Claire Smith

Scripture:

Numbers 11:25-29
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Reflection:

Where to start? So many contemporary themes and threads weave their way through the scripture readings for today’s Eucharistic celebration. These are themes that poignantly challenge us in our own day. Let’s look at a few.

First, how dare Eldad and Medad in the first reading from the Book of Numbers begin to prophesy when they were not in the tent when the spirit descended on the other seventy. This really upset some of the people who complained to Moses, “Moses, my lord, stop them.” But Moses answered, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow God’s spirit on them all!” I wonder who we would complain about “not being in the tent when the spirit was giving out the gift of prophesy?”

Then in the second reading from the Book of James we read this: “The wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.” We profess our faith in Jesus yet mistreat or tolerate the abuse of others and say, “Thanks be to the Lord that we are not like them.”

And from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus chastises one of his favorite disciples, John, who complains that others not of the inner circle are preaching in Jesus’ name. More of the same…we are the chosen, not them. Jesus does not go for it.

We spend so much useless energy debating who’s in and who’s out. Who’s one of us and who is not, who looks like us and who doesn’t, or who speaks our language or not. We spend so much useless time demonizing others and not seeing our own insecurities and hurts that we cover over with riches or privilege. We are all children of God called to be welcoming and generous with all we encounter. To be a believer in Jesus and the Gospel is to include not exclude.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Haggai 2:1-9
Luke 9:18-22

Reflection:

Rejection and Invitation of Christ

The ultimate sin that a person can commit is to reject Christ. The New Testament Greek word for reject is apodokimazō. It means to examine something first and deliberately reject it. It is sort of a premeditated repudiation! In modern times we have many more sources of information than our forefathers had. We can get very arrogant and think if I don’t understand the great mystery of the Incarnation then it is not true.

Another Scriptural word for rejection of Christ is exoudeneō. This word has rejection with strong idea of contempt. It comes from the Greek word for nothing. The most wonderful work of God in Jesus in whole universe is treated as nothing. Mk 9:12.  What an incredible insult to God!

I think one of the most common ways in our times for rejection of the massive love of God for us is agnosticism. An agnostic is a person who excuses himself from responding to God because he does not know Him.  But even pagans raised an altar to the “Unknown God”.

Agnosticism is a very dangerous way of losing the greatest treasure of our lives!  It is seemingly a valid excuse for rejecting God’s wedding invitation inviting us into Divine intimacy! In reality it is prideful answer that ignores our small brains and hearts from the ability of ever receiving such a great God by our own abilities. We must beg God to open our eyes and enlarge our hearts as He did to the disciples at Emmaus.  In short, we must humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God. James in 4:10 tells us: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Pope Francis in his beautiful exhortation “Joy of the Gospel” writes: I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”

“The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”.#3

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Haggai 1:1-8
Luke 9:7-9

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading from Luke, Herod hears about Jesus, and what the people are saying about Him, that He was one of the prophets risen from the dead, including John the Baptist. But Herod knows that he had John killed, so he’s curious about who Jesus really is. And Luke tells us that “he kept trying to see him.”

As it turns out, Herod doesn’t see Jesus until Jesus’ Passion, when Pilate sends Jesus to Herod because He was a Galilean. When they do meet, Herod wants to see Jesus perform some sign (Luke 23:6-11). It seems that he is only interested in some kind of performance. He doesn’t seem to be really interested in what Jesus has to say about God or the kingdom or the “least of these.”

The challenge for us is not so much to consider what we want God to perform for us, but to open our hearts and let God in. We are invited to come to know Jesus’ love for us from the Cross. We are called to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in loving God and loving our neighbor in response to all that God has done for us.

May we take the risk and come ever closer to Jesus. Unlike Herod, may we not so much wonder about Him, but be willing to let Him more and more into our hearts and our lives.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Feast of St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist

Scripture:

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:9-13

Reflection:

Today is the feast of St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist.  Little is known about St. Matthew.  He was a tax collector and in other synoptic gospels, he is referred to as Levi. The story of Matthew’s call is found in Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.  He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him”.

The renowned painting above is the  “Call of Matthew” by the famous Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610).  Caravaggio focuses on the first shocking moment that Matthew realizes he is being called. 

Do you remember when Jesus called you to follow him?  In our first reading, St. Paul urges us to ”live in a manner worthy of the call you have received…Do what God has called you to do no matter how big or how small.  God needs you, me and all of us to embrace and live our call.  Take a moment today to discern what is God calling you to do.  Like St. Matthew and St. Paul that ought to make a significant difference in our lives and influence how we behave.  St. Paul continues by saying that God has given all of us gifts.  Are we living in a manner worthy of our call?  Are we humble and gentle, caring for one another through love? Are we daily building up the Body of Christ by our mercy, and compassion including self-compassion?

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
James 3:16-4:3
Mark 9:30-37

Reflection:

But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. Mark 9:32

Today’s Gospel is a three-part Play.

Part One: The second prediction of the Passion. As this scene opens, Jesus is walking with his disciples on a journey through Galilee. Jesus was still revealing his true nature as the Son of God to them, in ordinary and extraordinary ways. He took his three close friends, Peter James and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before their eyes. The disciples didn’t know what to make of this extraordinary revelation of Jesus, so they kept the questions they had about what they experienced to themselves.

Shortly after Jesus’ Transfiguration, Jesus began telling them what was in store for himself and for them. They would all go to Jerusalem, where Jesus was going to be taken prisoner, condemned to die but after three days, he would rise from the dead. They heard Jesus’ words, but they did not understand their meaning. They probably didn’t want to take these words literally. Once more, they kept their questions to themselves.

Part Two: The disciples want to know among themselves who was the greatest. This is not the first nor would it be the last time that this question of who was the greatest among them would become a point of contention. In the Gospel of Luke, they argue about this during the Last Supper! Our second reading for today’s Mass gives us a more detailed accounting of what happens when we become jealous of one another and let selfish ambition take over our lives. It leads to violence, coveting what is not ours and allowing our selfish passions to control us. Again, this ceaseless desire as to who is the greatest among them shows Jesus that the disciples were not understanding his words and deeds.

Part Three: The Greatest in the Kingdom of God. Then Jesus does what he does best. First, he calls his 12 Apostles together for a very private conversation about their endless discussions on who is the greatest among them. Then, Jesus sets them straight as to how they can tell who is the greatest among themselves: it’s the one who serves! To top it all off, Jesus then calls a little child to himself, embraces the child and teaches them the lesson that they will reflect upon and later teach others for the rest of their lives. Whoever receives a little child in his name, receives Jesus’ himself and the One who sent Jesus to them in the first place, his Loving Father. So, this is not about them, their talents and their abilities, but about welcoming the other, no matter how improbable it may seem. Matthew 25 sums it up in this way: “Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least of my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

What a timely message for us who are Jesus’ disciples today. If we were to examine ourselves and our lives, we may find ourselves being more like the disciples and Apostles in this Gospel passage. How many times have we failed to understand what God is telling us? How many times do we bury the questions within us that can help us understand? How many times do we move from the important task of taking up our cross, to argue about who is the greatest among us? How many times do we fail to see Christ and the Father who sent us Christ in the children, the immigrants who cross our boarders, the refugees who are fleeing persecution and wars?

Let us remember Jesus’ words to his Apostles and meditate upon them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

1 Timothy 6:2-12
Luke 8:1-3

Reflection:

The aptly named pastoral epistles are loaded with practical advice and today’s reading from the first letter to Timothy is no exception. We are told to be “content with a sufficiency” and reminded that if “we have food and clothing we have all that we need.” Of course, we don’t swallow such advice easily, especially in a culture of consumerism that religiously trains us never to be content but to always want more and more; indeed, in a culture of consumerism, to be “content with a sufficiency” seems downright heretical.

It’s so easy to lose our way, to spend hefty portions of our lives sidetracked. This happens when we let lesser goods (such as wealth and possessions) become more important than greater goods (such as God and other people). But as this passage from 1 Timothy attests, when we give lesser goods more attention than they deserve we lose all sense of what truly matters, all sense of what is genuinely valuable and good. Even worse, while we may think money and material things will help us get ahead in life, if we set our hearts on loving them rather than God and our neighbors, we will slowly but surely destroy ourselves. As this reading emphatically reminds us: “Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation, and a trap. They are letting themselves be captured by foolish and harmful desires” which lead not to life and security, but “to ruin and destruction.”

Less is often better than more. Today’s first reading calls us to embrace the simplicity of life not only because when we do we are able to apprise the true value of everything, and not only because when some of us live with less the poor and destitute are able to live at all; but also because if we are willing to be “content with a sufficiency,” we will finally discover where true life can be found. As today’s pithy gospel indicates, it comes in following Jesus, joyfully “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God” as we do.

Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

1 Timothy 4:12-16
Luke 7:36-50

Reflection:

“If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” -Luke 7:39-40

All of us, probably, have had the experience of walking into our home, or a classroom or a workplace and instinctively felt the chilly reception we were getting. There were no overt signals that we were not wanted or signs of disrespect. But there were many little things that spoke volumes and loudly. The lack of a sincere welcome, the abrupt change of conversation, the veneer of social niceties in words, without the warmth and happy gestures, make us wary and uncomfortable. It seems that in people’s minds, we are judged, and we have failed to meet their expectations of us as a human being, family members, friends and persons worthy of their friendship.

If we are so attuned to this kind of experience in our society, Jesus was also. Jesus knew when he was being used. Jesus knew when people were saying one thing to his face but thinking another thing behind his back. Yet, Jesus did not avoid these encounters. In fact, he seemed to welcome them. The Gospel for today’s Mass demonstrates that.

Jesus is invited to a dinner being given by a “certain Pharisee” who may have been well known for his prestige, social status and wealth. Jesus enters and reclines at the table with him. We later find out that he was not welcome with the common courtesies of the day: his feet washed, a kiss of greeting and an anointment that would certainly fill the room with a nice fragrance. We get the impression that the Pharisee was doing Jesus a great favor by having him sit at the table with him.

The other important person in this Gospel account is “a sinful woman in the city.” There could be no greater contrasts than between these two people: a man of power, prestige and wealth and a woman who was well known for her sinful life.

One of the many layers found in this Gospel passage is that of entitlement. The sense of entitlement comes more easily to people of status, wealth, power, and social standing. That doesn’t mean that all of us also have a sense of entitlement, but some are able to exercise it more easily and without impunity, without shame. The examples are legion.

Jesus’ parable within the Gospel passage shows us that all of us are indebted because all of us are sinners. No one has the right to claim superiority over another human being. All of us have sinned. All of us are in need of forgiveness. All of us depend upon God’s mercy.

God’s love for us is all-inclusive. God loved us from the time we were in our mother’s womb. The sign of God’s love for us is forgiveness.

Jesus knew how to break the cycle of social inequality. No human law can dehumanize a person and classify that person as untouchable, inferior, unforgivable, unlovable. Only the human mind and heart can do that.

This is why Jesus’ command to love one another as he loves us is so liberating. It puts us in our place: children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. We don’t have to worry if this person is worthy of our love and attention, or if this “sinner” is loved and can be forgiven by God! That is why God is God.

Those at the table with Jesus ask: “Who is this who can even forgive sins?” Thank God, it is Jesus, our Lord, and Savior!

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California.