Deep Calls to Deep 3rd SUN LENT – Thirsty people…
We are thirsty people. Where do we go to slake our thirst? John’s gospel highlights this conundrum by using two different Greek words for “well.” …So [Jesus] came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well [pēgē – ‘fountain’] was there, and […]
2nd SUN LENT – The only fear is…
One brief comment about fear – at the sound of the voice from the heavens, the disciples were overcome by fear; Jesus said, “Get up and be not afraid.” What kind of fear…? To fear, be afraid = akouo Matthew 17:6f When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and […]
2nd SUN LENT – Part Deux of Homily
On the mountain, Peter spoke for the disciples, offering to build 3 booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. What’s up with that??? This reply seems to come from the same place in Peter as his reply to Jesus previously, “God forbid that you should suffer & die!” Peter and the others want to domesticate Jesus and God […]
2nd SUN LENT – back to the same mountain?
Jesus was tempted on a high mountain. He was transfigured on a high mountain. Hmmm. Matthew 17:1 (NRSV) — 1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. Matthew 4:8 (NRSV) — 8 Again, the devil took him to a […]
1st SUN LENT – Homily #2 / audio
The Third Temptation – Our daydreams about our/my greatness, to control for every outcome, can help us be situated with Christ in Lent. So, “How did you Marquette University fans prepare for the game against Creighton, to prepare against loss?” Should I wear my lucky Creighton sweatshirt or not? I was seeking a way of managing […]
1st SUN LENT – “Jesus fasted…”
It’s my sense that the temptations/tests Jesus faced called into question his fidelity in the midst of the deepest hungers of the human heart he experienced from fasting. He did not shield himself from those very hungers that drive us to fill ourselves. Rather, he embraced our hungers without acting out. It seems to me, then, that […]
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.
Deep Calls to Deep 