Two meditations on the Scriptures for 7th Sunday after Easter, and the Monday following. May 4,5, 2008
Lectionary # 60 Cycle A. Seventh Sunday after Easter
We are privileged to listen to and to pray and meditate the above
Scriptures. They are remarkably beautiful and comforting as we move on in
the novena of days before Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church. In
the Acts we are able to imagine ourselves joining the apostles and the holy
men and women in the upper room. Mary, too, the mother of Jesus is there
and she is named; the apostles are named. They await the promise of Jesus
to send the Holy Spirit upon them so that they may go forth and preach the
message and lessons of Jesus to the world; no one is to be excluded.
Through the beautiful Psalm 27 we feel enlightened by the Spirit of
God and encouraged to proclaim and praise the Lord everywhere. Light is all
abundant in this psalm. We, too, are bathed in the light of our faith and
sing out, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"
The context of I Peter is always within the baptismal commitment that
we have made. We are strengthened by baptism to face our sufferings and
disappointments in life. Even when we are insulted or ridiculed for our
belief we continue on with confidence and joy. We are to glorify God by
our calling as Christians who are to live up to the values we received from
Jesus. We can frequently return to the whole of this epistle for getting a
deeper look and appreciation for our Baptism in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. I Peter is the best resource document in the New
Testament for our Baptism.
In the Gospel we are able to enter into the intimate prayer of Jesus.
He shares his union with the Father in this chapter and we have the
mystical portrait of Jesus before us as we slowly read and meditate on what
is sometimes called the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Again, it is one of
those sections in the New Testament that should be prayed and reverenced
rather than analyzed and historicized. Raymond E. Brown, probably, the
greatest of Johannine scholars ever, summarized it succinctly in his New
Testament Infroduction saying, "This sublime conclusion to the Last
Discourse is often evaluated as the "Priestly" prayer of Jesus, the one who
consecrated himself for those he would send into the world." (17:18-19). We
can pray for all peoples with Jesus as he says, "I ask not only on behalf
of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their
word, that they all may be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you,
may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
me." (John 17:20-21). Amen.
Scripture for Monday after the Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 5, 2008:
Scripture: Acts 19:1-8, Psalm 68:2-7. John 16:29-33. Lectionary # 297.
Once more during this Easter season we are called to meditate upon
and enter into the mystery of the "hour" of Jesus. Today's Gospel combines
both the struggle, suffering, and death of Jesus with his glorious victory
through his resurrection. Through our own form of suffering and concern
for the future, we are called to deepen our union with Jesus in his hour of
suffering, death, and ultimate new life. We know well from the daily news
and from our own experiences in life that no one escapes some form of this
"hour." The apostles now realize that Jesus is not speaking in parables,
riddles, or symbolic language, but is speaking clearly. They need not ask
him any more questions for he is crystal clear in what he is telling them
as he approaches his last hour. Jesus will not be alone in this; nor does
he leave us as orphans as we go through our hour of suffering and anxiety.
We are not meant to be alone for he has told us he will be with us always
even though we do not sense or feel his presence. In a parenthetical
interpretation of our Evangelist we hear Jesus telling the apostles and us
through them the following: ("Yet, I (Jesus), can never be alone, the
Father is with me.)." Yes, we, too, will suffer in the world but Jesus has
confirmed us in his victory of sin, death, and Satan under his devious
forms. We are told, "You will suffer in the world but take courage! I have
overcome the world." Amen.
posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:16 AM
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