Homily: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Before I get into this weekend’s homily – my apologies, as it seems that the blog software made a change months ago which prevented my work from being sent to you!  So, feel free to roam on back to see what you missed – and hope you will stay connected!

Meanwhile…

This Sunday we heard the conclusion of the Gospel story that began last week when Jesus said he would build his Church upon the rock of Peter. But a few lines later Jesus calls Peter, ‘Satan’ and he is told to get behind Christ and follow him. So how did Peter get it so right to the point where Jesus will use Peter as the foundation of his Church and then in the next moment Peter gets it so wrong as to be called Satan? The answer and, indeed our lesson, is rooted in the two types of thinking that we face every day. What are they? How do we distinguish them?  Check it out…

Click here for a podcast of the homily

Click here for the text of the homily

Click here for the readings of today

Homily: 5th Sunday of Easter

In this Sunday’s readings we heard that John saw a “new heaven and a new earth…for the old order has passed away…and He makes all things new.” This sense of ‘making all things’ new appears over twenty times throughout the Bible, with a reminder of our need to let go of our past, to allow room for the new – but what is this “new thing”?  And why is it so important that Jesus commands it?! Check it out and see how Ronald Rolheiser, Desmond Tutu and my grandchildren come at this from different angles to shed light on what we are called to do – which will allow us to transfigure the world!

Click here for a podcast of the homily

Click here for the text of the homily

Click here for the readings of the day

Homily: 5th Sunday in Lent

This Sunday we hear the familiar Gospel of the woman who was caught in adultery and about to be stoned.  Meanwhile the Scribes and the Pharisees, keepers of the Jewish Law, are not very happy with all the attention Jesus is getting, so they a lay trap for him.  What does Christ do?  Does he focus on the sin or the shame?  

See how a Jesuit who works with gangs in LA sheds light into the deepest meaning of this Gospel story.  

Click here for the Sunday readings

Click here for the podcast

Click here for the text

Homily: 5th Sunday of Lent - Lazarus

God’s love is often described as a Divine flow of love and grace - movement that is never restricted.  Nothing we say or do changes the love that is poured out upon us by God.  It is unmerited in every sense – freely given to all.  The only thing we have to do is be willing to accept and trust and share in the flow of that love.

So during Lent we have been examining our lives to see what blocks that flow - in other words, to examine our personal garbage. Thus shifting through our hurts and wounds and addictions so that we can be present and aware and participating in that ever present flow.

And today's gospel gives deeper insight on the fully human and fully divine side of Jesus Christ and his relationship to the community and the importance of our active participation.  What does that look like?  And what is the ending of this story that is often missed, but key in bringing forth the good news?

 

Click here for the podcast of the live recording of the Homily

Click here for the text of the Homily

 
Click here for the readings

Homily: 1st Sunday of Lent

Discernment in the Desert © Jan Richardson

Doesn’t it seem strange that God would declare his only son beloved and on whom his favor rests and then send him off into the desert to be tempted by the devil? A heck of a way to treat your only child!

So why does Matthew craft this story?  And why would angels lead Christ into the desert to meet Satan?  And how does a true story of a dying college grad shine light on all of this?  Light critical for our Lenten Journey.

Check it out.

It may just give you a whole new meaning to this season we call Lent!

 

Click here for the podcast of the live recording of the Homily

Click here for the text of the Homily

Click here for the readings

 

Homily: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today’s Gospel comes from the tenth chapter of John reminding us that there will be one flock, one shepherd.  Meanwhile we hear from Acts that there is disagreement between the Jews and Gentiles as to who God is for.  I think it is easy for us to forget that we all belong to God – even those who feel that they may be the ‘black sheep’ of society.

This season we are reminded that we are all called to be an Easter People.  And who better than Pope Francis to show us what this looks like.

See what I mean…

Click here for the Sunday readings

Click here for the podcast

Click here for the text

Is God Angry At Us?

A week ago today those of us living on the east coast got a nasty taste of what nature can do when it combines wind and rain.  The past week has been – and continues to be for millions – a focus on regaining electricity, light, heat and gasoline.  In a society known for those who ‘have’ and those who ‘have not’, the passing of Sandy created this equalizing effect that opened the eyes of many to what it is like to spend your days and nights trying to keep warm and fed.

And of course, it did not take long for the articles and blogs to appear pointing fingers at others in the way they live or what they believe in or what they have done or not done – which finally pushed God over the edge and raised God’s anger to the point that God sent Sandy to us.

How absurd.

In the first book of Kings we read the story of Elijah being instructed by God to stand outside and wait for the Lord to come by.  And God was not found in the heavy wind and crashing rocks. God was not found in the earth as it shook.  And God was not found in the fires that burned.  Rather God was found in the silence – in the whisper.

Where is God found today in the aftermath of Sandy?  God is found in the thousands of workers, who have left their own families behind in cold homes, as they work to restore power here.  God is found in the neighbors who are hooking up lines to each other and sharing power.  God is found in the shelters created to care for those who have lost their homes. God is found in the digital silence created by the inability to charge devices.

Still it bothers me to read of those who believe we have displeased our God and thus we are being punished.  The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with stories of sacrifices being made to God and gods in order to appease.  Then God sent his only Son who hung on the cross and said “It is finished” It is done – no more sacrifices will be made.  God doesn’t require that – and God never did.  Our lives are not about how we appease our God –  it is not about bargaining with God. God loves what God has made and there is nothing we can do about that. 

Rather, God’s message is about loving others, loving neighbor, and caring for ourselves in a way that brings forth the abundance of God’s love. And if Sandy did anything at all for our area, it has given us a rebirth and a renewal and, I hope, a new realization of that love.

Homily: Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last month we heard the Gospel where the Jewish Leaders murmuring about the Jesus.  In this week’s Gospel, before Jesus heals the deaf man we are told that Jesus groans and then says the word, Ephphatha – be opened!  

What are we to “be opened” about?  And why can’t we just spend our life groaning? And how can Rosa Parks and the late Cardinal Martini help shed light on all of this?

Click here for the readings

Click here for the homily