Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:9-20
Mark 1:21-28

Reflection:

We know that the Gospel of Matthew can best be understood through the lens of Jewish Christian community concerns and worship, and the Gospel of Luke through the lens of Gentile Christian community concerns.  But what of the Gospel of Mark?  If not focused sharply on Jewish or Gentile interests and challenges, then what?

Mark definitely holds a point of view and theology for a community suffering persecution.  This gospel teaches us that the mystery of Jesus as the Christ will be revealed to those who faithfully follow Jesus on the Way of the Cross, no matter how broken, imperfect, or bewildered the followers may be.  Jesus calls us to follow him.  How will we respond?

Today’s gospel demonstrates that theology well.  Mark presents us with three groups, and a Messianic Secret that arcs his entire gospel.  Today’s gospel raises the curtain on these themes.

The first group are the scribes and Pharisees.  Whenever they show up, they respond negatively toward Jesus and his teaching.  Jesus taught with authority, “and not as the scribes,” Mark tells us.  Dark clouds are beginning to gather.  Later we hear the scribes and Pharisees condemning Jesus for allowing his disciples to pluck and eat grain on the Sabbath, and healing on the Sabbath, and teaching about marriage and divorce.  And the list goes on.  Negativity was their response.

The crowd is the second group.  How did they respond to Jesus’s teaching and healing?  They responded with amazement.  “The people were astonished at his teaching,” we hear in the gospel.  And because of their amazement and astonishment, Jesus’ “fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region.”  Amazement was their response.

The followers of Jesus, his disciples are the third group.  Jesus teaches them, instructs them.  They sit at Jesus’ feet as he teaches them.  They see his miracles.  But they are muddled in their response.  They are thick-headed.  They misunderstand Jesus despite his best efforts.  Their response?  Confusion, uncertainty, and fear.

Incidentally, so embarrassing is the behavior of the disciples in Mark’s gospel that Matthew and Luke work overtime to clean them up, comb their hair, make them more presentable.

Again, Mark gives us three groups throughout his gospel: the Scribes and Pharisees, the Crowd, and the Disciples.

Mark also presents a unique aspect to his gospel – the Messianic Secret or what scholars call the Markan Secret.  Whenever Jesus healed someone, he would give them a blunt instruction: “Tell no one.  Tell no one.”

Today’s gospel introduces this theme.  No one, not the crowd, the Scribes, not the followers of Jesus understand who Jesus truly is – except the unclean spirit. “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  I know who you are – the Holy One of God

Immediately, Jesus rebuked him, saying: “Quiet!  Come out of him.”  Literally, Jesus said “phimotheti!  That is, “Be muzzled.”  Ironically, the evil, unclean spirit possessing the young man understands Jesus better than anyone there.  Throughout the gospel, Jesus will order those whom he has healed to tell no one.

Why the Messianic Secret?  Because the fulness of who Jesus is, the Christos, would be revealed and understood only at the cross and resurrection.

St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the four poisons of sin.  They are wealth, power, pleasure, and honor.  We see some of them played out in today’s gospel.

The crowd, for instance, in their amazement, took a kind of curious pleasure, titillation in hearing Jesus and witnessing his miracles.  They sought pleasure, a self-centered, self-satisfying enjoyment.  Nothing more.

What of the scribes and Pharisees?  They were consumed by power and honor.  They wore

elegant robes as a sign of prestige and importance.  They took the best seats in the synagogue.  And why not?  They are far more important than those others.  The Scribes also were well represented in the powerful Sanhedrin, the ruling group of the Temple in Jerusalem.  It was no surprise then, that this group felt threatened by Jesus, his teaching, and his popularity with the people.

What is the antidote to these four poisons of sin?  Humility, Aquinas tells us.  Humility is the thread that unites today’s readings and its themes.

It is humility that Hannah powerfully demonstrates in the first reading.  In the midst of her grief, she prays with power, persistence, and trust that God will respond to her petition.  No wealth, power, pleasure, or honor here.  Only humility and trust in God.

Humility also permeates Hannah’s song, her Magnificat:  God “raises the needy from the dust, from the dung heap he lifts up the poor.”

And it is the garment of humility that clothes the rag-tag, fumbling followers of Jesus.

Humility is the vaccine against the four-headed virus of wealth, power, pleasure, and honor.

The disciples stumbled, they failed, they fell flat on their faces.  In fear they fled the cross.  In fear, the women fled from the tomb, even though it was time to reveal to the world who Jesus is.  The two messengers told them: Go and tell.  Announce the good news to the world.  Go and tell.

Mark’s gospel, today’s gospel challenges us:  Will we follow Jesus, and if so, how will we respond?

The only way to respond and to understand the Messianic Secret, who is Jesus, is by following Jesus all the way to Calvary and the Tomb.  Only then will we understand that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Christos who heals and saves.

It does not matter how often we may fail or falter.  It does not matter how often we may misunderstand.  It only matters that we respond to the call of Jesus, to follow him, and to proclaim the good news by the way we live.  Go and tell.  Humility will guide our way.

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

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:1-8
Mark 1:14-20

Reflection:

In the first book of Samuel, Peninnah ridicules Hannah for being barren. Hannah responds by allowing herself to feel diminished, worthless, and abandoned by God. I grant that in those days, barrenness was considered a curse from God and having children (especially sons) was a great blessing. Yet Hannah’s husband didn’t believe that, showed obvious devotion, and said his great love was worth more than 10 sons. It was only Peninnah whose scorn was so damaging. Could Hannah have responded differently?

I’m continuously learning something God wants us to know in the depth of our being – that our worth and lovability is not dependent on the words or actions of another. No one can cause you to feel worthless and small unless you give them that power.

The truth is: You and I are inherently lovable. In fact, God loves us passionately, wildly, and with abandon, and so deeply that this great love overflowed into the incarnation we just celebrated. It blows me away that the God who placed the stars, created the oceans, made mountains rise up, and fashioned a dizzying array of creatures and plants – this creative, wonderful God loves me. Me?? Really? I will never fully understand, but I hope to increasingly let that truth into my heart and help others to do so as well.

When that truth fills me, I know there is a part of me deep inside that can never be diminished or destroyed – the radiant core of who I truly am and from whom I come. I draw strength from that center, and I can choose to live out of God’s truth instead of someone else’s (or even my own, as I can be terribly harsh with myself!) I also find that when I’m living that truth, I more readily see it in others. Despite their flaws, they, too, are beloved of God, and it generates compassion.

This doesn’t mean I don’t listen to critique; to the contrary, honest and caring feedback is quite helpful. I take it seriously, assessing the degree of truth, and bringing it into prayer, knowing that God and I together can work on my many(!) imperfections so I can grow and improve, becoming an ever more transparent instrument of Christ.

Yet, any twisting of helpful critique into an attempt to ridicule or demean, or outright scorn like Penninah, is borne out of that person’s own hurt and insecurities, and their need to position themselves as better and worthwhile. In other words, it says more about them than it does about me. I don’t have to let myself feel lowly and worthless because someone else tries to make me feel that way. My worth is not dependent on them; it is dependent on my identity in God and the great love God has for me.

As we move into Ordinary Time, I pray to stay centered in who and whose I am, and to keep bringing to birth what God has begun in me. Christmas season is over, but we can still proclaim Emmanuel, God with us.

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/.

The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Reflection:

The Ministry of the Infant Christ

In today’s second reading Peter says, “I am beginning to see….”. His words can apply to something so basic as baptism. Always we can see more. 

The words of a child that I read recently make me think of baptism. A little girl eight years old is suffering from renal failure. Her second kidney transplant is failing. She is sitting next to another little girl who was just admitted to the hospital. This child of five is suffering renal failure also. With her arm around the shoulder of the crying little girl, she says to her, ‘Now don’t you worry. I have been through all this and will help you get through it.’

Today’s feast is part of the Christmas celebration; it connects us to the baby in the manger. Matthew and Luke show us the shadow of the Cross falling over Bethlehem. At baptism, the youngest of us when touched with the perfumed oil of chrism, which symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit, is given a commission. Be another Christ; love as Christ loves. This feast adds to Christmas a dimension of ministry. The child who knew suffering in the hospital ministers the compassion of Christ to another child. How like the words of Our Lord to us adults, ‘I’ve been through it and will help you get through it’. Can this feast enable us to see a compassionate Christ child ministering in some way from the very beginning?

In the words spoken by the little girl we see The Passion of the Infant Christ being played out; the step from the crib to the cross. We who experience at Christmas the divine exchange, hear Christ speak in the words of the child, ’Now don’t you worry, I have been through it all.’ These are the words of the victory of the cross.

At baptism, the smallest is given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Words struggle to explain our humble understanding of how God’s love embraces us, but how fortunate the child who can grow up with those humble words. This mystery of God that we best describe as a gift, is unwrapped for them when we answer the questions and explore the experiences that speak of a loving God at work as they grow. We hear in the gospels that children have the key to the Kingdom of God, and what is revealed to them is hidden from the learned and the clever. How we profit from their ministry!

In this divine exchange, the birth of God in our midst, we can imagine the Passion of the Infant Christ ministering through children. There is also the victory of Christ as when suffering they proclaim hope and love in a world they have not yet explored. “Now don’t you worry. I have been through all this and will help you get through it.”

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

Scripture:

1 John 5:5-13
Luke 5:12-16

Reflection:

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” 
-Luke 5:13

I don’t particularly like the holidays, but this year’s left me spinning. I don’t ever remember a holiday season that left me wondering and feeling more like I needed some healing than this year. I feel like the leper in today’s gospel selection who calls out to Jesus to heal him. I thought last year, when we cancelled all our family gatherings because of COVID-19 was bad. This year was worse. This year we did gather—some of us that is. The rest of us were left out in the cold (just like the holy family when they were looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem) because of our decision to or not to get vaccinated. I am fully vaccinated, two shots and a booster, and I wear a mask when in public or am asked to. No, I don’t want to get sick or be the cause of anyone else getting sick, but I do want to love and respect everyone, even those who think differently than I think. They are not untouchables—they just think differently than I do.

Lepers were the untouchables of Jesus’ time and yet, we read that Jesus reached out and touched the leper. Closer to our day is Saint Damian of Molokai, SS.CC who lived in the mid-nineteenth century and not too different from today, some people in his world were treated as untouchables and were legally shunned and quarantined from the rest of society. These people, like the one Jesus touched in today’s gospel selection were exiled to the island of Molokai where they were expected to fend for themselves. Father Damian left the comfort of his home in Belgium and went to live with the outcasts on Molokai helping them by medically, spiritually and physically providing for them and eventually died from leprosy himself.

I don’t know what the answer is for these crazy times. I especially don’t know what is medically called for today, but I do like Father Damian’s and Jesus’ approaches. There is something more important than me and my well-being. There is us and our well-being. Yes, Damian eventually caught leprosy and died from choosing to touch those he served, as did Jesus for doing and teaching what he taught. Their gifts of themselves gave us a better world.

God, help me love all the people I come in contact with today just as your son Jesus and servant Father Damian did. Help me trust that You are in control, not me. All I have to do is love.

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

Scripture:

1 John 4:19-5:4
Luke 4:14-22a

Reflection:

When I read today’s Gospel, I am moved by the mission statement of Jesus. Too bad the church didn’t include the rest of the complete story of his visit to his hometown, which gives us the larger context for today’s passage.

The Jews anticipated a Messiah who would exclusively lead them and protect them. After all, they were God’s chosen people, weren’t they? The little community of Jews in Nazareth were fine if Jesus wanted to take care of the marginalized poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed Jews, because each of them in that synagogue that day no doubt personally knew a friend, relative or neighbor who was barely getting by, or had been in prison for something the Romans considered worthy of jail time or was blind or taken advantage of by tax collectors or the military police assigned to keep any dissidents in check. These small town Jews spoke highly of Jesus for helping their own and were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.”

But I encourage you to open Luke’s Gospel and read beyond this section to learn how the visit to the old neighborhood turns out. Jesus goes on to make clear to his audience of fellow Jews that he wasn’t limiting his life’s work to them. He was going to everyone on the margins, even the enemies of the Jews. It was like telling Americans to embrace and forgive the followers of Osama bin Laden, Charles Mason and Vladimir Putin in one fell swoop! Understandably Jesus’ words make his hometown friends furious and he nearly loses his life as they run him out of town.

What Jesus did that day was to usher in a whole new way of thinking about God’s love and a drastically different understanding of who are God’s chosen people. The Jewish leaders, as well as the common Jews in the synagogue’s pews, wanted no part of it.

The all-inclusive love of God for us humans is just that, all inclusive. There are no chosen people and the United States is not a favored nation, destined by God to be a shining beacon of democracy, no matter what myths the promoters of patriotism tell us.

As we watch our world continue on its deadly path of hate, division and blame, it is evident the radical message of Jesus to that little congregation is just as radical today.  

When we disparage anyone in thought, word or deed, when we seek out our own kind and create a we vs they family, neighborhood, town, city, nation or world, we are not following Jesus.

When we hold a grudge or fail to listen, fail to ask questions and rush to judgement about anyone, we fail to follow Jesus.

When we deliberately say, “they got what they deserved,” or “it’s their own fault,” we cast another human in a devalued position, whether referring to a beggar on the street, a refugee at the border, a single mother of five living in a crime ridden neighborhood, a drug addict in a blanket under the underpass, an executed dictator, a murderer on death row or a pedophile who commits suicide in prison.

The first reading today, from John’s first letter, is pretty blunt: “Whoever loves God must also love his/her brother/sister.” No exceptions.

Jesus’ prophetic mission statement in the synagogue is our mission statement, for we are His body in our moment in history. Living it could put our lives at risk, as it did his life.

Are you ready to open your mind and heart to be as inclusive as he was, and pay the price for doing so? Let’s pray today for the grace we need to live our radical mission.

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 John 4:11-18
Mark 6:45-52

Reflection:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…  -1 John 4:18
Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!  -Mark 6:50

Sometimes life can be very complicated.

I recently took on a volunteer position for a Zoom meeting that will have over 100 participants meeting over 4 days. This precipitated a flurry of emails tugging at my attention. Some needed an immediate response while others were only informational. At the same time, my inbox and phone message systems have been abuzz with communications regarding the coming school year. As an independent teacher each semester I need to communicate to my current and potential clients my availability, take their input, juggle everyone’s ideal schedule (along with my own sanity), and try to fit everything together. This is all in addition to the swirling of events, phone calls, video chats, and in-person visits with people in our pod that Christmas and New Year’s Eve bring.

Now, I know that I am not alone in experiencing the whirlwind of confusing and competing draws on my time and attention at this time of the year. What I find in my heart when I slow down and reflect is a question: “Am I doing this right? Am I getting to everything and everyone I should?”

Today’s readings, when taken into my heart, provide me with a clear way to find an answer. I just need to look closely at how I am showing up to those I deal with. Am I coming to them carrying God’s love to share? Am I making space in my own life to experience the love of God that I might share it with others? Do I listen to Jesus when He says, “Do not be afraid?”

I personally find it challenging to remember that the way that Jesus leads us on may be narrow, but it is simple: Fear not, love God, love one another, let yourself be loved. In this season of outer darkness, indeed all year round, this should be the inner light that leads us on: God is love and God is with us.

May this new year find you following the Light of Christ in all that you do and whatever situations you find yourself in.

In addition to being an independent teacher (now online!), Talib Huff is on the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center In Citrus Heights. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

1 John 4:7-10
Mark 6:34-44

Reflection:

God’s Love in Word & Deed:  Life!

Today we continue the celebration of the Epiphany, the “manifestation” of Jesus to the world.  As the Holy Family of Bethlehem welcomed the Magi, Jesus is indeed shared with the world as its loving Savior!  Amen!

Today’s Scriptures are proper for the Christmas season, drawn from the First Letter of St. John and St. Mark’s Gospel.  Both remind us in special ways that God loves us totally in the Person of Jesus. 

Saint John makes the point quite clearly when he says that this is love:  not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent His Son as an offering for our sins.  We’ve done nothing to merit the incarnation of God’s Son…God took the initiative, lovingly and freely. 

In His life and ministry Jesus showed this special love in His every word and deed.  Jesus freely taught the vast crowd, not like a contracted professor at a famous university being paid to teach – but as an act of heartfelt love, free of charge.  He went one step further:  He miraculously fed the hungry crowd with just five loaves of bread and two fish…with lots of leftovers, having fed well over five thousand people!  That kind of love can’t be bought or forced.

Jesus’ gratuitous love continues to reach out to people of all times and places, inviting them to live and then share His love.  Today is the feast of a “contemporary” loving disciple:  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the 19^th Century foundress of the first women’s religious congregation in the United States, and the first native-born U.S. citizen to be canonized.  Her special love for God included families, children, the poor of her day—sharing a striking example of generosity, service, and holiness based on her intimate relationship with Jesus.

Everything we have is a gift from God:  our lives, our faith, our vocation, even the energy and talents with which we serve God and earn our living here on earth!  What Jesus did for that early crowd He does for us:  he graciously teaches us through the Scriptures and feeds us with his own Eucharistic Body and Blood.  God’s Love in Word and Deed!!  Amazing!!

May our New Year’s 2022 resolutions help us live faith-filled lives of gratitude and service, flowing from the Life and Love which is Jesus.

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the Vocation Director for Holy Cross Province. He lives at St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.