Monday, May 25, 2015

Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(Sirach 17:20-24; Mark 10:17-27)

In The Red Wheel novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn pictures a young army officer seeking advice from a priest about the morality of war.  The officer wonders what Jesus meant when he told his disciples not to resist evil.  He asks whether the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was not correct to interpret the passage as a condemnation of war.  The priest responds that there are worse evils than war and that war is the necessary price for living together in a state.  On this Memorial Day we might understand the gospel in this light.

When Jesus tells the young man that he must give up everything and follow him to have eternal life, he means of course that the man becomes one of his disciples.  But cannot a disciple fight in the army to protect the common good?  The army is a great equalizer.  Soldiers give up individual privileges to become an effective fighting unit.  Often enough they are also called to give up their lives.  When they do these things out of love for country, they should indeed be considered as Jesus’ followers.

Today we honor especially those who have died in war.  Perhaps some did so reluctantly and maybe some fought for reasons other than love of country. We also pray for them that they may be judged for the good that they did.  After all, we hope to be judged ourselves according to the same measure.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19)

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor died last year.  For a while at least he probably knew as much as any Catholic scholar about the apostle Paul.  One of Murphy-O’Connor’s books is entitled Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives.  According to the author the two had much more in common than one being the prodigious proclaimer of the other.  We can find one of the parallels among the two men in today’s first reading.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus’ case presented a singular problem for Pontius Pilate.  The Roman procurator felt Jesus’ innocence but had to contend with the angry Jewish leaders.  When he heard that the Jewish king Herod Antipas was in Jerusalem, he referred the matter to him.  Herod recognized Jesus’ innocence and sent him back to Pilate who betrayed his conscience by sentencing him to death.  The Roman procurator a generation later is a man named Porcius Festus.  He has to deal with Paul who was brought to him much like Jesus to Pilate.  Because Festus is undecided about Paul’s innocence, he invites the Jewish king Herod Agrippa II to hear his story.  Like his ancestor determined of Jesus, Herod Agrippa finds Paul innocent.  Festus, however, finds a way to avoid giving making a final judgment.  Since Paul as a Roman citizen asked to be tried by the emperor, Festus sends him to Rome for judgment.

We too can live parallel lives to Jesus’.  He lived as a simple person like most of us.  When we are patient in suffering, always loving and serving others, and intent on our relationship with God, we become like Jesus.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:22-26)

Often when feeling criticized, we go on the offensive.  We search for impressive words to show off our wit and to put down the critics.  Surely this is a questionable strategy.  We would do better to listen carefully to what others are saying, pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and speak forthrightly what comes to mind.  Jesus tells us to do as much when he says, “'When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.’”  In today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul follows Jesus’ advice. 

Paul is being held prisoner for allegedly starting a riot.  The crowds want to kill him, and the Roman officer does not know what to do with him.  Paul evaluates the crowd, sees a mixture of Pharisees and Sadducees in it, and speaks to it with ingenuity.  His reference to being a proponent of the resurrection of the dead divides his persecutors.  What starts as an attempt to kill Paul turns into a debate over the possibility of rising from the dead. 

The Holy Spirit is the driving force behind this and all apostolic activity in Acts of the Apostles.  It brings Christianity from its humble origins in Jerusalem to the corners of the whole world.  The Holy Spirit remains as God’s eternal presence in our lives.  The Spirit enlightens our minds and orders our wills so that we too might bring the light of Christ to the world.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11-19)

Latin America has become pluralistic with regard to religion.  In most cities Protestant churches dot neighborhoods like grocery stores, and missionaries pace the streets inviting people to taste their spiritual food.  There is little concern for ecumenism.  Priests see the missionaries as bandits raiding their flocks as Paul warns of in today’s first reading.  Meanwhile, Protestant pastors criticize Catholic priests as betrayers of the Bible.  The situation defies Jesus’ prayer for unity at the heart of his “Priestly Prayer” in today’s gospel.

Jesus asks his Father to make all those who believe in him one in faith and love.  He has in mind all the churches that his disciples will establish.  When John wrote his version of the gospel, at least fifty years after Jesus’ resurrection, separation among the churches had already taken place.  Indeed, the fracture underlies the First Letter of John.  The evangelist here pictures Jesus praying that the churches will reunite in that close unity that characterizes his relationship with the Father.

We must keep alive that vision today.  The challenge is daunting as some Protestant communities seem to adjust their moral code to current social fashion and some Orthodox communities maintain a profound distrust of Western Christianity.  Nevertheless, there are moments of possibilities which, like seeds in the desert, may find enough sustenance to grow.  Twenty years ago Saint John Paul II issued his encyclical That They May Be One offering a heartfelt willingness to make accommodations for the sake of unity.  More recently, Pope Francis has extended an open hand to evangelicals and Orthodox.  We can support progress toward this goal by cooperating with other branches of Christianity on charitable projects, by participating in prayer services, and by not harping at other religious traditions.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 20:17-27; John 17:1-11a)

It is commonly thought that the word glory means esteem, honor and praise.  However, in the Old Testament the glory of God refers to His loving, felt presence in the midst of the people.  Both these ideas have to be kept in mind when reflecting on the must kept gospel reading today.

Jesus is asking his “Father” to give him glory.  He wants not so much to be honored by others as to be allowed to show his divinity to the world.  His prayer will be granted when he hangs upon the cross.  In the crucifixion Jesus will demonstrate divine love as he draws all people to himself and will initiate his Church with his mother and beloved disciple as charter members.  Then Jesus says that he has glorified God.  He has shown God’s presence by performing marvelous works in the Father’s name.

We too can aspire to manifest the divine presence.  By our willingness to give of ourselves without consideration of worldly gain we show ourselves as God’s true children.  In this way we show ourselves worthy of receiving eternal life.