Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 18:1-8; John 16:16-20)
Weeping is caused by secretion of fluid from the lachrymal glands. The action lubricates the surface of the eyeball. But exactly how this helps the one who cries is an open question. Some experts say that weeping is merely a response to strong emotions. Others claim that it serves a physiological purpose by removing hormones associated with stress.
Self-examination associates crying with loss of affection. For this reason, parents sob at the weddings of their children, and survivors weep at funerals of their loves ones. In this vain Jesus in the gospel today anticipates the tears of his disciples on the night before his death. “(Y)ou will weep and mourn…but your grief will come to joy,” he tells them knowing that the resurrection will follow his crucifixion on the next day.
In a different gospel and context Jesus assures us, “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.” He has the same reward in mind that he promises in today’s passage. When our tears express a love for Jesus that plays out in service to one another, we can be assured that they will end in our glory.
Wedensday, May 16, 2012
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 17:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)
“Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night: God said, ’Let Newton be!’ and all was light.” With these words Alexander Pope honored Isaac Newton, the renowned English physicist. Newton’s Principia Mathematica described the laws of motion in the seventeenth century. The work was considered infallible until Einstein reformulated the laws in terms of relativity. It cannot be said that Newton actually discovered the laws, which are more or less self-evident. But he did explain them so that the world might understand their dynamics. His work may be compared to how Jesus describes the role of the Spirit in today’s gospel.
When Jesus says that the Spirit “will declare to you the things that are coming,” he is referring to his death and resurrection. Because the significance of this paschal event is beyond human intelligence, they need an interpreter. Jesus cannot explain them because the disciples have not yet experienced them. He has already declared himself to be “the truth.” Now he says the Spirit will guide the disciples to “all truth”; that is, the full meaning of himself.
The Spirit must be active in our lives if we are experience the effects of Jesus’ redemption. The Spirit moves us from attachment to the superficial delights of creation, sets our hearts on eternal life, and propels us to give of ourselves in love so that we may achieve our heart’s desire. The Spirit is an unimaginable, completely gratuitous gift that the Father sends us through Jesus.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Memorial of Saint Isidore (patron of farmers)
(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)
The way some people talk, farming in the United States is strictly big business. It is probably mostly so, but there are marvelous exceptions like Joel Salatin’s farm in Virginia. There crops are rotated, cows eat grass, and chickens feed on bugs. It is the kind of farming associated with St. Isidore, whose feast is celebrated today in rural areas around the world.
St. Isidore was a Spanish peasant of the twelfth century. He did not own his own land but diligently worked the manor of another. In his simplicity and devoutness he appears much like the jailer in the reading from Acts. The man is so bereaved by the thought of prisoners’ escaping on his watch that he wants to kill himself. Paul saves him from committing the terrible deed and introduces him to one worth dying for. The jailer, along with his family, embraces Jesus along.
We must remember that saints are not usually found among “world champions” or “the world’s richest.” Rather saints are people who live every moment of everyday trying to please the God who, they know, cherishes them as sons and daughters.
(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)
The way some people talk, farming in the United States is strictly big business. It is probably mostly so, but there are marvelous exceptions like Joel Salatin’s farm in Virginia. There crops are rotated, cows eat grass, and chickens feed on bugs. It is the kind of farming associated with St. Isidore, whose feast is celebrated today in rural areas around the world.
St. Isidore was a Spanish peasant of the twelfth century. He did not own his own land but diligently worked the manor of another. In his simplicity and devoutness he appears much like the jailer in the reading from Acts. The man is so bereaved by the thought of prisoners’ escaping on his watch that he wants to kill himself. Paul saves him from committing the terrible deed and introduces him to one worth dying for. The jailer, along with his family, embraces Jesus along.
We must remember that saints are not usually found among “world champions” or “the world’s richest.” Rather saints are people who live every moment of everyday trying to please the God who, they know, cherishes them as sons and daughters.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Feast of St. Matthias, apostle
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would send only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say “no,” but in the first reading today the community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to initiate God’s Kingdom by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Just as deliberately, Jesus has chosen us to constitute the Church’s membership. As today’s gospel indicates, we are his friends fully formed by his teaching and commissioned to witness to him in the world.
(Acts 1:15-17.20-26; John 15:9-17)
Eleven men make up a football team, and there are “twelve apostles.” No coach would send only ten players onto the field, but is it unthinkable that there would be only eleven in the inner group directing the early Church? We might say “no,” but in the first reading today the community of disciples in Jerusalem evidently considers it critical that there are twelve leaders. One of its first decisions after Jesus’ ascension is to replace Judas, the lost soul.
Jesus was definite about choosing only twelve as his core group of disciples. He wanted no more and no less in order to epitomize his mission. Jesus came to initiate God’s Kingdom by gathering together the twelve tribes of Israel as a magnet to attract all peoples of the earth. He needed one leader for each of the tribes.
The New Testament does not mention Matthias other than in this passage. His significance is to indicate the clarity of Jesus’ vision for the church he founded. This realization should fill us with confidence. The Church to which we belong is no happenstance but the product of Jesus’ conscious design. Just as deliberately, Jesus has chosen us to constitute the Church’s membership. As today’s gospel indicates, we are his friends fully formed by his teaching and commissioned to witness to him in the world.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 15:22-31; John 15:12-17)
In "Peter Pan," the captivating story about coming of age, children are taught a lesson on wish-making. When Tinker Bell, the fairy, comes on scene to grant any worthy wish, the smaller children ask for frivolous things like candy and toys. They seem perplexed when their requests are not honored. Then they catch on. They should seek noble qualities, like happiness and peace. This is the kind of request that Jesus has in mind in the gospel today.
Jesus tells his disciples, whom he now regards as friends, that they have developed a new level of consciousness. They will no longer be thinking in the ways of the world; that is, doing what they like and looking out primarily for their own welfare. No, from now on they will pursue the common good and do God's will above all.
Christians still may trivialize faith by trying to use it to pursue personal whims. They believe that they could use it to ask that the Cubs win the pennant or for some other frivolous thing. But faith has an infinitely higher purpose. It is to connect us to God so that we might have the fullness of life. We should not restrain from asking God to meet our needs, but our petitions should always be in line with the plan that He has for us. Let us ask for patience to take good care of our children and for courage to face pain and death. Such requests, Jesus assures us, the Father always honors.
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