Friday, May 9, 2014

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59)

In the classic tragedy Oedipus Rex, spiritual and physical blindness interplay to the enlightenment of all.  Oedipus’ father, King Laius, is told in an oracle that his son will kill him and marry his wife.  Determined that this not happen, Laius plans to have his infant son Oedipus killed.  However, the deed is never carried out, and Oedipus eventually fulfills the prophecy.  In the end Oedipus blinds himself in shame and remorse. In the first reading there is a parallel story of spiritual and physical blindness.

After Saul’s inquisitorial journey is interrupted by the appearance of Jesus, he becomes blind.  The infliction functions first as a metaphor of Saul’s spiritual blindness in punishing Christians.  Then the blindness serves as a catharsis so that Saul may repent of his malicious zeal.  When the blindness dissipates, Saul not only knows the truth but makes amends for his past errors.

Spiritual blindness inflicts most people at one time or another.  We misread situations and cast blame unjustly.  We seek apparent goods like illicit sex or easy money that bring embarrassment if not downfall and shame.  We miss seeing Jesus in the suffering.  Christ’s light burns away this blindness like a laser cutting away unwanted tissue.  We meet him in the sacraments, and the encounters leave us in the glow of his love and truth until he comes for us in full glory at the end of time.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51)

A university professor tells of the importance of a good teacher.  She writes that a friend had the most difficult time understanding St. Augustine’s Confessions when he first read it in college.  He knew it was an important book but could not appreciate its quality.  Rather than give up, he sought the help of a professor who guided his study so that it became profitable.  In the reading from Acts today Philip serves as such a guide.

The Ethiopian magistrate is reading one of the “Suffering Servant” passages in the prophet Isaiah.  Like everyone else, the Ethiopian asks to whom the passage refers.  For Christians such as Philip the question is easy to answer.  Jesus passion and death perfectly parallels the trajectory of Isaiah’s “Suffering Servant.” Philip proceeds to tell the man more about Jesus and eventually baptizes him.

The Church needs catechists such as Philip to assist lay people today in the study of Scripture.  The project can be tremendously fruitful, but guides are indispensable if it is to get off the ground.  With such help we will see Jesus in the Old Testament as well as the New.  He will reveal himself as the one who came down from heaven to tell us about God. 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

An advertisement for a restaurant read, "Thought for food" and proceeded to promote its own wholesome fare.  Of course, the phrase "thought for food" plays on the more common idiom, "food for thought."  But it also points to the truth of the gospel today.

As Jesus says in another gospel passage, "Humans do not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."  Today we hear Jesus saying that he is the "bread of life."  He is, of course, more than a thought, but like a thought he comes before the mind's eye calling forth discernment.  Assenting to his real presence, the believer receives life on a different order than physical life.  The life he gives, what may be called divine grace, enables us to form a loving relationship with God and one another.  Because God is eternal, the grace Jesus gives does not wither as physical things but endures for eternity.

We ingest the bread of life in both participating in the Eucharist and in meditating on Scripture.  Actually the two intertwine.  It is in reading the Scripture that prepares us to receive the Body of Christ in the Eucharist.  And it is taking the Eucharist that fills us with hunger to study the Scriptures for a proper sense of its meaning.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 7:51-8:1a; John 6:30-35)

A man sends a Twitter message: “As Pope Francis said today: ‘I am a sinner.’ There is something cathartic about saying that to yourself. We should all try it.”  St. Paul seems to have said that often enough with astonishing results.

Paul is introduced in the Acts of the Apostles with today’s reading.  He is, of course, the “Saul” who witnesses St. Stephen’s execution. (Paul, by the way, is not the Hebrew word for Saul but most likely the saint’s name given at birth and Saul the name he used in Jewish company.)  No doubt, the experience of seeing Stephen executed affected Paul profoundly.  At first, he wanted to see all followers of Jesus dispatched in a similar way.  Upon meditation of Stephen’s blessing while be stoned, however, Paul surely wondered about the grace that could allow a man to forgive those who were killing him.

As Pope Francis indicates, all of us sin.  But this does not mean that we are not to overcome sin with the grace of Christ.  Acknowledging ourselves as sinners is the first step in the process.  Then we need to pray for help and finally to act on the grace God offers us to reject temptation.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 6:8-15; John 6:22-29)

When Jesus tells the Jews that they must believe in him to do the works of God, he does not mean that they only are to be baptized.  He is inviting them to trust in him and not in their own capabilities, much less in the strengths of others.  This does not mean that they will refuse others’ help or that they will not help themselves.  It does mean that they will live by his commands, imitate his ways, and pray to him for assistance.  It means acting like Frans van der Lugt, the Dutch Jesuit who was murdered in Syria last month.

Fr. Van der Lugt might have left the town of Homs with other expatriates, but he decided to stay with the remaining Christian community who could not leave.  He became one with the people after fifty years of speaking Arabic and creating a space where Christians and Muslims might come together.  The people loved him, but the militants evidently saw him as symbol of the government’s collaboration with the West and killed him.

When we pray to God, “…lead us not into temptation…,” we are asking the Almighty to spare us situations like Fr. Van der Lugt’s.  But if we find ourselves in such a predicament, then let us ask Christ for courage to give of ourselves for the sake of others.  He will indicate what must be done and take care of us no matter what happens.