Category: Uncategorized

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Jeremiah 31: 1-7

At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”

For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.

The Word of the Lord.

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What is your image of God like?

Is he a distant figure, somewhere over the rainbow? Someone you turn to in times of desperation? Or an intimate friend? 

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In our first reading, the Lord proclaims through the prophet, Jeremiah, “With age-old love I have loved you.” 

God’s love for you is “age-old.” 

Literally, “unchanging; without beginning or end.” 

Meaning, there’s nothing you can do to earn God’s love, nor anything you can do to lose it.

When we’re stuck in a darkened valley – a rut made from our own sinfulness – God still loves us.

When we doubt his existence; when we live life on our own terms; when we take the wheel and put God in the passenger seat, God still loves us.

When we forget to pray, God does not forget us.

When we cry out in our need; when we serve him in our neighbor; when we praise him in gratitude, God loves us… But no more than those moments when we’ve fallen away.

His love is impartial; unchanging; without beginning or end.

Age-old.

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Perhaps this is something to ponder today: Wherever you are on your journey, God is there… There’s nothing you need to do to bridge the distance; no penance needed to smooth things over; no word to wake him.

Simply acknowledge his love for you, and love him in return.

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Image credits: (1) Sewickley Presbyterian Church (2) Better Place Forests (3) heartlight.org

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Gospel: Mark 9: 2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John,
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, 
and his clothes became dazzling white, 
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, 
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents: 
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; 
from the cloud came a voice, 
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, 
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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God the Father only speaks twice in the Gospels. 

The first moment comes at Christ’s baptism.

Jesus is plunged into the Jordan River by John. Upon being drawn out of that watery tomb, the heavens are opened as the Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove.

Suddenly, the Father proclaims from the heavens, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

No other word is spoken from heaven until the Transfiguration, which we hear in today’s Gospel.

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Jesus leads his inner circle – Peter, James, and John – up a high mountain, where his clothes become dazzling white. The disciples stare in wonder as Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah, two prophets from the Old Testament. 

Suddenly, the Father appears again in a cloud, repeating the words he spoke at Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Then the Father disappears, never to speak again, leaving Jesus alone with his disciples.

Why does the Father say nothing else? And why does he only appear at these two events in Christ’s earthly life?

To affirm two truths: Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore, he speaks on his Father’s behalf. Whatever truths God wants to share with creation come from the mouth of the Lord.

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“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

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To “listen” to Jesus not only means to hear his voice, but also to obey what he says. Doing so assures us a share in his divine life, which we receive a glimpse of today. 

How do we make time to listen to the voice of the Lord? In what ways do we act on it?

May the words of the prophet Samuel become a daily mantra for us: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

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Image credits: (1) Dreamtime (2) Transfiguration, Raphael (3) Life Teen

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Gospel: Matthew 14: 13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Just before this miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, the Lord attempts to withdraw to a deserted place by himself. 

I’d imagine he desired a few moments of privacy after hearing about the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus needed to pray, to grieve, and to process – not only the loss of a loved one – but also the grim reality that his own death was drawing near.

But the crowds knew where Jesus was headed, so they met him there.

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Instead of shewing the crowd away, as the disciples wanted him to do, Jesus receives the sick and heals them. Matthew tells us, “His heart was moved with pity for them.” Literally, his innards were stirred with compassion.

Here we discover a beautiful insight into the heart of our Lord. You and I are never a burden to him.

While Jesus could’ve used a few precious moments to grieve and pray, he sets aside his own personal needs in order to serve others – a small reminder of the greater sacrifice he makes in taking on our flesh.

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What might this moment in our Lord’s life mean for us?

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Sometimes you and I are called to exercise a higher degree of charity – taking our eye off of the clock, as it were, putting the needs of others first.

This might involve taking a friend to the doctor, returning a phone call, or preparing a meal for someone in need. Or, perhaps, a greater deal of time – caring for an aging parent or an ill spouse over months, even years.

While these moments might draw us away from ourselves – perhaps it’s there that we are found. Charity makes us ever more like our Lord, “who first loved us and gave himself for us.”

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Image credits: (1) Simple Words of Faith, WordPress (2) Freepik (3) Heartlight.org