The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the guidelines and experiences that shape our relationship with God and Creation.
Review our Guidelines
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles stresses that we “obey God rather than any human authority.”
When the Twelve immediately resumed public teaching, the Sanhedrin determined to invoke upon them the penalty of death (Acts 5:33) prescribed in Dt 13:6–10. Gamaliel’s advice against this course finally prevailed, but it did not save the Twelve from the punishment of scourging (Acts 5:40) in a last endeavor to shake their conviction of their prophetic mission. * [5:30] Hanging him on a tree: that is, crucifying him (cf. also Gal 3:13). * [5:31] At his right hand: see note on Acts 2:33.1
Psalm 34 is praise for deliverance from trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22).2
In the Gospel of John, the One Who Comes from Heaven is declared.
* [3:31–36] It is uncertain whether these are words by the Baptist, Jesus, or the evangelist. They are reflections on the two preceding scenes.3
Julie Kalkowski asks what if we were all obedient to God? Would we then be able to hear ‘the cry of the poor’ from today’s psalm? Would we be able to act on that love to diminish the overwhelming suffering of our world?
So, during this Easter season, I am going to sit and think about being obedient to God. And, if truth be told, probably dream about who we could be and what our communities and world would look like if we all obedient to God’s law of love.4
Don Schwager quotes “Always bless the Lord! “ by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When are you to 'bless the Lord?' When he showers blessings on you? When earthly goods are plentiful? When you have a plethora of grain, oil, wine, gold, silver... - while your mortal body remains healthy, uninjured and free from disease; while everything that is born on your estate is growing well, and nothing is snatched away by untimely death; while every kind of happiness floods your home and you have all you want in profusion? Is it only then that you are to bless the Lord? No, but 'at all times.' So you are to bless him equally when from time to time, or because the Lord God wishes to discipline you, these good things let you down or are taken from you, when there are fewer births or the already-born slip away. These things happen, and their consequence is poverty, need, hardship, disappointment and temptation. But you sang, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be in my mouth always,' so when the Lord gives you these good things, bless him, and when he takes them away, bless him. He it is who gives, and he it is who takes away, but he does not take himself away from anyone who blesses him. (excerpt from EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 34.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 5:27-33 asks, about the apostles, what made them so joyful and confident? From the start, the apostles were in the habit of pulling weeds out of their own hearts: weeds of self-righteousness and selfishness and pride. Weeds of arrogance and self-importance and vengeance. They worked on uprooting anything that might keep them from bearing joyful witness to Christ—even in the midst of threats and persecution.
If the “work” of tending your garden ever seems too hard, remember that Jesus has promised a full and rich harvest. He promises you nothing less than the love, the peace, the gentleness, and the patience that are the “fruit” of the Spirit living within you. (Galatians 5:22-23). So fix your attention on the kind of person Jesus is turning you into, and the daily toil will be well worth the effort! “Lord, help me to focus on the bounty that you have promised for those who are faithful.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes the resolution of the apostles to listen to God and the Spirit of Boldness before threats. The image in the Gospel is Jesus breathing the Spirit in our hearts to be witnesses to the Way. Friar Jude notes the sin in the Gospel of John is to not believe that Jesus is the Son sent to save.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Contemplative author and artist Christine Valters Paintner,who honors the formal sacraments of the church while also inviting us to celebrate the sacramental nature of all life and all beings.
This discovery that every creature and every created thing can be a window of revelation into the divine nature is an invitation to fall more and more in love with the world. To see that teachers of grace exist everywhere means to bring a sense of reverence to the way we walk in the world. When we encounter nature as sacrament, we can no longer objectify it. We can instead create the circumstances that nurture and nourish this kind of vision. . . . Sacramental vision means not only that we grow in our love of God’s ways in the world but also that we grow in our sense of kinship with creation. . . . There is a sense of God’s incarnate presence in creation that shimmers forth to reveal the holiness of all things. Notice how your senses come alive when you walk out in the world aware of its sacramental nature. What do your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin each reveal to you about how God is alive in the world around you?7
The Law of Love is revealed to us through the Spirit to motivate our transformation as disciples of Christ.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment