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  Thursday - 3rd Week of Lent -   Gospel – Luke 11:14-23 Fences Heiskell, TN One thing I have noticed after living here in Tennessee are FENCES!   Back in Chicago, we seem to use fences to keep out the neighbors, to hide ourselves from the world!   Tall 6-foot wooden fences surrounding our property!   We say it’s for privacy, but you have to wonder!   Here in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, yes, there are plenty of fences.   But they are barbed wire or chicken wire; they are meant to protect the farm animals but still provide gorgeous views of the ‘family ponderosa’ , not hide it from the world!   Are you with me?   It feels like a rallying cry to the crowds in Les Miserables !   Or maybe it’s the whispered words of an older brother as he plots in secret with his siblings to raid the cookie jar!   But in today’s Gospel, Jesus expressed similar words to the crowds – you are either with me or against me!   It’s a ch...
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  Wednesday - 3rd Week of Lent Gospel – Matthew 5:17-19 Teach The Children Well! Mount of the Beatitudes   “Thank you for being a good teacher to all of us. You made a difference to us and I wanted you to know that. You certainly had the patience of Job dealing with all of us!” A former student of mine, almost 30 years ago, sent me this message a few weeks ago.   It is a heartwarming and humbling reminder that somehow some way you really do make a difference.   Many times you go through life without even realizing the effect you have on others by just being yourself, by simple acts of kindness and comforting words.   We all have an amazing effect on those around us, whether we acknowledge it or not. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks not only about the permanency of the Law but also about our responsibility to teach the commandments to others, not just by our words but by our actions. Whether you accept it or not, we are all teachers!   We know from ...
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  Tuesday – Third Week of Lent Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35 Forgive Me! Wailing Wall, Jerusalem There’s a point in the first episode of Season 3 of The Chosen, after the Sermon on the Mount, where many of the disciples seek out someone they have personally injured.   Andrew goes to visit Mary Magdalene and Matthew returns home to his father.   In both cases, they go to ask forgiveness – for words and for actions that hurt someone and caused a rift (or a real break) in their relationship.   We all have moments like that in our own lives, moments of incredible pain and distress as we try to mend a friendship and rebuild what has been broken.   We are all human; we all make mistakes. How many times do we want to be forgiven? Only once?   If we hope for forgiveness for all our failings, then God calls us to offer forgiveness to others for their failings as well. What better example of forgiveness is that final scene when Matthew knocks on the door and his ...
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