All the world rejoices in the birthing of new life. The faith of followers of Jesus flows from such joy. It is the joy of birth and of rebirth, the Resurrection. The Resurrection is a topic in this Sunday’s Gospel. The Sadducees deny resurrection. Resurrection proposes that every birth and every rebirth flow from…
Jesus is only passing through Jericho. He doesn’t intend to stay. Zacchaeus only wants to get a look at the man everyone is making a fuss about. He doesn’t intend to have Jesus over for dinner. Beyond what either man intended though something new was created, a friendship. It came into being less from…
Prayer is the loving communion we all share with divine power. Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector in this Sunday’s Gospel to exemplify loving communion. The parable shows the difference between his own witness of prayer and that of hierarchs like the Pharisee. It was the difference between loving…
Pesky widows are a power to be reckoned with. I know. I had a pesky widow for a mother. Jesus’ choice of a pesky widow with a legal concern in this Sunday’s parable lauding prayer is intriguing. Jesus reverses the Old Testament reading lauding prayer. Moses, a man and a warrior, is praying for…
Gratitude is showing appreciation, for life in general or for a gift received. A leper shows gratitude in this Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus comes upon 10 lepers and tells them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” It seems a fool’s errand. Priests do not receive unclean people but are responsible for removing them, such as…
Faith is more than what various Old Testament authors would have us believe. For example the prophet Habakkuk writes during a time of trouble, “Why do you not intervene, Lord?” Habakkuk would have us believe faith is believing in a distant deity we want to have help us in a time of need. Jesus…
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.” Capitalism is defined as a…
Foresight is mental preparedness. It focuses disciples on the Community of God. Our foresight about the Community of God can be diverted by such things as wealth. In the Old Testament wealth tends to be seen from the point of view of those who have it. They believe it is a blessing from God.…
Some diversions from the Way of Peace Jesus witnesses are obvious, others more subtle. Worshipping a golden calf, today’s first reading, would fit the obvious category. Losing ourselves to a life of greed, abuse, or various superficialities would as well. What about subtle diversions? Diversions so slight we are unaware of having gone astray.…
Wisdom is an important virtue. It is the ability to make good decisions and the willingness to carry out those decisions. A wise person determines what is most good and the best way to achieve it. Such a person tends to be caring and practical and is thus concerned about safety but they are…