What are your priorities in this life? Where is your heart? What drives your passions and guides your actions? These are just a few of the questions that have been lurking in the back of my mind during the last few Gospel reflections.
This is especially true in my mind this morning, as America is preparing to inaugurate Joe Biden as our President. I have plenty of concerns today, least of all are the multiple scandals surrounding Biden and His Son, or even the accusations of election fraud. No, I’m most concerned about Joe Biden, the self-proclaimed Catholic.
No. It is not my position, nor in my authority to judge Biden’s eternal status. However, we’re able to compare his life’s actions and especially his political acts and positions, and compare them to the teachings of Jesus, and His Church. I’ve done that, and find that from all available data, that Biden is a Catholic in name only (CINO). In that observation, I cannot help, but draw parallels to today’s Gospel reading, where CINO Joe is playing the part of the religious rulers of that day. What’s his motivation? Why is he so blatantly defying the teachings of his church.
We, as the Church should be feeling the same sense of anger that Jesus did in the temple towards the Pharisees who cared more for power and control, than for doing the right thing.
It is important that we as Catholic Christians be more concerned with doing the will of the Father than following our own self-serving agenda. As I was preparing for this reflection Matthew 6:21 came to mind — “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” It seems to me, that CINO politicians such Biden care more about making a profit from their position than their Christian faith — beware the levin of the Pharisees.
We must remember that "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord... For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself." 1 Corinthians 11:27, 29. Yes, I’m praying for Joe Biden as our president, that he will humble himself before God, and return to Him, and His Church while there is still time.
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GOSPEL -- Mark 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
