Some texts in the Bible are a little frightening, like God raining fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharoah’s army drowning the Red Sea or the walls of Jericho tumbling down. While these are scary enough, the gospel story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is the text that terrifies me. The way… Read More »

The prophet Zechariah, along with Haggai, brought the word of God to the exiles returning from captivity in Babylon. The excitement of returning to their homeland was quickly tempered by the reality of needing to build everything — homes, farms, businesses as well as the temple — from scratch. Zechariah brought a word of encouragement… Read More »

Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes? But now take courage.  While this prophetic word is addressed to ancient Israel it could just as easily be addressed to St. James today. Thirteen years… Read More »

The prophet Haggai had a very specific message: rebuild the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. The background: the Persians (present day Iran) conquered Babylon (present day Iraq) and reversed the policy of taking captive people into exile. The Jewish exiles returned to the Promised land in 538BC and began to rebuild their… Read More »

While Ezra is not as well known as the “major prophets” like Isaiah and Jeremiah, he mattered as much as anyone to the development of the Judaism which formed Jesus, and hence the Christian Church. After the experience of the Babylonian Exile with the destruction of nation, kingshiip and temple what it meant to be… Read More »

We rely on certain things to anchor us in life: family, nationality, geography, even our bodies. These kinds of things help us to know who we are. Jesus asks us to find a new anchor for our lives: God. While family is important Jesus said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the… Read More »

Whoever among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him! The Church starts reading today from the book of Ezra. It tells the story of the return of the Jewish people from exile. The background: in 721BC the northern kingdom of Israel had been… Read More »

No servant can serve two masters. Jesus challenges us to hve a singular focus. Is love going to motivate us or will “mammon,” defined to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain.  The sin of Adam in the book of Genesis is grasping… Read More »

“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables.” During Jesus’ active ministry he was known for three things: he was a healer, he spoke with authority, and he taught in parables. These last two seem somewhat contradictory. When you… Read More »

Accompanying [Jesus] were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. The image of Jesus’ chosen companions, beside the twelve, including women continues to challenge the Church today. Do we treat women as equals to the men disciples as… Read More »