Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Isaiah 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-80

"Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God." John was a true servant of our Creator; no more, no less. His work was never about ego, numbers, effectiveness, or any of the other attributes we use to measure lives and ministries today. He simply spoke Truth and did what God asked, no matter the cost. There is beauty and grace in such a life. We may view him as just the opening act for someone bigger, but I doubt Jesus saw him that way. I am quite certain he embraced him as a brother prophet, as kin in the purest sense. Brother John, help us to be as real as you were.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 4:26-34

What interests me most about this selection are not the parables themselves, but the commentary at the end. "Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private." Why did the bishops choose to include this passage in the reading? It is not integral to understanding either of the preceding parables, and they are more than willing to slice and dice other readings to remove extraneous lines. So what is their message? Are we the clueless crowds forever scratching our heads, or the slightly less clueless disciples for whom there is hope? And who exactly is playing the role of Jesus, privately explaining the Truth to the chosen few?

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-26

Amen, I say to you, God has grown weary of our groveling and sniveling. As I have asked before, do we really think that the One who created us is the kind of person who demands a blood sacrifice as the price for forgiveness? Such thoughts cheapen the true sacrifice of our Brother, and allow us to hide from the sacrifice he demands of us as his siblings.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

The Trinity teaches us that God is about relationship. The problem is that corporate religion actually believes it can dissect that relationship and describe its precise nature. God cannot be quantified. Three equals one is a simply beautiful paradox, not a horrifically complicated math problem.

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-11; John 20:19-23

The Church has a love/hate relationship with divine revelation. Revelation gave birth to the Church, but it must be controlled for the Church to maintain its power and influence. One problem. Does the Holy Spirit seem like someone who can be controlled? Perhaps they'd be more successful herding cats, but you have to respect the effort. Who else would be arrogant enough to think that they can control whom God speaks to? More importantly, if the Holy Spirit came to the Church at Pentecost, why would she ever leave? Would she really say "that's good enough" after inspiring the apostles and their students? Does it really make sense that public revelation ended with the books of the New Testament? I say that revelation is ongoing and never ending. Jesus did not culminate the time of revelation, he blew the doors wide open. And we desperately need to walk on through, because we still don't get it. Jesus offered us the chance to forgive the sins of our siblings, but we choose to retain them instead. It would be absurdly funny, if it wasn't so damn pathetic.

Galatians 5:16-25

The Spirit and the flesh "are opposed to each other." Is that what the Incarnation teaches us? This example is why we still need public revelation. Prior revelation is never perfect or complete, because we never truly get it. Our love is limited, God's is not. He always has more to teach us. Jesus and his apostles built upon the revelation of the Hebrew Scriptures. I have been given a revelation that builds upon the Christian Scriptures. And someone will come after me to build upon all of it. This is the way God works. She always has something to say. It may be inconvenient for our corporate masters, but God does not shut up just because it is inconvenient to the power men. We all need to remember who's really in charge around here, and it's not the babbling monkeys.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20

It is all about power today. On the face of it, proof of Jesus' power. Only a true king could be seated "at the right hand of God." But more importantly, these words serve to justify the power claims of churches, clerics, and believers alike. They are simply using the authority given them by the Lord of All, so that the wrong people cannot crash the party. And as the right people exercise their divine authority and utilize their holy power, they oh so conveniently forget that other little command our Brother gave us: "Love one another." Who needs love when you can have power instead?

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 10:25-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

"God is love." What more is there to understand than this? And yet we do not understand, because we approach this truth logically and rationally. We categorize, define, and judge worthiness of love. We embrace countless institutions that exist to proclaim whom God loves, and more importantly whom God does not love. Our love has limits. "God shows no partiality." We are all his Chosen People, as we are each her true child. All they ask of us is to love our siblings.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

John 15:1-8

What does it mean to "remain in" Jesus? Is it about him, or the Parent he reveals? If it is about him, then we can justify limiting our love to fellow believers. If it is about our Parent, then we must love all of their children. To "remain in" Jesus is about bearing fruit, not belief or obedience. Who does the fruit belong to: the vine or the grower?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:8-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18

"There will be one flock, one shepherd." Jesus came for all, not just for many. Perhaps it is natural that we desire to make his love more exclusive. It makes us more special. But did Jesus make us God's children, or did he reveal a Parent who was ours all along? We were created to be one people. We are one people. It is time we started acting like it.

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 3:13-19; 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48

Jesus: The Ultimate Get Out of Jail Free Card! Seriously, are we really this stupid? Do we honestly believe in a God who would demand a blood sacrifice in order to forgive us? Unfortunately, too many of us do, because that is easier than having to truly repent.