-
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…
-
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, ……
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Politically Correct
When members of the supremacist class, Pharisees, invite Jesus to a meal they are not being politically correct. Being politically correct is supremacists correctly honoring members of their own political class. Why then do the Pharisees bestow the honor of sharing a meal with them upon a dishonorable commoner? The invitation is actually meant…
-
The Narrow Gate
A person burdened with the baggage of salvation poses a question to Jesus, “Will only a few people be saved?” Jesus is free of the salvation burden. It forces on people a false identity as sinners who must be saved from their condition. Jesus knows each person’s saintliness, their Godliness. He knows all of…
-
Reform or Transform?
The phrase ‘baptism by fire’ is something of an oxymoron and has a connection to Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel. Baptism signifies a refreshing and transforming relationship symbolized by a flow of water. That such a relationship starts with a blaze of fire signifies something much more radical. Jesus uses both meanings to describe…
-
Delightful Service
Service for its own sake can be a delight. Doing something for others who benefit from the service we provide can be the foundation of a truly meaningful life. When Jesus speaks to a crowd about service in this Sunday’s Gospel, delight and meaning may not come to their minds. It is not for…