Tag: WWJD

H 2 … Oh!

A homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023

Ex 17:3-7, Rom 5:1-2, 5-8, Jn 4:5-42

Water has been in the news a lot lately.

California has too much of it — in the form of unimaginably deep snow as well as downpours that would have challenged Noah — even as the state’s drought has yet to be solved.

The Great Salt Lake is drying up because the rivers that flow into it are drying up, and scientists and politicians are trying to engineer a way to save it.

Closer to home, March is coming in like a lion after a warm and dry winter. Slush and rain and flooded roads.

Yes, water has been newsworthy a lot lately.

Continue reading H 2 … Oh!

Alone time

A homily for the First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023

Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7, Rom 5:12-19 , Mt 4:1-11

Out in the backyard of my boyhood home in Lincroft, my brothers and I built a treehouse. Not just any treehouse. This was a classic, enough to make the Swiss Family Robinson jealous.

Continue reading Alone time

Gilt-free

A homily, sort of, for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 19, 2023

Lv 19:1-2, 17-18, 1 Cor 3:16-23, Mt 5:38-48

To gild refined gold, to paint the lily /
To throw a perfume on the violet …/
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

If you haven’t heard this week’s selections from Scripture proclaimed in a house of worship, or if you haven’t used the links above to read them, please do.

There’s absolutely nothing I can add to make them more understandable or clearer. There’s no call to action I can write or shout from the rooftops that these passages don’t deliver.

Continue reading Gilt-free

Rechargeable

A homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 5, 2023

Is 58:7-10, 1 Cor 2:1-5, Mt 5:13-16

There are three little bins on a shelf in our basement with batteries in them: double-A, triple-A, and some random C, D and 9-volt types. We go through the double-As fairly often, and I reload the bin whenever it gets low, whenever a couple of them leak, or whenever Costco puts the 40-pack on sale.

There’s another, smaller bin on a shelf built into my desk at home, and it has a bunch of rechargeable double-As and a four-battery charger. They’re collecting dust.

They shouldn’t be.

They are, however, symbolic.

Continue reading Rechargeable

Solo? No.

A homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 29, 2023

Zep 2:3; 3:12-13, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Mt 5:1-12a

After 9/11, the phrase was everywhere. On bumper stickers and license plates. On flags and posters. On lapel pins and T-shirts. Spray-painted as graffiti.

United We Stand.

United.

We.

Stand.

Only we didn’t. We don’t.

Continue reading Solo? No.

The right angle

A homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 22, 2023

Is 8:23—9:3, 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17, Mt 4:12-23

There are a couple of ways to go fishing, and each is vastly different from the other, but in the end, both catch fish.

One method, which the Apostles used in their day jobs, and which modern commercial fishermen still use, drags a net through the water, catching fish by the boatloads. The crew then usually dumps the entire catch onto the deck of the boat and culls out any unsuitable fish or trash. If it’s a responsible crew, they toss the undersized fish or unwanted species back into the water, and head for home with what they kept.

A mass catch.

Another method, pretty much the other main method, involves a rod and reel, bait or lures, and a skillful solo angler. The fisherman casts into what he hopes is a school of fish and reels them in one at a time. If he knows what he is doing, he’ll reel in only the type of fish he wants, at the right size. After a good day fishing, the angler takes home a freezer’s worth of bass.

A selective catch.

Continue reading The right angle

No snooze button

A homily for the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022

Is 2:1-5, Rom 13:11-14, Mt 24:37-44

Long before 9/11, long before we all were told that if we see something we must say something, people in the armed forces had a profound call-and-response:

Stay alert!
Stay alive!

Because, of course, sleepwalking through the day can lead to disastrous consequences.

Continue reading No snooze button

The right pronoun

A homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, November 20, 2022

2 Sm 5:1-3, Col 1:12-20, Lk 23:35-43

I learned a long time ago that a boss says “I” and “you” but a leader says “we” and “us.”

A boss tells you what to do and precisely how he wants you to do it, and then tells you to get going and do it while he (almost always a he) sits back and watches … uh … supervises.

A leader shows the team what needs to be done and relies on the skills of all participants to join in the effort. A leader works alongside everyone, clearly articulating the goal and guiding everyone to the destination.

A boss preys on people’s fears and lack of information. A leader reassures and educates.

A boss exploits people. A leader empowers them.

A boss gets fat. A leader sweats.

And yet, so, so many people choose to follow bosses and not leaders.

Continue reading The right pronoun

Yogi

A homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 13, 2022

Mal 3:19-20a, 2 Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

That sterling bit of advice is attributed to the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, whose wisdom spanned every aspect of everyday life.

And our everyday lives are filled with forks in the road, with yes-or-no, right-or-left choices, sometimes dozens or even hundreds a day.

Yes or no.

Right or left.

Right or wrong.

Oh my: Once again, we’ve come to a fork in the road. Where do we go? And how do we know?

Continue reading Yogi

Up, not out

A homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18, 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18, Lk 18:9-14

When we hear about a natural disaster or a manmade tragedy (and, yes, dammit, they’re made mostly by men), how do we react? How do we act?

Probably the first thing we do is consider how much loose change we have, or whether we’re willing to skip a pumpkin spice latte this week, so we can send a few bucks to whatever charitable organization is taking the lead on relief efforts.

And with the ability to donate online, we can make a tiny bit of difference without getting off the couch. Website or app, click here, card information already stored, type in the CVV afresh, submit. 

And for less than a dollar a day…

Yeah, we all know those commercials, don’t we?

Continue reading Up, not out