Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51

Reflection:

The background to our first Scripture reading for this Sunday (1 Kings 19:4-8), is that it takes place after the prophet Elijah has demonstrated to the Israelites that God, not Baal, is the true God. But since the prophets of Baal were killed, the queen Jezebel seeks revenge, and Elijah flees for his life. Because he has not won over the people like he thought, Elijah considers himself a failure, and asks God to take his life, and falls asleep. But God chooses not to take his life, and instead sends an angel to tell Elijah to get up and eat. Elijah does just that, but lays down again. This time the angel says, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you.” Elijah gets up and eats, and “strengthened by that food,” starts out on a journey to “the mountain of God, Horeb.”

To reflect on food giving strength for the journey is a good way, I think, to look at our Gospel reading from John (6:41-51). As we continue listening to the “Bread of Life” discourse, Jesus keeps referring to Himself as “the bread of life.” He says: “Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Jesus is referring to the sacrifice He will make for our salvation. Later on, the references will be more Eucharistic, but right now, Jesus is trying to get the people to understand who He is for them.

This sacrifice of Jesus demonstrates the incredible love and mercy and grace of God poured out for us. In giving of Himself, Jesus is the food that strengthens us. But strengthens us for what?

I think we find an answer in our second reading (Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2). St. Paul writes: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” It seems that today “fury,” “shouting and reviling” are seen as signs of strength and fortitude. But are they really? It seems to me that it takes inner strength to be forgiving in a non-forgiving world. Not to say there might not be a place for anger. This is something I read in some Twelve Step literature: “Often, we can only do that [not perpetually being victims] by giving ourselves permission to vent anger as an affirmation of self-worth, and not a contradiction of all we have been taught about being tolerant, forgiving and peace-loving. It is possible to hate the deed but to forgive the doer. We have the right to … be angry at people for their aggressive, hurtful acts, while being ready to forgive them as people who need love as much as we do.”

The sacrifice and love of Jesus strengthens us for the journey towards justice, reconciliation, and peace. Sometimes it seems like too long of a journey, but like Elijah, may we turn from despair, and strengthened by God’s love in Jesus Christ, continue the journey towards the kingdom.

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

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Matthew 17:14-20

Reflection:

…Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.

-Matthew 17:20

Despite the fact that my mother died in 1956, (I was ten years old) I can still hear her saying: “Nothing is impossible”. That voice and assurance has made for a nice adventurous life for me. You see, I actually believed her then and still do today. I guess it helps to have grown up hearing John F. Kennedy spurred on by the Soviet Union’s unmanned moon landing in 1959, saying: “We (the United States) choose to go to the moon!” That was a dream in 1962. Then in 1969 I witnessed Neil Armstrong’s step off Apollo 11 Lunar Module onto the moon famously saying: “That’s one small step for man…”. Or (and this one blows my mind) hearing that we would one day be able to “see” the person we are talking to on the phone. Phones looked much different in the 1950’s, and my imagination saw pictures coming from the “dial” face of the corded landline rotary dial phones then.

I don’t need the Soviet Union, China or any other national power to challenge me today. I look around my world and see many “impossible” dreams that still need realizing. Two dreams come to mind. The first is the movement of the mountain blocking individuals to learning. That mountain consists of many fallacies, but two I believe I can do something about are: 1) you must go to school building to learn; 2) “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. The second mountain that I believe needs moving is the axiom that learners should be grouped homogenously, i.e. rich people with rich people, accomplished persons with other accomplished persons.

God give me the faith to keep dreaming and doing my little part to make this world a better place for all of its inhabitants.

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

Feast of the Transfiguration

Scripture:

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
2 Peter 1:16-19
Mark 9:2-10

Reflection:

At exactly 8:15 in the morning, Japanese time, on August 6, 1945, everything changed forever.

At that moment the bombardier on an American B-29 plane unloaded a weapon more destructive than any in the previous 200,000 years of human existence.

With the unleashing of the first A-bomb, more than 100,000 Japanese lives were instantly obliterated.

But more than the tragic deaths, the event at Hiroshima altered forever how we humans understand what we can do to each other and to our fragile planet. We, the only rational beings on this orb floating in lonely space, now know we forever hold the ability to destroy all life…microorganisms, sea creatures, trees, butterflies, domestic and wild animals, and every man, woman and child.

Never before had people known the immense power they hold to produce evil.

Now, despite 76 years to reflect on our potency and curb it, we have still failed to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Six popes have pleaded for nuclear disarmament, yet it remains an idealistic fantasy in the minds of political leaders. The strongest calls for laying down these weapons have come from Pope Francis, who asks all nations to abandon the insanity of deterrence by nuclear buildup.

What our Catholic leaders have preached is more than the destruction of these idols of death. The more radical message they offer is that, as much evil unleashed in a nuclear weapon, there is an even greater capacity of humans for good.

The Providential communiqué on this feast could not be clearer: the evil of Hiroshima is the extreme opposite of the event the universal Church celebrates on August 6 every year. At the Transfiguration, God the Father let the lead apostles glimpse the authority, power and transformation in the life of Jesus. But the peek at the glory of Jesus was but a foretaste of what His disciples themselves would be.  We, Jesus’ followers, are capable of doing good deeds beyond what even Jesus Himself did. We are charged with transforming our world from fear, hatred, divisions, destruction of one another and the earth into a world as God wants: peaceful, flourishing, fully alive in love.

Our work is serious and may cause suffering, setbacks, disappointment and even death. But, in doing our part in our spot on the earth we are assured of being united with the efforts of billions of good people around the globe, filled with grace, moving toward unity with each other and God for good.

What is your job today in this universal effort?

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 20:1-13
Matthew 16:13-23

Reflection:

Could the church possibly give us two readings that are more opposite?   Here in the book of Numbers the people rise up against Moses and Aaron.  Their physical needs are not met; they need water! Rather than ask politely, and trust in the one who delivered them from the demanding Pharaoh, they react with rash emotion.  They quickly have forgotten all the LORD God has done for them.  In their impatience they hold a council against Moses and Aaron who have been their intermediaries through this whole experience.   As I listen to their rash emotion, I can’t help but think this is the same rash emotion which shouted those clear and precise words at Pilate’s face, “Crucify Him!”   Today, the language and behavior in my city stems from the same rash emotion.  People act without thinking.  Emotion and rage overwhelm common sense.  Innocent people get hurt.  Finger pointing and blame are quick to be dished out.    Its true in my city as well as yours, my neighborhood as well as yours, my family as well as yours, my heart as well as yours. 

The Gospel begins with the other extreme. There is nothing hurried about this.   For some time now the disciples have been witnessing Jesus doing the work of his Father.   Jesus wonders how much of this they have put together.  Can they see beyond human limitations?  Can they transcend this piece of mystery which is more phenomenal than their sacred Torah?  By this time the disciples have seen him do many miraculous healings.  He seems to even have an authority over demons.  They have heard his teaching on the hillside by the Sea of Galilee and the question which each one has been churning in his heart is, “Who is this man?”    And Jesus asks them.  But first, he gives them even more time.  He takes them to an out of the way place, Caesarea Philippi, where they will have more time to reflect on all these pieces they have witnessed.   How do you come to know who Jesus is?  The answer is, by taking time to see the works of God in your midst.  

The Israelites experienced first-hand the mighty works of God as they moved from slaves of Pharaoh to their freedom in the desert.  Yet as time moves on they forgot.  Today’s first reading is another testimony to their forgetfulness. Their fearful human reaction overcame their common sense.  This is a re-occurring theme.  Sometimes it seems like we never get beyond it.   Peter is always caught in this pendulum. Today’s Gospel, look how quickly Peter goes from comprehension of the Messiah to putting his foot back in his mouth. 

Some may choose to excuse this by simply saying this is part of our human condition.  Yet Paul the Apostle doesn’t let it slide.  Amidst whatever is going on in the community of Galatia, he writes encouragement to them.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

-Galatians 5:22-23

We all know that we are better people when we allow the fruit of the Spirit to flow through our lives.  Maybe today is an opportunity to allow God’s grace a higher place within us than our human rash emotions, and the scriptures in their holiness remind us to patiently tend the fruits of the Spirit.

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

Scripture:

Numbers 13: 1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29, 34-35
Matthew 15:21-28

Reflection:

Great Faith, Reconciling Love

In today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman who wanted help for her afflicted daughter.  This woman had faith to come and beg Jesus for help — while Jesus’ disciples urged Him to send the woman away!  Jesus’ first words to the woman seemed to be a put-down, yet they likely represented the feelings of contemporary Jews towards the Canaanites.  Jesus’ ultimate response was one of love… “Woman, great is your faith!…”:  He granted her request, and cured her daughter.

The woman in this story stands for anyone who is disliked or despised.  Jesus constantly preached that love is all-inclusive:  for those dearest to us, as well as our enemies and persecutors.  Jesus set the perfect example of love:  a love that forgives, encourages, welcomes, and gives life.

Today we celebrate the life of the 19^th century saint, St. John Mary Vianney.  He was especially known for his gracious and generous ministry of the Sacrament of Reconciliation at his parish in Ars, France — regularly spending long hours sharing God’s love through the Sacrament with thousands of penitents who traveled great distances for a few graced moments with him.  His loving ministry flowed from an intense spiritual life based on prayer and mortification.  St. John Mary Vianney truly witnessed his faith in Jesus which enabled him to love and serve all God’s people.  In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named him worldwide patron of priests and parish ministers.

Jesus and St. John Mary Vianney challenge us today:  How do we welcome the stranger?  Or offer forgiveness?  Are we prejudiced?  What about our “enemies”?  Do we really listen to those who come our way?  Do we zealously and tirelessly give of ourselves in service to our sisters and brothers?  With God’s grace, today is a welcome boost to our spiritual lives.

And, as a Passionist Vocation Director, I invite you to pray for priests, parish ministers, and religious – active, retired, deceased – and for those discerning a priestly or religious vocation.  Jesus and St. John Vianney encourage us all to a deeper faith and a greater love!

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

Scripture:

Numbers 13:1-2, 25–14:1, 26a-29a, 34-35
Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14

Reflection:

Sending people ahead to reconnoiter the land (a theme taken from our first reading) might be a guide to our understanding of the gospel passage we have today.

Not because we encounter Jesus moving into a foreign area, but because in a strange way the woman who appeals to him serves as our guide and helps us to see Jesus in the light of his humanity and capacity to change and adapt.

Jesus has set his heart and will on the proclamation of the good news and indeed feels for those he is sent to – initially his own people. To this end, he has dedicated his energies, his heart and will to faithfully carrying out the commission he has received from God. But today the woman leads us to see that he also opens his mind to see more and to embrace a new call to even greater scope for his mission.

The woman is a formidable advocate for her daughter. She sees only the real need her loved one has for liberation and freedom from evil and she turns to the only one who can achieve this. She is determined and she is unafraid to challenge Jesus. It is an extraordinary encounter; one in which Jesus first holds fast to his vision of the mission, but then proves he is adaptable and open to all needs.

The woman shows us also a model of prayer and trust. When we meet situations that are beyond our power to control, we can be encouraged by this story. For here in this encounter, we learn that we can always turn to God and to appeal with all our hearts for that which we need, or those dear to us need. The woman’s prayer will appeal to all parents and to those who have prayed from the depths of their being for those they love. In the response Jesus makes, let us take real heart and comfort.

Quietly hidden away in this encounter too is the very human and quick-witted banter between Jesus and the woman.  It is a wonderful example to us of our freedom to be ourselves in our communications with the Lord.

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

Scripture:   

Numbers 11:4b-15
Matthew 14:13-21

Reflection:

“One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” Mt 4:4

Today’s Gospel is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 from a few loaves and fishes. This was barely enough food to feed Jesus and His apostles, let alone thousands of people. Jesus called for the bread and fish to be brought to Him. He then looked up to heaven, blessed the food, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples to give to the crowd. Amazingly, the entire multitude was fed.

Aside from the Resurrection, this story is the only other miracle recorded in all four Gospels. The early Church understood this miraculous feeding as a symbol of the Eucharist, where the food that nourishes the body also nourishes our spiritual hunger and longings.

Two thousand plus years later, hunger is still part of our human condition. In the State of Michigan where I live, one in four children is food insecure. People of all ages search for communion in a polarized world, and we long for healing and meaning in our own and others’ suffering. From where can we find sustenance for our journeys, and healing transformation for ourselves and for society?

Pope Francis writes about the gifts of love and life to be found in the Eucharist: “Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours. In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living center of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life.” (Laudato Si’ #236)

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.

Scripture:

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35

Reflection:

Our Sunday readings at this time of the liturgical year center on the “Bread of Life” discourse from chapter six of John’s Gospel.  As we saw last week, Jesus’ feeding of the multitude evokes the memory of God’s feeding the people with manna during the Exodus.  That desert sojourn marks an interesting part of the Bible’s unfolding story of God’s people.  The dramatic liberation from slavery in Egypt does not immediately lead to peace and security in the Promised Land.  Because out of fear the people hesitate to enter the land of promise rather than trust in God’s providence, they are destined to wander in the desert for forty years!  This is a strange period in the biblical saga.  On the one hand, God forges a covenant with the people at Sinai, giving them the gift of the Mosaic law that will guide them in what it means to be authentically human for centuries to come.

But also, during this desert period, the people must confront their own weaknesses—sometimes dramatically, as with their idolatrous worship of the golden calf and, at other times—like the account we hear today—they grumble at the quality of the rations they have to eat during their trek. Like cranky adolescents (or adults, too), they complain to Moses that it would have been better to die in Egypt with better food in hand than the miserable and scarce food they had now on their way to freedom! As noted in other passages in Exodus, the Israelites missed the garlic, the onions, and the meat of Egypt!

In response, like a long-suffering parent, God provides them with an abundance of quail in the evening and with “manna” in the norming—some sort of crystalline substance left after the dewfall that was as edible and nourishing as bread.  As the Psalm response declares: “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.”  As it would turn out, in perfect human fashion, the people would eventually tire of this heaven-sent diet as well!

This reading prepares for the opening part of Jesus’ discourse in the gospel selection from John.  As was the case with Israel of old, Jesus’ contemporaries fail to grasp the depth of God’s gift to them through the person and ministry of Jesus. The true and unfailing “bread from heaven” is Jesus himself whose very being reveals God’s all-encompassing love for the world.  The Johannine Jesus declares: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

I think of these words of Jesus in this unusual time in which we all are immersed: the tenacity of the pandemic; the sharp divisions in our public life and even in our church; the devastating floods and fires that create such human suffering while we too slowly come to grips with our own contribution to the threat of climate change.  The list can go on. 

No wonder it is also a time for us to think more deeply about what counts in our lives.  As important as “bread” is for our good health, there are other realities that also can either enable us to thrive or to wither as human beings.  What is the “bread of life”?  Our scriptures such as the Gospel of John press us to recognize the importance of faith in Christ, of the need for earnest prayer, of commitment to the values of the gospel: justice and compassion for those who are vulnerable; a sense of humility and forgiveness in the way we treat those around us; a turning away from the reactions and patterns of our lives that are toxic for us.

The second readings these several Sundays are from the eloquent Letter to the Ephesians. Today’s passage urges us “to put away the old self of your former way of life…and be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” 

Challenging words for challenging times.  As Jesus tells the crowds: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

[This reflection is adapted with permission from Fr. Senior’s weekly column, Perspectives on Scripture, that appears in The Chicago Catholic, archdiocesan newspaper.]