One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Commandment keeping is in the news again since certain states are requiring that the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament be posted in classrooms. I would like to write a book one day entitled the Ten Commandments… Read More »
NOVEMBER22024
Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. Anyone who has ever attended the funeral of a… Read More »
NOVEMBER12024
Happy Feast Day, everyone! All Saints Day is a reminder that God has made us blessed. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. (1 John 3:1) We don’t ordinarily think of ourselves as saints. In the popular mind a saint… Read More »
OCTOBER312024
St. Luke’s gospel is constructed so that Jesus is always “on the way” to Jerusalem. It is in Jerusalem that he will meet his destiny. He knows that suffering awaits him in Jerusalem. He understands that there are people who oppose him, who desire him harm in Jerusalem. His reaction to all this is surprising.… Read More »
OCTOBER302024
Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling. Isn’t slavery a sin! How does St. Paul accept it as somehow appropriate for a Christian? And let’s flip the question over: how can the Church call slavery a sin when it is acceptable in the Bible? The answer is found in understanding the… Read More »
OCTOBER292024
“This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” St. Paul is criticized as being anti-women and patriarchal when he says “Wives should be subordinate to their husbands.” What is often missed is the sentence preceding that one: “Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.” St.… Read More »
OCTOBER282024
You are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets. In our creeds we name ourselves an “apostolic” faith. That is to say, the faith that we have in Jesus is the one which the apostles shared with us. Jesus himself… Read More »
OCTOBER272024
Once upon a time a man found a magic lamp, rubbed it and a genii came out. “You get three wishes.” He knew the first thing he wanted – he asked that his wife would die so that he could marry a sweet, young thing. Poof, it was done. Well, at his wife’s funeral his… Read More »
OCTOBERT262024
I think it was the TV show Maude which had the recurring line, “God will get you for that.” When we see something unjust happening we easily imagine God with a thunderbolt about to smite someone. But God is not Zeus, as Jesus reminds us: “Do you think they were more guilty than everyone else… Read More »
OCTOBER252024
Jesus challenges us: You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? When we look at the signs of the present time what do we see? Division, conflict, violence, hatred. The task we have as Christians is to bring gospel… Read More »