Oh, yeah: That guy

A homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 4, 2021

Ez 2:2-5, 2 Cor 12:7-10, Mk 6:1-6

In the fall of 1976, as the Jesus Movement — or “Jesus Freak” movement — was winding down, my then-girlfriend and I attended an outdoor concert in New York City. As we exited onto Central Park South in the twilight, she squeezed my arm and said, “I think that man is going to mug us,” motioning to someone shuffling toward me on the left.

For reasons I still don’t completely understand, I pried loose from her and strode briskly toward the suspicious person, reaching into my jacket pocket for the program from the show.

Wild-eyed and staring him in the face, waving the paper, I enthusiastically and energetically said, “Do you know Jesus? Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior! I have a tract right here that…”

He took off like a shot, and I rejoined my friend unmolested.

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Reset button

A homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 27, 2021

Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24, 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15, Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43

Ever since video games evolved beyond Pong and Space Invaders, they’ve had a feature that every player has counted on:

The reset button.

Bang-bang! You’re dead.

Game over?

No, just hit the reset button and you get a new life.

Wow. Talk about a statement chock-full of theological, philosophical, psychological and practical significance!

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All this and then some

A homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 20, 2021

Jb 38:1, 8-11, 2 Cor 5:14-17, Mk 4:35-41

This is a great time of the year to be awed by God.

And it’s so easy.

After the sun goes down, lean back wherever you are and look at the starry sky. If you’re privileged to live near a body of water or, better yet, the ocean, spread out your blanket on the shoreline and gaze at the splendor of the constellations while listening to the water gently lapping or crashing in waves.

God created it. All of it. The stars. The breeze. The relentless seas. The life-giving water.

God gave it to us.

Thank you, God!

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Nine yards and much more

A homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 6, 2021

Ex 24:3-8, Heb 9:11-15, Mk 14:12-16, 22-26

Today’s solemn feast — and yes, “solemn” is right there in its name — is as joyous an occasion as it is a serious one.

Today we venerate the gift to humanity of the Holy Eucharist, body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus the Christ, who commanded all of God’s children to “do this in remembrance of me.”

In his holy name and through his divine power, the substance of bread and wine transforms into the real presence of Emmanuel.

So today’s solemnity, then, indeed is powerful, heavy, heady. Mysterious.

But we also celebrate, because Our Lord and Savior is with us physically, tangibly, and we are reminded of all of his gifts that nourish us and sustain us spiritually.

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Proud to profess it

A homily for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, May 30, 2021

Dt 4:32-34, 39-40, Rom 8:14-17, Mt 28:16-20

For years, I thought shamrocks were the size of ping-pong paddles. The decorations that covered every wall and shop window in mid-March made it seem as if St. Patrick held up something visible from the cheap seats when he explained the Holy Trinity to the early Irish. Even classroom posters that portrayed the Missionary to the Celts often pictured him with a hefty tri-lobed green thing that looked more like broccoli than theology.

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C’est vrai

A homily for Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021

Acts 2:1-11, 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13, Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

Today is about Truth.

(Actually, every day should be about truth, but today is special.)

Today is about speaking the Truth.

Today is about recognizing Truth when we hear it.

Today is about acting in support of Truth.

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Blinkers off

A homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, May 16, 2021

Acts 1:1-11, Eph 1:17-23, Mk 16:15-20

… as they were looking on, [Jesus] was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

Gone.

The Apostles couldn’t see their teacher and friend anymore. The man they had followed from town to town, the Messiah who had risen from the dead and broken bread with them just like the old days, was nowhere to be found.

Where did he go?

To hear Mark tell it:

… then the Lord Jesus … was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.

Up there. In Heaven, ruling The Kingdom.

But is that the end of the story? Is that the whole story?

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It’s an active verb

A homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 9, 2021

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48, 1 Jn 4:7-10, Jn 15:9-17

If you are a fellow believer in the notion that coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous, then having today’s Scriptures’ overarching theme about Love with a capital L be proclaimed on Mother’s Day is Heaven-sent.

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Answering the call

A homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2021

Acts 9:26-31, 1 Jn 3:18-24, Jn 15:1-8

You might think that, considering I have made my living with words for just shy of five decades (yikes!), I’d know every acronym or abbreviation or piece of jargon in circulation.

Nope. Hardly the case.

In fact, the first time I heard “CTA,” I thought someone was taking public transportation in Chicago, or that they had heard “Color My World” at somebody’s wedding and the song got stuck in their head.

Then “call to action” was ’splained to me, and I had a huge Aha moment.

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From sheep to shepherds

A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 25, 2021

Acts 4:8-12, 1 Jn 3:1-2, Jn 10:11-18

This is Good Shepherd Sunday, which comes as no surprise considering our Gospel selection and its message today.

In this passage from John, Jesus compares himself to a sheepherder tending and protecting several flocks, an allusion to the Christ’s messianic outpouring of love for all humankind, and not only the ones who followed him because he was nearby.

A shepherd leads the flock on the right path, nudging the stragglers back to True North, back to the true destination. Back to verdant pastures for rest and food. A shepherd leads the flock home.

As Jesus does for all of us.

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