praying scripture

Using scripture readings as a source of prayer

Monday, Second Week of Easter

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 28, 2025

Acts 4: 23-31, Psalm 2:1-4, 7-9, John 3:1-8

Today let’s talk about the Holy Spirit. We live in the time of the Spirit. Easter represents that change from Jesus, a person of history, to Jesus, our Savior. Easter is the basis of our faith. Jesus, a living human being died and rose to new life. Since that happened, each generation, beginning with the disciples has had to figure out what Easter means for them.  Jesus is no longer physically with us but amazingly he is still present.  As Jesus promised we were not left alone. The Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Spirit if you will, is part of our lives in a way so intimate and personal that I suspect many of us don’t always recognize the Spirit’s presence with us. That is what our readings are about today: the amazing presence and life giving support of the Holy Spirit.

The first reading presents exactly what we need to know. Peter and John had been threatened by the Pharisees. So the first thing they did was go to the community and the first thing the community did was pray for the Spirit to strengthen them to do what needed to be done. What may not be obvious in this sequence is that the Holy Spirit was part of their understanding before they made that first move. Jesus says it best in the Gospel, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Peter and John and the community of faithful wouldn’t have known what to do unless they had already been “born from above.”  We might say they had been converted, or had faith, they already believed in the power of God to be part of what was happening around them.

In the Gospel, Jesus is trying to get Nicodemus to look at life so he can see how much more is at hand. He is saying there is something more to this life than the physical world taken at face value. There is more to everything.

Unless we move beyond the immediate physical world and all its limitations we won’t see the Kingdom of God either. I don’t mean going to heaven after we’ve died. I mean the Kingdom that can be created right here, right now. That Kingdom, that reality is only accessible through the Spirit, God’s Spirit, Jesus’ Spirit.

I think Jesus is talking about the possibility of overcoming life’s limitations, the things that threaten us. We all know and can think of examples: how about overcoming the fear that keeps us from taking on something new, overcoming hatred that separates people, overcoming ego that makes us righteous, overcoming ambition that keeps us from being generous? Wouldn’t that be a birth to new life? That way of living is beyond the physical it is the realm of the spirit. There is more to life than the physical but we have to be open to it. Jesus again, put it this way, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” We have to be willing to see the possibility, to have faith that the Holy Spirit can be a real factor in our lives.

Acts tries to tell us how real and concrete the action of the Spirit can be. It says, “As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook” And the result of their prayer? “They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God fearlessly.” It says, fearlessly … wouldn’t we love to be without fear?  This is the Easter season, death has been vanquished, new life is everywhere. We should ask ourselves if Easter is going to have any effect on us? Perhaps, it is time for us to acknowledge our own need to be shaken up?

Thursday, Octave of Easter

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 24, 2025

Acts 3: 11-26, Psalm 8:2ab, 5-9, Luke 24 35-48

          Happy Easter! Jesus is Risen, have you seen him yet?

          Are you surprised by some of the Gospel stories about the Resurrection? I often find them a little confusing. I mean if you were God, and Jesus had risen from the dead don’t you think you would have handled it more dramatically? Wouldn’t there be flourishes and huge signs of the divine presence coming to demonstrate the victory over death? Jesus, the son of God has just been brutally killed by the Romans and the whole point is to show how God’s power is stronger than death and the travails of earthly living. And what happens? Do we have bursts of radiance or sparkling hallo’s or dramatic appearances before thousands? No, essentially we have an empty tomb.

          On Tuesday, in John’s Gospel after Peter and another disciple have left after seeing an empty tomb, Mary Magdalene, alone in the Garden, mistakes Jesus for the gardener. Yesterday, in Luke’s Gospel, immediately before what we read today. Two everyday disciples who are disheartened walk with him all the way to the next town without recognizing him until they eat together at night. Today, his disciples are all gathered together but Jesus has to show them the wounds in his hands and feet and eat some fish in front of them before they accept that this is Jesus the one they have been with for 3 years.

          How come nobody recognizes him? I would like to suggest to you that they don’t see him because nobody including Peter and Mary Magdalene knew what to look for. What Peter and Mary were looking for was the body of a dead man. The disciples going to Emmaus were downtrodden because of his death and were leaving because they thought it was all over. In today’s Gospel, even though the disciples are all gathered together hearing about Jesus’ appearances to others they’re not expecting him. In a very real sense, none of them knew what to look for. Nobody had ever risen from the dead. The risen Jesus is something so new they didn’t know what it was.

          In Acts Peter explains what has happened to the Jews. Peter recounts how God has promised salvation since the time of Abraham. He talks of Moses and Samuel and all the prophets. The Jews are the children of the prophets and with whom God made his covenant of salvation. And they missed it. They couldn’t see Jesus in their midst. They missed it even though it was part of their very own history. The very substance of their lives produced the Savior and they couldn’t see him. They didn’t know what to look for. They were waiting for fancy and powerful, they got something totally new, totally different and unexpected.

          Let’s remember for a moment that the Gospels were written at least 40 years after Jesus died. The Gospel writers are trying to tell Christians who never met Jesus what it means to see him, to have faith, as the first witnesses did. They’re not trying to report history. I think what they are saying is, don’t expect an obvious, convincing demonstration of divine power with recognizable bells and whistles. Look for him instead in the everyday course of life and expect to be surprised. He will be there if we are looking for the one who is alive in the Scriptures, the one who is with us when we gather and celebrate his presence in Eucharist. If we’re sailing through life confident of what to expect then we’ll miss him even if he’s standing right in front us. If we’re gathered with others worried and frightened about the world around us then we’re likely to miss his presence among us.

          Today 2,000 years later, Jesus has become part of our scriptures in much the same way he was available to the Jews of his time. The question remains, do we know what to look for? Will we keep looking? Even though each of these Gospel stories recount how people didn’t recognize Jesus at first. Jesus makes himself known in each encounter. It was however a reality they could not have expected.

Tuesday Octave of Easter

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 22, 2025

Acts 2: 36-41, Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22, John 20:11-18

Today’s readings explore the amazing depth of what Jesus’ resurrection means. In the Gospel, Peter has just recounted the history of God’s revelations in Hebrew Scriptures to the surprising recognition on the part of the assembled Jews. Crucially they were “cut to the heart” and in that recognition of who Jesus was they ask what should they do? Peter explains they need to repent of their sins and be baptized “in the name of Jesus.” They need to pledge their lives to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

The part of this reading that strikes me as most significant is what Peter says next. Those who repent and are baptized will receive the “gift of the Holy Spirit” to fulfill “the promise made to you … and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God may call.” This is massively inclusive. At the time it certainly was meant to include the Gentiles, non-Jews who weren’t Abraham’s descendants. For me it feels like a call to us today who are “far off” in time and not just heritage. We are being called to see the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection in our lives and not just as a religious belief but as an offer of presence.

What I mean by an offer of presence is what I think today’s reading in John’s Gospel is about. Peter and the disciples have just left the tomb after discovering it empty. But Mary Magdalene overcome by emotion remains and looks inside to find two angels who ask her why she’s crying. Mary replies that someone has taken Jesus body away and she’s trying to find him. In her loving search for Jesus, he appears to her but she doesn’t recognize who she’s talking to and repeats her plea that she will take away the body if this man will just tell her where Jesus is. Only when Jesus calls her by name, does she recognize him and he cautions her not to cling to him and tell his disciples he has not yet ascended to his Father. Now she goes to tell them, “I have seen the Lord.”

I think John has told us a story of what Resurrection means for us. As I have written in other reflections, recognizing God’s presence in our lives is not an obvious experience, it takes time to see the presence of God that is right there in our lives. When Mary first “turns” around she thinks she’s talking to a gardener. Remember Jesus is someone she knows really well, so you would think she’d recognize him immediately. But Resurrection means Jesus has been transformed in a way we don’t fully understand. Mary has no experience that will help her see a divine presence. So Jesus asks her to identify what is going on for her and what she wants. He asks her to think about who she is in this moment. Then Jesus addresses her by name. In these times a person’s name was considered to hold their whole identity. When Mary hears her name called, she recognizes who she is, and she recognizes Jesus. I believe this is the pattern John is trying to explain to us. God’s Spirit promised so long ago to Abraham and then through Jesus to everyone else is here if we take the time to look deep within ourselves and the life around us. Jesus’ death on Good Friday ended the history of human separation from God. Jesus Resurrection is the demonstration of a new life in which God’s Spirit is present to us as today’s Psalm says, “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” We just have to learn how to recognize God’s presence as it exists in each of us and the lives we live.

Good Friday

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 18, 2025

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25, Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9,

John 18:1-19:42

Good Friday recounts Jesus death on the cross. This happens because people killed him. It didn’t happen to pay off a God who had been tracking human offenses and needed repayment. It did happen because God had been trying to save humanity for centuries and people didn’t understand the true implications of the message from prophets, priests and history. Jesus dies because people’s hatred and fear destroyed the best efforts of the Son of God. Except, of course, people didn’t really destroy those efforts they only managed to kill the messenger, as we so often do.

What we are still trying to take to heart communally is that God wants to give us a life of beauty and peace. We generally find it hard to believe that offer is real. So some person, a real, in-the-flesh human being, had to demonstrate the peace and love of God’s presence so the rest of us could recognize what God’s peace, love and joy would look like. By doing that, Jesus literally changes history, changes the reality we live in by accomplishing what God has wanted since Adam looked across the garden. In Biblical terms, Jesus does what Adam failed to do. People now live in a world where God’s will has been done. At least once.

The problem is, it cost Jesus everything to do it. So it doesn’t look like a victory. Only Easter solves this problem. But that’s a discussion for another day. Today, he dies brutally because by remaining faithful to a life of love, mercy and generosity the political and religious powers of the time were threatened. Today too, radical Christian living threatens the status quo. People in power want to keep it. Privilege expects to keep privileges and doesn’t worry about those damaged in the process. This is the weight of human sin that fell on Jesus and everyone else who now knows there is divine value in living out of love. Jesus came to show us a God that literally lives with us and he was therefore subjected to all the tragic evil a defensive human race could muster.

It’s crucial that we get this right because otherwise we twist the message into a horror. God’s message is that God is with us, takes on our sins, our failures, our fears and hatred in order to give us a chance to live freely, generously and happily. This death of Jesus isn’t about God exercising justice because of humanity’s failures, it’s about God absorbing the consequences of human injustice. God will take and transform the worst we can dish out into a glorious tomorrow. (OK, that is Easter.) Jesus’ death is the demonstration that God means business, “I do what I say,” in this case, that God’s life lives with us.

This is not an easy message. Because Jesus does absorb everything the Romans could do to him. He died. That means being a Christian, one that is trying to live as Jesus did, can be a dangerous and costly life choice. Jesus death doesn’t fix the human condition. It only succeeds in establishing the possible. That’s why the St. Paul warns “we are baptized into his death.” Living a Christian life should change us and it will cost us something. How much depends on what each of us can manage to risk, to love, to give of ourselves accepting that what happens may not look like success. The key is that we live out of love, giving as Jesus did, and therefore, establishing that no matter what life often looks like, God’s love, care and generosity do exist in this world.

Wednesday, Fifth Week of Lent

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 9, 2025

Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95, Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42

Today’s readings are about the challenge of living what we believe. Both readings pit the believer against the establishment of the time. For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego the challenge is the pagan god and statue set up by Nebuchadnezzar. In John’s Gospel, Jesus faces a group of Jews, some of whom think as descendants of Abraham they are automatically God’s children.

What stands out for me in Daniel is the comment of Nebuchadnezzar that these men “yielded their bodies” rather than worship a god other than their own. They acted on their faith. The situation they were in was not some theoretical exercise or test to see if they could answer the catechism questions correctly. They lived their faith by the decision they made in that moment. That’s something that is relevant to us. Do we believe enough in the love and mercy of God to make tough decisions when the prevailing authority wants us to do the opposite?

Jesus faces a similar situation with Jews who think their heritage affords them the privileged position. Today this might look like Christians who know their Bible or Catholics who know all the catechism answers. It’s one thing to know about your faith and another thing to actually trust in God day to day. That’s what Jesus is pointing to when he says, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham.”

The way John presents this argument Jesus sees these people as slaves of sin and therefore not only not free but as children of the evil one. If they were children of God they would recognize Jesus as the authentic voice of God. Today we probably wouldn’t suggest the same dichotomy between believers and non-believers. But it is fair to remind ourselves that faith exists only to the extent we live it. Faith is not primarily a mental exercise. It is trust in a God who shares our lives, loves us, forgives us, and supports us in ways we often may not recognize. The choices we make may not be as dramatic as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego facing a fiery furnace but assuredly they are just as important in making us who we are. Sometime we have to, just do it. Because if we believe in Jesus’ loving God then we too must be loving, forgiving and supportive of others even when it may not seem like such a good idea. There is no other way to be a child of God.

Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for April 3, 2025

Exodus 32: 7-14, Psalm 106: 19-23, John 5: 31-47

We are in the midst of Lent. Lent with all its rules about fasting, abstinence, works of mercy and prayer. All those rules and practices however are meant to do one thing, bring us into a closer, deeper relationship with God, with Jesus. I think that is what our readings are about this morning. They are about what it means to have a close relationship with our God, an honest to goodness, every day, husband and wife, brother and sister, known each other for years, drinking buddy relationship with God.

That is exactly what happens in the reading from Exodus when God is angry with Israel and wants to destroy them. God’s friend Moses tells him it’s not a good idea. This is like one good friend talking to another. Visualize this, the two of them are standing next to each other, Moses has his hand on God’s shoulder and he says, “I know you’re really angry and just want to put an end to them all but you went to all that work to get them out of Egypt and now you want to throw it away? And think about it, the Egyptians will say you never wanted to save them in the first place you just brought them out here to kill them. So you are not going to do your reputation any good. Take a deep breath and settle down a little. And remember those promises you made to Abraham and Isaac that you were going to reward them for the work they did. Those two mean a lot to you, don’t they?”

This doesn’t sound like a conversation between a lowly human being and the almighty God. It’s one person confronting another about what she is intending to do. It’s pretty blunt and very bold. Only really close friends can talk to each other that way. That’s what these readings are all about, being close friends with God.

That is also one of the points the Jesus is making in John’s Gospel. He is saying that the people who don’t believe in him don’t have a friendship with God to start with. He’s making it clear that if you are only interested in your own success, if all you care about is what others think of you, then you’re never going to listen carefully enough to hear God speaking in the midst of your own life. You are focused on the superficial stuff.

We need to recognize that even though the Jesus in John’s Gospel is addressing his Jewish contemporaries. The message can also apply to us. We have this huge advantage over the people who lived in Jesus’ time. We know this man lived, that he died and rose from the dead. That’s a pretty big demonstration of why we should believe in him. But we can have the same problem the Jews did if we don’t pay attention to our own relationship with God and to everything that is going on around us. For even though we have stories of Jesus life, death and resurrection let’s not forget that the Jews had stories of Moses, the Exodus, King David and all the prophets. If Jesus can accuse the Jews of not believing in his signs, we have to be sure to pay attention to the signs of love and blessing that are part of our lives.

Recognizing God’s presence can be too easily overwhelmed by news reports, negative attitudes from friends, the struggle to live each day with so much to do or maybe not enough to do. Life can seem overwhelming, in any case. We can overlook the beauty, the blessings, the wonderful people, the great little surprises that happen, the moments of peace and the excitement of a new challenge. These are the signs of our times. Will we choose to see them as God’s gifts? Will we be open to a relationship with Jesus that is based on who we are and what is important to us? That’s how friendships are formed. Two people are honest with each other about who they are and what is important to them. It is what Jesus offers us, a deep personal friendship, today in this life. Do we believe in God enough to accept the invitation? Or will we make the same mistake many Jews of Jesus’ own time did and just think he can’t really mean what he’s saying.

Friday, Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture for Friday, February 28,2025

Sirach 6:5-17, Psalm 119: 12, 16, 18, 27, 34-35, Mark 10:1–12

When I first read today’s gospel I thought I should recuse myself since like many people today I am divorced and remarried. However, I decided that’s exactly why I should tackle this reading from Mark because it’s important to me personally.

I think today’s readings, as a group, provide a wonderful toolkit for talking about the definitive response Jesus gives the Pharisees when they question him on divorce.  Jesus plainly says, twice, God didn’t make us for divorce. He says the law of Moses that allowed for divorce was simply there because Moses recognized that people are hard hearted and gave them a legal alternative. Jesus says however that is not God’s plan. I would point out he is taking this issue beyond the legalistic approach the Pharisees are asking about. This is where Jesus usually goes, way beyond the rules people have set up to the ground of our relationships, to what God intends.

So now consider the selection of verses from Sirach, one of the Wisdom books in the Old Testament. This author is talking about how tricky it is to find a good friend. That person needs to be tested and too often friends are superficial and when tough times happen they desert you. In this discussion it sounds to me like great dating advice. Who should you look for? The essence here is someone who shares your values. But it’s tough to find that person. Sirach estimates that a best friend is one in a thousand. How much rarer is a spouse?

Where I’m going with this is the reality of the human condition. Just as Jesus recognized that Moses gave the Jews a legal escape because they could be hard hearted, I would suggest we have to recognize our own failings. We mess up even when we’re trying really hard. In this case, as in other circumstances, we need to be humble and admit we make mistakes, real ones, that have bad consequences for us and for others. Which is where the Psalm for today comes in. It starts with, “teach me your statutes,” and asks that God, “open my eyes … make me understand … give me discernment, that I my observe your law and keep it with all my heart.” We need accept what Jesus says is God’s plan for us and ask for the help we need to live up to that. That way when, “a man … be jointed to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh,” will be a reality.

It’s very apparent that we often don’t meet this standard. But the heart of the matter is not down playing what Jesus says but rather admitting we made a mistake, remaining humble, taking responsibility and learning to live our lives better. Then by paying attention to our heart and what we have experienced we can also recognize God’s mercy and live in God’s love.

Tuesday, Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for February 21, 2017

Sirach 2:1-11, Psalm 37: 3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40, Mark 9:30 – 37

This week I was reading some material about G. K. Chesterton and his fascination with the role of paradox and contradiction in Christianity. He points out that in the paradoxes and apparent contradictions of faith lie the very key to Christianity and its embrace of all of life. The “both,” “and” of Catholic theology is an extension of this sense that all of life is sacred and trying to formulate a good vs. bad system or ideology is folly in the face of life’s endless variety and uncontained vitality.

I mention this because it seems to me today’s readings give us good examples of fully Christian paradox. Let’s begin with the Gospel and key Christian beliefs. Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to be killed but then three days later rise from the dead. This is so “out there” that the disciples don’t even know how to ask him to explain. Still they aren’t above trying to calculate who among them is doing the best job and may turn out to be the greatest of his followers. So Jesus gives them the criteria: be a servant of other people, take care of those like a child who are totally dependent and could never pay you back. This is the way of being “first” because it will bring you into personal contact with God. Literally God will be with you. Mark says it like this, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

So this is where Sirach and our Psalm may be able to help because they talk about what it is to have a relationship with God. Remember we’re illustrating apparent contradictions here with the thought that this is how Christianity exhibits an inclusivity that embraces all of life. Even perhaps what is beyond our grasp, like dying and rising from the dead three days later.

I think the Psalm response most clearly states the sense of today’s selection, “Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.” Sirach is making the same point, “he is a protector to all who seek him.” Yet Sirach begins with, “when you come to serve the LORD … prepare yourself for trials.” This is followed by a whole series of conditions that accompany being helped by God and receiving his compassion and mercy. These include: “Accept whatever befalls you … in crushing misfortune be patient” for “worthy people (are tested) in the crucible of humiliation.”

Finally Sirach claims, “Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his commandments and been forsaken?” Here we have the crux of the paradoxical issue. Would you want to ask Jews how well they’ve faired historically at not being forsaken? How about endless martyrs and saints of the church? Within my lifetime, people like Oscar Romero, a great group of sisters in El Salvador, Martin Luther King and various freedom fighters in the South, none of whom would seem to have come out on top even though they were caring for those “children,” those disadvantaged that God favors. So I guess Sirach really means it when he says, “My son, when you come to serve the LORD, stand in justice and fear, prepare yourself for trials.”

I believe what’s going on here is truth about life. People die in service to what they believe in. Bad things happen to good people. Life has value in and of itself. We have the opportunity to contribute to a better life for others and ourselves. Especially if a better life means treating others with dignity, being honest in our relationships, accepting ourselves as imperfect but valuable individuals, enjoying the beauty and freedom of life itself and working toward those things that give support, love and joy to everyone’s life. God’s presence is part of doing good in this world. Yes, life and Christianity are full of paradoxes. Situations that are not just more than they seem but are contradictions of what we believe to be true. It is what faith is about, which is better explained as trust. Which is what Sirach is trying to tell us:

Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not;
thus will you be wise in all your ways.
Accept whatever befalls you,
when sorrowful, be steadfast,
and in crushing misfortune be patient

I believe we can trust God and “hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy” even when the worst things are happening, paradox or not.

Friday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for February 21, 2025

Genesis 11: 1-9, Psalm 33: 10-15, Mark 8:34 – 9:1

I think today’s readings challenge us to consider who we really are. To what extent is there a “façade” that we show to the world while protecting our inner more vulnerable self? Are we motivated solely by our ego or are there deeper concerns and realities that shape who we are and how we live our lives?

Without the help of psychological language or modern scientific understanding, Jesus in today’s Gospel raises the question of the authentic self by talking about taking up our own crosses and following Him. He raises the paradox of giving up a superficial, self-centered life to discover a richer more abundant life of loving care and concern for others. He goes so far as to predict that living in this way can make one open to the Kingdom of God right here in this life.

The reading from Genesis can be seen in a similar way. Human kind has plans of its own. These plans, designed to protect and strengthen people in their current ways, is in sharp contrast to God’s plan. According to the author, people thought the best thing for them was to be together, to pursue the same goals, to live in one place in order to build on their uniformity, what they had in common. God’s plans were different. God wanted them to spread throughout the earth, going to different places, developing under different circumstances and key to this passage, speaking different languages.

So whose plans do we follow? I do think the paradox stills applies. To become who we are meant to be we often have to deny some of things we think would be in our own best interest.

I think most people would still be more comfortable with people like themselves. Don’t we often surround ourselves with people who think like we do, who have similar goals and have had similar experiences. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. But at the same time, because of foreign travel, television, the internet and all the forms of modern communication, we are becoming more aware of how a wide variety of experiences and knowing people from diverse cultures make for a richer life and a deeper appreciation of people and what is possible in this life.

Still the differences some people exhibit can make us ill at ease or anxious before we even get to know them.

How often have we had plans for how our life was to go and then life went another direction that we could not control? What kind of differences have been forced on us that we later came to see as rewarding and wonderful. Haven’t we received the gift of God’s kingdom in many ways we could never have foreseen? Aren’t there joys in our lives that came from unexpected places?

I think these readings remind us we have to be open to those unexpected and unknown situations both in our daily lives and even in the parts of ourselves we may not have been willing to explore. If we believe as the Psalmist says, that God “fashioned the heart of each” of us. Then letting go of some of our tightly held attitudes and plans and trusting in God’s direction, in God’s call and in God’s challenges may lead us not only to God but to the joys and happiness that resides at the heart of who we are.

Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

~ Retired Bill ~ Leave a comment

Scripture Readings for February 17, 2025

Genesis 4:1-15, 25, Psalm 50:1, 8, 16bc-17, 20-2, Mark 8: 11-13

In order to get the most from today’s Gospel I think we have to look at the Scripture passages that come immediately before and after the section we read this morning. The questioning by the Pharisees is preceded by the multiplication of the loaves and the feeding of 4,000 people with 7 loaves of bread. It is then followed by a conversation in which his disciples misunderstand his comments about the destructive power of hidden agendas.

We must also remember that the Gospels were not written to be a history of Jesus’ life but rather as a tool for explaining to people what faith in Jesus was about. Certainly the events in the Gospels have an historical basis but the evangelists, the writers of the Gospels, were well, evangelizing, trying to spread the message. So let’s look at this part of Mark’s gospel just as a first time reader might.

You’ve just read that 4,000 people were fed on seven loaves of bread and a few fish and the leftovers filled seven baskets. Then the very next thing that happens is a group of Pharisees asks Jesus for a sign from heaven as proof that his message is from God. Wouldn’t you think, you’d just read about the best sign of heavenly generosity you could think of? But what is really puzzling is Jesus’ answer, “no sign will be given to this generation.” Isn’t this the same guy who just fed those 4,000 and has been curing and healing people all over the countryside?

I think the key to this question is that Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit.” The story is an example of how people cannot see what is right in front of them. In this case, Mark is talking about how we recognize God’s presence.

Jesus’ sigh signals his frustration with people’s tendency to rely on some outside event to prove for them it is OK to believe. Jesus reply is an acknowledgement that there never is proof certain for someone who can’t hear and see for themselves. The person who requires outside proof is someone who isn’t listening to his or her own heart, his or her own experience. In that case there is no way to prove faith. When it comes to recognizing God’s presence in our lives we are the only one who can see it for ourselves.

This point is reinforced by what follows the Pharisees questioning. The disciples and Jesus go across the lake and Jesus warns them about the destructive influence of the Pharisees. He refers to their influence as yeast in the bread and the Apostles misinterpret what he says, thinking they forgot to bring enough bread for the journey. Jesus then questions their ability to understand his mission. He asks, “Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?”

This is exactly what Jesus found so frustrating with the Pharisees. You can feed 4,000 people and your own disciples can’t seem to see the message of God’s generous providence to all of us.

For me the core of today’s Gospel is Jesus’ own sadness that so many people couldn’t recognize the gift that was in the middle of their lives. Isn’t that exactly one of the issues that still plague us? Do we recognize God’s love present in our midst and then live accordingly?

How do we learn to see what God is trying to do and hear what God is trying to say in our lives? Based on today’s Gospel, that has been an issue from the very beginning of Jesus mission among us. So let’s remember the key lesson here. Don’t look outside yourself for some absolute answer or proof that will clear everything up. That’s exactly what won’t happen. Instead the only place to look for answers is within us and our everyday experience, our feelings. Like the sigh of Jesus from the depth of his spirit, it tells us so much about who we really are.