The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary (outside Canada) today invite contemplation of the action of the Holy Spirit in drawing us to abide with Jesus in the Love of the Father.
Abide in Love
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles explains that God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit.
* [15:1–35] The Jerusalem “Council” marks the official rejection of the rigid view that Gentile converts were obliged to observe the Mosaic law completely. From here to the end of Acts, Paul and the Gentile mission become the focus of Luke’s writing.1
Psalm 96 praises God Who comes in judgement.
* [Psalm 96] A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.2
The Gospel of John is the invitation of Jesus to “abide in my love”.
* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”3
Mary Lee Brock’s heart was drawn to the third commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. The author of “Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest,” Wayne Muller, writes: “Sabbath time can be a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork, mindless accumulation, and accomplishments. Sabbath is a way of being in time where we remember who we are, remember what we know, and taste the gifts of spirit and eternity.”
In addition to a sacred day of the week, Sabbath can be framed as a way of being. How often I pray for the grace to hear the voice of God. The commandment of keeping the Sabbath holy is not an obligation but rather a generous gift of time and space to be with and for God. Muller offers many ways to honor the Sabbath around the themes such as rest, rhythm, time, happiness and wisdom. Being guided by the commandments is how we can experience the complete joy that Jesus wants for us. This invitation to reimagine my time and energy in the frame of the Sabbath is a true gift from God.4
Don Schwager quotes “Joy in rejoicing over us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"And what else is Christ's joy in us except that he is pleased to rejoice over us? And what is this joy of ours that he says is to be made full, but our having fellowship with him?... His joy, therefore, in us is the grace he has bestowed on us, and that is also our joy. But he rejoiced over this joy even from eternity when he chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Nor can we rightly say that his joy was not full. For God's joy was never at any time imperfect. But that joy of his was not in us. For we, in whom that joy could exist, had as yet no existence. And even when our existence commenced, it began not to be in him. But in him it always was, who in the infallible truth of his own foreknowledge rejoiced that we should yet be his own. Accordingly, he had a joy over us that was already full when he rejoiced in foreknowing and foreordaining us. And there could hardly be any fear intermingling in that joy of his that might imply a possible failure in what he foreknew would be done by himself." (excerpt from TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 83.1)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 15:7-21 comments discerning where God is leading involves a process. For example, it wasn’t easy for the apostles to understand what the Holy Spirit was calling them to do regarding the Gentile Christians and circumcision. They needed to meet together to discuss the issue. As they listened to one another and prayed for guidance, they began to realize that God didn’t require that the Gentiles be circumcised before he sent them the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit was the sign to them that Baptism, not circumcision, was the one necessary key for entry into God’s kingdom.
So if you are facing a decision or need guidance from the Holy Spirit, go ahead and look for signs, but be patient about the process as well. You may have to spend some time discussing the issue with a trusted friend or your pastor. You may have to “try on” your decision for a time. Above all, you will have to pray. As you go through these various steps, you will become more and more confident of where the Spirit is leading you. The Holy Spirit really does want to guide you. It may take time, as it did for Peter and the early Church. There may be some twists and turns along the way. But believe that one way or another, the Spirit will help you find the right path. “Come, Holy Spirit! Lead and guide me today.”6
Friar Jude Winkler outlines the roles and records of the “Council of Jerusalem” as contained in Acts and 1 Corinthians. We remain in the love resulting from the Commandment that Jesus is the Son of God. Friar Jude reminds us that our life of vitality and joy begins in our relationship with Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a contemplative poem from CAC friend and writer Felicia Murrell. Felicia’s words combine a deep awareness of God’s presence while clearly naming the collective trauma of police brutality and lynchings. It is worth remembering, as Black liberation theologian James Cone (1938–2018) points out, that the lynchings of African Americans and the crucifixion of Jesus share much in common: “Both the cross and the lynching tree were symbols of terror, instruments of torture and execution, reserved primarily for slaves, criminals, and insurrectionists—the lowest of the low in society.” [1] There is something about poetry that gives us permission to sit with the paradoxes of our pain, perhaps especially when addressing traumatic suffering.
Silence
If you’re silent,
you can hear the forest breathe,
the holy hush of the tree’s limb.
“Silence,” said Thomas Merton, “is God’s first language”:
the way it soaks into your skin,
surrounds you,
blanketing you like the forest’s breath.
Silence:
The cadence of the land at rest,
the body asleep,
the heart awake.
Silence:
The deep rhythmic breathing of a mind slowed down,
an ocean still,
wet dew clinging to grass blade.
Silence:
The sacred song trapped in a bird’s breast before its first
chirp,
the still of night across a desert landscape
wrapped in a bone-aching chill
before the sun rises to scorch its parched earth.
Silence:
The lusty gaze of onlookers staring at the negro on the
lynching tree,
neck snapped,
life ended,
feet dangling,
back and forth,
back and forth.
Silenced:
Hands up, don’t shoot!
Body thrumming with a heady sense of power.
Hands in pocket,
resting pose, knees embedded into a man’s neck.
Silence, please.
I. Can’t. Breathe.Silenced.7
The opposite of fear that is used to oppress is love that invites us to abide in Jesus.
References
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