For
the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and
with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall
always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
He
stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the
scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring
glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a
year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back
to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked
intently at him.
Luke 4:16C-20
Piety
Rule of St. Benedict Chapter 73: On the Fact
That the Full Observance of Justice Is Not Established in This Rule
Now we have written this Rule in order
that by its observance in monasteries we may show that we have attained
some degree of virtue and the rudiments of the religious life…Whoever you
are, therefore, who are hastening to the heavenly homeland, fulfill
with the help of Christ this minimum Rule which we have written for
beginners; and then at length under God's protection you will attain
to the loftier heights of doctrine and virtue which we have mentioned
above.
Study
Last week, I was standing in Arlington
National Cemetery for the internment of Master Chief Petty Officer James L.
Gates, Sr. His son was my college roommate. The Navy Centennial Guard Band played
"Come Holy Spirit" as the ashes of the deceased were transferred to
the caisson. (Attempting to) Listen to the readings (above the sound of
jets taking off from National Airport, watching the family on this beautiful
summer day, hearing the bugle and the 21 rounds fired off, witnessing the
sailor kneel before Mrs. Gates to quietly and somberly present her with the
three-sided, folded flag. Who could not be moved?
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
Luke 4:18A (Isaiah 61:1)
The whole passage is rich with piety, study
and action. The complete citation of what some call “the Nazareth
Manifesto” outlines a plan of action rooted in faith in the Spirit and based
upon study of the Hebrew Bible/Isaiah. To me, it also is important what
the Lord leaves out of this reading in the temple. The scroll he unrolled
also would have included the line: “and a day of vindication by our God.”
Our peace-seeking, peace-loving Brother Jesus would have turned his back on any
mark of vengeance. And that omission might have been what started the
locals to rise up against him.
The focus then is not on what’s in it for me
(vengeance against the belligerent, occupying Roman army) but rather what
service-action-love is in this for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the
oppressed. Luke/Jesus also focus on what is in it for the Lord – that our
fasting, almsgiving and prayer are acceptable.
Today also draws to a close the thrice annual
cycle of readings from the Rule of St. Benedict. In monasteries around the world, tomorrow,
the page will turn back to the prologue.
The focus of this closing is that wherever we are headed, we go there
with the help of Christ. The spirit of
the Lord is upon our journey.
Action
As we move into September, we will go before
the Lord to prepare his ways. Through
our Cursillo example of piety, study and action, the tender mercy of our God is
upon us. He comes down from on high to
shine on those who sit in darkness in order to provide the words, wisdom and
rules to guide our feet into the path of peace.
When His spirit is upon us, the responsibility
also is upon us to guide others to where we are led.
No comments:
Post a Comment