Bill Zapcic - Unpaid Bill

Stuff it

A homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 7, 2025

Wisdom 9:13-18b, Philemon 9-10, 12-17, Luke 14:25-33

Amid all the news recently about wars and famines and the melting of the Earth’s biggest iceberg, one item stood out.

A young man named Doogie Sandtiger was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Crocs. The Connecticut resident owns more than 3,800 pairs of the shoes, and he is still collecting. He hopes they will form the basis of a Crocs museum.

A fascinating human interest story, or just a crock?

How we view our own stuff will determine which side we come down on.

Continue reading Stuff it

No Brag

A homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 31, 2025

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a, Luke 14:1, 7-14

The older folks among us will remember when the most-watched shows on TV were Westerns. “Gunsmoke.” “Bonanza.” “Wagon Train.” And even these days, they’re getting a pretty decent ride on rerun channels like MeTV.

I don’t remember which Western this happened on, but I do remember a scene in which some tenderfoot came up to a gunslinger, and their conversation went something like this:

“Some people say you’re the fastest gun in these parts. True?”

“It’s true. I can outdraw any man.”

“That’s some pretty serious bragging, mister.”

“No brag. Just fact.”

Continue reading No Brag

All of us

A prayer-homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 17, 2025

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10, Hebrews 12:1-4, Luke 12:49-53

This weekend, I was humbled and honored to represent the Church of St. Anselm at a Community Day of Prayer in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. The devotional celebration was sponsored by a variety of churches in Monmouth County; it was coordinated by St. Thomas AME Zion Church and their pastor, the Rev. Danica L. Frink.

I was one of seven preachers called upon to lead the attendees in a prayer for specific needs. Again: humbling, yet uplifting.

Continue reading All of us

Seedlings

A homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 10, 2025

Wisdom 18:6-9, Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19, Luke 12:32-48

As it turns out, most of the stories about Johnny Appleseed were true, and only mildly embellished.

Here are a couple of salient paragraphs from the Wikipedia entry on this American folk hero:

Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774 – March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern counties of West Virginia. He became an American icon while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance that he attributed to apples. …

The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly everywhere he went. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock and wildlife, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. … Continue reading Seedlings

F.A.O.

A homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 3, 2025

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23, Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11, Luke 12:13-21

“He who dies with the most toys wins!”

Hmm…

I think that, when it’s my time to go, I’ll rate at least a bronze medal.

Continue reading F.A.O.

Father, can you spare a dime?

A homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 27, 2025

Genesis 18:20-32, Colossians 2:12-14, Luke 11:1-13

Back at the peak — or was it the depths? — of the COVID pandemic, many of us took up new hobbies to pass the time while we were in lockdown.

Some of us finally read the books collecting dust on our shelves, those assigned readings we faked our way through to write term papers.

It turns out, some of them were actually interesting. Who knew?

Continue reading Father, can you spare a dime?

Prioritizing

A homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 20, 2025

Genesis 18:1-10a, Colossians 1:24-28, Luke 10:38-42

Most of us have compiled or received (or both) a honey-do list, a tally of all the stuff that needs to be done around the house. The list challenges us (nags us?) to get off our duffs and wash the windows, schedule the car maintenance, call the exterminator and, oh yeah, give Rover a long-overdue bath.

Without making the house smell like wet dog.

Quite often, the lists grow more like zucchini in a New Jersey summer than basketball-size green melons. In fact, mine qualifies as a watermelon list.

Continue reading Prioritizing

Delivery people

A homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 13, 2025

Deuteronomy 30:10-14, Colossians 1:15-20, Luke 10:25-37

It’s something of an urban legend that Amazon delivery drivers go undetected by Ring doorbell cameras. They place packages on our doorsteps, photograph them and email those photos to us as confirmation of safe deliveries.

Invisibly, somehow.

Continue reading Delivery people

To, from

A homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 6, 2025

Isaiah 66:10-14c, Galatians 6:14-18, Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

This steamy, sultry time of the year, two things are clear (even if thunderstorm-laden skies are not):

Shorter homilies are preferable, depending on the nearest HVAC system, and we pay more attention to summertime events and holidays than to theology. Especially those of us who live in tourist-y locales.

So how ’bout we try mixing church and state briefly but sincerely…

Continue reading To, from

Heavy lift

A homily for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, June 29, 2025

Readings from the Mass During the Day: Acts 12:1-11, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18, Matthew 16:13-19

Anyone who’s ever been laid off or received a buyout from a company — especially after a long period of service — knows the flood of emotions the pink slip or fat envelope brings.

Continue reading Heavy lift