Love opens the door

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the foundation that Love is in generating hope for the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Love reveals truth, beauty, goodness

The reading from Acts summarizes the end of the First Mission of Paul and Barnabas.

* [14:23] They appointed presbyters: the communities are given their own religious leaders by the traveling missionaries. The structure in these churches is patterned on the model of the Jerusalem community (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 5, 22; 21:18).1 

In Psalm 145 The “works of God” make God present.

The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity.2 

The passage from the Book of Revelation shares images of the New Heaven and the New Earth.

* [21:1–22:5] A description of God’s eternal kingdom in heaven under the symbols of a new heaven and a new earth; cf. Is 65:17–25; 66:22; Mt 19:28.3 

The Gospel from John express love as the New Commandment declared by Jesus.

* [13:34] I give you a new commandment: this puts Jesus on a par with Yahweh. The commandment itself is not new; cf. Lv 19:18 and the note there.4 

Suzanne Guthrie is interested in questions about how people "learn" to discern layers of consciousness of the Holy. She cites John of the Cross and Ernesto Cardenal in her meditation on the Gospel today.

We turn outward, attracted by the beauty we see in created things without realizing that they are only a reflection of the real beauty. And the real beauty is within us. And so paradoxically, the more we turn toward beauty, the more we turn away from it. For it is in the opposite direction. We turn outward and it is within.5
Her reflections are accessible through Textweek Easter 5 6 

Mariana Miller is struck by Jesus’ last words in the Gospel passage.

I give you a new commandment: love one another.As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.This is how all will know that you are my disciples,if you have love for one another." (vv.34, 35)
We are living in a historical time where we tend to only want to love those who look, think, talk, and act like us. Is this what Jesus meant when he said, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another”? What does it mean today, for us, to love one another like Jesus loved us?
Let us ponder these questions in our prayer today and ask God for the grace of openness to love in justice and reconciliation in our own lives, in our communities and in our world.7 

Don Schwager quotes “Christ's love goes further than anything previous,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

 "He plainly indicates the novelty involved in his command here - and the extent to which the love he enjoins here surpasses the old idea of mutual love (Deuteronomy 6:5) - by adding the words 'Even as I have loved you, you also should love one another.' ... The law of Moses mandated the necessity of loving our brothers as ourselves, yet our Lord Jesus the Christ loved us far more than he loved himself. Otherwise, he would have never descended to our humiliation from his original exaltation in the form of God and on an equality with God the Father, nor would he have undergone for our sakes the exceptional bitterness of his death in the flesh, nor have submitted to beatings from the Jews, to shame, to derision, and all his other sufferings too numerous to mention. Being rich, he would never have become poor if he had not loved us far more than he loved himself. It was indeed something new for love to go as far as that! Christ commands us to love as he did, putting neither reputation, wealth or anything else before love of our brothers and sisters. If need be, we even need to be prepared to face death for our neighbor’s salvation as our Savior's blessed disciples did, as well as those who followed in their footsteps. To them the salvation of others mattered more than their own lives, and they were ready to do anything or to suffer anything to save souls that were perishing." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9)8

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 13:31-35 asks if be nice, take care of the people you’re close to, maybe give some money to the poor. Is this all that Jesus means? Or does he have a different idea? Let’s look at the context of this command to get some idea.

he is calling them to a love that mirrors his own love—a love that is selfless and sacrificial, a love that flows from God’s unconditional love for each person on earth.
This way of loving would set apart Jesus’ followers because it is so different from the way most people think of love. Jesus’ love washed the feet of his betrayer. It forgave those who nailed him to the cross. It reached across cultural lines to embrace Samaritans and Gentiles. It extended healing to the marginalized and political rivals.
It’s this kind of love that won people over in the first century: they saw believers caring for outcasts like widows and orphans and holding their possessions in common. But it has also won people over throughout history: people saw Christians nursing plague victims in the Middle Ages, believers risking their safety to hide Jews during World War II, and more recently, Pope St. John Paul II forgiving the man who shot him.9 

Friar Jude Winkler notes that Paul and Barnabas appointed “presbiterio” or priests and counselors in the communities they visited who would suffer obstacles as they lived the Way. The New Jerusalem is a society where we form the Body of Christ. Friar Jude reminds that the Father is glorified in Jesus in the outpouring of Love on the Cross.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, teaches the Divine Spirit—God within us, is already promised, often with different words, by the Hebrew prophets. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Isaiah 11:2—God takes on an indwelling character. The unnamable I AM becomes writ large on our hearts, revealing the “down and in” divine characteristic present since the beginning of time. Let’s call the Holy Spirit Implanted Hope.

 Theologian Jack Levison points out that there are many meanings for the Hebrew word ruach and the Greek pneuma: “The original Hebrew and Greek words for ‘spirit’ were used to convey concepts as diverse as a breath, a breeze, a powerful gale, an angel, a demon, the heart and soul of a human being, and the divine presence itself.” [1] For me, what seems most significant is that Spirit is the divine indwelling in creation. As God promises Ezekiel, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” (See Ezekiel 37:9-14.)
Without God as Holy Spirit, there’s no inner momentum, élan vital, or aliveness to heal our wounds. When the Spirit is alive in people, they wake up from their mechanical thinking and enter the realm of co-creative power. As in Ezekiel’s vision, the water flows from ankles to knees to waist to neck as the New Earth is hydrated. (See Ezekiel 47:1-12.) Like Pinocchio, we move from wooden to real. We transform from hurt people hurting other people to wounded healers healing others. Not just as individuals but as shapers of history that keeps moving forward through the Spirit’s power.10

Jesus Life in us through the indwelling Spirit reveals the truth, beauty, and goodness in Creation and connects us in service to love that sacrifices self for the other.

References

1	(n.d.). Acts, chapter 14 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/14
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 145 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/145
3	(n.d.). Revelation, chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/21
4	(n.d.). John, chapter 13 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/13
5	(n.d.). Easter 5 A - At the Edge of the Enclosure. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/easter5a.html
6	(n.d.). Easter B5 - Textweek. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://www.textweek.com/yearb/easterb5.htm
7	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
8	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
9	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/05/19/
10	(2019, May 19). Implanted Hope — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 19, 2019, from https://cac.org/implanted-hope-2019-05-19/

Insisting on our terms

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider how much of insisting on our own terms are preventing our full relationship with God.

Love and Freedom

The Prophet Ezekiel lays out the great invitation of God to restore the relationship with His people through an intimate Presence in their being.

* [36:25–26] God’s initiative to cleanse Israel (cf. 24:13–14) is the first act in the creation of a new people, no longer disposed to repeating Israel’s wicked past (chap. 20). To make this restoration permanent, God replaces Israel’s rebellious and obdurate interiority (“heart of stone”) with an interiority (“heart of flesh”) susceptible to and animated by God’s intentions (“my spirit,” v. 27).

The Gospel of Matthew resonates with the intimate connection between Love and Freedom as the mercy and generosity of God must be accepted as our free choice.

* [22:11] A wedding garment: the repentance, change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom (Mt 3:2; 4:17) must be continued in a life of good deeds (Mt 7:21–23).

The lament and prayer of Psalm 51 to create a new heart for us may begin our reconsideration of our selfish choices.

* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms,
* [51:18] For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God, cf. Ps 50.

Julie Kalkowski shares that the texts made her think about her response to God’s invitation to her for a closer relationship.

Today’s Gospel and Jesus’ ministry remind me to not write off people whom whose politics I don’t consider to be ‘good”.  Both the King and Jesus knew that in order to be “good”, you first have to have a relationship with God. I find it is easier to be open to others who believe differently than me if I make time to sit with God.  I am not saying that it is easy, just that somehow it is easier. That song: “All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place” keeps running through my head as I write this. So, for the next few weeks, I will try to be more inclusive and to look for common ground with  others instead of seeing our differences. To not judge or dismiss anyone, but to welcome them as another child of God.

Don Schwager quotes 20th Century pastor Dieterich Bonhoeffer on cheap grace or costly grace and John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) on the guest with no wedding garment.

Dieterich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and "costly grace".
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."
What then must we understand by the wedding garment but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast to join the church to himself. Only God's love brought it about that his only begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us' (John 3:16)." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 38.9)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 22:1-14 How is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?

In the same way, the man at the end of Jesus’ parable was out of place. He chose not to wear the wedding garment provided for him, snubbing the king’s generous offer to clothe him with dignity. We can liken this to the clothing of the saints in heaven, “the righteous deeds of the holy ones” spoken of in the Scriptures (Revelation 19:8). We may think this fellow was treated harshly, but it’s actually what he chose for himself. For the wedding garment—the righteousness available through Jesus’ sacrifice—was his for the taking. He just didn’t put it on.

Friar Jude Winkler sees the proclamation in Ezekiel as the manifestation of the triumph of mercy of God in destroying sin with Love. Sin is an act where we imprison ourselves to our lowly nature. Friar Jude notes the garment is at the door. We have to identify with the groom.When we exclude ourselves by our choices, there are consequences.

 Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes Thich Nhat Hanh on the Buddhist insistence on the necessary link between being peace and making peace. This reflects Christian spirituality’s traditional insistence that all our action in the world must be combined with contemplation.

Being peace is an absolute prerequisite for making peace. And by “being peace,” . . . [Thich Nhat Hanh] means deepening the practice of mindfulness, both formally in regular meditation as well as throughout the day as we receive every person and every event that enters our lives; through such mindfulness we will, more and more, be able to understand . . . whomever we meet or whatever we feel, and so respond with compassion. Only with the peace that comes with such mindfulness will we be able to respond in a way that brings forth peace for the event or person or feeling we are dealing with.

Father Richard notes that most Western people are already geared toward action but need training in contemplation. Connecting to Ezekiel, if the inner world is authentic, an individual’s political, economic, and service attitudes will change organically from the inside out.

References

(n.d.). Ezekiel chapter 36 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/36
(n.d.). Psalms chapter 51 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51:12
(n.d.). 22:21. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/matthew22.htm
(n.d.). Creighton Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin (Optional Memorial) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved August 23, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 23, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/

Universal Celebration of Love

Today marks the end of the 50 days of the Easter season. The Roman Catholic Lectionary prescribes the readings for the Feast of Pentecost. We return to the events of Easter and the greeting in John’s Gospel of “Peace” from the Risen Christ to the disciples gathered in fear of the religious authorities. The opposite of fear is peace and faith. Those gathered are also offered hope in the power that Jesus leaves with them to minister forgiveness to all. The Acts of the Apostles tells of the witness to the infilling of the disciples with the Holy Spirit. From this resonance with the Love of the Divine, the words are proclaimed about the Gospel of Love. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is part of the greatest “love literature” known to humanity. His and our firm affirmation is that “we were all made to drink of one Spirit “ (1 Corinthians 12: 13). The unity and strength “in the Spirit” is the universal celebration today!

Mind the love

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today illustrate how intellectual debates may block our discovery of the experience of Divine presence. Paul is led by the Spirit to testify before the council of Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem. The long standing debates between the factions with different interpretations of Judaism are restarted and Paul is overlooked in the dispute, The psalmist, from an earlier time, praises God with the understanding that the Presence of the Divine gives him life and fullness of joy. John relates the final discourse of Jesus. He prays that the unity and intimacy of the relationship of Jesus, Father and those who have received His Word in the world is made visible to all through the believers. The characteristic which will mark this relationship is the evidence of the love between Father and Son made visible in human life

Glorious awareness is but a shadow

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today call us to look for more. The obvious mystery and awe of the universe that we can perceive is a mere shadow of the universe we cannot on our own comprehend. John relates Jesus explanation to His disciples that even though He has much to tell them in His last days in the flesh, the difficulty of flesh to take it in without Spiritual enlightenment will be futile. The Sprit of truth will resonate in the being of His followers and the wisdom and passion of Paul for the Truth and the Life will be available to all. Paul builds on the existing sense of awe and wonder among the Greeks to point them to the revelation of Jesus which transformed Paul and is offered to all. The psalmist lifts voice in praise of the Lord of the Universe who is close to the needs and aspirations of His people.

Spirit moves and there is a reaction

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today speak of the change which exposure to the intimate presence of the Divine brings. John tells how Jesus advises His disciples that when He has gone, those who have not responded to the call of the Father through Jesus will persecute and put the disciples out of the synagogue. The psalmist praises the goodness of God to Israel. There is a hint that some have been enemies of Israel and the psalmist celebrates the judgment of God on them. When the indwelling Spirit is on the move, there are some who do not respond. A reaction to change can be to fight fiercely to hold to the present understanding and even to see the new movement as threatening. The dealer in the purple cloth, Lydia, is moved by the Spirit present in Paul and his followers to be baptized as a follower of the Way. The Way will endure the persecution of religious and secular forces and grow during this time.

Lots of Rooms in the Inn

The theme of the desire of the Creator and the creature to be Father and son is strong in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. This movement of the Divine toward the temporal and finite is difficult to comprehend. The promise of Jesus is revealed in John’s Gospel that “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places.” (John 14:2) It is the Spirit in communion with the indwelling Spirit that allows this assurance of desire of God as the psalmist proclaims ““You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” “John Paul II on the passage from John

Abundant Life and No differences

Today the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite us to consider the Mission of Jesus and the community to which it is addressed. The proclamation in John 10:10 that “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” is a statement which can resonate to clarify the direction of those who may be seeking a How and Why of the relationship with the Divine. It is one of the phrases which stick in the mind and which may come to mind in the way that Acts describes Peter’s inspiration to bring the Message to Gentiles and “not to make a distinction between them and us.*” The ‘they’ for whom Jesus brings abundant life is everyone. These texts and Paul’s teaching are exhortations to move, like Peter, inspired by the Spirit to break down the obstacles of human origin which block our witness of the “Baptism of the Spirit” in all races, tribes and communities of the Creator.

Words of Eternal Life

The psalmist from the texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today proclaims that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.” (Psalm 116.15:) This is evidenced by the attention of Peter to the needs of the sick and dying as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. These are the very sign of the Divine present in the actions of people. It is from this understanding of the mercy and desire of God to be with the sick and dying that a leap can be made to the faith and trust of Peter from the Gospel of John where he is unable to take an alternate path from the one which Jesus is presenting. It is not that Peter understood the theological fine points in Jesus exhortation. It is not that the mystical linkage of Word and Spirit and with the rejection of the flesh was obvious to him, but his indwelling Spirit reacts with a certainty that there is no Life outside of association with Jesus!

Deeper than an Idea

The question which the religious authorities ask in the text from John’s Gospel from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today is often the “deal breaker” in the movement towards intimacy with the Divine. Understanding of the Mystery of the Divine becoming human is a very difficult, perhaps not comprehendible, concept. The place of the Christian believers as the living “Body of Christ” is more approachable. The indwelling Spirit is necessarily part of the Body of Christ. John’s Gospel encourages us to go further. This intimacy sought by the Creator with the creature is realized at the level of matter and molecules and the basic substance of the universe. The “idea” of intimacy is replaced with material and physical intimacy. The episode of the conversion of Saul, as related in Acts is an attempt to describe in words the calling of Paul as an apostle with the consequence that Paul will count his calling by the Risen Jesus to be as “real” as the experience of the other apostles with the human Jesus. The completion of the story of Saul’s call to a new vision is literal… ‘Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul* and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’’ (Acts of the Apostles 9.17:)

Afflictions with assurance

The righteous are presented as having some difficulties with those of the earth in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The dilemma shared in Acts is that of the person activated by the indwelling Spirit who must act in defiance of the civil or religious authority. The resonance with the Divine is both the assurance that the mission will continue and as the psalmist proclaims the righteous one will enjoy the protection of the Divine. Often we seek that protection in our time. John shows that the domain and the universe of the Divine and the earthly are not the same. The Father desires that the Son give the Spirit which draws righteousness without measure. The infinite is offered to the finite. Is there any wonder that finite humanity has difficulty being the bearer of infinite life.

Manifestation and Magnificat

What are some signs or manifestations of Divine action among people? The Roman Catholic Lectionary takes us to the story of Hannah and the birth of her son Samuel. It is a story of the birth of a spiritual leader. It is the story of a barren woman giving birth as a result of Divine intervention. Hannah seeks the help of God. Her prayers are answered and her canticle of praise is in the form of that of Mary when the Virgin is transformed through Divine intervention to Jesus mother. Mark relates Jesus experience with a man who is harbouring an unclean spirit. In the Naked Now, Richard Rohr describes the interaction of the indwelling Spirit with the Divine as comparable to the phenomena of resonance. This is a behavior of natural systems that is characterized by clear and strong patterns. It is the vibration that produces the note by the string. It is the “frequency” that brings in the wireless signal. There is one note and one station at resonance. The unclean spirit is detected as the damping force attempting to change the note or the channel by forcing a different resonance. It might be compared to that “jamming” or “interfering signal attempting to distract or disrupt. It is detectable. It can be rejected.

We really can know the best choice

The ‘time for decision’ appears to be a theme running through the Scriptures of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. What might be the basis of each scenario presented? Is there a common theme? The Seven sons in Maccabees who accept execution instead of betrayal of their customs and covenant, the psalmist who prays for deliverance and the story that Jesus tells in Luke’s Gospel of the difference between the servants who invested their talents well and those who excused themselves. Underlying each scenario is the decision to act according to the understanding of the will of God. There is a choice and in our self, where the Divine indwells, is the necessary understanding to make the choice that continues and expands that awareness of the Presence within.