May 18 2010
Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
By Beth DeCristofaro
(Paul wrote)…the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:23-24)
(Jesus said) “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. …I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” (John 17:6, 9-11)
Piety
You claimed a land as your own, O God; your people settled there. There you poured abundant rains, God, graciously given to the poor in their need. Blessed be the Lord, Day by day, God, our salvation, who carries us. Our God is a God who saves; escape from death is in the LORD God's hands. (Psalm 68: 10-11, 20-12)
Study
These readings take me back to Mothers Day when I attended Mass in the little church in Macueliza, Honduras. This dusty little town is incredibly poor and has had no running water for two weeks due to the drought yet the church is immaculate and packed to the rafters with the faithful who sing, clap, sway and dance. It is so hot that we all pour sweat while children and parents are in their clean, pressed Sunday best. The electricity goes out during the homily so fans and sound system fail. I can see Jesus looking at these people when he says: I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
Each mother in the community had little nosegays of paper flowers pinned to her dress, including me. A shy teen and a gregarious older woman both decorated me, blessing me in soft Spanish which I could not understand but which brought tears to my eyes as I held onto my own daughters. We were welcomed from their poverty rather than their wealth.
…the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me… I did not see despair in these faces but pride in family and faith in their Savior. In reality? I do not know if the families behind the concrete or mud-daub walls are intact or dysfunctional. I do not know if appearance is more important than food or education. I do not know if they believe that there is a better future. But I do know that they come to worship and to sing and to hope. …the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me.
I was blessed to worship with them. And I saw Jesus in that place.
Action
What do you do with your gift of faith? Do you share it, especially with those most unlike you? Do you share from your wealth or poverty? Do you question your faith? …the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Pray Psalm 68.
Consider what our bountiful country takes from the rest of the world. There you poured abundant rains, God, graciously given to the poor in their need.
