In today’s gospel Jesus proclaims, “...if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (Mark 3:25). The gospel says it I believe it, my experience reveals it to be true, it makes sense – and ultimately such divided houses do indeed fall. But it is my experience that sometimes it takes a long time to collapse and in the interim, living in the house is an increasingly difficult and unpleasant time. Continue reading
Children’s Mass | Ezekiel 34:11-16 and Luke 15:1-7
This coming Sunday is Word of God Sunday when the Catholic Church celebrates the great gift of the Bible. We celebrate the stories from the Old Testament like the one this morning from the Prophet Ezekiel as well as our Gospel from St. Luke. But more importantly we celebrate that all these stories are one unified story that all lead to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Continue reading
The first reading is taken from Hebrews chapter 6:10 and following, but the larger context for the writer’s thought begins at Hebrews 5:11 where a metaphor is employed, one familiar then and now: that of milk and solid food, little children and adults. The basic problem is that those hearing this word are receiving it as children, when they should be teachers. The problem is that the hearers are refusing to grow up in their understanding of Christianity. They are stuck at the level of the ABCs and worse, they need someone to again teach them the ABCs of the faith. Continue reading
In Matthew 10 we can read: “Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” I think when lots of people hear that their first thought is … well, sometimes I have no idea of their first thought. Makes me wonder….
The challenge of those few lines brings one to the intersection of responsibility and desire.As a Christian, do you think it is your responsibility to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand? Do you think, “well… that is the job of the priest or the religious sister or brother.” Pretty sure that command is for the baptized. We are all called, be it by word or deed, to be part of the infusion of excitement and energy about the Faith into the lives of people. Continue reading
In today’s gospel Jesus when a paralytic’s friend bring him to Jesus, the first response is: “‘Child, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?‘” (Mark 2:5-7). They understood exactly Jesus’ claim. They didn’t accept that Jesus could forgive sins, but they completely understood what Jesus was saying. The Pharisees had been taken to the crossroads with three choices. Jesus was either liar, lunatic or Lord. They were not leaning towards option #3. Continue reading
From our earliest days we were told the story of Adam and Eve’s temptation by the serpent in the garden. In children’s books there is often the quick explanation that the serpent is the devil/satan tempting the first humans. To be clear this earliest of accounts in Genesis 3 does not refer explicitly to Satan (which by the way is never used as a proper name in Scripture). The tempter is simply called a nāḥāš, which is a common Hebrew word for a serpent, used a total of 31 times in the OT. There is perhaps a sinister nuance possible as seen in the Hebrew word for serpent (nāḥāš) if it is to be connected with the verb nāḥaš, “to practice divination, observe signs,” a verb that appears eleven times in the OT. In the ancient Near East such divination formulae frequently involved a serpent. Continue reading
The first readings for this week are taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The psalms are ones that speak of the covenant of God with his people. The gospels are taken from the earliest days of Jesus’ public ministry when he confronts the chaos, disorder and evil in the world, seen in the unclean spirits, illness, leprosy, and paralysis to which he brings release, freedom, and restoration of what God intended – that man be whole. Continue reading
The first reading for today is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 2 that begins an exhortation to remain firm in the faith and not simply drift away. The exhortation is rooted in Hebrews 1 which argued that since the Son is superior to the angels, the message of salvation he brought is even more to be obeyed than the law of Moses, which came through angels. Here in Chapter 2, the argument takes a new angle to argue that Christ is superior to the angels. Previously it was argued that Christ was superior as the Son of God; here he is superior because he is a human being. Continue reading
The two semifinal games in the college football playoff (CFB) series were great games for fans and spectators alike. There was lots of exciting plays and the games came down to nail-biter finishes. Last night’s championship game did not share those characteristics as the University of Georgia (UGA) overwhelmed TCU. I watched the first half finish with a score of 38-7 and then decided to read a book for the rest of the evening. A few moments later I received a text from a friend who wondered if the 2nd half television advertisers were going to receive a rebate/discount as non-UGA fans began to turn off the broadcast. Turns out it is a flat-fee arrangement, but what the future holds in terms of rebates or discounts, … something to wonder about. Actually, I’ve already spent too much time on the topic.
Today marks the end of the Liturgical season of Christmas as we celebrate the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Throughout the Christmas season we have heard the titles and honorifics: Messiah, Wonder Counselor, Prince of Peace; but today, we hear the simple most intrinsic of all. This day the gospel proclaims the identity of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son.” (Mt 3:17). Continue reading
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