Deep Calls to Deep How’s Lent been – on a scale of 1-10?
Are we where yet? The end of the inconvenience of Lent? End of winter? End of suffering? Or, beginning of Spring? Beginning of a new life? Beginning of joy? Would you please answer the following. I plan to reflect on my own Lenten resolutions and how I did with them and why next week. Your responses would […]
5th SUN LENT – 2nd Homily (audio)
“One must die so we do not perish…” Ca’aiphas did not say, “so we live” – he wanted to maintain his life in opposition to Jesus. Hard to say, but isn’t this our plight? Fearing to live fully, we protect ourselves from threats to our sovereignty & security. Sad to say, don’t we get defensively […]
5th SUN LENT – Hurt people hurt people…
The “other part of the story” that came to light for me about the raising of Lazarus (while studying to preach) was opened up by the insightful commentary on the gospel of John, “Life Abounding,” by Brendan Byrne, SJ. It’s about the Pharisees. The gospel on Sunday ended with verse 45, which in fact, is […]
5th SUN LENT – “What would you say to Jesus…?”
This came up at a Saturday lunch conversation. “What would you say to Jesus if you were raised from the dead after four days?” I asked that this morning at our celebration of the 5th Sunday of Lent. I heard a chorus of “thank you!” That’s sweet. However, think about it… It’s now four days since you […]
True Self, False Self, Soul????
As I learned from Ernest Becker’s review of 19th century psychology (Denial of Death, chapter 9), scientists opted for the term “self” to mean one’s history of neuroses going back to childhood that could be studied and understood as a path to happiness. 19th century science opposed religion pretty much at every point. Becker names this as […]
4th SUN LENT – Tug-o’-war with God
What are we to do about the tug-o’-war we play with God? Deny it? Accept it grudgingly? Red badge of courage? Name it for what it is? God pulls me toward living completely in trust and surrender. I pull God toward my will to make myself great. Yep. As best I can discern, I grew up […]
4th SUN LENT – Lenten Blindness / Homily Audio
Another reflection about flagging Lenten resolutions: Why do we give up on Lent? What happens when you commit to fast, give alms, or pray? What does this have to do with being blind – as seen in our gospel. My resolution: give away 8 things a week for a year. Tons of anxiety has […]
4th SUN LENT – Key to dealing with the gospel…
So, the blind man began to see. The Pharisees blindness was revealed and affirmed. Hmmm. It’s a story of the development of a disciple who relied on his experience and the resistance of the Pharisees that became entrenched. What is going on here? Seems to me that what we had heard earlier in John […]
4th SUN LENT – “How do I get there from here?”
“As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” (John 9:1ff) Jesus simply acted. […]
Deep Calls to Deep 