Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 10, 2008 - Saturday in the Seventh Week of Easter (Bl. Damian of Moloka'i)
[Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 and John 21:20-25]There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.
Both scriptures today bring to an end the books in which they appear. Acts ends with Paul in Rome, under house arrest, but having access to the people who wish to come and hear him preach. The Gospel of John ends with a bit of hyperbole. We know that Jesus did lots of things that don't appear in the Gospel of John. The other gospels tell us that. The author or final editor of the Gospel wishes to make it clear that he could go on and on but,, as he says in an earlier "conclusion" at 20:30-31, that what he does include is calculated to inspire faith in Jesus. Acts has the same purpose but does it by showing inspiring preachers and noting how the Word has spread from its humble beginnings in Jerusalem to Rome, the center of the known civilized world of the Mediterranean. Those two books end, but the story continued and continues! The message is proclaimed in just about every written language and in many that aren't written. The ways of telling the story have changed but some of the same methods are still used: narrative, poetry, parable....... The Bible is not just something we can put down like a coffee table book (which is where many household Bibles sit) and walk away. The Word in the Book is the Word in us. We may be earthen vessels as St. Paul points us, but we hold that Word in us and for a reason - that it may be poured forth for others. Consider the example of Bl. Damian of Moloka'i - whose life was spent for the leper colony in Hawaii. Most of us will not be quite that heroic but each one of us is "the Good Book" incarnate. Open the covers and invite folks to hear and read! AMEN
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