Pastoral Reflections Finding God In Ourselves by Msgr. Don Fischer

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

Original Post Date: July 23, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Reflection It's interesting how Jesus deals with an interruption. His mother, his brothers and sisters, those are relatives are all outside looking for him. We know that at times they all thought he was crazy. But what he does, he uses this interruption to make a point, and the point is that yes, family is a unity that we are, in a way obliged to take care of each other. But the real obligation at the heart of the mystery of who Jesus is and what he's teaching, is all he wants is for us to attune our will to God's will, to want what he wants for his people. To be who we need to be for one another, so that we can be awakened to this kingdom of God. It's a powerful, clear statement that the most essential relationship we have in our faith is with God. And when we want what God wants, we are forming the kingdom. Closing Prayer Father, the obligation that we have to one another is truly to be respectful and to honor someone's dignity. But really what we are called to do, more than just be friends with everyone or be friendly or nice, we're asked to manifest something that's powerful. You, God, live in each of us, and when we manifest you to another, that is the time that we are creating the Kingdom of God. Help us to be engaged in that essential work, seeing the world as God sees it, wanting it to be as God created it. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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