March 29, 2024
PASSION OF THE LORD Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 Children are always asking “why?” Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to eat vegetables? Why can’t I stay up until 10 o’clock? Of course those “why” questions might change over time but seeking a “why,” seeking a reason, looking for an… Read More »
March 24, 2024
PALM (PASSION) SUNDAY Mark 11: 1-10 Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Mark 14:1-15:47 The show stopping anthem in the play, A Chorus Line, is “What I did for love.” The singer reflects on all of the sacrifices, all of the losses, all of the injuries, all of the life events she missed out on because of… Read More »
March 17, 2024
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT – A Ezekiel 37:12-14 Romans 8:8-11 John 11:1-45 There is the occasional athlete who, after winning the championship, will say something like, “I want to give God the glory.” Or maybe it is the recording star at the Grammys who says, “Not to us, but to God give the praise.” Perhaps… Read More »
March 10, 2024
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT — A 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 There was a psychological experiment where participants were told to watch a video of people passing around basketballs. The researchers asked those watching to count how many times people in the white shirts passed the basketball to one another. In the middle… Read More »
February 25, 2024
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT — B Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18 Romans 8:31-34 Mark 9:2-10 On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was in Memphis, Tennessee to support striking sanitation workers. He gave a speech that evening that become known as the “Mountaintop Sermon.” He ended the speech this way: “I don’t know what will happen… Read More »
February 18, 2024
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT – B Genesis 9:8-15 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 Some of you might remember a thing called newspapers. In the newspaper there was a page of cartoons. One popular cartoon back in the day was by Shel Silverstein (who, by the way, studied at Roosevelt University.) It depicted two men in… Read More »
February 4, 2024
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – B Job 7:1-7 1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23 Mark 1:29-39 Junior, age 30, asked his mother for $1000. She said “no, you’ll just fritter it away.” He pouted, you never do anything for me. At that, she exploded. “Never do anything for you? I bore you in my womb for nine… Read More »
January 28, 2024
Sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it that determines the meaning. Fr. Dennis was in a play in high school. The setting was in the Old West and the town was starving to death. Someone rushes in announcing that a wagon train was coming. One of the characters was supposed to… Read More »
January 21, 2024
Look at things from Zebedee’s point of view. He had worked his whole life to build the fishing business. The fisherman’s life is hard – get up before dawn every day. Use years of experience to find where the fish might be biting today. Work under the blazing sun or in terrible weather because if… Read More »
January 14, 2024
“Call me Ishmael.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “It was a dark and stormy night.” Opening lines can set a tone for what is to follow. There is even a contest every year, in the spirit of “it was a dark and stormy night,” to write the most… Read More »
