Category Archives: Sunday Morning

The Sign

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There are no miracles in the Gospel of John. Well, at least he does not call them as such. John seems to assiduously avoid calling them miracles, preferring to call them “signs.” In fact the first part of the Gospel of John is called the “Book of Signs” – and there are seven.

  • Changing water into wine in John 2:1-11
  • Healing the royal official’s son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54
  • Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-18
  • Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14
  • Jesus’ walk on water in John 6:16-24
  • Healing the man born blind in John 9:1-7
  • Raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45

Each sign is meant, not only to grab your attention, but to serve as a pointer, not that which has just transpired, but to the person of Jesus. The signs also serve to point to a choice.
That has been the motif in the Gospel of John all along. At the end of the first sign, the words of the Blessed Virgin Mother in the story from Cana make it evident. Her last words in the Gospel of John are the clearest and most poignant sign: “This is my son, do what he tells you.” She points to the person of Jesus and points to the choice each will have to make: do what he tells you. Every disciples, every reader, each one who hears this Book of Signs is brought to that moment where choices are made to follow, or not, the one who is the Living Word of God made flesh, Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Oh my gosh….did you know?

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gossipWhen I became pastor, Fr. Andrew told me that this column space was a task that was unrelenting. It does keep coming around. I would love to tell you there is a grand vision in the background that connects the dots from week to week, but there isn’t. Sometimes it is driven by the liturgical season, things at the parish, events on the national scene, one of many other items important to the parish, or once in a while, something I have just been musing about. Like last week it was gossip. Continue reading →

The history we write – the lives we lead

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MM-DonatelloMost people still think of Mary Magdalene as the unnamed sinner (possibly a prostitute) in Luke 7:36-50.  Of course we think of her as “the repentant prostitute” because she turns her life around because of the encounter with Jesus.  The problem is that for the first 300+ years of the Church, she was only seen as the first witness to the Resurrection.  Did you know that Mary Magdalene is mentioned 12 times in the gospels, more than most of the Apostles?  She was present at the crucifixion and was the first witness to the Resurrection (John 20 and Mark 16:9).  She was the “Apostle to the Apostles,” an honorific that St. Augustine bestowed upon her in the fourth century, and possibly he was but repeating a moniker already in use. Continue reading →

Not in our stars, but in ourselves

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temptationOur psalm today cries out, “Have mercy on me Lord, for I have sinned.” Maybe a better petition would be, “Have mercy on me Lord, for I am sorely tempted.”  Sin can be but a moment when one gives in, but then one knows the battle is over, but the war is not lost. There is forgiveness and at least the battle is over. Not so with temptation. It was more life the never-ending, deadly trench warfare of World War I: constant struggle, continuous causalities, and wondering “why” and “where are the reinforcements.” It seems as though it never stops. “Have mercy on me Lord, for I am sorely tempted.” Such is temptation. Continue reading →

Prepare, Practice, and Pray

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imperfectI have a pop quiz for you. No, really.. a bible quiz. What was the final verse of last week’s gospel?

It was just last week, we heard Jesus not only tell us what is possible – but we were commanded to strive for that very possibility: “…be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Be perfect, telios, the Greek word which speaks of wholeness, a completeness, a certain end point, goal or destiny that is ours. “…be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Our destiny, our divine calling – a project for this lifetime. A project that with the grace of God is ours in the here and now – and forever. A project we have already encountered, however briefly, already. Continue reading →

A Moment of Perfect

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Cycling : 99th Tour de France 2012 / Stage 20There is a picture in my office. It is in a place only I can see it. I didn’t plan it that way, it was just the only place to hang it when I moved in. It has been there almost seven years. I should probably move it, but I kinda’ like it there. I just have to glance up – and it is there.

It is a picture taken during the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs Elysees. Not the one shown here – that is just a stock photo. It could have been taken in almost any year. The one of my wall is of one person; of one moment in time. Continue reading →

Being Salt and Light

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Sacred Heart, Tampa - ready for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Last week I wrote about the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the Beatitudes and is one of the great discourses in the Gospel according to Matthew.  I thought I would provide some more food for thought as our Sunday gospel continues with the Sermon on the Mount – better described as the Discourse of Discipleship.

In our reading today, Jesus uses two of the most well-known metaphors:  “You are the salt of the earth.” and “You are the light of the world.” (Mt 5:13-14)  Two things that are vital to human life – not nice, but vital.  Several years ago, NPR aired a report about an isolated area of Myanmar (Burma) with no natural salt deposits – at least my memory says Myanmar (my search of NPR failed to uncover the story).  This very fertile land was unoccupied because of that reason until an earthquake moved a mountain and a road was opened to the region.  At least then people could live there and travel to market to buy salt.  Salt is that vital to human life.  But beyond the life-sustaining aspect, salt gives flavor and is used to preserve, to prevent corruption.

“You are the salt of the earth.”  This is what Jesus proclaims to the disciples, to the ones who have already responded to his call to follow him.  And all of this is in connection with the Sermon on the Mount’s focus of letting disciples know the demands of the kingdom.  Disciples of Christ need to be life-giving, need to add the distinctive flavoring of being “blessed,” and to preserve others for life in the eternal kingdom.

Disciples, if we are true to our calling, make the earth a purer and a more palatable place.  But we can do so only as long as we preserve our distinctive character:  tasteless salt has no value.  The Rabbis commonly used salt as an image for wisdom (cf. Col. 4:6), which may explain why the Greek word translated as “lost its taste” actually means “become foolish.”  A foolish disciple has no influence on the world; a foolish community makes no difference in its locale.

It raises the questions whether as a community or individuals – are we salt for the earth?  What is distinctive about us as disciples?  Our church buildings are very distinctive.  But are we? If we are not, then we are simply foolish.

Let me go in peace.

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LastWordsLast words. We have always place a special emphasis on last words. There are websites dedicated to recording the last words of famous people. Some are profound, some hilarious, and some ironic. Movies highlight the last words of the dying. I guess it is that we believe that for the person, this is their last shot at figuring things out, summing things up. We assume that at death’s doorway there is no need nor desire for pretense or fabrication, but only moments of deep, abiding truth and wisdom – and we hang on the edge of our seats. Continue reading →

A Light to the Nations – giving voice to Faith

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light2nationsOver the last several Sundays I have been connecting the readings beginning with Holy Family Sunday.  St. Paul gave us advice on being a holy family: to put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and over all these, love. (cf. Col 3:12-13). And so I encourage you to use your family to practice those virtues, to become the embodiment of those virtues. Then on Epiphany Sunday, the message was to reveal those virtues to the world through your life – to become the epiphany of Christ to others. The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord followed in which the prophet Isaiah’s word says that in our baptism we are formed as a covenant the people – a vow, a promise, a bond, a connection that binds us to the promise and the power of Christ on one side and to the world on the other.

And so with good intent and hopeful hearts we work away in our personal lives and in our families – to be the person, the family, the witnesses to heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and over all these, love. We want those virtues in our lives and in our families, but have we been practicing them? Have been talking about them within the family. I suspect most of us pray about it, we work at it, we succeed, we fail, we start over… mostly silently.  And think about it. If we are hesitant to speak about it within the safety of home, how likely are we to testify about it all in the company of others.? Continue reading →

Behold the Lamb of God: commentary

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I-saw-the-Spirit-come2John 1:29-34 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30  He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ 34  Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

Commentary. After John’s interrogation by priests, Levites and Pharisees, the evangelist tells us, The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ This is but the start of a short, compact testimony by the Baptist witnessing to the One he had just baptized. Continue reading →