Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Genesis 17:3-9
John 8:51-59

Reflection:

I have been sharing the scrutinies with the elect for the past couple of weeks, and I find myself enlightened as well. We may listen to the word of God, and think we get it, but unless you are going deeper into understanding what we are reading, we may be missing a great deal of information. 

We see so many times in scripture where, for example, the Pharisees tell us the law, but Jesus says something completely opposite of what the Pharisees want us to believe – it is Jesus’ ideals of compassion and mercy that come through to all who hear him. In today’s readings, we see that the authorities could not grasp the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. As Jesus says, they claim to know God, but unlike them, Jesus says that he knows God and keeps his word. The people walking in Jesus’ midst who believed in his miracles were able to accept those miracles as truth – they believed!

Sometimes I find myself asking what it is that Jesus wants me to get out of the readings. Some days when I go to mass, it seems that the Homilist is talking to me – directly to me. And that is what the people in Jesus’ time had as well. They knew Jesus was mysterious, but so many had seen his miracles, or heard him speak his beautiful parables, and believed. 

Allow yourself to separate from the desperation of wanting to understand and grasp every reading you attempt to read. There are some things that are mysterious for a reason. God will open those doors for you as he sees fit. Don’t be the stone thrower, but the one whose glory comes from the Father through understanding and belief.

Patty Masson is the Director of Adult Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, Texas.

Scripture:

Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
John 8:31:42

Reflection:

The selection from John’s Gospel today speaks of true freedom.

In our overstimulated world of distractions and crises, we can easily become caught into the whirlwind about us, spinning about aimlessly from one stimulation and thrill to another, all the while avoiding what we fear. We lose direction, become anxious, and cling to power, status, money to give life meaning.

But none of this satisfies.

The Jews of Jesus’s time endured many similar distractions and distresses. They clung to the Law of their faith to assure themselves of their righteousness before God.

Jesus, especially in John’s Gospel, works to dispel this narrow notion. He explains that the Law worked for a time to give them a direction, meaning and security that non-Jews would never have. But Jesus tosses this whole framework upside down. Instead, he acts on behalf of his Father in telling them that only total self-abandonment to Someone who transcends the Law brings total freedom and meaning to our lives. This opportunity, he goes on to say, is for ALL people, not just the Jews.

The new teaching didn’t set well with the elite in the Temple in Jerusalem and their followers. They argued with Jesus and devalued what he taught, perhaps because it destroyed every teaching that rooted their lives. We know how this tension ended on Good Friday.

The Gospel reading today assures all of us that Jesus is really from Almighty God, that God wants all people free and the way to freedom is Jesus.

As theologian Leonardo Boff states, “…self-surrender mean(s) risking Mystery, throwing in our lot with that ultimate vessel of Meaning in which we participate more than we dream. This is the opportunity offered to human freedom. Men and women can take advantage of the offer, and rest secure.  Or they can let it slip by, and founder in despair…. trust is our tool for not letting hopelessness have the last word. (It) constitutes the supreme deed of human grandeur.”

Following this Way, means much, much more than an intellectual assent, an act of faith recited.

It requires we imitate Jesus and be led into the truth that only an intimate relationship with God can provide. It is a life lived, as Gustavo Gutierrez has said, “without the constraining power of the Law.” Thus, Henri Nouwen concludes, “When we are able to throw off the compulsions and coercions that come from outside of us can we allow the Holy Spirit, God’s love, to be our only guide, then we can live a truly free, interior and spiritual life.”

So, whether as a responsible student, devoted spouse, sanitary worker, parent, factory worker, scholar, health care provider, teacher, pope, beggar or comfortable retiree savoring a life blessed by God, we follow Christ’s example of being loyal and totally dependent on God in every moment in every day. We let the past recede, giving up nostalgia and regrets, and ignore the imagined pitfalls and risks of the future, mindful only of God’s providence in the present moment. In this we are secure. In this we rest. In this we are free. At every one of life’s intersections, when we are to be decisive about which direction to take, we know the Spirit will guide us.

This deep, mystical abandonment to God is available to everyone, by God’s grace. Taking time to reflect and pray on this truth can transform us from being slaves to the winds and distractions of what is unimportant in life to live totally centered in God. This alone, Jesus says, is true, lasting freedom.

Anyone up for that?

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

Scripture:

Numbers 21:4-9
John 8:21-30

Reflection:

We hear in our first reading from the Book of Numbers how frustrated the Israelites are as they continued the journey to the Promised Land.  We see very clearly that they were close to the breaking point.  They grumbled and complained against God and Moses and just wanted it to be over!  God was disappointed in their perceived lack of faith and trust and sent down a painful punishment upon them in the form of seraph serpents. Then the Israelites begged forgiveness for their impatience and disloyalty.  God relented, forgave them and in turn, the Israelites promised obedience and trust in God’s unconditional love and mercy.

We all have had moments of impatience and frustration in our lives when we failed to see the hand of our loving God or hear and believe in the Good News that is staring us right in the face.  We are a privileged people who should never want for anything, but instead time and time again we are never satisfied and grumble and complain that life is so unfair.  The grass always looks greener on the other side, the glass is always half empty.  We want warm weather, but not too warm.  We look forward to that long-awaited vacation until the plane is late or gas prices are too high forcing us to go to plan B which may not be as much fun or convenient.  We become just like the Israelites in a flash!

During this Lenten season, we are called to put aside our self-centered ways.  We are called to look in the mirror and see ourselves as God sees us.  We are called to be people of compassion, mercy and love, to see the face of God in our sisters and brothers who suffer injustice, illness, homelessness and prejudices.  Jesus is a forgiving and loving God who calls us to embody that love and concern for all those around us who are at that breaking point that the Israelites found themselves in when the journey became too long and difficult.

In a few short days, we will move into Holy Week.  May this be a time during which we recommit ourselves to the service of others as we wash one another’s feet and feast at the banquet Table of the Lord.  May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ be always in our hearts as we bring our humble and penitent selves to reverence the Cross upon which our Savior gave his life for us.  May we celebrate with Easter joy at the week’s end as we rejoice that the tomb is empty and Jesus is Alive and comes among us bringing new life for all.  Amen.

Theresa Secord is a retired Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Ezekiel 37:12-14
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45

Reflection:

Our Lenten Journey continues this week with the gospel story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The images in this gospel passage from Saint John are stark and compelling. If you can, read this account (John 11:1-45) slowly and pay special attention to this raw moment, not only for Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, but for Jesus himself. These are some examples of the tenderness in this story:

• Master, the one you love is ill.
• Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died.
• When Jesus saw Mary weeping he became perturbed and deeply troubled.
• And Jesus wept.
• See how he loved him.

Next week begins Holy Week. It too is a raw journey from life through death to new life. Today’s gospel story of Lazarus is but a foreshadowing of the journey Jesus takes, indeed one we all take.

Death, grief, weeping and graves are not magically dispelled by knowing that our rising again will come. Resurrection occurs only in our dying first, figuratively if not physically. We are the ones Jesus loves. We are the ones in the tomb out of which he commands, “come out.” We are the ones he calls to new life. We are the ones who need to leave the grave behind. We are the ones that need to be unbound and set free.

What is our tomb? What binds us and holds us back from life? The depth of Jesus’ care and love for us is so evident in this story of his dear friends Lazarus, Martha and Mary. He so much wants to give us life. Maybe we can ask ourselves, “Am I ready to leave the stench of the tomb, to leave behind what binds me.” Resentment, anger, fear, prejudice, and disappointment can all bind us and keep us in the tomb. As we make our way to Easter, let us hear Jesus’ words, “Lazarus, come out!”

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10
Hebrews 10:4-10
Luke 1:26-38

Reflection:

The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us!”   -Isaiah 7:14; 8:10.

Once again we hear in the readings for the Annunciation of the Lord that “God is with us!”  How do each of us hear these words at this moment in our lives?  What kind of images arise that give flesh to the words “God is with us”? Isaiah is filled with images that foreshadow what Jesus will embody in human form—in just the next chapter, we find Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Prince of Peace. These images can fill us with joy and wonder and love. Such is the goodness and gift of God given freely.

God is with us!

Yet, we also find ourselves on a Lenten journey, walking together toward Golgotha, toward the Passion of our Lord.  The God who is with us is also a God who knows suffering, who chose to endure suffering out of a love that is incomprehensible for most of us. Jesus freely submitted to the unjust systems of his time to share in the suffering of the people of his time.  Unjust systems still persist in our world today.  People across the globe continue to suffer today.  And Jesus continues to love incomprehensibly and to share in this suffering. We see him living and present today in all who suffer.

God is with us!

Earlier this week, I received a text from a Passionist friend in Birmingham, AL.  In the text was a newscast (https://www.cbs42.com/news/racist-sign-swastikas-painted-on-building-in-ensley/).  A hate group who espouses white ethnonationalism, had painted a sign on the abandoned hospital building across from the Passionist parish and elementary school of Holy Family. You can imagine the pain and suffering this caused within the community, young African American children confronted by a message of hate directly outside their school. I think of this Sunday’s Gospel reading, “And Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35). 

God is with us!

At the deepest level, God is not simply with us, God is within us.  One of the greatest challenges of our time is to touch into the goodness of God within us, opening our own hearts to see God within ourselves and the other—excluding no one, neither those who suffer nor those who cause suffering. Our God is so intimately with us, so interwoven into our being that we call ourselves—all of us—the Body of Christ.  May it be so.

Lissa Romell is the Administrator at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Reflection:

The Closeness of God

In the responsorial Psalm 34:19 for today’s liturgy we find this beautiful text:

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted (shabar-Hebrew for break in peices) and saves those who are ^ccrushed in spirit.(dakka Hebrewroot; to crush)” PS 34:18  What a wonderful consolation it is that God is so very close to us when we are broken and crushed and most need of His help!

Ps 139 assures us that God is always near us!   “You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;  It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” Ps 139:5  Jesus in the NT stresses this marvelous closeness of God to us in His Divine life!   Christ says: “the kingdom of God is in your midst.”Lk 17:20   His first sermon He stresses: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Mt 4:17

 The  NT Greek word for close or at hand is engizo ( used 42 times and engus used 31 times)  which is a total of 73 times in NT.  This is formed from ἐν (in) and an unattested substitute guae or gus  which means in the hollow of the hand.  The most literal translation for the Greek word “close” is to be in the hand of God.   This is a very frequent theme in Bible.  He assures us of His constant nearness and help: “I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.^” Ps 73:23

What a breathtaking and astonishing teaching of Jesus that He is so close to us “at the door”! Rev 3:20

“While they were talking and discussing (at Emmaus), Jesus Himself approached (engizo) and began traveling with them. LK 24:15   The saints often spoke of the wonder of Christ’s presence. 

“I possess at all times and I hold in all places, the God of my heart and the Heart of my God.”  St Margaret Mary   “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Jam 4:8  A person may not have houses or lands or the admiration of others—but he has God, whose presence and protection is priceless!  “You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not fear!”  Lam 3:57

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

Scripture:

Exodus 32:7-14
John 5:31-47

Reflection:

“…you search the scriptures…yet you refuse to come to me…”

This passage seems to be a bit meandering…circling around…traversing.  Where are we supposed to land?  Why is it important to hear this in Lent?  Scriptures…witnesses…John the Baptist…Moses…God…

Jesus was right in their midst – in the flesh!!!  The Scriptures that they were so steeped in pointed to his coming…John the Baptist walked ahead and pointed the way…and yet they didn’t believe he could be from God – they could see him, hear him, touch him – they could interact with him and yet they didn’t recognize him for who he was.  How could this be, what got in their way?

It seems rather incredulous to us, how could they not – we would give anything to walk with the Lord – in the flesh!!  Or would we?  Maybe a better question is do we?  Jesus continues to call us, his presence is real among and within us – do we notice, do we trust?  Pride, fear and hardness of heart kept the people of his day from truly being present to him and allowing him to change their hearts of stone.  Sometimes those same things keep us from getting to close to him, from trusting him, and allowing him to change our hearts of stone. 

Are the Scriptures simply a book of stories for us, or is the Word alive for us?  Do we allow those words to draw us into a deeper relationship with the risen Lord? 

This Lent, as every Lent, we are invited to journey a bit closer to the Lord, to open our hearts anew to the challenge of responding as disciples.  Can we really let God love us?  If we do, we can’t help but be changed – and change is never easy – but Jesus is among us today – disguised as the stranger, do we allow the scriptures to expand our vision and our heart – or are they simply stories – we know them, we memorize them – but we only pick them up on occasion – are we afraid of the love they call us to? 

Maybe we should have a conversation with the Lord about our fears and step into a new awareness these last days of Lent.

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scriptures:

Isaiah 49:8-15
John 5:17-30

Reflection:

Almost every day, we ask someone, “How are you?” I suspect most often they quickly respond: “I’m good,” or “I’m fine,” or perhaps even, “I’m great!” I don’t want to be a sourpuss, but occasionally I wish they’d answer: “Well, I’m a little desolate today,” or “If you really want to know, I’m missing a few pieces of happiness,” or, even better, “I certainly feel the need to be redeemed!” Not only would such unexpected proclamations get our attention, but they are also much more appropriate for this season of Lent. Lenten people don’t go around shouting, “All’s well with me!” Rather, they gladly acknowledge, “I need to be healed. I want to be restored.”

Today’s reading from Isaiah is an exultant declaration of God’s undying love for us and fervent desire to help us. Its joyous life-saving message is that God wants to heal, restore, liberate, and gently draw us back to life; but God’s extravagant blessings can only go as far as our confession of need. The passage overflows with images of restoration and redemption. Through the prophet, God declares this “the day of salvation.” God speaks of wanting to guide us to pastures where we shall neither “hunger nor thirst” and lead us to “springs of water” where we will forever be renewed. Isaiah tells us that God, like all good lovers, wants to comfort and care for us; heal every hurt and wounded place of our lives; free us from all that burdens and oppresses us; and do whatever is necessary to make us whole. Isaiah depicts a God eager to help and anxious to save. But God cannot do much for people who masquerade at wholeness and tiresomely pretend that all is well.

Lent is a time to be redeemed (really, every day is), but if all is well with us, there is little for a loving redeemer to do. That’s why the next time somebody asks, “How are you?” we should jubilantly respond, “I could certainly use a little salvation today!” If we do, the prophet guarantees us that amazing things will happen.

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