Tag: Scripture

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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Three pillars

A homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Feb. 21, 2021

Gn 9:8-15, 1 Pt 3:18-22, Mk 1:12-15

Chocolate and ice cream are not sinful.

Hot dogs and bologna are not evil.

Tuna casseroles are, but that’s a whole nuther kettle of fish.

As we mark the First Sunday of Lent 2021, we can concentrate on the little things we choose to “give up” or we can concentrate on the big things we really ought to be giving up. And the crosses of all sizes that we should be picking up.

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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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Wow. You too?

A homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 7, 2021

Jb 7:1-4, 6-7, 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23, Mk 1:29-39

The cliché tells of the patience of Job, but today’s first reading sounds more like the whining of Eeyore, the tail-less donkey friend of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? …
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.

There’s heavy, and there’s soul-crushing. Then there’s this passage.

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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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Never … er, always mind

A homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 24, 2021

Jon 3:1-5, 10, 1 Cor 7:29-31, Mk 1:14-20

In the gently beautiful movie “Field of Dreams,” Ray Kinsella, the Iowa farmer who felt compelled to plow under some of his corn to build a baseball diamond, drags a skeptical and unwilling Terence Mann, a writer who deeply inspired him, to a Boston Red Sox game.

As they are walking to their seats, they share this pivotal conversation:

Ray Kinsella: So what do you want now?

Terence Mann: I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.

Ray Kinsella: No, I mean, what do you WANT? (gestures to the concession stand they’re in front of)

Terence Mann: Oh. Dog and a beer.

Misunderstandings can be like that.

Especially when people misunderstand God.

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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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