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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, March 2, 2024

Scripture: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Reflection: The beginning of today’s gospel sets the scene: tax collectors and sinners were gathered around Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, March 1, 2024

Scripture: Genesis 37:3-4,12-13a,17b-28aMatthew 21:33-43, 45-46 Reflection: We want to think we are usually in control of our lives, and when we are not, we believe we can regain control.  The » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 29, 2024

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Luke 16:19-31 Reflection: In today’s gospel, Jesus asks us to consider something shocking. How could a man who has everything allow a man, whose only possessions were » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 28, 2024

Scripture: Jeremiah 18:18-20Matthew 20:17-28 Reflection: In our gospel reading from Matthew today we see Jesus and the apostles heading to Jerusalem. Jesus shares with them a pretty grim picture of » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 26, 2024

Scripture: Daniel 9:4b-10Luke 6:36-38 Reflection: For those of us who grew up in the heyday of post-WWII Catholic life, Lent brings back vivid images of boldly (and a bit too » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 25, 2024

Second Sunday of Lent Scripture: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18Romans 8:31b-34Mark 9:2-10 Reflection: Today’s readings are difficult to comprehend. Abraham, it seems, was misguided into thinking that God would want » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 24, 2024

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:16-19Matthew 5:43-48 Reflection: Today’s Gospel tells us to be kind: “Be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 23, 2024

Scripture: Ezekiel 18:21-28Matthew 5:20-26 Reflection: In our Gospel reading, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 22, 2024

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4Matthew 16: 13-16         Reflection: I read today’s gospel and wondered why St. Matthew made such a point of telling us they had entered » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, February 21, 2024

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-16Luke 11:29-32 Reflection: In our first reading Jonah is telling the Ninevites that if they don’t repent Nineveh will be destroyed.  (Jonah 3:1-3) The people of Nineveh didn’t » Continue Reading.

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