Tag Archives: faith

The Household of Faith

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 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…” (Mt 10:37)  I think there is a tendency among believers that when we hear those words, we respond with, what I call, “the holy nod.” It is our reflexive response: Jesus said it, it must be true, amen, alleluia. Yet if we sit with it for a moment, there is a certain harshness to the words. We treasure our families—we pour our hearts into the daily rhythms of care, communication, sacrifice, and support, and more.  How do Jesus’ words reconcile with the Christian ideal of love?

But Jesus is not diminishing the love we owe our families. Rather, He is reordering it—elevating it. In calling us to love Him first, Jesus invites us to see that love of family finds its fullest meaning and power when rooted in our love for God.

We are called to “take up our cross” (v. 38). And for many, that cross is carried not on distant mission fields or grand platforms, but within the home: in caring for an aging parent, raising a child in faith, forgiving a sibling, or choosing self-sacrifice for the good of the household. These acts, often hidden and humble, are expressions of deep discipleship.

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Faith that Frees

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In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Silas are stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison. Their only “crime” was setting a slave girl free from possession by a spirit – and interfering with the men who profited by her oracles. But what stands out most in this passage isn’t the injustice they suffered — it’s what they did while imprisoned: they prayed and sang hymns to God.

Paul and Silas were not only physically bound, but also humiliated and wounded. Yet, “about midnight”, when things seemed darkest, they chose to pray and sing. This is more than optimism — it is deep trust in God. They didn’t wait for their chains to fall off before worshiping. They worshiped while still in chains.

What about us? How often do we wait for our problems to be solved before thanking God? Paul and Silas show us that praise is not dependent on our situation — it needs to be rooted in our relationship with God.

“there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose” (Acts 16:26)

But Paul and Silas don’t run — and neither do the other prisoners. Something about their prayerful presence kept everyone calm and centered.

What about us? I hope you realize that your quiet prayers, your long years of trust in God might be helping others just by being steady, faithful, and present. It is witness and can influence those around us. The jailer, who was ready to take his own life thinking the prisoners had escaped, finds hope because of their witness. Paul says, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.” (v.28)  The jailer, shaken to the core, falls before them and asks: “…what must I do to be saved?”

Paul responds with the Gospel in its simplest form: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” That very night, the jailer and his whole household are baptized. He who once held Paul and Silas captive now washes their wounds. This is the power of grace: it reverses roles, heals enemies, and brings salvation where there was despair.

When we find ourselves “in prison” — whether through suffering, discouragement, or uncertainty — may we remember this lesson from Paul and Silas. Let us choose prayer over panic, praise over bitterness, and faith over fear. God still opens prison doors and loosens chains — sometimes not by removing the problem, but by transforming hearts, starting with our own.

Image credit: “Paul and Silas in Prison” | Joseph Mulder (ca.1725) | Museum of Fine Arts Ghent | PS-US

Love: the obedience of Faith

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This is my commandment: love one another as I love you…You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12,14)

I have to admit the words “if you do what I command you” have always struck me as somewhat “off.” These words come in the middle of a long talk Jesus is giving the Apostles. It occurs after the conclusion of the Last Supper but before the events at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is arrested and begins the Passion. Is Jesus’ love and friendship going to be conditional or provisional in some way? Does this mean the statement “Jesus loves us no matter what” has some serious limits somewhere in the small print?

There is something huge being played out that gives context to Jesus’ words. Jesus is offering a relationship far deeper than that of a master-servant. He calls His disciples “friends”, not just followers or servants. This is radical —friendship with the Son of God is possible. But this friendship is not casual or superficial. It’s grounded in obedience to His commands, which center around love (John 15:12 – “Love one another as I have loved you”).

Maybe, like me, you sometimes hear this as conditional: “I’ll be your friend only if you obey.” But the long arc of Jesus’ teaching and his mission shows that He is not setting a bar they must clear to earn His friendship. Rather obedience is the evidence of that friendship. It is the fruit of abiding in the love of Jesus. Friendship leads us into His way, following His words and actions. We may not always understand, but we trust our friend. This walk with Jesus naturally leads to transformation so that we want to obey Him.. 

St. Paul talks about the obedience of faith in Letter to the Romans.  It is a phrase that reflects the covenantal nature of love. Biblical love is covenantal, not just emotional. Jesus is inviting His disciples (and us)  into a relationship that mirrors His relationship with the Father—a relationship marked by love and shared purpose. His command is not a burdensome law, but a calling to live in the fullness of divine love.

It is this obedience of faith that echoes a reading earlier this week: the parable of the Vine and the Branches. The goal is to remain in Jesus and bear good fruit. A passive faith that shows no evidence of a transformation is not what Jesus means when He says “love one another as I love you.” It is about love one another sacrificially; always seeking the good for the other.

John 15:14 is not about Jesus setting conditions for His affection. It’s about revealing the nature of true friendship with Him—a relationship of intimacy, loyalty, and obedience. To be Jesus’ friend is to walk in His love, listen to His voice, and live His way.

Image credit: Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255–1319), “Jesus taking leave of his Apostles,” ca. 1310 | Panel 4 of the Maestro, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena | PD-US

Doors

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There are all kinds of doors in life.  

Doors that lead to new life.  We pass through them and life is changed.  Passing through the doors of high school graduation to the new world called college.  Entering a common life through the doors of marriage – or vows as a Franciscan friar.  What was the most significant/memorable door you have passed through into a new life? I bet almost everyone’s passing was accompanied by trepidation, uncertainty – maybe a tinge of fear – and yet we commit and we pass through to new life.

Not so with all doors.  There are doors that lock us out.  

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Honoring Faith

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Without faith in Jesus, the people did nothing. It may be that the people’s lack of faith revealed itself in the fact that they didn’t seek Jesus’ help. They didn’t bring their sick for healing. They didn’t bring their children for his blessing. They didn’t come to listen to his teaching. What differences should it make if parishioners believe Jesus is present at Mass or in ministry? Or in one’s own life? A secular criticism of many Christians is that they are “functional atheists” — they live and function as though there were no God. Could that lack of faith keep one from reaping as many benefits as God would give? Continue reading →

Miracles and Unbelief

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As Mark’s readers would expect, Jesus responds to what people are thinking about him. The proverbial saying “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown” (v. 4) has been expanded with two clauses: “among their kin” and “in their own house.” The original proverb spoke about the “homeland” (patris). The qualifying clauses narrow the region down to the prophet’s household and relatives. If this retort is understood as an insult, then Jesus has responded to his critics in kind. Since the miracles in the previous chapter emphasize the importance of faith in those who approach Jesus for healing, the conclusion that Jesus is unable to work many miracles in Nazareth is hardly surprising. Continue reading →

The Carpenter

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. While many of Mark’s readers are interested in this passage because of its reference to Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” (v. 3), Mark’s own interest lay elsewhere. Mark passes on the account of the hometown folks’ rejection of Jesus for a special reason: to provide an important transition and surprising contrasts at this point of his drama. Continue reading →

Status and Standing

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. What do the hometown people know about Jesus that would lead them to reject him? While there is much that I disagree with in Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, by John Dominic Crossan, his social status of tekton  is enlightening:

Ramsay MacMullen has noted that one’s social pedigree would easily be known in the Greco-Roman world and that a description such as “carpenter” indicated lower class status [Roman Social Relations: 50 B.C. to A.D. 384]. At the back of his book he gives a “Lexicon of Snobbery” filled with terms used by literate and therefore upper-class Greco-Roman authors to indicate their prejudice against illiterate and therefore lower-class individuals. Among those terms is tekton, or “carpenter,” the same term used for Jesus in Mark 6:3 and for Joseph in Matthew 13:55. One should not, of course, ever presume that upper-class sneers dictated how the lower classes actually felt about themselves. But, in general, the great divide in the Greco-Roman world was between those who had to work with their hands and those who did not. [p. 24]

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The Rabbi ?

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This coming Sunday is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Jesus left Capernaum and traveled southward into the hill country until he came to the village where he had spent his youth and the early years of his maturity. While Mark does not name Nazareth, he has earlier indicated that this was the village from which Jesus came, and it is undoubtedly in view under the phrase “his own country.” Jesus returned to Nazareth as would a rabbi, accompanied by his disciples. The reference to the disciples is important, for during this period Jesus had been concerned with their training in preparation for the mission which Mark reports in 6:7–13. Continue reading →