The text from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians from theRoman Catholic Lectionary for today expresses the revelation to Paul, which
Friar Jude Winkler suggests may have come from a near death experience, that
the titles, privilege and preference attributed to the Pharisee, descendant of Benjamin
and protector of the Law of his previous life are rubbish compared to the
relationship he is coming to know in Christ. The Prophet Isaiah tells the
people of Israel, in exile in Babylon, that God seeks a new relationship with
them through which the desolation of exile will be replaced with the Promise in
the renewed Covenant that they will be protected in a second Exodus as they
return through the desert to Jerusalem. We are presented individually and as a
community and Church with opportunities to reset our direction and strike out
with the power of the Spirit of God on a new journey. Our steps in the new
direction hesitate because of the new territory through which we are being led.
Father Larry Gillick SJ reflects on the way in which the Pharisees bring Jesus
to trial in the episode from the Gospel of John. They present Him with a choice
to follow the old path of strict adherence to the Law and the authority of the
Pharisees who defend their interpretation of the Law or to present the vision
of God who fulfills the Law in Jesus and calls the religious authorities to a
new path of compassion, reconciliation and freedom from sin as He graces the
woman brought to Him with this loving attention. The election of a Pope can be
a time to hear a call from God to a new direction which leads us to be the
believer who contemplates the love and compassion of God for all creation as we
scratch our markings on the ground in humble service to others as vessels of
the mercy of God.
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