The Word of God

Daily Reflections

• Reflection – Lectionary: 313

  “On a certain sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.” In the Gospel today, we witness yet another pathetic example of hypocrisy taken to its unusual conclusion. Clearly, these people were as closed as a dead oyster. The scribes and Pharisees would rather a man suffer with a horribly deformed hand than be cured on the Sabbath. This is because they prefer to maintain a deformed view of reality, and others suffer who do not fit into their constructs and mindsets.  You see, the Sabbath is much more than law, but truly a gift of God’s care for all of us. He rested on the seventh day not out of fatigue, but to show how a fruitful life should be lived, with enough time for re-creation and renewal.  Our redemption from sin and death is truly the work of God and not us. He has literally “done all the work.” Now, for this glorious break, He wants us to enjoy it!

  On Sundays, try to remember this Reflection. Consider taking a different approach to the Sabbath and let God be at peace with you and for you. Cut out any unnecessary activity and focus on your hope of Heaven. Then perhaps we may truly appreciate the beauty of the creative courage of young David, who realized that this battle belonged to God, that he named his giant, and that he moved toward the challenge with no regrets precisely because he had rested and honored the Lord’s Sabbath. “Let your majesty not lose courage. I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine.”

  “A life built upon Sabbath is contented because in rhythms of rest, we discover our time is full of the holiness of God.”  Shelly Miller

• Reflection – Lectionary: 312

  In our First Reading, we are presented with an awesome scene of encouragement as we continue to move forward in this New Year:  “Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”  This Scripture clearly understood the right order of things in the Spiritual Universe, as Jesus recalled and reminded the Pharisees later in St. Mark’s Gospel: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” You see, the  Sabbath is much more than a law, but truly a gift of God’s care for all of us. He rested on the seventh day not out of fatigue, but to show how a fruitful life should be lived, with enough time for re-creation and renewal.  Our redemption from sin and death is truly the work of God and not us. He has literally “done all the work.” Now, for this glorious break, He wants us to enjoy!

  You and I, unfortunately, tend to rush through our busy week, maybe offering God a fleeting wave or a passing prayer. Sunday, the Sabbath, however, calls us to a true and thought-out decision with real intention. We are simply to stop all the other things we had to do or must do or have to do, and spend quality time with Him and focus attention on Him. When we decide to obey, that is, listen to the Fourth Commandment, we become aware of the astounding and comforting truth that we really belong to God. It is not the Sabbath that we worship but the One who has initiated the Sabbath as we swim in a sort of memorial in time, a useful tool to help us focus our attention on our awesome destiny. This coming Sunday, try to remember this Reflection. Take a different approach to the Sabbath and let God be at peace with you and for you. Cut out any unnecessary activity and focus on your hope of Heaven. Then perhaps we may truly appreciate the blessing of St. Paul for us, as cited from the Letter to the Ephesians in the Alleluia Verse of today: “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what the hope that belongs to our call.”  

  “A world without a Sabbath would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. It is the most joyous day of the week.”  Henry Ward Beecher

• Reflection – Lectionary: 311

  “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.” Perhaps among the top ten most understood terms used in common speech, we find the lonely word “obey.” In some circles, and this, of course, is wide open for debate, obedience means to blindly follow the order of another, usually one in authority or with power over us, given or taken, usually with dire consequences if the orders are not completed or compliant. This is certainly understandable, given that if a person in the military or other chains of command formats does not follow orders, that is, to obey a command, then there are serious and disastrous repercussions. However, to play this right, the word at its very heart means to be subject, serve, pay attention to, give ear, and thus literally, “to listen to.” 

  The Gospel, then, completes these thought developments with a very insightful and clever image: “Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.   Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins  are ruined.” We live in a sinful and wounded world. This much is true. But we also live in a milieu of darkness with the brightest of Lights deep within us. This much is certain because of Jesus. Then, at last, before going out into this bold universe, we must first listen, that is, obey the Lord and attempt to conduct ourselves with the Truth of the Gospel and navigate through a veritable labyrinth or maze of choices enlightened by the Word: “The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” So today, take some time and just be with God, even if it is in your vehicle or in between some necessary chore that was due two hours ago.

  Shhhhhhhh! Just listen. 

• Reflection – Lectionary: 310

  “This will be the sign for you that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage.” Several dictionary entries describe the condition of a two or double edge sword as something that has or can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences. Since the Scriptures are filled with references such as these, such as the account of King Saul’s humble beginnings, there is the not-so-remote possibility that something good, as well as something tragic, could happen. The first concern perhaps held by many of our Readers would be surrounding the strategy or ways we can know how to keep the best consequences flowing over and above the negative ones. This would certainly become the proverbial case with Saul , who could not find a healthy way to deal with his insane jealousy over his own son, the iconic King David. 

  The Gospel of this same day provides us all with such a methodology and comforting resolution to handling the two-edged sword of the most powerful words we should ever want to hear on the planet: “Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.'”  The only surefire way to approach the daily call to holiness and avoid the dangerous but likewise appealing calls to be selfish, leading us all the way to our final destination in Heaven, is simple and beautiful. We follow Jesus. We listen to Him, immerse ourselves in fruitful and comforting prayer, and then repeat this life-giving cycle every single morning of our lives.  

  “The sharp two-edged sword of the Word of God is without a dull book, a blunt chapter, or a flat verse.” Steven Lawson

• Reflection – Lectionary: 64

  “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” What we have today is truly a loving image of the one who brings light to every situation they enter. This does bring special nuance to the image that Jesus imparts to us to exemplify his love and care for the world. When you think about it, plants and crops are kind of like people, each having their own unique “personality” and preferences for water, sunlight, soil type, and best-growing conditions. The Lord knows this about us, so He attends to the varying needs of each of us in terms of what is best for us to grow and bear fruit in this life. Like plants, we too can harvest energy from the sun, that is, the Son of God; water, for example, is absolutely necessary for life and so are the waters of Baptism; Just like plants, human beings need nutrients both for the body and soul and for this we are fed on the Word of God in the Scriptures and Eucharist, the Body of Christ. And just like the plant world needs something, the soil that holds all the water and nutrients needed for growth, Jesus has given us the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. We also must recognize the rocks and thorns in our lives that can distract and choke the grace we need to grow in love for and with God and that is why we remain open to his beautiful Word today and always. 

  “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God.” All of us who live in the Kingdom want family, and we seek security in one way or another. We need intimacy to discover our place in the world and make a healthy connection with others, especially with God. What is the foundation of such levels of relationship? Fidelity and obedience. We feel and exist closer to the Lord the more we follow Him and live in the light of His love, starting with our desire and success to forgive even the deepest of pains in this life, especially betrayal. Imagine your own homecoming to Jesus in Heaven and all the stories you’ll share as you spent a lifetime looking for Him, too. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'”

  Hold your head up high and be Jesus today! 

  “Of course,  God does not consider you hopeless. If He did, He would not be moving you to seek Him (and He obviously is). What is going on with you at present is simply the beginning of the treatment. Continue seeking with cheerful seriousness. Unless He wanted you, you would not be wanting Him.” C. S. Lewis 

• Reflection – Lectionary: 309

  “Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.” Someone once wrote that true friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. The advice is quite simple: Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island, and thereby to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune and to maintain that friend, a blessing. If this is true, then we can learn much about life-giving friendships that are found all over the Bible.  When we find friends who help us believe in Jesus and maintain that love, we count ourselves among the truly blessed in this life.  We also pray that we may never learn too late that an honest enemy is always better than a friend who lies.

  Then, beautifully in the Gospel of today, we see that form of acting in a different kind of trusting, life-giving friendship: “They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.” This has to rank in the top 10 most dramatic scenes of the New Testament. Visualize the moment, if you can. Four friends are convinced that if Jesus can just touch their friend, he would be saved. And he was. Note well that Jesus was also moved by this act of friendship because he clearly noticed the faith of ALL the group of friends: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.”

  This has ramifications for all of us. We are here to help each other, but more critically, in the milieu that is created when we call someone a friend. With that comes true responsibility and care, yielding magnificent consequences. Pray for your friends today. Ask God to shine His face upon all of them. With friends like these, we may just in fact see God. 

  “To love another person is to see the face of God.” Victor Hugo 

• Reflection – Lectionary: 308 

  It would be a very sad day for anyone of us trying to follow the Lord if this statement from our First Reading were valid or applicable: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God.”   However, it isn’t the accusation that makes the account miserable; it is precisely WHY those who love the Lord find themselves in crushed spiritual battles. The answer: Arrogance, plain and simple. Many times, even believers find themselves defeated because of the swollen, egotistical, misguided, and misinformed confidence that they insanely believe that God’s will must surely reflect their own.  Their silliness is compounded and confirmed by their reaction after any stunning outcome; instead of humility and crying out to God for help, they lament in confusion. This is similar to those who attempt to put words in God’s mouth to justify their own positions and biases, and then don’t “get it” when everything backfires. Arrogance, as the proverb says, is a kingdom without a crown. 

  Then the Gospel places the capstone upon our reflection. The Law strictly forbade anyone from touching the leper. When Jesus touched and healed the one with this horrible, disfiguring disease, the humble, sorrowful but believing leper gave us the very opposite of arrogance and  reminded us that no one should be deemed untouchable, nor are we ever capable of judging who is worthy of receiving God’s love and mercy: “If you wish, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, ‘I do will it. Be made clean.” While it is very easy to sit on our self-made perches and self-taught premises and comment on the plight and weaknesses of everybody else except the one in the mirror, it is never sustainable. Defeat is inevitable. There is indeed a thin line between confidence and arrogance. It is called humility. Confidence smiles. Arrogance smirks. 

  “The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance.” Albert Einstein

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