Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 19, 2019
Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.
Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
“Where are you going?” I asked as I spotted Ms. Ezra wheeling herself away from the crowd of friends we were visiting at the nursing home.
Ms. Ezra couldn’t speak, but she could point to what she wanted to show me. I followed hesitantly behind her as we made a loop around the third floor. Every few feet along the corridor, Ms. Ezra’s eyes would light up as she pointed excitedly at one of her close friends. These women kept each other company, watched Hallmark movies together, and cared for each other with the utmost grace and laughter. Each encounter was a sweet vignette of friendship.
Gratuitous friendship is at the core of the ministry of Heart’s Home, a Catholic non-profit whose mission is walking with people whose hearts are wearied by loneliness. My time with Ms. Ezra was part of a weekend immersion with Heart’s Home. I went into my visit hoping to bring Christ’s presence to those living there, but Ms. Ezra showed me what a true bearer of the light of Christ looks like. She joyfully led me to the people who she loves, just as Christ leads us to his Father.
I wish I could say I had the courage and trust to drop everything to follow Jesus like Levi in today’s Gospel. In many seasons of my life, particularly this senior spring semester, I get overwhelmed by the demands of school and relationships and feel lost. Despite my fears and anxieties, I am grateful to the souls like Ms. Ezra, who shine like the North Star guiding me toward Christ.
My constant prayer to Jesus this semester is the same question I asked Ms. Ezra: “Where are you going?” Ms. Ezra’s example reminds me that to follow Jesus only requires us to take small steps. And we take these steps with our companions who refresh us along the way with peace and deeply rooted joy.
Prayer
Christ our good shepherd, you tirelessly seek out the lost and give strength to the weary sinner. In your unfathomable mercy, you never cease to pour out blessings upon those who despair of finding you. Help us to extend this same spirit of consolation to our brothers and sisters in need, and may we always imitate your example of tender care towards the marginalized. We ask this in your Name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Henry of Sweden was an English bishop who is traditionally credited with the evangelization of Finland. Henry was the bishop of Uppsala, a city in Eastern Sweden.
According to his vita (the legend of his life), which was written nearly one hundred years after his death, Henry was born in the early twelfth century and reigned in the See of Uppsala as King Eric of Sweden ruled the country. Apparently, the episcopal leader and the monarch got along well, and Henry's biographer blissfully describes this period in Sweden as Christendom at its finest. Turning his attention eastward, King Eric, decided to do battle with the pagan Finns, who were separated from Uppsala by the Gulf of Bothnia, but apparently too close for comfort for Eric. Some legends attribute Eric's campaign against the Finns as retaliatory measures for their plundering activities in Sweden. Other sources say that Eric and Henry worked in tandem, and their motivations were largely evangelical. By conquering the Finns, the bishop and the king hoped to win them over to Christianity.
Whatever their true motivations, King Eric and Bishop Henry conquered Finland, and subsequently baptized the locals and built churches. The Catholic Cathedral in Helsinki, Finland's capital city, is named in Henry's honor, to recognize the credit that Finnish Christians give to this bishop for giving them their faith.
King Eric returned to his home in Sweden, but Henry stayed in Finland, as he loved serving as a missionary in Finland rather than ruling Uppsala like royalty. Henry was murdered by a soldier named Lalli. Lalli was a baptized Christian who had murdered another soldier. After examining the case, Henry excommunicated Lalli, who flew into a rage and struck Henry with an ax. The murder of Henry is believed to have occurred in the year 1156. Immediately after Henry's death, his legend records, many miracles began to occur around his tomb and in the surrounding towns: children were raised from the dead, a blind woman's eyesight was restored, fishermen survived terrible storms at sea.
St. Henry is an important figure in the medieval history of Finland and there are a plethora of colorful poems and legends written about his life. The following (somewhat vindictive!) verses are from a seventeenth-century ballad about his life:
Now the bishop is in joy, Lalli in evil torture.
The bishop sings with the angels, performs a joyful hymn.
Lalli is skiing down in hell.
His left ski slides along,
Into the thick smoke of torture. With his staff he strikes about him:
Demons beset him cruelty. In the swelter of hell
They assail his pitiful soul.
Today's featured image reflects the tone of these verses, as it depicts St. Henry trampling on the body of his murderer, Lalli, who holds an ax.
Devotion to St. Henry, which spread throughout Finland over subsequent centuries, is a beautiful testament to the pride that countries throughout the globe have taken in their origin stories of the brave men and women who have brought the Good News of Christ to their homeland.
St. Henry of Sweden, bishop, missionary, and martyr—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Henry of Sweden is in the public domain. Last accessed November 14, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
