Deep Calls to Deep 1st SUN LENT – Homily #1 audio
Jesus fasted. He was hungry. Implications? My first homily explored what I wrote about the last couple days. Perhaps you will find it helpful for your Lent. –roc,sj
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 […]
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 […]
5th SUN ORD – “Light in the House”
So far we’ve seen that foolish salt needs to be thrown out (ballo). And right eyes, right hands, stumbling feet (all that leads to sin), and unfruitful trees also need to be thrown out. Jesus’ continuing instruction (between chapters 5 & 7 and throughout) will teach us about both what unhealthy eyes look like and what healthy eyes look like. [Literalists, beware!] […]
5th SUN ORD – “One-Eyed Christians???”
The brief selection from Sunday’s gospel creates a web of relationships within the gospel of Matthew itself and ties together significant bits from the Greek Old Testament. The verb, ballo, “to throw out,” connects to Jesus other teaching about discerning action: Jesus teaches us to take which causes us to sin/be unfruitful/stumble/become foolish and throw it out. So, […]
Roc Homily – Sermon on the Mount 3
Jim Flaherty, SJ, pastor at the Church of the Gesu, in collaboration with the liturgy team, confirmed our notion that it was truly right and just to show the following video from James Martin, SJ, Editor at Large, America Media. So following the conclusion of my 7 minute (!) homily, here it is. We saw this […]
Roc Homily (d) – 3rd SUN Ord Time (A) 2017
I concluded my homily last Sunday with this: “I now fully support the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I believe that all in this country should receive the same insurance as Senators and members of the House of Representatives. So, take away the first and bring on the second.” Here is the audio version […]
Roc Homily (c) – “Silence” and the Call of the Disciples…
Last night, I viewed the movie, “Silence.” It touched me in many ways and led me to reflect on the Call of the Disciples in last Sunday’s gospel. First, a bit of exegesis on the call. Matthew 4:15f “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee […]
Roc Homily (b) – 3rd Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 2017
The significance of the sea in Matthew. A lot happens by the sea, on the sea, or in the sea in Matthew’s gospel. Sunday’s gospel referred to the sea three times. Unusual, eh? Two main themes stand out: Both Matthew and the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, present the sea as the symbol of everything that is opposed to […]
Deep Calls to Deep 