---Scriptural Reflections--- by Fr. Bert SM

Reflections based on the liturgical readings for the day.

Sunday, February 04, 2007
Fifth Monday in Ordinary Time, Year 1, Feb.5,2007
Genesis 1:1-19. Psalm 104. Mark 6:53-56 "All who touched the fringe of
Jesus' cloak were healed!" It is our gift of baptismal faith that initiates
our ability to reach out and touch not only the hem of Jesus' garment, but
also to touch Jesus himself. Baptismal faith starts us on the road to
receiving the touch of Jesus through the sacraments especially through the
Eucharist and its celebration in the liturgy. Jesus actually gives himself
to us and in our receiving of him we experience his healing touch and we
are often healed in body, soul, and spirit. In the Eucharist we say, "Lord,
I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul shall be
healed." So as we turn to Mark's exciting Gospel of miracles, we listen and
learn about the touch of Jesus that reached so many people and now in our
time it reaches us in the Word of God and the Eucharist. Mark continues
with his Gospel of hope and healing as we read through the first eight
chapters of his Gospel. One miracle after another is narrated and we grow
in our own faith in listening to the authentic words of God expressed in
Jesus life, words, and actions. All of these healings originate in Jesus
and touch us. I need to entrust myself in faith to listen carefully to the
Gospel and to feel and experience that touch of Jesus in his voice and in
his people who are gathered in worship. Today's Gospel acclamation this was
affirmed," Jesus preached the Good News of the kingdom and healed all who
were sick." (Matthew 14:23). In our first reading we start the Book of
Genesis and the story of creation is recalled. We experience God's loving
touch in the universe, on the earth, and in nature. The symbolic seven days
are a beautiful account of telling us about creation. "And God saw that it
was good." Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:00 AM

Saturday, February 03, 2007
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Februrary 4, 2007
Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8. Psalm 138:1-8. I Cor.15:1-11. Luke 5:1-11.

Holy! Holy! Holy! What a marvelous theophany Isaiah experiences of God in
the Temple at Jerusalem. He hears the Seraphim chant this threefold praise
to the glory of God. His lips are cleansed with a burning coal so that he
would be ready for becoming a prophet of God speaking some of the greatest
prophecies the world has had. As he receives this call from God he cries
out, "Here I am, Lord! Send me! This emphatic and enthusiastic response
from the prophet is complemented by Simon Peter, James , and John in the
Gospel call of the first three disciples of Jesus. They leave their boats
and fishing nets behind them and take up the invitation of Jesus to become
fishermen who bring people into the message of Jesus. Their lives like
that of Isaiah will never be the same. Good News will be brought to the
Gentiles and to the people of Isaiah and Jesus. They will soon be called
Apostles, those who are sent on mission to bring God to people. What a
noble vocation and it is also ours if we are believers in Isaiah and Jesus
and their calls to us. Paul, an Apostle, who also had a powerful theophany
and call, shows us what the message is for those who follow Jesus. In this
excerpt from I Corinthians, we receive the foundational creed or
proclamation of the Gospel: Christ died for our sins in accord with the
Scriptures, he was buried, and rose on the third day according to the
Scriptures. Paul states that he, too, received this from the other
apostles. These events are the Paschal Mysteries that we celebrate in the
Eucharist. They are the heart and formation of the written Gospels. Paul
was convinced that for him to live as an Apostle was to live as another
Christ. He tells us, "This favor of God's to me has not proved fruitless."
We, too, should be so motivated to take up our own call and live it out so
thoroughly in union with Christ. Yes, Jesus is saying to us, "Do not be
afraid. From now on you will be catching people." In union then with
Isaiah, the Apostles, and Paul, may we obey God's summons and work for the
peace and justice that this world needs from those who believe in God. We
will be able to do this more by our behavior and our prayers than by
shouting out and moralizing what has been handed down to us through the
prophets and the apostles. Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 11:21 AM

Friday, February 02, 2007
Saturday of Fourth Week, Ordinary Time, February 3, 2007
Scripture: Hebrews 13:15-17. 20-21, Psalm 23. Mark 6:30-34.

My meditation centered on Mark's words, " They were like sheep without a
shepherd." (Mark 6:34). This last sentence also is paralleled by the
deeper reflection of Hebrews about Jesus as the Shepherd who cares for his
sheep. Then I was amazed to find that the theme of shepherd carries
through the three readings, Hebrews, Mark and Psalm 23: "The Lord is my
Shepherd." Like Jesus teaching his disciples and the crowds, the liturgical
readings also teach us each day something about God and about the Son of
God, Jesus. I pictured the apostles huddling around Jesus like sheep who
try to get as close to the shepherd as possilbe or like football players
huddling around their quarterback for the next play. Jesus is leading his
apostles to a desert place to rest, to relax, to pray. They listen to him
and follow him. They know he is their leader (shepherd) and they are
attentive to his voice, to his call. Then when the crowd finds Jesus and
his apostles, he has great concern for them for they are like sheep without
a shepherd; a team without a quarterback! I then went back to the Epistle
to the Hebrews for a second time and discovered the theological dimension
of the symbolism of Jesus as Shepherd. We read or hear, "Now may the God
of peace, who brought back from the dead. our Lord Jesus, the great
Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you
complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us
that which is pleasing in his sight,through Jesus Christ be glory forever
and ever Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21). The Psalm is Psalm 23, "The Lord is my
Shepherd." And this favorite psalm of millions of people completes the
theme for our meditation today as the prayer that unites us. Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:19 AM

Thursday, February 01, 2007
Scripture: Malachai 3:1-4. Psalm 24:7-10. Hebrews 2:14-18. Luke 2:22-40

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph take him to the temple
in Jerusalem for the consecration of their first born. Everything was done
in accordance with the holy laws of the Torah. Perhaps, this excerpt from
(Etz Hayim--a Commentary on the Torah, p.391 on Exodus 13:2 is helpful to
understand the thoughts of Mary and Joseph):"In many ancient pagan cultures
it was believed that the first fruits of the soil and the first fruits, and
the first offspring of animals and humans, were endowed by nature with
intrinsic holiness. The instruction that Moses consecrate the firstborn
may be an aggressive attack against such notions. The firstborn belongs to
God solely by reason of His divine will decreed at the time of the Exodus
and not because of any inherent sanctity." This event of the presentation
of Jesus is celebrated in Christianity as one of the oldest feasts in the
Church and it formerly ended the Christmas season. That is not the reason
why some people leave up their Christmas lights even into February! The
narrative from Luke contains everything we need to know about this event
and it is found nowhere else in the New Testament. It is one of my
favorites because of the rich symbolism, the easy to imagine recreation of
the scene, and the presence of the Holy Spirit withing the principal
characters mentioned--Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna. Jesus, of course,
brings the Holy Spirit to them and they are at peace and feel their lives
have been completed as they look upon Jesus as the Anointed one (their
Messiah). Simeon says Jesus is to be "a revealing light to the Gentiles
and the glory of God's people Israel." Of course, it also contains the sad
note of Mary's heart being pierced with a sword (symbolic of her dolorous
life) and because of this many hearts will be revealed and people will be
divided. As I reflect upon this mystery I am led to think about the Rosary
and the fourth mystery of the Joyful set of mysteries. In my Marianist
community we alwasy attach a fruit of the mystery to be prayed for and in
this one it is the gift of obedience. "Thy Law or Lord is in the midst of
my heart!" Today I encourage us to pray for the gift of obedience to the
will of God as Joseph and Mary do and to be at peace and joyful as Simeon
and Anna who have found the treasure they searched for in the child Jesus.
We all need a listening heart to know what the will of God is and a
generous response to doing that will. We can be strengthened throughout
this day by recalling this scene of the Presentation. We can learn from
the attention and patient waiting of Simeon and Anna in our own search for
the Person of Jesus in our life. Amen

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 10:07 AM

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2, 2007
Scripture: Malachai 3:1-4. Psalm 24:7-10. Hebrews 2:14-18. Luke 2:22-40

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 10:02 AM

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2, 2007
Scripture: Malachai 3:1-4. Psalm 24:7-10. Hebrews 2:14-18. Luke 2:22-40

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:51 AM

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24. Psalm 48:2-4,9-11. Mark 6:7-13
Hebrews is addressed to a Jewish-Christian community which has
separated from the mother community of Judaism probably before the first
century ends. Its author is a very learned Jew who probably lived in the
Diaspora (outside the Holy Land or Israel) and most likely in Alexandria
where Greek was the language of the people and of the synagogue. It is
there that the Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into Greek (probably
150 B.C.) and what we call the deuterocanonical books of the Catholic
version of the Bible were written and accepted by both Jews and Jewish
Christians as divinely inspired. Later Jewish councils and Church writers
would start to enumerate which books were divinely inspired. The
Chrisitans of today accept 27 books for the New Testament but do not accept
the deuterocanonical books of the Catholic Church since for them only those
writings originally written in Hebrew were divinely inspired,that is , in
the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures. St. Jerome agreed with such an
enumeration, but the Council of Trent enumerated the deuterocanonical as
inspired. This is where we differ from other Christians and also from the
Jews. Pope Sixtus the Fifth of Siena gave the term deutercanonical to the
following books of the Catholic Bible: Sirach, Baruch, Tobit, Judith, Greek
version of Esther, Greek parts of Daniel, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, and
Wisdom. Getting back to our texts for today, we learn that Jesus is the
mediator and high priest who has redeemed us by his blood. We have heard
and read this theme throughout Hebrews and it continues as we near the end
of this essay. Zion is symbolic of the heavenly Jerusalem (also this is
the same in the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation) and all are destined to
became citizens of this heavenly Jerusalem or Zion. The Psalm is fitting
since it extols Zion as a city surrounded by God's loving providence.
Turning to the Gospel selection from Mark we learn that Jesus is now
appointing the Twelve to go out on their own and preach, witness, and cure
people as he has done. I see this "sending" as the apostolic commission
and perhaps the use of the term apostle (one who is sent). They are no
longer just disciples of Jesus they are apostles with his authority and
delegation to do what he has done. They are to be simple in their behavior
and clothing and not to be encombered by any worldly trappings of wealth.
Fleet of foot they are to move on to new cities and villages. Today we
realize that we are called to be in tune with doing God's will and be
apostles and witnesses of justice, peace, and holiness. This call to
universal holiness is stressed in Vatican II where we all are considered as
the People of God with a mission to become the hands and voice of God and
Jesus in a world which needs healing. We are to be dedicated to helping
release people from fear and liberated from being isolated or persecuted.
We are all in this together. Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:33 AM

for February 1, 2007: Fourth Week, Thursday (Ordinary Time)
Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24. Psalm 48:2-4,9-11. Mark 6:7-13
Hebrews is addressed to a Jewish-Christian community which has
separated from the mother community of Judaism probably before the first
century ends. Its author is a very learned Jew who probably lived in the
Diaspora (outside the Holy Land or Israel) and most likely in Alexandria
where Greek was the language of the people and of the synagogue. It is
there that the Scriptures were translated from Hebrew into Greek (probably
150 B.C.) and what we call the deuterocanonical books of the Catholic
version of the Bible were written and accepted by both Jews and Jewish
Christians as divinely inspired. Later Jewish councils and Church writers
would start to enumerate which books were divinely inspired. The
Chrisitans of today accept 27 books for the New Testament but do not accept
the deuterocanonical books of the Catholic Church since for them only those
writings originally written in Hebrew were divinely inspired,that is , in
the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures. St. Jerome agreed with such an
enumeration, but the Council of Trent enumerated the deuterocanonical as
inspired. This is where we differ from other Christians and also from the
Jews. Pope Sixtus the Fifth of Siena gaven the term deutercanonical to the
following books of the Catholic Bible: Sirach, Baruch, Tobit, Judith, Greek
version of Esther, Greek parts of Daniel, I Maccabees, II Maccabees, and
Wisdom. Getting back to our texts for today, we learn that Jesus is the
mediator and high priest who has redeemed us by his blood. We have heard
and read this theme throughout Hebrews and it continues as we near the end
of this essay. Zion is symbolic of the heavenly Jerusalem (also this is
the same in the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation) and all are destined to
became citizens of this heavenly Jerusalem or Zion. The Psalm is fitting
since it extols Zion as a city surrounded by God's loving providence.
Turning to the Gospel selection from Mark we learn that Jesus is now
appointing the Twelve to go out on their own and preach, witness, and cure
people as he has done. I see this "sending" as the apostolic commission
and perhaps the use of the term apostle (one who is sent). They are no
longer just disciples of Jesus they are apostles with his authority and
delegation to do what he has done. They are to be simple in their behavior
and clothing and not to be encombered by any worldly trappings of wealth.
Fleet of foot they are to move on to new cities and villages. Today we
realize that we are called to be in tune with doing God's will and be
apostles and witnesses of justice, peace, and holiness. This call to
universal holiness is stressed in Vatican II where we all are considered as
the People of God with a mission to become the hands and voice of God and
Jesus in a world which needs healing. We are to be dedicated to helping
release people from fear and liberated from being isolated or persecuted.
We are all in this together. Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:27 AM

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, January 31, 2007
Scripture: Hebrews 12:4-7,11-15. Psalm 103:1-2,13-14,17-18 Mark 6:1-6

One of my friends who started a Chinese Catholic Bible Study group loves
the Bible, but also questions it. He sometimes makes it difficult for me
even though I have studied the Bible academically for many decades. His
name is Jim and he looks at you and says, "I have questions!" I thought of
him as I read Mark 6:1-6 in which the audience who is listening to Jesus in
the synagogue offers a volley of five questions about the wisdom of Jesus
and his origins. I like the passage though some exegetes consider the two
passages in which Mary is mentioned in Mark to be anti-Marian.(see Mark
3:31-35, and Mark 6:1-6). I do not think they are anti-marian and have
given a lot of thought and ink to this pericope of Mark. I am amazed at
the way Mark has put together the very first Gospel in such colorful,
running, and dynamic anecdotes from the life of Jesus and this one for
today is quite attractive to me, a Marian scholar and a biblical student of
the Bible. The audience is amazed at Jesus' knowledge and the way he
explains the Scrolls of the inspired texts read in the synagogue. But
where did he get all this? He was not trained as a teacher of the law
even though some call him"rabbi." I thought also of another amazing
volley of questions in Mark's Gospel but this time it is Jesus who is the
question machine! Just take a quick look at chapter eight and count the
questions in 8:13-21 and you will see that this is the Gospel of questions
more than that of Matthew, Luke or John. Jesus is trying to pummel his
disciples into being more aware of what his challenging message and works
are all about. We who are teachers love to ask questions of our students
and good students do the same and ask questions of us. We learn much from
this and often the answers are hidden within the questions themselves.
For example, in today's passage we learn for the first time that Jesus
knows the trade of a carpenter (Joseph is never mentioned in this Gospel as
his father). We learn for the very first time the name of his mother,
"Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" I thank Mark for being the
first inspired person to give us the holy name of Mary, Jesus' first and
very best disciple.Mary is woman of risks and courage, a mother to the Son
of God, and a great model for my own discipleship. I was very pleased
after my meditation on the passage to find that at the end of the prayers
with my brothers this morning, the following prayer was said, "Mary, we
embrace our vowed life in your name. All that we have, all that we are, we
dedicate to continuing your mission of bringing Jesus into our world. Holy
Mother, stay with us this day and teach us to "DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS US."
(John 2:5). Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 8:42 AM

Monday, January 29, 2007
Tuesday of Week Four Ordinary Time, January30, 2007
Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-4. Psalm 22:26-32. Mark 5:21-43...

Some doctors are very good in their medical field but lack what is called
"bedside manners." They do not relate well with the patient after the
treatment or surgery, but do their job perfectly. Jesus is like a
physician, but he always has very good relational qualities when his
patient is cured. We saw this in all of the miracles so far and the two
today are even more salient for showing Jesus really cares beyond the cure.
We too should care beyond the cures that we affect in our ministries and
work. Like Jesus we are called to support and comfort people when they are
in pain or are mourning the death of a friend or relative. The ones cured
often have a deep desire to trust and relate to Jesus and when he becomes
aware of this, he does heal them. The woman healed of her hemorrhage
certainly has such faith and trust in the healing power of Jesus. Her cure
is intercalated between Jesus going to the home of Jairus and then healing
the little girl of twelve while using his Aramaic speech "Talitha, Kum"
(little one rise). This may indicate for the Christian reader a belief in
the resurrection for it is the same word that is used for that great faith
event that Jesus had and that we will have after this life. But, back to
the woman. Jesus says, "Daughter, your faith has cured you. Go in peace
and be free of your illness." Good bedside manners for Jesus the physician
of body and soul. Then to the little girl's parents, Jesus is very down to
earth and helps the whole family by confirming her rising and
resuscitation. He says, "Give her something to eat." Very good bedside
manners for a doctor! Our first reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews is
also a lesson in faith that is comforting and motivating. I see it
concluding the history of salvation our author is talking about by naming
the saintly heroes of the Hebrew Testament and leading me to think of the
greater panorama of the saints of all times, past, present, and future in
the "Communion of Saints." This is one of the most comforting of doctrines
within the Catholic Church and we are encouraged through faith to become
part of the saints who come marching in. The passage from Hebrews is in
perfect and brilliant Greek and it is directly related to our faith in
Jesus upon whom we are to focus in our daily life. It is made even more
apparent when we relate our faith to the koinonia or fellowship of our
believing communities. "How good and how pleasant it is when we see
brothers and sisters living together in unity." (Psalm 133). The writer
encourages us with these striking words, " let us run with perseverance the
race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of
our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of
the throne of God." Let us join that great crowd of witness who surround
God and Jesus and experience the great healing touch of the Divine
Physician. Amen.

posted by Fr. Bert SM at 9:15 AM

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Fifth Monday in Ordinary Time, Year 1, Feb.5,2007
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, Februrary ...
Saturday of Fourth Week, Ordinary Time, February ...
Scripture: Malachai 3:1-4. Psalm 24:7-10. Hebrews...
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2,...
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2,...
Scripture: Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24. Psalm 48:2-4,9-...
for February 1, 2007: Fourth Week, Thursday (Ordin...
Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, January 3...
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