Reconciled and Soul Repaired

The Scripture passages which make up the first reading and the Gospel reading in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are linked in an obvious way by the forced submission of the two giants of thespread of Christianity, Peter and Paul to the will of others. The imprisonment of Paul in Jerusalem and the action of the Roman authorities in sending him to Rome to resolve a dispute based on disagreement between followers of the Jewish religion over a man Jesus and what he did seems to be a bit more than the Roman Emperor would concern himself about. This journey is in harmony with the messages in the work of Luke that we are on a spiritual journey and, for the people of his time; the mission of Jesus is to be understood as continuing the Jewish tradition rather than being a new movement which would not be in accord with Roman order. The ending of the text from the Gospel of John is the occasion for Jesus to advise Peter, who has been restored or had his soul repaired, that Peter’s journey for Jesus will take him to be a state of submission to the will of others for Jesus. Both these acts of surrender of personal autonomy bring fruit of growth in the spread of the Word to others. The journey of people toward the deep intimate relationship with God and others require that our moral errors and self serving actions be reviewed and reconciled. The situation in the Gospel of John is a marvelous example of the desire of God to make things right with us. Peter is given the opportunity to revisit his betrayal of Jesus during the Passion. The sights, sounds and words are offered by Jesus for this healing. We can be open for those healing visits from Jesus in our lives. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the Church prays through a novena at this time, are the sustaining virtues which empower the faithful to life in obedience to the Will of God on the spiritual journey to holiness.

Dealing with discord and disagreement

The history of people in their religious understanding of God is full of discord and disagreement. The texts today from the Roman CatholicLectionary point to a great paradox which involves the desire of Jesus that we all be one in the Love relationship between He and the Father and the ancient and modern zeal with which we rise to accentuate the differences in our religious practices. Friar Jude Winkler comments that the initial transgression of which Paul in accused in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles is bringing a Gentile, likely Titus, into the Temple. Most commentators would think that this would be an unlikely action of Paul, a Pharisee who would be aware of the nature of this prohibition. The religious spectrum in Jerusalem at this time, before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, was represented in the Sanhedrin by Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul used his knowledge of some of the core areas of disagreement between these groups, resurrection, spirit and angels to facilitate a confrontation which brought him from the danger to his life from the Sanhedrin to the custody of the Roman authorities. The path for Paul to bring the Good News to Rome from the religious capital of the world Jerusalem to the political capital of the world, Rome becomes the journey which Luke details in Acts. Jesus is praying what is known as the High Priestly Prayer in the text from the Gospel of John. He petitions the Father for the communion of His followers in the relationship of Love between He and the Father. This Love which abides in the Divine Relationship will abide in His followers then and now. The revelation of the means whereby we share in our journey in the glory of Jesus, presenting God as Love to others, is Life prompted by the Holy Spirit. The traditional novena prayed by the Church prior to Pentecost petitions God for the full flowering of the gifts of the Spirit in our mission as followers of the Way. 

Prayer of nine days

The passage from the Book of Acts in the Roman CatholicLectionary describes the difficulties of Paul with the Jewish community in Corinth which eventually lead to inspiration for him from the Spirit to leave for Ephesus. The Christian Community in 2013 enters today the nine days of preparation for Pentecost. Some religious commentators identify this as the first Novena (nine days) of the Church. The scriptural background  (Luke 24:51-53) is found in the text proclaimed on the feast of the Ascension of Jesus which in many parts of the Christian world is celebrated on the Thursday nine days before Pentecost. FriarJude Winkler comments on the passage today from Acts as something which Luke reports the Roman authorities saw as a dispute among the members of the synagogue about “words, names and your own law”. Friar Jude notes that Luke wished to present the Christian community within Judaism as good citizens. The attention of the Roman authorities who might see possible insurrection in the followers of the Way would certainly bring the pain which Jesus advises His disciples in the text from the Gospel of John that they will know as they grow toward the full intimacy to which He invites them. We may still find ourselves in arguments within our communities about “words, names and our law”. Friar Jude reminds us that the pain which we know as separation from Jesus through our bad self serving habits can be addressed with the motivation of the Holy Spirit and the prayer of nine days for the traditional seven gifts.