When Jesus wanted to make a point he used images drawn from the Bible and everyone knew what he was talking about. “As it was in the days of Noah…” When my family gathered this Thanksgiving several of my nephews and nieces describe themselves as “nones,” having no religious affiliation. On the one hand I… Read More »

There was a song a couple of years ago (what? things that happen 50 years ago are only “a couple of”) by Sly and the Family Stone: “It’s a family affair.” The beginnings of the Jesus movement was a family affair. Jesus began his ministry by calling two sets of brothers to follow him. Peter… Read More »

“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near.” Jesus was a keen observer. He looked around at nature, at farmers, at bakers, at shepherds and saw there a sign of the presence of God. We must work to… Read More »

When I was growing up we always went to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a feast and we were truly thankful. After dinner my grandmother would get out the Sears Wish Book and my sister and I would circle all of the things we wanted for Christmas. Looking back on it, what… Read More »

Can you read the writing on the wall? I never understood graffiti until I was in my first parish in Orange, California. We were there to care for the immigrant community that picked oranges. As the Los Angeles suburbs expanded into Orange County the orange groves were replaced with housing developments. Inevitably, these developments were… Read More »

A recent best seller called Cold Mountain told the story of a family during the Civil War. While the story it tells is fiction, it reflects a historical period. You get to feel something of what those who lived through the war experienced in this historical fiction. The Book of Daniel in the Bible does… Read More »

There is a famous story in my religious community when we first went to Mexico. The parish was in a very poor area and the new pastor was going around visiting the people to get to know them. One elderly woman slipped a few pesos into the priest’s hands as he was leaving. She whispered… Read More »

During the recent family trip to England my sisters were very interested in the life of the royals. Because of Princess Di and Megan Markel they wanted to visit the palaces and castles and estates associated with the Windsors. We saw gold and jewels and furs and art and statues from the age of opulence.… Read More »

One of the limitations in human thought is that we inevitably think in terms of time. When we are confronted by the mystery of death we naturally suppose that time is at work. There is a before death and an after death. Jesus instructs us that God is not limited in that way. “God is… Read More »

Sacred places were important to the Maccabees. After they retook Jerusalem from the pagan overlords they re-dedicated the temple as THE sacred space of the Jews. We remember that re-dedication to this day in the feast of Hanukkah. Jesus thought the sacred space of the temple was important and needed defending from those who were… Read More »