Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
John 5:1-16

Reflection:

Get Up and Go!

Lent is the season for growing closer to God and healing our spiritual problems.  In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus healing a very hesitant and depressed man.   He did not ask Jesus to be healed, nor he did not bother to notice who it was that rehabilitated him.  Why are we so reluctant to accept the healing word of Jesus?

I think it probably is for two reasons. The first reason is we don’t think we need healing.  We have a strong feeling that we don’t need to seek the doctor or to have to change for the better.   Jesus asks him “do you want to be healed”?   The sick man seemed very indifferent about it.  He most likely gave up 38 years previously. He proceeds to say it is other people’s fault he is not healed.   “I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”  We must have the humility to take the responsibility of being far from a person like Christ!

The second reason we fail to make an effort to grow is a form of discouragement and depression.   The man in the story is clearly depressed! He obviously had no notion Who was speaking to him.  Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:” If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  At this point, Jesus seems upset with him.  He speaks that wonderful word in SS to him: “Get up”.    In the Greek New Testament, the word is egeírō.  It is used 157 times!   Is means ideas like wake up, get on your feet, rise.  In SS Jesus says: “for I say to you that from these stones God is able to get up (egeírō rise)  children to Abraham”. Mt 3:9  If the Lord can make stones come alive, may I have a chance!

What power is in this word on the lips of Jesus!  He used this word to the paralytic in Lk 5:24. “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”  After the theophany of the Transfiguration in Mt 17:7: “Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” Mt 17:7  “He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward.” Lk 6:8  What a powerful medicine for depression is “Get up” by the Divine Physician!

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 65:17-21
John 4:43-54

Reflection:

At the end of our Gospel reading for today, in which we have an account of Jesus healing the son of a royal official in Capernaum, it is written: “Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.” The first sign to which this verse refers was the changing of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

These signs have something important in common: trust in Jesus. At the wedding in Cana, after she and Jesus have a discussion about whether Jesus should do anything about the wine running out at the wedding banquet, Mary simply says to the servants there, “Do whatever he tells you,” and she leaves the scene, trusting that Jesus will take care of it. In the Gospel reading today, the royal official asks Jesus to accompany him to his home to heal his son. But Jesus simply says, “You may go; your son will live.” And the official trusts Jesus, and indeed goes back home, to find that his son has truly been healed.

In times like these, when we find ourselves asking “Why?” or are tempted to assign blame, it may be difficult to put our trust in Jesus. But the Cross of Christ tells us that we are not alone. To trust in Jesus does not mean we simply do nothing. Instead, the Cross of Christ strengthens us to do what we can for others and enables us to comfort and be with those who have lost so much.

May we support and comfort each other with the faith of Mary and the royal official, and put our trust in Jesus.

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

Scripture:

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading for Sunday (John 9:1-41), we have the encounter between Jesus and the man born blind. The encounter begins when the disciples ask Jesus whose sin was responsible for the man being blind from birth: was it his sin or his parents’? Jesus’ reply is that it was not due to anyone’s sin that the man was blind: “it is so that the works of God made be made visible through him.” In other words, what would be done in this man’s life would be done so that others could see.

Then Jesus gives sight to the man, but it’s difficult for some to see what has happened. Some can’t believe that the same person they knew to be blind can now see. And because Jesus did this on the sabbath, the Pharisees are unable to see God’s hand in what has occurred. But the man himself is able to see what all this means. He not only receives physical sight, but spiritual sight as well. He, at least, can see that Jesus is from God. And when Jesus encounters him after he is thrown out of the synagogue, he believes that Jesus is the Messiah.

At different times in my life, I have been made to see differently. I have had to let go of assumptions about particular people, or groups of people. I have had to let go of certain interpretations of events and what they mean. I have been made to recognize my blindness concerning various things and people. Are there certain aspects of our lives in which we persist in our blindness?

Along with everyone else, I have watched the news about the covid-19 pandemic. And I’ve been wondering whether this crisis has revealed to us anything about our blindness. For me it has revealed that we can no longer be blind to the truth that we are all connected. We can no longer be blind to the truth that we have responsibility for each other. I like what I saw on Facebook the other day that said something to the effect that we engage in social distancing not so much to protect ourselves, but to protect others who may be at risk. And even though social distancing and other restrictions may be necessary, we can see that spiritual and emotional isolation is not the answer.

These kinds of things have been revealed to us before during times of crisis. But it seems that too often, after the crisis has passed, that we are content to retreat into blindness. To keep the sight that we have been given, we need to let the love of Jesus in, and let whatever blindness we have be truly healed.

In our second reading from Ephesians (5:18-24), St. Paul writes: “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.” Perhaps another way to say this might be: “Let us live as children of sight, so that we can see goodness and righteousness and truth in our neighbor and in the world.”

May God’s love in Jesus Christ heal us of our blindness, and may our restored sight give us what we need to help others to see God’s love.

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

Scripture:

Hosea 6:1-6
Luke 18:9-14

Reflection:

In my younger years, I was a boy scout knowing all the things I needed to do to move to the next rank.  I was proud of my accomplishments much like the Pharisee in today’s gospel, bragging about his behavior.  The Pharisees taught that following God’s law meant one was doing God’s will.  Following the law perfectly meant fulfilling God’s will perfectly, which meant one was closer to God.  (Larry Brody, Word Sunday.com, “Who’s in Charge of the Heart” Permission to use).

The tax collector worked for the occupying forces of Rome and was considered a traitor.  Tax collectors were hated by the Jewish population.  The tax collector stood at a distance from the Temple offering his broken heart to God asking for mercy.   The Pharisee attempted to justify himself by what he did. “The Gospel parable simply used the image of a self-centered Pharisee to preach against the abuses of a “me-first” spirituality.” (Larry Brody, Word Sunday.com, “Who’s in Charge of the Heart” Permission to use)

Am I like the Pharisee self-centered making lists or counting prayers to impress God?  Or am I more like the tax collector focusing on my relationship with God.  During this sacred Lenten season, as the first reading from Hosea instructs us: “Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day HE will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

I wonder what the Scribe in today’s Gospel thought Jesus was going to say in response to his question, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  Perhaps he thought Jesus was going to say something “new.”  But, in his response, Jesus reminds him that love, first of God and then of neighbor, is at the heart of God’s commandments.  It always was and it always will be.  The Scribe praises Jesus’ answer.  Jesus tells the Scribe that, because he understands this important truth, he is not far from the Kingdom of God.

What about us?  What do we think is the most important of all the commandments?  Do we understand, as does the Scribe in the Gospel, that love is at the heart of the Gospel?  Of course we do…!

The first reading for today is from the prophet Hosea.  He speaks of God’s commitment to forgive Israel and Ephraim, i.e., God’s people who have been so unfaithful.  Throughout these first weeks of Lent we have had readings from various prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel), assuring us of God’s constant forgiveness for the many sins of idolatry and injustice committed by God’s people.  It would seem that knowing the first of all the commandments doesn’t’ guarantee that we live it.

This message of the prophets is very reassuring for us as we try to live what we know is true, that love is the heart of the Gospel, and of God.  We pray that during this holy season, God transforms our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh so that we can live in God’s love.

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director retreats at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Matthew 18:21-35

Reflection:

None of us makes it through life without having to offer or receive forgiveness. Most of us cannot make it through a single day without having to say, at least once, “I’m sorry.” That is why the readings for today are so important. Together they show us exactly how Christians should think about forgiveness.

In the first reading from the prophet Daniel, Azariah prays on behalf of all of Israel that God will be merciful to them and forgive them of their sins. His prayer is full of  hope because Azariah knows that even though God may be angry and disappointed and sometimes exasperated with them, God will never forsake them or give up on them. God will always forgive them because there is nothing they can do that would make God stop loving them.

If this passage from the prophet Daniel assures us of God’s abounding mercy and forgiveness, today’s gospel asserts that it is precisely because God forgives us that we should always forgive one another. The story begins with what is probably the most famous question that Jesus was ever asked. Peter wonders if it is permissible to stop forgiving? Can we put a limit on forgiveness? Can we refuse to be merciful? Jesus answers Peter with a parable. It’s the story of the unforgiving servant, the man who had been rescued by mercy but then brazenly refused to show his fellow servant the same mercy that had been shown to him by his master, the king. The parable ends with the unforgiving servant tortured and thrown into prison, and Jesus declaring that God will treat us “in exactly the same way” if we withhold forgiveness from anyone.

None of us finds it easy to forgive, but nothing is more self-destructive and hopeless than choosing to hold onto grudges, bitterness, anger, or resentment rather than to forgive. That is why Jesus doesn’t suggest that we forgive or hope that we forgive; Jesus commands it. Like Peter, we should never close the door on forgiveness not only because God didn’t do that with us, but also because to close the door on forgiveness is to close the door on life.

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:

2 Kings 5:1-15b
Luke 4:24-30

Reflection:

Expectations

In the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus announces the fulfillment of what Isaiah has prophesied. We will see this unfold during Jesus ministry. Those who heard Jesus could not have taken in the meaning of his words as we who read Luke’s gospel do. They are impressed but also wary. This is the son of Joseph, after all. That our Lord is ushered to the edge of the hill near the synagogue shows that he indeed shattered an expectation of their community.

What did they hear that they could not accept? That God reached out beyond Israel to touch others; although accorded a favored place, Israel is not to be exclusive of others. The oppressed and the prisoner, the blind and the poor, God loves and hears the cry of those who are in need. The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth validates him as a prophet, since prophets are not welcome at home. The expectations of his people are limiting, and Jesus takes us beyond the boundaries we create.

In the story of Naaman from 2 Kings there is a back and forth among the characters. A Jewish slave girl is so full of wisdom and enthusiasm while the anointed King expects the worst after hearing the expectations of a smiling Naaman who arrives at his front door. Elijah is ready to go to work. Then it is Naaman whose expectations get in the way, but the poor people, servants, speak to him about trust, and fortunately Naaman listens to them.

Elijah is full of powerful miracles and intertwined with raw humanness. In the final part of the story Naaman leaves in a bit of a bind. He believes in the God of Israel, he takes a load of earth home with him to keep in touch with this holy place, but he will also have to follow the rules of his King who worships Rammon. And then we meet Gehazi, who seeks to profit from Naaman’s healing by asking him for a kickback. He gets a generous one, and leprosy as well!

Expectations are part of life. We live with them, sometimes to be disappointed, other times to be surprised at how much they can be surpassed. In today’s readings some expectations are limiting and caused fear. The poor, humble people are open to expectations that seem beyond realization, while the powerful question them. Like Mary’s Magnificat, the understanding of the arrogant is scattered and the lowly are raised up. Expectations of Lent and Easter are with us now. How do we tame expectations so wild? Death will be overcome, a Redeemer comes to save us, sin is a ‘happy fault’ that reveals to us so great a lover, one who suffers for us upon the cross. Can we use our Lenten days to be like the servants, humbly asking God to take us beyond our boundaries and give us expectations beyond our own? Can we do the work of Lent aware of the binds that can compromise our best hopes? Or, like Gehazi, if we lose sight of what is truly important and have lowered our expectations, can we ask God’s help to embrace us and help us to hear anew the expectations of our community on its Lenten pilgrimage, and to know that we walk with them strengthened by their prayer and support? Lent is many things, but we can say that our Lenten works will develop in us great expectations that will end not in disappointment but in celebration.

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