Category Archives: Sunday Morning

Kyrie Eleison

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“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” (Mark 10:47)  Chuck Roberts was not an exceptional person – at least not in the way the world would account for such things. He graduated high school, held a number of jobs, saved a little, married, and settled down to have a family. He was laid to rest at age 32 on a gray raining morning. His wife Marie and their two small children stood at the graveside – no money, no insurance, no near-by family. Chuck was the only wage earner. They had never been rich, but now they were on the edge of poor ready to tumble in head first. Continue reading →

Grace for the Journey

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What is the longest river in the world? Gotta’ be the Nile River, right? It flows 1,700 miles from Khartoum, Sudan to the Mediterranean Sea – and that is just where the White and Blue Niles meet. You can follow the White Nile south to Lake Victoria bordering Uganda… and then the arguments begin on what is the source of any river. Clearly rivers, streams, and the like flow into Lake Victoria – do you get to keep following the water flow? Even as recently as 2006 the geographers and cartographers were seeking the “headwaters of the Nile River.”  The most recent claim is a muddy hole in Nyungwe Forest in southwest Rwanda. The forest area is spectacular, the muddy hole not so much. Personally, I would have taken Lake Victoria as the headwater.  Think about it: a great lake giving greatness to the greatest river. Continue reading →

Loopholes or love

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A man comes to Jesus seeking answers. The man knows that whatever his appearance on the outside, whatever his faithful and pious life, he’s missing something, something important, something that matters, something that’s a matter of life and death. The man instinctively knows this but is unable to put his finger on it. So he comes to Jesus and asks: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Continue reading →

Being Complete

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There was a just-ordained priest was asked to celebrate a wedding for the first time.  He was nervous. So he decided to seek help from the Pastor, who told him, “Don’t worry about it.  Just recite any appropriate Bible verse and everything will be all right. They’re not going to remember what you say anyway.” The day of the wedding came, and the priest was even more nervous. As he looked at the couple standing before him, he forgot everything he was going to say.  Remembering what the Pastor said, he quoted the first Scripture that came to mind, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Continue reading →

Necessary Dialogues

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The first reading today is taken from Numbers. It is during the time of the wilderness trek when Moses and the people have long since departed from Egypt but have not arrived in the Promised Land. There are lots of people on the trek and as you might expect, there are lots of problems and complaints. The Lord directed Moses to select 70 elders to help with the burden of leadership. As promised, the Lord gave the elders the gift of the Spirit and they immediately began to prophesy. At the same time there are two others, not selected as elders, who receive the same Spirit and they too are prophesying. Do the elders rejoice because the Spirit of the Lord is spreading among the people? Seems not. I guess human nature being what it is, the elders complain that the two are not officially elders. I guess their thinking is that the gift of the Spirit is only for elders. Moses corrects their misconception: “Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Continue reading →

Somewhere along the way

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Somewhere along the way of life, we adults lost a thing or two. Perhaps, it is part of maturation. But then again, maybe we simply lost something valuable. For the second time Jesus has announced to the disciples that he will suffer, die, and rise again after three days. What follows is either a remarkable calm, a stunned silence, an amazing lack of curiosity, a moment of “what did he just say” as a cover for lack of understanding, or maybe it is just fear.  I always wonder that if a child had been there, curiosity would have piqued their interest, especially that whole “rise again after three days.” I easily imagine a child saying, “You’re gonna’ rise from the dead? Cool! How’s that?” Continue reading →

Our Cross

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The English language is a colorful landscape of idioms, expressions and all manner of this and that. Sometimes it is like exploring the attic in your grandparent’s house. Never know what you’ll find. I have always enjoyed exploring the etymology, that is, the origins of words and expressions. One of our common expressions is used when we see someone who has to accept or is stuck in an unpleasant situation or responsibility because there is no way to avoid dealing with it. We remark “that’s their cross to bear.” Continue reading →

Open to listening

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When I was fourth grade I suffered a long series of ear infections and operations that temporarily left my hearing very reduced, some days, virtually deaf. I missed a lot of school that year and when I did return to class there were two things that still stand out in my memory: (a) I had to sit in the front of the class directly in front of the teacher so that I could maximize the chance of hearing her, and (b) I had to stay behind during recess for extra lessons or studying for all that I had missed. Continue reading →

Losing one’s way

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Losing one’s way. Not all that hard to do. You just need to stop paying attention. Don’t read the road signs. Don’t listen to your digital travel app telling you to turn. Be in the wrong lane when your interstate exit comes up. And that’s just in the world of transportation. There are lots of areas in life in which you can lose your way by just not paying attention: marriage, school, sports, career, and even one’s faith life. Continue reading →

The Next Wall

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I swam competitively most of my life: high school, college, and then later in life with the U.S. Masters swim program. I wasn’t gifted with fast-twitch muscles and so have never had a very good sprint. The middle distance events were my best events. My quip was that I was given a distance stroke with a sprinter’s endurance. A couple of years back I competed in a meet and for some reason signed up for the 1500-meter freestyle – a little outside my usual range, but certainly do-able. Continue reading →