Deep Calls to Deep 1st SUN LENT – Basic Temptation
Jesus hungered in the wilderness. He was tempted there and in that state – ‘make stone bread’. Actually, the Greek says, “Say this stone is bread.” He wasn’t tempted to exercise divine power or to perform magic. He faced the fundamental temptation we all face: Make something be what it isn’t. A stone isn’t […]
1st SUN LENT – A Time of Testing…
The Greek, peirazo, can be translated “to tempt” or “to test.” There are lots of reasons to render it “to test.” In which category would you put Jesus’ temptation/testing? Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. God tested Abraham. Genesis 22:1f After these […]
Kind Post Friday
Fr. John Staudenmaier, SJ of the University Detroit-Mercy sends out poetry to friends and family daily. Here is the one he sent today – about kindness tested by the kind of suffering that connects self with God and others. He always suggests we read the poem aloud and deliberately. (I added the line breaks to […]
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 […]
Deep Calls to Deep 