Homilies

A man in a small southern town was waiting at the station to catch the bus to Macon, Georgia. Bored, he walked around, watching the clock. He noticed a large scale that promised to tell not only his weight, but his name and other facts as well. Curious, he stepped on the scale and deposited a quarter. Instantly, a slip popped out that said, “Your name is Harry Hanson. You live in Sparta, Georgia. You weigh 197 pounds. You are 17 pounds overweight. You are on your way to visit your sister in Macon. The bus to Macon has been delayed. Have a nice day.” …

13th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

We began our liturgy singing a rather upbeat song that celebrates the joy of Easter. Even if you didn’t actually sing along with the rest of us, I hope these words spoke well for you too. “I will give thanks to you, my Lord. You have answered my plea. You have saved my soul from death. You are my strength and my song.”

Then moments ago, we heard a rather somber message. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Is there a link between these two messages?

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12th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Today’s readings offer us striking scenes that challenge us to reflect on what it really means to have faith in Jesus Christ. The readings deal with love and sin, adultery, manipulation, fundamentalism, intolerance and with forgiveness, trust and surrender.

Let’s begin with the Gospel.  This story is only found in Luke.  It is not the same story described in Matthew and Mark where the woman pours ointment over Jesus’ head and it is not the incident in John that takes place in Martha’s house.  It is strange it is not recorded in the other gospels.  Perhaps to some, especially Jewish readers, it was a little too “daring” because it is a sensual story and Jesus is deeply involved in its unfolding. …

11th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

1ST READING: 1 KINGS 17:17-24
2ND READING: GALATIANS 1:11-19
GOSPEL: LUKE 7:11-17

Mercy! What a powerful word. This word is so powerful that Jesus was compelled after seeing the mother in our gospel story mourning the loss of her only son, to reach out in action.

But why does Luke tell us about the raising of the son of a widow from Nain? Because this story tells us about Jesus and reveals an action of Jesus, who in his great love for us, is Mercy itself.

It is worth our time to get clear on exactly what mercy is, especially during this Year of Mercy that we have been mentioning so much and is shown on our church wall with the banner of “The Year of Mercy.” Already we have heard the word mercy many times since the start of mass and will hear more before the mass has ended.

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10th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

We begin every liturgy invoking the name of the Trinity and we are sent forth from here with a blessing from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, yet three persons, shapes every aspect of our faith from liturgy to concerns about social justice. God’s presence as Trinity is meant to remind us that there is much more to God than we can ever know.

This brings to mind the story of six blind men. They had never encountered an elephant before, so when one came into their village, they were very curious. When they had surrounded the elephant, each blind man spent time feeling a particular section of the huge elephant.

The first blind man felt the elephant’s side. Broad and very solid. “This feels like a wall!” The second blind man stepped forward and felt a tusk. Round, smooth, hard and pointed. “Ouch! Why this feels like a spear!” The third blind man approached the elephant from the front and immediately bumped into the trunk. As he handled it, the trunk squirmed. He jumped back since he was very afraid of snakes.

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Trinity SundayRead More »