Claire Smith

The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Reflection:

The Ministry of the Infant Christ

In today’s second reading Peter says, “I am beginning to see….”. His words can apply to something so basic as baptism. Always we can see more. 

The words of a child that I read recently make me think of baptism. A little girl eight years old is suffering from renal failure. Her second kidney transplant is failing. She is sitting next to another little girl who was just admitted to the hospital. This child of five is suffering renal failure also. With her arm around the shoulder of the crying little girl, she says to her, ‘Now don’t you worry. I have been through all this and will help you get through it.’

Today’s feast is part of the Christmas celebration; it connects us to the baby in the manger. Matthew and Luke show us the shadow of the Cross falling over Bethlehem. At baptism, the youngest of us when touched with the perfumed oil of chrism, which symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit, is given a commission. Be another Christ; love as Christ loves. This feast adds to Christmas a dimension of ministry. The child who knew suffering in the hospital ministers the compassion of Christ to another child. How like the words of Our Lord to us adults, ‘I’ve been through it and will help you get through it’. Can this feast enable us to see a compassionate Christ child ministering in some way from the very beginning?

In the words spoken by the little girl we see The Passion of the Infant Christ being played out; the step from the crib to the cross. We who experience at Christmas the divine exchange, hear Christ speak in the words of the child, ’Now don’t you worry, I have been through it all.’ These are the words of the victory of the cross.

At baptism, the smallest is given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Words struggle to explain our humble understanding of how God’s love embraces us, but how fortunate the child who can grow up with those humble words. This mystery of God that we best describe as a gift, is unwrapped for them when we answer the questions and explore the experiences that speak of a loving God at work as they grow. We hear in the gospels that children have the key to the Kingdom of God, and what is revealed to them is hidden from the learned and the clever. How we profit from their ministry!

In this divine exchange, the birth of God in our midst, we can imagine the Passion of the Infant Christ ministering through children. There is also the victory of Christ as when suffering they proclaim hope and love in a world they have not yet explored. “Now don’t you worry. I have been through all this and will help you get through it.”

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

1 John 5:5-13
Luke 5:12-16

Reflection:

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” 
-Luke 5:13

I don’t particularly like the holidays, but this year’s left me spinning. I don’t ever remember a holiday season that left me wondering and feeling more like I needed some healing than this year. I feel like the leper in today’s gospel selection who calls out to Jesus to heal him. I thought last year, when we cancelled all our family gatherings because of COVID-19 was bad. This year was worse. This year we did gather—some of us that is. The rest of us were left out in the cold (just like the holy family when they were looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem) because of our decision to or not to get vaccinated. I am fully vaccinated, two shots and a booster, and I wear a mask when in public or am asked to. No, I don’t want to get sick or be the cause of anyone else getting sick, but I do want to love and respect everyone, even those who think differently than I think. They are not untouchables—they just think differently than I do.

Lepers were the untouchables of Jesus’ time and yet, we read that Jesus reached out and touched the leper. Closer to our day is Saint Damian of Molokai, SS.CC who lived in the mid-nineteenth century and not too different from today, some people in his world were treated as untouchables and were legally shunned and quarantined from the rest of society. These people, like the one Jesus touched in today’s gospel selection were exiled to the island of Molokai where they were expected to fend for themselves. Father Damian left the comfort of his home in Belgium and went to live with the outcasts on Molokai helping them by medically, spiritually and physically providing for them and eventually died from leprosy himself.

I don’t know what the answer is for these crazy times. I especially don’t know what is medically called for today, but I do like Father Damian’s and Jesus’ approaches. There is something more important than me and my well-being. There is us and our well-being. Yes, Damian eventually caught leprosy and died from choosing to touch those he served, as did Jesus for doing and teaching what he taught. Their gifts of themselves gave us a better world.

God, help me love all the people I come in contact with today just as your son Jesus and servant Father Damian did. Help me trust that You are in control, not me. All I have to do is love.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

Scripture:

1 John 4:19-5:4
Luke 4:14-22a

Reflection:

When I read today’s Gospel, I am moved by the mission statement of Jesus. Too bad the church didn’t include the rest of the complete story of his visit to his hometown, which gives us the larger context for today’s passage.

The Jews anticipated a Messiah who would exclusively lead them and protect them. After all, they were God’s chosen people, weren’t they? The little community of Jews in Nazareth were fine if Jesus wanted to take care of the marginalized poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed Jews, because each of them in that synagogue that day no doubt personally knew a friend, relative or neighbor who was barely getting by, or had been in prison for something the Romans considered worthy of jail time or was blind or taken advantage of by tax collectors or the military police assigned to keep any dissidents in check. These small town Jews spoke highly of Jesus for helping their own and were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”

But I encourage you to open Luke’s Gospel and read beyond this section to learn how the visit to the old neighborhood turns out. Jesus goes on to make clear to his audience of fellow Jews that he wasn’t limiting his life’s work to them. He was going to everyone on the margins, even the enemies of the Jews. It was like telling Americans to embrace and forgive the followers of Osama bin Laden, Charles Mason and Vladimir Putin in one fell swoop! Understandably Jesus’ words make his hometown friends furious and he nearly loses his life as they run him out of town.

What Jesus did that day was to usher in a whole new way of thinking about God’s love and a drastically different understanding of who are God’s chosen people. The Jewish leaders, as well as the common Jews in the synagogue’s pews, wanted no part of it.

The all-inclusive love of God for us humans is just that, all inclusive. There are no chosen people and the United States is not a favored nation, destined by God to be a shining beacon of democracy, no matter what myths the promoters of patriotism tell us.

As we watch our world continue on its deadly path of hate, division and blame, it is evident the radical message of Jesus to that little congregation is just as radical today.  

When we disparage anyone in thought, word or deed, when we seek out our own kind and create a we vs they family, neighborhood, town, city, nation or world, we are not following Jesus.

When we hold a grudge or fail to listen, fail to ask questions and rush to judgement about anyone, we fail to follow Jesus.

When we deliberately say, “they got what they deserved,” or “it’s their own fault,” we cast another human in a devalued position, whether referring to a beggar on the street, a refugee at the border, a single mother of five living in a crime ridden neighborhood, a drug addict in a blanket under the underpass, an executed dictator, a murderer on death row or a pedophile who commits suicide in prison.

The first reading today, from John’s first letter, is pretty blunt: “Whoever loves God must also love his/her brother/sister.” No exceptions.

Jesus’ prophetic mission statement in the synagogue is our mission statement, for we are His body in our moment in history. Living it could put our lives at risk, as it did his life.

Are you ready to open your mind and heart to be as inclusive as he was, and pay the price for doing so? Let’s pray today for the grace we need to live our radical mission.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 John 4:11-18
Mark 6:45-52

Reflection:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…  -1 John 4:18
Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!  -Mark 6:50

Sometimes life can be very complicated.

I recently took on a volunteer position for a Zoom meeting that will have over 100 participants meeting over 4 days. This precipitated a flurry of emails tugging at my attention. Some needed an immediate response while others were only informational. At the same time, my inbox and phone message systems have been abuzz with communications regarding the coming school year. As an independent teacher each semester I need to communicate to my current and potential clients my availability, take their input, juggle everyone’s ideal schedule (along with my own sanity), and try to fit everything together. This is all in addition to the swirling of events, phone calls, video chats, and in-person visits with people in our pod that Christmas and New Year’s Eve bring.

Now, I know that I am not alone in experiencing the whirlwind of confusing and competing draws on my time and attention at this time of the year. What I find in my heart when I slow down and reflect is a question: “Am I doing this right? Am I getting to everything and everyone I should?”

Today’s readings, when taken into my heart, provide me with a clear way to find an answer. I just need to look closely at how I am showing up to those I deal with. Am I coming to them carrying God’s love to share? Am I making space in my own life to experience the love of God that I might share it with others? Do I listen to Jesus when He says, “Do not be afraid?”

I personally find it challenging to remember that the way that Jesus leads us on may be narrow, but it is simple: Fear not, love God, love one another, let yourself be loved. In this season of outer darkness, indeed all year round, this should be the inner light that leads us on: God is love and God is with us.

May this new year find you following the Light of Christ in all that you do and whatever situations you find yourself in.

In addition to being an independent teacher (now online!), Talib Huff is on the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center In Citrus Heights. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

1 John 4:7-10
Mark 6:34-44

Reflection:

God’s Love in Word & Deed:  Life!

Today we continue the celebration of the Epiphany, the “manifestation” of Jesus to the world.  As the Holy Family of Bethlehem welcomed the Magi, Jesus is indeed shared with the world as its loving Savior!  Amen!

Today’s Scriptures are proper for the Christmas season, drawn from the First Letter of St. John and St. Mark’s Gospel.  Both remind us in special ways that God loves us totally in the Person of Jesus. 

Saint John makes the point quite clearly when he says that this is love:  not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent His Son as an offering for our sins.  We’ve done nothing to merit the incarnation of God’s Son…God took the initiative, lovingly and freely. 

In His life and ministry Jesus showed this special love in His every word and deed.  Jesus freely taught the vast crowd, not like a contracted professor at a famous university being paid to teach – but as an act of heartfelt love, free of charge.  He went one step further:  He miraculously fed the hungry crowd with just five loaves of bread and two fish…with lots of leftovers, having fed well over five thousand people!  That kind of love can’t be bought or forced.

Jesus’ gratuitous love continues to reach out to people of all times and places, inviting them to live and then share His love.  Today is the feast of a “contemporary” loving disciple:  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the 19^th Century foundress of the first women’s religious congregation in the United States, and the first native-born U.S. citizen to be canonized.  Her special love for God included families, children, the poor of her day—sharing a striking example of generosity, service, and holiness based on her intimate relationship with Jesus.

Everything we have is a gift from God:  our lives, our faith, our vocation, even the energy and talents with which we serve God and earn our living here on earth!  What Jesus did for that early crowd He does for us:  he graciously teaches us through the Scriptures and feeds us with his own Eucharistic Body and Blood.  God’s Love in Word and Deed!!  Amazing!!

May our New Year’s 2022 resolutions help us live faith-filled lives of gratitude and service, flowing from the Life and Love which is Jesus.

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the Vocation Director for Holy Cross Province. He lives at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

1 John 3:22–4:6 
Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Reflection:

Across the entire Christmas Season, we are invited into the family dynamics surrounding the life of Jesus. Of course, the stories around the birth of Jesus highlight this par excellence, but so too do the stories of the birth of John the Baptist and his subsequent ministry.

Today’s gospel is no exception. We see how an event in the life of his cousin John affects Jesus in a most profound way. John may have been silenced by Herod, but his message is about to be taken up and amplified by Jesus himself. The gospel today begins with the confronting news of John’s arrest. This arrest must also have been a stark reminder to Jesus that to engage in prophetic ministry and to call for change was a dangerous mission. Yet, it is as if the arrest of his cousin propels Jesus himself into a more active role. He sets out from Nazareth and begins his wider public ministry. We see too that he takes up the cry of John and that his first message to people is ‘to repent’. 

We know Jesus will refine and redefine this basic message, and expand it to include all people in this wildly visionary call to live within the ‘reign’ of God in our own world, and to anticipate the life we will share with God in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus truly brings a new vision and in the light of this vision people see a new way forward. Hope surfaces once again to empower them. Where the drudgery of life, and the various levels of oppression they suffered felt like they were walking in the valley of death rather than living, they now see a way forward and are bathed in a new light.

Jesus will also adds new dimensions to the preaching that John had begun. He will become itinerant and traverse all around Galilee with his message of hope. His message will be so attractive and appealing that people will flock to him to hear him or be cured by him. Further, people will now accompany and follow him on his travels.

This will create a three-way dynamic – Jesus will go to people in their own places, they will flock to be with him when he is in their environment and people will also follow him beyond their own areas and become his companions.

This might suggest to us three moments of hope as we begin this new year. We know Jesus will come to us no matter what our circumstance, we know we are invited into his presence and that his message for us in a healing one, and we know that we can be companions and accompany him – we can be his disciples.

 Happy New Year and every blessing for 2022.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.

The Epiphany of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

Reflection:

Surprisingly, in today’s Gospel of Matthew, the first people to visit Baby Jesus and pay homage to Him were Gentiles who travelled from another country, not Jews who lived close by. The Greek word “Epiphany” (epiphanos) meaning  appearance or manifestation or showing up, describes Jesus’ first appearance to the world. And the foreign visitors, the searchers from the east, represent the entire world. 

A major theme in Matthew’s gospel is that God’s salvation extends beyond Jesus’ immediate Jewish community to include the Gentiles as well as the Jews. In other words, God’s love embraces all. The visit of the Magi is a message of inclusion at the very beginning of Jesus’ life. We hear this message of inclusion again in Jesus’ final commission: “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you”. (Mt. 28: 19-20) 

In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells the Ephesians: “the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” In God’s mind, there are no insiders nor outsiders. As members of the same body, we are interconnected in a common life. So, as we begin 2022, how does the feast of Epiphany’s message of inclusion effect our relationships? Do we really believe God is calling us to an ever-deepening inclusion, to extend our arms and hearts as Jesus did, to embrace the whole world?

And so, we may ask ourselves:

Are most of our days spent with those who look like us, live like us, worship like us, and think like us? The Magi went way beyond their comfort zones in search of Jesus. Can we do the same?

Do we trust that we will gain from being with those different from ourselves? Can we make the commitment to hone our skills in dialog, and in cultural literacy this year?

As citizens, where does the message of Jesus’ Epiphany lead us this year? Will the public policies we choose to support serve to break down the barriers to inclusion in our own country and around the world? Will the suffering of those discriminated against because they are “Other” disturb us to action? Will we hear the calls from those on the margins of this world?

May all our travels of the heart and mind and soul this year end as happily as they did for the Magi:

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage. ~ Matthew 2:10-11

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.