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  Friday – 18 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew16:24-28 Now Comes the Hard Part Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem Life is hard.   I don’t really need to tell you this.   Unless you’ve been living on a deserted island for the past 5 months, you already know that.   Brutal summer weather, high grocery and gas prices, unrest in the Ukraine and the Middle East, an abundance of friction and a lack of a common goal among our politicians!   We have all been there, wondering what’s next as we look for that light at the end of this long dark tunnel.   We sit with this dazed expression on our face wondering what’s next! The disciples must have experienced something like this; they have already had their share of being cast out of villages, banned from the Temple, ignored and laughed at for leaving their families to follow this itinerant preacher.   And then in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells them bluntly that things will get worse.   If you really want t...
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  Thursday – Feast of the Transfiguration Gospel – Matthew17:1-9 Climbing the Mountain Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor   Back when I was in the seminary, the Blue Ridge Mountains were our backyard and climbing the mountain right behind the seminary was a rite of passage.   The goal was to head out immediately after breakfast, race to the base, climb the mountain, race back to the Seminary in time for dinner at 6pm.   It was a grueling test of fortitude but the few moments you had at the top surveying the surrounding countryside were incredibly fulfilling, much less awesome and peaceful. In the Old Testament, mountains are mentioned over 500 times. It was a place where you encountered the divine, where you were closer to God.   Mount Ararat – where Noah’s ark came to rest and God made first covenant.   Mt. Sinai where Moses met God, received Ten Commandments and his face shone white.   Mount of Olives where Jesus often went to pray. ...
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  Wednesday – 18 th Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 15:21-28 A Leap of Faith Delivery Day, TN Exactly 2 years ago today, a large U-Haul truck arrived at our newly built home here in Tennessee, filled with all our earthly Chicago possessions.   Fun Fact – they actually tried delivering our ‘stuff’ the day before.   But the semi-trailer could not navigate the tight turns on our driveway.   So they retreated to the local truck stop and transferred everything to a smaller vehicle.   Sheesh! Within a few hours, they had moved everything into our Heiskell home – a few pieces of furniture and dozens of cardboard boxes, so many piled up that they blocked the windows and created a maze-like walkway throughout the house!   It took us weeks to wade through all those cartons, not to mention countless trips to the local recycle center to drop off all those empty boxes.   Looking back, Ginger and I both realize what a tremendous leap of faith we ma...
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