Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: Mark 7: 1-13

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”‘
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Jesus doesn’t criticize or condemn Jewish rituals. In fact, he participated in them thoroughly! 

When he was only an infant, Mary and Joseph brought him to the Temple, presenting him to the Lord in accordance with the Law. He also studied the scriptures from an early age – and knew them well.

So well that he separated himself from his family after their annual pilgrimage up to Jerusalem when he was twelve. He then remained in the Temple for three days, dialoging with the religious authorities. 

And, Luke tells us, “all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.” 

Even Christ’s betrayal, death, and resurrection – as well as his Promised Presence in the Eucharist – are built upon Old Testament prophesies and rituals.

Jesus was as Jewish as Jewish gets.

***

Yet, the religious authorities accuse him in today’s Gospel of violating the very Law he came to fulfill.

“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders?” they ask him. It’s a fair and important question.

But, again, Jesus does not criticize their laws. What he criticizes is the legalism, self-righteousness, and exclusivism that has hijacked the authorities’ understanding of their faith.

Whereas the Law was once an opportunity to draw closer to God, it had become a theological prison which, seemingly, no one could get out of. 

This is what the Lord was breaking – their hardness of heart.

***

It’s the same thing which Christians, on occasion, must also shake from themselves. It’s important to honor the Lord’s day – worshiping him on Sundays; to strive for moral and bodily purity; to be, “perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.”

But if our understanding of religion only leads to the exclusion and judgment of others, then we’ve lost the whole point.

Christianity is meant to make us ever more compassionate, inclusive and merciful people. This fulfills the Law – loving others the way Christ has loved us. 

How might we do that today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) New Covenant Community Church (2) Woe to You Scribes and Pharisees, Chantal LaFortune (3) TextsinContext, WordPress

***

Gospel: Mark 6:53-56

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country    
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Today’s Gospel takes place immediately after the disciples spend the entire night in a harrowing storm, crossing the Sea of Galilee without Jesus. 

Frazzled and relieved, they are now safely ashore. I’m sure all Peter and the others wanted to do was pause and take a nice, long nap.

Before they could blink an eye, however, crowds filled with sick and suffering people are pressing in on them, hoping just to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak. 

How do you think these drowsy disciples responded to the sight of the crowds?

Worn out from the last several hours of stumbling in the dark, did they try to whisk Jesus away in order to rest? Or did they ignore their own exhaustion in order to help others?

***

The Gospel doesn’t tell us how they responded, only that Jesus healed every person he touched.

***

What a difference it would make if we followed the Lord’s example of patience, compassion, and generosity, in spite of how we might be feeling at any given moment.

Imagine the difference it’d make if we were patient with other drivers on the road, even while in a hurry ourselves.

Or the difference it’d make in our hearts if we readily forgave people who offended us.

If we took the time to listen to our neighbor, even while preoccupied with our own thoughts; if we did the chores; made dinner; or responded to other people’s needs without complaint.

Or, in the disciples’ case, the difference it might’ve made if they brought someone to Jesus, in spite of their own exhaustion.

***

As Mother Teresa once said, “Christians are called to love until it hurts.” 

How might we feel that pinch today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) Church Sermon Series Ideas (2) Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt (3) Saint Mother Teresa, X

***

Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening
to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

It’s dawn on the shores of Galilee.

Peter is mending his empty, stinking, fishing nets. After having worked all night, he comes up empty-handed. His only reward are sore muscles and a bitter dose of disappointment.

Failure is never fun.

Suddenly, Jesus shows up and steps into Peter’s boat. Looking at an exhausted, unsuspecting Peter, he tells him to row his boat back out to sea – that is, to do the same thing he’s done all night one more time.

To Peter, it was a ridiculous – and perhaps slightly offensive – request. He not Jesus is the professional fisherman. 

Besides, the best place to fish is not out in the deep, but along the shoreline, where the fish gather to nibble on underwater plants. After a brief protest, Peter gives in.

“Master, at your command, I will lower the nets.”

Suddenly, his nets are tearing at the seams, providing a good lesson for Peter and us: Jesus can turn failure into abundance.

***

While none of us may be professional fishermen, we all know what it’s like to fail, to stand idly, mending our broken hearts after having given our best at something, only to come up empty-handed.

Maybe we’ve poured ourselves into a marriage, into raising children, into ministry, a job, or a dream that’s dried up. Each in our own way, we can stand with Peter disappointed, out of luck, frustrated, mending our nets.

Sometimes, that’s when Christ issues the command: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” That is, do the same old, same old one more time.

With Jesus now at the center, our nets begin tearing at the seams.

Have you ever had that experience of Jesus stepping into your boat – into your heartache, into your failure – only to make things new?

If not, perhaps there’s a word in this for you today. God alone turns darkness into light; failure into abundance; nothing into something; death into life.

But first we must welcome him into our boat.

***

Secondly, consider how Jesus fills Peter’s nets with fish.

***

First, the Lord lets Peter exhaust himself.

Then, after a fruitless night of fishing on his own, Jesus makes a gentle, seemingly insignificant request – may I borrow your boat?

So, Peter allows Jesus to get in and push off, using his boat as a temporary, make-shift pulpit.

After preaching, the Lord pushes a little further into Peter’s life – first from his boat now into his profession. “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” Jesus says. 

Once Peter’s nets begin tearing at the seams, he falls to his knees, and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

***

Notice Peter changes how he addresses Jesus from Master to Lord.

“Master” is a title of respect, a bit like “sir.” 

“Lord,” on the other hand, is a title of adoration, devotion, or divinity. 

Much like Isaiah in our first reading, Peter now recognizes that he’s in the presence of the Divine and his first reaction is to push God away. “Depart from me, Lord.”

Peter cannot stand being in the presence of God yet, because his focus is still on himself.

As sinful as Peter may be, Jesus sees more of him – an experienced fisherman who understands the value of hard work; someone who isn’t afraid to work all night and come up empty, only to head back out to sea and cast his nets again.

Having revealed his power to Peter, Jesus drops the bomb: “Behold, I will make you a fisher of men.”

Following the Lord will not sever Peter from the work he loves, nor will his skills be underutilized; rather, as his disciple, Jesus will make Peter the greatest version of himself –a fisher of men and, eventually, the rock of the Church.

***

Often, the Lord uses the same strategy to hook us. 

God’s primary motivation is to capture our hearts. When he has our attention, Jesus begins transforming us from “fishers” into “fishers of men,” from fragile believers into bold disciples.

Like Peter, have I had an encounter with Christ that’s changed my life? Have I become his disciple in heart and soul, a true “fisher of men”?

***

May this Eucharist grant us all the grace to be like Peter – allowing the Lord to step into our failures, to pick up our nets and cast them again, to do the same old same old one more time.

Only now at his command.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Scarsellino, Christ and Saint Peter at the Sea of Galilee, Harvard Art Museums (2) Britannica (3) Medium