Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Reflection:

As we journey toward Holy Week, our readings focus on violence and treachery. Jesus is the focus of misunderstanding and injustice.

 

I remember watching the movie Witness starring Harrison Ford. He was a policeman who was being sheltered by the Amish and adopted their ways. Once when four of them were travelling by horse and buggy, they were accosted by some youths who knew of their non-violent stance. The young people took an ice cream cone and smeared it into the face of each Amish adult who took it patiently. When the youths came to Harrison Ford, they expected the same, patient response. Instead, when they were about to smear his face, Ford punched his aggressor in the face. Suddenly the theater broke out into applause and cheers. I was caught up with the movie crowd and also began to applaud. Suddenly, I realized I was applauding violence. I stopped clapping and never forgot how our society aggrandizes and even applauds violence. Recently we heard about a "pastor" in Florida burning the Koran. The act was met with violence in Afghanistan as five U.N. peace keepers were murdered.

In the Book of Wisdom, the Just One is tried and tortured but remains gentle and patient. In the Gospel, tension mounts as Jesus is misunderstood. In the face of treachery, betrayal, and injustice, Jesus remained calm, patient, and gentle. He never retaliated or tried to vindicate himself. He committed his cause to God who was his helper.

As we approach Passion Week, we are invited to reflect upon how we have allowed our culture to influence us. Do we allow our culture to form our judgments as well as our responses to the injustices that come our way? Or are we solidly committed to the Master who always chose the way of nonviolence? Like the crowd in the movie theater, we encounter many situations in our life that prompt us to applaud or even perpetuate violence. For example, a community member says something cutting. We are tempted to join in gossip around the table. Someone cuts us off in traffic and then drives slowly. How do you handle people who offend, tempt, and try you? The words of Peter are apropos here: "Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called. (1 Pet. 3:9)

 

Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P. is a missionary preacher, author of 14 books and creator of television and radio programs airing in many cities. You can learn more about his ministry at: http://www.frcedric.org/

Scripture:

Exodus 32:7-14
John 5:31-47

Reflection:

The gospel of John tells of the conflicts of Jesus in Jerusalem.  The background for today’s dispute took place on his second visit.  He stopped near the Sheep Gate where there was a large pond with five paved landings extending into it.  It was thought that if a sick person entered the water when it bubbled up they would be cured.  A paralyzed man had been there for thirty-eight years hoping he would be so blessed.

Jesus stopped by and asked him, "Do you want to be well?"  The sick man said he had no one to put him into the water.  Jesus told him: "Rise, take up your mat and walk."  He was cured.  Jewish authorities questioned him carrying a mat on the Sabbath. He explained: "The man who made me well told me to take up the mat and walk."

At the time, he did not know who Jesus was.  Jesus encountered him in the temple and warned him: "You are well, sin no more."  He then informed the authorities that Jesus cured him.

That started an official investigation.  Strangely, there was no question of the cure, or how the power of God was involved.  How dare Jesus cure on the Sabbath and have the man carry his mat?

Jesus claims he is at work just as God, his Father is at work and so is claiming equality with God.  The evangelist comments: "The Jews were more determined to kill him (for) speaking of God as his own Father and as God’s equal."

Jesus makes more claims to divinity: "…as the Father possesses life in himself so has he granted it to the Son to have life in himself."

The authorities refuse to hear all this and ignore God’s approval in the manifest cure.  They sin against the evident truth!

They will do so again with the cure of the man born blind.  Jesus is telling the Jewish authorities that he is the Living God, the Son of God come into their midst.       

The Jews will not listen; they will not consider the physical evidence.  None are so blind as those who will not see.

This incident is certainly written "that you may believe that the Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that through this belief you may have life in his name."  That was the concluding sentence of the gospel and tells us who and what Christ is for us. 

It is also a warning that we can close our minds to the known truth of what God wants of us.  To ignore the known truth, God’s evident command, is a sin said "to cry out for the vengeance of God."  The Jews were guilty in closing their eyes to the truth of Christ’s divinity.   We can close our eyes to his demands that we keep his commandments.  If we believe he is God’s Son, our Teacher and our Redeemer there are consequences that are eternal. 

 

Fr. Fred Sucher, C.P. is retired and lives in the Passionist community in Chicago.  For many years he taught philosophy to Passionist seminarians.  

 

Scripture:

Isaiah 65:17-21
John 4:43-54

 

 

 

Reflection:

Complete Faith and Heading For Home

Modern medicine has changed life as we know it.  Real progress has been made in dealing with major diseases, and research continues to promote health and longevity on many levels.  And yet death is inevitable, and modern medicine is helpless once a person has died.

Through his miracles Jesus wanted to show he had power not only over human sickness but over death itself.  Today’s Gospel story of the royal official shows a faith that at first was simply a belief that Jesus had extraordinary healing powers, that Jesus was some sort of super-physician.  As he anxiously encountered Jesus in Cana, his faith deepened and he cried out to Jesus:  "Sir, come down before my child dies."  We can easily imagine the official’s anguish for his child’s life – and the strong faith it took for him to head home after Jesus assured him that his son will live!  When he found out on his way home that his child was alive and well, he came to full faith in Jesus as the "life-giver"…and his whole household joined in his belief.

This complete faith is the kind of faith we are to cultivate this Lent in our prayer, penance and almsgiving.  Jesus is not concerned merely with our temporal well-being (important, no doubt!), but especially wishes to one day share with us his own resurrection from the dead and happiness in heaven.  That’s "Life" with a capital "L" – more than modern medicine can ever hope for!

We’re at the half-way point in our Lenten program, and we confidently look forward to celebrating Easter and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  As disciples we have pondered this same message in years past, but this year our faith has been tested by a variety of natural disasters, world violence, an unstable economy, challenging developments in our Catholic Faith – and perhaps even some aches and pains of our own…  As we figuratively "head home" to family and friends, Jesus invites us to join the royal official in a deeper faith in his Life and Resurrection.  Truly God will create the "new heavens and a new earth" mentioned in the first reading from Isaiah…complete with rejoicing and happiness – and health – that lasts!

In the words of Psalm 30:  "Lord, I put my trust in you; I shall be glad and rejoice in your mercy…"  May our Lent be blessed.

 

Fr. John Schork, C.P. is the local leader of the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Scripture:

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

Reflection:

Give up, or given in? Is that the question to address during this journey of repentance and conversion? Generally people are giving up things for Lent. I have "given up" eating some favorite foods (and drink), to deny the flesh, as it were. I realize that in God’s pursuit of my heart, mind and will to be about the establishing of the "Kingdom" on this earth, there is so much more to this Lenten journey, this exercise in this season of conversion and change. I strive to "give in" to God’s will.

Both David and this blind man give in to belief in circumstances of apparent doubt, mystery and inadequacy.  Through David’s leadership, and the young blind man "sticking by his story (despite his parents, and the religious leaders abandoning him,) "God’s mighty work" would be revealed. The decision to cooperate with God is giving up of our agenda, by paying attention to our surroundings, and bringing the light of the Word to bear upon our reflections.

In 1974, when every 18 hours a youngster under 16 was being murdered in Detroit, I pondered with the Word as to how to direct the compelling desire within to do something. Another way to explain it, that is to say, that I give up my will into God’s, in order that I face the fears that stop me from doing what is necessary or right (yet not rewarding). What reins in my selfish urge is the reliance on the Word made flesh.

It has been said that, "God does not call the "equipped," he equips the "called."

 

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

Scripture:
Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34

Reflection:
The readings today are a call of love – a call from love and a call to love.

Hosea emphasizes God’s love:  Out of His immense love God calls to Israel to return to Him, to come back to Him and let Him heal her.

The prophet pictures God as a husband, a longing lover, who seeks out his faithless wife, pleading with her to return.  Early in chapter 2, Hosea says what he is going to do: "I shall draw her into the desert and speak to her heart."  The loving husband, forgiving everything, will convert her, take her back, pour his love upon her, and heal her.  We do not know for certain that Hosea is speaking from his own experience; we do not know whether his own wife deserted him.  Some scholars think that it is so and that the Lord prompts Hosea to use his own experience as an image of God’s grief at the loss of his faithless Israel – God’s great pain that Israel has turned away from Him to play the trollop among pagans, that she has left him for dead idols that they have made with their own hands.

In our verses today Hosea switches the image to suit both Israel and Ephraim: the faithless wife has become the faithless son.  Using nature imagery, Hosea goes on to paint a wonderful picture of how this Divine Lover will treat the faithless beloved if he would only return – he will grow strong and beautiful, tall and fragrant like the cedars of Lebanon; blossom like the vine, beautiful to look upon: he need only return.

Psalm 81 repeats the call of Hosea – return and let Me bless you; return and let Me love you.

Mark then in his Gospel shows Jesus reaffirming this great call of Love.  In His response to the honest scribe, Jesus declares to him the greatest commandment – the great Shema, the prayer of every Israelite:

               Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God is One!
               You shall love your God with all your heart,
               With all your soul,
               With all your mind,
               And with all your strength.

How do we know that we do love the Lord Our God?  How do we show that we truly love Him?

               The second is this:
                You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Do I love my neighbor as myself – really, every day?  If so, I know then that I love my God.

Today, April 1^st, is known in many cultures as April Fool’s Day.  One of our Flemish brothers told me the following:   In Brugge (Bruges), Belgium, there are many cobblestone streets with very narrow pavements.  Back before Vatican II a young priest walking on such a street came face to face with a stout white-haired man who was well known as anti-clerical.  The man pulled himself up, looked squarely at the priest, and with a scowl declared loudly, "I don’t step into the gutter for fools!"  The young priest bowed, smiled gently, and stepping off the pavement replied, "But I do."  Surprised, the man gave a begrudging chuckle.   To love your neighbor as yourself – with a smile.

 

Peter Fitzpatrick, CFX, is a Xaverian Brother living at Ryken House, Louisville, across Bear Grass Creek from the Passionist Community Sacred Heart Monastery

Scripture:

Jeremiah 7:23-28
Luke 11:14-23

Reflection:

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

Our readings today seem to reflect around the theme of LISTENING.

Our journey of faith begins with a call from God and it is a call that is repeated many times during our lives and in many different ways.  Part of our daily challenge it to recognize that call and to chose whether or not to respond.

I have learned from my own experience that God doesn’t tap us on the shoulder and say, "Now hear this."  No, God speaks to us is many different ways…through other people, through Scripture, through creation, through different events and experiences, and the list goes on and on.

Again from my own experience, He often calls me to move out of my comfort zone into new challenges.  Sometimes, I "harden my heart" by acting like our four year old grandson Tommy who often pretends he doesn’t hear his parents calling!  Sometimes, I just have to ask God to give me the willingness to respond.

It is very encouraging to see how so many people around the world have responded in faith to the recent crisis in Japan.  They certainly have "heard the cry of the poor" and opened their hearts in a big way to provide aid, support, and prayers. 

It seems we’re better able to hear God speak to us during quiet times when we are alone with Him, when we put everything else aside and give ourselves completely to being in His Presence.  Jesus certainly modeled this for us.  He regularly went off to a quiet place by himself to spend time with, and to listen to His Father.

One of the greatest gift we can give to others, is to be a good listener with a compassionate heart…to hear the voice of God in "the cry of the poor" among us and to HARDEN NOT OUR HEARTS.  (Don’t be a Tommy!)

 

Deacon Brian Clements is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California   

Scripture:

Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Matthew 18:21-35

Reflection:

A very holy monk was once asked in a television interview what were the present day challenges to Christianity? He paused for a moment, reflected, and looking directly into the camera said: "the arrogance and hypocrisy of the Christians!" I was very impressed with the truthfulness of his answer.

I contend that what attracts women and men to Christianity is an encounter with Jesus the Christ. Sometimes that encounter happens in church, while reading the scriptures or maybe while pondering a piece of art, music or the natural world. However the primary way most of us encounter Christ is through other believers. People who live Christ! People who allow the Risen Christ to live in them! They may not be saints, they are probably not perfect, more often than not, they are folks just like us who struggle, who question, who strive, but there is an attractive piece (or peace) about them and that is their relationship to Jesus!

"You have the walk the walk and not just talk the talk!" – a famous statement in 12 Step Spirituality. Today’s gospel is about just that. "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Matthew’s community needed a lot of forgiveness. Scholars think the gospel of Matthew was written for the church in Antioch – a church filled with strife. It was a community of both Jewish converts and Gentile believers. Each staking their claims as to what it meant to follow this Jesus, this Christ. Some in the community believed that "not one jot or tittle of the Law" would be abrogated. Others, reflecting the Apostle Paul’s preaching, believed that in Christ all was made new – there were no more Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – no more need for the Mosaic Law. Naturally this caused conflict and need among the community for reconciliation. Put yourself in that situation. Would you be attracted to a community where there was constant fighting, exclusive cliques, harsh words, backbiting, and power plays? How does that reflect Christ? Isn’t this exactly what the holy monk is talking about???!!! Hence Matthew retelling this encounter of Peter and Jesus.

As we move into the last stretch of Lent perhaps we need to remember the basics. We all who bear the name of Christ must walk the walk and not just talk the talk! Forgiveness is the prime message of Christianity. On the part of the perpetrator is the process of admitting your wrong and asking for healing. On the part of the victim it is putting aside ones self-righteousness and offering healing. And we do this not just for the sake of ourselves but rather because we follow a crucified, condemned Savior. We do this because we can do no other if we wish to bear the name Christian. We do this because even he, the most innocent, healed the world by forgiving all of us from His heart!

 

Patrick Quinn is the director of Planned Giving at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago.

Scripture:

2 Kings 5:1-15b
Luke 4:24-30

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel and the verses preceding it, Jesus quoting Isaiah instructs his listeners and us to bring the good news to the poor, to release the prisoner, to cure the blind, to free the oppressed.  He and his message are rejected – perhaps because he left out the line from Isaiah that sites a vengeful God, perhaps because he is not performing miracles and other wonders for his own townspeople, as they expect.   And then Jesus tells the listeners that a prophet is never accepted in his own town.  He reminds them that Elijah and Elisha also did their healing with foreigners.

Perhaps this Gospel can serve as a reminder to us to listen to the directives from Isaiah and from Jesus. We are called to reach out not just with our own family, friends and community but also reaching out to those most in need wherever they are. 

I recently heard Jack Jezreel, the founder of Just Faith Ministries, speak.  Jack was telling the audience that as Church we are to be gathered and sent.  I think we would all agree with him when he says that we seem to do a pretty good job of  the gathering – of education, of worship, of forming ourselves – but we fall far short at the "being sent" part of the equation.  How much time do we as church spend reaching out to those in need, to bringing Christ’s message to the imprisoned and the sick, or to caring for the poor.  Particularly in these days, when many of us bear the burden of some economic set-backs, some giving up of living the life style that we had planned, can we be Christ-like and reach out to those who have less, whose need is far greater?  Or do we find ourselves so self-centered that we forget about others and just struggle to regain what we have lost.  Every day, in our papers and on TV and in many of our neighborhoods, we see the many areas calling out for help

For the rest of this Lent, let us fast from self-centeredness, let us give of our time, energy and resources to live the message of Jesus and Isaiah.  And let us give not from our surplus but from our own poverty to those in need wherever they are!!

 

Mary Lou Butler is a former staff member and a longtime partner of the Passionists in California.