The story of the death of John the Baptist was very important to the New Testament authors and, hence, to the Church. We recognize the emotions swirling around the scene describing John’s execution. The vengeful wife, the seductive girl, the leering men, the boastful king are all types we know. St. Mark suggests that Herod… Read More »
AUGUST282018
St. Paul wrote a second letter to the church in Thessalonica because of speculation in that city about the end of the world. He said, “With regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ not to be alarmed … to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no one deceive… Read More »
AUGUST272018
After several weeks of readings from the Old Testament prophets, the suggested passage today is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Church in Thessalonica. One immediate difference from the prophets is found in the opening greeting: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians.” Instead of being a lone wolf as the… Read More »
AUGUST262018
Creation is absolutely astounding. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of a ten billion galaxies, each with about a hundred billion stars — that’s one billion trillion stars (ten with twenty-one zeros after it) twinkling in the nighttime sky. That is astounding. Our own sun, an ordinary star by all standards, is so immense that… Read More »
AUGUST252018
The prophet Ezekiel encouraged the people from the land of exile. He dreamed of a restoration to the promised land. Ezekiel had a powerful vision of the glory of God coming “from the east” toward Jerusalem. “I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple.” The problem with the vision was that… Read More »
AUGUST242018
According to our creeds we are an apostolic church, a church founded on the twelve chosen by Jesus to carry his message to the whole world. Yet, as today’s feast of St. Bartholomew illustrates, we know next to nothing about them. In fact, in St. John’s gospel Nathaniel is the name given to the friend… Read More »
AUGUST232018
“I will bring you back to your own land. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you… You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” These words of the prophet Ezekiel are the promise that God doesn’t give up. Even though the people of God continue… Read More »
AUGUST222018
“Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?” This word from the prophet Ezekiel coming while the Church in the US is reeling again with news of clergy sex abuse serves as an indictment. But in a strange way it also… Read More »
AUGUST212018
The basic difference between “the world” and the gospel is that one is about having and one is about giving. The prophet Ezekiel criticizes the people because the are only about getting. “By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself” and because of that said “I am god,” I have made… Read More »
AUGUST202018
Several years ago there was an advertisement featuring John Houseman. In his stentorian tones he said, “Smith Barney gets money the old fashioned way. They earn it.” How American a concept. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You have to earn everything. That captures the problem the rich, young man was having. He… Read More »
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