Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Samuel 8:4-7, 10-22a
Mark 2:1-12

Reflection:

"Agency first, God second." These are the words spoken twice by ‘Clover’ in the movie "The Good Shepherd" starring Matt Damon (playing the part of CIA agent Edward Wilson) and Angelina Jolie (Wilson’s wife ‘Clover’). Criticizing her husband’s commitment to the OSS and the CIA, Clover is making a rather profound observation about her husband’s priorities: He is more committed to his agency (nation) than his God.

 The same can be said about the Israelites in today’s first reading from Samuel. In their demand of Samuel to give them an earthly king, the people are ignoring their Creator whose justice would have been all they needed. God, of course, gives the people the freedom to make this choice: "Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king."

 The questions we must all ask ourselves, then, are: Do I seek God’s justice or do I seek the justice of earthly things? Do I love my country more than I love my God? Do I pay more attention to the U.S. presidential campaigns than I do to the humble kingship of Jesus? Is my patriotism stronger than my love for the Church? Do I know more about my country’s justice system than my God’s? Do I even know what God’s justice is all about?

 The scribes in today’s gospel also have their priorities mixed up. Their notions regarding God’s forgiveness of sins had been completely distorted to their liking. Instead of recognizing God’s healing power in Jesus, they wanted God’s forgiveness to conform to the laws and institutions they had created.

It is so common to never see the humanity in those on trial, in jail or in prison. We tend to judge people exactly how our justice system judges people. But what if we took the radical stance that EVERY HUMAN HAS A STORY? Better yet, what if we actually took the time to learn everyone’s story? Wouldn’t the world be a different place? Wouldn’t we have more compassion for those who have turned to a life of crime? Wouldn’t we see solutions to crime much deeper than a prison or jail cell? Wouldn’t we, in a sense, be allowing everyone to experience Jesus’ forgiveness just as the paralytic in today’s gospel?

 If we took the time to learn everyone’s story we wouldn’t need an earthly institution to bring about justice. God’s justice system would be all we need.

 

Tony Cortese is the Campus Minister at the Newman Catholic Community at Sacramento State Univversity. 

 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 4:1-11
Mark 1:40-45

Reflection:

How do we recognize and take God’s divine presence in and among us?  Do we see it as symbolic, or a living reality?  Do we take for granted its abiding nature and, at times, even as an amulet?  Or do we trust and appreciate its life-giving power at all times and in all circumstances? 

Let us consider the above questions as we look into today’s scripture readings, for they reflect the contrasting attitudes of a manipulating belief and an unwavering trust.  In effect, the first reading pictures the scenario in which the Israelites not only fail to acknowledge God’s abiding presence with them while they are engaged in battle with the Philistines, but they also take it as an amulet to manipulate the outcome of their fighting with their pagan adversaries.  For the Israelite leaders not only complain about God permitting them to be defeated by the Philistines, but also "fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies."  They identify God’s real and abiding presence with the hand-made symbol of divine presence: "the ark of the LORD of hosts."  No wonder the Israelites were more brutally defeated a second time.  For their true, living God does not like to be taken neither for granted nor as a triumphalist idol.  Likewise, we may at times come to make the mistake of conditioning our relationship with God, whom we might try to manipulate as though God were a puppet.

The gospel offers the contrasting attitude of an unwavering trust, for we see "a leper" coming to Jesus and "kneeling down" to beg him for mercy and healing, as he says:  "If you wish, you can make me clean."  The physical, social, and psychological condition of his suffering and the unwavering trust of his attitude towards him make Jesus’ compassionate words and touch perform the miraculous healing of his illness.  Mark even shows us that Jesus did not "come to abolish the law or the prophets" (Mt 5:17), for he came to fulfill it with love and mercy.   That is why Jesus performs the healing miracle in two parts.  First, he heals the leper’s physical illness by making him clean of his leprosy and then sends him "to the priest [to] offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."  By being confirmed physically healed, the leper is fully integrated into society which releases him from his social and psychological sufferings. The gospel thus encourages us to always come to Jesus with an unwavering trust, because faith is the only thing that matters to God in order for us to be healed and saved by Jesus. 

Let us reflect on the above questions and evaluate our personal and communal relationship with God and one another.  I pray that you and I may come to be recognized as a steadfast people of faith and hope in Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Fr. Alfredo Ocampo, C.P. gives retreats and parish missions.  He is stationed at Holy Name Passionist Community in Houston, Texas.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
Luke 1:29-39

Reflection:

The passage from 1 Samuel begins with a description of the religious situation of Israel after the time of the judges: "a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent".   The twelve tribes of Israel were loosely bound together by the experience of the Exodus, by the revelations of God at Mt. Sinai and the giving of the Law, and by their successful yet tenuous establishment in the Promised Land. The people had no leader and no direction. It was time for God to act again. The Lord called the young Samuel three times during the night before the priest Eli realized that something was going on out of the ordinary. He instructed Samuel if he heard the voice again to reply: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening".  Do we listen for the Lord? I don’t think we are going to hear a voice. For us it comes down to how well we read the signs of the time. Do the words and actions of Pope Francis speak to our hearts? And after prayer, reflection and discernment what new directions/actions become a part of our lives?

The gospel passage presents us with Jesus in the role of miracle worker and healer. He was not hesitant about using his power to heal, even though he knew that it was problematic, that people might get the wrong idea of who he was. So the next day we see him getting up before dawn and slipping out of town to find a place where he can be alone and pray to his Father. His decision is to move on and not to bask in the adulation and excitement of the crowds looking for him. He must preach in the other villages and towns throughout the whole of Galilee. We need to ask ourselves about our own dedication to the "mission" we have from the Lord. Are we sometimes sidetracked or distracted or do we stay on course.

Do we find in prayer as Jesus did the strength to walk the path of discipleship?

 

Fr. Michael Hoolahan, C.P. is on the staff of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 1:1-8
Mark 1:14-20

Reflection:

Fish are a central feature in the Christian story. When Jesus feeds the multitude in the wilderness, fish are the entrée. When funds for paying the tax assessment are required, a snagged fish contains just the right coin. When Simon and his companions had worked all night with no results, Jesus instructed them to drop their nets into deep waters where they hauled in such a huge catch of fish that the boat nearly sank. When the morning of resurrection dawned, Jesus prepared and ate grilled fish for breakfast with his weary friends. And as the Gospel text of today explains, when the first disciples were recruited, foremost in their profession resume was their expertise at catching fish.

These aquatic creatures play an important symbolic role in understanding the development of spiritual consciousness. From the perspective of depth psychology, water is the element which represents consciousness and fish symbolize the content of the inner world. Living beneath the surface of water, fish are the contents of consciousness which are usually difficult to see and not easy to apprehend. Yet with patience and skill they can be netted, brought to the surface and eaten for nourishment.

In announcing "the kingdom of God is at hand," Jesus was not referring to a distant geographical location of heaven, but to a proximate reality. The kingdom where Spirit abides is an inner reality within each of us, like fish within water. Elsewhere Jesus explained that it is a great treasure lying buried within the field of our body-psyche. We access the hidden treasure of the kingdom by expanding our consciousness.

What usually dominates our consciousness is not the expansiveness of the kingdom, but the contracted murmuring ego with all of its petty demands of craving and aversion. The task of Christian discipleship is to engage in the often exasperating and exhausting labor of catching those inner-fish lurking beneath the surface of ego-consciousness in order to snag the rich harvest of the inner world. Once netted, the inner-fish can provide for the individual ego the nourishment necessary for it to become a radiant manifestation of Spirit.

 

Fr. Joe Mitchell, CP is the director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center in Louisville, KY.  See his website: www.earthandspiritcenter.org

The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Acts 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17

Reflection:

On Christmas day, we celebrated and reflected on the Incarnation of the Son of God as one of us in Jesus Christ. That "being one of us" is something that’s been carried throughout the liturgical season, as we reflected on Mary, on the Holy Family, and on the Epiphany. And it continues through to our celebration Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord.

I think this concept of Jesus identifying with the rest of us is important to remember as we look at the Baptism of Jesus. Scripture scholars remind us that Jesus’ Baptism was somewhat problematic for the early church. After all, John the Baptist was preaching a baptism of repentance. Why would Jesus, who had no need to repent, subject Himself to such a thing? In our Gospel reading from Matthew (3:13-17), John the Baptist asks the same question: "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" But Jesus responds: "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." What kind of righteousness is He talking about? It is not the righteousness of the Pharisees and the scribes. Our Gospel passage is right after the Gospel reading we heard a few weeks ago during Advent, when John confronts the Pharisees and scribes who came to the Jordan River: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good evidence of your repentance." There were probably many Pharisees who didn’t even bother coming to the Jordan River, having dismissed John as some crazy man, and so sure of their own righteousness.

So, Jesus, not needing repentance, but wanting perhaps to contrast Himself with the religious leaders and to show his support for the Baptist, demonstrates His connection with "sinners," which He does all through the Gospels, and consents to be baptized. In so doing, He leads us to be baptized, and shows us how to live as baptized.

The first thing that Jesus shows us in His Baptism is that we cannot fall into self-righteousness. We are all in need of repentance. We are all in need of the cleansing of baptism. And we have no grounds to look down upon others. As Peter says in the household of Cornelius in our second reading from Acts (10:34-38), "I see that God shows no partiality."

As He demonstrates His solidarity with the people, Jesus shows himself to be their servant. And God vindicates the choice. When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and a voice from heaven says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Following our baptism we are called to be servants. What kind of servants? Look at our first reading, one of the "Servant-of-the-Lord" oracles found in Isaiah (42:1-4, 6-7). We are called to be so gentle as not to "break" a "bruised reed," or "quench" a "smoldering wick." At the same time, we are to called to be bold enough to share the light of Christ, and help "open the eyes of the blind," "bring out prisoners from confinement," and help lift up "from the dungeon, those who live in darkness." Though we cannot do this on our own, we can by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we received when we were baptized. The world does not need any more "crying out" or "shouting" or self-promotion. Instead, what is needed is more justice and humility and light.

May God continue to bless us all, and may we live out our baptism.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

Scripture:

1 John 5:14-21
John 3:22-30

Reflection:

Whose baptism is more effective?  Whose ministry is more important? Who should stand at center stage — John or Jesus?  The disciples of John the Baptist demanded to know.  Their question betrayed a hefty dose of jealousy and competition.  After all, both John and Jesus had charismatic and vibrant ministries.  Jesus was ascending in renown; John was at the height of his popularity.  Even Herod feared John’s vast influence among the people.

But John had a different sense of his identity and mission.  He explained to his disciples that he must neither presume to exceed the calling he received from God, nor must he compare himself with others.  They may call him "rabbi," Jesus may call him Elijah, and many others the Baptist.  But John wanted there to be no mistake about his role and his relationship to Jesus.  The only title he would embrace was that of best man, shoshben in Hebrew, to Jesus, the bridegroom.  Such a powerful metaphor.

What is John saying?  Israel is the bride, as the Old Testament depicts the people of God.  Jesus, the bridegroom, is the long-awaited king and messiah.  And John is his best man.  He is there to make the necessary preparations for the wedding feast.  He will witness to the marriage.  He will stand alongside the bridegroom to make sure all attention was riveted on him.  And once the bride and bridegroom have been brought together, John’s work, the work of the best man will be completed.  Thus, John announces that Jesus "must increase, but I must decrease."

What else is John saying?  Best man that he is, John is reminding us that the bridegroom loves his bride, meaning us, with an everlasting love.  Jesus will return to claim his bride.  And as we await his coming, we must remain faithful to the one who loves us so much, who is preparing a place we will call home for eternity.  The table at the Messianic banquet, the wedding feast, will be lavishly set.  The invitation list will include a countless number of angels and saints.  But among the enormous crowd, it will be easy to recognize John.  He will be the best man standing next to bridegroom to welcome us.

 

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

 

Scripture:

1 John 4:19-5:4
Luke 4:14-22a

 

 

 

Reflection:

Christmastime Reflection on the Eucharist

We read the beginning of John’s Gospel at the Mass for Christmas Day. The concluding sentence says, "The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him." To be at the Father’s side is description of unique intimacy. A disciple will be at Jesus side at the Last Supper, again unique intimacy. So Our Lord is the Way, as he invites us to intimacy and we become one with him, he shares with his oneness with the Father.

In today’s gospel Jesus goes in prayer to be in communion with the Father. He sees his followers struggling, a rough sea and the wind against them. He approaches. His action the Old Testament tells us is something only God can do, taming the sea; his words are those of a revelation, "Do not be Afraid". Then Jesus is again with is friends in the boat. Their journey with Jesus goes on, although they do not understand.

In Mark’s gospel frequently Jesus will do two similar miracles, one among the Jews and the other in the territory of the Gentiles. Mark’s community is made up of Jew and Gentiles so it must have struggled to overcome divisions and create unity. The same challenge is present today among the churches in our multicultural cities. How do we come together as one in our basics and be mutually enriching in our uniqueness? How great was this challenge for the community of Mark when the foundations for unity are in the process of being grasped and established by new members in a missionary church?

Jesus is in prayer, in communion with the Father. In the Eucharist shared by both Jew and Gentile in Mark’s community, the followers of Jesus are sharing together in Communion with Jesus. In Him they are one. The disciples receive a glimpse of the mystery of God, a revelation. But they can not understand yet. They will continue their journey until their minds are opened by the gift of the Holy Spirit. For us, as for Mark’s community, we are gifted with the Holy Spirit, we have oneness in our shared intimacy with Christ in the Eucharist. This is an intimacy that we have seen in these Christmas days as a revelation of the Father’s love for us.

As the days of Christmas near their end our gospel offers a reflection on the intimacy with God given at Christmas in John’s gospel, and that we hear in a different way in the reflection on the multiplication of the loaves. In both the Incarnation and the Eucharist we are nourished, become one together in Christ.

 

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

1 John 3:22-4:6
Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Reflection:

How quickly the church moves from the birth of a baby to the adult Jesus.  The Gospel concludes today with Jesus’ reputation spreading beyond Galilee, all over Syria and into Judea.  Jesus’ fame develops from his work.  Matthew describes him as healing all who are sick with various diseases, pain, paralyzed, and even possessed.  It doesn’t matter what culture you are in, or what century you are in, everybody likes free healthcare!

Who does Jesus heal?  He has the ability to restore to wholeness all of those who in some way shape or form were denied wholeness.  He does not do personal favors for people for popularity.  Nor does he do magic tricks.  He restores to order that which suffers from lack of order.  He makes right that which is "not quite right".  Thus, Jesus’ action is an act of righteousness.  Why is this important?  Because the expectations of the Messiah indicate he is to be the righteous one.  As this light has come into the world, Jesus displays he is the righteous one through his deeds. 

But the beginning of today’s Gospel is completely different.  Jesus hears that John has been arrested.  What does Jesus do?  Matthew says he withdraws.  This seems to be much more of an emotional or human reaction.  The one person who understood Jesus better than anyone else in this world was his cousin John.  So when John gets arrested, it seems natural for Jesus to take some time to retreat, to reevaluate his mission, to listen again to the voice of his father.  And the natural progression after stepping back and listening, is to step forward into the reality of the situation which lays before us.  Each of us does this daily.  And so we see Jesus stepping back into what he is called to do.  He exercises his Ministry of righteousness.

I’m fascinated by his initial teaching.  He does not start with highly eloquent sermons.  When Jesus begins to preach, Matthew has Jesus teaching very a simple and basic message, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Who does this sound like?  Is it not the voice of his cousin John?

The beauty of this Gospel reflects both the humanness of Jesus as he begins to understand that faithfulness to his ministry will have repercussions in the political arena all the way to the king. In this understanding he faces this reality and steps forward to begin living the title of whom he has been called— the Son of Righteousness.

As you reflect back on your Advent and Christmas experiences, how are you different because the Sun of Righteousness has brought light to your life?

 

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is on the staff at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center, Citrus Heights, California.