Claire Smith

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 7:25-31
Luke 6:20-26

Reflection:

Throughout the gospels, Jesus frequently makes enigmatic statements, but perhaps none so enigmatic as the Beatitudes in Luke’s gospel today.

“Blessed are you who are poor, because God’s kingdom is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Blessed ae you when people hate you…Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!  Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.”

What are we to make of these strange beatitudes, which are coupled with equally enigmatic woes to the rich, those whose stomachs are filled, who laugh now, and those who crave honor?

These beatitudes are and woes are descriptive rather than prescriptive.  That is, they describe an already established reality, what is.  A prescriptive statement describes what ought to be.

Jesus isn’t telling us, for example, to sell all we have and give it to the poor so we might attain the kingdom of God, although he later makes such a prescriptive demand of a rich man.

Jesus is telling the poor that the kingdom is already (present tense) theirs.  In the woes, Jesus tells the rich they have already received their reward.

Perhaps we can better understand Luke’s version of the beatitudes — and woes — within a broader Lukan theme, the great reversal.  Jesus describes a reversal that is simply a fact of life — if we Christians ae willing to open our eyes to this reality.  The kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this world are dramatically opposed. 

Luke presents a strong emphasis throughout his Gospel on the great reversal that the kingdom of God brings, beginning with Mary’s Magnificat: “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”  Think also of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  So many more great reversals may be recounted in Luke’s Gospel.

Luke had in mind a persecuted or marginalized Christian community.  Luke wanted to encourage his community that despite their suffering, they belong, not to the kingdom of this world, but to the kingdom of God — right now — therefore, it’s time to rejoice.

Luke is not trying to idealize poverty.  Instead he is telling his community that in the kingdom of God, we are to care for one another, comfort one another, share with one another.  Luke’s emphasis throughout his gospel is generosity and compassion rather than poverty.

On closer examination, then, it may be that today’s gospel is not so much enigmatic, as it is radical.

Which message will we heed — Jesus’ beatitudes or his woes?  The more profound question is this, in which kingdom do we reside right now?

Jesus tells us: choose the kingdom of God.  Then with Mary, we may proclaim “My soul rejoices in the Lord!”  And in Jesus’ own words: “Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!”  Truly, a radical declaration even on this day of 9-11.

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Luke 6:12-19

Reflection:

I met a priest from India a couple of decades ago, but I’ve never forgotten him. There was just something about him. He radiated unconditional love, peacefulness, deep connection to God, and authenticity. He was one of the kindest and most patient people I’ve ever known. He had a gift for meeting everyone right where they were, being 100% present to them, and accompanying them on their journey. His presence was powerful, and I felt it every time I was with him.

I think that’s what Scripture meant when it said that people sought to touch Jesus and be near him because power came forth from him and healed them all. I never saw or heard of this priest doing anything miraculous like Jesus did, but he certainly had healing power coming forth from him. No one who encountered him left unchanged unless they were incapable of receiving what he had to offer. And unfortunately, as Jesus also discovered, some people are so wounded, set in their ways, stuck in power struggles, tired out by life, or emotionally undeveloped that they aren’t ready to have “eyes that see” and “ears that hear”.

I’ve often longed to be like that priest. I want to be such a witness to God’s loving and healing power that just by being who I am and interacting with people, I can be an instrument of God that accompanies them and helps them see the wondrous beauty and value of who they are. I want to abide less and less by laws and “should’s”, whether imposed from outside or within myself, and live out of the freedom and love of Christ.

I get frustrated by how far away I am from that ideal. Yet I am grateful for all the ways I am growing toward it and serving as God’s instrument. I may never reach even the example of that priest, much less of Jesus, yet daily I pray that I may tap into and show forth the healing, fully present, loving power of God.

Have you encountered someone who radiates God’s love in palpable ways? Where are you in your journey toward that goal? As I pray for myself, I hold you in my heart as well and I ask that you do the same for me. Together, let’s be transformed and become more Christ-like.

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has partnered with the Passionists.  Visit Amy’s website: http://www.corgenius.com/.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Luke 6:6-11

Reflection:

A Chandelier and a Flock of Sparrows

Kate DiCamillo is the author of several books for school-aged children. In ‘Ferris,’ her latest book, a large chandelier, is a centerpiece. Earlier in the book we hear a reference to ‘Bede’ (the venerable, I think), ‘a flock of sparrows fly into a great hall and fly out again’. Without revealing the plot, it can be said that there is an incredibly beautiful banquet scene in which the diverse characters gather to dine beneath the chandelier.

We are now in our first week of reading Luke, which will take us to Advent. Having read Mark and Matthew, we have heard the parallel stories of Jesus’ life. Now, we will listen to the uniqueness of Luke’s writing and storytelling. Jesus is a prophet, Luke will say, fulfilling longed-for hopes. As a prophet, he challenges the comfortable and calls us to care for the poor. He frequently reverses expectations and gives women a special place in the gospel. Luke gives us the Words of Good News – the seed that the sower plants is the Word of God; faith is hearing and responding to God’s word.

St. Irenaeus offers us a good image as we begin Luke’s gospel. He tells us to approach the Word of God as if we are going to a well. Drink to be refreshed, but don’t try to drink the well dry! Drink what is satisfying. The well replenishes itself. Return to drink again when you are thirsty.

Although we know the story of Jesus, we will hear from a different place in our lives as we continually change. Will our response be that of Mary, ‘How can this be?’. Or will we say the word of young Samuel, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening’? Or, will we be like Elijah, expecting to hear God’s voice in the strong wind, the fire, or the earthquake but hearing only a gentle whisper? Or will God speak to us as a strong wind, an earthquake or fire. We never know if we don’t listen.

In today’s gospel we meet men who do not listen, men of poor judgment. Jesus is aware. He does what is good despite opposition, but they leave, blind to the good. As this gospel is read at Mass I am thinking of the good so plainly in view. How the sharing of the Eucharist never ends unhappily but renews our hope and sends us to  proclaim our oneness and the dignity of God’s creation with which we are gifted.

The chandelier in the DiCamillo story hung in the dining room over one hundred years unlit, just there. One evening it became the reason to gather family and friends. It was a quirky group who laughed, patiently cared for one another and genuinely loved, who gathered beneath the lit chandelier. Our gathering symbol is the banquet table, or altar or Jesus Himself – the symbols we use to express our reasons for gathering to share the Eucharist. While so rich is the living symbol that gathers us still we may not see how special it is. Or even the assembly that gathers around it, a symbol too with a treasure house of meaning. And Bede’s flock of sparrows? Like us, flying in and out, all of us. Yet on occasion we land together at the banquet table sensitive to mutual hungers, hungry to be filled with all the strength that a banquet gives us in spirit and joy, wanting to leave aside mistaken and small judgements, and to begin again to follow Jesus. Let us listen to Luke and continue to go forth with this Good News.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Isaiah 35:4-7
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

Reflection:

Be Opened!

There was a time in my life, when what I heard when listening to the readings at Church seemed too deep for me to understand. I took every word literally and did not know how to go beneath the surface of those words and understand the true meaning of them. I asked myself, what was a metaphor and what was it really trying to say? Do the poems or psalms literally mean what the words were saying or was it pointing to something else that related to the world? Things were not that clear because my ears were not open to understanding clearly. My mouth could not speak the words that my heart felt because the gift of words were not fully developed in my mouth.

This is the lesson of todays readings. We need to pray for understanding and knowledge so that when God says the word Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’), we know what it really means. Then we can open up to let the Holy Spirit come within us and work.

Years of listening to loud music results in a gradual loss of hearing. Likewise, years of listening to the noise and voices of the world causes our spiritual hearing to decay. Repent of any spiritual deafness or muteness. Allow Jesus to take you off by yourself, away from the hubbub of the world that crowds around you (Mk 7:33; cf Mt 6:6). Let Him touch you anew and renew your baptismal innocence. “Be opened!” (Mk 7:34)

To give hearing and speech back to the deaf and mute man restores his ability to enter fully into human communication: to hear the voice of a friend, Jesus, and to express himself with ease. His many years of suffering led to an incomparable privilege: the first voice he hears is Christ’s, the first person he speaks to is Jesus. “Here is your God.” O once deaf and mute man, “he comes with divine recompense, he comes to save you.” If we “adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ,” we will be healed of every infirmity and be “heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him.” Amen.

Deacon Peter Smith serves at Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, in Tucson, AZ. He is a retired Religion Teacher, Athletic Director and Facility Manager from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, a Retired Soldier of the United States Air Force, a Grad Student at Xavier University of Ohio, and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:6b-15
Luke 6:1-5

Reflection:

Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?
Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’   -Luke 6:3-5

Uneasiness sometimes leads me to avoid what I feel called to do. I am part of a spiritual organization that has meetings all over the world, both online and in person. I usually attend three of these meetings a week and find them very beneficial, especially in terms of keeping me from isolating and keeping me in the present moment.  Recently, I decided to change a regular meeting I had been attending in deference to my own ethical sensitivities. The new one I chose to attend was one I had attended many years earlier. To my utter delight, I found that the meeting was going well with a full house of attendees, following an agenda with which I was comfortable.  The meeting felt like a perfect fit.

I also noticed that most attendees are quite a bit younger than I. (The older I get—I just turned 79 this past August—the more I get this revelation.) That has never bothered me before, but after three weekly meetings, I also noticed that some members in their shares were commenting on my and one or two other attendee’s ages. That made me feel uneasy—kind of like what Saint Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians, our first scriptural selection today. “… For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account…” (1 Cor 4:9-10)

I get the feeling there is an unwritten law that as an old man, I am only allowed to associate with much younger men unless I am their teacher or mentor. In the tradition of these meetings, I am neither. I am their peer. I don’t have all the answers. In fact, even after all these years, I still have a lot of questions and confusion about this gift of life that we’ve all been given.

This organization further encourages me not to anticipate, but to appreciate each moment of life that I have been given, that is for me to stay in the present moment by being open to what is happening and accepting this as my God’s revelation to me today.

God, help me recognize that all laws, whether they are written in our hearts or on tablets, are not necessarily Your laws. Your law of love precedes the laws I am sometimes told or feel I need to follow. Help me recognize Your law today, and more importantly have the courage to follow it, believing in You, the God of life and love.

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Luke 5:33-39

Reflection:

The section of Luke’s Gospel we read today is preceded by Jesus’ telling his hometown crowd that the prophet Isaiah’s words are fulfilled in their hearing of  them. This scene is followed by several cures, the calls of Simon the fisherman (who is astonished by his haul of fish at Jesus’ command) and Levi the tax collector.

The Pharisees and scribes are aflutter observing all these things and challenge Jesus about not being more ascetic as John’s followers were. It must have been difficult for them to understand how Jesus fit into their narrow world of ancient rules and regulations, a world of “us and them,” a world of secure routines, a world of order.

Scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson speaks of this passage of Luke’s Gospel, saying, “…one cannot fit this Gospel to the outcasts with its accessibility for all humans, within the perceptions and precepts of a separatist piety.” He says these short vignettes are among the most radical in the New Testament because they explode all divisions among people.

Jesus is calling everyone to take long sips of  new wine, wear new clothes to the wedding feast, be open to new ideas, new ways of living life, by accepting everyone into community, even tax collectors and sinners.

In recent years some have focused on “non-negotiables” during election season. These are a listing of certain political stands that candidates must share to be worthy of the vote of a follower of Christ.

Although well-intentioned, as I am sure many scribes and Pharisees were well-intentioned, the non-negotiable crowd comes across as self-righteous, elitist, and absolute.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, tells us to broaden our perspectives and to discover the essence of goodness. As St Augustine taught, at the core of our being, even for the perpetrator of unimaginable evil, is a desire to seek goodness and to do good because we are good.

This, however, can be drowned in the tsunami of propaganda of our age. I am constantly tempted to strive for money, power, status, and security on my terms. I can fall into traps of competition, fear of missing out on some experience or opportunity. I can become jealous and want others to live as I see fit. At these times, I fail to fully trust God, welcome the stranger, and look the beggar in the eye with love.

The old cloaks can’t be repaired; the old wineskins won’t hold the new wine, and the old wine will not refresh.

We are called to a radical life of throwing our arms wide to welcome all, forgive all, nurture all, and love all. In the Spanish words of Pope Francis, “Todos! Todos! Todos!”  “Everyone, Everyone, Everyone!”

We are called to take a sledgehammer to our prejudices, our mental caste systems, our walled neighborhoods, our segregated churches, adult playgrounds, and schools. If we end divisions, will we lose something that makes us feel secure? Comfortable?

Let today’s Psalm assure you:

Trust in the Lord and do good,
That you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart’s request.
In the words of the poet, “What do we have to fear after all? To be thrown into the tenderness of God?”

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