28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parable which Jesus gives about a king inviting guests to the wedding reception of his son is ultimately a parable about eternal life and heaven (which our 1st reading from Isaiah speaks of as “God’s holy mountain”).  The king in the parable is God, his son is Jesus, and the wedding banquet is eternal salvation.  Some have ignored the invitation (God’s original Chosen People, the Israelites), so the king has sent out his servants (the Apostles) to invite anyone and everyone, the bad and the good alike (the Church), to this wedding reception.  One man, however, is thrown out for not wearing his wedding garment.  While it may seem harsh, the wedding garment symbolizes the garment we were given at baptism when we were asked to put on Christ.  We may say “yes” to God’s original invitation, but Jesus makes it clear that one “yes” is not enough.  After that, we also have to say “yes” to putting on Christ each and every day, to wearing the wedding garment we’ve been given.  And as we learn at the end of the parable, busy-ness, laziness, forgetfulness, whatever made that man not wear his garment, is not a good enough excuse when the final day comes.  What are you wearing today?

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel we have a story of change: one son says “no” to his dad’s request but then changes his mind and does it; the other says “yes” to his dad’s request but then changes his mind and doesn’t do it.  We all have the possibility to change, for better or for worse, every single day.  Every day is an opportunity to follow God’s voice again…or to choose to let that voice fade into the background.  A disciple is one who follows the voice of God each and every day; one who has an obedient and faithful heart – not just in word, but especially in action; not just on Sunday, but on Monday through Friday as well.  Which son are you now?  Which son will you decide to be tomorrow?  Change is always possible!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend our readings center on forgiveness, especially on how we will NOT be forgiven unless we first forgive others.  While Jesus in the Gospel responds to a question by Peter saying he must forgive seventy-seven times (which seems very magnanimous), Jesus also goes on to give a parable in which a man is punished and condemned because that man does not forgive others and treat them with mercy (which seems quite harsh to our ears).  Jesus ends the parable by saying our Heavenly Father will do the same to us if we don’t forgive others.  The Scriptures make it clear that in order for us to be forgiven, we must forgive others…ALL others.  So what does that have to do with politics?!  Listen to find out, and no matter where you stand on whatever issue, be prepared to feel the Lord challenging you to more!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Authority is a theme in our readings today – in both our first reading and Gospel “keys” are spoken of, symbolic of a position of authority. This time of Coronavirus has led to a lot of discussion about who has authority: who’s in charge of what, to what extent can a governor proclaim a state of emergency, what rulings and content are under the authority of state Supreme Courts , what authority does the CDC have, how much authority does a governor have to mandate action, who has the authority to enforce those mandates?  For as much as we like to talk about all these things and weigh in with our opinion, the truth is that we individually have almost no authority in changing overall societal response to Covid.  I think that we as humans (me included) really enjoy talking about how others should use their authority and what decisions they should be making, but we really don’t enjoy confronting how we are neglecting to use OUR God-given authority!  So what exactly is the authority that God has given to each of us?  Listen to find out!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus comes to the disciples today walking on the water – that’s a Big Moment, a miraculous moment, one that’s hard to miss, and it strengthens their faith.  Elijah is told in our 1st reading that the Lord will be passing by: there is a great wind, a tremendous earthquake, a blazing fire, and yet, Scripture says, God was in none of those seemingly big moments.  Rather, God was in a tiny, whispering voice – a Small Moment, so small it could be easily missed, but just as real as a Big Moment…and I would say even more important!  God’s ordinary language is in Small Moments, countless little whispers to us throughout the day.  He gives us a few privileged Big Moments precisely so that we will continue looking and listening for Him in the hundreds of Small Moments every day.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are two movements in the Christian life – one is a turning away from sin, the other is a stepping towards God.  The readings this weekend are more focused on the latter – stepping towards God.  The individuals in our parables find something of great value to them!  To get it, however, they have to sell everything else.  It’s a question of priorities and re-prioritizing things in their lives.  There are so many good things we can focus on in life, so many good actions and decisions we can pursue…but only one can be our top priority, and only one our second priority, and only one our third.  All of these good things can’t be our top priority, which means that much of the Christian life is deciding which priorities God is calling us to put first, and which ones (however good they may be) the Lord is asking us to put further down the list.  Following God isn’t just doing good things; following God is doing the good things God has planned for us to do!

As a second installment I invited Dan Tracy, a seminarian for our Diocese, to say a few words at the end of Mass.  He spent part of the summer here with us at St. Joseph and St. Ann parishes and will be heading back to seminary in the weeks ahead – he is a good man and will be greatly missed!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

With all of the polarization in the media and the emotionally driven statements part of me wonders what happened to true, honest, good ol’ arguments.  In this sermon, building off of my last sermon on judgment, I explore why I think our country has lost the art of argument (which we used to possess) and what steps we as individuals can take to bring that art back.  It won’t be easy, but bringing God back into the public sphere (which then brings respect for every life back into the public sphere) is part of the answer!

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Life requires decisions, decisions require judgments.  Tt follows, then, that we make judgments all day long.  Every decision we make involves judging and judgment of various factors (even indecision is making the choice not to decide, which is guided by our judgments).  So why does “judging” get such a bad wrap?  Why does God speak so directly against judging others in Scripture?  Can we judge or can’t we?  The answer is, “Yes, we can and should judge”…but there is a distinction to be made between two very different kinds of judgment – one that we must make, and one that we ought never to make.  The problem is, we often jump right from the first into the second!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God our Father is the Divine Physician, the greatest doctor of both body and spirit in this entire universe.  In Jesus Christ the Divine Surgeon has expertly removed the cancer of our sin, through the Scriptures the Divine Physical Therapist gives us our necessary exercises, and in the Holy Spirit, prayer and the Eucharist the Divine Nutritionist gives us the sustenance necessary to be strengthened for the task.  God’s love and mercy is that He provides all of this to us for free (who by no means deserve it and have no means of paying Him back).  But God’s love and mercy can’t do it for us – we have to work with these gifts to reap the healing benefits that are freely offered.  And in this treatment plan, we all, when we’re totally honest with ourselves, know what our next step is.  This week, let’ start with our own personal next step of that treatment plan.