Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Low-down fools

Graced with front-row seats

Wildflowers

Zep 2:3; 3:12-13 / 1 Cor 1:26-31 / Mt 5:1-12a

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

History

Has no sides to play

Only fruit

Sir 27:4-7 / 1 Cor 15:54-58 / Lk 6:39-45

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Tell me, mighty Lord
What must I do to please you?
Just breathe, dearest one

Is 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Mt 3:13-17

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Come and celebrate!
Boundless generosity
For we wayward fools.

Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 / 1 Tm 1:12-17 / Lk 15:1-32

Tuesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Their times and seasons
Are most wondrous to behold.
Can you not see them?

1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11 / Lk 4:31-37

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Such glorious fruit
From orchards we did not plant.
Fat and happy souls!

Jos 24:1-13 / Mt 19:3-12

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wealth. Security.
Vanity, sweet vanity!
Grace is all you need.

Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23 / Col 3:1-5, 9-11 / Lk 12:13-21

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Beauty, sorrow, hope,
And love. We receive so much,
But refuse to find.

Gn 18:20-32; Col 2:12-14; Lk 11:1-13

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cry out with delight.
For the kingdom is at hand.
Do you not see it?

Is 66:10-14c; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10:1-12, 17-20

Easter Sunday – The Resurrection of the Lord

The tomb is open and here is your hope: "Seek what is above."

Many will call this escapism. They find hope in the power of smart people and smart ideas. They place their faith in utopian promises of transforming our world into something better, something beautiful. But such dreams, noble as they might be, always end in death and despair. For they are human schemes, and such things always come with the human baggage of greed, arrogance, and brutality.

Which is why our Parent asks us to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." This is not a call to deny the reality of the culture of death, but an invitation to see that reality for what it truly is. Things we perceive as ugly or futile are actually steps in a grand plan that might take decades or centuries to come to fruition. God always produces what they desire, which is why love always wins.

Yes, accepting this invitation brings great challenges, but not an impossible task. And once you gaze through your Parent's eyes, you will never want to look away. You will come to know that your purpose is not to fix the world, but to weave your small piece in the grand tapestry of life. In short, you will find something wonderful, something that makes every day worthy of rejoicing and being glad.

So once more, here is your hope: "Seek what is above." Will you take it?

Acts 10:34-43; Psalms 118:1-24; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1-9

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Master! Have pity on us!" One way or another, we Americans are soon to get the president we dearly deserve. Pride. Greed. Envy. Anger. Lust. Gluttony. Sloth. We created a culture that revels in each of the seven deadly sins. And in just about a month, we shall reap what we have sown. We are unclean: our nation, our leaders, ourselves. Will we wallow in that muck; gleefully, mournfully, apathetically? Or will we be bold enough to reject false deities and to cry out to our Parent for healing? And if cleansing comes, can we remain faithful, or must we return to the delusion of the saving power of politics? Yes, let us "sing to the LORD a new song", for we are in desperate need of their "wondrous deeds".

2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalms 98:1-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I have no pretty words for you tonight, just "evidence of things not seen." I pray it is enough.

Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalms 33:1-22; Hebrews 11:1-19; Luke 12:32-48

Third Sunday of Easter

What shall we be fed? And whom do we trust to feed us? Those seem like questions worth pondering, especially in a presidential election year. It is easy to get drawn into the drama of human intrigue. And it is even easier to forget that the realm we inhabit is much larger than the piece of dirt upon which we walk. Yes, we must pay attention to practical things. But we must also remember that no politician or party can ever rescue us in a way that truly matters. So discern well for whom you will vote. And then discern even more vigorously on whom you will follow and whom you will obey.

Acts 5:27-41; Psalms 30:2-13; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Violence. Disease. Poverty. Natural Disasters. We have good reason to be anxious and afraid. And it is understandable that we seek comfort in practical solutions, in acts of mercy and social justice. But such "solutions" bring only fleeting peace, for the comfort we need cannot be produced, not even with rituals of water and oil. No, we need the Spirit and the fire she brings. A fire that burns into our hearts, consuming all the lies we tell ourselves about life. A fire that opens our eyes to something wonderful, something we previously might have mistaken for trash. A fire that showers us with sparks every day of our lives, if only we are willing to see. And if we do, we shall know comfort beyond measure, for we shall know hope. So let us bless the Spirit, dear souls, for she is great indeed!

Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalms 104:1-30; Titus 2:11-3:7; Luke 3:15-22

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Today was the grand finale of Ordinary Time, a celebration of the Creator King of the ordinary and the mundane. And perhaps the greatest meditation on the nature of their universe was given by Thornton Wilder, through the character of Emily Webb, in the final act of his play "Our Town":

I didn't realize. So all that was going on and we never noticed. Take me back—up the hill—to my grave. But first: Wait! One more look. Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners … Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking … and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths … and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.

Grace envelops us, every routine moment of our lives. We so rarely notice, however, because we are enthralled by "dominion, glory, and kingship." The world sucks us in and we swallow its delusions. We fear being small and ordinary. But if we are willing to listen to our Parent, we can rise above ignorance and find our way to a realm where there is no such thing as small or ordinary.

Daniel 7:13-14; Psalms 93:1-5; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

How often do we fail to taste and see our Parent's goodness because we expect grace to be bigger or bolder? Bread and water for a weary prophet. The neighbor kid as incarnation. A simple cross. We do not think of God as ordinary, and that is a shame. For such thinking puts the Divine in a box, a pretty one perhaps but a box nonetheless, only to be experienced on special occasions. It leaves us blindly stumbling through life oblivious to the grace surrounding us, oblivious to the grace within us. So taste and see the goodness of your Lord. It is abundant. It is everywhere. And it is enough.

1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalms 34:2-9; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 21:33-43

How could the tenants in today's Gospel behave so atrociously? Did they think that the owner would let them get away with such mayhem? Did they somehow believe that they were irreplaceable? And are we really any different? Generation upon generation, we have taken the fruit of this planet to fulfill our desires, with little regard for the Landlord's intentions. We ignore sign after sign that we are doing evil to our family and to ourselves. Even those who see the truth fall prey to our anthropocentric lies; falsely believing that it is the vineyard that is in mortal danger. No, it is we the tenants who face that wretched death. And there is no shortage of siblings waiting in the wings to replace us. Our family is not limited to one minor species of talking monkeys. Nor are we the favorite child, as depicted in the fantasies of corporate religion. Our Parent will happily lease this kingdom and its bounty to another people, unless we wake up and see that we are not the artists of this world, free to use it however we might will, but merely the audience for a grand master and their most magnificent work.