History records many famous last words: Caesar’s “Et Tu, Brute?” In literature there are famous last words; Charles Dickens, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.” In movies, “There’s no place like home” from the Wizard of Oz or from King Kong, “It wasn’t the airplanes, It… Read More »

The Christian faith confesses that Jesus is “true God and true man.” For the next two thousand years we have been unpacking that statement. For the gospel writers the humanity of Jesus was obvious. They had seen him tired and hungry, suffer and die. Later believers (like us) who start with the confession that “Jesus… Read More »

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven, ‘or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?” For Jesus, pronouncing forgiveness is harder! That reminds us of the challenge we face in coming to forgiveness. There is a story of a woman who told her priest that God was speaking… Read More »

If you asked an early first century Palestinian if they heard about Jesus of Nazareth I have no doubt that most would answer, “You mean that guy who heals people.” But the Gospel of Mark suggests that Jesus resisted that reputation. The healing of the leper is typical in that it ends with Jesus saying, “See… Read More »

In ordinary time we read the books of the Bible chapter by chapter. The gospels leading up to Lent the year are from the Gospel of Mark. The epistle for the next month is the Letter to the Hebrews. We don’t know the origin or the author of this document. Examining its content suggests that… Read More »

From now until Lent we will be reading from the Gospel of St. Mark chapter by chapter. The gospel begins with the “good news” that the “kingdom is at hand” and with the call of the first disciples. Jesus is then portrayed as an authoritative teacher and as someone with power of the evil spirits.… Read More »

Ordinary Time. After the Advent and Christmas seasons we spend the next few weeks leading up to Lent in Ordinary Time. Does anyone remember Sexagesima Sunday? The scripture readings in ordinary time are done as a lectio continua, going through the books of the Bible chapter by chapter. The gospel during these days is from… Read More »

Being filled with expectation can be a mixed bag. We happily wait in expectation for the baby to be born. We anxiously wait in expectation for the test results from the hospital to come back. We resignedly wait in expectation for the light to change. We warily wait in expectation for the other shoe to… Read More »

In a movie about Gale Sayers (the prototypical male weepie) the great Chicago Bear said: “God is first. My family and friends are second. I am third.” That is not the typical value system in our culture. We are told to “look out for #1.” The contemporary psychological emphasis on self-actualization makes the individual the… Read More »

“So there are three who testify, the Spirit, the water, and the Blood, and the three are of one accord.” This passage from the first epistle of St. John has been commented on and wrestled with throughout the ages. During the times in which the epistle was written there was a great controversy over the incarnation… Read More »