Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
Mark 2:1-12

Reflection:

There is quite a contrast laid out for us in our scriptural readings for today, a contrast that fits in well with what is going on around us these days.  In our first reading, in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, we hear a very enticing theme, almost an invitation to "enter into the rest" that the Lord wants to give us.  It seems Paul is keenly aware of how their "ancestors" were not obedient or mindful of God’s action in their midst and, consequently, could not enter into the rest that the Lord promised them.  This idea of "rest" is pretty attractive to me, especially these days after very hectic Christmas and New Years observances.  And here we are beginning a very busy retreat season once again, one that will barely ease up until mid-summer!  Yes, I would love nothing more than to enter into that rest if only for a little while.

But with our Gospel comes the contrast that I referred to above.  Far from portraying a setting of serenity and calm in our Gospel we see that sometimes discipleship can be hectic, nearly frantic if we are chasing after the Lord.  And this is especially true if, in the chase.  we are running with the hope that he would bestow upon us and our friend healing and forgiveness.  In the Gospel, the crowds find out that Jesus is in town; and four good people come running with their paralytic friend (we can only imagine it was someone they love dearly or wanted very badly to help.)  And so sincere was their effort that they made their way to the rooftop and began to dismantle a space in the tiling so that they could lower their friend into the saving, healing presence of Jesus!  Imagine this scene.  Imagine the owner of the home as he sees his roof suddenly give way to clouds above and tile ripping hands hard at work!  So much for rest, at least for the Lord!  It made me realize that discipleship is about much more than rest, serenity, and peace.  Following the Lord is sometimes like trying to push ones way through the crowd just to be in his loving presence.  And even then we may have to make our way to the roof and tear it apart just to get in!   And then, wonder of wonders, there is not only the healing that Jesus can give but even more profoundly, there is that deep inner gift of forgiveness.  Now there is a healing worth running for!

So, these days when we seem to wonder what ever happened to that rest the Lord promises those who follow him, perhaps we should remember this moment in Capernaum, and this hectic, crowd-shoving and noisily shouting bunch of seekers, searching for the Lord, searching for whatever he might awaken in their hearts.  That is just where we find ourselves, too, right there in the middle of the horde trying so very hard to be disciples, wondering what ever happened to the rest and serenity, but thrilled to know that in his presence, even with the craziness of life, comes healing and inner peace.

 

Fr. Pat Brennan, CP is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 2:13-17

Reflection:

"As Jesus passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed Jesus. Mark 2:14

As Jesus begins his public ministry, he creates quite a stir. The Evangelist Luke has him going to his home town and preaching in the synagogue. At first, people are thrilled with his message, and then they turn against him (Luke 4:16 ff). The Evangelist John has Jesus attending a wedding feast with his mother, and he brought along his disciples. They run out of wine and his Mother Mary insists that he do something about it. Reluctantly, it seems, Jesus works his first sign, changing water into wine. The Evangelist Matthew, like Mark, whose account we read in today’s Gospel, has Jesus calling his disciples to follow him as he walked along the Sea of Galilee. Each Gospel gives us an image of Jesus that excites us, stirs us with awe and wonder and challenges us to be like Levi (who is identified as Matthew in the Gospel according to Matthew), to leave everything and follow Jesus. What a great way for Jesus to begin his mission.

Recently, I was talking to someone who is very excited about being a minister in his parish. While volunteering to help the parish at different Sunday Masses, he also goes to ongoing faith development talks when offered. He was telling me how exciting it would have been to have been alive during Jesus’ time and to have been part of his life and ministry back then. Many people feel the same way he does. They feel that if they were alive when Jesus walked the streets of Capernaum and Jerusalem, then they would be among the disciples that followed him. That could very well be.

However, more than likely, it would have been a difficult choice to make, because Jesus was a walking contradiction to his religious tradition. There were so many things that Jesus did that were contrary to the Jewish tradition that he quickly became the target of the hierarchy of his day. While some priests and synagogue officials welcomed him, the vast majority of them actively rejected him. Even in this account in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ invitation to a tax collector to become a disciple leads to controversy. Levi invites Jesus to his home for dinner along with other "tax collectors and public sinners." Scribes who were of the Pharisee tradition complained to Jesus’ disciples that they are eating with public sinners, putting themselves at risk for ritual impurity. For some, that was breaking the law. At that point, we bystanders would have had to start making the decision of whether to follow Jesus or the religious leaders of his day.

Today, like at the time of Jesus, there were many groups that claim some authority on what is acceptable and not acceptable as Jesus’ followers. Sometimes, following Jesus becomes more complicated and challenging when you are living the reality rather than seeing it from the outside. Since I was not there when Jesus called Levi to follow him, I cannot say with certain whether I would have approved or disapproved, if I would be sitting alongside Levi or be standing with the scribes criticizing Jesus. All I know is that Jesus is calling me today to follow him and as I do, I discover the decisions I make in doing so are difficult ones. I will put myself at risk for Christ and that will test me to my very core. We need to live in our present and make the right decisions for ourselves today.

Thank God that it is Jesus, the physician and healer, who has called me to follow him!

 

Fr. Clemente Barron, C.P. is stationed in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Memorial of St. Anthony

Scripture:

Hebrews 3:7-14
Mark 1:40-45

Reflection:

It is challenging in our world today to take time and just be quiet.

With many things fighting for our attention, it can be difficult to manage our time properly. How do we listen for God’s voice amidst the noise of life?

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Psalm 95

We never know in which way God will speak to us. Today I had a very busy day at the office and my director comes in with a serious disposition, sits down and says "Do you know that God loves you?" Out of the blue! I thought he was going to tell me something distressing.   At first I was annoyed, but a couple of seconds later I just smiled. God reached out to me through him to remind me that no matter how much I accomplish during my busyness, God loves me. He can choose to speak to us through something as small as the whisper of the Spirit or magnificent as a burning bush. We have to ready ourselves and have open hearts to receive His word; to grow into a more intimate relationship with Him.

Making time for prayer and meditation in our lives gives us the opportunity to improve the lines of communication with God. The more often we come to him, placing our lives in His hands, the more receptive we are to his voice. An openness of heart leads us to listening and becoming what Christ wills of us. St. Athanasius tells us that St. Anthony the Abbot was known for his reverence toward God. In this detailed biography, he goes on that after hearing the word of God in church, St. Anthony went and gave away his possessions and became a hermit. It was in the desert that St. Anthony felt he could truly connect with God. I urge you to take a weekend or a day to follow St. Anthony’s example and turn off the noise.  Go to a retreat, spend an afternoon in adoration, take time to read a book on spirituality. In whichever way you choose to spend this time, meditate on Psalm 95.

Some days it takes shutting the noise out completely to reset our spiritual connection. Most days though, it is opening our hearts to recognizing God’s presence so that we are not closed off when He does speak to us.

 

Kim Valdez is a Pastoral Associate at Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center in Houston, Texas

Scripture:

Hebrews 2:14-18
Mark 1:29-39

Reflection:

Living a Christian Life for God’s People

Jesus "had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way" but sin, so that he could live his human life for us by being "tested through what he suffered" and thus "be able to help those who are being tested."  The above striking message of today’s first reading expresses in words what today’s gospel illustrates in actions as we see Jesus reaching out, praying and caring for, curing, driving out demons from, and preaching the Good News of God’s kingdom to God’s people.  This biblical and liturgical coherence is supplemented by the psalm’s refrain, which reminds us that "the Lord remembers his covenant forever," the covenant he made with "the descendants of Abraham" and all the peoples who thank "the Lord, invoke his name, [and] make known among the nations his deeds."

As I reflected on the above message of today’s liturgical readings, I could not help reflecting on some quotes from Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who used to say that, "unless a life is lived for others, it is not worthwhile."  We know that, like Jesus, Mother Teresa’s missionary work of charity speaks stronger than her words.  She lived a life that has become a life-giving legacy of love for others.  Just as Jesus did, she put into practice whatever she preached to the world.  She used to say: "If we pray, we will believe; if we believe, we will love; if we love, we will serve."  This is exactly what goes on in Mark’s Gospel today, for we see God’s healing and liberating power being manifested in and through Jesus’ praying for, believing in, loving, and serving God’s people.

The above actions are humanly and spiritually required to give a strong and valid witness to Jesus’ gospel of love, because the gospel is all about being faithful to Jesus’ teachings on prayer, faith, hope, love, and service.  Like Jesus, Mother Teresa, and many other genuine Christian witnesses, we are called to make known among others God’s love, justice, and mercy by being inclusive and nonjudgmental, as we go about proclaiming and inculturating the gospel throughout the many places we find ourselves in.  Let us, therefore, meditate and reflect on the importance of praying to God, believing in God, loving and serving God as we go about reaching out to others and living a worthwhile life in Christ.

Source to find Mother Teresa’s quotes: http://thinkexist.com/quotes/mother_teresa_of_calcutta/  

 

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

 

The Baptism of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 or Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Acts 10:34-38 or Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Reflection:

While organizing low-wage workers in the Southern part of the United States,I came across a group of committed religious women of Western-European descent who wanted to become allies in the struggle of undocumented latina/o workers. These women were encouraged by their faith to seek justice for those who are least among us. One of their projects was to have latina/o families open up their homes for people who were outside their cultural, social and racial reality in order to have an interchange of experiences. Their idea and initiative excited our small group of organizers who were invited as consulters.

During the two month period of discernment and discussion we realized that these women’s commitment was met with a profound challenge. In their dedication for the rights of migrant workers throughout the years, they had not been able to find authentic friendships with those for whom they so zealously advocated. When the obvious question came up, how many latina/o families do you know that will participate in this, there was only silence on their part. This contradiction was met head on through some difficult conversations regarding racial and social privilege and the blind spots that these create even among those committed to social equity. Our discernment went from accompanying them in a project to encouraging them in a racial and cultural audit within their group that would allow them to question and transform the discrepancy that had been part of them for years.

In the course of seeking an inclusive praxis for social change, we realized that accepting the person-hood of another is always harder yet more just, because you do it day by day and your life is necessarily transformed by the other with whom you walk hand in hand. For most of us it is always easier to accept and validate the humanity of others who suffer injustice, because you can do that with a level of detachment and almost free of the hardships of investing your life with them day to day. While this is a noble deed, in the process of justice, the gospel demands a different approach.

In this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are assured that God’s covenant with us is not only by dignifying our humanity through the incarnation of Jesus. God enters in such relationship with humanity that God’s grace is invested in our person-hood.  Just as Jesus is revealed as the Beloved one of the Father, through him, all of us, personally, are also recognized as the beloved of the Father. Happy feast day and a Merry last day of Christmas!

Hugo R. Esparza-Pérez, CP is a member of Holy Cross Province currently working as Parochial Vicar in the Passionist Parish of San Miguel Arcángel in Tumbalá, Chiapas. Mexico.

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

I don’t know if it results from being one of ten children or if it is in the genes I inherited from my driven type-A father, but I have a competitive streak.  I want to be exceptionally good at whatever I do.  I strive for perfection, preparing endlessly and working very hard.  This is both an advantage and a nemesis.  It allows God to use me in many ways and most of the time I feel humbled and privileged to be God’s instrument.   At other times, though, my shadow side breaks through.

When that happens, I am tempted to compare myself to others in unhealthy ways.  I feel envy creeping in when someone else’s presentations or classes receive higher ratings than mine.  I have to fight the desire to be recognized and rewarded.  When I’m on a team, I get too impatient with people who are not working as hard as I am.  I find myself being overly critical of another’s successes.  In short (and to my profound embarrassment), I realize that I want others to decrease so I can increase.

At the same time, when I do achieve something or am recognized for my abilities, I can be tempted to take all the credit myself.   It is too easy to forget that all my abilities were given to me from heaven, and that it is only the grace of God working through me that touches people’s hearts and changes their lives.  I have been given many gifts and I hope I am using them well, but God is the focal point and destination, not me.  God is God, and I am clearly not.

John’s gospel today is a relevant and pointed lesson.  John had created quite a name for himself.  He achieved "success" in the eyes of the world and was recognized as a force in the society.  Yet he gladly and humbly steps aside for Jesus, whom he knows is greater than he.  In fact, when he sees people flock to Jesus, John proclaims that his joy is complete.

My challenge is to counter my shadow side with John’s gospel.  As it so aptly reminds me, God is the source of everything I have, everyone I love, and everything I own.  Nothing I have and nothing I have done would be possible without God.   In this new year, may I be even more aware that in all I do, God must increase and I must decrease.  It is only in that way that my joy may become complete.

 

Amy Florian is a teacher and consultant working in Chicago.  For many years she has  partnered with the Passionists.  See Amy’s  website: http://www.amyflorian.com/.

Scripture:
1 John 5:5-13
Luke 5:12-16

Reflection:
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.

It seems like something beyond our wildest dream.  How can it be possible?  The Son of God, Jesus, becoming like one of us, human!  When we think on this, the incarnation, it does seem difficult to believe, challenging to grasp from a rational viewpoint.

In the second century, John’s community in Asia Minor also struggled with this truth.  Some within the community were spreading the heresy that the incarnation was false.  This heresy, called gnosticism, claimed that the spirit is good, but matter is evil.  And since Jesus is God, he therefore could only appear to have a human body, but he never actually suffered pain and death on the cross.

John’s community needed reassurance that what they had embraced — that Christ had come in the flesh — was true.

John tells his community — and ours — that Jesus came to us through water and blood, not water alone, but water and blood.  Water may be interpreted to mean his baptism, his spiritual death, and blood his physical death.  Water and blood may also refer to his human birth and death.  Either way, John makes his point forcefully.  Jesus is fully human and fully divine.  We don’t have to take his word for it.  The Spirit testifies to it — and the Spirit is truth.

We in the 21st century may not call this heresy gnosticism.  Today,  our secular culture spreads the heresy called holiday sentimentality.  At Christmastime, the infant Jesus, who one day will preach and challenge and call us to take up our cross to Calvary where the lance will pierce his side, issuing water and blood, this Jesus is often wiped clean of water and blood, of any messy sign of humanity, and sentimentalized into something purely spiritual — and safe.

It may be that, like the second century Church, we today, on this Friday after the Feast of the Epiphany, also need to be reminded and reassured that Christ did come to us in the flesh.  He became one of us.  And in his messy humanity and divinity gave us the gift of redemption.  It may seem like something beyond our wildest dream.  But it’s true.  And the Spirit testifies to it.

 

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

Scripture:

1 John 4:11-18
Mark 6:45-52

Reflection:

The first reading for today begins with a surprising statement: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another." As I read this, I was expecting the author to say: "If God so loved us, we also must love God." But no. The real test of whether we are returning God’s love is our passing that love on to others around us. God is the source of love and does not need our love returned. We cannot give God something God has in infinite abundance. God does not want us to hoard this gift of love nor to return it. God wants us to use it by loving our brothers and sisters.

The reading tells us that "no one has ever seen God." Therefore, it is difficult to measure our love for God. We can say that we love God and the way to prove that personal statement is that we love others as God loves us. Therefore, if we can say that we are sincerely trying to love the people around us, those with whom we come in contact by design or by chance, then God is genuinely present within us. These people are very visible, sometimes uneasy to be with. Yet, it is to these people that we are called to share God’s love.

Our Christian life is not primarily about being politically correct or religiously correct, not about being perfect in following every rule or in performing religious duties flawlessly. Our Christian life is about being loving people. And the source of that love is God, not ourselves. Our loving acts are an expression of God’s love working in and through us. We see this dynamic working in Jesus Christ, whom God sent as an offering for our sins. Jesus on the cross is the most dramatic sign of God’s love for us, a love that is freely given and never earned by any action of ours.

Nine days into the New Year. How are you doing with your resolutions to make this a better year? Did you include being a more loving person?

 

Fr. Don Webber, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province and resides in Chicago, Illinois.