The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to reflect on the actions and events on our journey that have reduced our joy and how we may have sought to reconcile and return to full relationship.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the Council of Jerusalem and James Statement on Dietary Law for the Gentiles.
* [15:13–35] Some scholars think that this apostolic decree suggested by James, the immediate leader of the Jerusalem community, derives from another historical occasion than the meeting in question. This seems to be the case if the meeting is the same as the one related in Gal 2:1–10. According to that account, nothing was imposed upon Gentile Christians in respect to Mosaic law; whereas the decree instructs Gentile Christians of mixed communities to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols and from blood-meats, and to avoid marriage within forbidden degrees of consanguinity and affinity (Lv 18), all of which practices were especially abhorrent to Jews. Luke seems to have telescoped two originally independent incidents here: the first a Jerusalem “Council” that dealt with the question of circumcision, and the second a Jerusalem decree dealing mainly with Gentile observance of dietary laws (see Acts 21:25 where Paul seems to be learning of the decree for the first time). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15, n.d.)
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. (Psalms, PSALM 96, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus concludes the analogy to the Vine and the Branches by urging the disciples to “remain 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.” (John, CHAPTER 15, n.d.)
George Butterfield reflects on a personal experience and a call to proclaim God’s marvellous deeds to all peoples.
During the service we prayed, sang songs, and heard some brief reflections on the scriptures. I’m not sure that Bill heard a word of what was being said or sung. The whole time he was on his knees (thus, his face was close to the back of my head) and the whole night he kept saying simply, “O God, I’m so sorry - I’m so sorry. Forgive me Lord, I’m so sorry.” I never saw Bill again. I do not know where he went or what eventually happened to him. But I felt like that Pharisee who prayed something like, “God, I am so glad that I am not like other men, especially men like Bill.” I feel fairly certain that Bill went home justified that night. I went home with a radically changed perspective. (Butterfield, n.d.)
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) (Joy in Rejoicing Over Us, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:9-11 comments that it’s easy to make our Christian life all about “doing.” We can lose our joy if we think that we must somehow earn God’s love or repay him for loving us. The truth is that we could never pay God back for all he has given us. Knowing that we are not expected to reciprocate, that we have been given a matchless gift with no quid pro quo, can make our joy complete.
So instead of worrying about what you “owe” God, decide just to live in his love. You could look into the sky on a dark night and wonder at the vastness of the heavens. You could take a deep breath and think how blessed you are to be alive and to be God’s son or daughter. You could sit before a crucifix and contemplate the wounds Jesus suffered for you. As you do this, you may feel a spark of joy kindling in your heart. The more you grasp the magnitude of his gift, the more joyful you’ll become. So praise and thank the Lord for what he has done for you! “Thank you, Lord, for your unmatched love!” (Meditation on John 15:9-11, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the testimony of Paul and Barnabas about the Holy Spirit given to the Gentiles. The reporting of the conclusions of the Council are different in Acts, Corinthians, and Galatians. Friar Jude contrasts the joy of remaining in the Love of God with momentary happiness.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the work of Anglican priest Janet P. Williams who describes a renewed sense of the importance of apophatic spirituality.
If we are to speak of God as [God] is, then, we need to check what we say as often as possible against the touchstone of our experience of living towards holy encounter. And acknowledging that both our individual experiences and accounts of the common experience of the Church can be bent out of shape by prejudice, stereotype and idiosyncrasy, we need always to hold what we say and hear with a certain provisionality. Though this worries many people, there is no contradiction between this and faith. . . . As is often said, the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty [emphasis added]. From many directions, from the Bible and from philosophy and from the Church’s practical experience of prayer as understood down the ages and wrangled into shape by theologians, there is agreement: God, who reaches out to us in love and mercy, through the life of Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who meets us in worship and sacrament and prayer and in moments of grace in the natural world and in human relationships, is at the same time far beyond our reach. The words we use to describe God are more like gestures to point our attention in the right direction than they are like a scientific description or dictionary definition. . . . (Gestures in the Right Direction — Center for Action and Contemplation, 2022)
We realise that our sense of diminished love is a consequence of our decisions to be more distant from love in our relationships with God and others.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/15?7
Butterfield, G. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051922.html
Gestures in the Right Direction — Center for Action and Contemplation. (2022, May 19). Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/gestures-in-the-right-direction-2022-05-19/
John, CHAPTER 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15?9
Joy in rejoicing over us. (n.d.). “ - Wiktionary. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=may19
Meditation on John 15:9-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/05/19/384423/
Psalms, PSALM 96. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/96?1
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