Sunday, August 4

Inheritance

​An inheritance is wealth or possessions that come to us when a family member dies. That person passes on his or her wealth out of love and care for those he or she leaves behind. The readings for today reflect on inheritance in terms of the nature of our possessions and our attitude toward them. They raise questions about the nature of our possessions.

Sunday, July 28

Persistence

​All of us ask for things on a daily basis. Our asks may be small, or they may be large. They may be a one-time request or a constant stream of supplication for something. How often do we get what we want? Well, It depends on the ask. My kids often ask for things that, as a parent, I know are not good for them. What’s difficult is when they persist in a request for something you don’t want them to have. Usually, out of love, my wife and I try to find a way to show them we have heard their request and explain why the answer may not be to grant it.

Sunday, July 21

Hospitality

​Today’s readings focus on the theme of hospitality. In the first reading, Abraham and Sarah’s attention to being hospitable to their guests turns into the great fortune of a child for them, moving them beyond their barren state, into a fulfillment of God’s promise of many descendants. It is nothing less than a miracle, which is granted because of the hospitality they lavish on three strangers who, Abraham later realizes are nothing less than the presence of “the Lord.”

Sunday, July 14

Compassion

​In today’s Gospel reading from Luke we hear Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. It is a familiar story for sure, but one that is deserving of our reflection, despite that familiarity. It starts with a lawyer asking Jesus about the law. He says, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk. 10: 25). Jesus turns the question back on him asking, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” (10: 26). After Jesus affirms the lawyer’s correct response of love of God and neighbor, the lawyer presses Jesus and asks, “And who is my neighbor?”

Sunday, July 7

(In)Dependence

Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a wonderful image of God as a mother who cares for her child. It is an image of God in intimate relationship with us, the child. Isaiah describes the relationship this way, “As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (66: 12&13). We are invited into such a relationship as he states, “Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!” (66: 11). It is a beautiful maternal image of God and our dependence on God’s nurturing care for us.

Sunday, June 30

Freedom

As I write this reflection, I am haunted by the image of the young man and his 23 month old daughter who died trying to cross the Rio Grande. The image of them face down in the water troubles me and breaks my heart. Their journey was inspired by the hope of fleeing violence, poverty and corruption in their country. I imagine any of us would do the same for the safety and wellbeing of our kids. For this man, the prospect of crossing the Rio Grande was one that required turning his back on everything he knew and those he loved for the possibility of freedom.

Sunday, June 23

Remembrance

​One of the many gifts we have as humans is our gift of memory. Having the ability to remember, aspects, details and moments of our lives builds context and meaning for our journey through life. When someone we love dies, it is our remembrances of who they were and sharing stories about that person that sustain us and helps us to stay connected to them and the meaning they had for us.

Sunday, June 16

Ordinary

​Now that we are past Pentecost Sunday, we return to Ordinary Time. Ordinary. What does it mean to be ordinary? The word congers up the image of common things or daily routines; things that we regularly, habitually use or do, but don’t think much about. Our routines, ordinary as they are, are vehicles for us to get through the days and weeks of our lives. They give structure to our days and help us move through them.

Sunday, June 9

Tongues

​In our tech driven world with twitter feeds and text messages, our language has begun to change and evolve over time out of a necessity to create an economy of characters. So now we have the expressions “Lol” (laugh out loud) and “Idk” (I don’t know) as well as many others. It is certainly a particular “tongue” or “language,” such that if you are not familiar with those abbreviations, you will not understand, the content’s meaning. Communication is an important part of life. Companies spend millions of dollars to communicate why you need to buy their products. Newspapers try to communicate what is going on in our world. We use our electronic devices to communicate what we think and how we feel about what is going on in our world.

Sunday, June 2

Absence

In the last segment of the Star Wars Saga, entitled “The Last Jedi” we saw both the return and departure of Luke Skywalker. He is found on an island and then ultimately dies in a last heroic stand against the power of the dark side. But as we know from past Star Wars segments, those Jedi’s who die linger on. In fact the trailer for the upcoming episode, “The Rise of Skywalker,” teases us with the voice of Skywalker that says, “no one is really gone.” It is an interesting statement which has resonance for us as Christians.