil men and then raised up on the third day.

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary in the garden near the tomb but she didn’t recognize him. She thought he was the gardener. So obviously, Jesus resurrection was not resuscitation. She experienced the glorified Christ. His body was transformed.

Followers of Christ believe that Jesus continues to live in our midst and that in fact the Church has become the ‘mystical’ body of Christ, i.e., that Jesus lives and breathes in the members of the body.

If we live in the consciousness that we are Christ or to put it in Paul’s words in his letter to the Galatians, “I live now, no longer I, but Christ lives in me,” how much more efficacious would our daily efforts be—knowing that we are not acting on our own power but in the grace and power of Christ Jesus.

I think if the Church at large were as convinced of this reality, it would be less dependent on its worldly status and less dependent on the trappings of a royal family. Utter simplicity would its most prominent characteristic and humility it’s dominant virtue.