“We hold a treasure not made of gold in earthen vessels wealth untold. One treasure only, the Lord, the Christ, in earthen vessels.” That hymn is the composer’s expansion of the thought of St. Paul we heard in the first reading. “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of… Read More »

Almost 250 years ago when Benjamin Franklin when asked what kind of government the new nation of the United States was to become answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” The strains evident in the United States currently show that keeping a republic takes constant effort over a centuries long life. Imagine then the… Read More »

We read in the Book of Exodus the story of the first Passover supper. Since that day up the present the sacred meal is celebrated. “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate.” It was, of course, at a Passover meal (called the Seder Supper) that Jesus instituted… Read More »

The LORD has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated. God is concerned about how the people  are being treated. Because of God’s concern there is a divine intervention to change the trajectory of mistreatment. What Moses discovers is that he is the divine… Read More »

Jesus frequently invoked children as models for believers.  Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. One way to think about the image: imagine a mother hears her child crying in the middle of the night. She goes into the room and comforts her… Read More »

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. I wonder if we too miss the mighty deeds of God which are all around us. An old Rogers and Hammerstein song goes “A hundred million miracles are happening every day.” Do we notice them?… Read More »

Old Timers might remember Rodney King saying “Why can’t we all just get along?” He was reacting to the rioting that developed after the police beating at the time of his arrest. The Bible provides several answers to that question. First, fear — particularly fear of those who are “other.” The Egyptians dreaded the children… Read More »

Love you neighbor as you love yourself is the commandment. “And who is my neighbor?” That question posed to Jesus is as relevant today as it was back then. The parable Jesus tells to answer the question is just as relevant when you consider that what Jesus would have known as Samaria is now recognized… Read More »

There’s a wonderful scene in the book, Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger, where the younger sister tells her brother she doesn’t like Jesus anymore. The cause of this apostasy? Jesus said, “you are worth more than many sparrows.” The older brother explains that for Jesus even the worst human being is more valuable than… Read More »

“Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” Jesus instruction to those he was sending out as missionaries is as valuable today as it was when he spoke those words. The shrewdness required of a missionary comes in discerning what is truly Gospel and what is a cultural accretion. For example, presuming that Church music… Read More »