Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Sirach 47:2-11
Mark 6:14-29

Reflection:

“The LORD forgave him his sins
and exalted his strength forever.”

 “The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.”

Today our readings present two tales of kings. In the first, a reading from the prophet Sirach, we hear a grand summation of the kingship of David. David excelled in every measure of a king at that time. He was a mighty warrior, a wise judge, a fine artist and his people responded with great praise.

King Herod, on the other hand, is presented as a weak and hedonist ruler. He puts John in prison because John had the audacity to speak truth to power. It is easy to see the contrast between the two and their respective styles of leadership.

However, if we look more deeply beneath the surface, there may be more to find. Very few of us will ever find ourselves leading a nation (thank God!). And yet, many of us often find ourselves in positions of leadership. Parish councils, RCIA, committee upon committee, these are all positions that require someone to step forward and demonstrate leadership. Unfortunately, being human, we may find ourselves making mistakes when we serve others and the community around us. So how did these two kings handle this most human of traits?

In writing about David, Sirach says, “The LORD forgave him his sins.” Earlier in the book of 2 Samuel, when David is confronted with his sin, he publicly repents. He doesn’t try to hide it or even wait to see if punishment is coming. Once he recognizes his transgression, he admits it to all.

Herod deals with a similar situation in a very different manner. When he sees his error (promising more than he should), he defends his pride by continuing down the path he is on, rather than admit his mistake in front of those who, at least to his face, sing his praises.

One of the most powerful traits in a leader is humility. Owning our humanity and being willing to be seen as less than perfect is not often found in those seeking public office, whether at a local or national level. My prayer for myself today is that I have the strength to admit my shortcoming, both God and those around me, so that I can move forward to serve them better.

 

Talib Huff is a presenter and volunteer at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights, Ca. He may be reached at [email protected].

Scripture:

1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12
Mark 6:7-13

Reflection:

 

A Disciple’s Love

As Jesus gathered the Apostles together and sent them out to preach and heal, they must have been filled with both excitement and fear.  To preach repentance, to heal, to have authority over unclean spirits…with your only resources being your faith in Jesus, the clothes on your back, sandals and a walking stick…Wow!  And – it worked!  They drove out many demons, anointed the sick and shared God’s healing love.  To be able to come back to Jesus and report what happened…priceless!

In our own way, we share that same call as 21^st century disciples:  to bring the Good News of Jesus to our needy world and its people.  No small task in our large and complex world which is beset with all-too-many suffering and human tragedies!

Jesus missioned those early Apostles in a spirit of simplicity and sharp focus.  Today’s call to Jesus’ mission comes to many of us in the midst of personal lives that are complex, cluttered, and most likely all-too-busy.  Our desktops, smartphones and calendars are filled with all sorts of opportunities, commitments and challenges.  As we are sent out, our tendency is to carry along all our “baggage” (witness recent holiday travel on airlines!).

Just perhaps today’s Scripture is meant to encourage us in simplifying and refocusing our lives — just as David did with his son Solomon as death drew near.  Jesus’ Message is clear today as it was centuries ago:  believe in Him and follow his example of all-inclusive, selfless, sacrificial love; live as if today were the ultimate day of life on earth and the gateway to the fulfillment of Life which is Heaven.  Food for thought:  What needs to be set aside?  Jesus encourages only a simple tunic, a walking stick and a pair of sandals…

With Lent on the immediate horizon, I can hear Jesus speak to us:  “disciples:  simplify, and take time for yourselves:  some peace & quiet in prayer, time for a personal retreat, the opportunity to see the sun rise or set in these frosty winter days, time to get back in touch with family and friends, time to experience the mercy of God in this special Jubilee Year.”  Let’s preach the Good News of Jesus — mercy, repentance, healing, love — by our lives, using words if necessary!

Amen!

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is a member of the Passionist community in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17
Mark 6:1-6

Reflection:

“I made my sin known to you, did not conceal my guilt. I said, ‘I shall confess my offence to Yahweh.’ And you, for your part, took away my guilt, forgave my sin.” Psalm 32:5

In the first reading, David sinned against God, repented, and God forgave him. God is always just to forgive our sins when we confess, but, there are also consequences. David was allowed to choose the consequence, but for us, the consequences usually flow naturally from our actions.

When I was a little kid, a friend and I were throwing a ball up on the neighbor’s roof and catching it when it rolled back down. I missed the roof on one of my throws, and shattered their large plate-glass window. I ran back home and hid in a closet! My friend told my mom and she took me to the neighbor’s house. She had me apologize and tell them that I would pay for the window. Even though the woman was gracious and told me it was okay, I still had to work to earn the money to pay for that window. I had to collect a lot of pop bottles and mow a lot of lawns to do it! Just like when we go to confession, we have a penance to do to make up for our sin.

When you do something to hurt a friend or spouse, you need to make it right. You apologize, but things don’t just go back to the way they were before you hurt them. Especially if your offense is a serious one, it takes time to forgive, and even more time for trust to be rebuilt. Sadly, sometimes the damage is irreparable and the relationship ends in divorce or estrangement. Consequences can be grave indeed. Ask a person who drove their car drunk and then hit and killed a pedestrian, or someone who has suffered an abortion. They can’t bring the person back to life. They will have to live with that memory for the rest of theirs. Forgiveness is wonderful, but we still have to “suffer the consequences.”

Thank you God for your gift of mercy and forgiveness. Help us to need it less as we grow in wisdom and discipline by staying close to You.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Scripture:

Malachi 3:1-4
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32

Reflection:

On today’s feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, we have a very personal and cultic set of readings.  “Cultic” means that the people, place and practices of the Temple are the setting for the young family which brings its first born to the Temple, to present him to the Lord.

The first reading, from the Prophet Malachi, anticipates the coming of Jesus to the Temple, as one sent by the Father.  It says:
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Although Jesus is only a few weeks old at the Presentation in the Temple, he is already acknowledged as the one who fulfills the longed-for expectation of a Redeemer for Israel.  This is what the two venerable old people, Simeon and Anna, intuitively see in the child being brought forth in the arms of his parents.  After lifetimes of hoping and praying at the Temple, Simeon and Anna give thanks to God for letting them hold in their arms the greatest sign of God’s love for humankind.

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that even in his incarnation and birth, Jesus is the Savior, whose human nature subjects him to all of human experience, and therefore makes His Passion meaningful for us because he willingly underwent His suffering on our behalf.  Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Today is a good day to remember Simeon and Anna when we go to Church (although you will probably attend the Sunday vigil Mass, rather than the celebration of today’s Feast).  Look around, gaze a bit at the older parishioners.  Think of the years that they have faithfully “come to the temple”, paging through their well-worn prayer books for the comfort of their prayers; sitting in quiet silence; asking for special blessing and grace, probably not for themselves, but for a grandchild, a niece or nephew, a son or daughter.  Remember Simeon and Anna, who reached out to receive the Child into their own arms and for a moment were suffused with grace and blessing; remember them when you reach out with your hands to receive the self-same Savior, not just for a moment of blessing, but for the grace of the divine Eucharist in your own being.

Fr. Arthur Carrillo, C.P.  is the director of the Missions for Holy Cross Province.  He lives in Chicago, Illinois. 

Scripture:

 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13
Mark 5:1-20

Reflection:

The readings for this day are dominated by one of the longest and most powerful stories in the gospels, namely the healing of the Gerasene demoniac from chapter 5 of Mark’s Gospel.  In Mark’s Gospel the Sea of Galilee stands as a kind of boundary between the Jewish region of Galilee on the west and on the eastern shore, the Gentile region of the Decapolis, the league of ten cities founded in the wake of Alexander the Greats conquest of the Middle East three centuries before the birth of Jesus.  Most of Jesus’ mission takes place in the Jewish area but here, in a rare crossing to the other side of the Sea, he and his disciples land in Gentile territory.

What happens next is a parade example of the kind of “exorcism” stories that abound in Mark’s narrative.  As Jesus and his disciples come ashore, a man who had been dwelling among the tombs confronts him. Already we know something tragic about this man—he is living among tombs, in the abode of the dead.  We then hear a chilling description of his condition. He is wild, uncontrollable yet bound in chains, day and night crying out in torment and abusing himself with stones.  What the evangelist has done is describe, in the manner of his own time and culture, a person who has been completely de-humanized and suffers terrible isolation and mental illness.  We might think of someone we have observed on our city streets, truly down and out.   A few days ago I was in New Orleans for a meeting and noticed how many young people languished on the streets, obviously gripped by drug addiction, looking totally defeated and desolate.

In the view of the gospel this man has become dominated by a terrible evil that is sapping his life away.  For the biblical world, the ultimate root of illness and desolation was the power of the demonic.  Not in the sense that the person’s illness or distress is caused by their own failures but in the deeper conviction that the sting of death is not the work of God but the cost of the mortality that afflicts human nature.

Jesus, on the other hand, is filled with God’s life-giving Spirit.  Mark has stressed this from the very beginning of his gospel when Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  The Spirit descends on God’s beloved son and thus begins Jesus’ life-giving mission of healing and destroying death.  That mission of Jesus is revealed in all of the healing and exorcism stories in the gospel and, in a particular way, through Jesus’ ultimate giving of his life for the sake of the world.

In this gripping story in today’s gospel, Jesus confronts the evil spirit that is destroying this beautiful human life.  The demon’s name is “legion”—a remarkable detail of the story.  The term used here—legio—is actually a Latin word and refers to the Roman legions that held this region in their iron grip.  The gospel signals that the evil Jesus is confronting takes many forms, all of them destructive of human life.  In a touch that the early Jewish Christians would appreciate, Jesus allows the demons to infest a herd of pigs who go crashing down into the water and die.

The story ends in a stark contrast to its beginning.  The man Jesus has liberated from his living death is now calm and restored to his family.  The townspeople who come out to see what had happened are amazed and fearful (a typical reaction in the Bible to a divine intervention); they beg Jesus to leave their region.  But the man whose life Jesus had restored has a very different reaction.  He pleads to be able to stay with Jesus.  But, instead, Jesus asks him to “go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”  The man responds and, the gospel notes, begins to proclaim in the region of the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him.  From being a totally lost human being living in the tombs, the Gerasene becomes the first missionary to the Gentiles in the Gospel of Mark!

This is a powerful story of redemption and transformation.  It reveals the very purpose of Jesus’ mission: to liberate us from all the symptoms of death and to give our lives new meaning. Our circumstances may not be as dire as that of the Gadarene demoniac, but all of us are in need of healing and restoration.  As Pope Francis has said, “Jesus reveals the face of the Father’s mercy.” This amazing gospel story proclaims that very message in a compelling way.

Fr. Donald Senior, C.P. is President Emeritus and Professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union.  He lives at the Passionist residence in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

Scripture:

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Luke 4:21-30             

Reflection:

Do you ever wonder what Jesus was like as a kid?  I do.

I wonder if he walked around in flowing robes blessing people.  If Mary and Joseph ever ran out of food, did Jesus just miracle up all the wine and fish and bread he wanted?  When one of his buddies hurt himself in the playground, did Jesus touch and heal the sore?  And in school, when asked a question, did he answer in eloquent and perfectly crafted parables?

Or, I wonder if he was the Class Clown, like me?

I imagine Jesus had to learn to walk, like the rest of us.  He probably made mistakes growing up.  Maybe he lost some friends, and even had to deal with human emotions and fears.  I can hardly begin to understand what he must have had to process as he himself began to understand who he was, and what he could do, and what he was going to have to do.

He must have had a hard time accepting who he was, and his mission.

Today’s Gospel picks up just after Jesus spent 40 days in the desert.  He was tempted to renounce his relationship with his Father, but he remains faithful, and comes home renewed.  He reveals himself to the people who know him best.  They’ve seen him grow from that little guy learning to walk and making mistakes, and now he’s saying that he’s the anointed one of God.

I’ll bet they all had a hard time accepting who he said he was, and his mission.

There’s quite a foreshadowing of Jesus’ end of life in today’s Gospel.  It begins with people praising him and being amazed at his speaking and depth, but ends with them filled with fury, taking him to the top of a mountain to “hurl him down headlong.”  First loved and accepted, but then pushed to his death.  Those who praised Jesus on Palm Sunday were the same people that would scream “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”

And yet, even fully knowing what would happen, God still pursued us.  He sent his son as one of us to reach out, to call us home, even though he knew we would throw him off a cliff.

Such love.  Such amazing love… to hold out a hand of care and forgiveness even though those very people would slam a spike through it.

Pursuit.  Chase after.  Hound.  Dig for.  Leave no stone unturned.  Do whatever it takes.

How has God pursued you?

How have you tried to throw him off a cliff, headlong?

What was it that led you to finally accept God’s hand reaching out to you, waiting for you?

And, how have you been God’s hands, reaching out to others?

The refrain of a pop song, which was recorded by the artist Richard Marx, titled “Right Here Waiting,” says it pretty well:

Wherever you go,
whatever you do,
I will be right here waiting for you.

What a perfect description of God.  All we have to do look, listen, and be God’s beloved.

Amen.

 

Paul Puccinelli is Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Rita Parish in Sierra Madre, CA, and a member  of the Retreat-Team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center.

Scripture:

2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17
Mark 4:35-41

 Reflection:

A violent storm was raging and a large ship was being tossed about on the sea.  A little girl sleeping below deck was wakened by all the commotion.  She asked, “What’s happening?”

She was told that there was a storm outside shaking the ship and all it’s passengers.
She asked,  “Is my father still at the helm?”
They told her, “Yes.”
“Then I’m going back to sleep,” she said.

In today’s gospel, that’s the kind of trust Jesus was hoping for from his apostles.  But they didn’t have it – yet.  Little by little, as they continued to see Jesus in action, they came to realize who he was.  Eventually they trusted him with their lives.

Throughout the centuries and especially in recent times the Catholic Church, the Bark of Peter, has been enduring turbulent times and frequent storms.  Yet it stays afloat and the ministry of fishing, of saving, goes on.  Like St. Paul, the Church has been “afflicted in every way, but not crushed: perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down by not destroyed;”  (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

As we encounter storms in our personal life, we need to remind ourselves that our father, Abba, is at the helm.  And he will not let us be crushed, forsaken or destroyed.  This realization brings us inner peace — and a good night’s sleep.

A final thought: “In the royal galley of Divine Love, there is no galley slave.  All are volunteers.”  — Francis de Sales

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

Scripture:

2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
Mark 4:26-34

Reflection:

I am not an expert on mustard seeds.  I don’t think I have ever seen one of these tiny wonders Jesus talks about in today’s reading.  However I do think I get the point Jesus is making today.  The smallest action on our part can build the Kingdom of God.   Twenty days at the Cleveland Clinic ICU with my critically ill wife has taught me a lot about mustard seeds and Kingdom building.

I was particularly down one night leaving the ICU.  I was alone in an empty hallway.  No chaplains, comfort doggies or social workers were there to console me.  Then I noticed him walking toward me, a tall, well-dressed physician I had only seen once on the ICU.  He saw me, grinned, stopped me and asked me how I was doing.

I started to tell him about the day, probably with tears in my eyes.  I related the story of my wife’s complications.  He stopped me in mid-sentence and said, “She is being well taken care of, let’s talk about you.”  He went on to counsel, console and encourage me.  I was deeply touched by this simple act of kindness, as small as the tiny mustard seed, yet building the Kingdom of God.

So maybe I am not an expert on mustard seeds, but I am very convinced one small act of kindness can build the mighty Kingdom of God.

Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family who volunteers at the Passionist Assisted Living Community in Louisville, Kentucky.