Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 7:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

It is said that St. Paul made a strategic move in leaving Athens for Corinth.  In the first century Athens was an old city more like a museum than an incubator of dreams.  Corinth, on the other hand, was a crossroads where new ideas circulated with the world’s merchandise.  Today’s first reading relates Paul’s humbling experience in preaching to Athenians.

Paul tries to be practical not hypothetical as he addresses his audience at the Areopagus.  He refers to the Unknown God whose altar stands in their midst.  Then he relates this god to the Creator of the Jewish Scriptures.  Some of his audience may give Paul their attention. But when he mentions that his God raised Jesus from the dead, the people dismiss him as a lunatic.  In the less sophisticated, more enterprising Corinth the people will respond enthusiastically to the prospect of the resurrection.

We do as well.  We botch up things so much that we long to make amends to people who are no longer among us.  Reconciling with them in the resurrection of the dead is not just wishful thinking.  We have testimony of Jesus’ resurrection and his promise to come back for those who love him.  We yearn to go with him to the dwelling place of our beloved.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)

Some wonder why the Church does not use the word ghost in referring to the third person of the Holy Trinity.  A hundred years ago it was used in the standard translation of the Latin Spiritus Sanctus. Now the translation is made almost exclusively by Holy Spirit.  Ghost and spirit have very similar original meanings – vigor, breath, soul, etc.  In recent times, however, ghost has become more associated with the disembodied soul of a dead person or a demonic being.  Spirit, on the other hand, retains the fuller range of meanings that are helpful in understanding today’s readings.

The earthquake freeing St. Paul and Silas should not be thought of as a random act of nature.  It clearly represents the work of the Holy Spirit.  The same Spirit is said to have filled the disciples as they prayed and the earth shook earlier in Acts (4:31).  Jesus promises to send the Spirit in today’s gospel with earth-shaking results.  The Spirit will show the world wrong on three counts.  The world refuses believe in God’s Son.  It fails to see that the Son practiced true righteousness. And it does not notice that the real enemy, the devil, is now cast out, at least for those associated with Jesus.

We all need help to live in the world with a modicum of peace.  The help we need above all is the grace of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit fills us with a sense of gratitude for all God has done for us.  More than that, the Spirit moves us to love others with acts of kindness.  The Spirit shakes our foundations to think less of ourselves and more of God.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26-16:4a)

Neil Armstrong’s statement upon landing on the moon may be adapted to today’s first reading.  Crossing from Troas to Neapolis, St. Paul hops from Asia to Europe.  It is a short trip for Paul and his companions, but a milestone for the European continent. 

Europe, of course, had inhabitants with their pagan religions eons before the arrival of Christianity.  But certainly no other cult has shaped the continent like the following of Christ.  Its monuments, its art, and its philosophy are all rooted in Christianity.  For this reason St. John Paul II pleaded with the founders of the European Union to acknowledge the Christin heritage of its culture. 

Europe is losing its Christian cultural identity.  Many no longer believe in a spiritual core to the human person.  They give even less credence to the gospel summons to eternal glory.  We must take care not to follow that road.  Jesus shows us a path to peace on earth.  More importantly, he paves the way to the fullness of life in heaven.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)

Today’s first reading may be troubling for those who have studied the First Letter to the Corinthians.  The reading tells how the apostles in Jerusalem write to the church in Antioch that converts must refrain from eating different kinds of meat.  But Paul writes the Corinthians that it does not matter what a Christian eats (I Cor. 8:8).  Is Paul dictating his own dietary laws for his converts?

The latter would be a hasty assumption.  The decision of the so-called “Council of Jerusalem” was made for the church in Antioch where many if not the majority of Christians were of Jewish origin.  Its principal message, which is very liberating, frees non-Jews from the need of circumcision.  Even Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians that if anyone is scandalized by eating meat sacrificed to idols, that fellow Christians should not do it (I Cor. 8:12).  Their motive should always be love.  This is very important.  As Jesus commands in the gospel, Christians are to love one another.  Love certainly implies that one’s actions do not give scandal.

We live at a time of much disagreement in the Church.  Some people want to retain old customs like taking Communion on the tongue.  Others would prefer taking Communion in the hand and other innovations.  Of course, we look to Church leadership to determine the legitimacy of a new practice.  But what is even more important than that is extending our love to others.  We must look for ways to reconcile or at least tolerate differences in the love of Christ.

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Feast of Saint Matthias, apostle

(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)

Of St. Matthias very little is known.  His name appears only in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  Yet he represents a critical development in the story of salvation.

It was not by accident that Jesus chose twelve disciples to be his apostles.  From the beginning God the Father had given him the project of rebuilding the twelve tribes of Israel.  They were to constitute the leadership of a holy nation dedicated to bringing the world together in love.  When Judas Iscariot proved unworthy of the task, he needed replacement.  Acts indicates that the choice was not made arbitrarily.  The two candidates proposed for the position met definite criteria.  They were part of Jesus’ ministry from the beginning and also were witnesses to his resurrection.  The actual choice was left to the Holy Spirit.

We should note that the development of the Church -- and the world for that matter -- does not take place by chance.  It is not like evolution, as many scientists see it, following a purposeless course of random selection.  Rather, God is guiding it to an end of universal love d peace – His kingdom.  Amid trials like the Covid-19 pandemic, we are challenged to believe in such benign providence.  But this is the message that Jesus came to teach us.