As you may know, the little slice of the Scriptures on any given Sunday is only that, a slice. The mistake we often make in reading these Bible stories, or just in life in general, is to think we have the whole pie when we only have a slice of the pie. Even Jesus makes the mistake with this Canaanite women. She has to remind him that initially he only has a piece of the puzzle and not the whole ...
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As you know, there are many forms of prayer; one is not any better than another. Public, communal prayer is called liturgy, while private prayer is called devotional prayer. We need both. Different forms of prayer spontaneously emerge in us depending on the circumstance we find ourselves in. When you stand before something absolutely wonderful, and you know you didn’t create it, a “prayer of praise” is never too far from your lips. Looking into a baby’s eyes always elicits ...
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The story of Jesus’ transfiguration is a wonderful gospel story. It has just so much depth to it, so much symbolism. It speaks to me differently at different stages of my life. All Scripture stories are supposed to work that way, and this one certainly does.
I had the privilege of being on this mountain a few years ago. Peter, as you heard from the story, wanted to make three dwellings, to pitch three tents, in order to savor that wonderful ...
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There are, as always, a number of ways of approaching the readings we hear during liturgy. One helpful idea as we try to tease out some meaning from today’s readings is to make the distinction between the Kingdom of God, on the one hand, and the Kingdom of Heaven on the other. Usually we mash them together thinking one means exactly the same as the other. Not so. In its simplest form, the Kingdom of God is the present; it’s ...
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“I thank you Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”
Two weeks ago, I was involved in Vacation Bible School and this line from our gospel today really came to life. At Vacation Bible School we have children from many different parishes in our diocese and at times from beyond and other faith traditions as well. We also have a wonderfully international flavour to our group as ...
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Like I mentioned last weekend, in Matthew’s gospel, there is the famous Sermon on the Mount, that is followed up with a lesser-known sermon called the Missioning Sermon. Last week and this week’s gospel are about the Missioning Sermon, how Jesus is sending his followers out into the world to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is breaking into the world here and now. Jesus isn’t trying to hone skills within his disciples before unleashing them on the ...
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It’s a pretty safe statement for me to say that every one of us has experienced doubts, discouragement, and fears. I hope every one of you has also had moments of hope and people on your life journey who have spoken words of encouragement to you. The Scripture readings we are given today are so realistic, echoing both discouragement and encouragement. If you spent just a little bit of time with the Prophet Jeremiah, our first reading, or with the ...
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Well this I am certain of, as I am not certain of much else: thank God I do not have the same friends as Jeremiah. “All my close friends are watching for me to stumble” he tells us. Maybe it is a little delusional of me, but I would like to think that my friends are always rooting for my success.
Jeremiah was born in the mid 600’s BC in Anathoth, near Jerusalem, the son of one of the priests who lived ...
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Sometimes when I read gospel stories, especially stories that are so familiar, my mind automatically jumps ahead and says, “I know where this story is going.” Jumping to the conclusion is not a good way of entering into any scripture story. The revelation that the story is trying to enlighten our minds with is not the same thing as walking the path of the revelation. Anybody can say, “Jesus is Lord.” I believe that’s true, but it won’t get me ...
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Exodus’ telling of the Israelites camping in the desert, coupled with Jesus’ missioning of the 12 disciples to “go out to the lost sheep of the House of Israel,” brought to mind the ongoing Synod on Synodality underway in our Church and its implications for how we as a Church might become less polarized and exclusive, while at the same time becoming more compassionate, loving, and hospitable to everyone Jesus invited to the table. I do not mean my personal ...
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