Category: Homilies
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Total, Immediate, Fearless, Willing
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sometime in late spring 16 years ago, I took a phone call from the chair of the Priest Personnel Committee. I was told the bishop was sending me as pastor to St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesboro. My current pastoral assignment had been very stressful at that time. I […]
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Self-Disclosure or T.M.I.
Holy Trinity In every human relationship, some degree of self-disclosure is both a natural invitation to draw the other closer and become more familiar and a consequence of that trust and vulnerability that it creates. When we meet another person for the first time, there is no interaction, no connection, no friendship. Not quite yet. […]
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The Spirit’s Unfinished Business
Pentecost Some people are dreamers. They come up with crazy ideas of how things can be better. Their ideas aren’t always practical or well thought through. But they are willing to disrupt the status quo because a lot of things in the world can be better still. They are successful only in as much as […]
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When It’s Time
Ascension of the Lord When it’s time, you will know what to do. I find it annoying when people tell me that. It might be true, but I still don’t like it. When I’m terrified of the unknown, when the signs all point to chaos and disaster, when the darkness closes in and I feel […]
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How Can Anyone Tell?
Fifth Sunday of Easter Would anyone know what you did for a living if you never mentioned it when you meet them? Some people just have that unique look that gives it away. Maybe it’s just a stereotype and doesn’t fit everyone. Maybe the look comes from iconic historical figures and famous characters in the […]
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A Shepherd Snaps
Fourth Sunday of Easter Paul and Barnabas had set out on their first missionary journey after the Holy Spirit inspired the church in Jerusalem to set them aside for a special purpose. After arriving in Antioch in Pisidia, they came to the synagogue on the sabbath to join in the worship. The synagogue official invited […]
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An Enduring Friendship
Third Sunday of Easter Simon Peter was an experienced fisherman who lived by the Sea of Tiberias, also called the Sea of Galilee. He knew the water well and where the fishing was best. It was there Jesus called him and his brother Andrew, and their friends James and John, to come with him. They […]
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Be More Eager to Live Than to Die
Easter Sunday Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Χρίστος ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! (Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!) ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad, ha resucitado! Each of us who is given by God a share of life is entrusted a treasure beyond price that is meant to be celebrated, nurtured, prospered, and shared as a blessing […]
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We Do Who We Are
Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper I don’t remember learning how to ride a bike. I know it happened because none of us are born knowing how. Still, I don’t remember what it was like not to know how. Like all the skills I had to learn, tying my shoelaces, saying “please” and “thank […]
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