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Scripture:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20

Reflection:

One of the thrilling but usually unappreciated occurrences of commonly experienced on our city streets Is watching the driver of an 18 wheeler back his truck into a narrow alley, when traffic must come to a standstill as he skillfully threads his large vehicle off the narrow street on which he finds himself, with parked cars lining either side of the two-lane street, and other cars impatiently lined up either way blowing their horns at the truck-driver, as he deftly maneuvers that hulking piece of equipment into its proper place in the alley.  This is an urban masterpiece, usually going unrecognized, but certainly deserving of applause.

Turning our lives around is similar to this achievement, and is the centerpiece of our biblical readings today.  It relates to the accomplishment of the prophet Jonah described in our first reading today, trying to back the people of Nineveh off the course their lives have taken, and onto the straight and narrow way that Jonah the prophet was promoting as he roamed the narrow streets of Nineveh and preached to the people there about turning their lives around.  And he was hugely successful, even though like the truck-driver who had to deftly avoid cars parked along each side of the narrow street, to a cacophony of noisy horn-blasts, as he maneuvered his huge truck backward into the narrow entranceway of the alley—much like Jonah’s hearers being corralled by him all the way up to the entranceway into heaven.  Of course, they will have to turn their lives around in order to pull off this maneuver.

St. Paul must have felt like that truck-driver years later, after the exploits of Jonah, when he, Paul, had to inform his converts in Corinth, Greece, that they’re going to have to live their married lives differently from the way they had been doing, or handle their disappointments less sadly than they had been doing, or control their expressions of joy when they’re happy, or treat their assets less selfishly than was their custom.  After all, the truck they’re doesn’t belong to the driver.

And the same message reached the ears of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, even before Paul heard it.  They probably led a frugal life living off their catch for the day so when Jesus passed by, He seemed to offer them (and James and John as well) an opportunity they couldn’t resist, and so they accepted it, but becoming companions of Jesus was a long way from fishing the Sea of Galilee, and they had a lot of learning to absorb, like a new truck-driver, before leaving their fishing boats behind and following along behind Jesus.  This must have become more and more challenging as they watched Jesus run into more and more opposition, just as the trucker must have found out, that travelling the straight and narrow of the highways was easier than backing the truck into a narrow city alleyway.

In all of these examples we hear of the often arduous tasks before us.  But we also see that they can be successfully handled, whether by a Jonah, or the Church in Corinth, or by Peter, Andrew, James and John.  Or, by a good truck driver.  We must take it slow and easy, and disregard the horns.

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

2 Samuel 1: 1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
Mark 3: 20-21

Reflection:

I’ve always found this brief Gospel intriguing.  We’re told that Jesus’ relatives want to seize him because they think he is out of his mind.  In the passage before this one we hear of how popular Jesus is.  People are coming from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea and many other places just to hear him.  Jesus has also just appointed the twelve who are to join with him in accomplishing his mission.  Now we find Jesus in a house so crowded with people wanting to be with him, to hear him preach, to experience his miracles, that it is impossible to get anyone in or out!  And…his relatives think Jesus is out of his mind.

I can’t help but think that Jesus’ relatives have been hearing the murmur of constant and growing condemnation coming from the religious leaders.  Already by this time in his ministry the religious leaders are very critical of everything Jesus has been saying and doing, especially when he calls them out for their hypocrisy in their attitudes and behavior, in the heavy burdens they pile up and place on the poor and outcasts.  And then, Jesus performs those many healing and forgiving miracles, even on the Sabbath!  There was surely a steady drumbeat of criticism and threat coming from the “important” people in Israel.  Jesus refused to be intimidated but clearly the growing hostility frightened those who loved him.  So, some of the family came to “seize” him so they could take him back home where he would be safe.

Every one of us has to make controversial and, perhaps, even risky decisions in our lives.  Some of those choices may be about a career, a place to live, a spouse, whether to have children, whether to walk away from a relationship, to name just a few of the important choices in our lives.  Sometimes the people in our lives, even the ones who love us, don’t agree with the choices we make.  They may even think we’re out of our minds!  It is surely a comfort to understand that even Jesus had people telling him that he was taking too much of a risk and that he should stop what he was doing.  Jesus heard the message but knew that he had to continue to follow the Father’s Will for him.  May God help us be faithful to His Will as we make important decisions in our lives.

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20
John 1:35-42

Reflection:

On this second Sunday of what we call “ordinary time”, we hear words that for me tell the whole tale:  “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”  In a nutshell this is exactly what it means to be called by the Lord: first we listen and hear, and then we respond. The response may be a yes and, in some cases, it may even be a no.  Samuel heard the call, even though at first he was confused and needed a wiser more attentive guide to help him realize what was happening!  And, as we see in our Gospel, John, Andrew, and Simon Peter heard the call of the Lord, as well.  The truth is, the Lord calls us all and, if we are listening carefully and are not distracted by all the noise around us, we, too, can hear God’s call, whether it be a quiet whisper or, as with the Apostles, an unforgettable, face to face encounter with Jesus himself.

I can only imagine the moment when Jesus called those first Apostles.  How compelling must have been the voice and the very presence of Jesus when he simply said, “Come and see.”  But there is just no escaping this simple fact: we are all called by the Lord.

In a very real way the heart of the retreat and preaching ministry that we Passionists are devoted to is all about helping men and women, young and old, to hear the voice of Jesus and to respond to his call.  In baptism we are claimed for Christ, we belong to God, and certainly not to a world filled with human expectations.  And for the rest of our lives the task is to listen, to hear, and ultimately to respond to God’s ongoing call day by day.

Sometimes the call is clear as crystal.  At other times we need, like Samuel, the wisdom of others to help us know what it is the Lord is asking of us.  But one thing is for sure.  If we are listening and willing, too, then we will be able to respond joyfully and without hesitation with the great words of our responsorial psalm:  Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a
Mark 2:13-17

Reflection:

Today’s Scriptures present the motif of Call and reminds me of Paul’s Letter to the Romans where he writes, “For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29), his experience of the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus changed everything. In reading Paul’s letters from the time of his call, he experienced many challenges and tensions while living it out, yet, that call was irrevocable—no going back only forward in faith, hope and conviction. Martin Luther King is quoted as saying, “Out of the mountain of despair—a stone of hope” and what strikes me as I read this Gospel is that Jesus represents this stone of hope—this new day, to Levi, the tax-collectors and sinners, the disciples and the crowds who continued to appear everywhere he went.

We are only in the second chapter of Mark and already the story suggests a tension which we know builds all the way to Jerusalem as Jesus lives out his call.

As I reflected, I couldn’t help but have compassion for “some” Pharisees who were struggling to reconcile their understanding of the Law with what this healer –Jesus—was doing and teaching. Not to mention the effect he was having on the crowds. And what of Jesus’ disciples? Might the question posed to them by the Pharisees be the very question rising within them? Mark often portrays them as struggling to keep up with Jesus’ teachings. Did they question who is this person who evoked such a strong desire in them to “follow” and seemed to challenge much of what they held to be true, stretching them beyond where they expected to go. Sound familiar?

Then we have Levi, he is a toll collector—not a tax-collector, however, it sounds as if this profession is equally despised; being employed to collect a fee from anyone entering his region by Philip, the son of Herod the Great (also known as the puppet king). According to historians, the Jewish people frowned on anyone or anything connected to Roman rule. They were labelled as sinners. Can you imagine how he might have been treated? It is likely he came to expect rejection and believed himself unworthy—an outcast. And along came Jesus—the true King—and called him to follow. Hope dawned in the life of Levi as it dawns on all of us who come to understand our worthiness-in-Christ.

The Creator of the Universe deems you—and me—worthy to pitch his tent—among us, to take on our skin and share the good news of life everlasting; a life which is already here—and not yet. And it’s the “not yet” which can be tricky as we struggle to live out our call as Christians finding those stones of hope in the mountain of despair; making this the day the Lord has made and rejoice—always.

To claim my sickness, to know I cannot do this without God’s Grace, is the beginning of Wisdom.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a
Mark 2:1-12

 

Reflection:

The Way of the Cross According to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I submit that the life-motif of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has significance for those who embrace the Passionist charism of St. Paul of the Cross. First, “embracing” the charism includes these essentials:

1. Contemplating, “being” at the foot of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ;
2. Being attentive to the signs of the times pointing to the contemporary Passion, through immersion in the life of our people, dialogue with our own communities, and with those experiencing the contemporary crucifixion at the hands of unjust societies; and
3. To preach, teach, and model a Christ-centered community, and serve others, inspired by that which we have seen and heard.

Dr. King embraced his “way of the Cross” by strictly abiding by the tenets of non-violence with roots in the two Great Commandments, and he did so for the sake of the poor of every race, and in the face of great opposition, especially from the Black Community.

In February, 1957, in Montgomery, Alabama he spoke to a mass meeting with these words: “If we as a people had as much religion in our hearts as we have in our legs and feet, (referring to the rousing hymns which had precluded his speech) we could change this world.” And later that evening, “Our use of passive resistance in Montgomery is not based on resistance to get rights for ourselves, but to achieve friendship with the men (sic) who are denying us our rights and change them through friendship and a bond of Christian understanding before God.” (Let The Trumpet Sound, The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr, Stephen B. Oates, New American Library, 1982, p. 115)

In conclusion, Dr. King’s “Passion narrative” would be dramatically shared in the last speech that he would give on the evening of April 3, at the Sanitation Workers’ rally at the Masons’ Temple in downtown Memphis. After recalling some close encounters with death, he continued:

“ Now it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter what happens now. I don’t know what will happen, no. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now . Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. Like I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised land. And I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight. I am not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. I have a dream this afternoon that the brotherhood of man will become a reality. With this faith, I will go out and carve a tunnel of hope from a mountain of despair. With this faith, we will be able to achieve this new day. When all of God’ s children – black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics –will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old “‘Free at last! Free at last!’ Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” (Ibid., pp.485-486)

Let’s pause today to consider this man’s “way of the cross” as an inspiration for our own. Our General V. Rev. Joachim Rego, C.P. reminds us “to review and renew  our commitment and vocation to keep alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus as the greatest act of God’s love and mercy, and to promote this memory in the lives and hearts of the people today…” especially those who are poor and neglected; we seek to offer them comfort and to relieve the burden of their sorrow.” (Const. #3)

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is the administrator at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama.