News - March 2022 RSS Feed

As a follower of Jesus Christ, my image of God comes much more from the New Testament than the Old. I believe that God is far closer to the father of the Prodigal Son who races to meet him, who doesn’t think of scolding him, and who is entirely consumed with joy at his child’s return.

“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” - (John 5:30) - Throughout our Scripture readings this week, Jesus is being badgered by everyone:  people are asking for physical cures; his disciples do not want any talk of suffering and death; and the scribes and Pharisees are attempting to twist Jesus’ words.

"POOL OF BETHESDA" - Today’s passage from John’s gospel (5:1-16) takes place in Jerusalem at the Pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate. The sick and the disabled would gather here apparently because it was believed that when the water of the pool was disturbed (a spring below? an angel of the Lord?), curative powers were available to the first person to immerse him/herself in the water.

"Faith Works Wonders" - In these remaining weeks of Lent, the prophet Isaiah presents a vision of what the world of the Resurrection will be like: there will be a new earth and a new heaven where there will be no more mourning or weeping, only gladness and happiness (Isaiah 65: 17-19). The suffering, pain, anxiety, darkness, discomfort and drudgery that we almost become resigned to does not have the final word.

“How Can This Be?” - We Christians of Roman Catholicism have always held the Blessed Virgin Mary in the highest of regard. And rightly so, I believe. In the churches of the Reformation, Mary sometimes seems to be largely confined to Christmas, though that might not be entirely fair.

"If today you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." (Psalm 95:8, today's Psalm response)- Has a friend ever said to you "It's time for a heart-to-heart talk?" Heart talking to heart -- an invitation to a no-defenses, going deeper kind of conversation with shared vulnerabilities, laden with the risk of receiving information that might be difficult to hear but a place where, at the growing edges of a friendship, we might learn to reclaim our better selves.

“Your words, Lord, are spirit and life;” (John 6:63) Scene: Judy’s apartment: Jesus and Judy are sitting on the living room couch in conversation over today’s Scripture readings. Judy: Jesus, I’m having a difficult time understanding your words when you tell us that we must obey every law, that you came to fulfill not to abolish the law.

"TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE?" - Forgiveness can be, and very often IS, very difficult. If this were not the case, I doubt very much that there would be so very many fractured families, friendships, and other relationships that we all know personally. I frequently think that this theme arises so often in the gospels “simply” because we need to be reminded so often of our need to forgive and be forgiven!

"A Simple Way Out" - Most of us complain about how busy we are, how stressed out we feel and how complicated life has become. With all the advances in technology, we had anticipated that life would run smoother. Such is not the case, because every “advance” seems to bring complications.

"The Assurance of Things Hoped For, The Conviction of Things Not Seen" - The first reading today from late in Genesis, chapter 37, the story of Joseph and his brothers, is, of course during Lent, meant to be a direct allusion to Jesus’ being betrayed to his enemies by one very close to him.

"Saint Patrick’s Day" - Remarkably, after becoming a priest, he voluntarily returned and spent the rest of his life serving the people who had taken him by force from his home. Despite strong evidence of an earlier Christian presence in Ireland, he is generally credited with introducing the faith and he became the first bishop of Armagh [which, despite Dublin’s importance these days, is still the prelature.]

“But my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’" (Psalm 31) - In the seventh century BC, Jeremiah proclaims the goodness of God, but he also explains the responsibilities that accompany accepting that love. In the first century AD, Jesus firmly asserts that we must be willing to serve with love if we want to be his followers. Then in the seventeenth century AD, Jesuit Father John de Brebeuf spends over 20 years as a missionary proclaiming the love of God to the Hurons in Canada.

“All Their Works Are Performed to be Seen.” - Psychologists tell us that we are often most critical of others for traits within ourselves that we very much dislike. Sure sounds like hypocrisy to me. Examples of hypocrisy abound around us. They are usually not difficult to discern. How many abound within us? Not as easily discerned??

"In Like Measure" - “For the measure you give will be the measure you receive.” - Very often, however, we forget the rule of “like measure.” We expect more from life than we are willing to put in, or we fail to appreciate that all good things in life cost us something.

“Love Your Enemies” - We are all quite familiar with taking offense at other’s behavior or at what they say. How many times a day do we find ourselves settling on an idea of someone that is critical, dismissive, even contemptuous, resentful or angry? And we often do this without much thinking or evidence, quite immediately and then find ourselves acting on that idea. How many times have we said that someone “drives us crazy” or that we simply don’t like them or even that we can’t stand them!

"From Ink to Blood" - As part of my co-chair responsibilities for the lector ministry in my parish, I work with new lectors in their formation in the craft of proclaiming the Word -- how to surrender their voices, bodies, facial expressions, and posture as people of faith in sending out the Living Word of Good News, alive in this time and this place. Their role: to become hollow reeds with texture (!), turning the 'ink' on the paper into the 'blood' of new life and witness.

“A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”— (Psalm 51) - The back story of Jonah is that God called him a while ago to be a prophet among the Ninevites. Knowing that the Ninevites are enemies of the Israelites, Jonah does not want to step foot in their territory. He is not taking on the enemy. After battling storms and being locked-up within a whale, Jonah relents ...

“Your Will Be Done… On Earth As It Is in Heaven.” - Correctly or incorrectly, I have come to think that at the end of the proverbial day, so much of our faith journey, spirituality, and way of proceeding boils down to our answer to one of two basic questions: “Is it all about me, and therefore my will? Or is it all not about me, and therefore God’s will?”

"God Takes It Personally" - Jesus is presented as the final judge of our actions but we also learn something about how Jesus identifies himself with ordinary people. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you did it to me,” and “truly, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” What this identification does is prevent us from escaping responsibility for the people whose lives we touch.

“Then Your Light Will Break Forth” - No matter what our religious practices are, no matter how noble they may seem, if they do not end in doing the above, basically in taking care of “the poor,” then they are of little use. Religion must end in love of our neighbor, especially our neighbors in need, or it is not true religion.