The early church, in resolving the controversy over the necessity of Jewish law for believers, made this confident statement: ‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us.” How wonderful it must be to be sure that your decision is in sync with the Holy Spirit! However, even the most cursory examination of history… Read More »

The early followers of Jesus had a crucial decision to make:  since Jesus was a Jew and the first disciples were Jews was following Jewish law required of all the disciples of Jesus? They took counsel with one another seeking the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide the decision. But before they made the… Read More »

A good definition of fundamentalism: taking as fundamental that which is not fundamental. This tendency has plagued the Church from the very beginning. We find in the Acts of the Apostles that some of the early Jewish Christians imagined that the Jewish law was fundamental. “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to… Read More »

The commandments that Jesus gives takes us out of our comfort zone. “Stop worrying.” “Love your enemies.” Today’s reading: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” I live on the South Side of Chicago — being afraid is  necessary for survival! That caused me to remember that my mother, who had six children,… Read More »

Writing to the Corinthians St. Paul said,  I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received. Even with his special revelation on the road to Damascus he was conscious that he had received from believers what went before and he then passed that on. What he “received” can be translated as… Read More »

I remember my mother showing me how to prune the roses. I was shocked at how severely she cut them back. If you want flowers, she told me, instead of lots of leaves and stems, this is what you must do. Jesus’ mother must have taught him the same thing for he used the image… Read More »

Philip said to Jesus,  “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?” You can sympathize with Philip since he embodies the constant human tendency to  look for something else. This… Read More »

From now until Pentecost the daily gospel reading will be take from the Last Supper Discourse in St. John’s gospel: chapters 13-17. Chapter 13 contains the story of the washing of the feet with the line “I have given you an example.” The subsequent chapters serve as kind of a last will and testament of… Read More »

In St. Paul’s first missionary sermon he gives a brief summary of salvation history, concentrating on the delivery of Israel out of its long slavery in Egypt. Finally, after the events of the Exodus, God gave them their land as an inheritance at the end of about four hundred and fifty years. Paul then fast… Read More »

In my community when we get a new assignment we are sent an “obedience letter” which reads: “It seems to be the will of God that you be sent to ….” As someone who signed many of those letters I can testify that getting to what seems like the will of God is a messy… Read More »