Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. If you had interviewed the twelve apostles on Palm Sunday and asked, “Who among you would be willing and able to betray the… Read More »

The story of the anointing of the feet of Jesus is told by each of the gospel writers but each in their own way. For example, in the gospel of Luke the woman anointing the feet of Jesus is a sinner and it is a sign of her being forgiven. St. John tells the story… Read More »

You can get whiplash on this Sunday. We go from palms to passion, from glory to grief, from cheers to jeers, from triumph to tragedy, from joy to despair, from “hosanna” to “crucify him,” from praise to crucifixion in the seeming blink of an eye. What is going on here? Why can’t we just stay… Read More »

The prophets of Israel had a dual role according to scholars: to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. When the people got comfortable they forgot about God and following the ways of God. The prophets would pound away at themes of repentence, renewal, conversion. Shape up or there will be consequences, they prophets… Read More »

Doubtless Jesus did not enjoy the opposition his ministry engendered. He proclaimed the love of God and for that there were attempts on his life several times before his ultimate trial and execution. After one of those attempts St. John reports that Jesus “went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized,… Read More »

“I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God.” There were several major turning points in the history of the people of God: the call of Abraham, the exodus, the… Read More »

“How can this be?” Mary’s question to the angel is one we have all asked in our own way. In a world which responds to power, how can it be that God wants us to show compassion. In a world where the rich get rich and the poor get poorer, how can it be that… Read More »

The story of the bronze serpent in the Bible is strange. Moses did not intend for it to become a magical symbol (although in subsequent history it seemed almost an idol) but rather to confront the people with their sinfulness. They needed to look at what was bothering them square in the eye if they… Read More »

There’s an old (even old for me!) movie by Cecil B. DeMille called the King  of Kings. He stages the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery by the sea shore, not the temple. (And, by the way, why was only the woman caught in adultery?) When the Pharisees accuse the woman, Jesus… Read More »

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha and Mary thought that things would have gone differently if their friend Jesus had been with them. Wasn’t he the one who loved them and cared about them? How come they were left with the loss and grief of this moment? Couldn’t… Read More »