2015

In today’s first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke provides us with an ideal cameo of the first Christian community that sounds so unreal to us. They held all things in common. The wealthier members of the community would sell their property to assist those in need. Their generosity was rooted in faith. What prompted them to act in this way was the impact the resurrection of Jesus had on them.

While most of us acknowledge the duty to contribute to the community, some of us often find it hard to be truly generous with what we have. Sharing what we have, be it our personal faith or personal possessions can be a real struggle. Yet when you stop to think about it, we are blessed with what we have because someone, often our parents, was willing to initially share something that impacted our lives, nourishing us both physically and spiritually. 

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2nd Sunday of EasterRead More »

This gospel passage proclaims the heart of our faith. What we hear proclaimed is the report of an empty tomb. If you already believe, the empty tomb makes sense. Mark tells us far more than we may imagine, and at the same time less. Have you ever noticed that no gospel describes the resurrection itself, an event that is terribly difficult for us to imagine? The New Testament writers certainly believed and taught that Jesus rose from the dead. They also understood his resurrection not to be a simple resuscitation, but a transformation. What the risen Christ became was unlike what he had been before he died on the cross. 

What is the resurrection? That is a crucial question for us to ponder since our faith is based on it. We are convinced that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. If historians were to rank the significant events of all time, I believe that many would place this incredible event at the top of their list. Probably no other event has had a greater impact on world history than what happened on the third day following Jesus’ death on the cross. On that day an empty tomb was discovered.

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Easter SundayRead More »

This evening, we came into a dark church, a reminder that for a while Jesus Christ was absent from the world after dying on the cross. Soon after Deacon Larry entered holding aloft the Easter candle, that darkness was dispelled. The solitary flame of his candle quickly spread throughout the church. For me, few moments in the year are as moving as this sign of the risen Christ touching the lives of so many through the help of others.

This is the night many people throughout the world have been waiting for. They were drawn to our faith because Christ touched them in some way, perhaps because someone had shared the joy of the gospel with them. So much has happened in their lives yet I can only say that far from finishing the task that brings them to this night, “We have only just begun.”

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Easter VigilRead More »

“It is finished.” As he took his last breath and bowed his head, what was finished was the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth. The public ministry that included miracles, the feeding of the multitudes, the many parables.

What is finished? For one thing, he no longer had to endure any more of the brutal suffering he had been subjected to since his arrest in the garden. With his dying breath, one could say that, but I suspect Jesus had something else inmind as he breathed his last.

Moments beforehand, he said, “I thirst.” So they offered him a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop. He took the wine, something only John mentions. Recall several verses earlier in his gospel when Jesus said, “Shall I not drink from the cup which my Father gave me?” The last line he said after his arrest. Having taken the wine, he had finished the commitment he made at the start of the Passion Narrative.

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Good FridayRead More »

Recharging certain items is a daily necessary routine for many of us.  Smart phones, laptops, hearing aids, and electric toothbrushes, for example, would not function for long if we did not recharge them regularly. The same could be said for plants; if we don’t water them often enough, they would die. Likewise, we need to eat if we are to survive.  Our health and well-being depends on eating well.  Otherwise, we could either starve or suffer from malnutrition. 

What can be said for our physical well-being can also be said for our spiritual well-being. That may very well be why Jesus did what he did at the last supper, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” To the outsider what Jesus said may seem like very strange language, perhaps even a bit cannibalistic. 

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Holy ThursdayRead More »