Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 16:11-15; John 16:5-11)
If we scratch our heads over Jesus’ meaning in the gospel today, we are in good company. It is said that St. Augustine avoided the passage because of its difficulty! Still, the passage is not impossible to understand. To do so, however, we should note that the word convict is too literal a translation of the Greek and does not fit well with each object. It would be better to say that the Spirit Advocate proves the world wrong regarding sin, righteousness, and condemnation.
The world sees Christians as sinful for believing in Jesus. This may seem odd since we have a sense that the world does not really care what one believes. But the Roman world, at least, had its deities to which people were expected to give homage. Because of their ancient status, Jews were a recognized exception to this rule. So when Christians were expelled from the synagogues, they were persecuted as atheists. The Spirit Advocate (really more a prosecuting attorney) will show the world that the Romans, not the Christians, worship false gods.
The error of righteousness concerns the Jews’ putting Jesus to death for claiming to be God’s son. The Spirit, moving Christians to love one another, shows them to be righteous, not those who crucified Jesus. The final error regards the condemnation of Satan, the prince of this world. Since Jesus is vindicated by his resurrection, his adversary Satan is condemned. We might ask, “Then how can Satan roam freely seeking our ruination?” The gospel would reply that Satan is powerless over true believers; moreover, his limited domination will end once Jesus returns in glory.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26a-16:4)
In today’s reading from Acts, Paul, evidently accompanied by the author of Acts whom we know as St. Luke, cross the Hellespont into Europe. It is the beginning of a new frontier. Although the gospel arrived in Rome through others apostles, Paul, like Christopher Columbus arriving in America, is the one whom history records as taking the monumental step.
Interestingly, Paul does not begin preaching in the marketplace before non-believers but goes on the Sabbath to a river where Jews habitually pray. He obviously figures that they would most likely give him a fair hearing. His effort bears fruit. We are not surprised that a woman is the first one of his converts mentioned. Lydia is a Greek proselyte of Judaism. We may speculate regarding what about Jesus attracts her to him. Perhaps it was his message of love for neighbor who included even one’s enemies. Maybe it was his courage to face opposition even to the point of death. Perhaps it was the promise that his resurrection gives to those who believe in him. We will never know.
But we can examine our own motives for belief. It would be disappointing to hear that we espouse Christianity only because our families do or because it connects us to important people or even because it gives meaning to our lives. Hopefully we can say that Christ’s teaching draws us, his story engages our attention, and his Holy Spirit has compelled our assent. We believe because Christ promises us eternal life and provides the means to attain it.
(Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26a-16:4)
In today’s reading from Acts, Paul, evidently accompanied by the author of Acts whom we know as St. Luke, cross the Hellespont into Europe. It is the beginning of a new frontier. Although the gospel arrived in Rome through others apostles, Paul, like Christopher Columbus arriving in America, is the one whom history records as taking the monumental step.
Interestingly, Paul does not begin preaching in the marketplace before non-believers but goes on the Sabbath to a river where Jews habitually pray. He obviously figures that they would most likely give him a fair hearing. His effort bears fruit. We are not surprised that a woman is the first one of his converts mentioned. Lydia is a Greek proselyte of Judaism. We may speculate regarding what about Jesus attracts her to him. Perhaps it was his message of love for neighbor who included even one’s enemies. Maybe it was his courage to face opposition even to the point of death. Perhaps it was the promise that his resurrection gives to those who believe in him. We will never know.
But we can examine our own motives for belief. It would be disappointing to hear that we espouse Christianity only because our families do or because it connects us to important people or even because it gives meaning to our lives. Hopefully we can say that Christ’s teaching draws us, his story engages our attention, and his Holy Spirit has compelled our assent. We believe because Christ promises us eternal life and provides the means to attain it.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
An old song says, “Love makes the world go round.” Once a high school teacher, challenging this idea, told his students that love does not make the world go round. Rather, he said, money does. Of course, he was referring to the fact that money motivates most people to work which, in a way, sets the world in motion. An astrophysicist would give another answer. She would inform that the earth was set in rotation at its foundation by the swirling gases and dust of which it was formed, and that rotation has never ceased.
With today’s gospel in mind we might ask ourselves, what does love do then after all? Love puts us in harmony with God. Since God’s very being is love, we share God’s life when we love others. There is the difficulty of how to identify true love. St. Augustine can help us here. He once preached, “What does love look like? It has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men and women. That is what love looks like.”
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
An old song says, “Love makes the world go round.” Once a high school teacher, challenging this idea, told his students that love does not make the world go round. Rather, he said, money does. Of course, he was referring to the fact that money motivates most people to work which, in a way, sets the world in motion. An astrophysicist would give another answer. She would inform that the earth was set in rotation at its foundation by the swirling gases and dust of which it was formed, and that rotation has never ceased.
With today’s gospel in mind we might ask ourselves, what does love do then after all? Love puts us in harmony with God. Since God’s very being is love, we share God’s life when we love others. There is the difficulty of how to identify true love. St. Augustine can help us here. He once preached, “What does love look like? It has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men and women. That is what love looks like.”
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:7-21; John 15:9-11)
Many years ago Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote an instructive book titled Models of the Church. The work asks the question, what is the Church? Is it an institution with organizational offices and a clear line of authority? Or is it a messenger announcing the divine offer of salvation? Or perhaps it is a servant of the world caring for the weak and instructing the powers? Maybe it is a sacrament, a sign of God’s ongoing presence among humans?
Although Cardinal Dulles indicates a preference for the sacramental model since it suggests a spiritual core, he concludes that the Church encompasses all the given models. Without having an institutional structure, the Church could not address new issues that arise. Without preaching the Good News, the Church would not fulfill the mission given her by Christ. Without caring for the poor, the Church would not practice what she preaches. And without representing Christ in the world, the Church would not be his Body.
Some people wince at Church bureaucracy wondering if Christ intended all the pomp. The regalia of cardinals and bishops may not be necessary, but order is essential to face new challenges. We see the order functioning in the first reading from Acts today. Peter, the head apostle, speaks first to the issue of Gentiles’ following the Jewish Law. Then James, the chief elder of the Jerusalem flock, presents his view. Finally, the reading indicates, all apostles and community leaders decide the matter. Today’s system of pope and curia with dioceses and religious institutions represents a significant development of structure. The formalities of this system help identify the ones most responsible for a functioning order.
(Acts 15:7-21; John 15:9-11)
Many years ago Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote an instructive book titled Models of the Church. The work asks the question, what is the Church? Is it an institution with organizational offices and a clear line of authority? Or is it a messenger announcing the divine offer of salvation? Or perhaps it is a servant of the world caring for the weak and instructing the powers? Maybe it is a sacrament, a sign of God’s ongoing presence among humans?
Although Cardinal Dulles indicates a preference for the sacramental model since it suggests a spiritual core, he concludes that the Church encompasses all the given models. Without having an institutional structure, the Church could not address new issues that arise. Without preaching the Good News, the Church would not fulfill the mission given her by Christ. Without caring for the poor, the Church would not practice what she preaches. And without representing Christ in the world, the Church would not be his Body.
Some people wince at Church bureaucracy wondering if Christ intended all the pomp. The regalia of cardinals and bishops may not be necessary, but order is essential to face new challenges. We see the order functioning in the first reading from Acts today. Peter, the head apostle, speaks first to the issue of Gentiles’ following the Jewish Law. Then James, the chief elder of the Jerusalem flock, presents his view. Finally, the reading indicates, all apostles and community leaders decide the matter. Today’s system of pope and curia with dioceses and religious institutions represents a significant development of structure. The formalities of this system help identify the ones most responsible for a functioning order.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
A theologian of some repute once challenged Mother Teresa’s famous dictum that the Lord does not ask us to be successful but only to be faithful. The theologian reasoned that it is a waste of talent and time to go about oblivious to the effects of our actions. Rather, he would say, it is only prudent to make our efforts as productive as possible.
As often happens, both sides in this debate have a hand on the truth. Certainly Jesus calls us to accountability for what we do. Wasting resources and producing results which harm as much as they help are not the fruits that he looks for. But some fruit trees, like the tropical mangosteen, take over a dozen years to grow from seed. Faithfulness on the part of the planter is required if their fruit is ever to be harvested and enjoyed. Just so, sometimes our best efforts require years to produce the results we desire.
In today’s gospel Jesus prescribes faithfulness as the one indispensable quality to produce any worthwhile fruit. He calls himself the vine to which we must stay connected. Apart from him our well-intended actions either devolve into egotism or are summarily abandoned. Both results are like incipient fruit that shrivels when plucked off the vine. Staying connected to Jesus we produce a harvest which both benefits people and glorifies God.
(Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8)
A theologian of some repute once challenged Mother Teresa’s famous dictum that the Lord does not ask us to be successful but only to be faithful. The theologian reasoned that it is a waste of talent and time to go about oblivious to the effects of our actions. Rather, he would say, it is only prudent to make our efforts as productive as possible.
As often happens, both sides in this debate have a hand on the truth. Certainly Jesus calls us to accountability for what we do. Wasting resources and producing results which harm as much as they help are not the fruits that he looks for. But some fruit trees, like the tropical mangosteen, take over a dozen years to grow from seed. Faithfulness on the part of the planter is required if their fruit is ever to be harvested and enjoyed. Just so, sometimes our best efforts require years to produce the results we desire.
In today’s gospel Jesus prescribes faithfulness as the one indispensable quality to produce any worthwhile fruit. He calls himself the vine to which we must stay connected. Apart from him our well-intended actions either devolve into egotism or are summarily abandoned. Both results are like incipient fruit that shrivels when plucked off the vine. Staying connected to Jesus we produce a harvest which both benefits people and glorifies God.
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