Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22
Luke 19:1-10

Reflection:

Sometimes our actions indicate one thing on the surface, but in fact betray a much deeper desire and longing – one we think is masked and well hidden. But while we think that our true motives are hidden, others can in fact see only too well what our true intent is.

The interaction between Zaccheus and Jesus seems to exemplify this dynamic quite well in today’s gospel reading.

By his public action (climbing a tree) Zaccheus seems to indicate he merely wants to satisfy his curiosity and ‘see’ Jesus; he is intrigued and wonders what this man is like. Perhaps in public Zaccheus can pretend that it is mere curiosity that drives him to climb the tree and that he exercises this amount of energy and enthusiasm solely because he is short in stature. At least this is a public face he can show – it does not reveal too much of his inner world and he can easily account for his actions by virtue of  his lack of height.

But clearly there is more at work in Zaccheus.

This becomes obvious when Jesus seeks him out and makes the extraordinary request to stay at his house! Symbolically Jesus asks to come ‘inside’ to enter into the home and thus personal life of Zaccheus.

The response of Zaccheus reveals much to us (and perhaps to himself too) in that it goes far beyond what someone merely seeking to ‘see’ what this man Jesus is like might reply.

That is, just at Jesus makes an extraordinary request to Zaccheus, so too Zaccheus makes an extraordinary response. He allows an inner, deeper spirit to exercise influence over him and he speaks from his heart. In a sense we hear a dialogue of heart speaking to heart. Jesus sees through Zaccheus’ actions to his deeper need, Zaccheus responds to such warmth and recognition by allowing his deeper aspirations – for belonging, for truth and honest and for renewal – to surface and he too speak from his heart to welcome Jesus.

Perhaps this is the essence of the gospel text that we might observe today and seek to make our own.

In this gospel as so often in life, Jesus speaks to us of his desire to ‘be’ with us, to make his home within us. This in turn can free us to allow our deeper desires for him to surface and we can dare to welcome him more deeply into our own lives. But the presence of Jesus sot us is not merely a passive one, no his grace at work within us can motive and empower us to try to recreate our lives once more for him.

Perhaps too Zaccheus can be a symbol of so many people in our world today who are aware of Jesus and indeed fascinated by him but their interest goes no deeper. They ‘know of’ him, but their interest stays at the intellectual level.

Let us not be mere observers.  The deeper and more important symbolism of the character of Zaccheus is to take up the challenge that his actions reveal to us. Let us  be the ones who welcome Jesus into our inner world, our home and allow him to dwell there.

For every day, for those who listen, the words of Jesus echo and re-echo “I must stay at your house today..”

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia. 

Scripture:

Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5
Luke 18:35-43

Reflection:

Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Luke 18:41

I think that I was in fifth grade when the school principle asked me to take a note to my parents, with the request that they come talk to her. That had never happened to me before, so I was very anxious about doing this. I even considered “losing it somewhere” on my way home.

It turned out that the school wanted to tell my parents that I needed an eye exam, because I was having trouble reading the blackboard. I had no idea that I needed glasses. Getting glasses that early in life was both challenging and life-changing. The first time I came to school with eye glasses, I was teased. I considered not wearing them. But, when I was in the classroom looking at the blackboard or reading a book, it was amazing how much better I could see. I have been wearing glasses ever since.

This beautiful Gospel account is about someone who knows he cannot see and wants to see. Living in a world without the faculty of sight is living in a world of darkness. There are people born blind, and probably know the world outside by only “seeing” it with their other senses: touch, smell or sound. I cannot image what kind of world they live in.

Others lose their sight by accident or disease or some other cause. They know what it means to see and be blind.

When we know that we are blind, whatever the cause, we long to see. We are just like the man in today’s gospel.

While there may be many levels of insight that we can gleam from this Gospel through prayer and meditation, the one that strikes me most today is my experience of not being aware that I cannot see clearly, while thinking that I can. We can be the “seeing” blind and not even be aware of it. We can live our lives seeing everything, but blind to the realities that make life meaningful, beautiful and worth living. We have not yet learned to cry out with full conviction, “Lord, please let me see.” We have not learned to cry out in faith!

When we hear Jesus say to us, “Have sight; your faith has saved you,” we will then be able to see and do what this blind man did: Follow Jesus. And for the Evangelist Luke, following Jesus means taking up our cross daily to follow him.

When we follow Jesus, we will see what Jesus sees: the tears of the suffering, the stranger or the refugee or the beggar shouting in the streets, the outcast women rejected by society, the leper, and so much more. It allows us to see injustice and become voice for the voiceless and friend of the downtrodden. It allows us to love unconditionally!

The sight that Jesus offers us changes everything!

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

Scripture:

Daniel 12:1-3
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Mark 13:24-32

Reflection:

We have to be a bit surprised at the readings for this Sunday.   Seems to be some negative, scary stuff.  “A time unsurpassed in distress.  Some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.  The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”   We recognize, of course, these are apocalyptic readings from the Old Testament.  We notice the pain, the suffering.  Even in the Gospel we find that Jesus’ words contain that same darkness.  In both what the prophet Daniel and Jesus have to share the whole picture also includes the positive.  In Daniel we read, “The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.” And in Mark we read Jesus saying, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”

We must take in the whole teaching, both the dark and the bright side in both sources: Daniel and Jesus.  Eleonore Stump comments: “So what happens to Christians in bad times? Do they lose and lose and lose, as the Gospel of Matthew says?  But what is losing? Is losing a matter of being hated, afflicted, and killed? Christ was hated, afflicted, and killed, too. And yet Christ did not lose on the cross, did he? He won.”

“In this world there is the end of the story, when Christ’s true disciples will be hated and afflicted (here on earth). And then there is the real and final end of the story, at the last judgment (in heaven), where each person will see himself as he really is.”

“At that last chapter of each human story, the First Reading says, some people will be perceived as the horror and disgrace that they really are. Others will shine like the splendor of the stars.”

“The winners in the battle of life, those who shine like stars, are those who have turned many to justice, the First Reading says. Acting with courage and integrity for justice, goodness, and truth can get a person hated, afflicted, and even killed, can’t it? ”

“And now we can see what it is to escape bad times. Escaping is not a matter of living at ease in prosperity, honored by the world around you. Escaping is managing not to be turned into a horror and a disgrace by your own cooperation with the evil all around you that masquerades as good. ”

“This is an escape that God will give anyone who is willing to take up his cross daily.”

“And so the losing of the cross, the willingness to be hated and afflicted for the sake of justice – that is the way to the final winning where God’s people shine with the splendor of the stars.”  (Sunday Website of St. Louis University)

You and I, it seems rather clearly, need to pray that we grab hold of the whole picture and make sure that Jesus is part of that whole picture of our lives.  Carrying our cross alone could weigh us down physically, psychologically and spiritually.  Jesus will never abandon you and me.  “Take up your cross and come, walk with me.” 

Fr. Peter Berendt, C.P., resides at St. Paul of the Cross Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

3 John 5-8
Luke 18:1-8

Reflection:

In today’s gospel, Jesus offers a compelling example of faithful perseverance. It’s the brief but unforgettable parable of the pesky widow who won’t take no for an answer. For what Jesus hints must have been a considerable time, she has relentlessly beseeched the judge to resolve her case by giving her what she was due. The widow was looking for justice, but the infamous judge, whom Jesus said “neither feared God nor respected any human being,” didn’t want to be bothered. Eventually, however, her persistence wore him down. Knowing that she will never give up, the judge finally rendered a decision.

Sometimes we are tempted to give up because we wonder if what we do really matters. Day after day, week after week, year after year, we strive to be faithful to our commitments, to follow the way of Christ, and to live truly good and holy lives. But does it make any difference? We do our best to love the people God brings into our lives, we try to be just and thoughtful, generous and kind, but after a while can doubt whether the good we do will ever nudge the world to a better place. At that point, it is easy to grow disillusioned, replacing faithful perseverance with cynicism, hope with complacency, and love with a gradual turning in on ourselves.

This parable is the only one in the gospels that ends with a question, and a provocative one it is: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Through the story of this indefatigable widow, Jesus suggests that true “faith on earth” is exhibited not through spectacularly heroic deeds, but through the faithful perseverance by which we each day fulfill the commitments and responsibilities of our lives. What will Jesus find in us? We need to remember that the world is held together, and sustained in hope, not by the dazzling deeds of the powerful, but by the faithful perseverance of ordinary people like us.

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

Scripture:

Philemon 7-20
Luke 17:7-20-25

Reflection:

“But first the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.” These words from the 17^th Chapter of Luke explain the beauty of being a Christian, the beauty of following this King, Jesus Christ.

It may seem a little callous to call the suffering of the Son of Man as beautiful, but consider the fact that our King is willing to do so. He is willing to suffer for his subjects. What other King is like this? We can find beauty in the fact that Jesus is willing so suffer for us and all we have to do is say, “yes I believe!” Yes, I believe and I am willing to carry whatever cross my king offers me. We can make this commitment because he will never ask us, to do anything that He is not willing to do or has not already done himself, this is beautiful! Our king, fully human and fully divine, is like us in every way but sin and in his humility his suffering is real. Though he is innocent and without sin, it pains him greatly to see us wallowing in the darkness of sin, his remedy is an offer, an offer for us to pick up our cross and follow him. When we accept we are giving him permission to absorb our sins so that we can find his kingdom and live in it today. How beautiful is that!

“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” Jesus is void of sin, but he loves us so much that he is willing to absorb our sins, to purify us so that we can join him in his kingdom. So perhaps we should live our lives as if we are already part of his kingdom, as if it is already among us and share this beauty with those around us.

Deacon James Anderson is the Administrator at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

Titus 3:1-7
Luke 17:11-19

Reflection:

When I was young and we visited the dentist or doctor’s office there would always be a copy of Highlights Magazine in the waiting room.  In it I loved to read the comic strip “Goofus and Gallant”.

In the comic, two boys are given a situation in life in which they need to respond.

Goofus would always do the thing we knew to be wrong while Gallant would respond with the right value called for, be it telling the truth, helping a neighbor, or saying thank you.  Figuring out the right thing to do in the examples did not take rocket science, and yet, we all knew as we read the comic strip, that we occasionally acted more like Goofus than Gallant.

In today’s Gospel Jesus comes into the lives of ten lepers and answers their prayers by lovingly healing them. If this happened to us, we all would know the right thing to do.  What Gallant would do.  Return and give thanks. This is not difficult to understand.  Yet I know there are times when Jesus is present in my life, when he answers my prayers or heals my brokenness and I am too busy, too distracted, or have already moved on to my next need or worry to even acknowledge His miraculous presence in my life. Giving thanks requires me to slow down, to pay attention and to humbly accept that God loves me so much that He desires to be part of my life.

I think there is also more to the Gospel than the basic value of gratitude.  Jesus’s love acted very powerfully in the lives of the 10 through their healing, and yet only one chose not just to give thanks, but to return to Christ in a more meaningful way.

We have been given much by Our Lord and our hearts should respond with giving thanks, but also by returning to Christ with more than just our words. The Gospel says the leper returned, fell at Jesus’s feet and thanked him.

What might that look like for us?  Maybe in this year of faith returning to Our Lord could include reading the bible more, spending time in front of the blessed sacrament, or receiving the sacraments more often.  Then we would truly be responding with our hearts and our lives to the way He heals us in our life.

 

Steve Walsh is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre ,and a good friend of the Passionist Community.

Scripture:

Titus 2:1-8, 11-14
Luke 17:7-10

Reflection:

Today’s Gospel reading feels a bit hard to understand at first glance—at least to me. I asked myself exactly what it has to say to us in the context of this past week. As I sit and ponder these Scriptures, I see our San Gabriel Mountains through a light haze of smoke from the fires about 40+ miles to our west. The change in direction of the wind makes breathing outside difficult. We wait in hopes of a directional shift later this afternoon. Throughout the state of California this week, people have lost homes and now we hear about lives lost. Sadly, in addition, more lives were lost because of senseless violence in Thousand Oaks; while the national scene seems to grow more polarized each day.

The three verses from St. Luke which we hear proclaimed are situated between the apostles request of the Lord to “Increase our faith” (17:5) and the “cleansing of the 10 Lepers” (17:11-19).  In both cases, faith is the central theme with praise and gratitude added in the latter story.

Jesus continues to make his way to Jerusalem as he invites the apostles to reflect on the expectations of a servant in that society. St. Paul touches on this idea of expectations of the wider Christian community in his letter to Titus. The norms of the Mediterranean world were clearly understood, adhering to the Code of Conduct was expected, and failing to do so would bring dishonor to your community. There was no rugged individualism in this world. Yet, to live as a Christian made your actions especially significant as it spoke to your values and your obligation to your faith community as well as your commitment to living out the Gospel in every aspect of your life. Jesus’ mention of “unprofitable servants,” who have fulfilled their obligation certainly gets my attention. Does he challenge us to go beyond what is required? There is no cause for celebration when we are only doing what is expected—no patting ourselves on the back with a “well done.” Especially when it is only by God’s grace that we can do anything at all.

It’s humbling to be reminded that we can do nothing without God’s grace at work in our lives. Even when we work on nurturing that grace and doing all the “right things” it is still only by God’s blessing.

Does our obligation to be his servant stretch us beyond what we think we are capable of in our daily lives? What does our idea of being his servant mean to me—or to you? It must be more than obligation! Our call to serve must rise out of our desire to bring God’s love and mercy into the world in concrete ways. How does this scripture speak to me today in the context of my life? In the context of yours? For, it is NOT about us and our obligations at all. It is only by grace that we are touched—infused, with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit and bless our world today.

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.