Daily Scripture

Scripture:

2 Samuel 7:4-17
Mark 4:1-20

Reflection:

"But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

 

It’s been a long week for me . . .and it’s only Monday night.  So, this gospel with its message of the importance of God’s Word comes at just the right time.  I’m sure a lot of us have tended a garden in some way.  It’s amazing what can be born of a tiny seed-fruits and vegetables that can sustain us.  But if the seed isn’t properly cared for, the potential can be lost. 

Today’s gospel tells the well-known story of the sower.  I remember as a child hearing this gospel and picturing God up in the clouds showering the earth with seeds.  At the time, I had no doubt which category I fell into.  Of course, I was like the rich soil ready to let the Word form deep and lasting roots within me.  This was a time when I don’t think I knew what "worldly anxiety" or "the lure of riches" even meant.  When I read the passage now, I can recall times in my life when-if I am being honest-my heart was perhaps made more of rocky soil.

I think what struck me most as I re-read this parable is Jesus’ warnings about those things that can corrupt and smother the Word as it tries to take root.  This story is a vivid reminder that evil is a real force in our world and that Satan is hard at work to keep us from faith.  You know when you are sitting in Church and your mind starts to wander to all the important things you need to do with your day?  Or maybe when you wake up Sunday morning and are sure that the chores and responsibilities you have should legitimately keep you from attending Mass?  Jesus tells us that this is Satan whispering in our ear in that intoxicating way that he has-so that we don’t even know it’s him.  He keeps us from the Word and the seed falls on the path and doesn’t even have a chance.

But even if we are strong in our faith and allow the Word to grow and flourish, this is not the end.  Just as a garden needs constant attention to keep it healthy, so does our faith.  When difficulty and trials come, as they inevitably will, the Word can wither within us like those seeds that fell on the rocky soil.  This is when it just seems too hard to keep tending the garden.  Satan tells us the lie that the Word doesn’t have the power we thought.

The third ruse is perhaps the most deceitful.  "The cares of the world, and the deceit of riches and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."  Did you ever feel like holding fast to your faith meant that you were giving up something more attractive?  Did you ever feel like the sacrifice you had to make to keep the Word alive was too great?  Those lies can strangle and suffocate the truth that is faith in Christ.

So let us prepare our hearts to receive God’s word.  Let us make sure that the soil is ready for the seeds to grow deep roots.  The promise is that of life-sustaining fruit over and above all that we can even imagine.  And with such an overflowing garden, maybe we can even go out and sow some seeds of love, kindness, peace and joy. 

 

Marlo Serritella is on staff at the Holy Cross Province Development Office in Chicago, Illinois.

Scripture:

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Reflection:

In the second reading the theme of unity in the midst of diversity is again offered to us by St. Paul the Apostle. This theme surfaces fairly regularly with St. Paul who tries to challenge his gentile community on the absolute oneness of God, Christ and the Spirit to a pluralistic society. But if we look at the first reading and the introduction of the Gospel of Luke we also find these two writers discussing the theme of interpretation.

Christians have one common Bible with a number of different versions. But if we look at how the Sacred Scriptures have been interpreted to offer a position on any social issue we can see a variety of positions used to promote a political or social agenda. The issue of slavery in the United States points out that fact very well where both the abolitionist and the slaveholding community used the Bible to defend both positions. In the current culture war that is debating economic globalization, climate change and humanitarian intervention we see the same thing happening. Whether people are using the Bible, the Quran or the Torah any faith-based group can come up with any number of positions with regards to these issues using their own Sacred texts to defend these positions.

Both Ezra and Luke are dealing with tensions of interpretation. They both come out of a tradition built on the Spirit of unity but fractured by social violence. For Ezra the Hebrew community has just returned from their exile in Babylon and is trying to again make sense of their post-exilic identity. For Luke’s early Christians that Apostolic community has brought the salvific message of Christ throughout the Roman Empire but after the persecution of the Apostles Luke is struggling to maintain this unified tradition and for that purpose he has written this Gospel account.  In both cases they are struggling to offer a common understanding so that the Word can take root in all of us with our different experiences, talents and personalities while maintaining its authentic singular message that is based on God’s love and common relationship with us all.

For us Catholics the Church is the institution from which we continue to comprehend the challenging Word of God in the context of our ever changing world. While the Church continues to pronounce on issues of faith and dogma the Church also addresses new social issues that had never surfaced in the ancient world. It is the duty of our Church to offer its guidance based on its reflection on revelation and tradition to help develop us into a community that can respond to social issues that confront us. In this manner the Church has made its position felt on economic globalization in the Papal Encyclical Caritas in Veritate. The Pope has also offered a teaching on the issue of climate change in his recent World Day of Peace Message. With the great catastrophe that affected Haiti last week the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has also offered its social position to protect in any way the devastated Haitian community by asking us to donate at the Sunday Mass and by advocating to the President to grant Haitians in the United States temporary protected status. These are social issues and they are not of themselves dogmatic objects of revealed faith such as our belief in the Resurrection or in the mystery of the Eucharist but they are themselves social doctrines that are related to the faith and morals of our revealed tradition.

As Americans we are fond of saying that people have a right to their opinion and of course they are. Even in our own Catholic Church we also assent to this individual right insofar as our God given conscience is regarded as a prominent vehicle from which we come to discern the decisions we must make. But let us keep in mind the struggle that Paul reminds us of whereby our individual parts must ultimately serve one body. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored; all the parts share its joy.  

The Church offers many social teachings and many of us may struggle with some of the Church’s social positions, I know I do. Paul, Ezra and Luke are not calling us to mindless zombies. We are called to embrace our own dignity but at the service of all creation which comes from God. It will be impossible for us who experience our own lives from only one vantage point to be able to see and value the dignity and experiences of all God’s creation. For that reason it is important for us to be challenged by the position of a global Church that happens to share in the experiences of people throughout the world.

In Haiti, one part of the human community is suffering greatly. Our Church has called us to action so that we can respond to the suffering of one of our members. This now is the opportunity for us to embrace the one body and to heal a section that has been devastated.  

 

John Gonzalez is the director of the Passionist Office for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC).  He lives with his family in New York.  Visit the JPIC website at www.passionistjpic.org.            

 

Scripture:

2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27
Mark 3:20-21

Reflection:

When I was living in Carbondale, IL, a group called "Fools for Christ" came to perform at the Newman Center at Southern Illinois University. They sang songs, and acted out skits, all to encourage the college students there to follow Jesus. I bring this up because in our Gospel reading for today, there are relatives of Jesus who have determined that "He is out of his mind;" and have decided to go get Him and bring Him home (We will see what happens in our Gospel reading for next Tuesday).

To proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ can make us seem to be out of our minds, or fools, or hopeless innocents, in the eyes of the world. As I write this, our country is about to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. For many today, practicing nonviolence would indicate that one has got out of his mind. Nonviolence seems so impractical in today’s world. But, to me, Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross indicates that He did not return violence with more violence. Instead, he chose to forgive, even from the Cross.

Jesus also told us to look to give, rather than to take, and still we are tempted to rationalize that greed is good. Our world is still struggling with coming together to alleviate poverty in so many places. The aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti is an indication of that.

Perhaps it is time to be "out of our minds," or "fools," for the Gospel. Violence and greed may have led to some results, but they won’t lead us to where we need to go. What is needed is to share the love and grace we have in Jesus Christ, no matter how crazy and foolish it makes us appear.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, Fairfield, Alabama.

Scripture:

1 Samuel 24:3-21
Mark 3:13-19

Reflection:

"He appointed twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons." Mark 3: 14-15

How many people today actually believe that demons can affect them? One of Satan’s greatest tricks is making people believe there aren’t any demons or that they are just cute little guys in red suits with pitchforks. But demons are far from little and far from cute. 1 Peter 5: 8-9 tells us: "your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". And in our prayer to St. Michael we ask Jesus to "cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls." Their job is to keep us from heaven, so that’s something we should be concerned about – or at least aware of. "Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness and the evil spirits in regions above" (Eph 6:12). We need to know that we have an enemy, but that in Jesus we have the power to defeat him!

I first began to learn about spiritual warfare years ago after I saw a demon one night. I had no idea what I had seen, I just knew I was paralyzed with fear in his presence and felt helpless to do anything. God led me to tell my bible study leader what happened and she began to teach me how to fight back by using God’s Word. The verse that laid the foundation for my confidence to stand against evil was 1 John 4:4: "He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world." Another was James 4:7: "Therefore submit to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you".

I’ve learned a lot about demons, and we don’t need to be afraid of them. The main thing we need to know is that God is stronger than any evil that can come against us. The greatest weapon against evil is praise. Praise God in all things and you will never be defeated. We know that God will triumph at the end of time and we, his followers, will triumph with Him.

 

Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 2, soon to be 3. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at janice@frcedric/org

Scripture:

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
Mark 3:1-6

Reflection:

The first reading for today’s Eucharist presents us with one of the most savored of all the stories in the Old Testament.  How many times and in how many different contexts have you heard the story of David and Goliath?  The confrontation between the grizzled, fearsome, Philistine warrior, Goliath, and the unscarred, inexperienced and perhaps even naïve, yet confident young David, stands as one of the most cherished of all stories in our tradition.

The context is the war between the army of the Philistines and the army of Israel led by King Saul.  Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, calls out any warrior of Saul’s army that is brave enough to face him.  The stakes are winner takes all.  Saul, the King of Israel despairs at the challenge because he has no one of Goliath’s caliber.  He faces losing the war by default.

Up steps David, inexperienced in war, untried in arms, but filled with faith in God’s protection.  Saul is grateful to David for stepping up to the challenge but tries to dissuade him from going out to meet Goliath.  Saul is sure David will be killed.  But Saul finally agrees to let David represent Israel because there is no one else and David is unafraid and filled with trust in God.

The result of the encounter is familiar to us all.  A smooth stone picked up from the riverbed, David’s sling, and a well-placed hit on the forehead of Goliath.  Stunned, Goliath falls.  David walks up to him, takes Goliath’s sword and decapitates him.  A bloody ending it’s true, but a triumph for Israel.

It is a story that gives us hope in the face of our own trials and struggles.  So often we are faced with situations in our lives that are far beyond our capabilities.  We don’t know how to respond and sometimes doubt our ability even to survive.  Young David’s complete trust in God gives us heart.  His unimagined victory gives us courage.  So, this morning we pray for trust in God who again and again has helped us to prevail in the darkest times in our lives.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of lay formation for Holy Cross Province and is stationed at Immaculate Conception Retreat in Chicago.

Scripture:
1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19, 10:1a
Mark 2:18-22

Reflection:
Sometimes when one sees the person that a friend or family member has chosen to fall rapturously in love with, it can be a real head-scratching moment.  "What in heaven’s name is she thinking? Why did she choose him?"

If one could be a cosmic observer, we might feel similarly perplexed about God’s devotion to us.  Half the time we humans are fickle and self-absorbed, and that’s not even counting the times when our wrongs are of a more serious and damaging nature. But love us God does, loyally and abundantly and in the full light of our shortcomings.

We see this reality lived out in today’s Gospel when Jesus, God’s love made flesh, forgoes the educated and elite of his day-those seemingly most entitled-and chooses instead to invite the emotionally tattered, the psychically flawed, the physically scarred to dine at his table and be known by him. What unlikely and imperfect lovers we are for a God! And yet beloved we are.

Are we not witnessing an upending of the old order and the birth of new one in the Kingdom of God? It’s as if we, like poor Saul in the first reading, woke up one morning to do yet another of life’s mundane but necessary tasks, and in the midst of wandering about simply trying to get the job done, found we were to lifted to the height of human experience. Where’s the logic in that?

There is no explaining human or divine love; it is surely a mystery of the most mysterious proportions. If there is anything to be said with some certainty, it is that God’s love is not reserved for the most fitting or even the righteous. It is given to we who are in need of it; we who show up at the door to His kingdom penniless, rootless, confused, misguided, erring, a mess. It is we who God welcomes like a radiant lover, driving the head-scratchers crazy trying to understand why.

 

Nancy Nickel is director of communications at the Passionist Development Office in Chicago.

 

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

The prophet Isaiah wrote: "In quiet and in trust your strength lies." (Isaiah 30:15). As people of prayer and reflection and then action, we know the truth of his words.  Young Samuel, sleeping in God’s temple in Shiloh, was perhaps just getting used to his surroundings, to helping the elderly Eli, when he heard God’s voice.  How often when we settle ourselves down, after a busy day, as we reflect on the day’s (or week’s or year’s) events, we too hear God’s voice.  I can’t help but smile whenever I read this selection from the first book of Samuel.  Eli perhaps thought that Samuel was simply having trouble getting to sleep, before he realized God was calling the lad.

All of us can point to quiet nights when we heard God’s voice.  I recall when I heard God’s voice at the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center in my college years….a moment I’ll always treasure.

How much more we need those quiet moments after (or even during) much busy-ness…in raising a family, in work situations, in ministry.  Jesus himself sought and needed those quiet moments and hours with God: "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed."  After steeling himself with the sweet intimacy of enjoying his Father’s presence without interruption, Jesus goes out to heal and drive out demons.  

Our community here in Houston has been reading and reflecting on John Allen’s 

book THE FUTURE CHURCH.  In the first chapter, he quotes Fr. James Okoye: "….the implicit Christology of many Africans is that of "Christus Victor", whose resurrection invested him with definitive power to vanquish the dark forces in the spiritual world…."  Dark forces, as we know too well (racism, corporate and personal greed among many others) still exist in our world.

The power of God that worked through Samuel and Jesus is still working through us today.  May we know the sweet intimacy with God that Jesus experienced, and like him, announce God’s kingdom far and wide.

 

Fr. Bob Bovenzi, C.P. is stationed in Houston, Texas.

 

 

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

When I was much younger, I remember being told that I have a compassionate way of being with people in pain.  Yet it took a long time before I realized there is something deep within me that is named "healer", that I cannot be who I am without helping people heal.  Then it took even longer before I figured out how to concretely make that happen, how to live out the identity God bestowed upon me. 

I’ve often noticed similarities when vowed and ordained religious tell me their life stories.  Almost inevitably, others pointed out their gifts or raised the possibility of a religious vocation long before they appropriated that calling as their own, and then they discerned the specifics of how to enflesh it. 

This growth process is encapsulated in the Christmas season.  We begin with the birth of the infant whose distinctive nature is proclaimed by heaven and earth through stars, angels, shepherds, and astronomers from afar.  This extended epiphany comes to an end when, 30 years later, Jesus takes the first tentative steps toward the fulfillment of that calling, publicly claiming the identity that was announced so long ago.

I imagine it was an emotional moment.  What courage did it take for him to leave Mary and his home in Nazareth to set out on public ministry?  What doubts and fears co-existed with his excitement and ever- growing passion to shine a light on the world?  How sure was he of the path, or even of the next step?  Was that voice from heaven meant primarily for those around Jesus, or was it equally intended as a necessary "push", offering him the reassurance he needed to embark on this journey?  When Jesus encountered the depths of pain, betrayal, and suffering that living out his "Beloved Son-ness" entailed, how often did he return to the memory of that day, to the dove from heaven and the voice of one so familiar, in order to sustain him?

These are questions I ponder, for it is much easier to have a sense of my calling than it is to publicly proclaim that calling and discern the specific actions required.  It is easier to know I want to write a book than it is to determine the particular focus and actually write one.  It is easier to know my kids need to be free to make their own way than it is to wholeheartedly send my son off to New Zealand.  It is easier to recognize I am at a transition point in my life than it is to determine where I am heading, to know what I want to be doing a year or five years from now, and it is always difficult to know whether I am on the right track.

Sometimes, especially in the midst of pain, when I don’t understand and my world seems covered in darkness, it is hard to rest on God’s promises.  Can I trust?  Do I want to claim and live out a baptism that leads inevitably to the cross?  Can I continue to cling to my belief that God has grasped me by the hand and claimed me as a beloved daughter when I am clinging to it with my fingernails as I hang over the precipice?

 Baptism is not easy.  Discipleship and authentic Christian living test me to the core and at times exhaust me.  Can I keep returning to that reassuring voice?  Perhaps just for today I can stand with Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, unsure of where I’m going and what my ministry will entail and yet open to hearing and gratefully accepting the everlasting love and faithfulness of the God who formed me, loves me, and will never leave me to face my trials alone.  Perhaps I can once again claim my identity as a beloved child guided by the Spirit.  Perhaps if I can do that, just for today, it will give me the courage I need to take the next step.

 

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.amyflorian.com/.