Friday, May 5, 2023

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 13:26-33; John 141-6)

Days come and go as the world turns on its axis.  But one, for Christians at least, will last forever.  Because it marked an event outside time, the day of the resurrection of Christ will never end.  Humans take part in this day when they are baptized into Christ. As Paul tells the synagogue assembly in today’s first reading, “’…he has brought to fulfillment for us, their (i.e., the apostles’) children, by raising up Jesus…’”

Paul’s discourse here is an example of early Christian preaching.  The Book of the Acts of the Apostles contains several of these speeches, mostly by Peter and Paul.  They summarize the entire gospel: Jesus is God’s word; that is his representative, who was sent to the world to give it new life.  Despite many awesome signs, the Jewish people did not recognize him as God’s emissary.  Rejecting his message, they arranged his crucifixion by the Romans.  The Hebrew prophets had foretold these events as well as his resurrection from the dead.

The Christian narrative probably sounded strange to people of the first century as it does to our contemporaries.  Surely it requires more testimony than that of a preacher.  We provide that testimony by living the new life – a life of uncompromising virtue.  By our loving acts and faultless lives, people will know that Jesus has risen from the dead and that we share this destiny.

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 13:13-25; John 13:16-20)

In John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost the great angel Lucifer takes a definitive stand against God. “I will not serve,” he says.  To punctuate the point, he adds that it is “better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.”   Off he goes to bring havoc to the world, not least terribly by distorting our notion of service.

Service seems to call into question the exalted idea we have of ourselves.  It apparently shows to the world and to ourselves that we are not the force that sets the universe in motion but a small cog in the order of things.  Yet Jesus served -- very visibly the night he took off his tunic to wash the feet of his disciples.  Service then does not demean our stature; quite the contrary it conforms us to the Lord.  When we serve faithfully and well, we prove ourselves worthy of a place in God’s house, a seat at His table.

The reference to Judas in the gospel reading today points to a man who, like Lucifer, refuses to serve.  It is opined – perhaps because he was the treasurer of the community -- that Judas rivaled Peter as head disciple.  In the reading Jesus implies that Judas’ difficulty is that he cannot see himself taking off his tunic, much less give his life, in faithful service.  Thus, he too takes a definitive stand against the Lord.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Feast of Saints Philip and James

(I Corinthians 15:1-8; John 14:6-14)

The readings today were apparently chosen because they recall the names of the apostles whom we celebrate.  The first reading mentions James as one of the early witnesses of the resurrected Christ.  Some commentators think that James is the so-called “brother of the Lord” mentioned throughout the New Testament.  If this is the James that St. Paul has in mind, he was probably not a disciple during Jesus’ ministry and therefore probably not one of the twelve apostles.  The gospels report another apostle named James besides the son of Zebedee.  He was the son of Alphaeus and is often referred to as “James the Less” because he was younger or shorter than the son of Zebedee.

Philip the apostle also may be confused with another by the same name.  In the Acts of the Apostles one of the seven men upon whom the apostles laid their hands was named “Philip.” (The seven are commonly called “deacons” because their original mission was to care for the Greek-speaking widows in the primitive church community.)  Philip the apostle was a disciple of John the Baptist who directed him to Jesus.

All this sorting of names is more than just interesting.  It demonstrates that our faith in the resurrection of Jesus is based on the testimony of real men, not legends, of whom the Scriptures give account.  The fact that most of those who gave testimony to the resurrection suffered martyrdom also inspires confidence in the resurrection.  Many may think it preposterous to believe that any human life has a vital existence beyond death.  For us, however, it is a necessary conclusion.

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

(Acts 11:19-26; John 10:22-30)

In today’s gospel the Jews ask Jesus if he is “the Christ.”  This term implies that he would be considered the son of God in an exalted sense although not in the same sense that St. Athanasius meant.  Almost three centuries later, Athanasius lived at a time when people debated an equal standing for God the Father and God the Son. 

Athanasius contended that Father and Son are identical except for their respective relations.  Today’s passage testifies to this radical equality where Jesus says, “’I and the Father are one.’”  They have not only the same nature but also the same mind and will.  The Holy Spirit shares these qualities as well.  He differs from the Father in that he proceeds from the Father.  He differs from the Son in that the Son is begotten by the Father. 

We may have trouble trying to explain the Trinity to others.  But it is very important that they are one.  Also we must keep in mind that they love us more than we can imagine.  In return for that love, which blesses us each day, we praise and thank them.  Since imitation is a high form of praise, we also want to love one another.

Monday, May 1, 2023

(optional) Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker

(Acts 11:1-18; John 10:11-18)

According to food guru Michael Pollan food habits are among the last to be acculturated.  Long after immigrants arrive in a new country, they and their descendants prefer the native foods of their homelands.  For this reason Simon Peter’s countrymen may be bewildered by his sharing the table of Gentiles in today’s first reading.  But, of course, there is more at stake than that.

Jews at the time of Jesus, as today, are almost identified by their refusal to eat pork.  Yet it is said that its prohibition is only the beginning of the kosher diet.  Probably the certainty that Jesus kept it made some disciples think that all his followers should do so as well.  But since the stoning of Stephen, the same followers were being increasingly alienated from Judaism.  In face of Gentile converts’ desire to eat their customary foods, the disciples are faced with a dilemma.  Would Jesus refuse Baptism to people simply because they eat foods that were forbidden Jesus’ ancestors?

Today we celebrate St. Joseph the Worker.   An honest carpenter, Joseph models many virtues like diligence and justice related to work.  As patron of workers, we can also see him as a model of assimilation and diversity.  Here’s the connection with a diverse diet.  Work since the industrial Revolution has brought people from different backgrounds together.  Joseph, a discerning person, would hardly reject them for the diet they kept.  He may not have eaten all their foods.  But as he invited the Magi from into his home, he probably would have little difficulty seeing their descendants attending Jesus’ church.