Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42

Reflection:

I think that our Gospel reading for Sunday (John 4:5-42), in which we hear the encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, is one in which what the principals involved do is as important, or perhaps even more important, than what they say.

Why do I say this? Well, look at what happens. First of all, the very fact that Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman is worthy of note: Men were not supposed to be talking to women they didn’t know. Jews and Samaritans had little use for each other, and even hated each other. The next thing to note, which you may have heard before, is that this woman is getting water at noon, when most people got their water in the morning. After seeing what happens in the encounter, it’s not hard to imagine that the woman simply didn’t want to deal with the dirty looks and the hushed murmurs that probably accompanied her everywhere she went.

So Jesus, to the woman’s amazement, asks her for some water. And then they get into a discussion in which Jesus speaks about “living water,” and as is so often the case, He is misunderstood. Jesus then says to the woman, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman replies, “I do not have a husband.” And then Jesus is bluntly honest with the woman: “You are right in saying ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

What happens after this is what I’m talking about. The woman’s response is nothing short of remarkable! Even though Jesus is blunt, He must have also shown compassion or something because her response is not what we would expect. She isn’t offended! She doesn’t get angry, or even defensive. She doesn’t say something like, “How dare you speak to me that way!” Instead, she recognizes that Jesus is some kind of prophet, and eventually Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah.

But wait, the amazing stuff doesn’t end there! This woman, who seems to be the object of gossip and self-righteous condemnation in this Samaritan town, goes back to these same people, and tells them that she thinks she may have just met the Messiah! Imagine going back to people, at least some of whom have been looking down their noses at you, and witnessing to them!

And now, here’s some more. These people actually listen to her and decide to come to see and hear Jesus for themselves! How often does a person’s past hinder us from seeing their conversion? So, again, there must have been something about her response to Jesus that convinced them to meet Jesus themselves.

So what does this say to us? I think there are at least two things. One is that we do not have to be prisoners of our past. Yes, Jesus confronts the woman about her life, but does not condemn her, and she is freed from her past, to the point of talking to at least some of the people who were judging her. For a woman who tried so hard to avoid those people, she is not afraid to talk to them now. If we let Jesus in, we, too, can be freed form our past. That doesn’t mean we deny what has happened or our part in it. It means we don’t have to be weighed down by it anymore.

The second thing is that our response to who Jesus is for us is our witness to Him. People may not react to us as this town reacted to the woman, but how we live in response to the love of God in Jesus Christ is the most effective testimony we can give.

We need not be afraid of the truth. Rather, we can be healed by it. And our response to the healing Jesus gives us can help us lead others to healing as well.

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

Scripture:

Jeremiah 18:18-20
Matthew 20:17-28

Reflection:

In today’s gospel, the mother of James and John approached Jesus for a favor.  Like a good mother, she lobbied on behalf of her sons.  She asked: “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one on your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”

At first glance, she is moved by good intentions, the good of her sons.  She asks nothing for herself.  She even acknowledges the coming reign of Jesus and falls on knees before the messiah.  Sadly, however, as with all the disciples, she failed to understand the mission and identity of Jesus.

Ambition can be a powerful force in people’s lives.  Today’s gospel reveals how even the worst ambitions can be masked by what appear to be good intentions.  Ambitious people sought to trap Jesus and eventually to put him to death.  That same ambition, however, clouded their vision to the point where they saw Jesus as a threat to their power.

The Reign of God, the kingdom, rejects such ambitious power.  Jesus tells us what true kingdom values are: “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.  Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus does indeed invite his disciples – and us — to us to live in power, not the ambitious, self-serving power, but the liberating power of sacrificial love.  The Kingdom of God is a kingdom where the power love unites us to live as a community of disciples as servants of the people of God.

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

Scripture:

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Matthew 23:1-12

Reflection:

I am worried about our future. Despite our economic prosperity, I fear we are becoming a heartless culture, a closed and unwelcoming place where the rule is to grab whatever you can for yourself and deny it to anyone else. Injustice, violence, and corruption seem to be multiplying, with no solution or end in sight. I do not say this in a  partisan way. In fact,  partisan heel-digging is part of the problem.  We are more concerned about promoting our particular point of view and denying anything to the person with an opposing viewpoint than we are about imitating Jesus. We are more concerned with ensuring that our own benefit is the highest priority than we are about serving God. Trashing everyone else’s ideas just because they are someone else’s is more important than finding the common threads of each idea and working to build something better.

Jesus didn’t teach this. In fact, he lashed out at the leaders of his day, saying, “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor.” It sounds so much like our “me-first” world today, in which it doesn’t matter if others are suffering as long as I’m not.

Again, God cries out to us: “Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right.”

The only question is: Are we listening? Are we adding to the morality and justice of our society, or diminishing it? Are we redressing the wrong or enabling the wrong-doers? In our own relationships, are we spreading peace and harmony or division and mistrust? Are we focused on giving or on grasping?

The bottom line: Would an objective observer know by our actions and words that we are disciples of Jesus Christ? Or in the words I often heard when I was growing up – If we were on trial for being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?

God is pleading with us. Are we listening?

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:

Genesis 12:1-4a
2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Matthew 17: 1-9

Reflection:

How can I listen to Jesus over the next few weeks? What is he telling me?

We all need a quiet place to sit down and listen to Jesus. How often do we do this? Lent is a time of the year to focus more closely on what Jesus has to say to us. We need to have an examination of our conscious. In the Gospel Jesus is transfigured. His face shines like the sun, his clothes become white as light. He is joined by his closest friends, as well as Moses and Elijah. They hear God’s voice from the cloud saying: “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5). When we listen to Jesus his words have a way of transforming us into someone who is more Christlike. We get a glimpse of who Jesus really is on the mountain. His divinity shines like a bright light. He is God. He is divine and He is human. It reminds us of the sacrifice he made when he became human like.

In just a few weeks after the transfiguration, Jesus will be disfigured. He will be struck, scourged, spat upon, and mocked with a crown of thorns. Spikes will pierce his hands and feet as he is nailed to a cross. His friends will have abandoned him. There will be no voice from a cloud: Jesus will believe himself forsaken by his Father. Bystanders will think he is calling for Elijah.

We are called to accept both visions of his identity: the disfigured Victim, the transfigured Lord. Transfigured today, Jesus becomes disfigured for our sins, to be transfigured in glory in the end. He did this for all mankind to have everlasting life. He made the ultimate sacrifice of His life for our sins and salvation. We all need to take time and listen to Him. What is He trying to tell us?

Deacon Peter Smith serves at St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish in Alabama, a religion teacher at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham, and a member of our Passionist Family.

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Matthew 5:43-48

Reflection:

“…But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you…” (MT  5:44)

As a teacher, especially a new, young teacher, I enjoyed the reputation as a “nice” teacher, one that students could relate to. I guess that was largely due to being new and inexperienced. I believe being new, I was also open to learning, learning not only the ways to teach reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, but even more importantly learning to love my students. These students’ school experience, at least up to this point in their life, was a “troubled” one. They were tagged with the label of incorrigible. As a new teacher, that label was just a word. I had really never met someone who was “incorrigible”.

It didn’t take me too long to learn though. Soon, I realized the “incorrigible” students were the students who didn’t like me. Often, I believe, they didn’t like me because they saw me as the enemy, part of the establishment that had labeled and marginalized them. I didn’t understand all that as a new teacher, I just knew that some students resisted my attempts to get to know them and to teach them. They were “problems” and yes, I often wished that they would stay home or get sent to someone else’s class. I didn’t love them.

Today, looking back on those “problem” students I realize, they were the ones who taught me. They really weren’t my enemy, any more than I was their enemy. They taught me about a world of abuse and neglect and discrimination that I had never experienced, after all, I wore a different label, “good student”. I was a “smart” student and learned quickly. They taught me how to survive in a world that doesn’t like me, that sees me as the enemy.

Twenty years later, coming out as a gay man in the Catholic Church, I used those skills. I did what I told my students to do: “Just show up. No matter what, show up. Don’t fight back, but love those who hate and marginalize you.” Of course, some would say I should have learned that lesson from Jesus. My students, however, were much more present to me and I needed their presence.

God, help me to love my enemies today and see them as the gift they truly are.

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