Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Thursday – 21 st Week in Ordinary Time Gospel - Matthew 24:4-51 Ready?   Set!   Go! Caesarea Philippi Now that summer is effectively over and school is back in session, time to reminisce a bit! Remember that first day of school when we were little?   Maybe we were excited?   Maybe upset that the summer was over?   Maybe glad that we get to see our friends again?   Maybe nervous about a new teacher, new classes, (new homework)!   But do you remember all the work, all the preparation that our parents went through to get us ready for that day?   Shopping for school supplies, new clothes/uniforms!   Trips to the grocery store for extra food to make for school lunches!   Maybe even getting us up early weeks before school started so that we were back on schedule.   Our parents probably spent weeks getting us ready for that first day of school.   And for many of you, you were doing exactly the same thing this week, getting your kids ready for school.   So much preparatio

  Wednesday – 21 st Week in Ordinary Time Gospel - Matthew 23:27-32 Whitewashed Tombs Mount of Olives Cemetery, Jerusalem There’s a story about a preacher who was accused of not practicing what he preached.   He responded; “Well, at least I don’t preach what I practice.”   Hypocrite!   It comes from a Greek word for “actor”, someone who put on a show for others.   Someone who acts a part and pretends to be good just for admiration and applause!   If you thought Jesus was blunt in yesterday’s Gospel, today goes way beyond!   The Pharisees and Scribes are like whitewashed tombs with only dead men’s bones and filth inside.   The Jews believed that contact with the dead automatically made you unclean; so the tombs were painted white to warn the people away, to prevent them from touching the stones.   So the Pharisees only appear righteous but they are ultimately only concerned with themselves!   But why such harsh words?   Why does Jesus condemn the Pharisees so bluntly?

  Tuesday – Passion of John the Baptist Gospel – Mark 6:17-29 Speak The Truth Church of John the Baptist, Ein Karem (John’s birthplace)   2 quotes from Mark Twain to start the day! “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything .” And one from the movie Kingdom of Heaven: “Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; that is your oath.” John the Baptist does indeed speak the truth but it certainly does not come across as kind.   He is blunt and to the point, telling people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.   It is a necessary part of his mission to call people back to repentance.   And that is what he is doing with Herod, telling him in no uncertain terms that marrying his brother’s wife is wrong!

  Monday – 21 st Week in Ordinary Time Gospel – Matthew 23:13-22 “The Talk” Church of the Holy Sepulchre  (look closely) Ginger will be the first to agree:   I have my moods!    And believe me, she has had to put up with some real ‘doozies’.   There are times when I get upset over something and just shut down and stew!   But it doesn’t last long; Ginger doesn’t allow it!   Over the years, she has given me ‘the talk’!   Ok, be upset!   I will give you 24 hours but after that – get over it!   Snap out of it and get back to life!   Blunt and to the point!   Thank goodness for her patience and her honesty!   (I pride myself on being able to provide her with multiple opportunities to help her develop such a strong virtue of patience!) In today’s Gospel, it feels like Jesus has had enough with the Pharisees and the scribes!   Enough is enough!   You are hypocrites!   You are blind guides!   You say one thing with your words and something completely opposite with your actions!

  21 st Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel - Matthew 16:21-27 Key to Success Along the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum Door/Ladder, Church of Holy Sepulchre    I don’t know if I’m the crazy one or if everyone here has one of these cups sitting around somewhere at home or maybe it’s a drawer or a box in your home.   This cup is filled with keys.   There are house keys and apartment keys, car keys, lock box keys, luggage keys for travel, keys that I don’t even remember what lock they fit.   In a sense, this cup contains a record of my adult life – my first car, my first apartment, our first apartment as husband and wife, the keys we were given when we bought our first and only house.    There are keys that open doors and keys that lock away and protect valuables.   Keys seem to be a recurring theme in today’s readings.   Eliakim, in the first reading, is given the keys to the House of David the King.   He will control all the storerooms and treasuries of the King.   In effect, he w