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  5 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel - John 8:1-11 Expecting the Worst Western Wall, Jerusalem Back when our daughter was in 6 th Grade, I remember she was so excited about going to a grade school dance.   So we dropped her off that Friday night and then picked her up a few hours later.   End of story?   Well, not exactly! About a week later, she comes into the living room, sits us down and says –I need to talk to you; I have to tell you something and you won’t like it.   Uh oh, this is not good!   So, she proceeds to tell us this story. You know that dance I went to last week; well, it was just for 7 th and 8 th graders.   Yeah, ok!   Well, I’m only a 6 th grader.   I knew that ahead of time.   So, I lied to you and I lied to get into the dance.   I kept waiting for more but that was it.   She was so upset about being dishonest; and for a good week, she let it eat her up inside until she had to tell us. ...
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  Saturday – 4 th Week of Lent Gospel – John 7:40-53 The “Awful” Truth Caesarea Maritima Remember when you were little, and someone told you something you just didn’t want to hear?   Maybe a best friend decided you were no longer friends!   Maybe your parents were handing out your punishment for breaking that glass or for ignoring countless ‘requests’ to clean your room.   Or maybe they couldn’t get you that one toy you hoped for as a birthday present.   That awful truth or that hard lesson that you just refused to listen to!   So, you covered your ears with your hands and mumbled some nonsense syllables to keep out those honest and truthful words. It seems as if that is exactly what is happening in today’s Gospel.   The crowd of people get it!   Jesus is a Prophet, the Christ! Even the guards hear Jesus’ words and believe; as a result, they are reluctant to arrest him.   But the Pharisees?   Except for Nicodemus, they r...
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  Friday – 4th Week of Lent Gospel – John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Do we know God? Chapel of Tears, Jerusalem The people are angry. This guy Jesus, claims to be the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God! That can’t be – we KNOW him. He’s just a carpenter’s son from a backwater village in Galilee. We take a lot of polls and questionnaires on Facebook these days – asking us do we really know our friends. Do you know my favorite color, food, movie, favorite music or TV show? Is that it? Is that all there is to ‘knowing’ someone, all these ‘favorites’? What about – what makes me cry, how do I handle loss, how do I treat someone I consider a friend, what makes me sad, laugh or angry? Do you really know me, on the inside? So the question must be asked – do we know God? How? When? To really know someone, I think, demands time and effort and commitment. How often do we spend time with Him in conversation, in prayer, in meditation? Is it enough? If not, when do we start? Spend some t...
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