Deep Calls to Deep Ash Wednesday Homily
How long do your Lenten resolutions hold? Three weeks? Two? One? All the way until Holy Thursday? Yeah, me too. What So, why fast? Why give alms? Why pray in hiddenness? We fast to notice what drives us to give up on fasting. We fast to come to claim whatever urges us to break our […]
8th SUN ORD – Audio homily
This just in… As per request, here is the audio version of my homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Think of it as another preparation for the joyful season of Lent.
8th SUN ORD – “Mammon…”
Hmmmm, food for thought. So, what the heck is mammon? The Gr. μαμωνᾶς is a rendering of the status emphaticus מָמוֹנָא of the current Aram. noun מָמוֹן. The derivation is uncertain, though it most likely comes from אמן == “that in which one trusts” [Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 4, 388] In what […]
8th SUN ORD – [An Aside]
We’ve had such challenging gospels on Sundays since the Sermon on the Mount began. Same for the weekdays of the 8th Week – tough to deal with. I hope this aside clarifies where I’m going with the Sunday gospel from the 8th Week. And it’s a pretty darn good set-up for Lent. YIKES! Monday, February […]
8th SUN ORD – “Let’s talk serving…”
Yep, let’s talk “serving…” The Greek word below translates the Hebrew, abodah, “to serve… to worship.” We’ll see how it shows up in Exodus as the difference between serving / worshiping Pharaoh or God. Or in Deuteronomy as serving idols in the Promised Land. Or in the prophets… You get the picture. To serve; worship; bond […]
7th SUN ORD – “The other side…”
If I love my enemy, I will feel vulnerable, exposed, unprotected, and defenseless. If I step out of my fortress – and the fortress of my ideologically compatible group – I will be vulnerable, exposed, unprotected, and defenseless. It’s a helluva conundrum, wanting to be conformed to Christ. Scares the stuffing out of me. You?
7th SUN ORD – “Love your enemies???”
What do I get out of hating my enemies? Of obsessing about them and getting exercised about them? I believe I get – A focus for obstreperous energies & feelings Relief from personal fears and corporate anxiety Distraction from my smallness and impotency to change big things Blame some one(s) else for what’s actually bothering […]
7th SUN ORD 2017 – “You’re kidding me, right…?”
OK, buckle up for safety… or what passes for safety in your world. Here’s where the Sermon on the Mount serves as a great Rorschach (Ink Blot) test. Please note your reactions, as I will do. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your […]
6th SUN ORD – “If you are angry with…”
It’s important to be taught by anger in our day and time. There’s so much of it. Let me begin, then, with this proposition – every act of anger serves to protect one from basic vulnerability, to deny one’s status as creature of God by taking the place of God. Yes, I’m claiming that even righteous anger involves avoidance. Let’s […]
5th SUN ORD – audio version of homily
I can’t believe this either, but my homily went just over 9 minutes! Will miracles never cease? Peace to you today! –roc,sj
Deep Calls to Deep 