Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 11:4-13
Mark 7:24-30

Reflection:

Have you ever said to yourself: “Yeah, but if people REALLY knew who I am, they wouldn’t like me so much”? I know I have, and so have many of my friends and people I’ve worked with on retreats. The statement implies that we hide our “true selves” in order to feel accepted and loved by others.

This is wrong on so many levels. First, we are told a multitude of lies in our society about who we are and who we “have to” be. The ultimate truth is that we are God’s beloved daughters/sons/children, in whom God is well pleased. We are loved wildly, passionately, and unendingly. God created us good! We are marvels of creation – imperfect of course, but that’s the point. God loves our imperfections. God loves us EXACTLY as we are, while always calling us on to be better. Imagine what would happen if each of us fully embraced that and lived as if it were indeed true!

Ah, there’s the rub. One of the most difficult tasks of life is consistently living out our personal identity as God’s beloved in this world. How can “who I am” be consistent with what I do and how I interact, and not get lost in society’s messages?

Two contrasting examples: Solomon got so comfortable with his kingship, wealth, and wives that he forgot, and acted contrary to, his primary identity as a faithful servant of Yahweh. However, the Syrophoenician woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter knew who she was and confidently lived out that identity as a mother and a faith-filled believer. She didn’t let even Jesus turn her aside from what she knew was possible for God in her life. How difficult that must have been! What gave her the strength to claim her identity? That’s what I’m praying for this week.

Somewhere deep inside I know that I am God’s beloved child, that at my core I am radiant with the Spirit of love and life. Can I stay in touch with that part of me and know, truly know, who I am? Can I let God define my identity rather than other people whose images are often so flawed? Can I stay in touch with that core reality and then express it in my actions and relationships? Such challenging questions! Yet so necessary to ask and keep before us.

I pray that I can consistently act from the calm and certain assurance that God knows who I REALLY am and loves me completely. So, no matter what happens in this world, no matter the challenges and obstacles, no matter who offers me their love and who doesn’t, no matter whether I have a place at the head table or I am eating the scraps beneath it, I have my identity in God, who will never leave me alone. May I remain centered in that truth and always seek to act in concert with it.   

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/.

Scripture:

1 Kings 10:1-10
Mark 7:14-23

Reflection:

If Solomon Could Have Listened to the Words of Jesus

We may need the ‘wisdom of Solomon’ to turn today’s readings into prayer!

It is said, ‘the brighter the light the greater the shadow’. Solomon is about as bright as one can get. Some glitter falls away as one commentator tells us the visit of the Queen of Sheba may have been a business trip, seeking in Solomon a business partner to cash in on the lucrative trade passing through her ports and on to his territory.

The Queen sings Solomon’s praises: happy the servants who stand before you and hear your wisdom; you are a king who carries out judgment and justice.

But in the shadow of Solomon’s brightness are political killings when he takes the throne; an economic program that levied high taxes and forced labor on the northern kingdom that once supported Saul, but not on the people Judah where David was favored; and in his old age, when we gather the wisdom of our life, Solomon gives some of his heart to other gods. “His heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of his father David had been”.

The Queen of Sheba is ‘breathless’ witnessing all that Solomon is and does. Yet, on Friday we hear the Kingdom has fallen apart. The Northern Kingdom called Israel secedes under Jeroboam. Rehoboam follows Solomon becoming the king of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Can we redeem Solomon today? The praise that fills Solomon, blinds his seeing what is inside, hides it from others and leaves it unexamined by himself. From this dark place comes dark things. What if his wisdom leads him to explore the gospel reading?

Nothing that enters us makes us impure… ‘O God, you know me; I am fearfully, wonderfully made. You have made us little less than the angels.’ How brave to turn from our brightness to look into our shadows.

What emerges from within us, what we call impure, maybe an undiscovered good, a shame or buried fear…. ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother’s womb, so you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe. All is vanity, it is chasing the wind’.

If Solomon could see he might say of his embarrassing sins… ‘who is this that obscures God’s divine plans with words of ignorance? I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you, I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.’

These words from the psalms, Isaias, the book of Ecclesiastes and Job might awaken Solomon. Of course, they were not written yet. They expose his shadow and dim the breadth of his wisdom. Maybe he would see Paul’s wisdom, the sacrificial love of Jesus, as summing it all up: ‘without love we are only noisy gongs, clanging symbols.’

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13
Mark 6:53-56

Reflection:

They scurried about the surrounding country 
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed

Mark 6:55-56

Lying in bed one night, I began feeling excruciating pains in my gut. Actually, I first noticed these at breakfast that morning, but ignored them, thinking they would go away, and they did. This night however, the pains returned with a vengeance convincing me that I had better seek some help. I woke up my brother and asked him to take me to the emergency room at the local hospital. By the time we were entering the hospital, I was passing out and the only thing I remember is giving the receptionist my medical insurance ID’s. The next thing I remember is being wheeled into the operating room, luckily being pushed by a fellow parishioner who comforted me, assuring me that all would be okay. She was right, but it took a couple of months before her prophesy came true. In the operating room, the surgeon removed my burst appendix, and it would take the next eleven days in the hospital before I could actually eat again on my own. In those eleven days, I lost twenty or thirty pounds and could barely walk by the time they released me from the hospital. That was forty some years ago.

All this goes to say, I was blessed with many great healers that day and the following weeks, beginning with my brother who helped me get to the hospital, my fellow parishioner who pushed me into the operating room, and many more good friends who visited me in the hospital, prayed with me, blessed me, and walked with me on my healing journey.

Thank you, God, for the healers you send into our lives, especially in this time of COVID-19 and help me be a healer to all those I come into contact with today, especially those who are in critical need and will probably inconvenience me asking for a hand, for some of my time and prayers.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

Reflection:

Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11

Reflection:

In Isaiah’s call to be a prophet, in today’s first scripture selection, we read of his sinfulness, his weakness and feelings of inadequacy.

As we each grow through the years in our connection to God, we are bound to begin reflecting on our place in God’s eyes as Isaiah did. We eventually recognize we too are weak, fragile, selfish and scared. These realities can lead us to sin to protect ourselves and to cover up our inadequacies. We buy too much stuff. We strive too hard for status, power and money, hurting others along the way. We slip into fogs of pleasure in sports, Netflix, gambling, sex, drugs, alcohol and a myriad of “mind candy,” drifting from being our best, most noble selves and away from God.

Becoming conscience of our faults is a grace filled moment. It can be the beginning of our total dependence on God to guide our lives.

 The writer of this section of Isaiah experiences this awakening. Creation is awesome and its creator is even more awesome, surrounded by singing celestial beings who can do nothing but be in awe of God. Turning to earth the writer sees nothing but weakness, sin, inadequacy. Violence, chaos, misery are everywhere…just like today.

But God takes charge, instructing a seraphim to sterilize the lips of the common, sinful man, immediately transforming him into an instrument of healing and transformation of the human race.

Isaiah’s job as a newly minted prophet will be just as difficult at the jobs of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. He joins the ranks of the ridiculed outliers, the fringe wackos. Mainstream society will reject this prophet’s message as it has done the messages of all preceding and subsequent prophets, including Jesus himself.

In a world where human skills, achievement and consumption measure “success,” the message of an Isaiah or Jesus has been relegated to the edges of conscientiousness, compromised, modified and diluted to fit society’s norms.

But a deep prayerful reading of today’s scripture selections challenges this domestication of our faith. Isaiah is readied for his part to play in salvation history. Paul admits he is “not fit to be an apostle,” but, only by the grace of God, plays a pivotal role in opening Christianity to the whole world. Jesus shakes up the apostles, especially Peter, and readies them for lives of passion for building the reign of God.

God seems to say, “Okay, yeah, you are human and weak and sinful. But I can handle that. Just surrender all you got to me, and by grace I will transform you in ways you can’t imagine into a magnificent, loving, transforming human being who will do greater works than even awesome prophets like John the Baptist did. You ready to toss that fishing net to the other side of the boat? You ready to surrender yourself totally to me? If so, expect trouble, but also expect a life with more peace and joy than you can ever imagine.”

You ready to be transformed?

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

Scripture:

1 Kings 3:4-13
Mark 6:14-29

Reflection:

What is it about Jesus that is so attractive?  We hear today in the gospel reading that Jesus is trying to get his disciples to come to a quiet reflective place, yet more and more people are coming in great numbers and they had no opportunity even to eat.  Earlier in this sixth chapter, Jesus had previously sent his disciples out with the instructions to expel many demons, anoint the sick with oil, and work many cures. 

So in today’s gospel, they return to Jesus and report back their activities and their teachings.  It must’ve been a highly successful campaign.  Mark’s gospel depicts this teaching and healing ministry as getting exceptionally ramped up.  His disciples had now been initiated into this ministry and had first-hand experience as to the working of God’s spirit. As they return back to Jesus it leads even more people into the circle.  Jesus and the disciples try to find some breathing space by getting into a boat, pulling out, and heading to a new destination.  But the people on foot seem to have gotten there first.   As the boat pulls up, the mass of humanity is gathered, awaiting the master’s arrival.   This can only lead to something great.  Mark says Jesus pitied them for they were like sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus’ compassion has now mixed with human need.  You can feel the excitement and energy escalate. Something phenomenal is about to happen.  And it will, but that is not part of today’s Gospel.  Take some time to pray today with the sixth chapter of Mark.   

Those gathered in pursuit of the master on that day certainly recognized something different about this person Jesus.  Sometimes I wonder and question the historical numbers. How big were the crowds who gathered there, pressing in upon Jesus and his disciples on that day? Yet over the years, as we look at the last 2000 years, haven’t the crowds escalated exponentially over what was there at the Sea of Galilee on that memorable day?  We are talking about people who see something in Jesus and continue to flock around him to hear his words and to be touched by the power of his healing spirit.    Many of these are changed eternally. And most of the stories have never been written down.  Sadly most of them have been forgotten over time.   

Yet,  occasionally there are those whose stories are remembered for centuries into the future.  And future children will be named for these remarkable people.  Agatha of Sicily is precisely one of the forever remembered. We aren’t sure if she was born in Catania or Palermo. The trivial details have long been forgotten. What is remembered is her single-heartedness. She was certainly one who looked into the eyes of Jesus and feasted on his words.  What has been passed down and written about is how highly she was venerated in Christian antiquity. She was put to death during the persecution of Decius for her unwavering belief in God.

From her very early years, Agatha dedicated her life to God as a consecrated virgin. She desired to give herself totally to Jesus and the Church in a life of prayer and service. A high diplomat named Quintianus thought he could get her to turn away from her vow to God and force her to marry him. Polite proposals escalated to harassment, arrests, imprisonment, and hideous torture. Through all of it, Agatha continued her simple prayer of single-heartedness to Christ. Even the prayer attributed to her death was a single-heart devotion. “Lord, my Creator, you have ever protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world, and given me patience to suffer: receive now my soul.”

And that gift returns to us.  Gazing, pondering, praying and resting in the goodness of the teacher and master.   What is it about Jesus that you find so attractive?  Going back to today’s gospel,  let yourself be waiting on the shore as the boat comes in.  Why are you there?  What is the hope in your heart?

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Sirach 47:2-11
Mark 6:14-29

Reflection:

All For Jesus!  21^st Century Discipleship

Today’s Gospel selection from St. Mark recounts the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist at the hands of a weak-willed King Herod…a saga of religious dedication and heroism meeting basic human nature. 

John the Baptist was a man completely absorbed in the person of Jesus Christ.  He had one mission:  to point out Jesus to others.  The persons, John the Baptist and Jesus, go “hand in hand” …totally giving of themselves in sacrificial love.

Sad to say, the dedicated, heroic life of John the Baptist ended with the almost ludicrous actions of King Herod.  Herod was a petty ruler, the pawn of his unscrupulous wife; he allowed himself to become enraptured by the party-dancing of his own young daughter.  So taken up by the party, the people present, and the dancing of his daughter, Herod publicly promised her anything – even swearing regarding his intentions!  The ultimate outcome:  John the Baptist was murdered per the request of Herodias relayed through her daughter, beheaded as the party ended.  John’s heroic life tragically ended as a victim of humanness, weakness, and sinfulness.

We hear this gripping story as 21^st Century disciples of Jesus Christ, in our global scene of pandemics and politics, of injustice and insecurity.  Like John the Baptist, we are called to point out Jesus in our world, to unselfishly love and serve the Lord, day by day, even in the hum-drum times of everyday life.  Our love for Jesus is to be expressed in simple, practical ways like hospitality, concern for the needy, faithfulness to our vocations, detachment from things, and reliance on God.  Our lives may not appear “heroic” as portrayed of King David in today’s first reading from the Book of Sirach, yet we are to give ourselves completely to God in ways both great and small.

As “Ordinary Time” continues to unfold and we embrace these wintery days in the northern hemisphere, questions come to mind:  what challenges do we face as we point out Jesus in our world?  Do we at times “get carried away” by people or situations?  What helps us maintain our strength and perspective? 

May the words of today’s Psalm 18 encourage us daily: “…blessed be my Rock!  Extolled be God my savior.  Therefore, I will proclaim you, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing praise to your name.”

Fr. John Schork, CP, serves as the Province Vocation Director and also as Local Superior
of Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.