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Scripture:

Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12
Matthew 11:25-27

Reflection:

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” Matthew 11:25

Years ago, I had the privilege of celebrating Mass and preaching at the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels, in Los Angeles, California. Officially, it has the capacity to seat about 3,000 people. As I walked up the aisle to begin Mass, I saw that it was almost full. I celebrated the weekly Sunday Spanish Mass. I felt overwhelmed by awe and energized at the very same time. Everything is so well organized. Everything was scripted: where to stand at the beginning of Mass, which of the Celebrant Chairs to use, how communion was to be distributed under both forms, and so forth. The Cathedral also had a Masters of Ceremonies that would anticipate my next move and be there to confirm my spot or gently lead me to where I needed to go.

I was there to preach what we call a “Mission Appeal,” to ask parishioners to support our mission efforts as a Province. I think it went well. The main point of my message is contained in a story of a child who was just beginning grade school, in one of the poor villages in India. She ended up by evangelizing me, even though she was not Christian and not one of the “learned and the wise” of her generation.

At the end of Mass, the custom at the Cathedral is for the priest to stand outside and receive the people. It is there that I continue to be evangelized by the people who come to hear the Word of God and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in Communion. Most of the people who stopped by to greet me, young and old alike, are people who are worried about their future, their family, about their health, about their status in this country, about their marriage, in other words, people who are suffering and turn to God in faith for a blessing and for affirmation. They are people who are about to go into the hospital, who have just gotten out of the hospital, who are going back home to another country, wondering if they will ever get back, and yet, they are people of great faith.

One of the greatest challenges for people like me, educated with three degrees, serving the Church and Province in various ministries of responsibility, accumulating years of pastoral experience, is to allow myself to be evangelized. I have to stop myself from judging, offering simplistic solutions when I don’t even know the whole story, so I can be compassionated to someone else’s life experience.

We are given two powerful Biblical personalities in today’s readings: Moses and Jesus. Moses went from a privileged childhood in Pharaohs’ palace to a wandering outlaw, before God catches up to him and calls him: “Moses, Moses!” And Moses answers, “Here I am!” And God tells him, “The cry of the children of Israel has reached me.” It seems that God is being evangelized by the suffering of this world. God is moved to send them a savior, Moses.

Jesus is moved by the people who come up to him, crying for help, crying for healing. Jesus is being evangelized by the poor. And Jesus praises the poor, the oppressed, the suffering for coming to him, as being wiser and more learned than all of those educated people who disrespect them, discount them, dehumanizes them, just because they are not as wealthy, or educated, or socially acceptable as they are.

What do you think Jesus is saying about us?

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is the local superior of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Exodus 2:1-15a
Matthew 11:20-24

Reflection:

It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you…

This gospel begins with some strong words and emotions from Jesus, where is this coming from? What could make Jesus so upset?  I once heard Bishop Ken Untener from the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan say that if you are ever uncertain what the message of the Scriptures for the day are, look to the Psalm – he said “the Psalm is the ‘key’ to unlock the lectionary”.

I have to admit when I read this Gospel passage, my first thought was ‘Oh my, what do I do with this!’  Then I turned to the Psalm, Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

Jesus had been to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, the people there knew him, they had met him, experienced him, witnessed his very presence and yet they were indifferent, they didn’t care, they weren’t changed.  They simply bought in to the ‘group think’ of the society around them.

Our faith invites us to know Jesus, to experience him, witness his presence in our world today.  How do we respond to that challenge of faith?  Are we willing to ‘turn to the Lord’ in difficult times?  Are we willing to stand with him in the face of oppression, despair, hopelessness and speak the truth that calls us to be brothers and sisters in Christ?  To work for justice, equality and life for all people.  The choice is ours, are we willing to know Jesus enough to build his Kingdom or are we going to hear “Woe to you…”

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Acts 15:7-21
John 15:9-11

Reflection:

I wonder why it pleases a person to be told time stands still when you look into her face, but not to say her face would stop a clock. Why?
I wonder why, when a preacher says, “In closing…” he doesn’t.
I wonder why a speaker who needs no “introduction” gets one anyway.

Many things in this world cause us to wonder. But one of the most striking is that Jesus should want to love us as much as God loves him. “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.”

It is the experience of this wonderful love, so generously bestowed by God, that motivates the apostles to welcome the Gentiles into the early Church. This was not an easy decision for the Jewish Christians. In today’s first reading a decision is reached by the Council of Jerusalem to open wide the doors. Peter affirms that the Spirit of God is working among the Gentiles. He has experienced this with Cornelius and his family, the first Gentile Christens. James supports Peter’s decision by quoting Scripture. The rest of the “apostles and presbyters” fall silent but eventual agree that a letter (like an encyclical from the Pope) should be written to welcome the Gentiles into the Church.

Fortunately, the early Church leaders, especially Peter, understood God’s wonderful love to be inclusive and that no one of good character was to be excluded. Opinions would have to change, laws would have to be reinterpreted, the “outsiders” would have to be welcomed. The way of doing Christian “business” would change forever.

As someone described it, the love of God is like eclectic current. If the current does not pass through you, it cannot enter into you. If the love of Jesus does not pour through you to others, it is a sign that God’s love is not really in you. The love of God has to be recognized, responded to and passed on. That’s the wonder of it all.

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is the director of the Office of Mission Effectiveness and resides in Chicago, Illinois.