Daily Scripture

Easter Sunday

Scripture:

Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Colossians 3:1-4 o r1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:1-12

Reflection:

I’m writing this reflection for Easter a day after the fire that destroyed a great part of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was put out. As many of us saw videos and pictures of the fire, we watched with sadness and the recognition of what impact this event would have on France and the Church and the entire world. But our hearts were lifted when we witnessed the efforts of fire fighters and so many others to save as much of the cathedral and the priceless artifacts within as they did. Even though it may take many years, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt that the church will be rebuilt.

When I see so many people come together at times like these, to help people after some disaster or tragedy, I cannot help but think, “Here is the hope that is Easter.” And that is why the question the angels put to the women who discover the empty tomb of Jesus hits me so hard. In the Gospel reading for the Easter Vigil from Luke, several women “who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” When they get there, they find the stone has been rolled away, and the tomb empty. And then they see two angels who ask: “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee…”

The reason this question hits me so hard is because we know what incredible things can happen when people come together and work for the benefit of others, and yet we can still think that living in terms of “us” and “them” can bring life! Why do we still seek life among the attitudes and practices that bring death? We can still be so easily seduced into thinking that the point of life is to have as many “things” as we can, to the point of seeing everything and even everyone in terms of how they can satisfy our desires. Sometimes we can get so greedy, that all we can see is the bottom line, and how much profit we can make right now, ignoring the short and long-term consequences of our actions to those in need and to the health of the environment. Or sometimes we can let fear convince us that the only way we can guarantee life for ourselves is to deny life to others, or make sure that they are imprisoned, or held down, or shut out. Or do we think we find life in putting down others, or casting ourselves as better than “they?”

So, for me, when I see the angels’ question in these terms, Easter does not only bring me joy and assurance of God’s faithfulness, it presents me with a challenge. The Resurrection of Jesus challenges me to trust in the living wisdom of the Gospel, not the dead fears and prejudices of the world. Easter challenges us to work in hope for a better world. Easter challenges us to choose life!

And so when we work for justice and peace, we are working as an “Alleluia” people. When we are in solidarity with Muslims whose mosques are destroyed, or Jews whose synagogues are defaced, or churches that have been burned down because the congregations are African-American, we are working as an Easter people. When we look for ways to come together and solve problems as a community, we are living in the hope of Easter. We are not seeking the living among the dead, but rather look to what we know can happen when people from all circumstances and experiences see a common need.

If I truly believe Jesus has risen, I will follow Him in love and in life. Just as He rose from the dead, Jesus has lifted me up more times than I can count, and He calls me, in hope and in joy, to help lift others up. Happy Easter!

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan. 

Holy Saturday

Scripture:

Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 22:1-18
Exodus 14:15-15:1
Isaiah 54:5-14
Isaiah 55:1-11
Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12

Reflection:

The Saturday after Good Friday must have been a very long day for the apostles.  Were they hiding?  Did they hang together?  Were they with their families?  Was Mary with them?

The apostles’ emotions must have been all over the place.  Guilt, confusion, fear, disillusion, remorse, hope, — and lots of questions.

Then came Easter Sunday morning.  Could it be true what others are saying?  Did Jesus truly rise from the dead?

I don’t think the apostles were too surprised to hear that he had risen.  Jesus did many remarkable things during his three years with them, including raising Lazarus from the dead.  They had seen Jesus’ power.

What they worried about was whether he would forgive them.  Peter denied him.  The rest failed him, abandoning him in his hour of need.  Only John stood by him on Calvary.

The apostles could imagine the risen Christ going back to Galilee and starting all over.  They could picture him saying to them, “Hey, you guys blew it.  I’m going to gather a new group of twelve to carry on my work.”

When the risen Jesus appeared to Peter and the rest of the apostles, what were his first words?  “Peace be with you.”  Alleluia!  They were forgiven!  He didn’t give up on them.  They were still in his plans. They were still in his heart.

The good news of Easter is both the power of Jesus over death and the willingness of Jesus to forgive.  The apostles experienced first hand his mercy.  They rejoiced in reconciliation.  They could now be sent forth to proclaim with faith and conviction God’s loving forgiveness.  “Look what God has done for us.”

Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.   http://www.alanphillipcp.com/

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Scripture:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
John 18:1-19:42

Reflection:

The “Memoria Pasionis” by Fr. Clemente Barrón, CP

Today,
Unconditional Love
takes on
Unbearable Suffering.

Today,
Absolute fidelity
is entrapped by
Shameless betrayal.

Today,
Total Innocence
is convicted by
Willful Injustice.

Today,
Unembellished Truth
is denied by
Malicious Lies.

Today,
Tender Mercy
is cast aside by
Deliberate Wrong-doing.

Today,
The Light Divine
is eclipsed
The darkness of evil.

Today,
Eternal Life
experiences
Undeniable Death.

Today,
A mother’s joy
is overwhelmed by
A mother’s broken heart.

Today,
The Word
was buried in
Absolute Silence

Today,
Good Friday, 2019
remembers
The First Good Friday.

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15

Reflection:

I have given you a model to follow, as I have done…so you also must do…

 In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us of the words that Jesus shared at the Last Supper, this is my body that is for you…do this in remembrance of me…this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood…drink it in remembrance of me.  Familiar words to us, we hear them every time we participate in the Eucharist.  But this night, we hear even more!  If you are going to share in my body and blood, there is more you must do.  We too have to get up from the table, remove our outer garments and tie a towel around our waist, bend down and wash the feet of those we journey with.

What outer garment do we take off?  The garment of prejudice, bias, judgment; the garment of pride, ego and superiority; the cloak of indignity, inequality and insecurity; the cloak of power and control?  The garment we take off may change with each passing day, some will be harder that others to remove, but because we have shared in the body and blood, we will find the strength and the ability to remove the outer garment, once removed, we are then able to bend down, and gaze loving eyes on the other and wash feet.  We may also discover that we are able to allow the other to wash our feet!

Without the burden of the ‘cloak’ we are able to truly live in the freedom of the children of God – free from all that weighs us down and open to new life in the spirit of the resurrection.

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Luke 19:28-40
Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Luke 22:14-23:56

Reflection:

Each year we are invited to cross a very special threshold that takes us from the holy season of Lent to a week of special holy time that we traditionally call Holy Week.  This is passing from prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to an entire week of deep immersion into the mystery of the Passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God who offers his life for the salvation of all.

Holy Week begins with the special Sunday we celebrate today, once called Palm Sunday, but more appropriately known as Passion Sunday.  With the solemn reading of the Passion narrative, we encounter Jesus in those last profound days and events of his earthly life.

First, we bless the palms and imagine the throngs of people who stand waving their palm branches and shouting hosanna, hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  We can only imagine the excitement and joy, a thrilling moment that will barely last as long as it takes to ride the donkey through the city gates!  And who is the object of these hosannas?  Are they cries to the one who gives sight to the blind, and cures the lame, and brings life to those who have died?  Do the crowds shout jubilantly for the one who can turn water into wine and multiply loaves of bread and fish into more than enough to feed even thousands?  Yet, when the hosannas have died down and the Lord’s own anointed stands before Pilate accused of all kinds of wrongdoing, where are all those jubilant voices?  Will they cry out in support and love for the one who will be condemned to death by crucifixion?  And where will they be when Jesus carries his cross to certain death on Calvary?  So much for the adulation of crowds who love being in the winner’s circle, associated with only the best!

Instead, dear friends, our entrance into Holy Week is an entrance into the suffering and death of Jesus himself.  And it is during this holy week of special days that we are invited to come to know Jesus in his sacred Passion.  St. Paul tells us that Jesus emptied himself in obedience to the Father and that, because of this, every knee must bend at the very mention of his holy name.  But if we walk during this week with Jesus we will hear how he is cursed and ridiculed, blasphemed and defiled.  Are we willing to stand with him, to carry our crosses as he carried his own?  This is a very special time, indeed.  How wonderful it would be if you and your spouse, or with your children or grandchildren, could take a little extra time to read the Passion story and to talk together about what it means.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could think about Holy Thursday and how Jesus gave us the great gift of himself in the Holy Eucharist, along with the profound example of how we are all called to wash each other’s feet, to care for the poor and the crucified around us?  This is truly a Holy Week, a sacred time when one and all are invited to more intimately know Jesus Christ and him Crucified.

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Ezekiel 37:21-28
John 11:45-56

Reflection:

Have you ever walked into a room and felt the tension held within that space? I get the same feeling every time we get to this Gospel. We do not hear from Jesus directly, but we do hear the conversation going on in secret. Since he had raised Lazarus from the dead, more people came to believe. This was causing great concern to the chief priests and the Pharisees and they convened the Sanhedrin. Sanhedrin, translated means, sitting together or an assembly comprised of either twenty-three or seventy-one rabbis appointed to sit as tribunal in every city in ancient Israel. Jesus was on trial for his life as a result of his final sign which paradoxically brought Lazarus back to life. He could not walk about openly (v. 54). The irony here in this text is the set up of the high priest, Caiaphas, and his manipulation of the situation to suggest that “one man should die instead of the people” (v.50). There was a legitimate fear of the Romans when large crowds gather in Jerusalem, the Roman Rule or Pax Romana (peace at all cost), had been historically painful for the Jews. Interestingly, no one disputes Jesus signs, they fear them.

We can be guilty of over-simplifying the societal climate in this situation having the benefit of being 2,000 years removed. Yes, we can see that power corrupts and that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. That he ultimately did die for the many. In the verses before this text, we read that, “he was greatly disturbed” (v.33). The emptiness starts within my heart when I think of what Jesus faced in these moments. I find it hard to read this text without defaulting to anger at the religious leaders—so much for “Love my enemies-do good to those who hurt me!” I like to focus on Jesus during this time of hiding. What was going through his mind? Did he fear the authorities? He was fully human.

Later in this Gospel, Jesus tells Pilate that he would have no power unless it were given to from above. (19:11) St. Paul of the Cross taught that everyone involved in Jesus’ crucifixion were simply characters. God, the Father, was in charge and Jesus put his faith and trust in Him. This echoes the words of today’s Psalm, “The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.” How many of us wish we were there when they crucified our Lord? Actually, we are there/here because Jesus is still the crucified who walks among us.

While we absolutely have the right to ponder and pray with the historical passion. Our faith teaches that somewhere hidden he still waits in fear for the future. We breathe life into the text every time we understand that there are people in our everyday lives just like Jesus. It’s not out of sight somewhere else or 2,000 years ago. Does anyone come to mind for you?

May the Passion of Jesus Christ be Always in Our Hearts, 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.