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Daily Reflections

Daily Scripture, September 17, 2025

Scripture:

1 Timothy 3:14-16
Luke 7:31-35

Reflection:

Our readings today might aptly be described as a “lesson on manners,” a brief but very insightful tutorial on how Christians ought and ought not to behave. In the passage from 1 Timothy, we are reminded that through baptism we were incorporated into “the household of God.” Even though all of us belong to multiple “households” (family, friendships, local communities, groups and organizations), none should ever become more important than the household of God, which is “the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” The household of God is our true place of belonging, the foundation and center of our lives; no other “household” should ever supplant it.

Lest we think the household of God is a haphazard collection of individuals, each doing as he or she pleases, the writer insists that every member should “know how to behave in the household of God.” That’s because as we grow as members of that household, we are initiated into the ways of God that have been revealed to us in Christ. By learning the “manners” of Christ, we can fulfill our baptismal vocation of witnessing Christ in our lives until, as 1 Timothy promises, he is “believed in throughout the world.”

By contrast, today’s strange nugget of a gospel shows us how not to behave; it is a pithy, if initially perplexing, lesson in “bad manners.” Jesus zeroes in on people who are always finding fault, always criticizing, and using that as an excuse to reject the message as well as the messenger. John the Baptist comes along, and rather than taking his message to heart, they declare, “He is possessed by a demon.” Then Jesus stands right in front of them, and rather than opening their hearts to receive him, they mock him as “a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” As a result, they stay exactly as they were, untouched, unchanged, unredeemed. That’s not only bad manners; it’s also an inconsolable tragedy.

Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family of Holy Cross Province.

Daily Scripture, December 23, 2012

The Fourth Sunday of Advent Scripture: Micah 5:1-4a Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 Reflection: In our Gospel reading from Luke, we hear the account of the Visitation, the time when Mary » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 19, 2012

Scripture: Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a Luke 1:5-25 Reflection: Then Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 18, 2012

Scripture: Jeremiah 23:5-8 Matthew 1:18-25 Reflection: Its one thing to be called a righteous man as St. Joseph was.  Mary, his fiancée, is pregnant.  The law would have punished her » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 17, 2012

Monday of the Third Week of Advent  Scripture: Genesis 49:2, 8-10 Matthew 1:1-17 Reflection: A voice proclaims in the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD!  Isaiah 40:3   As » Continue Reading.

Daily Reflection, December 16, 2012

  The Third Sunday of Advent  Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-18a Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18   Reflection: God in our midst Last Advent Sunday we were told by John the Baptist to » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 15, 2012

Scripture: Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11 Matthew 17:9a, 10-13 Reflection: From glory to the cross, from high mountain top to the valley, from acceptance to rejection, how often that is the path » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 14, 2012

Scripture: Isaiah 48:17-19 Matthew 11:16-19 Reflection: I find it hard not to have questions and concerns in today’s uncertain world.  Everything is made even more difficult with our fast paced » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 13, 2012

Scripture: Isaiah 41:13-20 Matthew 11:11-15 Reflection: The violent know no limits. Mass graves are filled by narco-traffickers with impunity. Drones are drop bombs in Pakistan and Afghanistan and innocent civilians » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 12, 2012

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe  Scripture: Zechariah 2:14-17 Luke 1:26-38 Reflection: Appearances by the Virgin Mary have been regularly reported throughout the centuries. Some enthusiastic believers go into » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, December 11, 2012

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11 Matthew 18:12-14 Reflection: "Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem…" Is 40:1 Some of Scripture’s most sublime poetry lies within Isaiah » Continue Reading.

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