Tag: Jesus

Socks off

A homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Feb. 28, 2021

Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18, Rom 8:31b-34, Mk 9:2-10

When was the last time you let yourself be wowed, be amazed, to have your socks knocked off?

We’ve all been in some degree of lockdown for about a year now, and there haven’t been a lot of opportunities or reasons for our jaws to drop. We do have Zoom, and we do have our small joys, but all in all, many of our lives these days are more humdrum than historic.

So:

When was the last time you let yourself be wowed, be amazed, to have your socks knocked off by Jesus?

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Morning glory

A homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 14, 2021

Lv 13:1-2, 44-46, 1 Cor 10:31—11:1, Mk 1:40-45

AMDG.

No, it’s not one of those cable news mesothelioma law firms.

AMDG — Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam — is Latin, meaning “for the greater glory of God.”

And while Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s reminder about the true purpose of our work and prayer and interaction as people sounds highfalutin’ — I mean, Latin and all that — it’s simple and meaningful.

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Get out!

A homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 31, 2021

Dt 18:15-20, 1 Cor 7:32-35, Mk 1:21-28

How many demons have you seen lately? Have you gone to the neighborhood exorcist for your unclean spirit problem recently?

Among our many challenges as 21st Century Christians is finding the deeper truths in First Century Scripture or, especially, in The Law and the Prophets that were compiled millennia before that.

We are challenged to see through the eyes of the Apostles and other early disciples when we usually see things through our more scientifically educated eyes, our eyes that have seen and experienced far more than simple fisherman and shepherds who rarely traveled far from their home villages. Who were educated by oral tradition, by word of mouth, and who passed along that knowledge to the next generation orally as well. Who were not exposed to the men who counted the stars or examined anatomy.

To understand, we are challenged to walk in their sandals.

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What’s in your … toolkit?

A homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 17, 2021

1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19, 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20, Jn 1:35-42

In Matthew 22:14 — not among today’s selections from Scripture but relevant — Jesus ends a parable with

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

A more familiar translation is “Many are called, but few are chosen,” but “invited” does make it clearer that an outstretched hand is welcoming the many to a Big Event.

Today, our first reading and our Gospel interweave Choice and Call: of the prophet and of the first Apostles. And of us.

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The right thing to do

A homily for the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 10, 2021

Is 42:1-4, 6-7, Acts 10:34-38, Mk 1:7-11

What would you do if, on any given day, the clouds parted, a blinding sunbeam spotlighted you, and a thundering shout — or a barely perceptible whisper — said, “I love you. You rock!”?

You’re not crazy. It’s not a practical joke. It’s not “Candid Camera” or “Punk’d.” It can — and should — be an everyday occurrence for each of us. We just need to understand that we have a role to play in the scenario.

Our role is a lot like Jesus’s role as he was baptized by John in the River Jordan: to serve and not be served, to lead our brothers and sisters to God by example from within the flock. To do the right thing at the right time, even if other people don’t think it’s necessary.

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No favorites

A homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Dec. 27, 2020

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Col 3:12-21, Lk 2:22-40

Before we attempt to discern what makes a family holy, we should try to determine what makes a family.

Are blood relatives a family? Are people joined in a sacramental or governmental bond a family? Is a commune a family?

Are people who agree with each other a family? Can families disagree and not be disagreeable?

Do people have to like each other to be considered a family? Do people have to love each other to be considered a family?

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Wrapped up in our lives

A homily for The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Dec. 25, 2020

Is 9:1-6, Ti 2:11-14, Lk 2:1-14

This time of year, a couple of cable channels run a holiday favorite film nonstop for 24 hours. You know the one. 

And even though “A Christmas Story” pales in significance when compared with The Christmas Story, the movie ends with a remembrance that could be scriptural:

The greatest Christmas gift I had ever received, or would ever receive.

That’s the core of The Christmas Story, the story we retell today and every December 25 and, we hope, every day of the year in words and actions as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, Our Newborn King.

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Assembly required

A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 20, 2020

2 Sm 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16, Rom 16:25-27, Lk 1:26-38

Have you ever given or received a present marked “Some Assembly Required”?

Or, more accurately: How many times have you given or received a gift marked “Some Assembly Required”?

When we’re the recipient, we’ll sigh, make a snarky joke about “the gift that keeps on giving,” and then set to work putting all the pieces together. Sometimes we’ll even follow the instructions. And sometimes — sometimes — it goes together easily, correctly, with no pieces left over.

In any case, a gift that requires some — or much — assembly also requires some — or, often, much — commitment.

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Gaudete, y’all

A homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 13, 2020

Is 62:1-2A, 10-11, 1 Thes 5:16-24, Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

Once upon a time, there was a brilliant priest who grew up in Dallas, influenced by the spirit and enthusiasm of the Protestant Christian brothers and sisters who lived all around him. The kind of folks who, bless ’em, will gladly drop an “Amen” on you regularly.

He also was possessed of a Texas twang — not really a drawl, not really not — so when he pronounced his Latin … well, let’s just say that Caesar himself would have had a little trouble understanding him.

My priest friend, in particular, liked to greet folks on the Third Sunday of Advent with a hearty and heartfelt “guh-Dowty,” the Lone Star way of saying “Gaudete.” 

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