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Gospel: Luke 4: 16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel passage comes at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and he’s already starting to experience both rejection and wonder from the crowds. 

For these three precious, and final, years of his life, Jesus will go public: he will cure the sick, give sight to the blind, forgive sins, and even raise a few people from the dead – all things the prophet Isaiah foretold.

We might summarize his works in three words: 

Jesus lifted burdens.

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By the power of the Holy Spirit, that is what every Christian is called to do.

We lift people’s burdens, setting them free.

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I think of all who cook in our parish soup kitchen, preparing fresh pasta for the hungry in Newark. And the Missionaries of Charity who feed, clothe, and shelter them.

Those who visit our sick and homebound parishioners; who drive them to chemo and doctor’s appointments; who tidy their homes; who bring them communion; who sit and have a conversation, lifting their burden of loneliness. 

Those who organize parish outings and events; who teach our children our faith; who work on staff; who intercede on our behalf.

Here we lift burdens.

It’s what the Catholic Church does around the world – and has done since the time of our Lord.

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Following Christ’s example, how might I lift someone’s burden today?

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Image credits: (1) Medium (2) Got Questions (3) Undefined, alyssajhoward.com

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Gospel: Matthew 16: 21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised. 
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” 
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. 
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. 
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life? 
Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I spent the last year promoting World Youth Day, trying to convince young adults to join me in a pilgrimage to Portugal. I told them we’d celebrate Mass with Pope Francis and stay at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. It’d be an opportunity of a lifetime!

Once we landed in Portugal, the forty pilgrims who joined us were eager to know the details about what each day held. But we gave them one simple rule:

“Participate. Don’t anticipate.”

Had they known from the beginning that we’d be averaging 20,000 steps a day – and one day over 30,000, that some nights we’d only get a few precious hours of sleep, that one night we’d sleep outside on hard, rocky ground, and be eating hot dogs out of a can, then many of them might have said, “No way!”

Yet, in the end, every one of them said they’d do it all over again in a heartbeat; it was a life-changing experience. They just needed to follow the rule:

“Participate. Don’t anticipate.”

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In last week’s Gospel, Peter professed his faith in Jesus, saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” To which Jesus responded, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.”

However, just a few verses after Peter is declared the foundation of the Church, Jesus finds cause to rebuke him as we hear in today’s Gospel, “Get behind me, Satan!” 

How does Peter go from being “rock” to “Satan”?

He was thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.

After Jesus reveals that he’s headed to Jerusalem where he’ll be crucified, Peter protests, saying, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you!”

I suspect Peter was not only afraid of losing his Lord; he was also afraid of losing his own life. “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you… or to me!”

That is what elicits such a harsh response from Jesus – Peter tries controlling the future.

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Christ’s command for Peter to, “get behind” him does not mean that Jesus wants him to leave; rather, he’s telling Peter to reassume the role of a disciple.

Disciples follow their Master. They don’t tell the Master where to go or what to do; they wait for instruction, ready to follow.

Much like we taught our pilgrims at World Youth Day, “Participate. Don’t anticipate.”

Peter learned his lesson. Humbled, he reassumes his role as disciple and gets behind the Lord. 

Something tells me that also might’ve been the moment when Judas developed a plan-B. If Jesus’ words were true – if he really is going to be crucified – then he isn’t turning out to be the type of savior Judas had hoped for.

Judas saw influence, power, and riches in his future. Not a cross.

Secretly, Judas begins crafting alternative plans for the moment he reaches Jerusalem. He doesn’t get behind the Lord at all; mistakenly, he believes he’s two steps ahead.

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How often does this happen to us?

We shadowbox with the future. We make our own plan-B. We try controlling our destiny by getting two steps ahead.

“Do not worry about tomorrow,” Jesus says, “tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day are its own troubles” (Matthew 6:34).

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When they finally reach Jerusalem, the Lord is crucified as he predicted. But there were many things in store for Peter, which he never could have imagined.

Peter would become part of that circle of disciples to encounter the Risen Christ. That set his heart aflame. In fact, he was so transformed by that post-Cross experience that he’d spend the rest of his life telling the world!

Peter preached to thousands. He converted and baptized entire crowds on the spot. He led the Church on earth for three decades before being faced with his own cross.

And when it came, he saw it with different eyes; he wasn’t the same man who feared his future thirty years earlier. He was ready to follow the Lord wherever he went because Peter knew where it all ended – in eternal life. 

Saint Paul distills this lesson into a single sentence, “I consider the sufferings of this present age as nothing compared to the glory to be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

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Looking back, I’m sure Peter would encourage us with the same words we used to inspire our pilgrims: “Participate. Don’t anticipate.”

Follow the Lord wherever he may go.

Step by step, day by day.

Get behind him.

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Image credits: (1) Pocket Mindfulness (2) Life Skills Resource Group (3) The Center for Advancement of Christian Education

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Gospel: Matthew 25: 1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 
Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!’ 
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’ 
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. 
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ 
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”

The parable begins on an equal playing field. There are ten virgins, each with their lamp lit. It takes time before we are able to separate the foolish from the wise.

The separation happens when Jesus reveals that the bridegroom is delayed. As a result, five virgins run out of oil, while five others refill their lamps using extra flasks of oil, which they brought with them. 

Five came prepared and five did not.

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What might the Lord be saying to us?

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As Christians, we must carry an extra flask of oil, as it were; we must be ready to endure.

For example, it’s one thing to play peacemaker for a day. It’s another to be a peacemaker year after year, especially when conflicts arise at home, in our marriage, or in our personal relationships.

It’s one thing to be generous with our time or talent for a day. It’s another to live generous lives.

It’s one thing to say a prayer. It’s another to, in Saint Paul’s words, “Pray always.”

It’s one thing to forgive a slight misgiving. It’s another to have an attitude of forgiveness.

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Five virgins brought a few hours’ worth of oil.

Five came ready for the long haul.

Which one am I?

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Image credits: (1) iStock (2) Homesteady (3) Window Into the Bible