Great Saint Magnificent Service

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring great joy as the authors present praise to God for constant faithfulness to the life of people. Zephaniah acclaims God who brings the sign of Presence, the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in the hands of David. Friar Jude Winkler tells us that this transformation of Jerusalem was from a pagan community to the center of the Kingdom of Israel. The Gospel from Luke tells of the action of Mary who lives hospitality and service to her cousin as she travels to the hill country outside Jerusalem to minister to Elizabeth, an elderly woman, who is carrying the child, John the Baptist. The recognition of Jesus Presence by the unborn prophet is the declaration that the New Ark of the Covenant, Mary, awaits outside Jerusalem for three months, as Friar Jude reminds, was the situation for the Ark delivered by David. The Magnificat, the hymn to praise God, which Luke places in this passage, brings to our voice many of the Divine attributes. The paraenesis of Paul to the Romans, wherein he hands on some behaviourial wisdom to his disciples shows that Mary is the one who leads us into a life of witness in service to the care of the Divine for the “little ones of Yahweh”. We are those who live in the gracious love of the Presence celebrated in humble service today.

Cry out and Claim

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today offer some consolation and contemplation in the relationship they present between God and humanity. The author of the Book of Sirach is struck by the wisdom, and all knowing of God as this truth is presented in the Action of God in Nature. The spendour of the world is a reflection of the glory of the Creator. The Truth of the human condition and the eternal plan of the universe are within the domain of the Divine. In Jewish spiritual experience, this certainty about God invokes the praise of the psalmist for the power of the word of God which creates and restores and as it is spoken brings to being. The lack of tentativeness in proclaiming the power of God is noted by Friar JudeWinkler as the insistence in Jewish prayer dialogue shown by the blind Bartimaeus ,in the Gospel from Mark that Jesus, the Son of David, have mercy on him and heal him of his blindness. Friar Jude comments that the Gospel healings which are accompanied by faith are also spiritual healing. The blindness of Bartimaeus was physical. The blindness of Jesus disciples to the Truth of His identity as Messiah and the Son of David is spiritual and it is presented by Mark throughout this Gospel. We are very like the audience for whom Mark wrote. Our culture is more like the Gentile Roman audience of Mark than the Jewish Apostles and disciples who were steeped in the tradition of relationship with God who with mighty hand and outstretched arm restores the fortunes of Israel to the days of David in the Wisdom of the One described by Sirach. Like the Romans of the time of Mark, we are surrounded by many influences that tempt us to redefine the Truth. We are offered the insistence of Jewish spirituality that God continues to act in the most loving manner for humanity. Let us cry out and claim the mercy and healing which is Jesus mission.

Know how to put it right

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today contain appeals from people to God to put it right. The author of the Book of Sirach, who Friar Jude Winkler comments, is writing about the value of the wisdom and tradition of the Jewish people who are living under the control of Hellenistic empires. The author petitions God to fulfill His promises to Israel of the restoration of Jerusalem and the glorification of God through worship at the Temple on Mount Zion. The manifestation of the conquering Messiah to show the nations of the world the glory of God is a dream which seems to keep the disciples of Jesus from hearing His message about His Passion and death as he presents it to them for the third time in the Gospel of Mark. We have experienced the difficulty of comprehension of news which is in conflict with our perception of the world. Psychologists refer to cognitive dissonance as the phenomena where our perception or expectation of a situation is met by evidence that we are incorrect. So often, as in the example of hearing bad news about our health, or the welfare of a loved one, we show almost no comprehension of the disturbing information. James and John, after hearing of Jesus forthcoming humiliation, rejection and death continue to pursue the vision of the conquering Messiah and propose that they take leadership roles in the restored Davidic kingdom. The psalmist prays today for the restoration of the people of God to a deep relationship with God through the action of the great compassion God has for His people. Jesus defines by example how this compassion for and leadership of the people of God will occur. Those who would celebrate and live the Kingdom of God do so in self sacrificing service to others. The choice of serving Life in others continues to cause dissonance in our beings so oriented to self satisfaction. Friar Jude points to our need to continue to accept the Cup and Baptism of Jesus as our daily circumstances offer them to us.

Give and live

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer a milestone check for our spiritual journey. The wisdom literature from the Book of Sirach probes our thanksgiving to God and, as Friar Jude Winkler notes, encourages us to give as our interior conversion moves us. The tendency to offer God a bribe wherein we commit to do or be in exchange for a Divine intervention is moving away from the deeper relationship with God based on surrender and trust in Love. The psalmist today gives voice to an imagined dialogue on the nature of the sacrifice which is pleasing to God. Our lives witness the depth of our commitment to giving. Our associations and habits tell of the rewards which we take from our limited temporal existence. We are invited to abandon the self serving and self satisfying path for the life which Peter described to Jesus in the Gospel from Mark today. “Look, we have left everything and followed you” (Mark 10.28:). Jesus acknowledges the action of Peter and the others. He reminds them, as does Friar Jude, that the Christian community is bringing them so much more of the deep relationships which they remember from their past. Jesus mentions that they have come to understand the value of suffering which strips away the superficial distractions of society and unites them and us in the Life mission of Jesus. The misinterpretation of this passage as the gospel of wealth wherein Jesus miraculously takes some of our possessions and returns more possessions to us in exchange is clearly not about living freed from slavery to things and people who own us.

Leading through the needle

The psalmist proclaims the joy of those who are forgiven in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. What are some of the areas in which we need to seek the healing of forgiveness? The Gospel account today from Mark tells of a young man who visits Jesus seeking wisdom about what he needs to do to be good. This episode appears in the three synoptic Gospels. (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-27). The author of the Gospel of Mark makes the point that Jesus looks at the young man and loves him. The Lord gives the example of correction being presented to others in love. We understand in our mind that this makes sense but how often do we ensure that those who we correct know that we love them. The best episodes of correcting others may occur between spouses who are aware that the ongoing relationship of love and giving between them is of primary importance. The invitation of God to accept correction is also to continue and deepen and the intimate relationship with the Divine. Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the Wisdom of Sirach which exhorts us to act today to be reconciled. The decision to delay can bring us to complacency and presumption upon the grace of God. The rich young man even when the love of Jesus for him and the invitation to greater intimacy with God was presented could not leave the self satisfaction he found in wealth at that time. We hold on to our passions for self gratification. This is similarly keeping us from moving to greater freedom and peace. Jesus may use some Jewish exaggeration to underline that the path to freedom is always possible in relationship with God.

Life with the Trinity

A portion of the Last Supper Discourse of Jesus from the Gospel of John is presented today in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary. Jesus explains that the understanding of God which we seek cannot be received all at once. The channel through which we acquire experience, knowledge, perception and inspiration is finite and limited. Our contemplation of the awe and wonder of Creation around us reveals the shallowness of our grasp of the great “Why?” question. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Scripture Scholars of the Hebrew Testament struggled with how to convey the One God with so many attributes experienced by people. The personification of the Wisdom attribute of God as a woman is included in the text from the Book of Proverbs. The Wisdom is God Creator as the universe of awe and wonder is brought into being and the Love Life of the Father is breathed upon the waters. Paul address the Romans to explain that we will find peace with God or justification as we live in the trust that our lives are beyond our understanding except that they are intended to witness to the glory of God which is Love. This witness will not necessarily be without trial and suffering through which our endurance will build strength so that our hope of peace with God will be realized. Our inspiration and motivation for the Life of Loving Witness comes from the Holy Spirit. The invitation which is outlined and reoffered through our lives, asFather Larry Gillick SJ notes is to live in the Life of the Trinity. Our being participates in a non understandable daily relationship with Jesus and the Father through the Spirit. The Trinitarian Nature of the Divine, in which we are invited to live, is the specifically Christian way of speaking about God as Professor Lucy Lind Hogan quotes Catherine Mowry LaCugna from her book, God for Us. Scott P.Richert, in the About.com Guide on Trinity Sunday writes it is in honor of the most fundamental of Christian beliefs—belief in the Holy Trinity.

Authentic relationship

The author of the Book of Sirach leads the reflection today on the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary by describing the relationship of God and people. It is clear that this relationship is very unbalanced. The grace, generosity and gifts of God create beings who know and love the Creator as Friar Jude Winkler comments as friends and not slaves. One human response to overwhelming imbalance in power is yield for survival and fight for freedom. The praise of the psalmist of the steadfast love and compassion of God reflects experience of a relationship with God. The Divine Plan is freedom for humans to choose relationships. The truth of the love of God is revealed in salvation history. Jesus is evidence that God loves us to death. The Gospel from Mark points to children as those who are well disposed to receive the Good News of relationship with God. This disposition may be rooted in their simple approach to the world. It may be the trust which children seem to easily invest in others to keep their promises. It may be the authenticity which has not learned to hide your passion and beauty from ridicule. It is at least all of these. God bless the children who offer us untarnished eyes to see good, truth, trust, forgiveness, passion and love.

Friendship divorce and bliss

Friendship, divorce and the nature of people to tend toward commitment are reflections encouraged by the texts from the RomanCatholic Lectionary today. The prophet Sirach offers wisdom about the rarity of deep friendship. People may have many acquaintances but Sirach says true friends are rare. Friar Jude Winkler reflects that a good test for a deep friend rests in the fear of God. The authentic struggle to be in relationship with the Divine cultivates virtues like compassion, pardon and acceptance. Great damage is done in friendship through abuse of the truth. The pursuit of truth and perhaps the struggle for covenant relationship between people is part of our nature and a characteristic of our creation in the image of God. Article2467 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares that man by nature tends to the truth. The Gospel from Mark presents a question from the Pharisees to Jesus about the lawfulness of divorce. Jesus response is much more specific than the opinions of Jewish rabbinical leaders of His time. Friar Jude notes that Mark has included the notion that women might initiate divorce their husbands which would be a possibility for a Greek audience but not a possibility in Jewish society. Some Jewish commentary about true bliss describes the lifelong covenant relationship between husband and wife realized in the partnership of old age as this complete happiness. Complete and full life for is the mission for which Jesus is incarnate. We bring about the possibility of the success of this mission for people by our adherence to the pursuit of the truth and of Covenant relationship as the evidence of the bliss which is in the fear of God.

Salt Fire and Life

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionarytake us through some serious advice offered in the form of snippets of spiritual wisdom. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the author of the passage from Sirach is addressing people who are young and perhaps young in their faith. Our tendency as humans is to seek security in wealth, power and strength. These directions are contrary to growth in our relationship with God. The focus of our trust is in the Lord. The believer is aware that it is not possible to move in two directions. We need to decide to move toward God today and, as Friar Jude notes, not presume upon the mercy of God. Conscious experience of our relationship with God illuminates for us the path of purification to which we are invited. Psalm 1 attends to our need to decide with whom and how we spend our time. The pursuits of the wicked and insolent are close enough to our daily life that we may be taken away from the path of the righteous. Jesus is presented in the episode from the Gospel of Mark as a Wisdom teacher with some spiritual guidelines to keep us on the path. Friar Jude notes that the use of Jewish exaggeration is a presentation technique which caught the attention of the audience. Believers who hear Jesus literally will be people who have become blind and lame as a consequence of their sin. The description of the righteous as being salted with fire is our call to purification and enthusiastic zeal about our decision to follow Jesus. This direction and attitude is evidence of the conviction we have that trust in the Love of God is Life.

For and against wisdom

We have some common sense understanding that advice often has the value that we have paid for it. The texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary bring us to attend to the truth that Wisdom personified in the Book of the Wisdom of Sirach is a deep relationship with God which we are invited to experience through the process of trust in God and discipline in choosing the path indicated by Wisdom. Friar Jude Winkler mentions the difficulty of discernment and purification which hallmarks of following the path of Wisdom. In Christianity, we understand the gift of the Holy Spirit as the Advocate and leader of our mission to deeper intimacy with God. Papa Francesco has recently taught about the purification of our lives which is the fruit and challenge of the action of the Holy Spirit. Friar Jude notes that when we look in the mirror we have the evidence that God works to do good things through imperfect people. In the Gospel of Mark today Jesus answers the question of John about others who are doing good deeds in the Name of Jesus. Should they be stopped because they don’t have the franchise, or don’t have the teaching or they are not giving the proper credit? Jesus answer is that those who are not against Him are for Him. Friar Jude reminds us of the tendency in Jewish teaching to present dualistic arguments which force us to seek Wisdom to find truth as he compares the teaching of the Gospel today with the declaration of Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with me is against me”. 

The Least Lead

The wisdom of Sirach in the texts from the RomanCatholic Lectionary today is centred on trust in the Lord. The author advises that our path may take us through testing and calamity. The cliché that gold is tested in fire is presented in this text. The author requests that we consider salvation history and take understanding from the lives of those before us who have been sustained by God through difficulty, humiliation and rejection. The Gospel from Mark today begins with Jesus instruction to His disciples that He will endure betrayal to the authorities and death at their hands. This death will be followed three days later by rising again. The technique used by Mark in his writing supports the reading of the text to his audience. He quickly makes the point about Jesus death and resurrection leaving the reader with the sense of the confusion which must have been in the minds of the disciples. Mark uses the next paragraph to instruct the audience on humility and the leadership of the Messiah from the position of least in the society. Commentators note that he presents Jesus as the Messiah who comes to die for His people rather than meet the expectations of the return of a Davidic Kingdom to the Jewish people. The psalmist praises God who responds to our patience and trust with restoration and protection. We are thankful for the sustaining life of the Love of God as we seek the fortitude and patience which supports our journey.

Next Step in Wisdom

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman CatholicLectionary today praises the majesty of the rule of God. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the passage from the Book of Sirach is by a Jewish author during the time of the domination of Mediterranean world by the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great. The author presents Jewish tradition and spirituality as wisdom for the people who were being greatly influenced by Greek culture. The personification of the quality of wisdom in the Spirit of God is as a woman. This wisdom is evidenced in the manner of the organization and life of the universe which is beyond the ability of humans to comprehend. The Gospel fromMark, who wrote in a particular style for the ears of Gentile Romans, gives us pictures of the actions of Jesus and the spiritual background which activates these actions. Jesus heals the young man of what Friar Jude suspects is epilepsy and in the process underlines the role of our prayer to awaken our faith and to open our trust in God to be what we can activate at the moment. We are called to bring all our commitment to the Will of the Father at whatever level that is. The interaction with God in prayer and action works with us where we are and invites us to take the next step. The Wisdom which is in the majesty of the universe is about moving toward God in the events of our life.

Come Life and Mission

The Church celebrates the Pentecost today using the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The Jewish celebration of Pentecost which the Apostles join with Jews from other lands to celebrate in Jerusalem is a feast of celebration of the first fruits of the harvest. It is a thanksgiving to God. Our starting block for deepening our relationship with God is also thanksgiving. The time of thanks described by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles is disturbed by God with a Great Spirit or wind. (Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the Hebrew word for both is the same.) The event described by Luke has the form of the fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32) from 800 years previous. The accounts of Luke in the Book of Acts and the Gospel of John have different descriptions of the release of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. Friar Jude reminds us that John is a mystic to whom exact time and space are not relevant and from whom the eternal timeless release of the “Peace with us” empowers us to hear the reminder of the Holy Spirit of our relationship to Jesus and the Father to incarnate Divine Life for the mission to forgive and welcome others to search the intimacy of the Divine Life in their journey. The historian Luke who also seeks to connect the followers of the Way with the ancient tradition of the Jews shows us thanksgiving, a link to Joel’s fire, the healing of the curse of Babel and the life and strength for the mission of Jesus to continue to speak this truth to all the nations. Father Larry Gillick SJ sees Pentecost in the light of the Life which is celebrated traditionally in the harvest and which is experienced in a particular way today in the Northern Hemispheres as the return of growth, green and, of course, dandelions. Our thanksgiving is before our eyes. The fire of the Holy Spirit reminds us of our Life Giving mission. Our peace is in the understanding of the forgiveness and intimacy to which the Pentecost events invite us. Come Holy Spirit is the proclamation of Life in our present and for our future! 

End with authority

In the end the question of authority is addressed by the authors of the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The passage from the Book of Acts is the end of this volume and Luke describes the situation of Paul as he has traveled on the journey, as noted by Friar JudeWinkler, from the spiritual capital of the world, Jerusalem, to the political capital of the world, Rome. Luke is expressing to the Roman rulers of this time that the followers of Jesus deserve to be treated as lawful adherents to the fulfillment of the ancient Jewish tradition who have been mistreated by a small group of Jewish leaders who have failed to understand the message of Paul and the other Apostles. The passage from the Gospel of John is one of two endings where the author may be setting straight some errors about the death of the beloved disciple which had arisen in the community. Friar Jude resonates with many who preach and teach when he describes how easy it is to be misheard. The wisdom of Psalm 1 which advises prudence in our choice of companions reminds us that the end of the novena for Pentecost is drawing close. The gifts of the Spirit enlighten our understanding of authority and order as experienced in obedience to the Will of God, in a world which uses authority for oppression and control.

Reconciled and Soul Repaired

The Scripture passages which make up the first reading and the Gospel reading in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are linked in an obvious way by the forced submission of the two giants of thespread of Christianity, Peter and Paul to the will of others. The imprisonment of Paul in Jerusalem and the action of the Roman authorities in sending him to Rome to resolve a dispute based on disagreement between followers of the Jewish religion over a man Jesus and what he did seems to be a bit more than the Roman Emperor would concern himself about. This journey is in harmony with the messages in the work of Luke that we are on a spiritual journey and, for the people of his time; the mission of Jesus is to be understood as continuing the Jewish tradition rather than being a new movement which would not be in accord with Roman order. The ending of the text from the Gospel of John is the occasion for Jesus to advise Peter, who has been restored or had his soul repaired, that Peter’s journey for Jesus will take him to be a state of submission to the will of others for Jesus. Both these acts of surrender of personal autonomy bring fruit of growth in the spread of the Word to others. The journey of people toward the deep intimate relationship with God and others require that our moral errors and self serving actions be reviewed and reconciled. The situation in the Gospel of John is a marvelous example of the desire of God to make things right with us. Peter is given the opportunity to revisit his betrayal of Jesus during the Passion. The sights, sounds and words are offered by Jesus for this healing. We can be open for those healing visits from Jesus in our lives. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the Church prays through a novena at this time, are the sustaining virtues which empower the faithful to life in obedience to the Will of God on the spiritual journey to holiness.

Dealing with discord and disagreement

The history of people in their religious understanding of God is full of discord and disagreement. The texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary point to a great paradox which involves the desire of Jesus that we all be one in the Love relationship between He and the Father and the ancient and modern zeal with which we rise to accentuate the differences in our religious practices. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the initial transgression of which Paul in accused in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles is bringing a Gentile, likely Titus, into the Temple. Most commentators would think that this would be an unlikely action of Paul, a Pharisee who would be aware of the nature of this prohibition. The religious spectrum in Jerusalem at this time, before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, was represented in the Sanhedrin by Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul used his knowledge of some of the core areas of disagreement between these groups, resurrection, spirit and angels to facilitate a confrontation which brought him from the danger to his life from the Sanhedrin to the custody of the Roman authorities. The path for Paul to bring the Good News to Rome from the religious capital of the world Jerusalem to the political capital of the world, Rome becomes the journey which Luke details in Acts. Jesus is praying what is known as the High Priestly Prayer in the text from the Gospel of John. He petitions the Father for the communion of His followers in the relationship of Love between He and the Father. This Love which abides in the Divine Relationship will abide in His followers then and now. The revelation of the means whereby we share in our journey in the glory of Jesus, presenting God as Love to others, is Life prompted by the Holy Spirit. The traditional novena prayed by the Church prior to Pentecost petitions God for the full flowering of the gifts of the Spirit in our mission as followers of the Way. 

Into the world

The text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary points to the mission of the followers of Jesus to go into the world and as the psalmist proclaims about God be the Father of orphans and the protector of widows. In the loving action of the Body of Christ in the world, the Presence of Christ transforms lives and situations to move in harmony with the Will of God. Friar Jude Winkler discusses the scene from the Book of Acts where Paul is taking leave of the faithful of Ephesus who consider this to be the last time they will see the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul exhorts them to be wary of the messages of the world which will attempt to scatter them and draw them away from the truth. They must continue to support themselves and the care for the weak. Friar Jude reminds us that the weak are not subjects of our charity but are the people with whom we struggle and know the blessing of Jesus in compassion and solidarity. The Gospel of John brings us the continuation of Jesus prayer for the Church as He prepares His disciples for His return to the Father. Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is known as Jesus High Priestly Prayer. In the passage today, Jesus prays for the disciples that they be consecrated in the Truth of the relationship of Father and Son and that the Holy Spirit be the strength for the disciples to remain in the relationship and defeat the attacks of the world with which they will live as a sign of the counter cultural values of God which bring life, compassion, forgiveness and love to people. The Church prepares for the feast of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost by prayer in the form of an ancientnovena. The direction of Jesus to the disciples to wait in prayer for the full release of the Holy Spirit is honoured in this practice.

Choosing in the Spirit

The Holy Spirit plays an important role in the decisions of the followers of Jesus in the text today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The action of God among people to raise up the downtrodden is praised by the psalmist. The gathering of the Apostles in Jerusalem is related by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles as a necessary action to restore the Twelve after the departure of Judas. Friar Jude Winkler notes that Luke writes of the ties of the followers of the Way to the ancient Tradition of the Jews. There are Twelve Patriarchs and the successors of the Patriarchs should also number twelve. The qualification of Apostle as one who lived with Jesus is met by two candidates. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is invoked to make the decision for Matthias. A novena which prepares us to be open to the Holy Spirit in celebration of theFeast of Pentecost is prayed by many during this liturgical season. The Gospel of John today tells of Jesus presentation of the unity of Father and Son. The intimate relationship of Love between Father and Son is experienced by those who are called to be friends of Jesus. This relationship is maintained in obedience to the commandments of Jesus which express themselves through the Holy Spirit in our actions to love our brothers. Our life in Love requires that we relate with our brothers and we incarnate Jesus in our flesh. The obedience which is necessary is that prompting of the Spirit to live to grow in our holiness. We will understand, through the gift of the Spirit, which of the many choices offered by our life experience are in support of Love of the other and which are for our own self satisfaction.

Clear and peaceful

The Holy Spirit figures prominently in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The Spirit is explicitly mentioned in the account from the Book of Acts in which Paul encounters the disciples of Apollos, the eloquent Jew from Alexandria, who have been baptized in the baptism of John for forgiveness of their sins. Paul baptizes them in the Name of Jesus and connects them with the life power of the Holy Spirit in relationship with the Father and the Son. The infilling of the Holy Spirit allows these disciples to surrender to the Will of God in their mission to spread the Good News. This commitment to the mission is witnessed in the signs of openness and bold proclamation of their experience to others. In the time between Ascension and Pentecost, the Churchprays for openness to the gifts of the Spirit. The Gospel of John implies that the clarity with which the disciples now appear to hear the words of Jesus is a gift to them from the Spirit. Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Gospel of John does not focus on the isolation of Jesus in His Passion but it declares the Love of Father and Son through the Holy Spirit as the courage with which we will glorify God in the face of those who have rejected Him. Peace is the consequence of this Love. It is this peace which the Spirit will radiate through our life to gather the attention of the world.

Why Go

A question comes to mind while we contemplate the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Why did Jesus have to return to heaven? The first answers to this question may come to us from the Scripture. Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the text from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke reverses the image of the coming of the Son of Man in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 7.13) on a cloud with the image of Jesus returning to God on a cloud. Luke presents the index of the missionary action which the disciples will do through the power of the Holy Spirit spreading the Good News from the spiritual centre of the world, Jerusalem to the political centre of the world, Rome. Luke cites the Holy Spirit as the agent to bring understanding to the disciples of the action they witness and do as followers of Jesus. The Gospel from Luke uses another set of bookends to indicate a completion in the Ascension. Father Roberto Donato noted that the beginning of the Gospel of Luke is marked by the silence of Zachariah announcing a king and ends with the King exiting into silence. The Gospel indicates that the power of the Holy Spirit will be the Presence of God with them as they proclaim Jesus, the Messiah and forgive sins throughout the whole world. Father Donato has noted that the workers often have difficulty completing the mission when the boss is looking over their shoulders. The Will of the Father that the Life of Jesus be known through the action of people is only possible with Jesus return and the power of the Holy Spirit which continues to involve the faithful in intimate conversation about the mission. A news article comments that the people of Haiti, who have endured so much suffering in recent years, are doing less sharing among themselves as a consequence of the presence of the “Big Aid” agencies in their land. We are so susceptible to seeking the easy way for ourselves and our attitude as witnesses of Jesus needs to be seeking to give of ourselves in compliance with the Will of the Father to bring the life of Love to the ends of the earth. The answers to spiritual questions and the power to act in His Name reside in our relationship with Jesus and the Father through the Spirit.

Inspired and called

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today proclaims the praise of God, Who is King of the Nations. The psalmist describes the gathering of the people of Abraham from all nations under the rule of God. The Messiah expected by the Jews to arise among them is to fulfill the desires expressed in this psalm. The text from the Acts of the Apostles tells of a Jew named Apollos who encounters Paul in Ephesus. He comes from Alexandria and is an eloquent speaker and authority on the Scripture. He has experienced the baptism of John and is inspired to preach and teach about Jesus as the fulfillment of the Promise in the Scriptures. Friar Jude Winkler comments that some scholars think that Apollos fits the description of the background of the unknown author of the Letter to the Hebrews. The inspiration to move and live as a missionary of our relationship with God does not require prior authorization or certification by religious authority. Authentic passion to know and grow in our relationship with God will take us to seek the instruction of the more experienced and mature in the faith.  The Gospel from John describes the manner of growth which many experience in relationship with Jesus. Our role to live as Jesus followers is cultivated through our life with development of Love rooted in the indwelling Spirit. This process of living Love enables our person to present Jesus to others and it transforms our desires from self centered to those of Jesus. We begin, as John instructs, to ask in the Name of Jesus. Our faith and trust, according to Friar Jude, opens our being to accept the response of God to our requests as the loving response which is according to His Will.

Prayer of nine days

The passage from the Book of Acts in the Roman CatholicLectionary describes the difficulties of Paul with the Jewish community in Corinth which eventually lead to inspiration for him from the Spirit to leave for Ephesus. The Christian Community in 2013 enters today the nine days of preparation for Pentecost. Some religious commentators identify this as the first Novena (nine days) of the Church. The scriptural background  (Luke 24:51-53) is found in the text proclaimed on the feast of the Ascension of Jesus which in many parts of the Christian world is celebrated on the Thursday nine days before Pentecost. FriarJude Winkler comments on the passage today from Acts as something which Luke reports the Roman authorities saw as a dispute among the members of the synagogue about “words, names and your own law”. Friar Jude notes that Luke wished to present the Christian community within Judaism as good citizens. The attention of the Roman authorities who might see possible insurrection in the followers of the Way would certainly bring the pain which Jesus advises His disciples in the text from the Gospel of John that they will know as they grow toward the full intimacy to which He invites them. We may still find ourselves in arguments within our communities about “words, names and our law”. Friar Jude reminds us that the pain which we know as separation from Jesus through our bad self serving habits can be addressed with the motivation of the Holy Spirit and the prayer of nine days for the traditional seven gifts. 

Rejected to Joy

The Roman Catholic Lectionary offers texts for some regions who will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Sunday. The episode from the Book of Acts tells of first journey of Paul to Corinth where he builds a community of Christians while living and working with a Jewish couple who had been expelled from Rome. Some scholars have determined that this expulsion of Jews from Rome was related to the disputes between followers of Jesus and other Jews in the synagogue in Rome. The text today reveals that the message of Paul would be rejected by the synagogue in Corinth, though Paul would attract leading Jews and some Gentiles to Jesus before Paul left Corinth for Ephesus. The missionary work of Paul continued with the Corinthians through visiting missionaries and letters to the believers in Corinth. The Gospel from John also tells of separation of the leader, in this case, Jesus from the His disciples by the rejection of His message by the religious authorities. The exile imposed on Jesus was death and His return to His believers would be experienced through the Holy Spirit as intimacy with the Love which was exhibited on the cross. The sorrow of being rejected and of having gifts of life be refused is as old as Genesis. The psalmist reminds us of the salvation history which makes clear that God is steadfast in continuing to offer life. Our rejection of God through His prophets and His Son continues. We will know the joy of Life after the rejection as we continue to keep the faith. 

Horizontal dimension too

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer some consideration of the body and Spirit as elements with which we Love and serve. The Acts of the Apostles tells of the journey of Paul to Athens where he uses the environment of scholarly philosophy to frame his presentation of the Good News to the people he encounters. Frair Jude Winkler comments that the worship of one God from Whom the plan of Creation exists in a spiritual manner free from the corruption of the body would be attractive to the Stoic thinking which was developing many adherents in the Greece of the first century. Scholars, business people and faithful Catholics have considered the Stoic influence on Christianity in the writing of Paul, Luke and others. Father Robert Barron reminds us of the deep need as Catholics to have the body as an essential means for being Christ in the world. The passage today from the Gospel of John continues Jesus declaration of the nature of Love and His union with the Father. The Paraclete is promised to invite us into the relationship of Love between the Father and Son and through that relationship we will exercise what Frair Jude calls the “horizontal dimension” of our faith, deep self giving love of others as our body is the Body of Christ in compassion and forgiveness in the world

Humbled to be change

The lives of the people who interact with the mission of Jesus and His followers are shown to be challenged and changed in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. The jailer, who is given custody of Paul and Silas, in the text from the Acts of the Apostles, needs to deal with the penalty of failure which meant that to die at his own hands was preferable to the expected punishment. The call of welcome from the prisoner for the jailer marks the beginning of a new approach to living for the jailer and his family. The change comes from celebrating Life by the Apostles in the midst of apparent tragedy and it brings Life to those humbled by circumstances of the world in which we live. The psalmist proclaims the nearness of God to the humble and the necessity of distance from the proud. The glorification of Jesus in the Gospel of John is His total Love expressed as the apparently failed “King of the Jews” on the Cross. The image of His departure from the disciples through humiliation, rejection and death at the hands of the people to whom He brings the invitation to Life is very difficult for His followers to accept. Jesus insists on the glory of this moment and of the central importance that He send the Holy Spirit, Advocate, to them to teach, reveal and remind them of His Love as testimony they will bring to the world which deals with sin, righteousness and judgement. For John, the sin is the refusal to believe in Jesus. The righteousness of Jesus Way will be evidenced through the Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus followers. The judgement of the Holy Spirit concerning evil in the world is that it is defeated by Life in Jesus. We, like the jailer, witness events which call us to the challenge of change. The Spirit provides the power to be transformed. 

The place of grace

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today emphasize that the Lord will invite people to Him at all times and places. The Apostle Paul is led by the Spirit to spread the Good News in several named communities in the Greek region of the Roman Empire. On the Sabbath, he seeks an appropriate location of peace to enter into prayer. This becomes an occasion to speak to women gathered in that place who are then called by God to pursue greater intimacy through following the Way of Jesus. The Gospel of John reassures Jesus disciples that the Holy Spirit remains with them even when Jesus will return to the Father after the rejection of His Love presented on the Cross. The followers of Jesus will be accused of blasphemy and they will be driven from the synagogues which are the traditional places for them to gather in the Presence of God. The opportunities in the Will of the Father for people to be drawn to Him are infinite and continuous. Our role is to radiate the Presence of Jesus through the indwelling Spirit wherever we are led in our mission.

Intimate and glorious difficulties

The journey for the followers of the Way is not without difficulty. The text from the Book of Acts in the Roman CatholicLectionary today tells of the resolution, according to Luke, of the dispute about the need of Gentile followers of Jesus to adopt the Jewish Law of the original disciples. Friar Jude Winkler points out that the resolution of this question presented by Paul in the letter to the Galatians (55CE) was a simple freedom from observing Jewish Law, whereas the instructions from Luke have conditions which the Gentiles must obey. Friar Jude comments that Luke was probably addressing concerns which arose later than the time of the Letter to the Galatians. These concerns appear in the Letter to the Corinthians. The retroactive instructions to achieve the desired morality in Corinth are a difficult technique for modern Western minds, attuned to journalistic standards, to understand. The Gospel from John today is the continuation of Jesus long dissertation on His leaving the disciples in body as He assures them of continued intimacy with the Communion of He and the Father through the Love and Shalom they will experience as they keep His commandments to live in that Love. Father LarryGillick SJ draws a comparison of Jesus promising to leave us with the Holy Spirit or Advocate to the Driver of a bus taking young boys home who have no idea of the path but have the assurance that the Driver will get them to familiar ground. The Gospel of John is a dualistic statement of the need to choose light over darkness, Jesus over the world in the commentary of Friar Jude. Father Larry mentions the construction of this Gospel as a means to address many of the faith challenges of the first century in the Church. The role of the Holy Spirit is declared in the text as One who reminds or in the words of FatherRoberto Donato “brings to the heart again” the Promise of the Advocate to provide direction. The journey to the glorious community of the New Jerusalem, described in the text from the Book of Revelation which communal love is the Temple of God and perpetual light for the residents will require addressing difficulty, conquering fear and living as His Body.

Spirit leads

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the important role that guidance by the Holy Spirit plays in the daily decisions of believers. The passage from the Book of Acts which tells of the meeting of Paul and Timothy and the decisions of Paul that Timothy should be circumcised to honour his Jewish heritage which is a result of his mother being Jewish is to confirm the Jewish tradition why being very much devoted to bringing the Good News to Gentiles without requiring them to be Jewish. The decisions made by attention to the Spirit may appear to be haphazard when viewed individually but are linked to the greater plan of the God when we step back and observe. Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the “world” in the Gospel passage from John is those people who have rejected Christ. In this text, Jesus advises us that we should expect that we should experience rejection like Jesus when we are living and making decisions according to our life with Him. Friar Jude notes how we may be able to understand some rejection as evidence that we are on the right path. The sorting out of the Christ-like decisions from our other decisions becomes clearer and more in tune with the in dwelling Spirit, the more we practice moving in His direction.

Review of faith

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents texts which are linked to the celebration of the feast of the Apostles, Philip and James. The passage from the letter to the Corinthians is intended to remind the Christians in that community of the Good News of the Resurrection. The basic proclamation or kerugma of this preaching of Paul, according to Friar Jude Winkler, is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures. FatherRobert Barron, of the Word on Fire Ministry speaks to the theme of “the body matters” in Christian life because it is through the body that we are able to present Jesus today in our action for others. Some Greek philosophy of the time of the early Church proposed that the human could be separated into body andsoul. The body was corruptible and irrelevant. The soul was the source of life and the path to God. The discussion of the soul and the body continues today and the strong words of Paul to the Corinthians invite our renewed reflection and contemplation. Jesus addresses the deep desire of people to know the Creator or Father. The faith tradition which is routed in the journey of people beginning with Abraham to live according to the Will of God seeks revelation about the nature of God. The recent History Channel presentation of the Bible brings key events in this search to our attention. The Gospel of John proclaims that those who live in Christ live in the communion of Love between Jesus and the Father. Jesus tells Philip that those who see Him see the Father. Our participation in the Life offered by Jesus is eternal. The working out of our Baptism from which Friar Jude reminds us, we are commissioned as priest, prophet and leader to live in Jesus Name is our path to making our role in the Body of Christ reveal the Father. 

It is the Law

The rules are a challenge to many. The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite consideration of the role of rules in bringing changes to our lives which will move us closer to the joy and praise proclaimed by the psalmist as found in the court of the Lord. The Council of Jerusalem, which Friar Jude Winkler comments would be better referred to as the meeting in Jerusalem, freed Gentiles who came to be baptized as followers of Jesus from observance of the Jewish law. This decision invokes contemplation about the universal applicability of rules which we choose, follow and feel the need to impose on others. The Law served the Jews. It did not serve the growth of the Love shown by Jesus in the Gentile community. Discussion today about the millennial generation, who are roughly in the 20-35 year age group, suggests that they share similar desires to the 60ish “boomers”, yet lack the confidence in the rules and institutions of the dominant culture. The counter cultural ethics of the “Woodstock generation” have morphed to be the rules of society. The Gospel of John today presents the path to Love and “Shalom” in God through abiding in Jesus and being empowered to die to self in the loving service of God and people. John reminds us and Friar Jude notes that we sometimes need commandments to keep us from the disorder and selfishness which will may direct us away from our deeper goal of living in Love.

The worker

The Roman Catholic Lectionary for today, the feast of St Joseph the Worker, offers an opportunity to contemplate how the work we do in the world has its greatest value in the degree with which it cooperates with the Will of God. Our tradition often imagines Joseph in the role of carpenter. How did the work he did in his trade bear fruit for God? Certainly his position in the community was to work in an occupation. Christians can easily see the role of co-Creator in the building we do of things, systems and civilization among the people with whom we labour.  The fruit of Joseph’s work as protector of the Holy Family was a response in faith to the prompting of God. We are unaware of the role of work in shaping this decision of Joseph, but we know that the faith he demonstrated must have impacted how he did his work and how he related to his community. The manner in which acceptance of the invitation to follow Christ should be visible in the lives of the Gentiles was the debated in the early Church as it struggled to decide how many of the Jewish customs were appropriate for Gentiles called to be in communion with this sect of Judaism who recognized the Messiah in Jesus and sought the inspiration of the Spirit to lead them to produce fruit as workers in the vineyard of God. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Eucharistic theme within the text from the Gospel of John which presents Jesus as the True Vine. The fruit which we hope to bear as branches connected to the Vine is that which the Father, who keeps the vines, desires. We need to be open to His growth instructions including that necessary pruning of self growth which we seek for our gratification and satisfaction. The work we do is about being workers in the vineyard of the Lord. Our plans, ambitions and even security need to be surrendered with thanksgiving as we join the psalmist in praise as we journey to the House of the Lord.