The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the farewell and separation we have experienced in the light of our surrender to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to continue our mission as followers of Christ.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul speaks to the Ephesian Elders.
* [20:16–35] Apparently aware of difficulties at Ephesus and neighboring areas, Paul calls the presbyters together at Miletus, about thirty miles from Ephesus. He reminds them of his dedication to the gospel (Acts 20:18–21), speaks of what he is about to suffer for the gospel (Acts 20:22–27), and admonishes them to guard the community against false prophets, sure to arise upon his departure (Acts 20:28–31). He concludes by citing a saying of Jesus (Acts 20:35) not recorded in the gospel tradition. Luke presents this farewell to the Ephesian presbyters as Paul’s last will and testament. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)
Psalm 68 offers Praise and Thanksgiving
* [Psalm 68] The Psalm is extremely difficult because the Hebrew text is badly preserved and the ceremony that it describes is uncertain. The translation assumes the Psalm accompanied the early autumn Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth), which included a procession of the tribes (Ps 68:25–28). Israel was being oppressed by a foreign power, perhaps Egypt (Ps 68:31–32)—unless Egypt stands for any oppressor. The Psalm may have been composed from segments of ancient poems, which would explain why the transitions are implied rather than explicitly stated. At any rate, Ps 68:2 is based on Nm 10:35–36, and Ps 68:8–9 are derived from Jgs 5:4–5. The argument develops in nine stanzas (each of three to five poetic lines): 1. confidence that God will destroy Israel’s enemies (Ps 68:2–4); 2. call to praise God as savior (Ps 68:5–7); 3. God’s initial rescue of Israel from Egypt (Ps 68:8), the Sinai encounter (Ps 68:9), and the settlement in Canaan (Ps 68:10–11); 4. the defeat of the Canaanite kings (Ps 68:12–15); 5. the taking of Jerusalem, where Israel’s God will rule the world (Ps 68:16–19); 6. praise for God’s past help and for the future interventions that will be modeled on the ancient exodus-conquest (Ps 68:20–24); 7. procession at the Feast of Tabernacles (Ps 68:25–28); 8. prayer that the defeated enemies bring tribute to the Temple (Ps 68:29–32); 9. invitation for all kingdoms to praise Israel’s God (Ps 68:33–35). (Psalms, PSALM 68, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus prays for His Disciples.
* [17:1–26] Climax of the last discourse(s). Since the sixteenth century, this chapter has been called the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus. He speaks as intercessor, with words addressed directly to the Father and not to the disciples, who supposedly only overhear. Yet the prayer is one of petition, for immediate (Jn 17:6–19) and future (Jn 17:20–21) disciples. Many phrases reminiscent of the Lord’s Prayer occur. Although still in the world (Jn 17:13), Jesus looks on his earthly ministry as a thing of the past (Jn 17:4, 12). Whereas Jesus has up to this time stated that the disciples could follow him (Jn 13:33, 36), now he wishes them to be with him in union with the Father (Jn 17:12–14). (John, CHAPTER 17, n.d.)
Molly Mattingly reflects that at this time of year people are called in different directions – to new programs, new jobs, new vocations, new cities, new stages of life. It’s difficult; there’s no way around that. “Our people,” who have shared daily life, work, growth, and faith, who have shown us who we are in a unique way, are not present in the same way anymore. Now it takes a different effort and intention.
Jesus, and later Paul, prepared the disciples for something like this fractioning in today’s readings. To paraphrase, Jesus says to his dearest friends, “I have been with you in this way. I have told you everything and you’ve got this. I will not be with you in the same way, soon, but our relationship and what we have shared does not end. You know me. Eternal life is relationship with me.”
Then Jesus commends his friends to the world, which seems to give him hope and confidence, and he prays for them. I resonate with that as I think about each year’s graduates. The goodbyes are always bitter, but knowing such wonderful, motivated, intelligent, resilient, faith-filled people are going into the world to do good in all the ways they can in so many fields? That is very sweet, and it gives me hope for the world. (Mattingly, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Eternity will be ours when faith sees,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"We are distanced from eternity to the extent that we are changeable. But eternal life is promised to us through the truth. Our faith, however, stands as far apart from the clear knowledge of the truth as mortality does from eternity. At the present we put faith in things done in time on our account, and by that faith itself we are cleansed. In this way, when we have come to sight, as truth follows faith, so eternity may follow on mortality. Our faith will become truth, then, when we have attained to that which is promised to us who believe. And that which is promised to us is eternal life. And the Truth - not that which shall come to be according to how our faith shall be, but that truth that always exists because eternity is in it - the Truth then has said, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.' When our faith sees and comes to be truth, then eternity shall possess our now changed mortality." (excerpt from ON THE TRINITY 4.18.24.34) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 17:1-11 comments there is a beautiful and striking line in today’s passage that tells us about this new chapter. Speaking about himself, Jesus prays to his Father, “You gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him” (John 17:2). Here, in one sentence, is Jesus’ entire purpose in becoming a man: all the authority God had given him was so that he could bring us to eternal life. This same mission, in fact, lies behind the gift of the Holy Spirit.
As you prepare for Pentecost, invite the Holy Spirit to come into your life more fully. Ask him to strengthen your faith. Ask him to help you take hold of the gift of eternal life. Finally, ask him to empower you to share that gift with the people around you. You are part of Jesus’ story, and that means his mission is your mission!
“Jesus, I believe in you and your authority. Holy Spirit, help me share my faith with someone I meet today.” (Meditation on John 17:1-11, n.d.)
James Finley, CAC teacher and psychotherapist, provides a helpful image for us to think about how our lives and struggles intersect with the ever-present love of God. Imagine drawing a horizontal line. This line represents our experiences of ourselves and our passage through time, from birth to death. We now imagine drawing a vertical line intersecting right in the middle of the horizontal line. The vertical line is the divine dimension, divinity, God, the Holy, the sacred. And the infinite love of God, the Holy, is welling up, presence-ing itself and pouring itself out as our lives on the horizontal line.
If we have religious faith and we experience depression, often our faith doesn’t mean anything to us anymore. It ceases to be relevant. Not only do we feel we have lost our own way in life, but we’ve also lost the felt sense of God being present in our lives. The absence of feeling God’s presence radicalizes the sense of our loss. A lot of therapy, then, isn’t only about moving along the horizontal line to reduce the symptoms of depression—although it is that—but doing it in such a way that it starts to open up the depth dimension. The infinite love of God can come welling up, and something of the depth dimension can begin to shine through in our dilemmas. It isn’t just that we’re caught in the middle of a dilemma, but we have a felt sense of knowing that we’re not alone. (Finley, 2023)
In our journey, we have many arrivals and departures that are opportunities to bring love and life and establish memories of Grace and Providence.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/20?17
Finley, J. (2023, May 23). The Divine Dimension of Life — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-divine-dimension-of-life-2023-05-23/
John, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/17?1
Mattingly, M. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052323.html
Meditation on John 17:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/05/23/687711/
Psalms, PSALM 68. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/68?10
Schwager, D. (n.d.). This Is Eternal Life - to Know the Father the Only True God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=may23
No comments:
Post a Comment