RBWords

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2014  THE TRANSLATION OF HOLY FATHER DOMINIC

[Acts 16:1-10 and John 15:18-21  -  Scriptures may vary at Dominican locations.]

 

     If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.

  

     A new "theme" appears in today's piece at the exhibit - the "world" and hatred.  Jesus is warning the disciples to expect a violent reaction to their faith.  Here we find another one of those important words, "the world," which encompasses many things.  When I was in the seminary, and one of my brother students left the program, we would say that he returned to "the world."  When we were first clothed with the Dominican habit and were [at that time] given a "name in religion," the presider would say, "In the world you were known as.............but now you will be called...................."  The meaning is one of opposition and contrast: us as contrasted with "the world."  We also speak of "this world" and the "next world."

 

     In Jesus' usage in the Gospel of John, "the world" has a definitely adversarial meaning.  It is almost "cosmic" in its significance and could include not just the Jewish religious authorities but the Roman empire as well.  In our own day, "the world" could include any secular civil or private group or movement that is opposed to the teachings of our Church. 

 

     We might remember, too, that in the Gospel of John, sharp contrasts are common:  light and darkness, above and below, believers and "the world," the spirit and the flesh.  At the time of the creation of this gospel, Christians were experiencing hostility which resulted in their expulsion from the synagogues they had considered their religious homes.  An "us against the world" attitude in the text would be understandable!  We will have our own version of that in our own time.  Jesus tells us why: "Because they do not know the one who sent me."  AMEN

 

[note:  "The Translation of Holy Father Dominic" refers to the event where St. Dominic's bones were moved ["translated"] from a grave in the courtyard of the priory where he died to a new and more appropriate tomb.]  This feast is sometimes celebrated more solemnly in some locations because the feast of St. Dominic falls in August - a big vacation time in Europe!]