Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Reflection:

There is no lack of reflections about how to make this year’s Lent the Lent to beat all others. For some of us, it may seem more like “Groundhog Day” – here we go again. For others, it is to try again to prove that a strong will can conquer the body. Growing up, a “successful Lent” of giving up chocolate gave rise to pride and boasting. Not exactly in the spirit of the season.

Hopefully, we have grown past experiencing Lent as a challenge to be met and beaten. In this, however, we may have jettisoned Lent altogether, perhaps marking it with ashes today and wrapping it up on Easter with little else in between.

At least for us in the northern hemisphere, Lent coincides with the journey from the dark and cold of winter to the promise of warm days and new life emerging from the earth. This potential of new life, this hopeful expectation is what most draws me into Lent. I love Lent. It reminds me that I am not yet finished, that there is more to what God has in mind for me than what I now experience. But I must first listen. I need to find the time and the quiet to pay attention to the person God is inviting me to become.

There well may be some patterns in our life that get in the way of this listening, of praying. Too much TV, too many nights out, not enough time with family, late nights at work. These are well worth examining, not to prove we are spiritually tough enough but to open up the possibility of noticing deep within ourselves those signs of new life that are emerging like spring buds ready to burst open.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

James 3:13-18
Mark 9:14-29

Reflection:

Astonishing Touch of Christ

The boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. – Mark 9:27

The captivating 5,381 square feet fresco of creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is among the best paintings in the world.  We see the life-giving finger of God stretching to touch the weak, lifeless and listless hand of Adam.   The New Testament is filled with people trying either to touch Jesus or to feel the grasp of Jesus.   There are about 5 words for touching Jesus in the original inspired text of the Greek New Testament.  But basically, they point to one simple great theme of getting in touch with Jesus!

This dominant theme is clearly seen in Mark 9:27.   The boy is all but dead but Jesus takes him by the hand and he stands up!  The verb used here is kroteo which means a strong grasp by the hand of Jesus!  The word has a strong nuance of strength.  It is used 58 in Gospels.   The woman in Mk 5:28 said to herself:” If I just touch His garments, I will get well.”  Here the word for touch is haptō which means to attach oneself to somebody.  It is used 39 times.

Another strong word for being grasped is epilambanomai in Mt 14:31   “Beginning to sink, Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold epilambanomai of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” The Greek means “to grasp for oneself,” “to lay firm hold of,” “to bring into one’s sphere” etc.  Used 29 times.

These words along with others clearly proclaim the simple wisdom of Scripture: Jesus must get His hands on me so I can touch Him. “ Over a hundred times in Gospels Jesus is touched or touching.    We must believe we can touch Christ now just as much and more than the people in Biblical times.  Faith provides the eyes and hands for our encounter with Jesus!  It is extremely important to remember that the hand that I touch is a wounded one!  “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see,”  Lk 24:39   It is the most loving and healing touch in the cosmos!

“Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.”    Mk 6:56

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

Scripture:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:38-48

Reflection:

In our Gospel reading (Matthew 5:38-48), we hear Jesus continue making a contrast between what the people have heard about what they are to do in following God’s law, and what Jesus is saying to them now. Arguably, what we hear in this reading are the most challenging words we find in all the Gospels: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well…. You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.”

How on earth are we supposed to do that? What about abuse? What about terrorism? What about oppression and injustice? These are all good questions, and it seems like Jesus is just asking for too much from us. In the seemingly impossible task of following Jesus’ commands, we may have to take a leap of faith and what gets us across to the other side is the Cross of Christ.

In our second reading from 1 Corinthians (3:16-23), St. Paul writes: “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise.” In a way, Jesus is the ultimate fool. He let Himself be captured, and arrested, unjustly condemned and unjustly executed. He did continue to love His enemies. He did turn the other cheek. Is that not utter foolishness? But we Christians believe that His foolishness saved us!

And yet many of us still struggle to trust in Jesus’ ways instead of the ways of the world. I find it hard to believe that when Jesus says “offer no resistance,” He means that people should stay in abusive relationships, or that people should stop working for justice and peace. But I wonder if He is saying to us that we cannot overcome evil with the methods of evil. We cannot stop violence with more violence. That has been tried many times.

Could it be that Jesus is telling us to take a leap of faith, risk looking foolish in the eyes of the world, and try things His way?

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

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

Reflection:

Today is the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.

Jesus himself handpicked his twelve apostles. Of those, Peter was chosen to lead them. The other Apostles did not challenge his authority as the head of the church on earth.

Not only did they not challenge his authority, they respected it. This is reflected in the gospel of John (20:4-5) when, although John was younger, and faster, he waited for Peter out of respect for this position as chief Apostle.

Other examples of this respect of Peters authority by the other apostles comes after Christ resurrection and include when Peter presides over the election of Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:26) and when he leads the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15).

St. Paul “goes to see Peter” out of respect for his position (Galatians 1:18).

Of the 12 apostles in scripture Peter is mentioned 195 times, John is second with, in comparison, a mere 29 times.

In Matthew chapter 10, where Matthew lists the twelve Apostles, He says, “the names of the 12 are these, FIRST Peter.”

The most important reason Peter is the authority that we look to as the first Pope, is written in the Gospel today, Matthew 16:13-19

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church”

Christ named him, the Apostles followed him, the early church was built respecting him. There have been 266 direct in line from him. Christ has built His church on Peter and although we humans have tried to wreck it, “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

Kate Mims is the Retreat Center Director at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

James 2:1-9
Mark 8:27-33

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel Peter got it right…almost!  When Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was, it was Peter who responded, “You are the Christ.”  No doubt Peter felt pretty good about his response and well he should.  Apparently, some of the others were a bit hesitant to apply that title to Jesus.  But not Peter.  He stepped up and voiced his belief for all to hear.

Then Jesus does something a bit strange.  As soon as Peter applied the title “Christ” to him, Jesus begins to teach that he must suffer, be rejected, be killed and rise after three days.  Clearly, these kinds of experiences didn’t fit with being the “Christ” in Peter’s mind.  He pulled Jesus aside and scolded him for talking of such things.  Jesus reacts almost violently.  “Get behind me Satan!  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do!”

Let’s face it, most of us tend to think as “human beings” do!  Just recall St. Paul’s comment in First Corinthians that the sufferings of Jesus are “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” (I Cor 1:23) Few of us factor “suffering” into our understanding of a rich and satisfying life, especially if that life is our own or that of someone we love.  Today’s Gospel seems to be inviting us to take a different look at the way we think about our lives.  If suffering is essential to the life of Jesus, it is just possible that suffering is essential to our lives as well.  If suffering is essential to our lives and not just the result of mindless circumstance or accident, perhaps we should look to the suffering in our lives to teach us important truths about our world, ourselves and, of course, God.

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

Scripture:

Sirach 15:15-20
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37

Reflection:

Matthew has just finished giving the Beatitudes to his disciples.  In this passage he goes further and talks about the obstacles that are destructive of discipleship.  The first obstacle he identifies is anger.    Several years ago a survey was taken of the Catholic priests in the United States.  The survey showed that the level of anger was so high among the priests that it was judged to be so disturbing that it should not be published.  About the same time another article was published on the “Anger of Priests.”  The author of the article received so many responses to his article that the author of the article decided to write a response to remind his readers. In his response  he reminded that the opposite of anger was “Gratitude.”

Gratitude is the happiness we have been given.  It is the echo of joy. To be grateful is to share.  There are high moments of aliveness in our lives.  These moments of the heart are a deep all-pervading, overflowing sense of gratitude.  When we reach our innermost heart.   When we are at home with ourselves when we are intimately united with others. We experience gratitude.

Genesis tells us God created us by breathing life into us.  The heart is where we meet God.  But meeting God is prayer.  Prayer is the very heart of religion.   Hearts are restless until we find rest.  We find rest when we find meaning.  We find meaning when we find God.  God is the source of all meaning.  Gratitude strengthens our faith and makes it grow.  We grow in gratitude when we grow in love.

A suffering God loves us.  The gift of the incarnation and crucifixion of the son of God had defined our sense of gratitude.

Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community at Sacred Heart Monastery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

The readings for today seem very much at odds with each other at first glance, the reading from the first book of Kings takes up the story of Solomon and his many wives who influenced him and “derailed” his love for the Lord. Just yesterday in our reading we were treated to the queen of Sheba celebrating his great wisdom. Today, one wonders exactly what happened in-between? How could someone that wise lose sight of the Lord? Solomon had many wives and it seems that they caused him to forget about the Lord. My Hebrew Scripture professor used to remind us that there is always a Theological truth about the Hebrew people and their relationship with God to be gleaned in Scripture. I might suggest that is still true today in our relationship with our Lord. Keeping close to the Lord keeps one faithful and wise. We must be careful about relationships or circumstances that take us away from God. We can have our consequences in going off track in our relationship with the Lord. What or who may have taken you off-track?

The Gospel offers us an insight into the faith of a Syrophoenician woman—a Pagan, who persists in engaging Jesus to heal her daughter. And while the wives of Solomon have compromised his faith, this woman’s persistent faith has moved Jesus to free her daughter from the possession of a demon. The text suggests that Jesus has no intention of listening to her. We read that he wanted no one to know about his whereabouts. I might suggest that Jesus was out of character in his comments about “its not right to take the food of the children and feed it to the dogs.” He who actively sought people out for healing, didn’t want to be disturbed. Certainly, his response falls within the confines of the first reading—be careful to stay away from Pagans!  It’s just never that simple, is it? Yet, what changed his mind? Was it her persistence in refusing to be put off? Her desperation?

What are we to understand here? Might I suggest that when we stay close to God, as Jesus did, we remain open to having our plans interrupted. Can you relate to this notion? We must be prepared to allow our plans to be interrupted, even Jesus demonstrates this principle. Further, we must be persistent in prayer and stay close to our Lord. It’s that simple—not at odds at all.

Perhaps the Psalm response offers us additional insight, “Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.” Amen.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.