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Today's Gospel
The Power of Presence
4 min
Gospel
Lk 6:1-5
On a sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?” And Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.”
Readings are from Dynamic Catholic’s New Testament Bible: RSV Catholic Edition
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Transcript
The Power of Presence
So you think about the Pharisees, right? I mean, Jesus must have just incensed them because everything they threw at him, he came back calm, reasonable, logical, spiritual, and spiritual in an elevated way. And so the Pharisees there, I mean, their minds would have just been-- their minds would have just been blown. What jumps out at me today-- remember each day we talk about picking a word or a phrase or an idea that God uses, the Holy Spirit uses, to capture your attention. What captured my attention today was the bread of the Presence and Presence is capitalized. And obviously the Eucharist, right, is the true Presence of Jesus. And this word Presence is so powerful. I think about like being a dad.
Presence really matters. And you know when I take a trip and I'm not there and something happens, can I talk to them on the phone? Yes. Can I talk to them over video conference? Yes. Is it the same? No, it isn't. And anytime you're far away from someone you love, you yearn for presence. And that always gets me thinking about two things. It's like, am I spending time in the presence of God? Am I recognizing His presence throughout my day? And then the other thing that it gets me thinking about is about my presence in other people's lives. And is my presence a calming influence or a disturbing influence? Is my presence the harbor or is my presence the storm? And how do I allow God to make Himself present through my presence? Or how do I block God from making Himself present through my presence? Is my presence a humble presence? Is my presence an arrogant presence?
We spend a lot of time talking about the true presence of Jesus and the Eucharist, but I think we also need to think about is our presence true presence? Is our presence an authentic presence? Or is our presence a false, fake, superficial, artificial present? Have a great day. Go out in the world and be truly present to people today. And remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.
