Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Luke 6:6-11

Reflection:

A Chandelier and a Flock of Sparrows

Kate DiCamillo is the author of several books for school-aged children. In ‘Ferris,’ her latest book, a large chandelier, is a centerpiece. Earlier in the book we hear a reference to ‘Bede’ (the venerable, I think), ‘a flock of sparrows fly into a great hall and fly out again’. Without revealing the plot, it can be said that there is an incredibly beautiful banquet scene in which the diverse characters gather to dine beneath the chandelier.

We are now in our first week of reading Luke, which will take us to Advent. Having read Mark and Matthew, we have heard the parallel stories of Jesus’ life. Now, we will listen to the uniqueness of Luke’s writing and storytelling. Jesus is a prophet, Luke will say, fulfilling longed-for hopes. As a prophet, he challenges the comfortable and calls us to care for the poor. He frequently reverses expectations and gives women a special place in the gospel. Luke gives us the Words of Good News – the seed that the sower plants is the Word of God; faith is hearing and responding to God’s word.

St. Irenaeus offers us a good image as we begin Luke’s gospel. He tells us to approach the Word of God as if we are going to a well. Drink to be refreshed, but don’t try to drink the well dry! Drink what is satisfying. The well replenishes itself. Return to drink again when you are thirsty.

Although we know the story of Jesus, we will hear from a different place in our lives as we continually change. Will our response be that of Mary, ‘How can this be?’. Or will we say the word of young Samuel, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening’? Or, will we be like Elijah, expecting to hear God’s voice in the strong wind, the fire, or the earthquake but hearing only a gentle whisper? Or will God speak to us as a strong wind, an earthquake or fire. We never know if we don’t listen.

In today’s gospel we meet men who do not listen, men of poor judgment. Jesus is aware. He does what is good despite opposition, but they leave, blind to the good. As this gospel is read at Mass I am thinking of the good so plainly in view. How the sharing of the Eucharist never ends unhappily but renews our hope and sends us to  proclaim our oneness and the dignity of God’s creation with which we are gifted.

The chandelier in the DiCamillo story hung in the dining room over one hundred years unlit, just there. One evening it became the reason to gather family and friends. It was a quirky group who laughed, patiently cared for one another and genuinely loved, who gathered beneath the lit chandelier. Our gathering symbol is the banquet table, or altar or Jesus Himself – the symbols we use to express our reasons for gathering to share the Eucharist. While so rich is the living symbol that gathers us still we may not see how special it is. Or even the assembly that gathers around it, a symbol too with a treasure house of meaning. And Bede’s flock of sparrows? Like us, flying in and out, all of us. Yet on occasion we land together at the banquet table sensitive to mutual hungers, hungry to be filled with all the strength that a banquet gives us in spirit and joy, wanting to leave aside mistaken and small judgements, and to begin again to follow Jesus. Let us listen to Luke and continue to go forth with this Good News.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Isaiah 35:4-7
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

Reflection:

Be Opened!

There was a time in my life, when what I heard when listening to the readings at Church seemed too deep for me to understand. I took every word literally and did not know how to go beneath the surface of those words and understand the true meaning of them. I asked myself, what was a metaphor and what was it really trying to say? Do the poems or psalms literally mean what the words were saying or was it pointing to something else that related to the world? Things were not that clear because my ears were not open to understanding clearly. My mouth could not speak the words that my heart felt because the gift of words were not fully developed in my mouth.

This is the lesson of todays readings. We need to pray for understanding and knowledge so that when God says the word Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’), we know what it really means. Then we can open up to let the Holy Spirit come within us and work.

Years of listening to loud music results in a gradual loss of hearing. Likewise, years of listening to the noise and voices of the world causes our spiritual hearing to decay. Repent of any spiritual deafness or muteness. Allow Jesus to take you off by yourself, away from the hubbub of the world that crowds around you (Mk 7:33; cf Mt 6:6). Let Him touch you anew and renew your baptismal innocence. “Be opened!” (Mk 7:34)

To give hearing and speech back to the deaf and mute man restores his ability to enter fully into human communication: to hear the voice of a friend, Jesus, and to express himself with ease. His many years of suffering led to an incomparable privilege: the first voice he hears is Christ’s, the first person he speaks to is Jesus. “Here is your God.” O once deaf and mute man, “he comes with divine recompense, he comes to save you.” If we “adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ,” we will be healed of every infirmity and be “heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him.” Amen.

Deacon Peter Smith serves at Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, in Tucson, AZ. He is a retired Religion Teacher, Athletic Director and Facility Manager from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, a Retired Soldier of the United States Air Force, a Grad Student at Xavier University of Ohio, and a member of the Passionist Family.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:6b-15
Luke 6:1-5

Reflection:

Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?
Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’   -Luke 6:3-5

Uneasiness sometimes leads me to avoid what I feel called to do. I am part of a spiritual organization that has meetings all over the world, both online and in person. I usually attend three of these meetings a week and find them very beneficial, especially in terms of keeping me from isolating and keeping me in the present moment.  Recently, I decided to change a regular meeting I had been attending in deference to my own ethical sensitivities. The new one I chose to attend was one I had attended many years earlier. To my utter delight, I found that the meeting was going well with a full house of attendees, following an agenda with which I was comfortable.  The meeting felt like a perfect fit.

I also noticed that most attendees are quite a bit younger than I. (The older I get—I just turned 79 this past August—the more I get this revelation.) That has never bothered me before, but after three weekly meetings, I also noticed that some members in their shares were commenting on my and one or two other attendee’s ages. That made me feel uneasy—kind of like what Saint Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians, our first scriptural selection today. “… For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and men alike. We are fools on Christ’s account…” (1 Cor 4:9-10)

I get the feeling there is an unwritten law that as an old man, I am only allowed to associate with much younger men unless I am their teacher or mentor. In the tradition of these meetings, I am neither. I am their peer. I don’t have all the answers. In fact, even after all these years, I still have a lot of questions and confusion about this gift of life that we’ve all been given.

This organization further encourages me not to anticipate, but to appreciate each moment of life that I have been given, that is for me to stay in the present moment by being open to what is happening and accepting this as my God’s revelation to me today.

God, help me recognize that all laws, whether they are written in our hearts or on tablets, are not necessarily Your laws. Your law of love precedes the laws I am sometimes told or feel I need to follow. Help me recognize Your law today, and more importantly have the courage to follow it, believing in You, the God of life and love.

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

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Luke 5:33-39

Reflection:

The section of Luke’s Gospel we read today is preceded by Jesus’ telling his hometown crowd that the prophet Isaiah’s words are fulfilled in their hearing of  them. This scene is followed by several cures, the calls of Simon the fisherman (who is astonished by his haul of fish at Jesus’ command) and Levi the tax collector.

The Pharisees and scribes are aflutter observing all these things and challenge Jesus about not being more ascetic as John’s followers were. It must have been difficult for them to understand how Jesus fit into their narrow world of ancient rules and regulations, a world of “us and them,” a world of secure routines, a world of order.

Scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson speaks of this passage of Luke’s Gospel, saying, “…one cannot fit this Gospel to the outcasts with its accessibility for all humans, within the perceptions and precepts of a separatist piety.” He says these short vignettes are among the most radical in the New Testament because they explode all divisions among people.

Jesus is calling everyone to take long sips of  new wine, wear new clothes to the wedding feast, be open to new ideas, new ways of living life, by accepting everyone into community, even tax collectors and sinners.

In recent years some have focused on “non-negotiables” during election season. These are a listing of certain political stands that candidates must share to be worthy of the vote of a follower of Christ.

Although well-intentioned, as I am sure many scribes and Pharisees were well-intentioned, the non-negotiable crowd comes across as self-righteous, elitist, and absolute.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, tells us to broaden our perspectives and to discover the essence of goodness. As St Augustine taught, at the core of our being, even for the perpetrator of unimaginable evil, is a desire to seek goodness and to do good because we are good.

This, however, can be drowned in the tsunami of propaganda of our age. I am constantly tempted to strive for money, power, status, and security on my terms. I can fall into traps of competition, fear of missing out on some experience or opportunity. I can become jealous and want others to live as I see fit. At these times, I fail to fully trust God, welcome the stranger, and look the beggar in the eye with love.

The old cloaks can’t be repaired; the old wineskins won’t hold the new wine, and the old wine will not refresh.

We are called to a radical life of throwing our arms wide to welcome all, forgive all, nurture all, and love all. In the Spanish words of Pope Francis, “Todos! Todos! Todos!”  “Everyone, Everyone, Everyone!”

We are called to take a sledgehammer to our prejudices, our mental caste systems, our walled neighborhoods, our segregated churches, adult playgrounds, and schools. If we end divisions, will we lose something that makes us feel secure? Comfortable?

Let today’s Psalm assure you:

Trust in the Lord and do good,
That you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart’s request.
In the words of the poet, “What do we have to fear after all? To be thrown into the tenderness of God?”

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:18-23
Luke 5:1-11

Reflection:

So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you…
and you to Christ, and Christ to God.   -1 Corinthians 3:21,23

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’   -Luke 5:8

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that we are called to a personal relationship with God. And yet, time and time again, both in the stories from our faith tradition and our personal lives we find ourselves turning away from that relationship.

In our gospel today we hear the story of how Jesus was preaching at the edge the sea of Galilee (called Lake of Gennesaret in this passage) when He climbs into a boat and asked the fishermen to row out a short way because the crowd is pushing in so close. Of course, the boat belongs to Simon (later to be named Peter). After He is done preaching, He instructs Peter to put out into the water and drop his nets. After a short protest, Peter does so. And, lo and behold, the catch was so large that another boat is required to help haul it in.

And Peter responds the way most humans do when confronted with the vastness of God’s love and desire for relationship with us: he turns away. “Depart from me!” he cries. What is it about the goodness and greatness of God that causes us to turn away? Perhaps we become overwhelmed when confronted with the vast difference between our lowly selves and the immensity of God. But while that difference is true, God has told us again and again that He desires to bridge that gap and be in relationship with us. No matter how many times we turned away we find God calls us back.

The desire of God to be in relationship with His creation is so great that He sent His only son to live and be with us. Paul tells us we’re not to boast or place our trust in humans, for we have Christ in us and so we are in God.

My prayer today for myself and for everyone today is that we freely move into relationship with God and allow Him and Christ to be the center of our world.

Talib Huff is a retired teacher and a member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, California. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Luke 4:38-44

Reflection:

21^st Century Belief

Today’s Gospel selection vividly recounts the scope of Jesus’ healing ministry:  the cure of Simon’s mother-in-law with her severe fever, the many other sick with various diseases – even people possessed by demons!  Crowds of people followed Jesus, and even tried to block his path as He left their town to move on to other towns and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God.  What a powerful scene!

Jesus’ miraculous powers and persuasive words are inviting and inspirational, but our faith helps us see Jesus for Who He is:  the Son of God, the Word made flesh.  The demons driven out by Jesus declared to Jesus, “You are the Son of God.”  Jesus rebuked the demons because they knew He was the Christ.

Jesus cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a severe fever – great, but there were undoubtedly many other sick whom He did not cure.  Jesus laid hands on those with various diseases and healed them, but there were many other sick throughout the world at that time whom Jesus never met.  Jesus worked His miracles out of a sense of loving compassion, but His mission was to draw people to a deep faith in Him.  The faith response is more important than a cure or a healing; our eternal life, not just our here-and-now life, depends on our faith.

We best not limit ourselves by accepting Jesus only if He fulfills our needs or our sense of values.  Jesus reveals himself to us as much more than our human “view”:  He is the Christ, the Word Made Flesh — and Son of God!  We’re invited to believe in and generously follow Him unconditionally.  As St. Paul stated in the first reading, we are called to personally grow in our faith and be co-workers in promoting faith in Jesus amongst our sisters and brothers – a labor of love to help promote the Kingdom of God!

Together may we embrace our needy 21^st Century world with the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.  May renewed faith and hope and healing abound in our world!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. serves as the Province Vocation Director and also as Local Superior of the Passionist Community of Holy Name in Houston, Texas.  

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 2:10b-16
Luke 4:31-37

Reflection:

Nazareth was a small town, with some authors suggesting its population was between 200-400 people, representing about ten families in total.

So, it is not surprising that Jesus would be well known and familiar to all and that this familiarity might incite both admiration and pride, but also be a point of vulnerability if expectations were not met.

Both dynamics are obvious today. Jesus is praised for his wisdom and clear articulation of the Word of God, and yet when he steps into a level of interpretation that is challenging then opinions quickly turn against him.

There is a fickleness in human nature, we see this all the time – a sporting personality is praised for her/his achievements one day and then ridiculed the next for some perceived failure.

It seems this has a long history and was certainly a dynamic at play in the public life of Jesus. Opinions and perceptions of him oscillated between admiration in one setting to disbelief or opposition in another.

What might be illustrative and sobering for us today is the rapidity of the ‘swing’ in his townsfolks’ opinion. The synagogue audience swings from admiration to opposition in what seems to be a very short interval.

We might feel we are more balanced and considerate in our views, but perhaps an ‘examen’ in the spirit of Ignatius of Loyola might serve us well from time to time.

Has social media or the ‘crowd’ over-influenced us in the formation of opinions or judgments? Have these same mediums limited our capacity to see widely and consider situations deeply? Have modern patterns of communication over-influenced us to the point where reactions overwhelm responses?

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Spirit Province, Australia. 

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Luke 4:16-30

Reflection:

…so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.   -1 Corinthians 2:5

This is the time of year when I am once again recruiting people to register for our upcoming retreats at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. There are no prerequisites for going on the retreat, for I know that whoever I invite to attend, from a casual searcher to a lifelong Catholic, that person will find something valuable for their spiritual growth. It amazes me sometimes how people with diverse experiences and worldviews all gather at the foot of the Cross and find nurture, while on retreat.

This is the gift of the Passionist charism lived out in the preaching at our retreat centers. In The Spirit of Passionist Retreat Centers, written in 2003, we find some explanation:

Passionists are highly educated men who grasp well the sometimes-subtle complexities of Scripture, theology, and modern culture. The “genius” of Passionist preaching, however, is found in an ability to interpret great truths in a manner comprehensible for ordinary Christian listeners.

And where does this ability come from? According to St. Paul the Apostle in today’s first reading, it is through the power of the Cross and God the Holy Spirit.

St. Paul the Apostle had tried rhetorical reasoning and lofty philosophical arguments in his preaching in Athens, and had failed, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 17. In his letter to the Christian community at Corinth, Paul explains that his success in delivering Christ’s message to them, and their reception of His message, were due to his focus on Christ Crucified and the movement of the Holy Spirit, not to any great rhetorical skills or knowledge on his part. He says:

I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. -1 Corinthians 2: 1-2

Like St. Paul, Passionists experience the power of the Cross and the power of the Holy Spirit. And like St. Paul, we hope and pray that our faith and the faith of all those with whom we live and minister “might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.” -1 Corinthians 2:5

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