When I read and ponder these gospel stories, Jesus always comes across as the model, the archetype, the goal to which I strive. I believe he is the potential within me, that I never quite reach, and he is also the encouragement within me to keep striving. Jesus is the complete human being calling me and every human being to be fully human as he was. In that sense, I can say he is the universal Christ.
On the flip side of the coin, ...
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My friend, Byron, was a ‘White Father’ missionary to Africa in one of his lives. He told me of one remote tribe there, who had no problem with the movement of the sun across the sky. How did the sun get back east to rise again? Why, it went back the same way across the sky, but “we can’t see it because it is dark at night.” Scientists today also noticed it is dark at night, so they explain it ...
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I love this line from today’s gospel, “The sheep follow him because they know his voice.” The assumption is that if the sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice, they will follow him. And if they follow him, he will lead them to green pastures where they will find life in abundance. “I came that you might have life and have it abundantly.” The whole thing starts with recognition—sheep recognizing the shepherd’s voice. The post-resurrection stories we’ve heard so far during the Easter Season, are all stories where ...
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I know very little about shepherds. In fact I would argue, that very few of us do. Frankly, I was shocked to discover that shepherds are still a real thing. That, although modern methods of farming have made protecting and herding sheep a lot easier, there are still many places in the world, including places in North America, where shepherds continue doing the job which has been done for thousands of years – one source indicated it may well be ...
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When Jesus broke bread at what we traditionally call The Last Supper, he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” In other words, “If you want to remember the truth about me, then break and eat bread, pour and drink wine in my name, and you will remember me. If you try to remember me without breaking bread or drinking wine in my name, you won’t remember me.” If we don’t remember Jesus, we will be forced to create a substitute. If ...
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The task of religion is not to turn us into ‘proper’ believers; it is to deepen the personal within us, to embrace the power of life, to expand our consciousness, in order that we might see things that eyes do not normally see. ~Bishop John Shelby Spong
In my last reflection, I wrote about an angel made from a glittery ribbon that watches protectively from the living room mirror in my mother’s home. For years I looked at it and thought ...
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This gospel reading is one of the more familiar gospel stories for all of us. I’ve read books and heard homilies–commentaries you might say–about the “Doubting Thomas” story. After hearing these commentaries, sometimes I felt not so bad in my own faith, especially when I compared myself with the sad state of Thomas at the beginning of the story. Contrastingly, at other times, I felt my faith needed a lot of stretching and growing, especially when I compared myself to ...
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This week’s readings are very encouraging to all of us who have our faith and who listen to our teachings.
The statement in the second reading makes you feel an unbelievable love and joy that is being revealed in the resurrection of our Lord. He suffered to give us a second chance in being with him in heaven.
With this overwhelming joy we feel in our hearts, it is our total belief that somebody would care for us so much. We still ...
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A boy goes up to his father and says, “Daddy, how does the sun, the moon, and the stars stay up in the sky without falling to earth?” The father answered, “I don’t know, son. “Daddy,” asked the son a second time, “How does winter turn into spring and spring turn into summer?” “I have no idea how that works, son.” “Daddy, how does a bear know it’s time to hibernate in the winter? And how does it know when ...
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The last part of the first line of today’s gospel says, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” That’s what they went to see, a tomb. We know the rest of the story in ways these two could not possibly have known. If we were in their shoes, we probably would have gone to see a tomb as well. Yet, something shakes them. Something wakes them up.
Because we are humans, we can only describe and give ...
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