The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of how our relationship with God may be tested on our journey even as we are comforted by Jesus' mission to raise us up.
Raise them Up!
The reading from the Acts of Apostles describes how Saul persecuted the Church and Philip’s response to preach in Samaria.
* [8:3] Saul…was trying to destroy the church: like Stephen, Saul was able to perceive that the Christian movement contained the seeds of doctrinal divergence from Judaism. A pupil of Gamaliel, according to Acts 22:3, and totally dedicated to the law as the way of salvation (Gal 1:13–14), Saul accepted the task of crushing the Christian movement, at least insofar as it detracted from the importance of the temple and the law. His vehement opposition to Christianity reveals how difficult it was for a Jew of his time to accept a messianism that differed so greatly from the general expectation.1
Psalm 66 offers praise for God’s Goodness to Israel.
* [Psalm 66] In the first part (Ps 66:1–12), the community praises God for powerful acts for Israel, both in the past (the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the land [Ps 66:6]) and in the present (deliverance from a recent but unspecified calamity [Ps 66:8–12]).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus asserts: “I will raise them up on the last day”.
* [6:35–59] Up to Jn 6:50 “bread of life” is a figure for God’s revelation in Jesus; in Jn 6:51–58, the eucharistic theme comes to the fore. There may thus be a break between Jn 6:50–51.3
Ann Mausbach comments that the beating heart of our faith is the sacrament of the Eucharist, a chance to eat and drink at God’s table. In doing this we are fortified by the divine substance of God’s love, especially when we partake on a regular basis.
As we work through our busy day and week let’s keep remembering to take a seat at the table God has set for us. Let’s also find a place at the banquet for those who might have differing viewpoints or are sad and lonely. Let’s recognize that Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection are a gift that should be shared on a large platter. Let’s keep accruing the sustenance that comes from a rich relationship with God.4
Don Schwager quotes “Possessing the Scriptures,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When you understand anything in the Scriptures, it is love that is manifesting itself to you. When you fail to understand, it is love that is hiding itself from you. Those, therefore, who possess charity possess both what is manifest in the divine words and what is hidden in them." (excerpt from Sermon 350,2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 8:1-8 notes that the Samaritans were the last people on earth that faithful Jews would want to treat like family. They were more like estranged relatives! So they were the last people on earth to whom the long-awaited Messiah would reveal himself—or at least that’s what many Jews, including the disciples, probably thought.
We are all tempted at times to close ourselves off from people we don’t understand or with whom we disagree. But Jesus shows us that no one in the world is unworthy or excluded from his family. Today, pray for a spirit of openness and receptivity so that you, like Philip, are willing to share the love of God with everyone, no matter who they are. “Jesus, widen my heart to witness with love to the people I disagree with.”6
Friar Jude Winkler raises the mystery of the particular persecution of Greek speaking followers of Jesus. The nuance of predestination is connected to those whose names are in the Book of Life. Friar Jude reminds us that being in Christ as the Bread of Life is an “already but not yet” eschatology.
The senior pastor of University Presbyterian Church in Orlando, quotes Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, in the Gospel Coalition Blog that beautifully summarizes the blessings of the doctrine of predestination.
In a display of the Father’s love for the Son, He gives a specific people to the Son (John 6:37). This truth is evident in the testimony of the book of Revelation when it declares that the only ones entering the eternal heaven are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 21:27). John further testifies in Revelation 13:8, that these names were written in this book before the foundation of the world. In other words, one fruit of the Father’s love for Jesus, is our salvation. The Father made a free and sovereign decision to save a people as a gift for the Son and for His own glory from the foundation of the world (see also John 8:47; John 10:26-29; Romans 9:10-16).7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Christine Valters Paintner, an oblate of the Benedictine order, who reflects on a quote from Thomas Merton “The monk here and now is supposed to be living the life of the new creation in which the right relation to all the rest of God’s creatures is fully restored. Hence, Desert Father stories about tame lions and all that jazz.”
Merton’s quote [above] . . . is a keen reminder to everyone longing to experience a contemplative life to live the new creation now, not later or at another time. When we are committed to paying attention to this moment, we nurture our capacity to see the Holy active right here and now. We discover that the “kin-dom” is among us now, and we live as if this were true. Thomas Merton believed that his one job as a monk was to maintain this kind of connection to the natural world, to allow it to be his teacher and guide.8
Our relationship with God, in Christ, is developed by the Spirit, through our piety, study, and action interactions with Scripture, others, and Creation.
References
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