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All four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have their own version of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s rendition of the story, a voice from heaven—the voice of God—says to the crowd, “This is my beloved Son,” or Jesus himself hears the voice say, “You are my beloved Son.” The version we heard today, from John’s Gospel, is not a story about Jesus or the crowd hearing the voice of God, but ...

When I hear the word Epiphany, I automatically think of the Feast of Epiphany, the story of the Wisemen who came from the East to seek and to pay homage to the newborn king, Jesus. In secular terms, the word epiphany means a moment of sudden revelation or insight. We’ve all had epiphanies of one kind or another. (One day you looked in the mirror and realized you weren’t 22 anymore and had lost the ability to turn people’s heads. ...

That very first Christmas has a little bit of detective work built into it. It’s not a “who did it?” as much as it is a treasure hunt. The treasure is, obviously, Jesus. He is not playing hard-to-get, but the shepherds still have to unravel the clues the Angel of the Lord gave them if they are to find the Messiah. At this point, they don’t know that their lives and the life of the world will be forever changed. ...

Once again, the first reading is interesting.  The Prophet Isaiah has something to offer us on our faith journey, but like all Old Testament readings, this reading needs some explaining, some context. 

It’s a story about Ahaz, the king of Judah, and it take place about 730 years before the birth of Jesus.  Israel to the north and Judah to the south (where Ahaz is king) are sister countries.  Between these two countries is where you find God’s Chosen People, the Jews, living.  The archenemy ...

Back in 14^th century Persia (Iran today), there was a famous poet named Hafiz. Not only was he a poet, but he was also a very well-respected man because of his wisdom. Although he lived 700 years ago, his poetry has once again become popular. This is my favorite Hafiz poem, and it reminds me of John the Baptist who is perishing in prison. It reminds me even more of Jesus, the liberator of everything that imprisons us.  It goes like this. “The ...