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The Graveyard Shift
This Sunday’s readings are each marked by grave diggers. In the Old Testament, the Maccabees family is having their grave dug by foreign rulers. The rulers reject their way of life and will kill them for it; “seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king.” In…
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Growing in Stature
Among the people, Jesus is growing in stature. He is experienced as a man of integrity, honest and caring. When word spreads through Jericho that he “intends to pass through the town,” a particular man in it, Zacchaeus, “seeks to see who Jesus is.” Zacchaeus is a tax collector. Tax collectors are used by…
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To Be Unlike and Like
Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee, “convinced of his own righteousness who despised everyone else.” He is a man who believes he is unlike other commoners. He is supreme, without sin. The Pharisee is helping maintain an entire system of supremacists who force lesser men to be obedient to them. The system includes…
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The Life-Blood of Prayer
Jesus is here to change the world. Are we? Do we think he or we should be up to something less? Change is powered by prayer. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a widow who will not be wearied by an unjust judge. Be persistent, “pray always.” we can be in communion with…
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Healing Touch
In this Sunday’s Gospel we meet ten human beings who have no place in the family of life; they are out of touch, physically. They are kept separate from their human family; isolated, lonely. They bear a skin disease and are judged sinners. Their bodies bear marks that have them in despair over ever…
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Have We Done What We Were Obliged To Do?
Faith is generally understood as believing in a Supreme Being. Often attached to that belief is another belief, that because of our faith, that Supreme Being will do something for us. The prophet Habakkuk, in this Sunday’s first reading, has such faith and believes his Lord will do something for him, “O Lord, ……
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Life in Christ, Doctrines in Paul
Jesus tells a heartbreaking parable this Sunday. In part, it is about a wretchedly poor man. His misery is painstaking, “Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.” More heartbreaking is the part about a wretchedly rich man. His misery is so painstaking he is unaware that “lying at his door was a…
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Privatizing Wealth: Old and New
Jesus tells a parable this Sunday about the careful use of money and resources. The parable begins with a wealthy landowner who will be firing his manager because he is wasteful. The manager obviously wants a comfortable next position. He decides to secure it by starting to make careful use of money and resources…
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Depravity
Both Moses in the first reading and Paul in the second reading believe humans are “depraved,” meaning corrupt, twisted. Both men applied their belief to people who disobeyed them; judging them sinners who, according to them, deserved to be punished. Both men’s belief in humanity’s depravity and necessary punishment is deeply influential and controls…
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Human Agency
Jesus’ Gospel message this Sunday concerns human agency. Human agency is the power to act. It is the power to do so wisely and conscientiously, in any given environment. Jesus tells short parables to explain agency. He explains the need to separate from the patriarchal family, to have planned foresight, and to be ready…