Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Micah 6:1-4, 6-8
Matthew 12:38-42

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is asked for a sign, ostensibly to demonstrate that He is who He says He is. But Jesus replies, “An evil and unfaithful generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.” Then Jesus offers a parallel between Jonah in the belly of the whale and He in “the heart of the earth.”

There may have been times in our lives when we asked for a sign, especially at times when we were trying to discern God’s will. Does that mean we are an “evil and unfaithful generation?” I don’t think so, but you can almost hear the frustration in Jesus’ voice as He tries to point out that He is the sign they are looking for.

If there are times when we’re not sure of what direction God wants us to go, I can’t see that it is wrong to ask for a sign. But if we are at a time in our lives when we wonder whether God loves us or not, all we need do is look at the Cross! We can read the Scriptures. We can observe the beauty of creation. We can look at our lives, and as it says so famously in “Footprints,” we can see when Jesus was carrying us through our most difficult trials. These are the signs that God has already given us to show us His love! And there are probably so many small signs every day that come to us, whether it is an encouraging word, a hand on the shoulder, or even just a smile.

Some of the Pharisees just refused to believe in Jesus, and it wouldn’t have mattered what sign Jesus gave them. But for us who believe, may we have the grace to see and hear the signs, big and small, that God sends our way.

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

Scripture:

Genesis 18:1-10
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42

Reflection:

Here’s a gospel story for which we love to take sides! Mary or Martha? Those of us who feel we are always doing way more than our fair share, whether in our families, communities, or on our jobs, rally around a miffed Martha when she complains to Jesus that her dreamy sister needs to get up and lend a hand. (The gospel hints that maybe this wasn’t the first time Martha was peeved with the leisurely ways of her sister.) But those of us who think that the way too industrious Marthas of this world need to chill a little before they drive everybody crazy, loyally align ourselves with Mary.

And yet, rather than seeing Mary and Martha as irreconcilable opposites, perhaps they represent two essential dimensions of the Christian life that must be kept in balance. When Jesus tells Martha, “Mary has chosen the better part,” he reminds us that God must be the abiding center of our lives. No matter how much good we may do, if we are so busy that we seldom have time for the prayer, solitude, and contemplative listening that is necessary to nurture our relationship with God, we will lose our way. That is why we need to be Mary “who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and listened to his words.” But we also need to be Martha not only because other people depend on us and we have responsibilities to them, but also because God can work through all the good things we do to love and bless others.

Still, we shouldn’t be so focused on the distinctive character traits of these two sisters that we overlook the one thing on which they both obviously agree: welcoming Jesus into their home and into their lives. Martha and Mary had opened their door to Jesus often enough that he had changed from being a stranger to becoming a friend. Let us pray that Jesus feels as at home with us as he did with Martha and Mary. Let us pray that, like them, we spend enough time with Jesus so that he is no longer stranger, but friend.  

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.

Scripture:

Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8
Matthew 12:1-8

Reflection:

At one time during the First World War, a young British Army surgeon was accompanying his senior officer-surgeon around the wards of the wounded soldiers. They had completed the wards housing the British soldiers and were now making a round of the wounded German prisoners. They came to a man with a badly damaged hand, and the senior surgeon upon a quick examination remarked for the notes “We can probably save the hand itself, but the fingers will have to be removed”. And then he walked on to the next bed. But the prisoner understood some English and his eyes met those of the young doctor as he pleaded “Please, I am a watch maker”.

Watchmaking as a profession has probably disappeared from our world, but in 1915 it was still a viable occupation and one that required surgeon-like precision and the obvious use of one’s fingers.

The young doctor was moved by pity and hurried after the senior surgeon to plead for the chance to save both the hand and the fingers. His appeal was not appreciated in a situation of limited resources of supplies and time – and after all this man was an enemy – but by persisting he won permission to try to save all of the hand. After much effort he did so.

Perhaps not surprisingly,  after the war the young doctor studied for priesthood and was ordained and ended his ecclesial life as a Bishop in the Anglican Church.

It often takes great courage to act against social expectations or one’s peer group or indeed the law itself.

One does not readily set aside any of the above, let alone all three at one time. Yet today we read of Jesus standing up to the letter of the law, the criticism of the Pharisees and the long standing traditions that surrounded the Sabbath.

But it is the statement of Jesus “… I desire mercy, not sacrifice…” that seems to give us the sound interpretive principle for understanding the motivations and perspective of Jesus. The disciples are innocent of any wrong doing – they are merely picking corn because they are hungry, yet there are those willing to ignore compassion and to condemn them for a minor infringement of the law.

The young doctor in the story above had understood this – he chose not to see an enemy, but a fellow traveller on life’s journey. He chose not to see a problem too difficult to deal with, but rather to see a need and a future life either ruined of saved by his actions. The young doctor understood the words of Jesus  “What I desire is mercy”… (not a slavish adherence to the letter of the law, or to peer expectations or social conventions).

Let us make this principle of Jesus the one by which we judge, interpret and respond to situations of need and challenge. At times it will take some courage to do so, but we can act knowing that we follow the teaching and example of the Lord himself.

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:1-9
Matthew 11:20-24

Reflection:

We typically think of Jesus offering warm words of encouragement and reassurance, soothing words of understanding and consolation. But not today. Instead of words that comfort and uplift, Jesus speaks harsh and threatening words, words of judgment and condemnation. Why is Jesus, God’s messenger of love and peace, so angry?

Jesus castigates the citizens of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because even though each town was a setting for many of Jesus’ miracles, the people refused to change. Before their eyes, Jesus healed and gave life, but no matter what Jesus did, their hearts remained closed. Jesus is exasperated because they completely misunderstood the purpose of his miracles. Jesus’ wonderful works were not designed to bring attention to himself, but to call people to reform their lives by changing their sinful, self-destructive ways and opening their hearts to God. Jesus healed and fed and brought the dead back to life not to put on a show to dazzle and entertain, much less to trumpet his powers, but to demonstrate his care for the suffering, for all who were afflicted and in need. In short, Jesus’ miracles were an invitation to people to go and do likewise, to show to the poor and suffering in their midst the very love, mercy, and compassion of God. In this way, they would keep Jesus’ miracles alive by imitating them.

There is one final lesson in today’s gospel we cannot afford to overlook. Jesus cannot force us to open and change our hearts. He can invite us to conversion, but he cannot coerce it. Like the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, we can harden our hearts. We can close ourselves off to God. But to cut ourselves off from God is not to keep us safe, but to cut us off from life. If we do so, Jesus will rightly be as exasperated with us as he was with the people of these towns. But his exasperation is in proportion to—and a sign of—his love.

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:

Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 10:25-37

Reflection:

I’ve always had a deep desire to do God’s will. In my youth, I believed it was to my benefit because if I obeyed and was a “good girl,” I’d please God and be rewarded with good things. I gradually learned the error of that child-like belief. There are indeed rewards in doing God’s will, but it definitely doesn’t mean I will get what I want or be healthy, rich, and showered with love!

There was another error that was harder to discern and release. I’d been taught that I need to sacrifice what I want and forego my personal desires in order to do God’s will, and I was determined to be saintly and spiritual enough to do so. Yet to justify abandoning my own desires, I had to be pretty darn certain what God wanted! So come on, God – give me the list of decisions I should make and what I should do! I longed for God to write on walls or appear in a dream or vision. I searched high and low, thinking I had to find it “out there” somewhere.

But as scripture says, God’s will is not out there, that I should send someone across the sea or into the sky to bring it to me. No, I was created with God’s will written into the fibers of my heart. And it isn’t a list of decisions or a specific path; it is whatever most genuinely helps me become who God created me to be.

To uncover God’s will, then, I have to go deep within myself in prayer and contemplation and listen to the whispers of my Creator written in the deepest desires of my soul. I need to discover my truest gifts, the ones that make me uniquely me, and use them as fully as possible. God desires that I live from the core of my being with all my heart, and God’s will is whatever leads me there.

Yet that path is rarely made clear. It requires constant prayer and openness, the input of others, and the willingness to change and grow even when it hurts. I often struggle, sometimes mightily and for some time, to know if I’m doing the right thing. I gain solace from Thomas Merton, who wrote: 

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

May we grow in trust, openness, and willingness to follow God’s will to the best of our ability in all we do.

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/.