May 21, 2010
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
“…[I]t is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains.” He remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 28:20b, 30-31
Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” John 21:22
Piety
Dear Lord,
Let your spirit give me power to overcome all hesitation, to take away all fear, and to remove all shyness. May your Spirit help me respond gratefully to you, speak freely about you to everyone I meet, and act courageously to let your kingdom come. You, Lord, not only gave me a baptism in water but also a baptism in the Holy Spirit. Let that baptism in your Spirit become visible in my life. Let it allow me to experience your presence not only through the darkness of faith but also through new sensitivities that allow me to see, hear, taste, touch and even smell a reality that reaches beyond what my natural senses perceive. Let your Spirit bring reconciliation, joy, peace, gentleness, and generosity in the hearts of those with whom I live and for whom I work. But most of all, O Lord, let your Spirit fill me with love so that all I think, say, or do, will be done out of love for you who lived, died and rose from the dead for my sake. Amen.
(Saturday, June 2 from A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee by Henri J. M. Nouwen, page 98)
Study
Peter and Paul once again seem to be learning how to fulfill their ministry through acting out very different lessons for discipleship and community delivered directly by the Lord or indirectly through society.
Paul finds himself chained and imprisoned, not because he violated some Roman law but because he challenged the self-righteousness of Israel. Yet, despite that, he engaged in respectful dialogue with all people who turned to him while in prison for more than two years. Paul seems to realize that not only did he have something to teach others, he also had something to learned from everyone that he encountered.
Furthermore, he refused to put down the cross. Some of us may hesitate to pick up our cross. Yet Paul lived his cross daily in prison and never shied away from engaging in respectful dialogue with all who turned to him. Despite the chains and locks and bars, Paul’s commitment to carry his cross liberated him from seeing the constraints of his life and instead embraced the infinite possibilities no matter where he was led.
Peter has come a long way. However, he still has much to learn when we encounter him in this final scene in the Gospel of St. John. Peter has now grown beyond his betrayal and is growing into his role and the shepherd, as the keeper of the keys. But he still is looking outwardly and measuring his spirituality against others and not against himself.
“What about him?” inquired Peter while pointing to John. Jesus rebukes him one more time. What concern is it of yours? Don’t worry about what he does. You just need to worry about following me.
Action
Friday night, Marie Dennis, executive director of Pax Christi USA spoke to a gathering of about 80-100 Just Faith program graduates assembled at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington. Her message embodies the spirituality of St. Paul and how he approached the issues of his day.
Speaking about the need for civil discourse in the public square, Ms. Dennis reflect on the gifts of the spirit which were given on that first Pentecost to enable discipleship on the part of Jesus’ friends -- the same ones who had been huddled behind locked doors where inspired by these gifts and had been retreating to the comfort zone of their old lives as fishermen. She challenged those in the room to ask why the gifts of the Holy Spirit were so necessary then and now.
Marie explained that we must be ready to ask of ourselves hard questions rather than think we know what the answers are. But our work does not stop there. In addition to asking hard questions, we are called and must try to live in a different way because of what we see in the world. The basis for this world view must be recognizing the equal dignity of every person in the eyes of God and act accordingly.
“If what we have or where we live or how we spend our time keeps us from seeing the reality, then we have to challenge ourselves to rethink what we have, or where we live or how we spend our time,” she said. This leads to three challenges in our lives:
1) The issues that we are about to engage in dialogue in public and in our own lives are crucial. We can not NOT engage in the conversation. We can not run from the conversations. The concerns are simply too important.
2) We can’t be silent. We have to choose sides. The sides that we choose, what we know in principal is what the Gospel has taught us.
3) We have to love our enemies.
She acknowledged that it is very easy to stand in self-righteous places. However, like we see in Paul’s approach today, no matter where we are in the present moment, we always have something to learn from each other.
What has put your engagement in prison? How can you free yourself to accept the gifts of the Spirit to proclaim the Gospel? How can you get out from behind the locked door and move away from your comfort zone?
