A Tale of a Fig!

Dear Friends,  Soon it will be April and I will carefully unwrap my fig trees in the side yard. A gift from Katelyn’s grandfather, Louis, and all the way from Italy, they are a treasure, but they take a lot of work! Every fall I harvest the last figs, say a prayer, and then wrap … Read more

God’s Promise Bathed in Light!

Dear Friends, So, what is going on with Abraham and God in today’s first reading? Heifers and she-goats and rams slaughtered, split in two and placed “each half opposite the other” on the ground? What gives? While this scene seems strange to us, in Abraham’s day it was the formal ritual used when two parties were … Read more

Can We Love Like Jesus?

So, are you like Jesus? Am I? How much? How little? Jesus says it clearly: “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.”  So, if we are, in fact, disciples of Jesus, we become imitators of Jesus; we become just like our teacher. It really is … Read more

Woe to Us?

Are you on the mark? Is your life headed in the right direction? Or are you missing the point? Is your life headed nowhere, or worse yet, in the wrong direction? In other words, are you among the “blessed,” or are you among the “woe to yous”? In today’s gospel we hear Luke’s version of … Read more

We ARE to Enjoy God!

After visiting Jesus, the magi “departed for their country by another way.” It is no coincidence that at the time Matthew wrote these words in his gospel story, those who chose to be disciples of Jesus were called “followers of the way.”  They weren’t yet called Christians; they had no list of dogmas and doctrines to … Read more

God’s Time is Always Impeccable. 

It’s almost time. Christmas will soon be here and many of us will struggle. Some of us have anticipatory grief, others are dealing with actual or delayed grief, some are simply depressed or at least ‘blue’. Some folks are lonely or missing family or just battle with the amount of joy over the holiday season. … Read more

Are You a Disciple of Jesus Christ?  

‘Well, of course I am’, many of us would respond. I’m baptized. I go to church. I give in the collection. I try not to sin.   That’s all good. (And thank you for your contribution!)   But the question remains: Am I a disciple of Jesus? A student, a learner, a follower? You see, at the end of the gospel passage … Read more

Tattoos on the Heart.

Every time the Sunday Scriptures deal with the topic of marriage, I automatically recall one of my favorite passages from Greg Boyle’s book Tattoos on the Heart. Greg writes about a trip he took with his mother to the hospital to visit his dad. Greg’s mom has brought along a pillow in a flowery case for … Read more

All I Want is Peace.

I was asked the other day how I was doing. I told my therapist, “All is want is peace.” Then, I began to cry.  It isn’t easy being a pastor today. It certainly isn’t made an easier by the concerns over the lasting impact of COVID and returning to whatever normal used to be after … Read more

Pure Love.

I’m sitting here in my apartment in Assisi reading the Scriptures for this coming Sunday. As I read James explaining that all our jealousies and selfish ambitions and conflicts and wars come from our out-of-order passions. We all know that’s true. And election season makes it abundantly clear. Crazed unruly passions seem to dominate. It’s … Read more

Take Up Your Cross. Oh oh…

Uh oh. In today’s gospel, Jesus says his followers must “Take up their cross.” These words always make me nervous—not because they are challenging but because of how often they have been misused to guide people into ways of thinking and acting that have nothing to do with the message of Jesus. Telling someone their cancer is … Read more

Ephphatha!

Now there’s a word. It’s the Greek word Jesus uses in Mark’s gospel when healing the deaf man. It means be opened! Jesus heals the deaf man. He liberates him from his impediment so that he can hear clearly and so act according to what he hears. In doing so, Jesus shows what God desires for … Read more

The Deeper Stuff!

So, what are the “things that come out from within you”? That’s what Jesus asks this week in Mark’s gospel. As the religious leaders challenge Jesus and his followers for not following the rules, Jesus challenges the self-proclaimed “religious” folk to look within. Following the rules can be ok, Jesus teaches, but it can also … Read more