Signum videre (Mt. 12:38)

The Gospel portrays an encounter between the religious leaders and Jesus.  They want a sign as proof that Jesus truly is the Messiah.  Jesus tells them that the only sign they will be given will be His own rising three days after His death.  He implies that those who are open to the message of GOD will not need such a sign for they will have heard Jesus’ message and responded accordingly. 

I am reminded today that I am a sinner and also a holy person.  I have fallen short of being on target with the Lord Jesus. I have sinned. There is nothing I can do to make up for my sinfulness.  Forgiveness is a gift from GOD.  I cannot earn that gift.  I can ask for it, but I cannot do anything to make up for my sinfulness.  I can believe the words which Jesus spoke about GOD’s forgiveness, especially flowing from Jesus’ great sign of His death and resurrection.  Once I have been touched by the promises of salvation coming from the merciful and forgiving love of the Lord Jesus, I can only respond by living a more upright life.  I should want to live a righteous life, not because that will make up for my sinfulness, but because it shows that I have accepted the gift of GOD’s forgiveness and I want to be in relationship with the forgiving Lord Jesus.  I have been sinful, but I have been justified by a loving GOD through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 

We are invited to follow Jesus wherever He leads us. We should serve Him by being of service to His disciples. We have been given the sign of the saving power of GOD as we reflect on the death and the rising of Jesus.  Thus we should respond by doing right, loving Goodness, and walking humbly with our GOD. 

The personal question/action for today:  Am I like the religious leaders in the Gospel, asking for a sign from GOD?  Which aspect of triple request do I find most difficult to practice:  To do right (act justly); to love GOoDness (love tenderly), or walk humbly with GOD?  What can I do today to be more attentive to that particular aspect of my life with GOD?  How can I demonstrate to others the importance of acting justly, loving tenderly, and walking humbly with GOD?

By Sr. Mary, CM.

Non pacem sed gladium (Mt. 10:34)

The opening saying of Jesus in today’s gospel reading might strike us as strange, ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth; it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword’. Jesus recognizes that His presence on earth will be divisive; some will welcome him and others will reject him and those who reject him will persecute those who welcome him. He goes on to elaborate on how we can welcome him. He says to those he sends out as his followers, ‘anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me’. All of us who have been baptized are always being sent out by Jesus as His mirror. In welcoming each other, we are welcoming Jesus, and in welcoming Jesus we are welcoming God the Father. Jesus identifies himself very closely with each one of his followers, to such an extent that how we relate to each other determines how we relate to him. Even the smallest act of kindness to another disciple of Jesus, such as the giving of a cup of cold water, will not go unnoticed by the Lord. The Lord whom we are to prefer more than even our closest family members nonetheless comes to us in and through each other. The ground which we share with our fellow pilgrims is a holy ground, sacred space, where the Lord is present.

By Sr. Mary, CM.

Si tetigero tantum (Mt. 9:21)

I am struck by the ways that these two people approach Jesus in today’s gospel reading. The synagogue leader approached Jesus in a public space on behalf of his daughter’s healing and bowing low before Jesus and others. The woman approached Jesus in a very private way, coming up behind him to touch the fringe of his cloak for her healing. She would have been quite happy not to be noticed by anyone. We each approach the Lord differently because we are all different, and our circumstances are different. Our relationship with the Lord is deep and personal. Even when we are praying together, as we do at Mass, reciting the same prayers together, we do so in a way that is personal to each one of us.

The Lord respected these different ways that these two people approached him in the gospel reading and responded to each of them equally. The Lord respects us in our uniqueness. He recognizes and rejoices in the personal nature of our faith. He calls us by name and respecting our individuality. The Christian faith is communal; we journey together to the Lord whose is always at work to form a community of believers. Like the woman, we often come before Him in our own need, seeking to touch the Lord in faith, in our prayer. Like the official, we sometimes come before the Lord in prayer, interceding with him for others, asking Him to come into the life of someone dear to us. Both forms of prayer, the prayer for our own needs, and the prayer for others are expressions of our faith in the life-giving touch of Jesus.

By Sr. Mary, CM.

Nolite iudicare (Mt. 7:1)

All of us live in a somewhat judgmental society. If we fail in some way to meet society’s convention, people will directly point out our failures and it is also easier for us to look for others’ mistakes. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged’. Jesus seems to be suggesting that when we judge others, we are leaving ourselves open to God’s judgment. Jesus may be implying that when we judge someone, we are doing something that only God can do. We simply do not have the insight into others to judge them fairly or justly. Also, our own perception of others is restricted because of our own failings. This seems to be the point of the humorous image uses of someone with a plank in their eye trying to take a splinter out of someone else’s eye. Because of all kinds of prejudices and failings in ourselves, we don’t see clearly enough to make a sound judgment of others. There is a line in the Jewish Scriptures, ‘the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’. In John’s gospel, Jesus said, ‘He himself knew what was in everyone”. Jesus is considered unique in this regard. No one else knows what is in everyone. Our limited insight into others, arising partly out of our own failings, should make us slow to judge others. Saint Paul was true to the teaching of Jesus in this matter of judging others. He says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘Do not pronounce judgment, before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and disclose the purposes of the heart’. Only the Lord can disclose the purposes of the human heart; we can never get inside the heart of another. It is clear from the gospel reading that Jesus wants us to work on our own failings before focusing unreasonably on the failings of others. ‘Take the plank out of your own eye first’. There is enough there to be going on with, for most of us. We need to be in touch with our own humanity before we can comment on humanity on others, and, it is probably true to say that the more we know ourselves the less inclined we will be to judge or accuse others.

By Sr Mary, CM.

Non resistere malo (Mt. 5:39)

Today’s Gospel reading is a reminder of our constant call to love one another.  “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other.”  This is not a common practice in our society. We see on TV shows, movies, the news, and even in real life, people getting revenge or serving up payback for someone’s wrongdoing.  Jesus is telling us, not to treat evil with evil, but rather with love. It was the way of Jesus. He lived and died to overcome evil with good. This is easier said than done.  While we often say to ourselves, “Okay, I’m not going to do the same thing that has been done to me,” when we have been treated badly. It becomes even more difficult when we first hand experience that situation.  When we are hurt; physically or emotionally, our first instinct is to inflict the same pain onto the other person.  This is the devil working in our lives, but it is a call out from God to love continually.  This does not mean to love when things are going well or when someone loves you.  It means to love ALWAYS. 

It is not easy to remain good in the face of evil, to be loving in the face of hatred, to be faithful in the face of unfaithfulness, to remain just in the face of injustice done to us, to be peacemakers in the face of violence done to us. We cannot live in this way drawing on our own strength and resources alone. We need God’s strength, God’s resources, God’s Spirit because such a way of life is the fruit of God’s Spirit at work within us.”  When you get into an argument with someone or someone has hurt you, imagine Jesus is standing before you.  You would not hit Jesus, or speak bad words toward  Jesus, but that is what we do when our actions and words stem from evil and not love.  Let us use the image of Jesus to draw ourselves into prayer and a state of love and peace.  

By Sr Mary CM, Jogjakarta.