Deacon Clark Goecker

Do you remember Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem? …“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach…” Those poetic, tender words express all that encompasses the character of human love—especially on this weekend of Mother’s Day. Our love is expressed in beautiful, captivating music, in art, in literature, and in the dynamics of our personal relationships with each other—by our actions. And, love is the essential ingredient of our faith.

But it was not always so….I am old enough to remember some Protestant and Catholic clergy talking about the “old faith”… our faith before the Church started talking about love (and mercy and forgiveness). For them, there was right and wrong and punishment. There was fear of God and the following of the law. These “old faith” clerics would say that since Vatican II and the theology of love, everything has been watered down and made easy. They knew there was a place for love, but now it has taken over everything and made a mess of the church. I have often wondered if, before Second Vatican Council, today’s Scripture readings ever recited at Mass?

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6th Sunday of EasterRead More »

The readings during the Easter Season continue to paint for us images and understandings of the early Christian Church. They proclaim the basic teaching of the early Apostles –“all who desire salvation must repent and be baptized.”  The cornerstone of our redemption and salvation is Jesus Christ. Baptism is our immersion into Christ’s mission of this world’s recovery by bringing the Good News to all people.

This Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday and the Gospel is always taken from the 10th chapter of John where Jesus speaks of himself as the “good shepherd.” In today’s passage Jesus emphasizes three insights: (1) self-sacrifice- the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep; (2)the mutual bond of love and intimacy- the shepherd knows his sheep and they know him; and (3)evangelization- the good shepherd deeply desires that many other sheep should come to identify themselves with him.

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4th Sunday of EasterRead More »

At first blush, the readings today center around water—water as a source of life; water as a source of destruction; water we thirst for. And, while the water imagery is important, the readings also speak to one’s relationship with God—Moses seeking God’s help as he deals with his people; Paul speaking to the Romans about being in a right relationship with God, being justified by faith and, then in the gospel, Jesus entering into a relationship with the Samaritan woman.

And, the Church calls us, as a community of faith, into special relationship beginning this weekend with those who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. On this third week of Lent, we deviate from the normal readings in Cycle B and return to the readings found in Cycle A. A quick orientation to the Sunday Scripture Readings. There is a three-year cycle for the Sunday Scripture readings- A, B, C. By creating a three-year cycle much of the New Testament and a good portion of the Old Testament is read in this three-year period.

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3rd Sunday of LentRead More »

Over the past few weeks, Mark’s Gospel has revealed to us Jesus’ healing powers on one hand and the power of faith on the other. Today we are confronted with the leper. The first reading paints a very dismal picture of a leper’s life. 

For us to fully appreciate and understand today’s readings, we need to first reflect on and name the lepers in our society today. Would they be those with HIV/AIDS? Would they be unwed mothers or women who have had abortions? Would they be the homeless, the mentally ill, people on death row? Would they be priests and others who have molested children? Would they be gays and lesbians? Would they be the divorced, the one %, a gang member, a family member, the neighbor, a co-worker?  Who are those we might call “unclean” or have ostracized? 

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6th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

We call today’s feast the “Epiphany” but it is really just one of three ‘epiphanies’ we celebrate in our faith tradition. ‘Epiphany’ means a ‘showing’ or ‘revelation’ or ‘manifestation’–a moment of insight—something comes to light. The Church celebrates three ‘revelations’ of God—the adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and the miracle at Cana when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding feast. 

And, of the four Gospels, only Matthew and Luke include the Christmas story—the birth of Jesus. Today’s Gospel with the magi is Matthew’s Christmas story, just as the shepherds coming to the stable is Luke’s Christmas story heard on Christmas day.  The two accounts are quite distinct from each other and have a different thrust or emphasis.  In Luke, the stress is on Jesus being God’s revelation to the poor and the rejected (the shepherds).  In Matthew, the emphasis is on the universality of Jesus’ mission (the visitation of foreigners, the magi).

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EpiphanyRead More »