Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Isaiah 8:23-9:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for Sunday from Matthew (4:12-23), we hear the account of Jesus calling His first disciples: Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. When we look at what happens, it boggles the mind. Jesus seems to simply walk by, stop, and say to them, “Come after me,” and they drop what they’re doing and follow Him right then and there!

Right before this, Matthew tells us that after John the Baptist is arrested, Jesus moves to Capernaum, and basically begins His public ministry, proclaiming as He goes, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For Matthew, this is a fulfillment of the prophecy that we hear in our first reading from Isaiah (8:23-9:3), about the restoration of the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, where Capernaum was, and where we hear those beautiful words which we also hear at Christmas: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.”

As I reflect on what seems to be two distinct parts of our Gospel reading, they come together when we reflect on our lives as disciples. What moved Peter and Andrew, James and John, to drop what they were doing and follow Jesus? Maybe they recognized in Him the light shining in the darkness.

For me, this gives a good description of the spiritual life and our development as disciples. The more and more we are willing to live in the light of Christ, the more we are able to drop the things and attitudes that get in the way, and the more we are able to serve God and each other. And the more we serve God and each other, the more we are able to walk in the light of Christ, and the process continues.

May we be able to see that there is light in the darkness and that we do not have to live in gloom. May we live in faith, and without hesitation let go of fear and resentment and despair, and follow Jesus in loving God and the entire world. May we help bring light into darkness and hope in the midst of gloom.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 24:3-21
Mark 3:13-19

Reflection:

“He appointed twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach.” Mark 3:14

Discipleship is simply and lovingly described by Jesus as “being with Him” and to “proclaim” the Gospel. The first requirement is to be with Jesus.  I think it is a terrible problem if we try to do and proclaim the Gospel without a meaningful friendship with Jesus.

A relationship with Christ means a vigorous personal encounter with Him.  This deep friendship makes our faith a joyous loving experience!  The traditional name for this experience with the Lord is strongly attested to in Scripture and is called prayer.  The beautiful and most common word for prayer in the original Greek SS is pros-eu-cho-mai which means wishing of God for me and I for Him.  All prayer begins with God’s deep desire for me and in return my desire for Him.  The noun and verb for pros-eu-cho-mai is used 129 times in SS.  Besides, there are many other words for prayer in OT and NT!

Today we celebrate the feast of St Francis de Sales who greatly encouraged all to prayer.  Prayer means much more than asking God for things.  For him, it was a heartfelt meeting with Jesus which he called meditation. One of his famous quotes: “Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed. In prayer, more is accomplished by listening than by talking. Let us leave to God the decisions as to what shall be said.”  St John Chrysostom 1,600 years ago gave us the advice of a lifetime, “There is nothing more worthwhile than to pray to God and to converse with him, for prayer unites us with God as his companions.”

As for preaching, this too is very important or discipleship.  It is much more than being a social worker as important as that is.  We are wise to remember there is no worse poverty than not to have Jesus! The most important thing that every human being needs in life is Jesus!  It is a disaster not to have Him in our lives.  Each of us needs to evangelize but according to our particular vocations.  If we truly love Jesus and His Church we will find our opportunities.  St John Chrysostom made this observation: “Hard indeed must be the heart of one who is not concerned about the salvation of another”!

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

Scripture:

1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7
Mark 3:7-12

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for today, crowds of people come to see Jesus, having heard about all the things He was doing. Mark tells us that “whenever unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down before him and shout. ‘You are the Son of God.’ He warned them sternly not to make him known.”

Why would Jesus not want to be made known like this? I think it has to do with what kind of relationship He wanted and still wants with people today. I think He might have reasoned that if people only related to Him in terms of what He could do for them, they would miss relating to Him as He is.

That’s still true for us. In our first reading from 1 Samuel, we hear the beginnings of Saul’s jealousy of David, even to the point of wanting to kill him. This jealousy eventually overtook Saul, and in a real way destroyed him. If we look at others and wonder why he has this or she has that, and we don’t, and wonder why God hasn’t blessed us that way, we lose sight of what Jesus did do for us on the Cross, and the unfathomable mystery of God’s love for us.

We can ask God for material or physical blessings, and we may or may not receive them, depending on how God wishes to answer our prayers, and give us what we need. But I do believe that when we ask for spiritual healing: healing from jealousy, from fear, from anxiety, from resentment, from despair, we will receive it.

May we not lose sight of what Jesus has done for us and what He continues to do for us. May we not be overtaken by jealousy or fear or anger, but instead put our trust in God and be at peace.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
Mark 3:1-6

Reflection:

“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Mark 3:4

Today, the Church is asking all of us to pray for the legal protection of Unborn Children. And the Scripture for today gives us two very familiar Scripture images to help us reflect upon this request for prayer. The first one is David verse Goliath. The second one is Jesus curing a person on the Sabbath while the Pharisees looked on. Both of these accounts from the Scriptures are worthy of our meditation and reflection. Prayer, after all, is what allows us to come close to God and helps us to experience the grace we need to live a life worthy of our calling as disciples of Jesus, children of God.

There are so many examples of the “David versus Goliath” story that we apply to everyday life. It is the story of the inexperienced young person going up against the giant and seasoned warrior. It is the story of God’s chosen one from a small country village going against the destructive rule of gigantic power. Oh, how we love this story. We may love it so well that we may forget its underlying truth as found in verses 37 and 39 of the reading: that God would be with David and David did not take the sword with him, the instrument of war. If God is with us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) So many times we rely on our own resources to overcome evils that surround us.

And the Gospel account builds upon this important instruction found in the first reading. It tells us how Jesus gave life, restored life and valued life over any human norm. We know that we do the good when new life emerges and healing takes place, regardless of the time and place. So, today, let us take a good look at how we value life and how we restore life, especially by how we live it and in what we say and do.

One of the surest ways that we can protect the Unborn Children is by creating a culture of justice and peace in our world, in other words, by creating a culture of life. For the vast majority of us, it is about being respectful of life and cultures and customs. It is about saying no to destructive instruments and behaviors. Every time we do something that dehumanizes another human being, young or old, we are failing to protect Unborn Children. This day is about doing something positive to bring about new life. And we begin with prayer.

There is an old saying that goes this way: “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Let us bring light and life and love into the world around us. Let us all pray for all that is yet to be born within us.

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

Scripture:

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Mark 2: 23-28

 Reflection:

In the first reading from the Book of Samuel, the Lord asks Samuel how long he will grieve for Saul.  Saul disobeyed the Lord’s instructions to put all of the Amalekites to death and destroy their goods.  Samuel knows that God has rejected Saul and he is grieved for his friend and king who failed.   So, the Lord tells Samuel to get over your mourning and get on with selecting the next king but rely on Divine Guidance.  Like Samuel are we able to move past our failures and look for new possibilities? (David G. Garber, Jr.  Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Working Preacher, Preaching This Week)

In Mark’s Gospel Jesus is passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath and his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain which was legal. This passage confronts us with certain essential truths which we sometimes forget. 1) Religion does not consist of just following rules and regulations.  Sunday observance is important but there is a great deal more to Christianity than Sunday observance.  2)  The gospels teach us about responding to human need with mercy and compassion even on the Sabbath. Prayer: Lord, assist me in not fixating on my faults and failings and assist me to see you in the people I meet and serve today.  (William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, Daily Study Bible series, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1956, p. 64)

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

Scripture:

I Samuel 15: 16-23
Mark 2: 18-22

Reflection:

“Old habits die hard!”  Now, there’s a truism!

As I’ve gotten older I’ve noticed that conversations, and even disagreements, with long-time friends and family often take a very familiar path.  Whatever the topic, I tend to say similar kinds of things as I have before, and the person I’m talking to responds in familiar ways.  This pattern is especially true in our long-term disagreements.  Perhaps it is just easier to repeat ourselves because then we don’t have to really think much!

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus surely challenges that very human expectation and habit.  In His examples of a garment patch or a need for new wineskin, Jesus invites his disciples to be open to new ways of thinking and acting.  In his response to those asking about the fact that his disciples don’t fast, Jesus claims that the reason his disciples don’t fast is his very presence with them.  He’s the difference!

Jesus constantly invites us, his disciples, into new ways of thinking and acting.  He asks us to trust God in every aspect of our lives because God is our loving Father.  Jesus wants us to realize how deeply he loves us, so gives his very life ­­­­for us.  He tells us that love and forgiveness, even or maybe especially, for those who have injured us or are our enemies are the only paths to peace, either personal or communal.  Jesus teaches us that it is in caring for the poor, homeless, hurting, oppressed or outcast that we build the Kingdom of God.  Many of us disciples of Jesus cherish these teachings but few of us are able to live them fully.  It seems our ways of thinking and our imaginations are just too small to free us to risk living fully the example and teachings of Jesus.

Let us pray today that we are able to recognize any of our beliefs or attitudes that keep us from embracing fully the life-giving teachings of Jesus.

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34

Reflection:

It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.  Isaiah 49:6

Today’s readings invite us to think about the expectations we have for our lives. Sometimes our expectations coincide with other people’s, and other times, their expectations are radically different from ours. Some of us live our lives with a sense of fulfillment that we are doing what we wanted to do, and others of us live with a sense of disappointment and unhappiness because we realize we will never attain our expectations. When it comes to our expectations, sometimes we overreach and at other times, we settle for less.

The readings for today’s Mass are a reminder that it is God’s expectations for us that really matter, and no one else’s, not even our own. We often come to this conclusion after a painful discernment and at other times, the choice has always been obvious, but we lack the courage to say yes. For it takes courage and grit and fortitude to say yes to God. What we often don’t take into account is that God always does the heavy lifting when we say yes. Our readings are also a reminder of this.

The prophet Isaiah discerns that he is to be a servant of God. Then God tells him that he is not just called to be a servant but also the light to the nations of the world and that light will reach to the ends of the world. There are times when we underestimate what we can do for God, only to find out that God has more faith in us to do more.

Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, that they are called to holiness. So many of us shy away from being holy. We may think that holiness means being perfect in everything, in our prayer and our behavior. But at its core, holiness means loving unconditionally, as God loves us unconditionally. When the saints figured that out, then God took over their lives and they accomplished all kinds of great things.

In the Gospel, John figured out who he was and who Jesus is: the Christ, the Savior, the one who is to come. Some of us spend our whole life figuring out that we are not Jesus the Christ, but rather his disciples. The thing is, who we think Jesus is and who Jesus really is are two different realities. Jesus is gentler, kinder, more forgiving, more loving and compassionate than we will ever be. Being his faithful disciples will get us where Jesus is! We don’t need to overreach.

God expects a great deal from us. And our response is: Here I am Lord, I come to do you will!

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