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  3rd Sunday of Easter Gospel – Luke 24:13-35 Walking With the Lord Home – Heiskell, TN I have been blessed to have visited the Holy Land 4 times, the latest being February 2023.   And while we visit many of the same sites (Jordan River, Nazareth, Church of Holy Sepulchre, Church of Nativity, Cana, Mount Carmel, etc.), the experience is never the same.   The reason is simple.   We are not the same person; we grow and change.   For myself, that first journey in 2010 was one of wonder and awe, an experience difficult to put into words.   At the time, I thought it was a once in a lifetime experience.   So wrong!    And as the other pilgrimages unfolded, the experience became more and more reflective, more prayerful and meditative.   I can still recall sitting in an out-of-the-way corner in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and quietly working on the homily I would share the following day at Gethsemane.   Such a peaceful moment i...
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  Saturday – Second Week of Easter Gospel – John 6:16-21 Be Not Afraid Church of Holy Sepulchre  When a flashlight grows dim or quits working, do you just throw it away?   Of course not!   You change the batteries!   When a person messes up or finds themselves in a dark place, do you cast them aside?   Of course not!   You help them change their batteries.   Some need AA – attention and affection.   Some need AAA – attention, affection and acceptance!   Some need C – compassion!   And some need D – direction!    And if they still don’t seem to shine, simply sit with them quietly and share your light! One of the great joys in my diaconal ministry is working with the youth and training them to be altar servers.   The sheer excitement and energy when they show up for the first session is almost electric that they can’t sit still.   Their enthusiasm is incredible.   But that all tends to change on the da...
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  Friday - Second Week of Easter   Gospel – John 6:1-15 The Needs of the Many Loaves and Fishes –Tabgha   It seems that, at every stoplight these days, there is someone standing there with a handmade sign!   Out of work!   Lost my job!   Need money!   Need food!   Can you help?   It’s a familiar and a sad sight.   And yet, for most of us, the response is also all too familiar.   Sometimes we stare straight ahead and hope they keep walking by!   We pretend there is no one there and instead we focus intently on the stoplight!   Sometimes we check our cash and decide we don’t have enough to give to make a difference; so we give them nothing.   And sometimes we just give what we have!     The need for help and the need to respond are always there, present and immediate!   And not just at a traffic signal!   We see the opportunity to help every day -when we walk down the street, in the groce...
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