Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

Today's Mass Readings

Sometimes the Scripture reading reveals the inner world of the writer. Actually, in today’s first reading, we get no information about the saint of the day, St. Josaphat. You might already know that he was a Ukrainian-born 17th-century priest, monk, bishop, and martyr who is highly regarded by the Polish and Lithuanian Christians even to this day.

We do get a better picture of the writer and perhaps the situation by reading between the lines in St. Paul’s personal letter to his friend Philemon and the Gospel selection from St. Luke. What’s going through the mind of St. Paul in this short letter? Could it be the old warrior campaigner, now limited by age and imprisonment, allowing his heart to speak freely in friendship but also with the missionary fire which will never die? He is sending his beloved assistant Onesimus back to Philemon and into their formerly strained relationship. Paul is offering a powerful, even leveraged hope for reconciliation. He is urging Philemon to put first things first.

Is not Jesus doing the same in today’s Gospel? The Pharisees are easily obsessed over legalistic details and are concerned with the signs of the “last times” or the “coming of the Kingdom.” We can almost hear Jesus sigh with disappointment as He points out that they are chasing after the momentary brilliance of what we would call fireworks or the Northern Lights. Knowing the time of the future “Rapture” is not as important as embracing the grace and responsibility of the present (Kairos) moment right in front of us.

Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB