Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer

Original Postdate: September 3, 2024 === Gospel  Luke 4:31-37 Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region. Reflection It's fascinating to me that Jesus always played down his divinity. And we see in this particular passage the demon revealing who Jesus really is. And he says, be quiet. There's something about his needing to be ordinary, his needing to be one just like us that was so essential to his teaching. But the one thing he had that was so unique and different from us is the fact that whatever he said was true, and whatever he asked for was done. Closing Prayer Father, if we see Jesus as one like us doing extraordinary things, it's easier for us to imagine God using us, our ordinariness, our brokenness to do the things that he calls us to do. So help us to focus more on what God does through us, rather than who we have to become in order to please him. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Postdate: September 2, 2024 === Gospel Luke 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,' and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away. Reflection One of the most fascinating things about Jesus as a messiah, someone who came to change the entire world and free us from an excessive power of evil over us. He was so ordinary. He was of the house of David, but basically the fundamental thing was he was seen as an ordinary guy, from a little not so great town, that had a shady past because many thought maybe he was illegitimate. But you look at that and he is the voice of God. This ordinary human being on the surface. But what is it about him that's so powerful? Not him or his physical life on this planet, but the God that dwelled in him and did such extraordinary healing work. Closing Prayer Father, the gift of spirit to each and every one of us is beyond measure. Yet we often look for other qualities about us that we would be more like things that were honored by our culture, that were beautiful, that were wealthy, that we have a great education. None of that is really necessary for a human being to be effective in the world, if they allow God to work through them. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: August 30, 2020 Jeremiah 20:7-9 | Romans 12:1-2 | Matthew 16:21-27 Opening Prayer God of might, giver of every good gift, pour into our hearts the love of your name so that by deepening our sense of reverence and thy watchful care keep safe what you have nurtured.  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 gifts are beyond our imagining.  The longing in your heart for us to find fullness and light in this world is crucial for us to know and to experience in order to know who you are and why you're in our life and what you want from us, not something that takes life away from us but that enables us to find it.  So bless us with open hearts, open minds.  Let us be good disciples, good learners, good listeners, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 29, 2024 === Gospel Mark 6:17-29 Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He even swore many things to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist." The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Reflection We've been spending a lot of time this week focusing on the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. But now we have a king, King Herod, and we see something in him that is very like that. He's caught in a situation where he's afraid that he's going to be misunderstood by the public, and he cannot take a stand on what he believes, but does only what serves his ego. That's why we have to be careful with. The ego. Closing Prayer Father, nothing gives us more a sense of value and worth than being authentic. Saying what we believe. Acting on what we believe. Give us that kind of integrity. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 30, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Reflection Nothing is clearer in Scripture in that God wants to have a relationship with us that is personal and intimate. It's the image of the wedding banquet. In order to enter into that, we're given in this parable an image of wisdom and foolishness. And it seems the major difference is one understands what is required and what it's going to take, and they do everything they need to do on their part so that they can be gifted with this relationship. It's about paying attention, about intention that you really want this union, and if you want it enough, you'll be prepared. Closing Prayer Father, give us the enthusiasm to work toward what we're called to be, in you, and with you, and for you. We tend to think it's going to come later or we put things off, but let us be attentive to needing and asking for everything that will help us to enter the kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 28, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 24:42-51 Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this:  if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” Reflection Jesus shifts the role of those who are called in positions of responsibility over someone. People with power. That not only is he concerned about the way in which the temple was filled with hypocrisy, he worries about every one of us in any position that we have. If we're not doing it with love, care, compassion, we run the risk of a strong, serious punishment. There is no excuse for someone who has power over someone else to abuse that power. Closing Prayer Father, our humanity is filled with so many beautiful, wonderful things. And also very vulnerable to that which would corrupt those things. Please give us the attention we need as to who we are and how we treat one another. Because these things are so essential to the well-being of our community. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 28, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 23:27-32 Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous,  and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!” Reflection Underlying everything that Jesus has been saying about the Pharisees, is a kind of hidden way of understanding a power that anyone in the role of ministry truly has, and how important it is that they teach the truth and guide people, and invite them into the truth. In a way you could read in these stories about the Pharisees what it is that God longs for and what he wills. Ministers that minister truth. Closing Prayer Father, give us an open mind and open heart so that when we listen to those who guide us, that you give us the wisdom to discern what is true and what is not. So that we can always be guided by nothing other than the thing that's most important to you, and that is that we embrace your truth. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 27, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 23:23-26 Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” Reflection All religion have practices, things that we should do in order to show that we have a willing spirit to do what God calls us to do. But the shadow of all the things that we do is the fact that the action doesn't always demand the intention that's in the heart of the person.  And what Jesus saying to you no matter what you do,how many practices you have, if your heart isn't in the right place, if you're not wanting and willing to heal and to help someone, you are dangerous and you need to reflect upon what you're missing. The inside. The intention. Closing Prayer Father, you and only you can change us. You and only your grace and your spirit dwelling within us can give us the courage and the strength to act on what is most essential. Give us this wisdom. Give us this insight. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 24, 2024 === Gospel John 1:45-51 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Reflection The message here is the kingdom of God. What is it? How does one experience it? It has come to us through a human being called Jesus, and when he's introduced to the imagination of Nathaniel, Nathaniel first judges where he came from. But then he listens, and he pays attention, and what he sees and feels is someone who knows him, knows everything about him. And when he feels that connection, that beautiful union connection that we have with Jesus, then Jesus will be able to reveal to him who he really is. The message of God to the people that long for the one who can save them. Closing Prayer Father, our journey is to continually go back to you and to open our hearts to you. We read stories about you, but you've promise something much more than that. You've promised you will dwell within us. We can go to you and feel your presence and listen to you. You know us. You live in us. You invite us to work with you to save the world. Help us to see you in that way. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: August 27, 2023 Isaiah 22:19-23 | Romans 11:33-36 | Matthew 16:13-20 Opening Prayer Oh God, who cause the mind of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.  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. Closing Prayer Father, awaken in us the plan you've established for us.  Help us to joyfully, enthusiastically participate in building your kingdom, knowing that it is the thing that everyone longs for and the only true source of joy and peace.  And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 23, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 23:1-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Reflection Our human nature is something that we need to embrace, accept. There's a part of all of us that would love to be the center of the universe. There's a part of us that want to be esteemed, that we want people to thank us, we want people to look up to us. It's all a motive that can produce effective teaching, but if it gets out of control, if the ego gets in the way of the heart and really robs us of the most important quality, the humility, everything we achieve, everything we do in the kingdom of God is from God. And yet, our ego would love to claim everything that we do as something special in us. It's a lie. Remind yourself over and over when that voice comes along and says, why don't they appreciate what I do? God appreciates everything you do. Closing Prayer Father, there's a voice that comes into our minds over and over again. And it is somehow focused solely on whether or not we are seen as valuable. Heal us by awakening in us an awareness that the greatness that we are called to is always your work within us. Your work through us. Keep us from pride. Keep us humble and receptive and thankful. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 23, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Reflection The Pharisees were always trying to trip Jesus up, but he never, ever fell into their trap. And once again, they're trying. They bring a scholar of the law, hoping that he will say something they can use against him. And so they say, all right, what's the most important commandment? Remember, there are many rules and regulations. Jesus just looked at him and said, it's love. It's all about love. It's all about your heart. It's about your relationships. Relationship with you, with ourselves, and with our brothers and sisters that we love more than anything else. It's the heart of it all. But we keep making it more complicated than it is. Closing Prayer Father, your message is life and light and all that we need. Keep us in touch with the core of your message. It resonates in our hearts so beautifully. And yet our mind sometimes still gets confused. So open our hearts to receive this beautiful message of love. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 22, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Reflection We continue the theme of things being not the way we think they are. This is a parable, not a real story. Symbolic. Those who think they are worthy, are set against those who are unworthy. And the worthy do not receive the kingdom, and the unworthy do. But the thing that's hard about this parable is the fact that when the unworthy are called, it's not that they're unworthy and therefore received, but they're a recognition that those that are unworthy are worthy. And so what we see in this figure that seems unfairly treated by being thrown out because he didn't have a wedding garment on, it seems the wedding garment is about a transformation that when the unworthy are called by God to be partners with him, their life, their sense of self is completely changed and they're celebrating their connection with God with a beautiful wedding garment. Closing Prayer Father, over and over again we see you presenting things to us that are different than what we thought they were. Open our heart over and over again to every illusion, every half truth, every false teaching we have. And continue to purify us with truth. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 21, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Reflection This parable that Jesus teaches exposes something about human nature that's frightening, in a sense, it's our arrogance. Human beings do not seem to have any problem in determining who God is or how God should act. When you think about that, it's ludicrous. Who are we to tell God who he is? Yet people feel that they have a just reason to do that, because it's what they believe, and they impose that on others. It terrifies me about the role of ministry in the church, because you're the one up there telling people who God is, and if your not surrendering to the reality of who he is, you are dangerous. Closing Prayer Father, make us aware of what we really say and what we really think at times about God. Make us question whether or not we really are deciding who he is. Nothing is more important than an open heart that simply says everyday, God teach me who you are. Show me who you are and let me learn. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 20, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 19:23-30 Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Reflection In the first part of this gospel. Jesus is correcting something about the teaching that they have heard from the temple. If you follow all the regulations and rules of the temple, you will be rich. And that's a sign that God is pleased with you. You'll have prosperity. But then he reminds them that this whole idea of what it is to be called into the Kingdom of God, to become part of the work of building the kingdom is not something that you earn, it's something that is given to you. It is done through you, by God. And so we see then, what is at the heart of this work, of being able to do what God calls us to do. And that is it's about giving things up, about putting everything second to this one most important thing, to build the kingdom of God. So he's saying, be careful. It's not about what is in it for us. It's about what is in it for the work to be accomplished. Closing Prayer Father, everything it seems that you ask us to achieve is something that you will accomplish for us. With us, in us. Help us to step away from the sense that we are the center of our lives. But you are the center, and you are asking us simply to allow you to be our God. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 19, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 19:16-22 A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went' away sad, for he had many possessions. Reflection The man asked Jesus a question and in a sense you can feel that he knows what the answer will be. What do I need to be good? What do I need to be perfect? Jesus said, well, you need to keep the commandments. And he said, well, I have done that. And so he said, well wait a minute. You are looking for perfection, and I'm not interested in perfection as much as I'm interested in you being connected to people. When you make yourself better than other people, you're disconnecting. He was into that perfection mode. So Jesus says, well look, let go of all these things you think you should be. Let go of all your sense of perfection and then come and follow me. That's the heart of the message of Jesus. Not that we be perfect, but that we be connected to one another and work together to find this secret kingdom that he's promised to each of us. Closing Prayer Father, we are all working together for the kingdom. We are never perfect. Bless us with patience as we grow in our understanding of what it is you ask of us, so that our part in forming the kingdom of God will be effective. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: August 16, 2020 Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 | Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 | Matthew 15:21-28 Opening Prayer Oh God, who has prepared for those who love you good things, which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love so that loving you and all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire.  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 goodness, your love, your mercy is so far beyond our expectations that we need your help in grasping the fullness of being loved unconditionally like you so generously do.  Bless us with the freedom from shame and from a distance that we create over our weaknesses, knowing that you are there, filled with mercy, filled with understanding, filled with compassion, which brings us great peace and hope and life.  And we ask this through Christ our Lord, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 15, 2024 === Gospel Luke 1:39-56 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. Reflection There are many things that God has done that are shocking to humanity, and certainly one of them is choosing a woman and saying that I need you.. God needs you to help him create a human slash divine figure that will be the model for the world of who we are to become. It's an incredible privilege. But even more than that, it is an incredible way of imagining the dignity that Jesus is engaged us in. He's not going to save us alone. He's only going to save us through one another. Closing Prayer Father, the dignity that God wants us to have about the way in which he has created us to be a part of saving the world, establishing the kingdom. Keep us always engaged in that excitement and enthusiasm for what he is doing with, for us, through us. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 16, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 19:3-12 Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." His disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." He answered, "Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” Reflection When Jesus points out an obligation to human beings, we must remember that his promise, is that he will enable us to fulfill those obligations. He's not laying a burden on us that's impossible to fulfill. So when we see him talking about marriage, it is clear he's saying that divorce is not the plan. But at the same time, he's also saying that marriage is not something you just do by going through a ritual and signing some papers. It's a mystery. It's a gift. It's a vocation and needs to be honored by those who have been gifted with it. Closing Prayer Father, give us the wisdom to understand the work of human beings in relationships doing so much to help the world to become what God wants it to be. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 14, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 18:21–19:1 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 the fellow servant 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 his brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan. Reflection What always stands out to me in this passage is the fact that this man who represents humanity has been given an enormous gift, say $1 million, and turns around and beats up a buddy who owes him five. Why such a split between the two? It's because Jesus is making reference to the awesome gift of forgiving all of our sins in his act on the cross, and we won't forgive our brothers and sisters? when we refuse to forgive our brother over whatever they have done, it's clear that we've lost sight of what's been done for us. That's the key to understand the redemption that Jesus won for us. Freedom from all sin. Closing Prayer Father, you ask that we face our sins, that we own them. But we often don't do that for fear that we will alienate ourselves from you or from ourselves or others. Lead us to a place we accept our selfishness. Face it and change. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 14, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that  every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Reflection The beautiful thing about the ministry of Jesus is he cares for the church, the institution in a sense, where we're all going, but it also cares for the individuals involved. He cares about our relationships because they are so crucial. And if someone is in a relationship with you and they're doing something negative, you need to point it out. If they won't listen you ask others to join you. If they don't listen, you use the authority of others. But the key is you don't stay in the relationship. You leave it because the heart of the message is the truth that God has placed in our hearts. And that truth is, that what God is creating is people that think alike, that work together, that aren't at odds with each other. And when they gather in Jesus' name and want the truth, there is Jesus in their midst accomplishing and bringing the truth and light and life. Closing Prayer Father, nothing is more important in your kingdom than the flow of life between us. As individuals seeking you, loving you. Wanting to be more what you call us to be. Bless us in our relationships. Help them to be healthy, and life giving, and everything you intend them to be. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 13, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” Reflection Jesus continues his work with his disciples. He's reminding them of something really important. What does it take to be a member of the Kingdom of God? What's the model? The model is a child. And so he's saying that for every adult that was willing to become like a child, and that would mean open, receptive, curious. That's what God wants each of us to become. And he wants us to nurture those that are like children around us, those that are vulnerable and easily misled. So what he's really saying is the kingdom of God is made up of adults that live and act as loving and as open and as receptive as a child. It's a great, great image that frees us from so much that is negative in our adulthood. Closing Prayer Father, we work hard. We discipline ourselves. We get angry. We get upset. We do everything to try to make life better. Free us from some of that intensity of work. As we surrender the beauty of a child who simply is there to receive and take in and accept what is given. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 10, 2024 === Gospel John 12:24-26 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” Reflection Jesus is trying to teach his disciples that there is a process that he wants them to understand, is the Kingdom of God. We die to old ways. We die to illusions. We die to half truths. Whenever we die to something, something new is born. Something becomes clearer or something becomes more, more in touch with the truth. Closing Prayer Let us pray. Father, It's a mistake for us to feel that when we are exposed as being someone who doesn't understand or doesn't see the truth, we feel that we've failed. It is a process that we have to embrace. Help us never to lose enthusiasm for our growth as God exposes to us the errors that we get caught up in. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: August 2, 2020 Isaiah 55:1-3 | Romans 8:35, 37-39 | Matthew 14:13-21 Opening Prayer Draw near to your servants, oh Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness that, for those who glory in you as their creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored.  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 goodness, your generosity, your mercy are so far beyond our mind to comprehend, but our heart understands.  And when we live in that atmosphere, in that environment, in that comfort of that sense of who you are, we find ourselves feeling so much less stress.  It is stressful times for us, this virus, how are economy is going.  So please bless us with a conviction that all of this somehow has purpose and meaning and is going to bring us to a place of abundant life.  And we ask this through Christ our Lord, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 9, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 17:14-20 A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, "Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him." Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Reflection It's interesting to me that Jesus uses such a dramatic example of the power that we have, because God dwells within us. Move a mountain. It's impossible. Does that mean that God wants us to move mountains? No. He's making a simple, profound truth clear to us. Faith isn't about how much you believe, it's whether or not you believe. It's not something you have a little bit of and then grow, and we have a lot more of it. No, it's a decision you make that God can do anything. It's not you that can do anything with God's support or help. That's not the point. It's whatever God wants to use you for, it will be effective. The belief is not in us being able to do it, but in God being able to do it through us. And there is no way that God deserves anything but absolute trust in faith in his power. Closing Prayer Father, it's easy for us to be overwhelmed by things. Things that we want to see changed, but they're not yet changed. And often times, if we're waiting and waiting, we think, well, nothing's going to happen. So give us this conviction that whenever we see things falling apart, whenever we see lies in place of truth, we need to know that we believe that these things for God are not a problem. And if he uses us then we should be grateful. If he's not using us yet, we should be hopeful. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 9, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 16:24-28 Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.” Reflection Nothing seems clearer in the teaching of Jesus, that we have to become people that are others centered, not self-centered. It's so easy for us to have it without even realizing it, that we focus everything on what's happening to me and how am I feeling it? What is fair and what is unfair? And all Jesus is saying is, look. Let go of that. Focus on self and focus on me. Focus on me and what I've done, what I'm doing. The example I have and you'll find life. Closing Prayer Father, your gift to us is your transforming grace. And one of the signs that it works within us, is that we see ourselves focused less and less on our wants, our needs, and focused on the things that people need around us. Free us from a prison of self-centeredness. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 6, 2024 === Gospel  Mark 9:2-10 Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,  and his clothes became dazzling white,  such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.  Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,  and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,  “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents:  one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;  from the cloud came a voice,  “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves,  questioning what rising from the dead meant. Reflection What is interesting to me in this passage is the cloud. The disciples are going through an experience that is terrifying and confusing and wonderful all at the same time. But it's like this cloud that came over them. The voice of God, it's like stop trying to analyze each of these parts. Just enter into a place of listening to what I'm trying to do for you and what God is doing for you. He's coming to you in the flesh. And so the cloud is a symbol for all of us to understand that when we enter into the full mystery of what the scriptures are saying, we are encountering God who longs, longs to be a part of our life. Closing Prayer Father, help us to acknowledge the desire, the will, the intention that you have for us. You long for us to see the light, life, the truth. And you will show us sign after sign after sign. Awaken us to all the signs you're sending. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 7, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 15:21-28 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour. Reflection We will always deal with a kind of self-centredness that creeps into our conversation, into what we're doing or saying, and sometimes we find ourselves criticizing without even reflecting. And we know that that is normal. We are always both fully human and also infused with divinity. And one does not override the other. Closing Prayer Father, give us patience as you work to transform us into who you call us to be. We will always find ourselves slipping backwards, being less than we should be, but don't let that discourage us. Give us confidence in the direction you're calling us to live. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 5, 2025 === Gospel  Matthew 14:22-36 Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed. Reflection I want to focus on Peter. He has a reputation of acting before he thinks things out. Sounds familiar to me. And one of the things I see in this story is the necessity of belief, the necessity to be convinced, when you're engaged in something that is not of your own doing. When you're used by a God who says, I want you to be the instrument of me to the world, and you find yourself in a place where you're not in charge. It's easy to be afraid. That's exactly what we see in Peter. He says, let me do what you ask me to do. And when he's doing it, he doesn't realize that he's not fully convinced that it will work, and he's afraid. And it again shows that when fear is there, it's often because we don't believe enough. All week long, we're listening to Jesus remind his disciples, you have to believe. You have to have a faith that is unshakable. Closing Prayer Father, when we experience a new world, a world of you working through us, it feels almost as if we're doing the impossible. And when we think it is impossible, that's when we fail, so bless us with conviction and faith. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 5, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children. Reflection We see in this gospel an aspect of Jesus. It is so attractive. He just learned of the death of his cousin. He wants to go to a private place and then instead, when he gets there, it's not private. All these people are there, and the first thing he thinks about is their needs, not his need. So he's moved to cure them. But then he uses this moment, I think, in a very powerful way, to teach us all about how his ministry is going to be continued in us. We are all disciples. We are all called to feed and nurture one another. And what is so interesting about this is the thing that we want to have. The the love that we need to have for one another is going to be a gift to us. He will empower us to love. He will empower us to serve. And everyone will be satisfied. Closing Prayer Father, awaken us to the power that you have shared with us. We tend to turn to ourselves and ask ourselves to produce the things that we need. You are there for that purpose. Bless us with confidence and dependency on everything that you promise. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: August 2, 2020 Isaiah 55:1-3 | Romans 8:35, 37-39 | Matthew 14:13-21 Opening Prayer Draw near to your servants, oh Lord, and answer their prayers with unceasing kindness that, for those who glory in you as their creator and guide, you may restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored.  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 goodness, your generosity, your mercy are so far beyond our mind to comprehend, but our heart understands.  And when we live in that atmosphere, in that environment, in that comfort of that sense of who you are, we find ourselves feeling so much less stress.  It is stressful times for us, this virus, how are economy is going.  So please bless us with a conviction that all of this somehow has purpose and meaning and is going to bring us to a place of abundant life.  And we ask this through Christ our Lord, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 3, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 14:1-12  Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him." Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus. Reflection One of the things that has been a great mystery to me is how difficult it has been for the church to make changes, to go from the Old Testament model to the New Testament. And the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom. And even in the church's history when change came about, it was always difficult for the church to make those changes if they demanded that people see things differently. God's grace is essential for us to embrace the new and integrate it with the old. It's always going to be that way. It's never everything's the same. Certain laws and rules are essential, but how we live them, how we understand them changes as we change. Closing Prayer Father, it's clear that the church is going through some radical changes. Ever since Vatican Two, there's been a stress on the union that we've longed to see in the church. And it has separated us into groups of people who seem to be at odds with each other. The kingdom of heaven is something that we must embrace together. And working together with a spirit of openness is essential. That's what I pray for the church today, that we embrace the new, even though it's difficult, and preserve some of the old, even though that may be difficult for some. Bless us through this crisis. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 2, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 13:54-58 Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith. Reflection In some ways, the kingdom of God is too simple, too natural, too within our own reach. It's not about becoming some spectacular miracle worker or somebody who walks around and heals everyone around them. No, it's about human beings living out their own destiny, becoming authentically who they are. And in that process, aligning their wills to God and doing the most natural thing. Care for people. Nurture people. Tend to their needs. Shepherd them. It is a beautiful image of something that is within our ability to accomplish. Closing Prayer Father, help us to understand the naturalness of your work within us. Give us the hope that comes from knowing that we are moving everyone that we love and know into a deeper understanding of who you are. When we simply will it and want it and desire it. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: August 1, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there. Reflection The promised kingdom of heaven will happen. It is not if it will happen or when it will happen. We just need to know that it will happen. And there will be a time in the history of the human race when God will enter into it, and he will destroy all evil. That's the promise. Without believing in that, we can fall into a trap of thinking somehow, maybe if we're not doing what we should, the whole thing is going to implode and God will have lost. There is no way that God will lose. Closing Prayer God, you teach us over and over to believe, to have faith, to trust. And what you're telling us is that you are in charge, and you will make sure that the kingdom will come and that evil will be destroyed. Help us to be infused with that conviction, so that the shame and the fear of our sins will never overwhelm your power to save. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 29, 2024  === Gospel John 11:19-27 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Reflection Jesus had raised other people from the dead, but there was something about his raising of Lazarus that had a tremendous impact on people. He had been in the tomb three days. His body was decaying, and he came into the lives of these two women, Mary and Martha, and promised that he would do what he's always said he would do. And that is not allowed death to separate someone from us, from God, from themselves. It was powerful, and he wanted so much before he died to get people to believe in him. And there's something in this story when you follow it all the way through, that he really was deeply worried and concerned and perturbed that they yet did not believe. But Martha makes it clear. It's a process, they're coming to believe. Closing Prayer Father, you've made so many promises to us. And we want to believe them with all our heart. And we can say in our head we believe, we believe, and yet we still doubt. We still fear. Help us in this process. Give us patience, knowing that this is the human condition and we will always be growing and changing and becoming more and more like you. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 30, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 13:36-43 Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” Reflection The story of Adam and Eve can lead one to misunderstand something very essential. God has not created people in a way that they are evil. God's creation is goodness. Wholeness. Fullness. Light. Life. And what he wants his disciples to understand with this parable he said, I want you to know that evil exists in the world. It does not come from you, but it is there, planted there by some evil force. And the work that we have is to first and foremost understand its goal. The goal of evil is to separate us from God, himself and from others. When we feel that, when we see that, that's when we call upon the grace of God to say, please help me understand that I am made to be one with you, with myself and my brothers and sisters. Closing Prayer Father, shame is a big part of our lives, and when we do participate in something that is wrong, that goes against our nature, we tend to begin to feel that we are somehow evil or broken or unacceptable. Help us to get past that shame and enter into the kingdom where we can see and feel the beauty and the dignity of every human being. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 31, 2023 === Gospel Matthew 13:31-35 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. "The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches." He spoke to them another parable. "The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world. Reflection The power of a parable is that it's a thought that you are given, that you stay with. You pay attention to an image. And what you do when you see that and turn it over and over again, it slowly grows and grows. And if it's the truth, it becomes part of who you are. And then there's something so important, so big in your life. It's a image, I think, of freedom that the gospel holds within it, but it needs to be pondered. And when it's pondered, it is so effective. So stay with ideas that are small and turn them over and over and listen to what they have to teach. Closing Prayer Father, you speak to us daily, incident after incident, words after words. We see something. We hear something. Keep us alert and attentive to what these things are. Gifts from you to help us grow into the freedom of God's children. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Airdate: July 30, 2023 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 | Romans 8:28-30 | Matthew 13:44-52 Opening Prayer: Oh God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our rule and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure.  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.  Open our hearts, our minds, our will to your ways, to what you've promised, to what you have invited us into and want to work with us.  Bless us with hope, and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 25, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 20:20-28 The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Reflection This seems like such a human story. And in the eyes of the other disciples, it seems that James and John basically put their mother up to this. We really want a position of power and authority. And it just shows how far they are, in a sense, from the Kingdom of God.  But what is so essential in this reading is an understanding that the great shadow of anyone in a ministry position that gives them this sense of power is so dangerous that anyone in the role of ministry has to be checking themselves over and over again, to make sure they're not caught up in seeking an authority over people, but only looking for ways in which to serve them. Closing Prayer Father, we are human, and we never lose our humanity, and there's always a pull, a desire to be seen as someone important. Someone valuable. It gives us a sense of worth, a sense of value. Free us from that addiction to always looking for approval. And never let us use it in a way that overpowers the rights of others in favor of what our ego longs for. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 26, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 13:18-23 Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Reflection We learn something about human nature here, that the work of becoming who God calls us to be, to be authentic, to be who we really are, is not an easy thing. And It takes work and takes time. But it seems that if we believe it, if we believe that the things he's asking us to do or to understand, if we know that that's true, then there's going to be a capacity to do this work of receiving the truth in a way that will not be destroyed by our human weaknesses. Jesus said, it's the one who hears the word and understands it. That's the key. Closing Prayer Father, you reveal yourself as a God that is a Trinity. God the father, the creator. God the son, the Redeemer. Then you have this mysterious Holy Spirit, which is the one who is there with you to help you understand, to help you to see. That's the purpose of the Holy Spirit, to be that catalyst in us that opens our eyes to see what is true. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 24, 2025 === Gospel Matthew 13:10-17 The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them. "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Reflection A parable is a puzzle. A way of using a metaphor to explain something that is hidden. And found in this reading is the fact that grace, that mysterious power of God flowing through us, in us, is a gift to be able to interpret and understand the meaning of a parable. And so it takes a gift. The gift of being able to see really what is going on. To hear really what God is saying through Jesus. To see, to hear, to understand. That's the work of the Kingdom of God. And the more we engage in our questioning, or our longing for the answer, the closer the kingdom comes. Closing Prayer Father, curiosity and imagination are such important parts of our understanding who God is in us and through us. Give us a longing to know and to see and to understand. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Original Post Date: July 22, 2024 === Gospel John 20:1-2, 11-18 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." Mary 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 Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her. Reflection Many people look at this passage and saying that Jesus gave great dignity to women. And the disciples, I think especially Peter, was confused as to why Jesus would reveal that he rose from the dead to a woman. But what we see in this story also is something about the nature of what it means to be a believer. And Mary Magdalene had a deep, deep conviction in who Jesus was, and it was because she understood him. Because women have this side to them is so beautiful. They have empathy, they have care, they have a nurturing side. Men have it also, but it's much more developed in women. And so when you see Mary and Jesus together, you know that there was something about them that's so similar. She had a lot of love to give to him and to the others. That's why you see so many women engage more in spirituality. I give a lecture in as more women in the room, I go to church, there's more women in the room. And that's not a bad thing at all, it just means that men are still in the process, and we all are, of finding the balance. We're all masculine. We're all feminine, and we see that happening more and more today in our world. Closing Prayer Father, at the heart of everything you teach is a simple statement. Love. Love yourself. Love God. Love your neighbor. And love doesn't mean liking everyone, it doesn't mean being friends with everyone, it means you want the best for every person because you see them as God sees them. Beautiful, eternal creatures, sometimes damaged, sometimes not. But they have a dignity that God has given them that we must pay attention to. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices