Satan, or whatever you consider the demonic to be, gets significant air time in today’s first reading and in the gospel. Satan, or the devil, is known by many evil traits, but the two most prominent are “liar” and “accuser.” Contrast that with the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth (not lies) and who is your Advocate, your defense lawyer (not your accuser). To the degree we have allowed ourselves to be loved by the Truth, then we ...
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I realize, that by the time we get to proclaiming the Gospel, it’s already the fourth piece of Scripture we’ve heard, and we don’t always remember what we heard in the first reading, the second reading, or the psalm. So, let me refresh your minds by taking you back to that first reading from the Book of Exodus.
The Book of Exodus gets its name from that great departure, that great “exodus” of the Hebrew people from the land of slavery ...
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The Church’s prayer for 2, 000 years has been, “Come, Holy Spirit.” The Spirit’s answer in all that time has never changed, “I am here. I have always been here.” This story comes from an autobiographical novel by Bryce Courtenay called The Power of One. It reminds me of Pentecost.
It takes place in South Africa in the late 1930s. It starts off with an emphasis on a little boy who is 6 years old, and he is an English boy. ...
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Twenty-one years ago, when I was young and foolish, I hopped in the car and drove 3,600 km to go to a retreat center in Tucson, Arizona. It was in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by giant cactus plants, some with arms stretching 25 feet into the air. In each of the retreatants’ rooms was the standard bed, desk, chair and a lamp. I had been on retreats before. So, I knew there would be a piece of ...
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This gospel reading is a continuation of the gospel reading from last Sunday. Last Sunday, Jesus told us to abide in him, to remain in him, so that our lives would bear fruit. In today’s reading, Jesus is putting a little different spin on things. He’s telling us to abide in his love so that his joy may be in us and that our new-found joy will be complete. Complete joy is not a joy that is fleeting. Rather, complete ...
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When we experience the best things in life, we don’t have words to describe those things. We stand there with our mouths open, and we are at a loss for words; it’s just that good. Equally true, when we experience the worst things in life, we go numb. We lose words. All we can do is weep. Tears replace words.
When it comes to our faith, especially in our feeble attempts to describe what God is like, we just know our ...
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Singing in the Assembly
When we come together to celebrate Eucharist we are asked to do something we are seldom (if ever) asked to do elsewhere. Some of us find it difficult or we think we are not capable. Or we think that it is something that only women (if we are men) or children (if we are adults) or professionals (if we are not) should do. Some of us don’t even think about it at all; we simply don’t ...
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The gospel story we just heard is a contrast between a true shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep and a hired hand who runs away when danger comes. It’s really not a story about shepherding sheep, which I know nothing about. It’s a story about caring for the people God has put on our life’s journey. Jesus is the good shepherd not because he talks about some abstract, idealized shepherd who lays down his ...
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This gospel story is a story within a story within another story. The risen Jesus appears to his disciples and reassures them that he is not a ghost and that he still has a fondness, in his risen state, for a good snack of fish. It’s a continuation of the story of how Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Hmmm. I wonder ...
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Although nobody witnessed the actual moment Jesus rose from the tomb, Mary Magdalene was the first to witness the Risen Lord. And, as a good disciple should do, she ran and told others. Those others told others who told others who told us. That’s how we come to be here this morning. But discipleship, whether it’s Mary Magdalene’s or our own, isn’t as simple as turning on a light switch. If you’re anything like me, on the road to becoming ...
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