Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer

Gospel John 6:22-29 After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” Reflection Taking Salvation History from the first book of the Bible till the present day. We see this evolution in understanding of who God is and who we are with Him, and in Him, and for him. And what's clear is that there had to be a major shift from Old Testament to New Testament, and there had to be a voice, a powerful voice that had authority to make this shift, to explain it, to do something that in a sense took away their need to work for. It is a gift. And to believe in that gift and to know what it is, is the key to the great transformation from Old Testament to New Testament. Closing Prayer Father, you have revealed yourself in the person of Jesus. Open our hearts to fully understand who He is, and what it means for us that He is who he is so that we too can become that and continue his work of bringing life and hope and mercy to all who meet us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: April 26, 2020 Acts 2:14, 22-33 | 1 Peter 1:17-21 | Luke 24:13-35 May your people exalt forever, oh God, a renewed youthfulness of spirit so that rejoicing now in the restored glory of our adoption we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 6:16-21 When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading. Reflection Nothing is repeated more in the Scriptures, in the words of Jesus, when he says, Do not be afraid. Fear is the awareness of something that is so strange and different that when we experience it, there is a sense that we are not in a place where we are in charge or in control. He invites us into a world that is so beyond our imagining. We're on a journey across the sea of darkness. And God has promised, if we do not fall into fear when we are in a place where what is happening to us doesn't make any sense. It's not something familiar. It's then that we are offered the chance to believe and to trust, and we reach our goal through faith. Closing Prayer Father, that which is not understandable, that which is mysterious is always a struggle for us to surrender to. And it's strange that there is something in us that when we don't live in a world that we know, we're afraid, we're uneasy, were unsure. We lose our confidence. Help us through those moments of fear to trust in you. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. Reflection The God of the Old Testament demanded obedience. The God of the New Testament is not a demanding God, but a giving God, abundantly offering to us everything that we need, all the nourishment and encouragement we need by loving us without measure. And when the people saw the gifts that God was abundantly giving to the world, they wanted to make him king, as if He would then be worshiped as the one who gives this to them. And Jesus is saying, No it's the father that gives all of this to you. I'm the model. I am a human being filled with divinity, being able to take care and nourish those around me. That's who you will be. Not subjects to me, but receivers of the father that I offer you.  Closing Prayer Father, awaken our hearts to this gift that you have promised to us. That we will be the source of life for the people around us that we love, that we will have within us, whatever they need. Because you are the source of what is given. Keep us free of any egocentricity about the gifts that we have. Keep us in that model that you have so beautifully witnessed. We are servants. Servants filled with the power of God to heal, to save, to free. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 3:31-36 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. Reflection God's voice as it comes to us through Jesus, is a voice of enormous generosity, of a deep longing for everyone to receive everything that they need. He does not ration his gifts. One needs to realize how much God is offering to each of us, and all He asks is that we accept each thing as it comes to our consciousness and not resist it in any way, shape or form, because we don't fully understand it. We're to live in mystery, and mystery is something that you can only say, I choose to believe rather than say, I know it's right, or I know how it works. It's not knowing how it works, it's believing that it works. Closing Prayer Father, awaken in us an understanding of your love, your generosity, your abundance and longing to give us everything that we need. Keep us from that narrow view of having to understand something fully before we can accept it. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 3:16-21 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. Reflection The intention of God is clearly stated in this passage. He has not come to condemn, which is not necessarily meaning sent to hell, it means that a condemned person has no capacity, no hope that they can ever change. Like a building that's condemned can't be saved or renovated. So what we're seeing in this is the fact that God's will is to lift all of us out of darkness, of shame and fear and anger, and yet we can choose not to be lifted out of those things. We can choose the darkness. It's a frightening thought that we can turn away from everything that we deeply, deeply long for. Closing Prayer Father, You've given us a gift of free will. Help us to ponder the choices that are before us, help us to see the fullness of what each choice creates for us, so that we will see the wisdom and the power of the life that you've called us to live with you, through you, in you, and let us feel and know that light. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  John 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus: "'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus answered and said to him, 'How can this happen?" Jesus answered and said to him, "You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Reflection Nicodemus was an unusual Pharisee because he wanted to talk to Jesus. He was interested. He was curious about him, but yet he was still part of that company that was so resistant to anything that Jesus would do or would say. And so when he explains something that is impossible to figure out how it works, and he rejects it, in a sense. Jesus saying, Well, you reject everything. Everything I say you people reject even the most ordinary things that I might say that you could easily understand. You say is wrong. You're not open. You are not a listener to what I'm saying. And you're not open to the unusual things, the impossible things, the unexpected things that I promise you. You need to accept. They were blind, blind guides. Closing Prayer Father, create in us an openness, an expectation to receive that which we cannot understand. Our mind is an important part of who we are, but the imagination in our heart can open us to the ways in which you have promised to live with us and be an instrument through us that we cannot fully understand with the mind. Open our heart, open our imaginations. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 3:1-8 There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him." Jesus answered and said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother's womb and be born again, can he?" Jesus answered, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Reflection Nicodemus is a perfect example of life before Jesus. Nicodemus is a human being, and when Jesus talks about the flesh, He is talking about our humanity and what this image in this reading means is that we are living in two worlds, the practical world that we can understand and figure out. And then we are invited into this radically different world that operates in a different way and the idea of cause and effect as we know it, doesn't fit. So this is an invitation to you and to me that something needs to change within us. And if you think it's something you're supposed to do, stop thinking that way. You need to wait, believe, and trust until it's given. You know, you're forgiven and you're filled with this presence. The Closing prayer Father, alone with just our humanity, we are not able to really see and understand how you work in the world. Bless us with insight so that we don't need to know why or how things work, but we need to know that they are working. Bless us with this deep conviction that your kingdom is constantly coming. Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: April 16, 2023 Acts 2:42-47 | 1 Peter 1:3-9 | John 20:19-3 God of everlasting mercy, who in the very recurrence of the Pascal feast kindle the faith of the people you have made your own, increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed that all may grasp and rightly understand in what fount they have been washed, by whose Spirit they have been reborn, by whose blood they have been redeemed. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Mark 16:9-15 When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” Reflection This gospel is a perfect review of what we've just listened to through the Scriptures of this week. Jesus first appeared to a single individual, and then He appeared to two people, and then he appeared to his disciples. And now we see in this story, when he's with his disciples and he sees that this process of it growing from person to person is what he is so excited to invite his disciples to participate in. He makes it clear that belief is everything, you need to believe in what he is teaching. New life comes through this mystery of who God is in Christ and how we are asked to live that same life. It's a message of great hope. And it's going out to everything that God created. Everything will be made new. Everything will be made as God created it originally. When he always said after every day he created, it is so very, very good. Closing Prayer Father, we see so much in this week your intention You long for your kingdom to come. Everything you created you've told us is good. So let us believe that we are participating in this marvelous work of creating a new heaven and a new earth. You guide us, you feed us, and all you ask is we believe. We believe in who you are and what you've promised. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 21:1-14 Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. Reflection These stories are all about Jesus revealing Himself to his disciples, His followers, those who knew his teaching. And it's clear what his calling them to is to continue the work that he established. And it's gathering all people together and making the community one by believing in this one beautiful revelation that Jesus is sharing with His people. But what I love about this story, is that in the work of doing that, and it's our work, all of us. He wants to be the source of what we can accomplish by feeding us. Come, eat breakfast. Come, eat with me. Come, let me nurture you. It's a beautiful image of church. It's a beautiful image of who we are in God. And it gives us great hope as we continue to try to establish His kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, here and now. Closing Prayer It's clear that from the beginning, Jesus intended that His church grow and change and enter into every heart and every mind and animate their actions. When he asked that of us, we must understand that he is also telling us that he will nurture us. He will feed us. He will cook for us and give us the energy, the insight and the wisdom that we need to accomplish his work through us, through our humanity. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 24:35-48 The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Reflection There's a beautiful image of a Eucharistic celebration. Jesus appears. Jesus becomes present to a group of people who are filled with finally the belief and the understanding of the mystery of who he is and what he has come to accomplish. He proves his presence through his eating the fish, and he reminds them that what they have to do is to understand they are called to something, like Jesus went through, to suffer. Which means to accept the unbelievable things that are happening and to surrender to them and to be able to be filled with his presence, and his presence is about the forgiveness of sin, about lifting people out of darkness into light. And they are to witness these things to everyone. It is a challenge given to the church. Closing Prayer Father, your presence is your gift to us. Keeps in touch with the beauty of that indwelling presence that continues to nurture us, awaken us, free us from everything that robs us of the joy that you've called us to help us to feel the enthusiasm that we see in these men and women who are finally aware of who you are to us. You didn't leave us. You've come to be with us forever. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 24:13-35 That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Reflection It's fascinating that in these stories, when Jesus appears in the flesh, they do not recognize him. But when he speaks or when he explains Scripture, whenever he is doing what he longs to do most, they feel his presence instantly in that gift of his desire and his longing for them to understand and to live out his teaching. So what it reminds me of very much that this presence of God in the world today is not so much that He physically walks around us, but that he dwells in our hearts and resonates from there, his healing and his loving presence. It's all about his presence. That's what will never go away. That's what stays always. That is what they could never kill. Closing Prayer Father, you have told us as you told the disciples, that you have not deserted us on this place we live in. As you said, you would be with us always, and help us to grow in our imagination, our curiosity to how this works, because it draws us into the work of the church. The work that we have as beings called to a new life. And in living that life, we are reflecting the presence of this man, God, Jesus. And he is there now with us, through us, for us and for each other. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  John 20:11-18 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her. Reflection The period after Jesus died is so important to understand, what did he want to say? What did he want to teach? In this particular passage, he really speaks clearly that what he longs for is an open heart, a heart filled with wisdom, and Mary had that heart. And so he first appears to her, tells her to tell the others that he is alive. But he also shares a great mystery. The fullness of what Jesus accomplished was finished in a sense, at Pentecost, when His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, entered into humanity. And what he says here is, I have to return to my father. It's hard to understand exactly what that means or how to interpret it, but it means there was a plan, and the plan includes the ending, and the ending is God inside of you, God unifying you with your brothers and sisters through His presence. Closing Prayer Father, over and over again, we see those that were most intimately connected with you, being challenged to believe in the things that you said as they are revealed, and as they are experienced. Bless us with faith and trust. We don't need to understand how things work, but we do need to understand what it is that God has planned for us. And we asked this In Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 28:8-15 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.' And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the  present day. Reflection It's interesting to see the influences that worked against what Jesus was trying to establish. A community of believers that were filled with his presence, and they knew that he cared deeply for them and he would be with them in their journey. And the other powers that be, be it the institutional church or the institution of politics, whatever those things are get involved with it, it's always somehow a major obstacle. Who really has the ultimate authority? An institution called the church? The government? No, the real authority is in God, and he promises his presence. He is the one that we surrender to. Closing Prayer Father, your presence within us is the gift that you have given us through your death and resurrection. Help us always to rely upon that wisdom that you promise. Guide us so that we can truly live the lives that we have been called to live. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: April 12, 2020 Acts 10:34a, 37-43 | Colossians 3:1-4 | John 20:1-9 Oh God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it, grant, we pray, that we who share in this divinity may share it with those that we are called to serve, and we ask this through Christ our Lord, amen.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthe 28:1-10 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Reflection The reaction of the angel is very interesting. Can you imagine walking to a place where you thought the person was still there? You knew he was dead, and you encounter a figure, a beautiful young man who simply says, He's not here, He's risen. And yet they were told that would happen. And so they were totally amazed. And the response is so interesting coming from the angel, why are you amazed? Did you not believe it? Did you not understand Jesus? And of course, that is the point. They did not understand Jesus' teaching. They didn't fathom the fullness of what he would be until those many days, those beautiful 40 days after he rose and taught them, awakened them to the mystery of the God that wants to live within them. Closing Prayer Father, your promise to be with us, to be in us, to be for us, to forgive us. All these things are still struggles for us to be able to fully fathom what they are. Bless us with the kind of wisdom, the longing that Eve had at the very beginning of the human races relationship with God. She longed for wisdom. That's what we still need, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And we asked this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 18:1—19:42 Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:             Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says:             They will look upon him whom they have pierced. After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by. Reflection One of the great challenges is to move from the Old Testament, understanding its wisdom and its teaching, and then receive from the New Testament the fullness of the message of who God is. And we see here a situation where in John himself is saying, this is the way it had to happen, because this is the way it was written in the Old Testament that it would happen. Interesting. And how clearly it seems now to look at the disciples and see how they didn't understand all this, because they were never taught these things from the temple. The temple didn't seem to even pay attention to those kinds of predictions that would come and they didn't recognize Jesus. But if you listen to the Old Testament, you know who Jesus is. And it's so affirming that it's really the revelation of who God really is. Closing Prayer Father, give us wisdom. We cannot see you or understand your message without this gift of your presence within is enlightening our minds. Help us to see all of this as it was intended to be seen and be transformed by it, as God intended us to be. And we asked this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 13:1-15 Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher' and ‘master,'  and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Reflection It's clear in the Scripture that the disciples did not understand the Kingdom that Jesus came to establish. It was a wonderful kingdom so different than the temple. It was not about people having authority over someone else, about each individual being cared for and honored for their dignity and their value. So it strikes me that what Jesus was giving them example of, is the Kingdom of God that's going to come is never going to be caught up and should never be caught up in a kind of servitude that it demands of others, but rather the institution, the work, the community has to be that of a servant. One who honors the person that they're serving and not having some kind of power over them. Closing Prayer Father, We are a church, each of us, without realizing it, perhaps. We represent who Christ is. That's our role here on this planet. And when we ever use our authority over people, when we tend to abuse them in any way by taking away their freedom or by simply controlling their life, we need to notice that, we need to be afraid of that kind of way of service. It's not really what people need. They don't need to be told what to do. They need to be honored for who they are. That's what we pray for. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 26:14-25 One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“ The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.” Reflection There is such an interesting image in this particular passage that always catches my imagination. And is, whose house was this? Who is this man who they were to find? He's not named. They will offer his house to Jesus for the most important moment in his ministry, The Last Supper. And I think it's so interesting that the line in your house, I will celebrate the Passover. What is our house that God longs to enter? It is our heart. And what is the Passover other than the institution of the miracle of God dwelling in us, a Eucharistic presence that we take in every time we celebrate liturgy. When that is offered, we enter into that same moment of this is the house in which God has chosen to dwell. That's the hope for all of us. That's what we trust in. Closing Prayer Father, we face so many things alone. We feel like we need to do something in order to win your affection. But help us to see how clearly in these stories, particularly at the end of your ministry, you made clear to us that you long to dwell within us. You want to celebrate in our house, in our heart, your presence, your healing power, and your truth. Help us to keep that in mind, to believe in it. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  John 13:21-33, 36-38 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. When he had left, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” Reflection This is one of the most dramatic moments in Scripture. It's a confrontation between goodness and evil. And many people ask, you know, why did this happen? Why was Judas turning toward the evil? I mean, it's like there was no more holy environment in which to grow and change than this tiny group of people listening every day to the work and seeing the majesty of Jesus. How could evil get into that? How is evil a part of the world? And we have to understand that in the plan of Jesus, in the plan that's been revealed to us. Evil has a place. And when Jesus said, this is the way it's written, I think that's what he's really saying. The work that we have is a struggle, and we know that we have a power much greater than any evil. But when it's there, we have to name it and ask it to leave  Closing Prayer Father, mystery of imperfection Evil is very difficult for us to grasp. We tend to think that you want us to be free completely of all evil. But that's not your plan. It comes in. We struggle with it. We learn from it. Help us not to be afraid of the fact that, yes, like the disciples themselves, we get caught up sometimes in a way of seeing the world and the what we need over what should be done for others. We get lost in that. Give us patience with ourselves as Jesus had patience with Judas. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 12:1-11 Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him. Reflection These next two weeks are very, very important, for they talk about the very essence of why Jesus came into the world and the resistance and the acceptance that He encountered. Three people in the story stand out, obviously. Judas, Lazarus, and Martha. Judas represents all those who reject Jesus, Martha, all those who accept him, embrace him, and long for that same strength that he has to be something that touches everyone's life, to be anointed. And the image of the aroma going through the whole house is so beautiful. And then there was Lazarus, who more than almost anyone else, witnessed the power of God over death, over everything that would harm us. So we see three major actors in these next two weeks that set the stage for the recognition of who Jesus is and how he touched so many people and how some rejected it. Which one are you? That's the question. Closing Prayer Father, you have now come to the end of your ministry. You are about to make so many statements, so clearly stating who you are. And that you had to return to the father in order for all these things that you are talked about, that you are, that we can become. Open us to this great mystery of transformation. That's the gift of Christ's redemption. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: April 5, 2020 Matthew 21:1-11 | Philippians 2:6-11 | Matthew 26:14—27:66 Dearly Beloved, since the beginning of Lent until now, we have prepared our hearts by penance and charitable works.  Today we gather together to herald with the whole church the beginning of the celebration of the Lord's Pascal mystery, that is to say, of his passion and his resurrection, for it was to accomplish this mystery that he entered his own city of Jerusalem.  Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord's entry into his Holy City for our salvation, following in his footsteps so that, being made by his grace partakers of the cross, we may have a share also in the resurrection and the life.  Amen.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 11:45-56 Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” Reflection Caiaphas marks a significant change in the attitude of the Pharisees and scribes to Jesus. They were doing everything they could to discredit him, or to try to kill him, get rid of him, so people would stop following him. But even the Pharisees had a difficult decision to make. How could they do such a thing without any authority, without any assurance that they were doing the right thing until someone gave them a way out? Hey, it's okay to kill someone if you're trying to save people. So instead of discrediting Jesus, they said, Oh, now we can say we're saving the Jews from the Romans. It worked. And the plot was set. Closing Prayer Father, what we are longing for in the fullness of your presence within us is the gift of the Holy Spirit wisdom to help us to make moral decisions. Guide us with that wisdom as we choose what is true, what is life giving, what we need to turn toward, what we need to turn away from. You died to give us that gift, help us to use it. And we asked this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 10:31-42 The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him. Reflection The most important revelation that Jesus shared with all of us when he walked this earth is that when we see him, we for the first time see the fullness of who God the Father is. Jesus said the father is in me and I am in the Father. If you see me, you see the father. It's so, so important for us to understand this great mystery that the God who remains less visual in our minds can be seen fully in the person of Jesus. Help us to let go of the things of the past, particularly many images of the Old Testament, that keep us, from seeing the fullness of who Jesus reveals God to be. A lover, a friend, a companion, a source of love and life. Closing Prayer Father, as we near closer to Holy Week bless us with an awareness of the heart of Jesus' message, he is fulfilling what the prophets spoke of throughout the Old Testament. Help us to put the story together and see Jesus as He really is. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 8:51-59 Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.' You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. Reflection Human beings have been evolving since they were created. And when you evolve, you see the possibility of things that you never thought could ever happen. We know now more about the nature of matter, of reality that could never have been known in the time of Jesus. So many of the words that Jesus would say, like no one is going to ever experience death make sense to us now, in light of what we know about the message of Jesus. The death he was talking about was not physical death, but the death he was worried about was the death that came from sin. And when you are freed from sin, you live forever with God. Closing Prayer Father, what you have created for us, the Kingdom of God, you living in us, resonating your love and your healing to the people around us. All these things are images that for most of us, we couldn't ever imagine you being this real to us, this powerful in us. So open our imaginations to the beauty and the fullness of your message so that we can go beyond the limitations that we so unfairly place on your promises. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Reflection This story is a foreshadowing of what is coming. Mary, steeped in Scripture, knew some day there would be this miracle of God coming into the world, a messiah. And maybe that's why she seemed open to this miracle. But also she's a sign to all of us that we are all going to experience something like she experienced. The promise of God is that He will dwell within us, take root in our heart, and create in us a new person, a new being who is open to the impossible, who is filled with the same healing power that Jesus had, that we'd live a life that is beyond what we could ever imagine. That's the mystery of faith. To surrender to the impossible. Closing Prayer Father, your promise is beyond our understanding and even beyond our imaginations. That you would do this work of using us as your hands, your eyes, your feet, taking us into situations and being a life force for good, for love, for peace. Bless us with an acceptance of our task. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 8:21-20 Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?" He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world." They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him." Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. Reflection Jesus asked his listeners where they belong. And it's a very important question for us. Where do we belong? The world above is a world of truth, beauty, love and forgiveness. The world below is filled with lies. Division. Discord. It's clear that Jesus is saying, that's a choice. One brings life. One brings death. So as Jesus is about to end his ministry, he's saying, Please, please choose me. Choose my message. Choose the life that was destined for you. The Closing prayer Father, awaken us. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear and a mouth to speak truth, love and hope. The world is longing for these gifts. Make us instruments to bring them to the people that we love that are close to us. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 8:1-11 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,  and all the people started coming to him,  and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman  who had been caught in adultery  and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught  in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin  be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Reflection I love the body language of Jesus in this story. When confronted with the law that was without mercy, and Jesus being addressed about this problem, he acts as if he's not interested. So he sort of stoops down and just is distracting himself by writing something on the ground. What is he saying? He's trying to remind all of us that in his teaching we are freed of our sin and there's nothing a sin can ever do to separate us from the love of God. We do that kind of separation. He never leaves us because of our sins. He knows we are going to be sinners. That's how he created us. And what I love in this story is the way he reminds those who were so rigidly caught in the law thinking as long as they did what they were told, they weren't actually ever sinning. They knew they were sinners. And those who create an unbelievable burden on all of us to not sin are always guilty of a sin. The sin of the absence of compassion and understanding. Closing Prayer Father, we need your compassion, your understanding. And I know we talk a lot about being forgiving to other people, but nothing is more important than looking in a mirror and forgiving ourselves for everything we feel that we have never been able to accomplish or things that we've done that we're filled with shame and guilt about. Give us this freedom with the excessive concern about our faults, and let us focus on what you long to see in us an openness, a desire for you, a desire that is longing for your love. We need to give you permission to love us as we are as a sinner. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orginal Airdate: March 26, 2023 Ezekiel 37:12-14 | Romans 8:8-11 | John 11:1-45 By your help we beseech you, oh Lord our God.  May we walk eagerly in the same charity with which, out of love for the world, your Son handed himself over to death.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 7:40-53 Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, "This is truly the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?" The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man." So the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed." Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, "Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee." Then each went to his own house. Reflection Jesus still today creates division. Different faiths have different ways of seeing His way of life. People accept parts of him without accepting other parts of him. It's natural. We have our own little world, and I'm struck by the last words of this passage. Then they all went to their own house, their own tradition, their own way of seeing life. And house is also a beautiful image of the church. The church is a house for believers, believing in the one God with the one message of redemption that gives life to everyone. Let us work to create one house, one church, one belief in one great gift, God's presence within us. Closing Prayer Father, help us never to be caught up in judgment of others who think differently than ourselves. Let us simply seek your truth with the most open heart we can have, meaning that we long to be shown things that we don't yet know. It's clinging to the past that gets us in trouble. Give us the freedom to become something new. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. Reflection Jesus is coming to the end of his public ministry and he realizes that there's little hope for these men to change their minds and open their hearts to him. And so, in a way, he screams out things to them. Such as you think you know me? You don't know me at all. And they say, No we know a messiah, we know about him and you're not him. So it's interesting that expectations that we have about who God is and how he works are so crucial to be in line with the truth. We want to know who this Jesus is and how he works in our life today. That's our task. That's the work of Lent. Closing Prayer Father, expectations of who you are is crucial for us in terms of being receptive of the great gift to your indwelling presence. Help us to let go of preconceived notions and make us open to the fullness of who you are. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Reflection I often wonder how much Joseph and Mary knew who Jesus would be as he grew and proclaimed a new truth, a new awareness of God. I don't believe they did know the fullness of who He would be. And it reminds me so much that when we are dealing with him and asking him to guide our life, he's taking us step by step, not directly to the end and the purpose of our fullness of life, but rather each step is something that is one more step toward the fullness of who he wants us to be. Takes time, reflection, and wonder, and the imagination that somehow in each of our lives we have a goal to complete and we will never know fully the fullness of that until we're with God in heaven forever. Closing Prayer Father, you speak to us in so many ways through dreams, through other signs, through a person's experiences they share with us. Help us always to be eagerly listening to how you are revealing to us the role that we're asked to play in this world. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 5:17-30 Jesus answered the Jews: "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. "I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” Reflection When one thinks about the ways in which the Pharisees and scribes heard the message of Jesus. The message contained in this passage is easy to see that it was something they could not fathom. Jesus, a man saying that he is one with God the Father. In the tradition of the Old Testament, God could never get close to humans. Human could not get close to Gods because there was such distance between them. But in the New Testament we see the most marvelous revelation. God is like us. God is one who wants to be in us, with us, for us. This intimacy with God was considered to be blasphemous, and for many it remains kind of mute in their spiritual life because they can't quite fully grasp the fact that God truly dwells within our hearts. It is from there that He guides us. Yes, the stories of Scripture are important, and the works of the church are so important, but nothing is more potent than God living within your heart, guiding you, directing you, enabling you to judge with compassion, understanding, and to find peace. Closing Prayer Father, indwelling presence is everything for us as we listen attentively to the Kingdom of Heaven that God so beautifully describes in the words of Jesus. A place where we are filled with His capacity for love and forgiveness and understanding and healing. So keep us in touch with this great gift. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  John 5:1-16 There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?" The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. Reflection It's fascinating to look at the different ways in which Jesus used his power to heal. Sometimes people begged him to do it. Sometimes someone touched him and he didn't even know that he was then healing them. And there's this story where this man just was simply asked, Would you like to be better? But you like to be healed? The man didn't ask him for that. So what I'm hearing in this is that there's this way in which this love that God has for you and me is so connected to the healing power that he had. It is not something that has to be earned or worked for as much as it's simply something that has to be believed in. Do you want God to heal you of things? Do you want to change? Do you want to let go of patterns of behavior that have been part of you, but you know somehow they're not healthy for you? That's all we need to have, giving him permission to do his work. Closing Prayer Father, during the season of Lent, give us that wisdom that we need to have in terms of reflection on things that we might be caught up in that we need to be released from. Help us always to put more trust in your work in us, than in our work trying to fix ourselves to be pleasing to you. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 4:43-54 At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea. Reflection Jesus was used to people constantly looking at him, wondering who he was, and they wanted some kind of proof that he was who said he was. And it was tiring to Jesus to constantly prove before anyone would believe in him that he was who he said he was. What's different here is this man looked at Jesus and knew who he was, knew the power he had, believed he had it, and simply said, Please come before my child dies. And Jesus knew the difference in a moment. He was not asking for Jesus to prove who he was. He was simply asking Jesus to do what he came into the world to do. It's a beautiful way of understanding what belief and faith really is in Jesus. Closing Prayer Father, confidence. Confidence is you are in our life giving us all that we need. Enabling us to do the things we're called to do. Help us to be always conscious of this presence within us that will always accomplish what is necessary. It is not we who do your work, it is you who do your work through us. That's our confidence, always in you and in your presence. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: March 19, 2023 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a | Ephesians 5:8-14 | John 9:1-41 Oh God, who through your word reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith, the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come.  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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 18:9-14 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Reflection I know you probably have people in your life like I do that seem to always be pointing out the negative, mostly in someone else. And there's something about a disposition of self-righteousness that does tend to be critical of everyone who isn't doing what they think they should be doing. It's usually a sign that they're really not content with what they are, or who they are. So bless us with an understanding of the human nature that we all share. So we will not focus so much on judgment, but understanding and forgiveness. Closing Prayer Father, free is from the spirit of criticism and condemnation. It sneaks into our vocabulary. We find ourselves often picking at other people, picking at situations, always pointing out what is wrong. Bless us with the release of that and let us look always toward that which is positive. Honoring those who do well, complimenting those who do well. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Mark 12:28-34 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions. Reflection It's clear in this passage that Jesus has a clear message as to what the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God is going to be like. It's a constant evolution of consciousness that moves people more and more into one single focus to love, to love God, to love who we are, to love our brothers and sisters, to love everything that God has created. Love is the most important thing because it is the one thing that brings the essence of the Kingdom of God together. It's called Union Communion. Oneness. That's what we long for. An end to the isolation, the fear, the anger, the shame that keeps us separated. Love unites us. Everything else tends to divide us. Closing Prayer Father, you give us a prayer that we are taught to recite over and over. It's the only time you taught us how to pray. And one of the key lines in it is we pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So bless us with knowing and also longing for this union and communion that love can bring to your kingdom and make it real for all of us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 11:14-23 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Reflection Jesus knew that the message that he was giving was difficult. And in this passage, he's speaking to the crowds and all he is pleading for is one simple thing. I want you to somehow trust me. I want you to join me, not be against me in this work that I have for you, which is to open your heart and mind to a truth you cannot yet see. So I love the way it ends when he's simply saying, If you are with me, then you're not in any way, shape, or form resisting me. Just trust in my words, trust that they're true, even though you can't yet fully understand them. You see that I have power over evil. That is all you need to be with me on. We together. Me and you have power over evil. Closing Prayer Father, your power is beyond our imagining, and what we long for is the ability to be a person who is engaged with you in all that you call us to do and to be. We know there is weaknesses with us, we know that we are prone to doing the wrong thing. But if we trust in your power within us, overcoming all those evil, dark places that are there, we will find the fullness of light. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 The Jews had developed along with to Ten Commandments another over 600 regulations and rules. Jesus is not talking about them. He's talking about the heart of the law and the heart of the message of the prophets. The law is to love God yourself and others, and the words of the Prophet were always the truth. So all he's saying is that the kingdom of Heaven is going to be based always in what is absolutely true. And when one lives more and more in the truth, one creates this beautiful thing called the Kingdom of Heaven. Closing Prayer Father, open our hearts to the fullness of who you are as a teacher, opening our hearts to the most fundamental truths that when we embrace them, understand them, obey them, we find this beautiful place that God has called us to, The Kingdom of Heaven, a place where there is peace and unity and joy. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel  Matthew 18:21-35 Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.' Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?' Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” Reflection In our relationship with God, it seems to me it all begins when you understand who He is and who he is for us. This God loves, cares for us. Longs for nothing more than we grow and change and evolve. That's his compassionate heart. And when one is not touched by that, if one does not feel that compassion, one cannot understand the demand from the gospel that we must always be people filled with forgiveness. This man that's in this story is not touched by the kindness of God. He doesn't feel that as a compassionate act, just as something that helped him out, that something that gave him more of what he wanted. He was totally wrapped up in himself. In his ego and what was good for him. So the first and most important thing for each of us is to understand the love that God has for us, and once we feel it, once we have it in our heart, we will always give it to others. Closing Prayer Father, you're the source of everything for us. You are the one who creates within us compassion, empathy, love, forgiveness. Help us to be open to this gift. Help us to know that without you, we can fall into the trap of being fully focused on ourself and whatever works for us. But we need your compassion in our hearts. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices