Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer

Original Post Date: July 24, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 12:38-42 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.” Reflection Jesus' response to the Pharisees who ask for a sign is an indication of the disposition of the Pharisees. They didn't want to see what God really wanted to show them through Jesus, because it was too frightening to them. Because what Jesus is revealing is the power that he has is the transformation that he can affect within human beings. The transformation, say, of Jonah and that work of Jesus is the greatest of the miracles. Closing Prayer Father, there's a way in which we can expect a miracle in our life, where all of a sudden the thing that we can't do, is given to us the power to accomplish things. It's not that simple. We're not here to be powerful human beings, but to be ministers to one another and to be transformed into service, and not positions of authority. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: July 19, 2020 Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 | Romans 8:26-27 | Matthew 13:24-43 or 13:24-30 Opening Prayer Show favor, oh Lord, to your servants and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity, they may be ever watchful in keeping commands.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer Father, you are mysterious, and the beauty of your love for us is that you've always met us where we are. You've always dealt with us exactly in a way that would reach us.  You presented yourself at times in the Old Testament as someone harsh and demanding and willing to destroy those who don't follow you, and at the same time, you revealed yourself in the New Testament as the most loving, forgiving, patient, kind, desiring nothing but our transformation.  Give us wisdom to discern the truth.  It's fundamentally in all the stories, and most especially give us the hope that is our inheritance so that our heart will always be filled with joy and peace.  And we ask this through Jesus' name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 20, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 12:14-21 The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. Reflection This gospel carries with it the image of the final major conflict between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Pharisees see Jesus as a great threat to their system, and they're deciding they must kill him. Jesus realizes this, and he's not retaliating. He's not angry. He's not calling upon angels to go and destroy these people. No, he simply continues to do his work, to be with people, to heal them of their diseases and their shortcomings. He's a gentle, loving man. And it's clear that from the very beginning of the revelations in the Old Testament, we see a prophet coming who is radically different than the prophets of the Old Testament. No fire and brimstone, no threats, no condemnation, just a loving, giving figure who represents who the father really is. Closing Prayer Father, you teach us in so many ways, often by a story like this, where we're just watching you respond to something that you should have this negative overflow of emotion. And yet there you are, back at doing just what you came to do. Keep us focused on what we came in this world to do. The thing you've asked us to do to heal, to help, to be there for one another. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 19, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 12:1-8 Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath." He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” Reflection The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was well known, and it's clear that the weakness of the system that was working there was all about rules and regulations. Obligations one must do something or be punished or excluded. And Jesus comes along with such a different message. He's not focused on law, but on love. And it's not then an obligation, but an invitation to freely give to others what they need. And through that giving, receive the most abundant feeling of well being. The temple didn't work. Jesus' message works every time. Closing Prayer Father, we can easily create a relationship based on rules and regulations. And we don't have to have a temple to tell us how to do that. But we do have also is the ability to not have so many do's and don'ts in a relationship, but just have something more flexible, fluid and life giving, understanding, compassion, empathy. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 18, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Reflection When Jesus says these words to his disciples, he's really reminding them about the fact that everything that God asks us to do is something that he promises he will do with us. And the work that we have is our part, and it is going to be enough. And as we do it, if we're not in a hurry, if we're not depending on our own skill and only our own talent, we'll find this mysterious thing that you can do when you're really working, and that is you rest while you work. It's a beautiful way of understanding God's presence in the work with us. Closing Prayer Jesus, you have promised us that as we work together with you to establish a kingdom of love and peace and oneness, that you are the major source of how it's going to happen, and we are with you in it. And it's your power that we mostly depend upon. So keep us out of that anxiety driven world where we feel like we are the one in charge, or we're the one that has to make it happen. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 17, 2026 === Gospel Matthew 11:25-27 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Reflection In a way, it's a scandal that all the learned men of the temple who studied scripture, who longed for a messiah. Most of them never, ever accepted Jesus. And you wonder why. And I think this is a passage that helps us understand that the message is almost too simple, too easy to understand. God loves you, and if you allow him to love you, you will learn to love one another. Closing Prayer Father, give us a childlike faith and openness to the wonder and the glory of what you're promising. And as we surrender to this great mystery, let us know that we are not the ones who make it happen. We are like children who are willing to have others help them. Bless us with this kind of humility. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 16, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 11:20-24 Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Reflection We know that Jesus is divine. We forget sometimes that he is also human, and as a human being, he can feel and be frustrated as any of us would be. When something that we're working on, something we believe in, so much is not working, it's not convincing people that they need to pay attention to Jesus as the representative of God. And because he can do these marvelous, wonderful deeds, they still won't accept him. And so his condemnation of them is more of a frustration with them wanting them to realize how important it is that they do receive his message. Closing Prayer Father, when we live in an illusion and someone points out that illusion, it's not unusual for us to be absolutely angry and resistant. And that just shows that there is a part of all humanity that has a difficult time shifting its emphasis in its focus. Give us patience with each other. Help us to know that God will continue to work with us, but he'll warn us over and over again that if we don't change, we won't find the life that he's made for us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 15, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 10:34-11:1 Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous  will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple– amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. Reflection Two things strike me about this gospel passage. One, is we see Jesus in a way, frustrated. We see his humanity, his deep desire that people receive the truth, that he longs to give them. And he's constantly met with rejection. So he makes it clear to his disciples that this process of establishing a kingdom of peace is not going to be a peaceful process. There'll be tension. There'll be division. There'll be violence. But he reminds them that there's something in this whole thing that Jesus is trying to teach us about receiving something. You have to receive the message of God as it is presented in the person, Jesus. You have to allow that presence to enter into you and change you and transform you, and make you strong against those who would be against you. So Jesus wanted to make sure his disciples understood. This is not going to be a simple case of going in and doing miracles, everybody believes and then it's over. No, it'll take centuries. We're still in the process trying to figure out truth versus illusion. Closing Prayer Father, fill us with hope when things are difficult and divided and separated. Keep us in tune with your promise that what you have set out to do, you will accomplish, and we will live in the kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Original Airdate: July 16, 2023 Isaiah 55:10-11 | Romans 8:18-23 | Matthew 13:1-23 Opening Prayer: Oh God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray so that they may return to the right path, give all who, for the faith they profess, are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ to strive after all that does it honor.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer: Father, your gift of your presence is beyond our imagining.  Help us to see as you see, to hear what you hear, to know the truth that we are engaged in is going to bring the fullness of life to ourselves as we offer it to one another.  Bless us with this wisdom, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 13, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 10:24-33 Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” Reflection The beginning of this passage speaks clearly that we are to become like the Christ, and that this process is filled with peril and darkness and struggle. And we're told over and over, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I've got you covered. I've got your back. I will not let anyone destroy you because you are loved. And everyone who can accept my love, who can believe thy love for them, is as intense as it truly is, then they will be able to love their brothers and sisters. But if they don't allow me to love him, they cannot do the work of the kingdom. Closing Prayer Father, we get caught up in trying to earn your love and prove to you that we're good enough to deserve your presence and your healing. Free us from all that knowing that you have this gift you long for us simply to receive. Give us an open, generous heart to receive the love, the gifts, the forgiveness, the grace that you want to sew upon us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 12, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 10:16-23 Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men,  for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Reflection Jesus told his disciples to be selfless, but now he tells them to be shrewd as serpents and beware of human beings, because they will try to destroy this message, and in the process destroy the messenger. There will be division and discord, and don't take that on as your fault, but know that this kind of work will continue until the end. You will never be finished. All you need to do is be determined, steadfast, and believe in what you're doing. Closing Prayer Father, give us patience. Give us understanding of what we are doing when we call people into your kingdom. And let us not be always thinking about success and everyone changing because it's never going to be finished. It's clear we'll be doing this until the time you come again to establish your kingdom. And we ask this in Jesu' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 11, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 10:7-15 Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words— go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Reflection Jesus, in his wisdom, makes sure that the disciples who are going out with this power within them are not getting caught up in their egos with it, saying, I'm going to go give this, and I'm going to see these people receive it, and it's going to be because I was able to do it. No, it's not about them doing it successfully. It's about them doing it generously. And if it's not accepted, they're not to fear or feel they've failed, but simply to move on and keep offering this to anyone whose heart is open. Closing Prayer Father, it is difficult for us to be a source of goodness without taking credit for it ourselves. Bless us with a selfless attitude as we go about sharing a gift that has only been given to us to be given freely to one another. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 10, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 10:1-7 Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” Reflection We see in the action of Jesus in this passage the seed of establishing the new Kingdom of God. It's a kingdom that is made up of people who are open and receptive to a power that is not from them, but comes from God to them. And when they use it, they bring life and light to those that are in darkness. It's a beautiful image of the church. And what Jesus wants this to take root in is the temple. So he's encouraging these disciples to teach this new message by bringing it to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Closing Prayer Father, we need to appreciate the gift that God is inviting us to participate in. The possibility that his love dwelling within us can heal and help those in need around us. What a gift that is. What an important thing to remember. We, all of us, have a common call to bring life and mercy to everyone around us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 9, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 9:32-38 A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Reflection The Pharisees took almost no time to deal with what Jesus was really saying, and just wrote him off as a demon. But the beauty of who Jesus is in this passage is so important, because it's revealing the God whose heart is filled with compassion and understanding and a desire to free us from pain and suffering. That God had been hidden by the Pharisees and now revealed by Jesus himself. He looked at these people and saw them troubled and abandoned, and his heart was moved with love for them, and desired so deeply to change them. And all he's saying is, the father longs for people like me, like the Christ, to continue the work that I'm establishing and he wants these people to be able to do the work of dealing with people's struggles, their sense of abandonment and shame. When each of us does that, we are creating the kingdom of God. Closing Prayer Father, we often don't realize the power we have through our intention. We're quick to judge, quick to criticize, quick to not understand someone's pain. Bless us with this gift of mercy that is the inheritance that we have your death and resurrection. Make us merciful friends and kind to people that know and understand and feel the suffering of our brothers and sisters. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 8, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 9:18-26 While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land. Reflection We see in this gospel the reaction that people have to who God is in Jesus Christ, who he is in us. Radically different than the Old Testament, God in the form of Jesus comes into the world to work individually, personally, with each one of us and longs for us to go through a process much more complicated than following rules and regulations flowing from the temple. But engaging in the work of being transformed into who we have been created to be. We see two reactions to this gift of God in Christ. The woman who is absolutely convinced that he is who he says he is, and he's promised healing to her, and she just needs to touch him, and she's healed. And then there's those who resist, those who are mourning the death of someone. When Jesus comes, they are told he's there to heal, to transform, to bring somebody out of a place of death. They mock him and make fun of him. It sets the tone for the way in which the gospel will find root in the people of God. Closing Prayer Father, it's difficult for us to embrace the fullness of the way in which the New Testament teaches, you will be working in us, with us, for us, and giving us everything that we need. And that is in the form of healing those weaknesses that we've inherited. And we need that gift, keep us strong in our faith and trust that it is never earned, but only generously shared through your love for us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: July 9, 2023 Zechariah 9:9-10 | Romans 8:9, 11-13 | Matthew 11:25-30 Opening Prayer: Oh God, who in the abasement of your Son have raised up a fallen world, fill your faithful with holy joy, for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin, you bestow eternal gladness.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer: Father, your love is beyond our imagining, your presence so intimate, so close to us.  Bless us with all abandonment to ways in which we've imagined the world to be and openness to the way it truly is, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 6, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 9:14-17 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”  Reflection The practice of fasting was a way of preparing for something that was coming, to make you more aware of it, more attentive to what it really meant. And so, in a sense, the Old Testament was an evolution of understanding of religion that was leading to the fullness that came in Jesus. And it's so radically different. And the radical difference is the way in which God deals with us, in our weaknesses. He is not demanding sacrifices any longer. He demands only that we accept mercy. And you can't put mercy into the same category as you can, rules and regulations and punishment. What Jesus is trying to teach the disciples of John, is how radical a change is about to take place. Please ponder this reflection and I will close with the prayer. Closing Prayer Father, it's difficult for us to fathom the fullness of your message. It goes against so much that's in our own broken human nature, where we feel revenge and we feel that it's difficult to forgive people. But open us to the fullness of who you are, so that it would be a way of being in the world that'll be so different that the old will seem absolutely useless, and the new will bring us life. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 3, 2024 === Gospel John 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Reflection When Jesus was working with his disciples, he gave them a sign, after a sign of who he was. And he wanted them to believe in him. And so when he did the most amazing thing, died and rose to save us from our sins, he appeared to the 11 without Thomas, and they saw him. And that was enough. But Thomas wasn't there, and he was incredulous. He couldn't believe the witness of the others. So Jesus came to him, with the disciples, and let him touch the wounds. Jesus will reach those he longs to reach through whatever means they need. That's his intention to create in us that kind of conviction and faith. Please ponder this reflection and I will close with the prayer. Closing Prayer Father, it's clear that you long for us to believe. Because when we believe in the things that are beyond our imagining, we're entering more and more into the kingdom of God. Give us patience with our imperfection of faith. And know that God will work with it and deepen it. And give us sign after sign. Help us to be aware and convinced of all that he teaches. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 4, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 9:1-8 After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"– he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men. Reflection The fascinating thing about this story is how it equates being in the sense of sin. Feeling sin in you, paralyzes something in us, keeps us from becoming who we need to be. It's called shame and a lack of self-worth. Nothing is more essential to Jesus than we know his love, and his acceptance is always greater than any of our sins. Please ponder this reflection and I'll close with the prayer. Closing Prayer Father, you have created us in your own image. You are always seeing us as you created us in the beauty that you created. And sin, when we feel it inside of us, will rob us of that awareness of our goodness and keep us from becoming your servants. So bless us with a conviction that if we're not believing in our own goodness, we cannot move around and create the kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 5, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 8:28-34 When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go then!" They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. Reflection The miracles that Jesus performed that were therapeutic are remembered and treasured, but often people don't remember another way that he showed his power and that was the power he had over evil, and we'd rather not think about evil as a power, but when you think about the things that we see humans do that seem to be almost animalistic, so below what we should be in terms of our consciousness, you're usually looking at something that is like evil, it has gotten into them and robbed them of their true nature. We need to be sure that we know the one thing that Jesus taught about this power of evil: His power is stronger. Closing Prayer Father, whenever we feel discouragement, we look at the human race, we think what's happening to us, we're all seemingly not what we should be, and just remember that so often the evil that we see is not coming from our human nature, but from some force that overrides our human nature, our instinct for goodness. Trust in that power that God has that can conquer that. That's our hope. That's our future. God's power in you and me to help us deal with those things that distort our way of seeing. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 2, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 8:23-27 As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” Reflection The sea in Scripture is often used as an image of darkness, of evil. And so when these disciples are being called into a battle with evil, when they know that they're going to be confronted with things that are radically opposed to who God is calling them to be, they experience fear. And what they're learning from this lesson is that Jesus, even though he's not upset the way things are, he's resting, in a sense, asleep. But when he's awakened, he says, why are you worried? I got your back. I'm here for you. Don't let the darkness that seems to be destroying you, don't let that happen. Trust in me because I am strong. As witnessed by the fact that he can tell the sea and the wind to cease being a threat. Please ponder this reflection and I'll close with the prayer. Closing Prayer Father, nothing is more essential than trust. Trusting in your power within us that will accomplish whatever it is we need to achieve. And also will protect us from anything that would destroy us. Give us that same trust that Jesus longed to give to his disciples. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 29, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 16:13-19 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Reflection Jesus is making clear that he's given authority to his church. The church must be founded on truth so that the Kingdom of God can take place one day here on this earth.  Closing Prayer Father, help us to acknowledge the authority in the truths that we find in our religion. All religions. We pray that churches will proclaim consistently your wisdom, your truth. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: June 28, 2020 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16A | Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 | Matthew 10:37-42 Opening Prayer: Oh God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer: Father, open our eyes to see you as you are, to know your intention, your plan, your desire to use us, fill us with all the gifts that those around us are in longing for and to give us the enthusiasm and the excitement about being a channel for you.  And let us feel the joy that comes from watching those around us that we love enter into a place of greater wholeness and light and peace.  And we ask this through Christ our Lord, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 1, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 8:5-17 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour his servant was healed. Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases. Reflection How are we supposed to interpret the miraculous things that Jesus did? To turn to Him when we have something like a disease and say, I want you to take care of this for me, please fix me. And all of a sudden we get up and we don't have a fever and we're not coughing any longer. That's so over simplified. What He's really saying is, when you ask me to help you to be who you're called to be, I will always do that. And if you're enduring something that's important, I will give you the courage and the strength to endure it. I'm not going to take away the things that are there in your life to help you to grow and change. But if you doubt that you're growing and changing through the things you suffer, you'll lose a tremendous gift. It's called hope and acceptance. That's the key that Jesus wanted his people to have. If you ask Him to take care of you, He will. It's up to Him to choose how Closing Prayer Father, you've told us that our faith is a gift. But it has to be believed in. Our faith is what we need in order to be able to experience the way you are healing us. Bless us with trust in the way you work. And know that that way will bring us to life. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 28, 2024 === Gospel Matthew. 8:1-4 When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it.  Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” Reflection This story makes clear that if we see Jesus as who he says he is, if we believe that he can do what he promises to do, we will receive that gift. That's the promise. Closing Prayer Father, it's hard for us to believe in your love for us, especially in our sinfulness and our disease. But give us that faith that this leper had, that knows that your desire is not to ever condemn us, but only to heal and free us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 27, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Reflection Jesus knew the background of his disciples, and they were prone to, as the temple seemed to be filled with images of human beings that were doing what was right, but not becoming who God wanted them to be. They lacked authenticity. And what Jesus is trying to say to his disciples is, when I ask you to do something, I'm really not just saying do it. I'm saying, let me enter into you and do it through you. That's our authenticity. That's our strength. God being the source of the power that we have to heal and change people's lives. Closing Prayer Father, over and over again, you show us signs of your desire to share your power, your wisdom, your strength with us. It is not that we can learn what you know, as much as we can be who you are through your indwelling presence. Bless us with the confidence that comes not from ourselves, but from you. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 24, 2025 === Gospel Luke 1:57-66, 80 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel. Reflection We see in this story a very, very important teaching. The Old Testament and the New Testament are not the same. The Old Testament, based on the law and performance. The New Testament based on God's presence within us. It's a radical shift. And it's so fascinating that in the plan of God, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets is the one that looks at Jesus and says, there that's the one. That's what we've been talking about. That's the direction you need to now take. Listen to him. I spoke God's words, but he is God incarnate. Closing Prayer Father, it's always been difficult for us to make the shift between the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testament is so much more attuned to our minds and our wills. And yet, the New Testament demands that we open our heart and let God dwell there. So help us in this transition. It's what we all go through in our own spiritual journey. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 25, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 7:6, 12-14 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.” Reflection These remarks are made to Jesus disciples when they're going out and trying to call people into the teaching of Jesus. And so he tells them not to waste your time with people with closed minds. And then he goes on and says, you know, you are changing the way people understand my father, my God. The law and the prophets have always asked people to do what they're told and to earn salvation. But the teaching of Jesus is radically different. He goes on to say and teach very clearly that the only way that you can be saved is to allow God to save you, to free you of your sins, to enter into you and change your life. It's not something earned. It's a gift that has to be received. Closing Prayer Father, keep us from working too hard to fix ourselves or fix other people. Help us to simply trust that we are in a process of transformation, guided by not only your grace within us, your presence, but also with things that are not always what we expect. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 26, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.” Reflection What Jesus is doing, is making a very simple truth evident. When we judge others, it's often because they are in some way representing something in us that we haven't really faced. Why would we not face things when we think about our relationship with God? He is mercy. He is forgiveness. So we need to examine very carefully whenever we're caught in that spirit of judgment to question it. And to know that there's another way, a way of love, a way of forgiveness, a way of understanding. Closing Prayer Father, you are forgiveness.Yet so often we hide our weaknesses from those that we feel want us to be more than we are. We're not as honest as we should be. Give us the honesty to face our weaknesses and know your love and your forgiveness so we can offer that gift to others. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: June 25, 2023 Jeremiah 20:10-13 | Romans 5:12-15 | Matthew 10:26-33 Opening Prayer: Grant, oh Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name, never deprive of your guidance those set firm on the foundation of your love.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer: Father, you've revealed to us that evil is so powerful when it's hidden, when people don't recognize it and blame just human nature for not being what it should be, but the truth is it's a power so strong that, without you, we are vulnerable.  So open our hearts to a conviction that you are in us, guiding us, empowering us, not only to speak truth but to endure the rejection that comes with speaking truth.  It's your way.  It's your plan.  Let us submit, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 22, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:24-34 Jesus said to his disciples: "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” Reflection It's interesting how many people base their relationship on God by how quickly and how effectively he answers their prayers. Jesus says, pray and I will give you whatever you ask. But you know and I know that what that means is that we have in God the one who will be there for us always. He will always be what we need, but not necessarily what we think we need or what we want. So along with this beautiful promise of abundance in our life, there is still things that we would call not what we want. Evil things. Things that break down. Things that don't work. And you can't live in the kingdom without accepting both the fullness of that kingdom and the times when we feel that it's empty and not enough. Closing Prayer Father, we ask for wisdom. We don't always know what to pray for, what to ask for, how to deal with the things going on in our life. But if we are filled with you, your Spirit living in us is the spirit of wisdom, and it's there to enable us to give in to everything that you ask of us, and to rejoice in what is good and what is not. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 21, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:19-23 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Reflection The treasures that Jesus is talking about is all those things that we have. They give us a sense of who we are. Our position, our title, or where we live. What we own, what we drive, our job. And he's really saying that all those things do not explain or capture the fullness of who you are. Who you are is a person whose eyes are being opened to the love of a God who accepts this exactly as we are, and gives us the dignity and the worth that we long for by simply entering into us and teaching us that every day. The darkness is when we think we have to be something in order to be important or valuable. The light is we are all we need to be. Closing Prayer Father, there are so many things that we can become anxious and worried about in life, but it's clear that you're telling us over and over again that you are not without a deep care and interest in everything that happens to us, and there is no scarcity. Everything that's not there is because we don't need it to be there. Everything that is there from God is what we need. Give us this confidence. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 20, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Reflection This prayer is a summary of the kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish here on this earth. It's a kingdom where God is in charge. It's a kingdom where we are fed and nourished, cared for. And it's a kingdom that gives us power over sin. And what's so clear that is being said, by especially the last part of this passage, is the most important truth in the Kingdom is you have to allow God to forgive you. If you don't allow God to forgive you, it is impossible for you to forgive others their sins. Closing Prayer Father, free us from constantly thinking about how we can earn your attention, your love, your affection. Give us the wisdom to know the value of your unmerited love pouring into us every single day, every hour of every day. We stand forgiven. And when we have that gift, we can establish the Kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 19, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” Reflection We tend to judge ourselves and others by our actions, and certainly the temple was a place that had many, many rules and regulations demanded people do them. And when people did, then they witnessed their conviction, their faith in God. But the thing that is lacking in that is any kind of real intimacy with God. It's not our actions that he's worried about. It's about whether we know him and whether he's able to reveal who he really is to us. And I think that's said so beautifully in this passage, when more important than the money you give away or more important than the fasting you do, what really you need to do is go into your heart, your inner room, where God lives and dwells, and there pray. And we forget that prayer is as much listening as it is talking. Closing Prayer Father, it's clear the more you read the scriptures, the more you understand that you are always looking for intimacy. Not our actions, but our heart, not our will in our mind, but our heart. What is it that you ask us most especially to do? It's to love. But what God is trying to say is, unless you know the love I have for you, you cannot be the lover the gospel calls you to be. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 18, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Reflection Anyone that seeks to be perfect is up against something that's too much, too hard, too difficult. But Jesus isn't telling his disciples that they have to do this, but they have to allow God to do this through them. When you are loved as God loves you, when you are treated with great generosity by God, when you see him giving you every single thing you need. It's easy then to understand that that's what human beings need. That's what they long for. To be cared for, to be loved, to be seen as important. Closing Prayer When we face our human nature and it shows us reasons why we should not be as loving as God calls us to be. It's exactly then, when we don't look at ourselves and judge ourselves as unable to do it, but we look to God who is able to do it and invite him to dwell within us. It's only then that we can achieve the perfection of a community of love, and we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 17, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Reflection The transition between the Old and New Testament is very clear here. In the Old Testament, because of the condition of human beings, the most that they were asked to do was to be fair. If someone hurt you, you could hurt them back. If someone took something from you, you could take something back from them. But here Jesus begins to reveal the new kingdom, the kingdom of God. It is based not in justice, but in service. In love. And what he's simply asking you to do is consider first the needs of someone else before you consider your own. Closing Prayer Father, when we seek to be more generous, we need to realize how you have promised your spirit dwelling within us. We cannot be who God wants us to be without God living within us, loving through us, those that are in need. Bless us with this conviction and this understanding of the Kingdom. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: June 18, 2023Exodus 19:2-6a | Romans 5:6-11 | Matthew 9:36—10:8 Opening Prayer: Oh God, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace that, in following your commands, we may please you by our resolve and our deeds.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Closing Prayer: Father, help us to remember always that your plan for us is not so much that we grow in a personal perfection but rather we enter more fully into the participation of you saving the world.  Bless us with this hope.  Bless us with this kind of sense that there is meaning in all that we do, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 15, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One.” Reflection Once again, Jesus makes it clear that we are not regulated by rules and regulations. We're simply regulated by a spirit within us. And the spirit is the spirit of truth. He's just saying, whenever you say yes to someone, you make a promise. Keep it, mean it, and make clear that your intention is honest. It's not something that you will follow through on because you have to, but because you want to. Closing Prayer Father, the authenticity that you create for us, through your spirit dwelling within us is such a great gift. Help us to be aware of it. Help us to turn to it as we struggle with our own human nature, so that we can become more and more engaged in the divine nature that you share with us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 16, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 11:25-30 At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Reflection There will always be difficulty, strife, separation, anger, resentment in the world. And yet we know that there is a work that is being accomplished by God. It's the heart of His message. I've come into the world to save and to heal and to bring life. So there's a moment you should take, and I should take it always, in the midst of whatever struggle we're in, to take a moment to remember that. To rest in a promise. Even though what is the goal of our work has not yet been accomplished. Closing Prayer Father, give us the discipline that we need to stop whatever is going on in our life and spend a moment with you in meditation, reflection. And experience a calm that is so essential so that we can go on with the work in a spirit of hope and trust. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 13, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Reflection The Pharisees were noted for following the letter of the law, but their hearts were not where God wanted them to be. What this passage is pointing out, is that we are called to always look deeply into who we are in relationship to those around us. Do we judge them? Do we criticize them? Do we call them stupid or foolish? It may not seem like such an important thing, but when you look at it, what it reveals is that we do what we're told, but we aren't becoming what we're called to be. We are called together to come to an altar and to invite God to enter into us, and to be a source of love and forgiveness. Closing Prayer Father, reveal to us how we treat each other. Make us more sensitive to our comments and our criticisms, so we can be aware of how easy it is to fall into a trap of a kind of righteousness about people who aren't what they're supposed to be. Make us loving, forgiving human beings. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 12, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Reflection Jesus has come to empower us to live under the law, infused with the law. And he's not talking about the Mosaic law of 613 different rules and regulations. He's talking about the Ten Commandments, which are reduced to the most beautiful explanation that it's all about loving God and loving our neighbor. And he's just simply saying, the kingdom of heaven is made up with those who can make a distinction between regulations that are not really about relationships. Relationships are the heart of what Jesus has come to transform. Closing Prayer Father, we live in a sea of things that are asked of us, rules and regulations we follow for all kinds of reasons, but help us always to focus on one law, the law of love. That's the most essential. That's the one that you've called us to live. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: June 11, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Reflection I've always loved this passage because one of the things that is clear when you look at what salt is, salt never loses its flavor. You don't have stale salt without any seasoning power. And also a light, once even a match is lit in a totally dark universe, that light is not extinguished by the darkness. It gives us an image of the power of the love that God has created for us to dwell within us, to bring light to those around us. Closing Prayer Father, your Spirit within us is unlimited in its ability to do the work you call us to do. Give us that trust in what you've given us, not in what we ourselves think we need to create. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices