Aw, shucks

A homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 28, 2022

Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a, Lk 14:1, 7-14

Imagine for a second that you’re a top-flight horseback rider and you’ve just won a coveted blue ribbon.

Or maybe you’re a quilter, and you’ve won a blue ribbon.

Or a chef, and you’ve achieved Cordon Bleu.

The applause is deafening. Your family and friends and total strangers are cheering for you, clapping for you, patting you on the back, maybe asking for your autograph.

Then it’s time to say a few words.

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Best unkept secret

A homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 21, 2022

Is 66:18-21, Heb 12:5-7, 11-13, Lk 13:22-30

When we come across something fascinating or exciting or uplifting, do we keep it to ourselves?

Or do we share it with our families and friends — the old “you tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on…” from the shampoo commercial? Do we start the fire of exponential growth?

What if something we find fascinating or exciting or uplifting flips the status quo on its head? Does that change what we decide to do?

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Dues

A homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 14, 2022

Jer 38:4-6, 8-10, Heb 12:1-4, Lk 12:49-53

We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people waiting in line to buy the newest iPhone.

We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people breaking down the doors at stores as they open on so-called Black Friday.

We’ve all seen the photos and TV coverage of people sleeping on the sidewalk outside the box office to buy Springsteen tickets.

We’ve all heard the stories and seen the TV coverage of how Beyonce concert tickets sold out online in 30 seconds.

And how ’bout them $70,000+ Super Bowl tickets!

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Make the leap

A homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 7, 2022

Wis 18:6-9, Heb 11:1-2, 8-19, Lk 12:32-48

Flo wants us to bundle our homeowners’ insurance with our other policies.

The Property Brothers say our burglar alarm system should be fully integrated with our electronic house-management system.

And the Geico Gecko … well, he/it does have that cute British-ish accent.

We spend a lot of money protecting the things we spent a lot of money on.

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