The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate truths revealed through the Spirit in our relationship with Christ.
Revealed by the Spirit
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles details Paul and Silas' deliverance from prison and rejoicing that the jailor had become a believer in God.
* [16:11–40] The church at Philippi became a flourishing community to which Paul addressed one of his letters (see Introduction to the Letter to the Philippians).1
Psalm 138 offers thanksgiving and praise to God.
* [Psalm 138] A thanksgiving to God, who came to the rescue of the psalmist. Divine rescue was not the result of the psalmist’s virtues but of God’s loving fidelity (Ps 138:1–3). The act is not a private transaction but a public act that stirs the surrounding nations to praise God’s greatness and care for the people (Ps 138:4–6). The psalmist, having experienced salvation, trusts that God will always be there in moments of danger (Ps 138:7–8).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure and the coming of the Advocate.
* [16:8–11] These verses illustrate the forensic character of the Paraclete’s role: in the forum of the disciples’ conscience he prosecutes the world. He leads believers to see (a) that the basic sin was and is refusal to believe in Jesus; (b) that, although Jesus was found guilty and apparently died in disgrace, in reality righteousness has triumphed, for Jesus has returned to his Father; (c) finally, that it is the ruler of this world, Satan, who has been condemned through Jesus’ death (Jn 12:32).3
Nicky Santos, S.J. comments that the Spirit would enable the world to see that Jesus’ claim of his relationship to the Father was true, thereby, silencing the critics and exposing as the ultimate sin, their unwillingness to believe.
In many ways, this ultimate sin continues to be present even in our day. There is still an unwillingness to open ourselves to the vision of life that Jesus gives us; a vision of God’s unconditional love for us and of our intricate interconnected-ness with each other and with the physical environment. We fail to treat one another as sisters and brothers as evidenced by racism, human trafficking, etc. And we fail to relate to the environment with care, instead exploiting and polluting it. As, followers of Jesus, it is our task, inspired and guided by the Spirit, that we make that vision of life that Jesus gives us a reality. And like in the case of Jesus, this might mean laying down our life. But like Paul and Silas in the first reading, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will give us the strength to do so.4
Don Schwager quotes “Whatever is not of faith is sin,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When the Lord said of the Holy Spirit, 'He shall convict the world of sin,' he meant unbelief. For this is what he meant when he said, 'Of sin because they believed not on me.' And he means the same when he says, 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they should not have sin.' (John 15:22). He was not talking about [a time] before they had no sin. Rather, he wanted to indicate that very lack of faith by which they did not believe him even when he was present to them and speaking to them. These were the people who belonged to 'the prince of the power of the air, who now works in the children of unbelief' (Ephesians 2:2). Therefore those in whom there is no faith are the children of the devil because they have nothing in their inner being that would cause them to be forgiven for whatever is committed either by human infirmity, ignorance or any evil will whatever. But the children of God are those who certainly, if they should 'say that they have no sin, deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them,' but immediately (as it continues) 'when they confess their sins' (which the children of the devil do not do, or do not do according to the faith which is peculiar to the children of God), 'he is faithful and just to forgive them their sins and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness'" (1 John 1:9). (excerpt from AGAINST TWO LETTERS OF THE PELAGIANS 3.4)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 16:5-11 asks isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus doesn’t minimize our difficulties? Isn’t it inspiring to hear that he has sent us the Spirit to help keep grief from completely overwhelming our hearts? That’s exactly what the Spirit has come to do: to give us a heavenly perspective so that we can still perceive how God is working in the people around us who are suffering and in the difficult situations we ourselves face.
“I have told you all these things,” Jesus tells us, “but don’t focus only on them. Ask my Spirit to help you focus on what I am doing as well.” When you are in the middle of a crisis, try to open yourself to a bigger picture than the immediate problem right in front of you. It may seem hard, but take a moment or two to look for signs of the Spirit. Is he inviting you to trust him more deeply in this challenge? Is he asking you to surrender a situation or a loved one into his hands? Or maybe he wants you to take another courageous step forward in faith.6
Friar Jude Winkler shares the backstory to the arrest of Paul and Silas. It is not clear why Jesus must go away for the Advocate to arrive. Friar Jude reminds us of the sin in John’s Gospel to not believe in Jesus, Son of God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Carl McColman who has written many accessible books on spirituality, the mystics, and contemplative prayer. McColman explores a biblical book of “bridal mysticism” and also offers an example of a modern mystic who experienced this kind of union with God.
Elizabeth of the Trinity [1880–1906] serves as a wonderful modern example of a bridal mystic. She entered the Carmelite order at age twenty-one and died only a few years later, but her legacy of letters and other writings reveals a deep sense of God’s presence in her life, a presence luminous with love. As she wrote in one of her letters, “I feel so much love over my soul, it is like an Ocean I immerse and lose myself in: it is my vision on earth while waiting for the face-to-face vision in light. [God] is in me, I am in Him. I have only to love Him, to let myself be loved, all the time, through all things: to wake in Love, to move in Love, to sleep in Love, my Soul in His Soul, my heart in His Heart, my eyes in His eyes . . . .” [1] Elizabeth prayed that God would make her soul his heaven. In doing so, she recognized the heart of the mystery: that heaven is not just a place we go after we die, it is a state into which we are invited now.7
Our faith in Jesus as Son is revealed by the Spirit that exposes the lies and deceptions in the world.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment