Tag: WWJD

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?

Continue reading Blinkers off

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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To each…

A homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, April 11, 2021

Acts 4:32-35, 1 Jn 5:1-6, Jn 20:19-31

The bumper stickers are plentiful. The sentiment should be universal.

Live simply so that others may simply live.

The quote is credited to Mahatma Gandhi, whose life is a shining example of walking the talk.

The bumper stickers are a shining example of portable theology, and their sales (mostly) support activist groups walking the talk.

Truth via SUV.

Continue reading To each…

Awesome and awe-inspiring

A homily for Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of the Lord, April 4, 2021

Acts 10:34a, 37-43, Col 3:1-4, Jn 20:1-9

Did our jaws drop this morning? They should have.

Did we shout “Alleluia!” for its own sake, not just because it was in a prayer we had to say at church? We should have.

Did we greet each other with “Christos anesti! Alethos anesti!” or another culturally appropriate way of saying Christ is risen; truly, he is risen? We must.

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The worm turns

A homily for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, March 28, 2021

Mk 11:1-10, Is 50:4-7, Phil 2:6-11, Mk 14:1—15:47

Regular church-goers know Palm Sunday’s Mass as the one with the extra Gospel and the extra-long Gospel. A lot of standing; a lot of thinking. With any luck, not a long homily or sermon, though the extra time to sit might be welcome if the preacher is not too boring.

And today’s Gospel about the humiliation, torture and horrifying death of Jesus, though familiar, always provokes strong emotions. What his persecutors did to Christ. What Christ did for us. What Christ still does for us every day of our lives, which themselves are a gift from our Triune God and for which we should — we must — be grateful every day of our lives.

This isn’t a homily about any of that.

Continue reading The worm turns

Righteous

A homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, March 7, 2021

Ex 20:1-17, 1 Cor 1:22-25, Jn 2:13-25

“I want you to get up right now. Sit up. Go to your windows. Open them and stick your head out and yell – ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad! … You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first, get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!’” — From “Network”

That was 45 years ago. It could be today. It should be today.

Continue reading Righteous

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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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.

Continue reading The right thing to do