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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, August 7, 2025

Scripture: Numbers 20:1-13Matthew 16:13-23 Reflection: Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,‘God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.’He turned and said to Peter,‘Get » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 6, 2025

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Scripture: Daniel 7:9-10,13-142 Peter 1:16-19Luke 9:28b-36 Reflection: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan recently distributed a photo taken by an American military photographer » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 5, 2025

Scripture: Numbers 12:1-13Matthew 14:22-36 Reflection: Moses had a very special place in God’s eyes.  It is said that he could speak face to face with the Divine.  A privilege that » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 4, 2025

Memorial of St. John Vianney Scripture: Numbers 11:4-15Matthew 14:13-21 Reflection: Serving The People of God…Opportunities and Challenges In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew recounts Jesus’ actions after He heard of the » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 3, 2025

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11Luke 12:13-21 Reflection: What do we labour for? What is our deeper motivation, and what gives us the capacity to persist and achieve all that » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 2, 2025

Scripture: Leviticus 25:1, 8-17Matthew 14:1-12 Reflection: “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work God had done in creation.” ~ » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, August 1, 2025

Scripture: Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37Matthew 13:54-58 Reflection: Today was a significant day for the Nazarenes. Jesus, one of their own, has been preaching and performing miracles around Galilee, » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, July 31, 2025

Scripture: Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38Matthew 13:47-53 Reflection: The Kingdom of heaven is like…. Today’s passage is from the great part of Matthew’s Gospel during which Jesus opens his “mouth in parables.”  » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, July 30, 2025

Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35Matthew 13:44-46 Reflection: In the last several years, I attended three family weddings, and each time, someone has commented on the couple’s facial expressions during the ceremony. Often, » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, July 29, 2025

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus Scripture: Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9, 28John 11:19-27 Reflection: I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will » Continue Reading.

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