Daily Scripture

Scripture:

1 Kings 17:1-6
Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection:

Any business consultant will advise having a mission behind the company, a vision for where you’re going, and strategies to help make that happen. When you create that vision, mission, and strategic plan, you aren’t there yet. But you believe with all your heart that it’s possible and you’re dedicated to acting in whatever ways you can to get there, keeping your eyes on the end result and adjusting what you do along the way as you work toward it.

Jesus’ recitation of the Beatitudes seems totally unrealistic in today’s world. The meek are inheriting the land? Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied? The merciful are shown mercy? Peacemakers are called children of God? And on it goes. Sometimes people interpret the entirety of the beatitudes as referring to our “great reward” in heaven. Yet didn’t Jesus tell us that the reign of God is among us right now? Don’t we pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven? So what’s the deal?

Just as with business, perhaps this is a case of “already but not yet”. Jesus does indeed paint an ideal picture. But it isn’t simply an explanation of what heaven will be like. Instead, it’s our mission and vision statement, and we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who dedicated his life to doing everything possible to enact it in this world.

So just as in business, we have to pause and see how we’re doing. In what ways do I fall short of God’s vision and mission for me and for this world? When do I fail to notice and uphold the meek ones who can fade into the background otherwise? When do I allow myself to become so disheartened and discouraged in my thirst for righteousness that I give up or sink into apathy? When do I fail to show mercy to others? In what ways do I feed divisions and animosity or cling to my own position instead of truly listening to another in a quest to find common ground, compromise, and go forward for the good of all? And on it goes.

Make no mistake about it: This is a demanding vision, and it involves real costs. For Jesus, it cost him his life. Our call is not to water it down or interpret it as merely God’s ultimate reward to us in heaven after we die. Working individually and together as disciples of Christ, what steps can each of us take today or this week to bring God’s vision to fruition?  

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:

Genesis 3:9-15
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Mark 3:20-35

Reflection:

Again, and Always, the Good News of Jesus

A priest working in Africa taught the Bible in secondary school. The school included Christian and Muslim students, so the Bible was taught as a work of literature. The priest spoke of a student in the class as brilliant, always 100 and perfectly done assignments. He was passing the village mosque on his way home from school and saw the imam who was a good friend. As they talked, he remembered a paper written by the girl that he had with him. At the bottom corner were a few words written small in her own language that he did not understand. He asked the imam what they said. The imam laughed, ‘I hope you won’t be offended, she wrote, Allah, please forgive my blasphemy.’

She was often told that the Bible was the sacred book of Christians and not for her to read, doing so was wrong. But she was a student and had no choice. She was between a rock and a hard place. She did not condemn her teacher or see others doing wrong to her. She does her best, trusting in God’s mercy. What humility and sensitivity!

The Scribes who came from Jerusalem to Nazareth to Jesus’ home, accuse him of working for Beelzebul. But Jesus is doing the Father’s will. They are condemning the good work that Jesus does in the Father’s name.

We could change this to a ‘happy’ gospel. After the Scribes make their announcement the following sentence says that Jesus calls ‘them’ to sit down. What if in this combative situation the Scribes join the crowd and a synodal type meeting follows: each sharing, all listening, no interruptions or judgments, and a humble prayer asking the Spirit to open hearts to hear what God is saying in the words of one another. Would some hear that what Jesus does is not the work of Satan? Satan counts us as his possessions and deprives us of God’s glory. Jesus enters the strong man’s house and stealing his treasure, reclaims us for himself. In so doing he will give the Father glory.

Mary does suffer. In Luke the townspeople reject Jesus, even threatening his life. How did Mary endure such neighbors? But Mary hears the best of complements today. Jesus says, ‘do the will of God and you can be may sister, brother and mother’. Did Jesus look at his mother when he said that. ‘Friends, you have a  neighbor, my mother, who always does the will of my Father’.

We can change the narrative of the gospel today hearing hope for the Scribes, a singular compliment for Mary. Like the Moslem girl let us trust in God’s mercy, do our best amidst fragility, ours and others, and hear the truth that can be found in the hearts of others. Oh, to be brothers and sisters of Jesus together.

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

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Scripture:

Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9
Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
John 19:31-37

Reflection:

“…My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.
I will not give vent to my blazing anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again…” (Hos 11:8-9)

I saw a good movie the other day, “Ezra.” I cried through most of it. It’s all about a little boy, identified as having a prevalent disability today, who is imperfectly loved by three people: his mother, his father and his grandfather. I related best to the grandfather.

On another note, I get up each morning to the singing, chirping, or squawking of the birds. The adjective, I use all depends on how I’m feeling that day. You see, a few years ago I started making bread during the Covid lockdowns and despite the bread’s total imperfections, the birds never fail to eat whatever I have to offer them. I love the birds, but sometimes, I just wish they would be quiet and look for food elsewhere.

Speaking of animals, walking in my neighborhood, I come across many dog walkers doing their chores. Most of the walkers will not make eye contact with me. I suspect they are too busy or just don’t have time for a random stranger. The dogs on the other hand, almost always make eye contact with me. It’s usually brief, but the simple moment’s contact, seems to say: “You’re ok!”

In today’s scripture selection from the prophet Hosea, I once again hear of God’s undying love for me, Israel and all of creation, despite our often ignoring Him. I believe God, wants our attention: our eye contact; our smelling of the flowers; our acknowledgement of the beautiful people around us. God, thank you for Your creation. Help me today, to acknowledge Your love in my life and to share that with every person, every pet and every plant you put in my life today.

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

Scripture:

2 Timothy 2:8-15
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:

Pope Francis, in his landmark encyclical Laudato Si, is strong in his condemnation of the exploitation of the billions of people living in poverty of mind and body around the globe.

He calls out the comfortable of the world who may be tempted to ignore the sufferings of those living on the edges: the disabled, the elderly, the workers in sweatshops and other dangerous worksites, the garbage dump pickers in major cities, the victims of war abroad and gun violence in homes and on the streets, the physically and mentally ailing, the lonely, the frightened, and the hopeless.

The prosperity of many in North America can make it easy to tune out the hardships of our brothers and sisters living perhaps just a short distance from our affluent, safe neighborhoods.

Recently, while in a very poor area of Louisville to visit a young man who struggles with mental illness and the recent death by drug overdose of his mother, I was struck by what I witnessed. With determination on their faces, people seemed to keep on struggling to get through today as best they could. I saw bent-over, unshaven men in tattered clothes who begged for alms on a street corner, a bent-over woman shuffling along pulling groceries in a wire cart, one young woman dancing in the streets, either high on drugs or hallucinating, many sat on porch steps of unpainted homes in silent expectation.

Multiply the poverty I witness a billion times over, and we begin to get a glimpse at the chasm between the haves and have-nots that the Pope is talking about.

On the same day of my visit to this neighborhood, at the other end of my city, thousands and thousands of the well-to-do gathered on an exclusive golf course to witness young men hit a white ball over and across manicured lawns, surrounded by homes large enough to house several families from the poor side of the city.

These fans savored the fresh air, fine food and drink, and the thrill of seeing skilled athletes ply their sharpened trade for lucrative winnings. Nothing wrong with having fun in comfortable surroundings.

But as disciples of Christ, we are called to study the ways our society works and does not work for everyone, especially those living on the edges of life.

The Pope encourages us to foster an economy that provides safe, well-paid jobs, housing and healthcare for all, good schools, healthy, accessible food, public safety, and access to just legal systems. He also pleads for protecting the environment during this catastrophic climate crisis that hurts the poor more than any other group.

We are fortunate to live in representative democracies where we have a voice in public policy decisions. Challenging public officials to consider the needs of the most vulnerable, to work for inclusive communities, to address climate change, to protect the elderly, sick, children, refugees, and imprisoned.

In today’s Gospel Jesus is speaking to a scribe about the twin commandments. He knew scribes, part of the elite establishment of Jesus’ day, violated the sections of Jewish sacred texts that define love of neighbor as non-exploitation. Scripture lists the specifics from Leviticus 19: 9-17:

1. Leave your field for the sojourner to glean
2. Do not steal, deal falsely, or profane God.
3. Do not oppress the neighbor, exploit employees, or discriminate against the disabled.
4. Do no injustice or show partiality in judgement, or slander, or witness against the neighbor.

These, Scripture scholar Ched Myers asserts, are precisely the commands violated regularly by the dominant Jewish social groups of Jesus’ day, especially the scribes like the one asking Jesus the question in Mark’s Gospel.

So when Jesus tells the man what two commandments are the greatest, the man knows, as a scribe, he is committed to and part of a system that oppresses. Will he repudiate his position, as Jesus is suggesting?

Perhaps that is why Jesus concludes the man is not far from the Kingdom of God. A total conversion would mean an about face for the scribe, something that may be very difficult to do without serious criticism from his peers, family, and friends..

An examination of our own lives may reveal, in order to truly be a disciple, we make major changes in how we live, where we live, who we vote for, who we affiliate with, who we listen to, who we fight for, who we comfort.

Deep, silent prayer can open us to the voice of the Spirit working within us. Perhaps today you will set time aside to just that. To decide how and when to totally surrender to the God we love and to love our neighbor as the Savior demands.

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

Scripture:

2 Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12
Mark 12:18-27

Reflection:

In reading the four Gospels, it’s not uncommon to find people in the story who are confused by Jesus’s teaching and what he stands for.  Over the last couple of weeks, the Gospel readings reveal Jesus as a teacher, speaking about the ways of the Kingdom of God, while the people of the stories are trying to interpret him from the ways of the world.  This, of course, leads to misunderstandings. And we all know from human experience how our tendency is to dig in our heels to prove that we are right.  Have you noticed how many times in scripture people come to Jesus to test him? 

Today, for example, we have the Sadducees approaching Jesus with an absurd and ludicrous scenario.  It is the story of a woman whose husband dies after she gets married.  Thus begins a succession of marrying the next sequential brother in the family after each of the husbands die.  The idea that this could actually happen in real life is highly unlikely.    But the real argument is not about the question they throw at Jesus which is whose wife will she be?  The real issue is that the Sadducees are standing before Jesus holding firm to their belief that there is no resurrection, going so far as to mock anyone who does believe in resurrection.  There is an intense inability of the Sadducees to see anything beyond their personal belief.   How is this any different than the polarized world we live in two millenniums later?  The desire to hold so firmly to one’s personal belief, to even wish harm upon others whose opinions and beliefs are contrary to one’s own, is a daily reality for us. 

Just a few months ago, a woman on retreat said to me, “I can’t talk with people anymore about anything.  We can’t talk about current events. We definitely can’t talk about anything political.  I can’t even mention the atrocities of war that are taking place.  Religious ideas are certainly out of the question.  And with some people, I can’t even talk about the weather because it brings up global warming!   It just seems so unsocial and unhuman.” 

Remember, the Sadducees come to Jesus to put him to the test.  They are overconfident and blind to how they are misinformed.    Jesus throws them a zinger.  He calls them “greatly misled because they do not know the scriptures or the power of God”.   Saying that to upper echelon religious leaders had to sting! We are not told how the Sadducees hear Jesus’ words or how they respond.  I personally can’t believe that was the end of the dialogue because humanity, as I know it, in this level of confrontation, frequently chooses to respond with more aggression.

Lastly, I want to highlight a gospel story from last week.  It is the story of Bartimaeus, the blind man who, in desperation, was calling out to Jesus as Jesus walked up the road toward Jerusalem.   Bartimaeus wanted the gift of site.  He knew he was blind, and he wanted the ability to see.  I have been pondering how we recognize our own blindness.  Does human pride block the possibility that we may actually hold some ignorance?  Perhaps there is an element of superiority?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, and theologian who was executed in 1945 in Nazi Germany, suggested that this kind of blindness is more of a sociological problem than a psychological problem.  It frequently begins in groups of like-minded people.  And they can bond together in such a way that identity with the group supersedes the need for greater understanding or finding truth.  Bartimaeus approaches Jesus not from a place of comfort, or strength. He defies the voices of the populace, the group surrounding Jesus. He approaches Jesus from his deficiency and his vulnerability. Having thrown his cloak aside, he boldly states, Master, I want to see”.

Jesus’ answer back to the Sadducees is that you are not what you claim to be.  What challenging words these are for us as we live in such challenging times.

Fr. David Colhour, C.P. is the Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province. He resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

2 Peter 3:12-15,17-18
Mark 12:13-17

Reflection:

“…a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…”

Today’s two Scripture readings shine a light on our 21^st Century world scene: many challenges face us, and Jesus reminds us that we are to live our faith in the day-to-day events that at times can cause us trouble — and at other times feed our souls. 

The letter of St. Peter encourages his readers to be on guard against the temptations and errors of their contemporary world: injustice, fears, poverty, hopelessness, etc. are all too rampant back then and now.  He reminds his readers that the day of the Lord will come, after a time of purification, with a new earth and a special grace to help all be renewed and thus glorify God in every part of life. 

Mark’s Gospel selection shares Jesus being addressed by some Pharisees and Herodians who were sent to Jesus to trap him in His speech.  They first flattered Him as truthful and concerned.  Then their question about paying the census tax: yes, or no?  With few chosen words, Jesus encourages paying to Caesar what belongs to Caesar…and to God what belongs to God.  Human laws are one thing, but God is the ultimate giver of all else.  We belong to the human world, but also are destined for a new earth and a new heaven with God.  In every part of life we are to remember that our dignity, worth and sense of belonging cannot be taken from us:  we “belong” to God as members of God’s family.

Life today presents us with many challenges to live as credible disciples of Jesus. Our 21^st Century world has its “Caesars” with perhaps evil and selfish spirits, and we have Jesus and our Christ-like leaders encouraging us to live faithful lives and treasure our common home. As Church, we thank God for the blessings of each day, and offer our lives to help spread the Good News.  With God’s grace, as Psalm 90 reminds us:  “…may we shout for joy and gladness all our days…”

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.  

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs

Scripture:

2 Peter 1:2-7
Mark 12:1-12

Reflection:

I often notice that a cartoon, or even a stand-up comedian in his or her act, can ‘say’ things that might in other contexts lead to prosecution. Society at large, let alone rich and powerful individuals, make allowances for some message delivered in a way that makes the recipient laugh – often at themselves.

This is not a new phenomenon, allegory, satire and humour have been a way of influencing those with power throughout history. Witness the important role across cultures and history of the Court Jester! This seemingly powerless, clown-like person was often the one to change a ruler’s heart by alluding to some truth, or personal foible of the ruler himself or herself, and thus changing their mood or decisions.

Jesus likewise used allegory in the form of parables to ‘paint’ a word-picture that revealed deeper truths and clear messages of a moral or instructional kind.  The genius of the stories was that the interpretation was not given, the listener remained free to ‘hear’ at the level they were capable of, and to act in accord with the message.

So often the poor and disposed heard the truth enshrined in these parables, and responded, whilst the rich and powerful were confronted and challenged and so often choose not to respond. 

The courage of Jesus is often witnessed in the crafting of the parables too. His capacity to make a parable a microcosm of the crowd around him, and of their behaviour, was astounding.

Here today we see the same dynamic. Jesus addresses the scribes, chief priests, and elders, who are a part of his audience. They are listening to their own story and behaviour, acted out for them by the characters in the parable – the tenant farmers. They see their own violence, their selfishness and their unadulterated desire for possession of that is not theirs to own – all on display.

The truth confronts them deeply, and they are tempted to act out in a manner exactly as the parable portrays the actions of the tenants – but fear prevails, and they slip away. 

They miss the opportunity for a conversion of heart inspired by the truth as revealed in the parable. Rather, they demonstrate a lack of capacity to hear and respond, and merely hear and react. As we will see, they  allow self-deception to reign within their consciousness till it overwhelms them. In the course of the life of Jesus, they will become the ‘tenant farmers’ and act out the parable to its bitter and sad conclusion. Rather than face the truth they destroy the source of the truth.  

The ‘vineyard’ has now been given to us – we are the stewards of God’s creation and caretakers of the people of God. Let us serve with distinction.

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