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Scripture:

Joshua 24:1-13
Matthew 19:3-12

Reflection:

A Living Commitment to Companionship

“Love consists of a commitment which limits one’s freedom – it is a giving of the self, and to give oneself means just that: to limit one’s freedom on behalf of another” (John Paul II, Love and Responsibility).  The above words of John Paul II can help us understand better the anthropological and theological meaning of today’s scripture readings. In effect, in light of such papal statement, we can say that God’s life-giving plan of creation and salvation is all about living a mutual commitment to companionship.  That is why today’s gospel alludes to the Book of Genesis by telling us, in Jesus’ words, that: “From the beginning the Creator ‘made [humankind] male and female’ . . . [so that] ‘a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'” in order to populate the earth and be God’s stewards of creation.

For the above theological and anthropological reasons, Jesus reminds us of the gospel words that are central to the Rite of the Sacrament of Matrimony, that is, “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  Therefore, a married couple is to be “one flesh” living, under God’s grace-giving blessing, a mutual commitment to companionship.  For the purpose of marriage is that the couple gives each other their selves by mutually limiting their freedom on behalf of each other.

In a similar way, we see God being faithfully married to the people of Israel, whom Joshua summons at Shechem just to remind them that their living God has limited his own freedom on behalf of them.  In other words, because God is good and “his mercy endures forever,” as the Psalmist prays, we find in the first reading a saving God who is fully committed to accompanying his chosen people, from Terah’s to the Patriarchs’ to Joshua’s to our times.  For God reminds Israel that, “it was not your sword and your bow,” but I who “gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”  Likewise, we are reminded that it is not by our merits that we have what we possess, especially the most valuable nonmaterial things, such as faith, hope, love, unity in diversity, and peace, but by God who is just and merciful.

In conclusion, today’s readings, especially the gospel, tell us that any God-given Christian vocation is to be lived in communion with God and one another, as well as in service to God and one another.  We are to live a living commitment to mutual companionship, a sacramental communion in and through Jesus Christ, who is true man and true God.  Out of love, we are to live, as John Paul II suggests, a commitment which limits our own freedom on behalf of others.  For Jesus states, “whoever can accept this ought to accept it . . . for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.”  We should therefore reflect on and evaluate our own Christian commitment to love and serve God and one another.

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P., is a member of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Isaiah 55:10-11
Romans 8:18-23
Matthew 13:1-23

Reflection:

My hope is that each person reading this is able to be more intensely conscious of God’s fertile Word always present with you and for you.

What is God saying to us through Jesus’ parable of the sower, who is sowing with abandoned, his seed? His seed is His love, His friendship, His wisdom, His getting us through tough situations, His intense interest in our lives, our marriages, our vocations (after all, He called us) are all available through His Word. The same Word that created the stars, the planets, our own lives, always available! “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Is. 55:11)

To highlight the utter value of the Word that is “sown,” listen to this story which comes from the late, Fr. Joseph Donders:

“A young man had a misunderstanding with his girlfriend – a very serious misunderstanding.

 He was upset about it, because it spoiled their relationship entirely, and he like her very much.

He tried to talk to her, but that did not work. He tried to phone her, but when he heard her voice, he did not know what to say, and he had to hang up. He tried to write a letter but when he finished, he tore his letter up because he thought it sounded silly.

Then he remembered that she liked roses, dark, red roses. He bought her a rose -only one, because roses were very expensive that time of the year. The man in the flower shop put some ferns with the rose and wrapped it in nice thin, green paper with a simple bow. The young man knew that this would work.

The young man went to her home and put the rose down in front of her door at the time he knew she would come home. He then hid around the corner, behind some bushes.

Then she came, as lovely as ever. His heart was throbbing, and he was in a sweat. She opened her purse and took out her key.

She opened the door and stepped inside, without having noticed his beautiful, expensive rose at all!”

What a disappointment, what a tragedy, what a letdown, what a missed opportunity!  But we do not know what became of the young man. If he has an instinct to believe that God does not abandon anyone, then he will accept this reality, as painful as it is. Knowing that it is in the terms of the parables and this story that God, that Jesus, that Matthew, wants to speak to our hearts, to get our attention. Think of the unseen, unheard, unfelt, untouched signs that you wanted to give to someone else that somehow got lost, missed, never noticed.

God gives us signs day after day, night after night, trying to get our attention. Like when someone asks you, “can we talk for a minute, just a minute, please?” Or, “Dad, I made a huge mistake and I need to tell you about it.” Or, “honey, you know we have not had the time just to talk about what matters to us.” Or, when someone in the family says, “Hey, I have this great idea for us to do.” Or, when a feeling comes over you, and you just want to be grateful to God, or to someone who never hears anything from you. Do you know what I am talking about?

Yes, we live as those who have eyes and see not; as those who have ears and hear not; not only as far as God is concerned, but even as far as the people around us are concerned.

Is not God trying to speak to us through others? Is not that what God tried to do through Jesus when he often “went out of the house and sat down by the sea?” Where are you and when God calls you to be in the presence of others, with Christ’s presence?

You and I recognize Him when we listen, look, see, pause and observe, and, yes, point His presence out for one another through our acts of kindness, patience, perseverance. Let go of your fear, God is behind it all.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Tobit 1:3; 2:1b-8
Mark 2:1-12

Reflection:

Today’s readings tell two stories designed to teach.  In the Hebrew Scripture, the exiled Tobit introduces himself, his background and works. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Tenants of the Vineyard.

Tobit illustrates, that through ordinary faithful lives- even in exile- the ancient traditions of fidelity to the law and compassion towards the neighbor are still part of everyday life for believers and are worth the risk to live out this spirituality daily, even in a hostile or foreign environment. Why?  To trust in God and to mirror daily God’s justice and mercy was key to Tobit’s character.   A question for our reflection:  Is this spirituality key to our own character and life?

Today’s gospel story is a commentary on the hostility of the Jewish leaders toward, not only Jesus himself, but it is also a comment on the harsh treatment given to God’s earlier messengers.

Returning to Jerusalem, Jesus is walking in the Temple Area . The chief priests and scribes approach him, questioning his authority. In response, Jesus speaks to them and to us in today’s parable.

We are familiar with today’s story and the images: The vineyard represents Israel; the owner is God; the tenant farmers are Israel’s leaders; and the beloved son is Jesus.  The owner leases his vineyard to tenant farmers and goes on a journey.  When the owner sent messengers for the “rent”, the tenant farmers seize, beat and send him back empty-handed.  Finally the owner, sends his son… and the farmers kill the son! As a result, the tenant farmers are severely punished and the vineyard given to others.

What might this parable say to each of us today? Who are the ‘messengers’ God sends us in our own life?  How do we respond?  Where does God send us as messengers of God’s love?

Scripture:

Hebrews 11:1-7
Mark 9:2-13

Reflection:

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mark 9:6)

The readings for today’s mass present us with a moving sermon on the nature of faith and the beautiful account of Jesus’ transfiguration on Mount Tabor. In our first reading from the book of Hebrews, we are reminded that “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” In the Gospel, we see Jesus taking his closest friends, Peter, James and John, up a high mountain where he is suddenly transfigured before their eyes. Jesus is seen talking with Elijah and Moses, two of the great prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. The disciples were overcome with fear and Peter began to talk nonsense. That is when God stops him cold. God simply says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Listening to Jesus is the same as listening to God!

Up to this point, the disciples were not good listeners. Jesus was going up and down Galilee and the surrounding countryside teaching and healing, feeding people when they were hungry and freeing people from unclean spirits and demons. Yet, the disciples were not listening to or understanding Jesus. On a couple of occasions, Jesus got upset with them He says in Mark 7:18, “Are even you likewise without understanding?” A few days later, in Mark 8:21, he says: “Do you still do not understand.” It seems that a stronger response was set off in Jesus after he told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. Peter takes him aside and rebukes him. At that point, Jesus turns to Peter and says bluntly, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mark 8:33) After that, Jesus ^“summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.'” (Mark 8:34)

Sometimes God has to enter into our lives in a dramatic way to tell us to stop what we’re doing and to stop our gibberish. We need to take the time to Listen to Jesus, the Word of God, and his message given to us in the Sacraments, the Church and in the cries of the Crucified of Today. We really need to learn to listen with our minds and hearts so that we can do what we need to do as followers of Jesus.

The reason why we are not listening is because something is causing us to block God’s message to us. That would be our sin. To strip ourselves of our sinful ways is not easy. We may be able to cast aside the veneer, the façade but to do the inner work of finding the root cause of our sinful ways takes a great deal of dying to self and of taking up our cross to follow Jesus. This is ultimately a faith stance, something that we do in complete faith, not because we know the outcome, but because we just believe. It is not irrational faith, but a faith that goes beyond reason, beyond the senses, beyond the intellectual games we play to get around doing the inner work that strips us of our core sin.

We are so grateful that we follow a Jesus who knows and loves us so well, that he will not give up on us, just as he did not give up on Peter, James and John, when they were not listening. So, we do not give up. We get up. We follow Jesus. We try harder to listen to God’s Beloved Son. This is indeed our faith!

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

Scripture:

Hebrews 7:25-8:6
Mark 3:7-12

Reflection:

Whatever happened to all those people?

In today’s Gospel, St. Mark goes out of his way to tell us that there were an awful lot of people who wanted to be with Jesus.  He tells us that “a large number of people” from Galilee came, as did a large number from Judea, as did a large number from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan River, from Tyre and Sidon.  People were traveling from north, south, east and west, streaming to hear Jesus, to be with Jesus to touch Jesus.

In our imagination we can see the constant stream of people gathering from all directions to be with Jesus.  And, Jesus was a bit intimidated by the huge numbers because he asked his friends to have a boat ready to give him an escape route so “they would not crush him.”  And this wasn’t the only time great crowds came to Jesus.  There were the 5000 fed on the hillside, the 7000 fed with 7 loaves and 2 fish, and don’t forget the crowds lining the road into Jerusalem who were singing hosanna and laying palms down in front to Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem.  Great popularity and adulation!  But, whatever happened to all those people?

We know they receded back into the countryside when the religious and political leaders began to demonize Jesus.  They were nowhere to be seen when Jesus went through his Passion and Death.  But when everything settled down again and the disciples continued to talk about Jesus and witness to His resurrection did many of these people return to their initial interest and become followers of Jesus once again?  It would not be a surprise to find out that some (many?) of them did.  From Pentecost on the number of followers of Jesus grew rapidly.  No doubt some of the people who were frightened off came back.

Being a Catholic follower of Jesus can be a difficult thing even today.  Sometimes we’re very fervent but there are other times when our hearts can grow distant.  The disapproval of our neighbors or our society, the scandals that happen in our Church, the experiences of personal disappointment, disillusionment, hurt or anger can all cause us to pull back from our faith, to recede back into the countryside.  The beautiful truth about Jesus is that though crowds of people came and went, Jesus stayed faithful to all of them.  Jesus stays faithful to us as well.  Perhaps our prayer today can be to ask the Holy Spirit to grace us with the desire to stay close to Jesus, even in difficult times.

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

Scripture:

Revelation 10:8-11
Luke 19:45-48

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, after Jesus has entered Jerusalem, He goes to the Temple. And He proceeds to drive out all those who are selling things. He also begins to teach every day in the Temple area. And Luke tells us that while he is doing this, the leaders of the people are seeking to put Him to death, “but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on to his words.”

Luke’s account brings up a question: “What do we hang on to?” Do we hang on to Jesus’ words, or something else? In our society, today is known as Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. It can be easy to hang on to word of the latest sale or the best deal. After all, there is shopping that needs to be done.

But even when we realize that the things associated with the holiday shopping season are not what are most important, it may be good to keep asking the question – What do we really hang on to for guidance or inspiration?

In our first reading from Revelation, the author has a vision in which he is told to take a scroll and eat it. He is told that it will first taste sweet, but afterward it will taste sour. The sweetness comes because the scroll indicates God’s ultimate victory. The sourness comes because there are predictions of suffering before that happens. I think we can be tempted to hang on only to those of Jesus’ words that taste “sweet” to us, and not those that challenge, or taste “sour” to us. But we need to hang on Jesus’ words of forgiveness and compassion and mercy and love towards others, even of enemies, as well as when Jesus comforts us and promises us salvation.

If we can hang on to the truth of God’s love for us, we can hang on to Jesus’ call to follow Him, even when it involves taking up our cross. We know that no matter how heavy our crosses may seem, they are not the last word. God’s love will overcome all! May we have the faith to hang on to that!

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