Reflections on the Gospel Reading for the Day
Do we ask Jesus to go away or ask to follow him?
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district (Mt 8:34).
After hearing of the healing of the demoniacs and the herd of swine rushing into the water, the townsfolk came out and begged Jesus to leave. This is also attested to in the Gospel of Mark 5:17. Luke adds that the people asked Jesus to leave because: “they were seized with great fear” (Lk 8:37). Jesus healed two demoniacs in Matthew’s account, one in the Mark and Luke accounts, and the people asked him to leave in all the accounts. Hearing of Jesus’ healing power to expel demons, that the swine ran into the seas, and hearing about his act of mercy and grace, would we too ask Jesus to leave?
Before answering, “No, of course not!” too quickly, how many times have our own judgments, prejudices, and self-centeredness, our own lack of understanding for the bigger picture, our own fear, been chosen over living the Gospel in our own lives? Is our life shaped by the Gospel message of Jesus? Do we wrestle with the challenge of how we are to love our enemies, to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, to turn the other cheek, and to answer in practical, concrete ways, “What you do to the least of these: you do it to me?” Or, if we read or listen to the Gospels at all, do we seek to adjust Jesus’ message, to conform God to our will, to fit the message to our lifestyle, what works for us? Is the radiance of Jesus’ mercy, love and grace too bright for us such that we wince, that we feel it is too much to bear, and we also say, “Go away!”?
In these slower summer days, may we make some time to read, slowly and prayerfully, each of the accounts of the healing of the Gadarene demoniac(s) the three synoptic Gospels mentioned above. We will also notice with Mark and Luke’s telling that the demoniac asked to follow Jesus after being healed. Jesus said to the man: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The one who was so bound up by possession that he was out of his mind, still had some glimmer of hope that he could be healed and ran up to and prostrated himself before Jesus, was healed and freed to proclaim the Gospel to the whole city.
In our reading and prayer, may we enter into this powerful account and also encounter Jesus. What still enslaves and binds us such that we continue to be separated from God and others? Will we give in to our fear and beg Jesus to leave us, or open our mind, heart, and soul to his healing word and touch? May we, as the man possessed did prostrate ourselves before Jesus, surrender to him, so to experience the healing mercy, love, and forgiveness of Jesus that we too may be free. Free to experience freedom for excellence, free to embrace who we truly are and who the Holy Spirit guides us to be.
Let us pray for each other that Jesus may forgive and free us as he freed the two demoniacs in today’s Gospel account from Matthew. May he free us from that which keeps us from being human and humane, so are more willing to encounter, accompany, encourage, embrace, and love one another. Our country may appear to be coming apart at the seams and getting darker each day. This is why we are called to be contemplatives in action, to be bearers of healing and reconciliation.
When we are truly people of prayer, God will lead us to act. Jesus guides us as he did the demoniac (in Mark and Luke) who wanted to follow him. Jesus sent him home to his community and we are sent to do the same; to be engaged, to share the love and mercy we have received from Jesus, and be his agents of change and reconciliation in our own unique ways.
Painting: James Tissot, The Swine Driven into the Sea
Parallel accounts of today’s Gospel see: Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, Luke 8:26-39
Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, July 1, 2021
Peter and Paul answered. How do we answer, “Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus said to his Apostles, “But who do you say that I am” (Mt 16:15)?
Have we answered the same question that Jesus posed to his apostles for ourselves? Too often we move from this to that, one situation to another, putting out fires and moving from one crisis to another, or we are just seeking to make it through another day.
To be a Christian is not a call to stop living our lives, but it is an invitation to live our lives in, with, and for Jesus. We have been described as a People of the Book, along with Jews and Muslims. This is true, yet, even more so, we are a people of encounter; we encounter the Living Word, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.
Peter and Paul encountered Jesus in their lives and were changed forever. We can encounter the same Jesus when we slow down enough to pray with the Word proclaimed in the Liturgy of the Mass or read in personal prayer.
As a very simple example: except for the first Office of the day, in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, the opening prayer is, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.” I still need to embrace the depth of those words instead of repeatedly passing through them, not really taking in what I am saying!!! Also, how many times do we make the Sign of the Cross without being attentive to the profound act we have just engaged ourselves in?
Through invoking this prayer and making this sacramental gesture, we are acknowledging that the Creator of all that exists is a part of our lives. Each one is also a prayer we may lean on when tempted, stressed, worried, or anxious. Each one is an affirmation of a commitment to resist giving in to a mindset of minimalism and self-centeredness. All things are possible when we mindfully choose to align ourselves with Jesus, participate in the communion of the Holy Trinity, and welcome the invitation to love others as God loves us.
Peter and Paul both answered the question that Jesus posed. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16), and Paul “proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20)! I invite you to read today’s Gospel account from Matthew a few times, imagine yourself being present in the scene, and then as Jesus approaches and asks “Who do you say that I am?” How do you respond? How we answer this question makes a difference.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Painting of Saints Peter and Paul by El Greco, 16th Century
Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, June 29, 2021
Jesus provides the true security that we seek.
In today’s Gospel a scribe approaches Jesus. Often, when a scribe is mentioned in the Gospels, one can expect a conflict. This time though, it appears that this scribe has not come to challenge Jesus, but has a sincere interest in following him, of becoming one of his disciples because he said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go” (Mt 8:19). Just as Jesus responded to the rich man who sought what he must do to enter the kingdom of God, so Jesus challenged the scribe, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Mt 8:20).
The life of the scribe was generally very sedentary and stable. They, more than likely, would have sought urban areas where they could have access to more opportunities to practice their writing craft such as the recording of the collection of taxes, the recording of royal decisions and decrees, secretarial roles in government, as well as be legal scholars of the Torah. Some scribes could rise to high levels influencing kings or sitting on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council in Jerusalem. The life of Jesus was that of an itinerant preacher. For the remainder of his ministry he would not be staying in one place for long. If the scribe truly wanted to follow Jesus he would need to give up his present lifestyle and be willing to go on the road with Jesus.
There is no response from the scribe to Jesus’ invitation. This is well and good because it gives us the opportunity to answer the question for ourselves. How would we respond? Where do we place our security? Do we place our security in our job, in our home, our family, our trade, vocation, or career choice? Those pursuing college degrees, are you being led by Jesus or the pursuit of power, pleasure, wealth, and/or honor?
When we truly place our hope and security in Jesus instead of that which is finite and limited, we will be less attached to the things of this world, we can live more simply and be freer to reach out beyond ourselves to give and provide aid, comfort, and support to those who are in need. Our lives will be more balanced and fulfilling when we let go of our white-knuckled grip of those material realities that we cling to for security and safety.
As was true with the disciples, our minds, hearts, and spirits need to first be open to the invitation of Jesus to follow him. Then as we follow his guidance we need to recognize that our transformation takes time. We are to persevere in prayer, draw strength from the love of the Holy Spirit and each other as trials, experiences, sufferings, and growing pains arise. Jesus has a unique vocational call for each of us. To close today, let us pray the hymn written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey:
O God of truth, prepare our minds
to hear and heed your holy word.
Fill every heart that longs for you
with your mysterious presence, Lord.
Almighty Father, with your Son
and blessed Spirit, hear our prayer.
Teach us to love eternal truth
and seek its freedom everywhere.
Photo of my mother and me after Mass at St Philip, the parish where I received my First Communion taken during my visit to CT a few years ago.
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, June 28, 2021
Even when storm clouds gather, Jesus provides a light to shine in the darkness.
Jesus is walking with a large crowd about him toward the home of Jairus. Jairus had pleaded with Jesus to come with him to lay hands on his daughter because she was near death. On the way, “a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years” (Mk 5:25) reached out and touched the cloak of Jesus.
This woman was considered unclean, an untouchable, likened to a leper, such that she could not participate in the regular social activities of her community, including worship. She was most likely able to weave her way through the crowd to get to Jesus because as she approached, people gave way, not wanting to be “contaminated”. She had sought help for years and found none. She had heard about the healing powers of Jesus and believed: “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured” (Mk 5:28). The woman knew the risk that was involved. Touching a man in public, especially because she was unclean, was breaking the law. This act could lead to public shame and/or worse. Yet, she was willing to take the risk and was instantly healed.
Jesus, as the very embodiment of Love, healed her from his very being the moment she touched him. Jesus felt the power go out of him and asked who had touched his clothes. The woman could have attempted to walk away, could have remained silent, instead she “approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth” (Mk 5:33). Jesus did not condemn her for breaking the Levitical law. He acknowledged her faith and confirmed her healing, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction” (Mk 5:34). In the midst of storm clouds of gloom and despair, Jesus was the radiant sun of hope and renewal.
While this whole incident is transpiring, there is Jairus, who must have been in agony. Storm clouds of fear gathered in his mind, as the last hope for his daughter whose life was hanging on a thread, was being tied up by this woman who Jesus was making the time to talk! Then the horrific clap of thunder sounded, the news of his daughter’s death is brought to him. Could this woman’s interruption have cost his daughter’s life? Jesus, again a light in the gathering darkness, spoke to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (Mk 5:36).
The same faith of the woman who he had just witnessed interacting with Jesus. The woman who may had taken up the precious moments that prevented Jesus from getting to his daughter. The woman who he had most likely seen time and again over the past twelve years and kept at a distance, or worse indifferently ignored. Most likely their eyes met after Jesus’ words to him. In his eyes fear and bewilderment, yet in hers a peace and strength of faith that may have given him just enough hope that led him to take those first steps with Jesus. They resumed their journey, arrived at the home of Jairus, and Jesus healed the daughter.
The account of Jairus, the woman with the hemorrhage, and their encounter with Jesus (Mk 5:21-43) has much to offer us today. Like Jairus, the synagogue official, who sought the aid of Jesus for his daughter, there are many in our country today that have serious need, and which is sometimes dire. Like the woman with the hemorrhage, someone on the peripheries, considered unclean, on the outside, who sought help for twelve years and could find no relief, risked all to get to Jesus, there are many seeking to come to our country seeking asylum, seeking a better life. They are willing to risk their lives to get here. Are we willing to encounter them as Jesus encountered the woman with the hemorrhage? Are we willing to provide equal access to healthcare for everyone in our country, as Jesus was willing to go to the home of Jairus to heal his daughter?
About 25.4 million refugees worldwide are fleeing their countries because of conflict or persecution. Our approach to those seeking a better life economically, those seeking asylum, no matter their country of origin, whether it be from our southern border or from across the seas, ought to be one in which we afford the opportunity for our brothers and sisters to do so. Following the lead of Jesus, we can protect our country as well as extend open arms to welcome those seeking entrance, seeking aid. We can also provide better care for those in need in our country now, some 33 million who do not still have access to health care.
Too many times in the history of our country, and unfortunately in our present time, has fear risen to produce the storm clouds of protectionism and isolationism directed toward those without and assimilation toward those within. Neither is a healthy approach. Regarding how we interact with one another, how we seek to provide for one another, we need to resist feeding our fear of lack and prejudices, and instead look to the light embodied by the words that Jesus spoke to Jairus in today’s Gospel when he said, “Do not be afraid; just have faith” (Mk 5:36).
Looking for scapegoats is not the answer either. We become better when we access the rich diversity of not only various cultures but of thought. A more unified approach while embracing the fullness of diversity is more of a challenge but richer and more sustaining as we seek to create policies that support the dignity of each person from the moment of conception, through each unique life, until natural death.
Conforming to Jesus, we can create a way to support and uplift one another. Even when it seems impossible, even when the storm clouds gather, Jesus as the Son of God, provides the light to guide our way through the gloom. Jesus as fully human has also experienced the worst of our fallen humanity and met it not with revenge but forgiveness and love. Let us place our faith and trust in Jesus, step away from mistrust and instead embrace one another.
Photo: Gathering clouds cannot hide the Saturday night.
Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, June 27, 2021
May we be open to being healed and agents of healing others.
The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8:8).
After Jesus finishes his Sermon on the Mount, he comes down from the mountain. In the opening of chapter eight, we see two hearts open to God, a leper and a centurion. The centurion may or may not have been a Roman but he certainly was a Gentile. He, a member of an occupying army, was aware of the animosity many Jews felt toward him. Yet he, like the leper, approached Jesus.
Jesus saw in the leper, not revulsion, and in the centurion, not an enemy, but first and foremost, human beings in need, two persons with faith and belief. Reading on we see that Jesus also heals the mother-in-law of Peter and many who are possessed. Jesus reached out to them with a simple touch of his hand, with his healing words and in so doing brought to each of them the healing they sought. Jesus shows us that the kingdom of his Father is open to all who have faith and believe.
We are all wounded by sin and in need of the healing word and touch of Jesus in our lives. Jesus, who is already present to us, is also waiting for us to ask, and open our hearts and minds to him so to be healed, to be transformed by his love and mercy. We, like the centurion, can approach Jesus on behalf of others who are also in need of healing. Let us resist the temptation to judge anyone as unworthy to receive the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus but be willing to see the need of others, be willing to be present, and be of some assistance.
As God brings people into our lives, let us receive them as Jesus did: as fellow human beings, first and foremost, created in his image and likeness, regardless of another’s religious, ethnic, racial, political, social, gender, national, economic, refugee, immigrant, or enemy status. May we be healed from any revulsion, prejudice, or defining others with labels and instead be willing to allow Jesus to reach out through us to share his healing word or extend his healing touch to one another.
Painting: Sebastiano Ricci, 16th century Italy
Link for the Mass for Saturday, June 26, 2021
We are most like Jesus, most human, when we are willing to come close.
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean” (Mt 8:2-3).
Jesus could have healed the man with a word from a distance. Instead, he chose to come close and to reach out and touch the leper. In doing so, he risked contamination, risked being deemed ritually unclean. Yet, Jesus came close anyway and touched the man such that he was healed. The Son of God, from his reality of divinity with his Father, beyond all space and time, was sent by his Father, to come close to us and become human. He became one with us in our humanity so we could become one with him in his divinity.
There are many ways in which we consider others to be unclean and so deemed to be kept at arm’s length. Doing so cuts us off from entering into a relationship with one another AND God. We then begin to believe the stirring of thoughts swirling around in our minds about the other person or persons instead of getting to know another human being with their imperfections yes, but also their gifts.
Getting to know someone beyond first appearances or prejudgements happens when we spend time together. There is a lot more to who we are than the caricatures we may have had imposed upon us or we have imposed upon others. This is also true regarding our relationship with God. We so often attempt to reduce God to what we can understand. God is not about limitation but expansion. He comes close to us in his Son so through Jesus we can get to know the love of the Holy Spirit shared between them and once we have experienced this love we are to reach out to others in their need.
Jesus continues to come close, to touch and heal us as he did the leper in today’s Gospel. If we are willing, he seeks to be intimately a part of every aspect of our lives. He seeks to accompany us in our fears, struggles, and pain. He also celebrates with us when we overcome, repent, experience joy, and especially when we love one another. When we are willing to close the gap and come close, willing to be a conduit of accompaniment and reconciliation, we will begin to see healing in ourselves, our families, communities, and beyond our bubble wrap of comfort. The question is: Are we, like the leper, willing to allow Jesus to come close and like Jesus, willing to draw near to others?
Photo: Willing to come close and build friendships!
Link for the Mass readings for Friday, June 25, 2021
Having a sense of identity is important, while being persons of integrity is paramount.
“No. He will be called John” (Lk 1:60).
With these simple words, three inter-related points arise. First, Elizabeth is beginning to shift the momentum of original sin. Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat of the fruit that God had told her and Adam not to eat of, yet she did. Adam did not support her nor step in during her dialogue but remained silent in the face of the pressure placed upon Eve. Both of them slipped into sin by not following the will of God.
At the time of the birth of Elizabeth’s son, there was even more cause for celebration, for Elizabeth was past child-bearing years. The day had come to have the boy circumcised and named, her relatives and neighbors had gathered around with great excitement and there appeared to be a unanimous decision to name the boy after his father. Elizabeth did not, like Eve, cave to the pressure and temptation surrounding her. Unlike Adam who lost his voice at the time he needed to speak up, Zechariah found his voice, had Elizabeth’s back. Both Elizabeth and Zechariah knew what God wanted them to do and were faithful to follow through despite any cultural pressure and established norm to the contrary.
The second point is already alluded to in the first, and that is how Elizabeth and Zechariah were faithful to God amidst the familial and social pressure placed on them. Some may be removed by such familial pressure when naming a child, but for this time, Elizabeth despite the pressure held her ground and stood firm that the boy would be named John. Ignoring her, the people deferred to Zechariah, the boy’s father, thinking he would have more sense, but he, ignoring the paternal cultural pressure, supported Elizabeth. The point here is not so much the name, but the following of the will of God in the face of pressure to do the opposite.
This brings us to the third point and that is the maturation in moving from identity to integrity. Culture and traditions are not sacred, but God is. Elizabeth and Zechariah faced a lot of familial and social pressure to conform, yet they chose to be true to God, to be true to themselves, and they chose integrity over their identity.
The very simple account of Elizabeth and Zechariah naming their child John in opposition to the pressure offers for us a way to counteract the rising tide of polarization and conflicts that we face in our own country today. Identity provides safety, support, and security. It fuels one of our deepest pangs of hunger and that is to belong, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We can find our identity in family, friendships, our religious traditions, culture, political affiliations, common interests, clubs, activities, and hobbies. But our identity, which provides us with security and stability is good but can also be a trap.
We want to belong so much, the drive is so strong, that we may have made decisions, acted in ways, and supported others, that go against who we are just so that we can belong. We may have known what God wants from us, heard the whispers of his voice in our conscience, yet were pulled by the louder voices of our group. We are sometimes so ingrained by our identity that we are being strangled and suffocated by it.
In today’s Gospel account, Elizabeth and Zechariah were true to the will of God and won over those placing pressure on them by their family and neighbors. More often though, being a person of integrity does not go so well. Their own son, who would grow up to be John the Baptist, would lose his life by speaking truth to power.
John would also show his integrity when he said, “I must decrease and he must increase” (cf. John 3:30). John was talking about Jesus who embodies the moral courage that we all need today. Though more than just a model of a life well-lived, more than just a word on the page, Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is present to us now, to guide and lead us, to empower us with the same love that he embodies, such that when we invite him into our lives, we too can be transformed to live a life of truth, moral courage, and integrity.
Becoming less, like John the Baptist, and allowing Jesus to be more by working through us, will help us to act and speak up for those that are being belittled, demeaned, and/or dehumanized. We can then transcend the ranks of identity and rise to the heights of integrity, especially when it means standing up to those in our “group.” Protecting police officers, priests, and/or political leaders who have abused their power at the expense of others for the sake of protecting the identity of the institution or our place in it not only adds further abuse but weakens the institution. While at the same time, casting a net of guilt by association over all in any group is also unjust. We also may be shaming those who could be the very ones to help to bring about necessary and sustainable change.
Being people of integrity, we are to speak for those who have been abused and not afforded basic human dignity. We are to protect those who might be at risk and/or those who have been or are being abused, oppressed, and/or prevented equal access. This provides a necessary step in providing support for those needing healing, allows for the planning and enacting of the necessary reforms to end the risk of further abuse and create more equitable access.
All of which will also strengthen the integrity of those within the construct of institutions that are put in place to empower the very people they serve. We are to hold each other accountable while at that same time be willing to work toward a reconciliation that will arise through mutual respect, openness to dialogue, collaboration, and reconciliation.
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Photo: Dorothy Day speaking with police officers during her time picketing for the rights of farmworkers in California in 1973. Credit – Bob Fitch.
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, June 24, 2021
Reading, meditating and praying with the Gospels daily will lead us to encounter the living Word, Jesus the Christ.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them” (Mt 7:15-16).
So as not be taken in by false prophets within in our Church and society, and most importantly, so as not to be wolves in sheep’s clothing ourselves, we need to know the Shepherd. We need to know, as St Irenaeus (whose feast we celebrate on Monday the 28th) described: Jesus, “who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself” (p. 526 Against Heresies, Book V, Introduction). Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who entered and embraced our fallen and wounded condition to become fully human while remaining fully divine, came to shine a light on that which causes division and disunity. Jesus came to reveal those sinful acts which estrange us from God and one another. Jesus came to show us the value of our unique dignity as human beings, the wonder of God’s creation that we are, and empower us so as to restore our relationship with God and one another.
How can we know Jesus today as we are removed from the time of the Apostles?
One way is that we can begin by following the lead of Pope Francis who has been encouraging us to read and prayerfully reflect upon the Gospels each day.
This does not mean that we just read the words on the page with the sole intent to finish it and move on to something else, so as to complete one more task. Instead we are to read slowly, reflectively, spending time with Jesus by mediating on a word or phrase from the Gospel that peaks our attention. We may receive an insight, an intuition, a confirmation, a sense of excitement, or a question as we are reading. We can also be confused, perplexed and frustrated. A helpful practice is to place ourselves in the scene as if we are watching a movie. Then we can imagine our senses coming alive and pay attention to what arises.
Another gift of encountering Jesus in the Gospels, that some may not recognize as a gift, is that we will naturally be drawn to examine our conscience as we read and ponder the life and teachings of Jesus. As we are able to see those fruits of selfishness, greed, judgment, gluttony, lust, pride, indifference, sloth, envy, wrath, and/or any others that we are bearing. We can then seek God’s forgiveness so to begin to prune those branches within us that lead to such fruits. This discipline will provide more energy and nourishment for the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, chastity, goodness, generosity and self-control, to grow and mature in our life.
It is important to sit with the encounters we experience from a reflective and meditative reading of the Gospels and not just blow off what arises. We need to pay attention, meditate for a time on that word, phrase, insight, or other experience that has arisen. We need to also be open to wrestling with passages that may challenge us, that we do not understand, or disagree with. Each experience provides us with the opportunity to ponder and discern what God may be revealing to us.
Through a daily commitment of praying with, meditating upon, and allowing the Gospels to come alive, we will not only know about Jesus but come to encounter and know him and his voice as his disciples did, personally. We will in time begin to bear the fruit that arises from the nourishment the living Word of God provides that will shape our thoughts, words, and actions.
As we experience the Gospels critically as well as prayerfully, we will come to know Jesus and his voice, we will begin to recognize, through the fruits that others bear, those false prophets who seek to lead us astray, and so be better able to resist their temptations, as well as our own temptations. We will better know the truth of who we are and who God calls us to be. More importantly, we will not lead others astray but as we bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit we will help others through word and deed to experience the Shepherd in their lives.
Photo: I recently purchased The Word on Fire, Volume I – The Gospels. It is an awesome resource that provides rich commentaries from the Church Fathers, the saints through the ages, contemporary authors, and Bishop Robert Barron, whose Word on Fire team produced it. There are excellent artistic representations of the Gospel accounts to aid in mediation as well. A great resource for the journey!
Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Spiritual Stepping Stones 