Posts

Image
  Wednesday – 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 12:44-50 Follow the Light Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem There was a little boy living with his family on their farm.   He always liked to help out as much as he could but he had a secret fear of the dark.   One night, his father asked him to go out to the barn to check on their cows.   His father gave him a lantern to light his way but the boy was still terrified.   “I can’t even see the barn” he said.   His dad replied “You don’t need to.”   “Just go as far as the light from the lantern will take you; then go a bit farther, then a bit farther, and you will reach the barn.   Just keep following the light and you will get there.” So it is for us – baby steps, follow the light, and eventually we will get to the kingdom. We all have moments of darkness, even as adults.   Moments when we are lost, frightened, so unsure of the future that we just want to crawl under the covers and wish all the monsters to go away!
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
  Tuesday – 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 10:22-30 Blind to the Truth On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea – Tel Aviv A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the laundry outside. “That laundry is not very clean”, she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent.   Every time her neighbor would hang her washing to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. Some time later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean laundry on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this.”   The husband said, “No, dear!   I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows” Sometimes the truth can be right there in front of our nose!   And sometimes we can be blind, deaf and dumb and not see it at all!   Sometimes we see what we w
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
  Monday 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 10:1-10 Patience, My Child Shepherd’s Field, Bethlehem As a high school teacher, I have put in more than my share of chaperoning school field trips otherwise known as ‘combat pay’.   Some of my friends have described the experience as being similar to herding cats.   I beg to differ; it’s much worse than that.   Now don’t get me wrong; I do love going to the zoo or Art Institute, Field Museum or Shedd Aquarium.   But, as a teacher/chaperone, you don’t really get the chance to appreciate the experience.   Your focus is completely on the kids, and rightly so.   And if it’s an overnight retreat, you can just triple the attention necessary to keep the students in line.   That also means staying up into the wee hours of the night on guard duty in order to monitor the halls.   It is exhausting and mentally demanding!   It takes time and a lot of patience! Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ discourse on the Good Shepherd, particularl
Post a Comment
Read more
Image
    4 th Sunday of Easter Gospel – John 10:11-18 Mary Had a Little Lamb Verdant Pastures / Restful Waters of Sea of Galilee Mary had a little lamb……….. you know the rest. We hear a lot about sheep/shepherds in today’s readings.   But unless we grew up in the country or worked on a farm, our experience of sheep is probably limited to nursery rhymes and petting zoos. Sheep, especially from a child’s perspective, are cute, cuddly.   They seem so innocent and trusting.   But in a word, sheep are DUMB!    Without any guidance, they will wander anywhere; they will eat anything.   They have no natural defenses and, without a protector, they are food for any predator. They need a shepherd, someone who watches over them full-time.   There is no such thing as a day off for a shepherd; he lives with them day in and day out.   He feeds them, guides them, and protects them.   That is what it means when the Psalm says: the Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.   
Post a Comment
Read more