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Presenting Ourselves Alive
Luke begins his writing of the Acts of the Apostles by referring to his writing of the Gospel, “In the first book, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught… He then presented himself alive to the disciples… after he had suffered” and died. What is our commitment to receiving with joy that…
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An Invitation to Peace
Jesus says to the disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Pietro di Morone (1209-1296), whose feast day was recently celebrated, was a peaceful monk who had both retreated…
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Making Things New
Sunday’s readings coalesce around the theme of making things new. Acts of the Apostles describes early disciples being missionaries, bringing Jesus’ new message to Gentiles. The Book of Revelation describes a new heaven and a new earth. In the Gospel Jesus is letting disciples know he is going to be killed. How will they…
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The Dreams and Prayers of Mothers
Jesus said: ‘My children hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.’ “Children, I come back today To tell you a story of the long dark way That I had to climb, that I had to know In order that the race…
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Threatening Circumstances
When last with Jesus, Peter was being threatened by rulers and their soldiers. Fearing they might arrest him along with Jesus, Peter denied knowing Jesus, three times. Seeing Jesus after his resurrection, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?,” three times. Peter is true to his love of Jesus which means, like Jesus, he…
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The Power of Peacemaking
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the rulers, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.” “Thomas, called…
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Removing the Stone from the Tomb
“On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.” Jesus is every human being who challenged the system. The system is Militarism. It is the world’s Religion. It grooms us as subordinates…
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Jesus’ Murder
There is a gross violence done by institutional christianity’s interpretation of Jesus’ torture and death. It is not only normalized; it is sanctified. The torture and violence done to Jesus on the cross is perversely claimed as saving us. Nothing about anyone being tortured saves us. Nothing about a cross saves us. Nothing about…
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Dear Spirit, Enlighten Us
Dear Spirit, Enlighten us like you helped Jesus enlighten his listeners. We have gotten caught up in catching others in their worst moments. Why did we decide to become a Pharisee? When did we decide to be so anxious about sin that we caught a woman in the very act of committing adultery? We…
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Dear Spirit, Unite Us
Dear Spirit, Unite us like you united the father and son who were prodigal in their love for one another. Jesus tells the story of their love because the Pharisees are complaining, “This man welcomes sinners.” When Jesus shares communion with outcasts – as he tells of the prodigals son’s father sharing communion with…