Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Friday – 5 th Week of Lent Gospel – John 10:31-42 One of Those Days Capernaum, Sea of Galilee Ever have one of those days?   A day when everything seems to go wrong?   You misplace your cellphone, you lock yourself out of the house, you spill your cup of coffee all over yourself and then the boss expects you to work late even though you have family plans!   And then, you ask yourself – what next!   Jesus is not having a good day!   The Jews and Pharisees continue to debate (argue) with Him.   They remain stubborn and unconvinced that He is anything but a troublemaker and a blasphemer.   They refuse to really listen to His words.   They become so upset that they pick up stones to put Him to death.   Through it all, Jesus remains calm and tries to ‘reason’ with them.   But nothing works.   In the end, they try to arrest Him and He flees out of the city.   You have to imagine how frustrated and heart-sick He must be – they just won’t listen and believe!   They want H

  Thursday – 5th Week in Lent Gospel – John 8:51-59 Kill the Messenger? Boat Church, Magdala Sit down!   We need to talk!   Uh oh!   This is not going to go well.   Whether it’s our boss (my office, NOW!) or our parents (we are not happy), when those words happen, we know this is NOT a time for good news!   Something bad is coming!   Let’s face it, nobody likes to hear bad news; nobody likes to hear the honest truth.   We’d rather stop up our ears and pretend we aren’t listening rather than accept the news that maybe, just maybe, we aren’t as perfect as we think or that our beliefs are not in line with the truth!   We either blind ourselves to the truth or we lash out at the person speaking the truth. In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to debate with the Pharisees.   And He says in very plain language, I AM the Son of God.   And the Jews’ reaction?   Kill the messenger!   They pick up stones to throw at Him. They refuse to accept the truth; they refuse to allow the p

  Wednesday – 5th Week in Lent Gospel - John 8:31-42 Priorities Church of St. Joseph, Nazareth Who’s your Daddy?   Who is the one you turn to when you need advice or comfort or direction?   Who is the one who tells you the truth and helps you to see light in times of darkness?   Who guides you, corrects you and encourages you?   Even after his passing 19 years ago, my Dad still is ‘the one’!   He still continues to counsel and serve as an example of how to be a person of charity and of compassion and forgiveness.   Even today he remains my moral compass.   And, believe me, when I falter or stumble, my ‘fatherly’ conscience lets me have it!   But I also know that, besides being a child of Will, I am also a child of God. And that is what Jesus reminds us of in today’s Gospel.   As Jesus continues to spar with the Pharisees, they argue that they are the children of Abraham (man), children of the Law.   Jesus challenges them by reminding them they are, first and foremost, ch

  Tuesday – 5 th Week of Lent Gospel – John 8: 21-30 Who Are You? Temple Mount, Jerusalem I am………………. So reflect on this!   How would you finish that sentence?   I am…..   Would it be your name?   Your title?   Your occupation?   Maybe your religion, your ethnic background?   Or your family relationship – mom, dad, son, sister?   Your city or state?   Neighborhood?   High school or grade school?   Or maybe you would add your mood or state of mind – happy, angry, lost?   How would you define yourself?   At your very heart, who are you? In today’s Gospel, Jesus chooses a different response.   Did you catch it?   When asked who He was, He replied “I AM”, and not just once but multiple times.   From our perspective, it seems as if He isn’t answering the question.   But for the Pharisees, His answer is clear!   It is a direct connection to God at the burning bush I AM WHO I AM!   Jesus makes a clear statement of His divinity.   And just like the bronze serpent in the firs

Monday – 5 th Week of Lent Gospel – John 8: 1-11 Forgive Me, Father Wailing 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 and tells us –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.   All that time, she was consumed with fear and disappointment and regret.   She was so upset about being dishonest; and she let it eat her up inside until she had to tell us.   Was she apo