Sunday, April 22, 2012

Third Sunday of Easter



“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.


The scriptures often tell us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This reflects an ancient belief that knowledge and understanding come not from experimentation and discovery but from God.  The grasp of both ordinary things and deep mysteries are not given to the clever by their birth; nor to the industrious by their studies. Knowledge is a gift freely given and freely shared.
This is why, during the middle ages, doctors and teachers could not charge for their services. If God had given them the gift of wisdom for the benefit of others, how could they dun their customers? Scholars lived off the donations of their students and the charity of wealthy benefactors until modern times.
Saint Luke tells us Jesus opened the minds of his disciples to understand the scriptures. Until then they could not see what they now saw clearly. Since that time the theological study of typology has searched for every hint and subtle cue in the Old Testament that might point to the coming of the Christ. We would not recognize Jesus as the New Adam or the Son of David or a priest in the line of Melchizedech except for the Holy Spirit which opens our minds.
Today, when we expect knowledge through scientific methods of research , the church reminds us you  cannot know Jesus without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Bibles can be distributed three feet deep over the entire earth but without the Spirit which opens minds and hearts no one will understand a word of it. 
I recently watched a deluded Veteran, suffering from mental illness and his desperate attempts to find peace through chemistry, searching the scriptures, the Koran, Vedic texts and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. He told me of the holographic universe, out of body experiences and extra-terrestrial aliens. He was trying to piece together a religion to make sense of his suffering. I pray the Holy Spirit will seep through the fissures of his broken heart and help him find what he cannot imagine.

Mass and The Liturgy of the Hours, two of the great privileges of our Catholic tradition, daily opens my mind to the presence of Jesus in “the law, the prophets and the psalms.” These daily pleasures are
More to be desired … than gold,
   even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
   and drippings of the honeycomb.

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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.

Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.

I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.

You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.