Reflections
2022
Fourth Sunday of Easter
“The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” –– Why? Because everything was going great? From what we hear in our first Reading about Paul and Barnabas’s visit to Antioch is doesn’t sound like it…
Third Sunday of Easter
Last week we heard the final chapter in John’s gospel. However there is another section which follows after this (which we hear today - Jn 21:1-19). It seems to have been added later by a different author. We…
Second Sunday of Easter
We prepared for Easter during 40 days of Lent. After Easter the church gives us 50 days to process what just happened! In our readings for this second sunday in Eastertime (Easter Sunday itself being counted…
Easter Sunday
Christ has conquered death. We live in the light of the Resurrection. This is wonderful and true, but let us beware a danger lurking here. As we celebrate Christ’s victory over death, we may view the…
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
“It is finished.” Today we hear John’s account of Jesus’ passion. As usual he weaves in many, many details. I always feel that if John were writing today he would have produced a screenplay. Given there is…
Holy Thursday
We come again to our most sacred time of the year, and stand once more with those who have celebrated so many Easters before us, and even more people of God who have and continue to celebrate the Passover (Ex…
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Hosanna, hosanna, let the good times roll! ... the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: “Blessed is the king who comes in…
Fifth Sunday of Lent
All of us live our lives moving from our past into our future. For some we are driven forward by our past: our awareness of heritage, our upbringing, people we have known who have inspired us, challenges we…
Fourth Sunday of Lent
I’ve never been quite sure how you get to be an ambassador. It seems like some unlikely people get to be asked, but I rather doubt I’m on anyone’s list. However it does turn out there is a list I am on. You…
Third Sunday of Lent
As we come to the middle of Lent we hear stern words from Jesus (Lk 13:1-9). People are chattering about the latest news. Doubtless they have been catching up on the latest posts from their Facebook friends,…
Second Sunday of Lent
Last week we spoke about how Moses wanted to emphasize his connection back to his father Abraham, the wandering Aramean. And how we ourselves are connected back to Jesus. Today our first Reading (Gn 15:5-12,…
First Sunday of Lent
“My father was a wandering Aramean”. That’s how Moses describes himself on behalf of the Israelites (Dt 26:4-10). He wanted them to be tied to their history, to their origins. You may be fascinated by your…
Ash Wednesday
Our Gospel reading as we start our Lenten season is a familiar one (Mt 6:1-6, 16-18). Jesus is warning us that if our pious practices are intended to raise our status with those around us then they are worse…
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I sit here in Europe with a war starting not so far away, hard though it is to believe. Yes, it's the other side of the continent, but less than the distance from San Fransisco to New York, in a country that…
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus says: “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”. (Lk 6:27-38) And just to be sure he repeats it: "love your enemies and do good to them". Then he finishes up with "Be merciful, just as your…
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Blessed are the poor". So that's OK then... The poor may be having a tough time right now, but they'll be OK at some point in the future, actually in another life. (Lk 6:17, 20-26) This view of Jesus'…
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Three very different people. Three very different encounters with the divine. We can perhaps relate most easily to Peter, since he met a man, Jesus (Lk 5:1-11). He agreed to help him out with a trip on his…
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Corinth is a major industrial city in Greece, with a canal that splits northern and southern Greece and joins the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. It has one of the largest oil refining industrial complexes in…
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Judaism of Jesus’ time existed in two very different forms. There was the Judaism of Jerusalem with the temple, the sacrifices, and all the surrounding paraphernalia of markets, money changers, pilgrim…
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
We spoke last week of how the Baptism of the Lord was a “second Epiphany” in Luke’s telling. This week we have… a third Epiphany!? All the gospels, as we noted, include the story of Jesus’ baptism. But John…