Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Malachi 3:19-20
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19

Reflection:

As we approach the end of the church year, we might expect a word of reassurance and encouragement. But that is not what we are given in today’s gospel. Instead of comfort and consolation, Jesus describes a world in which everything is falling apart. The gospel begins with some people admiring the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus shocks them by promising that a day will come when this beautiful and majestic temple will be nothing but rubble. It gets worse when, rather than foretelling peace, Jesus prophesizes “wars and insurrections,” but also “powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues….” If this is the future that awaits us, how can we hold to hope?

But the most unnerving prediction Jesus makes is that following him will be immensely costly. Instead of love and adulation, the path of discipleship will lead to misunderstanding, adversity, persecution and suffering, and perhaps even death. If we take Jesus’ message to heart and make his way of life our own, we should not expect friends and admirers, but enemies. Worst of all, some of those enemies may come from the people closest to us: parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends; indeed, the very ones we were sure loved us may betray us.

Given the tribulations that Jesus says await his followers, how can we possibly persevere? Hidden in these predictions of woe is one very consoling message. Jesus says no matter how many people might threaten and oppose us because of our love for him, “not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” The saving truth in those words is that God will never forsake us. If that isn’t enough to steady us, consider the first reading today from the prophet Malachi. There we are told that “the day is coming, blazing like an oven,” when all evildoers will be reduced to “stubble.” Why can we have hope? Because evil does not prevail, God’s love and justice do. That’s the truth we need to cling to, the message we need to take to heart.

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

Scripture:

Wisdom 7:22b-8:1
Luke 17:20-25

Reflection:

Our Gospel passage for today touches a very familiar chord in all of us it seems to me.  How we all long for the peace and joy of a heaven on earth!  When will we see the peace and happiness the Lord promised us? When is the Kingdom of God going to come?

Jesus had to have a conversation with his own disciples about this, especially as he was being prodded by the haughty, unbelieving Pharisees.  Jesus calmly declares that the coming of the Kingdom is not an event that will be heralded by trumpets and flutes, or miraculous events.  (How we all look for the miraculous in our midst!)  Rather, Jesus is reminding all who would listen that the Kingdom of God, a time of peace and justice, will arrive only after the Messiah, the chosen one, would “suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

In other words, dear friends, the Kingdom of God is something we experience only after we have walked with the Lord sufficiently, even suffered with him.  The rejection that Jesus speaks of is only too clear today.  I doubt many people in our fast-moving society take much time to think about how it is God’s Kingdom that really matters and not our own!  We are so caught up in building fortresses and walls that we scarcely give God’s Kingdom much of a thought.  If we want to dream, then perhaps we should dream about how different the world in which we live today would be if we spent more time trying to build up the Kingdom of God rather than our own!

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Wisdom 6:1-11
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

A few weeks ago, while driving down the freeway through California farmland, I spotted some fruit pickers in fields along our way. It sure looked like back-breaking work in the hot sun to me. These men and women were bent over covered from head to toe picking the fruit. I asked myself exactly how thankful have I been to those workers when I absent-mindedly washed the berries I bought from the supermarket? When I read today’s Gospel, centered on being thankful, I find I automatically go to judge the nine lepers who didn’t return to thank Jesus. Isn’t it always easier to move to that sentiment first instead of looking inward and asking the deeper question?

When I am quick to judge others, I miss the point of the message. The Gospel writer in Luke is asking us a simple question. How thankful are you, am I? Now one might argue that those fruit pickers get paid for their work. Again, I think we might miss the point. As we say our blessing before meals, do I ever think of the chain of workers who plant, water, weed, pick, package and set out in the store? All nicely arranged conveniently for me to purchase and eat.

Of course, when we focus on the chain of events for which we are blessed with our food we may miss the most important one of all—the fertile earth from which everything grows. In the Book of Job God proclaims, “Everything under heaven is mine.” (Job 41:3). At last, we arrive at the source of all life, our creator God. How blessed are we to enjoy the bounty of the Lord! We find echoes of this thought in our reading from Wisdom, “Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike…” The more and deeper we reflect on whom we need to thank for a simple little item like a strawberry or blueberry, our world opens up. In this season of Thanksgiving, we are called to slow down and open our eyes to the things we take for granted.

I hope I never forget those precious souls who work the fields, my brothers, and sisters, who serve my family and me. May God bless them, their lives, and the work of their hands.

What are you grateful for this day?

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:23-3:9
Luke 17:7-10

Reflection:

Our meditation focuses on the stark message that is pointed out by Jesus today, “we are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.”  His words are virtually a “laser beam of truth” which aims at a common, deadly virus of the soul. And, given our human nature, we are all susceptible to it.

First, let us be clear on the nature and content of the laser light. It is nothing less than the truth that “God formed us to be imperishable and according to the image of God’s divine nature.” (Wisdom 2:23) We are equally created to image God’s divine nature!

Further, nothing earthly or perishable can ultimately meet our needs and desires! (That alone is worthy of being plastered on our walls, or on our fridge!)

The energy source for this laser light of truth is nothing less than Jesus, emptying himself of his divinity, born in human likeness, in the form of a slave. He holds nothing back.

And through all of his trials as well as hopes, the persecution and martyrdom of his human existence, (ultimately the Cross) he learned obedience and was perfected and so became the source of eternal salvation for anyone who obeys him. (Power source of the laser)

And the destructive virus is none other than jealousy, resentment, envy, ego-centric self-sufficiency. “But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.” (Wisdom 2:24) My ego leads me into the lie that I am self-sufficient, smart and capable apart from God. That is the key, I actually am sufficient and capable. But it is apart from God that I can do nothing.

All we can do and accomplish comes from God and it’s the same for everyone around us, although some may not be convinced of it.  All is given freely, everything is gratuitous. And all has God’s faithful, creative love as it’s source.

“Where does the poet get her words, the painter his colors, the architect her shapes, the sculptor his forms, the doctor her healing power, the mechanic his skill, the computer programmer her creativity, and the author his inspiration if not from God?” (Adapted from Joseph G. Donders)

Let the next breath of satisfaction for an accomplishment “well done,” be followed by an expression of gratitude. And let the “glitter of brilliance” shown by someone else’s talent and skill, be acknowledged as a revelation of God’s gratuitous presence in your midst.

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

Scripture:

Wisdom 1:1-7
Luke 17:1-6

Reflection:

Several years ago, a series of self-help books whose title began, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” hit the best-seller list.  As well-meaning as the author undoubtedly was, there was nevertheless something troubling about that title.  In today’s gospel, Jesus turns that popular title upside-down.  We do have to sweat the small stuff.

Jesus had just warned, instructed, and exhorted his followers about the demands of discipleship.  He warned them about false teaching and those who entice others to sin.  He instructed them about confronting sinners and – more importantly – the need to forgive them.

With such great expectations placed on their shoulders, the disciples promptly implored Jesus to increase their faith.  But, as he often does, Jesus shifts the focus of their request.  Faith is not a matter of quantity, Jesus teaches them, but of its presence.  The presence of faith in their lives is more crucial than its quantity.  Faith, even as tiny as a mustard seed, Jesus assures them, can accomplish much.

For us, as for the first disciples, faith is not a single moment, but an ongoing and essential dimension of our journey.  Within the depths of our souls, in a quiet and mysterious way, God is always doing something new in our lives.  Indeed, great things can emerge from the small stuff of our faith.  Even faith the size of a mustard seed will do.

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

Scripture:

2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38

Reflection:

One core tenet of our Catholic faith is belief in an afterlife. Yet as we can see in today’s readings, just what that means or looks like is up for grabs. After all, no one has come back to tell us about it. Jesus used a lot of analogies and parables, but never described it. What will it be like?

It’s partly so difficult to imagine because we are bodily people. Will I be able to recognize you without your body? Will we see clearly into each other’s very being? Yet how can I even talk about “seeing” if I have no eyes? How can I define another’s “being” if it has no definition? What is a hug without a physical body? I don’t even know how to think about these questions, much less answer them.

I do believe that when we are spirits, there will be a fluidity and union that isn’t possible on earth. There will be no distance, division, suspicion, jealousy, prejudice, hatred, anger, or even skin – basically nothing that keeps us apart. Joined to each other in God, we will inherently understand and love because all of us will be intimately part of Understanding and Love itself. We will finally realize what the Scriptures tell us – that we are one, all children of the same God, all truly in the one Body, and all enjoying the indwelling of the Divine.

Yet we are not supposed to wait until death to fulfill this reality. Despite our bodily separation here, Jesus repeatedly called us to begin living in unity and love on earth. He said the reign of God is already here, if we would only let go of our divisions and live it. Therein lies the challenge, and as usual with Jesus’ challenges, it’s not a comfortable one.

Facing Jesus, I have to ask: Here, right now, how can I discriminate against someone to whom I will be joined for all eternity? How dare I tolerate violence against anyone else, knowing it is violence against my own self? What right do I have to shun someone who believes, worships, or votes differently than I do rather than reaching out and striving to understand them? How can I look the other way when there are ethical violations, inhuman categorizations of other human beings, abuses of power, and disenfranchisement of those in poverty? How can I keep from crying at the state of our world and our discourse, and at the same time, how can I refuse to act to change it?

This is our call. What answer can you give to Jesus? What can we each do this week to help bring about the reign of God here and now for all people?

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/.