Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Acts 11:19-26
John 10:22-30

Reflection:

How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. John 10:24

Who of us has not struggled with acceptance and rejection, with being welcomed with open arms or being received with hostility? Sometimes the signs of welcome or rejection are subtle, but other times, they are clear. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is dealing with a hostile crowd who is clearly out to make him feel rejected. There is nothing he can say or do that will make them change their minds.

There was great rejoicing in my home parish of St. Agnes in Edna, Texas when I was ordained. Since my family was well known, not only within the parish, but throughout the region because of their faithful service to the Church, I felt blessed to be so well received by the people who knew my family for such a long time. There were no credibility issues there for me.

The first ten years of ministry were spent in Houston, Texas, Sierra Madre, California and then San Antonio, Texas. I discovered that there was a need to be accepted as authentic and credible in every new community where I was assigned. In all of my assignments, the people were patience and welcoming, with a few exceptions.

These were learning years for me. I began to sense when people who had long made up their minds about the faith, the Church and its teachings or which direction the Church was going, were either going to be open to what I was saying or would smile knowingly and then walk away.

Over the years, we have come across story after story of people who began their beautiful, successful lives by being rejected and demeaned by others. What this Gospel account does for me and for many of us, is to accept our personal value in God’s personal love for us. God’s personal love for us is all inclusive. It is not completive. It is not discriminatory. It is not conditional. Our human value comes from God’s unconditional love for me and for us within the whole of creation.

Jesus, in this Gospel, knew this. He knew that those who opposed him would never believe. Yet, he was willing to die for them also.

Let us not lose heart because people will not believe us, will not believe the Gospel message, will not believe the incredible love that God has for us. This kind of faith is what kept the early church going, as described in the first reading for today’s Mass. This kind of faith is what keeps Pope Francis going day after day.

This is why, even to this day; we are called “Christians!”

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Christ the King Community in Citrus Heights, California. 

Scripture:

Acts 11:1-18
John 10:1-10

Reflection:

There is an old saying “Home is where the heart is”- meaning of course that one’s home is not so much a house or even a physical location, but rather that ‘place’ where one is surrounded by those who love you and whom you love, or indeed the place where you feel you belong. Thus ‘security’, ‘welcome’, ‘hospitality’ and perhaps most of all ‘belonging’ are words that can also be associated with one’s sense of ‘being at home’.

To find one’s home is most often to identify the relationship or set of relationships that gives one a sense of belonging, identity and most of all of being loved – and loved unconditionally – at a personal level.

This seems to be the key to understanding today’s gospel text. In an age where relationships can be defined in a myriad of ways, and/or with many relationships being more virtual than tangible, we seek to find the meaning and unity of our lives in a faith relationship with Jesus Christ – known to us today in his resurrection.

 It is not always easy to speak of our relationship to Jesus in that we now only see him through the lens of the resurrection. As such we ‘know’ his presence but cannot describe it in ways that are measurable, tangible or indeed physical. We speak in the language of mystery, but it is a ‘language’ supported by the experience of generations and by our own deeper senses that allow us to know in non-scientific ways.

Martin Buber, the 20^th century philosopher, spoke of the human person in terms of dialogue, encounter and relationship. These three elements seem to be the foundation of being human, in that we only know ourselves through the encounter with others, through dialogue with the other and in relationship to another.

It is the same with our knowing of Jesus Christ. That is we may use these three dimensions to speak of our knowing him through encounter, dialogue and eventual deep relationship.

And in today’s gospel the Johannine community explore this encounter, dialogue and relationship with Jesus through the metaphor of a simple, but easily visualised rural image of the day – that of the shepherd, the sheepfold (or small gated area with its gate-keeper) and the sheep themselves.

The Johannine community share their faith experience through this image to speak not only of his relationship with each person, but more deeply of how we to might find our home in him.

Jesus is the one who welcomes us into relationship and who facilitates this by guiding or ‘shepherding us’ in this direction. He is the one who ensures our safety, who calls us by name, who invites us to follow him and is the one in whose presence we feel no temptation to run away.

This relationship with Jesus is in such contrast to others we can experience where we may be forced into certain actions, or which feel like an invasion of our space or dignity. Jesus in relationship to us will never kill hope or steal away our freedom.

The true sign or fruit of our relationship with Jesus – our true home- is that we will feel ourselves coming more and more into life – and life to the full.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.  He currently serves on the General Council and is stationed in Rome.

Scripture:

Acts 9:31-42
John 6:60-69

Reflection:

An article in the local newspaper a few years ago detailed the case of a young, healthy father of three who succumbed to a particularly nasty case of H1N1 flu. He was put into a medically induced coma, and three times the doctors told his wife to gather the family because they didn’t think he would survive the night. In the end, he not only survived but returned to full, active living. Many people in and out of the medical community called it a miracle. The young man reported that his faith and that of his family and friends is so much stronger now as they praise and thank God for the blessing of his renewed life.

In the Gospels, belief is often likewise prompted by a miraculous occurrence that affects not only the person involved but their entire social network. Someone is raised from the dead or healed of a long illness, and the entire town enthusiastically converts. Indeed, it would seem foolish not to, given the hope that similar miracles might result for oneself.

It is easy to have faith as long as it “works” for you – as long as the people you love are healed, the people you hang around with share your belief, and things go well in your life.  Yet that type of faith is superficial, centered on self, and too frequently short-lived. If the young man had died, would his family still come out of it with strengthened faith and conviction of God’s blessings? What about when others become disillusioned, and begin attacking with arguments and doubts that are hard to answer? Can faith be sustained when the Gospels’ difficult sayings and profound challenges grate against the status quo and demand personal sacrifice?

Countless people left Jesus when the going got rough, when they realized their discipleship would ensure the cross instead of health, wealth, and ease. At times, in fact, the popular thing to do was to renounce this man and his tough teachings. They wanted a Messiah who would bless them according to their own definition of blessings, and follow their will instead of God’s.

The reality of faith is a paradox. Jesus does not promise an easy life – in fact, quite the opposite. Instead, he promises faithfulness, strength to endure whatever happens, and resurrection in this life and the next. Jesus is not a prosperity evangelist; he is a realist. He does not negate or erase the experience and suffering of this life; he brings meaning to it.

Jesus has accompanied me through so many tombs. Despite all odds, in the reality of death, even when all seemed hopeless, God continues to bring new life. So I will continue the journey, consciously working to deepen my dependence on and belief in the God who is my rock and stronghold, the source of my existence, the One who calls my name and whom I serve. I hope that no matter what may happen or what others may do, I can join with the disciples and say, “Lord, to whom would I go? You have the words of everlasting life.”

 

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:

Acts 8:26-40
John 6:44-51

Reflection:

As followers of Christ, we are called to Evangelize.  It serves us well then to remember that the first and greatest evangelizers were the Apostles.  We see this throughout the Acts of the Apostles.  What great models to follow.  In today’s first reading, Phillip greets the Ethiopian eunuch who tells him that although he is reading the scriptures he can’t understand them unless someone interprets them for him.  Phillip then evangelizes by interpreting the scriptures until the Ethiopian asks to be baptized.  In the Acts, we see many examples like this of the Apostles reaching out to spread the Word, to spread the Good News.

Isn’t it a wonder to think of this small group laying the foundation in the early Church so that the Church was able to grow until it now reaches the entire world? How was this group able to evangelize so effectively?  And how can we best follow in their footsteps?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Apostles and us, “I am the Bread of Life.”   As Christians, this is the basis of all that we do, not just at Mass, but in every action of our life. This is the core of who we are, not just in prayer, but in all our daily activities.  We cannot evangelize until we fully absorb this truth.   Any good salesperson will tell you that you have to believe in a product in order to sell it.  But it took the Apostles awhile to accept this.  So throughout the Gospels, you hear Jesus frustration with the Apostles…Don’t you get it?  Do you still not understand?  Then on Pentecost, they were filled with fire and understanding.  And they finally “got it”, then it was, watch out world, here they come!  Things aren’t so different today, when we “get it,” then we too can be great evangelizers.  In the Acts, Jesus says those who believe will have eternal life.  And if you believe, if you “get it” and understand that Jesus is the Bread of Life, how can you not share his message?

What is evangelization?  It is believing so firmly in Jesus that our hearts are on fire, and it is knowing that the Spirit of God is with us and it is being Jesus for others, proclaiming the message of the Gospel through our love for God and for one another.

 

Mary Lou Butler is a long-time friend and partner in ministry to the Passionists in California.

Scripture:

Acts 8:1b-8
John 6:35-40

Reflection:

We take up the Gospel today from where it left off yesterday—Jesus responds to the request of the crowd to “give us this bread always” and I know my heart echoes the same request. Yet, I can still feel that I hunger and thirst, in fact I may go so far as to say rather than my thirst being slaked I often sense an increased desire for more.  Karl Rahner—the Jesuit Theologian—suggests at its essence this longing for more is, “the primal cry for God.”

I wonder if this is something we all struggle to interpret? Do we misread our hunger for God with material or emotional hungers? “You will be happy when you own this product or lose weight or have important personal connections”—or whatever—fill in the rest because the list can be endless. There is always more and better. We often stop short of discovering our deepest hungers; in today’s culture it is easy to be distracted and assume a quick-fix answer. Struggling to understand the difference between what I want and need is the process of a lifetime. Once we step back to observe our patterns of behavior—or should I say—step inside of ourselves, we slowly come to awareness that our desire is deeper than surface wants and desires and we need to work to uncover them. Perhaps this is what Jesus is referring to in his comment: “I’ve told you although you have seen me, you still do not believe.”  We may on one hand assume we believe while on the other hand remain blind to those habits and patterns which can actually take us away from God and mask our true thirst.

Fear not! Jesus is very clear in the text that our lack of belief will not separate us from him. How magnificently he assures us that rather than rejecting us he came for our redemption. And I believe this is where we are both challenged and consoled. Challenged in the sense that as Jesus came down from heaven to do the will of the Father so now we must do likewise, this calls for a constant dying to self; and we are consoled by Jesus’s words that God’s will is that “he not loose anyone who has been given him.”  This is the Good News—the win/win compassionate mercy of God is extended to anyone desiring to come to Jesus. And so I have come to believe in the paradoxical elements of Jesus statement, when I receive the bread of life, I am both satisfied and yet have a deeper thirst for more of God.

So may we pray that nourished by the bread of life, God would give us the grace to recognize that deep longing as our authentic self, struggling to be born and not our desire for more possessions of any kind—emotional or physical. Like the first reading offers, may we listen to Christ proclaimed with one accord as we see the fruits of our labors rise up to bless our days and our world. Amen

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 7:51-8:1a
John 6:30-35

Reflection:

In reading the Gospels, and observing the interactions Jesus had with most people whose path he crossed, I always keep in mind that Jesus knows human nature! That is an understatement, I know. Two common, ordinary, elements of human nature that are with us perpetually are hunger (nutrients), and vulnerability (truth). They do not seem to have any connection except for the fact that we do not live well, at all, if we were only to depend upon ourselves to adequately address these to human dilemmas. And to have a healthy and safe life, there appears to be a need for intentionality, as regard what we eat, and the truth we pursue. So spirituality has a lot to do with it: a way of living which includes being conscious, deliberate, knowing, purposeful, and willful.

To make this clearer, perhaps, think of the antonyms to intentionality, which would include: a non-purposive, and a non-deliberate life. Where am I going with this meditation? I am going straight to where Jesus wants us to be with Him. Eating him. When the crowd comes to Jesus because they got all the bread they wanted from him the day before and were looking for more, he makes the same point as that traditional saying: “when you want to help feed people, don’t give them a fish, rather, teach them how to fish.” He tells them that the bread he has been giving them is of no lasting use. He explains to them that the giving and receiving of that bread and fish will not solve their problems, or the problems of the world. He tells them to be interested in something that will help them more definitively (intentionally), and he suggests they take him as their food and drink. He asks them to make him and his way of living their “bread and butter” in daily life.

To eat him is to have the intentionality of accepting his lifestyle and adopting it to this world. This would mean being attentive to one another, using the gifts we are to each other. It really is the reorganization of how we relate to one another under the same roof, in the same school building, or work- place. Our intentionality would be in the reorganization of the situations in which we live, work, play and pray. It is a daily task through the eating of the Bread of Life and paying attention to the Word of Truth found in the Gospels.

 

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P. is president emeritus of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Birmingham, Alabama.

 

Scripture:

Acts 6:8-15
John 6:22-29

Reflection:

Stop for a moment and ask yourself: what are the blessings God has given me?  I’ve asked that question of various groups at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.  Their most common responses: spouse, children, good health, and faith.  None has ever said God blessed them when they were ill or unemployed or in the midst of grief.

Many, unknowingly, believe that if we follow God’s will, then good material things will follow.  But when bad things happen, perhaps God is displeased with us, or we’re being punished for something we’ve done.  When I submit that God blesses us always, not only in good times, but even in bad, I hear murmurs of surprise.  And why not?  The gospel of prosperity permeates our nation’s spiritual culture.  We hear on TV and the radio: “Pray for that money or that house, and expect a miracle!”

It’s nothing new.  It was even alive 2,000 years ago when the crowd was drawn to Jesus with his healing miracles and his feeding of the crowd with loaves and fishes.  The crowd failed to recognize these miracles as signs pointing to who Jesus is, the Son of God.  “You seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves, and were filled,” Jesus says to them.  “Don’t work for food which perishes, but for food which remains to eternal life.”

And yet, the meeting of our physical needs never seems to lose its appeal.  If we follow Jesus, as the crowd did, then we can rightly expect a miracle – like more loaves and fishes, a bigger house, a prestigious job or pay raise.  It’s easy to follow Christ for these things.  But who needs his spiritual food?  What difference does that make in our lives?

Jesus tells us, as he told the crowd.  We need this spiritual food because it gives us true nourishment.  This is the food that rightly orders our lives and souls so that we might draw closer to God and follow Jesus in good times and in bad.  This is true blessing, the true prosperity of eternal life.

 

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

Scripture:

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19

Reflection:

It is election season, and I am disgusted by the state of the political discourse. Fear seems to be the driving factor on so many levels – fear of anyone who is different, fear of refugees, fear of Muslims, fear of terrorists, fear of someone taking away what is “rightfully mine”, and on it goes. Another kind of fear is playing out as well: the fear of being bullied.

I cannot remember any other time in my life when people were afraid to give their honest opinion about a politician or their policies because they knew that they would be bullied, not only by that person but by the millions who follow him. All it took was one newscaster to say a candidate was a bad debater, and the Twitter-verse erupted with the most vile, spiteful, demeaning comments about that newscaster. She was shaken to the core by the vicious attacks, and honestly frightened for her family. And she is not alone. It has happened repeatedly, to such an extent that (according to news articles in major publications), many prominent donors and authority figures are keeping silent for fear of similar attacks against them and their families.

I worry what we are teaching our children in this election. We’ve fought so long and hard to combat bullying in our schools. We’ve fought for the dignity of every person, and for everyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech. We instruct young people on the virtues of our political system of governance and the importance of compromise that protects the common good. Yet we vote for and cheer people who contradict those principles at every level. And our children are watching

I do not advocate for a particular candidate or party – neither is or ever will be perfect. But it is time to speak against the tactics of fear, bullying, prejudice, discrimination, and egoism from any candidate, side, or party, and I believe that we Christians have a particular responsibility to do so. Who has the courage to speak out? Who will be the Peters of our day, standing before the Sanhedrin and proclaiming the truth of God’s love, mercy, and salvation? Who will rightly feed the lambs and tend the sheep? Who will help stop the degradation of our political process, uphold respect and dignity, and find a mutually beneficial path forward?

I am searching for ways to make my voice heard. I am definitely speaking up in conversations with others, trying to model the type of behavior I long for from our politicians. I am educating myself even more deeply on the issues at stake and the consequences of each politician’s views so I can discuss intelligently and respectfully and without twisting facts. I voted in our primary election and will vote in the general election in November. I am encouraging pastors and religious educators to speak out against these tactics in formation, RCIA, classes, and from the pulpit. It doesn’t feel like enough but it’s a start, and I will be looking for more opportunities to bring civility, compassion, honest debate, and Christian virtues to the fore.

I’ve heard the proverb that Christians are like snowflakes – individually they are unique and beautiful, but together they can stop traffic. Can we join together and create an environment of respect and integrity? Can we afford not to?

 

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/