Fourteenth Sunday, Year C, 3 July, 2022: Isaiah 66:10-14c; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20      I don’t think that anyone sitting here in choir is likely to say, “This Gospel doesn’t apply to me; this is addressed to people in the active ministry.” I imagine that we all realize that our way of proclaiming the […]

Sacred Heart of Jesus, 24 June, 2022: Ezekiel 14:11-16; Romans 5:5b-14; Luke 15:3-7      The heart is a potent symbol in the Scriptures and, far deeper than the sentimental imagery of advertising or greeting cards, is the gateway to deep communion with God. It is an image at the boundary between the contingent and the […]

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, 12 June, 2022: Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15       Most of our Solemnities celebrate an event that reveals God’s active presence among us. How often do we sing in choir: “On this Christ is born…” or “…was baptized in the Jordan…” or “…transfigured on the holy mountain…” […]

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C, 22 May, 2022: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-24, 22-23; John 14: 23-29      This brief passage from John’s Gospel is densely packed. Jesus speaks of his departing and returning; he also refers to the apostles’ sense of loss but that they should be glad for him. He tells them […]

1 May, 2022: Third Sunday of Easter, Year C: Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19      Children, have you caught anything to eat?      That’s a game-changing question, because Jesus shifts the emphasis from fishing to earn a living, to providing a meal for his apostles. This is no command to change, it’s a […]

Easter Sunday, Year C, 17 April, 2022: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9     In this morning’s Gospel, there are yet no angels, no announcement of the Lord’s rising; rather, Mary Magdalene, Peter and the Beloved Disciple puzzle over the empty tomb.     Was Peter driven to the tomb by his inner turmoil? He […]

The final and devastating plague meted out on a stubborn and recalcitrant Pharaoh and his hapless subjects, is also the only plague that the Israelites had to consciously and actively choose to evade. According to the Exodus account all the other plagues assailing Egypt left the Land of Goshen (where the Israelites dwelt) untouched—all this […]

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), 27 March, 2020: Joshua 5:9-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32      After decades of listening to today’s Gospel, I have some questions.      Has the absence of a mother in this family had a serious impact on them? Did this father wonder whether his younger son demands his […]

The various ploys utilized in so-called “reverse psychology” succeed because they tap into our sinful, warped, and misguided free wills. In varying degrees, we balk at being told what to do (or not do) and often struggle against a spontaneous rebelliousness. Thus, when a certain response is desired, insisting on its opposite can sometimes achieve […]

Second Sunday of Lent, Year C, 13 March, 2022: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36     …Moses and Elijah…spoke of his exodus that [Jesus] was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.     Right in the midst of this incredible epiphany of glory, the mystery of Jesus’ Passover, from his last supper, through his arrest, trial, […]