Sunday, March 27, 2016

The Resurrection of the Lord – The Mass of Easter Day

Today we are called to rise alongside our Brother. So let us step out of our tombs, open our eyes, and see, really see, perhaps for the first time in our lives. Let us see what is true. And let us see what are just the games we play down here "on earth." And once we have seen, let us seek.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

It has been a strange Lent for me. I have spent almost all of it recovering from minor maladies. I have been unfocused and unproductive, particularly where my calling is concerned. But perhaps our Parent knew better than I about what I needed during these forty days: a reminder that I serve their plan, not mine. And today, we are all reminded just what that plan looks like: messy, frightening, and gloriously wonderful. Yes, the cross lies in front of each one of us. The question you and I face as we enter this holy week is whether or not to embrace it, in all its chaos and beauty. So what say you?

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Fifth Sunday of Lent

"Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Do better next time. That is mercy. No hand wringing and reluctant pardons. No pretending that sin is not sin. Just the expectation that we are "straining forward to what lies ahead." Yes, our Parent does wonderful things for us. They allow us umpteen chances to do right by love and truth. So let us accept their generosity, and spend these dwindling Lenten days in joyful conversation with our hearts and souls about our many opportunities to do better.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Do we love the elder son as much as we love his prodigal brother? Do we acknowledge the legitimacy of the former's grievances? Are we comfortable with the righteousness of his anger? Do we truly listen to him? Or do we write him off as a stubborn fool, or worse, who's getting in the way of progress? It is easy to taste and see beauty in the prodigal's repentance and the father's forgiveness. But what about the elder one? What is his beauty? More importantly, do we care enough to seek it?

I keep coming back to such questions as I ponder our current presidential contest, most especially as I consider those fellow citizens who have gravitated to Donald Trump. Are they really troglodytes bent on ruining our happy endings? Or are they good people, who have done their best to live the American Dream, only to find themselves swamped by "new things" that never seem to stop coming? It is not a perfect analogy, but I just cannot stop hearing a bit of that elder child in their voices. For their wounds are real. And their anger is not as bizarre or incomprehensible as we want to believe.

And so I restate my initial question: do we love them? Do we love these elder brothers and sisters as much as those whose beauty is easier for us to taste and see? Yes, we have some choices to make, and not just for whom to vote. Will we leave our comfort zones and plead with our elder siblings to join us at table? Or are we content to leave them standing outside in the darkness?