Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

How many of us listen to the first reading and think to ourselves: just eat the pork. It seems like such a small thing to die for. God will understand. God will forgive. Just eat the pork.

It is fitting that we hear this story on the final Sunday before Election Day, because many of us have been bombarded by that sentiment for quite some time. Vote for Clinton. Vote for Trump. Just eat the pork. Ignore the lies, the corruption, and the sleaze. Better her than him; or him than her. Just eat the damn pork. Yes, it can seem like such a small thing to object to. One of them is going to win after all. So yes, perhaps it is better him than her; or her than him. And perhaps it is understandable if some of us give in and eat the pork. But at what cost? How much of one's soul is tainted by affirming a person who does not deserve that affirmation? Yes, of course our Parent will forgive, but some stains cannot be erased. So vote however you choose on Tuesday; just understand the consequences.

2 Maccabees 7:1-14; Psalms 17:1-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38

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

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Yes, we are clueless. The crowds with their cloaks and leafy branches. The disciples and their sense of when to be indignant and when to fall asleep. The naked young man running for his life. And Peter, so brave, until he knows the stakes. Even Jesus, very human Jesus, who believes himself forsaken, if only for a moment. Despite our prayers and rituals and lovely theologies, we understand neither the kingdom, nor the Brother who lights a path to its doorstep. We still expect truth and grace to conform to certain rules; not our Parent's rules mind you, but our own. We remain as blind as those who cried out for Barabbas or who pounded in the nails. Such is how we enter this holy week. But it is not how we have to exit it. The tomb is an invitation, not just a memory. Will you accept it?

Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalms 22:2-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 11:1-10, 14:1-15:47

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

The Trinity: such sublime truth. And such silly fools we are for trying to make sense out of it. Why do we insist on turning poetry into physics? Why do we let our brains rule our souls? That is the original, Original Sin. "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now." Will we ever be ready?

Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalms 8:4-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15