Love

  • I Live and You Will Live – in Love

    Jesus is speaking to disciples who have witnessed his loving Way. He tells them “I will ask Abba” to “give you” the Spirit, an “Advocate to be with you always.” “I will not leave you orphans… I live and you will live.” In Acts, the disciple Philip keeps Jesus’ loving Spirit alive in an…

  • On Love For the Poor

    Jesus has a message of love for all people whom ‘Godly’ rulers make poor, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light…

  • Thoughts and Prayers for Our Beloved

    “After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved.” A Spirit in the form…

  • Soul Food

    Sunday’s readings address souls. The Book of Wisdom talks of “the souls” who suffer because “God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them.” Paul’s Letter to the Romans talks of all souls as suffering “in slavery to sin”…

  • Look Them in the Eye

    Jesus tells a parable about two men in the temple. One is a Pharisee who “spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector.’” But the tax collector stood off at a distance…

  • You Fool, Tech Bro

    “Jesus told the crowd a parable. ‘There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.’ ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods.’” “But God said to him, ‘You fool.” Jesus asks us to…

  • The ICE Agents Who Fell Victim to Robbers

    “On a journey to Jericho, a man fell victim to robbers. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan…

  • Fathers and Sons

    Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. What are the hopes and dreams of every father for his son? Perhaps it is that he too should know the…

  • 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…

  • Love in a Time of Hate

    Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies.” Jesus calls anyone and everyone to join him in the Way of Love. It is an easy way when we are among family and friends. Thus, as Jesus says, “if you love those who love you, what credit is that…