St. John’s Gospel frequently has a line that means more than it seems. For example, after a scene where the Pharisees, including Nicodemus, and the temple guards are having a disagreement about Jesus he wrote: “Then each went to his own house.” St. John is not simply reporting on their geographical site but in the… Read More »

One theme woven throughout St. John’s Gospel is “the hour.” Jesus objected to his mother’s request  at the wedding feast of Cana and the authorities failed try to arrest him during his public ministry because “his hour had not yet come.” But at the Last Supper we are told that the “hour” had come, the… Read More »

A story from the desert Fathers: a thief broke into the hut of the monk and asked for his treasures. “I have nothing except this stone.” The stone was in fact a diamond, large and beautiful. The thief took the diamond and the next day he went back to the monk. “But I have nothing,”… Read More »

Jesus got into trouble with the authorities because “he called God his own father, making himself equal to God.” Of course, in the prayer he left us we are all invited to call God “Our Father.” The prophet Isaiah imaged God as a mother. “Can a mother forget her infant? … I will never forget… Read More »

Jesus asked the crippled man, “Do you want to be well?” He never answered the question but had all of his excuses ready on why he wasn’t well. I wonder if the same isn’t true of us. Jesus asks us: do you want to be well? do you want to be holy? do you want… Read More »

Jesus said, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” This exchange in St. John’s Gospel captures in an instant something of our relationship with God. Jesus looked at the big picture, how his actions were seen and interpreted.… Read More »

When we see the loving presence and saving action of God in our lives, then we have faith.  First, we see what we know.  Second, we see what we don’t know.  Third, we see as God sees. The healed blind man was one of those no nonsense guys who saw what he knew.  You can… Read More »

Millennials, the cohort coming into adulthood, are the most ethnically diverse, tend to be tolerant of difference, tend to be confident and are more optimistic about the future of America than other generations. On the other hand,  just 56% of younger millennials call themselves Christians and 23% say they have no religion. Only 28% of millennials… Read More »

Jesus quoted from the foundational prayer of Judaism when asked about the first commandment. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God …”  To this day, pious Jews recite that prayer at both morning and evening prayer. It is written on the doorposts of their homes and… Read More »

When I woke up this morning my socks were on the floor. I had a long debate with myself about what it would take for my creaky old body to bend over and pick them up. I wonder if it was experiences like that which produced the images in the Bible about “a stiff-necked people”… Read More »