Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Monday 5 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 14:21-26 Simple Gifts Dear Dad “Dear Dad, I love going to school with you.   It’s a blast!   You are the best dad, best teacher and best friend in the world.   I’m glad we had class together and got to see what everyone else was walking about – how wonderful you are.   I Love You, Jaime” My daughter wrote that note to me back when she was a Sophomore in high school.   And I have kept it safely in my wallet ever since.   Needless to say, the notepaper is barely holding together but that makes no difference to me.   No matter the condition of the paper, the relationship it speaks of continues today.   It is a constant reminder of a love between father and daughter, a love that has endured and flourished over the years.   It is also a reminder that you don’t always need grand gestures or expensive presents to express your love for someone.   Sometimes, many times, it’s the little things that matter – an unexpected letter, that

  5th Sunday of Easter Gospel – John 15: 1-8 Pruning Farming along the West Bank Over the past few years (although certainly not this past year), my wife and I have been able to dine at some pretty amazing restaurants, some of them Top Chef and even a few Michelin starred!   The difficult part of each of those experiences had to be the decision of what to order.   The menu sounded so wonderful that we almost wanted to order one of everything.   And that certainly wasn’t practical or economical.   So we made choices!   It reminds me of the meals we enjoyed when we were on pilgrimage in the Holy Land.   Trust me; we did not go hungry.   The hotels we stayed at provided a lavish (and that is a very tame description) banquet.   Tables upon tables devoted to salads, main entrée, sides, breads, and desserts – each with their own station/section in a huge dining room.   It was mouth-watering and overwhelming!   And as much as we wanted to sample a bit of everything, we had to make

  Saturday – 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 14:7-14 I Just Don’t Know St. Jerome’s Cave, Church of St. Catherine, Bethlehem We hear a lot about “knowing” in today’s Gospel.   “If you know me, you also know the Father.”   “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? It’s a relatively simple word but too often misunderstood. We pass someone on the street and we tell our spouse “I know that guy”.   Really?   How well do you know him?   You mean you recognize him?   You know his name?   His likes and dislikes?   His favorite food or sports team?   His hobbies?   What do you mean “you know him?” Most languages have more than one word for the concept of “knowing”.   Latin has ‘scio’ and ‘cognosco’.   French has “savoir” and “connaitre”.   And they mean something completely different.   It’s the difference between being familiar with something and really understanding something.   For example, I flip a light switch.   I know the light g

  Friday – 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 14:1-6 Lost and Found Lavi Kibbutz, Galilee Clifford and Daisy May were married for many years. Whenever there was a confrontation, yelling could be heard deep into the night. Clifford would shout, "When I die, I'll dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life ol' woman!!" Neighbors feared him. Old Clifford liked the fact that he was feared.   He died at the ripe old age of 98. After the burial, Daisy May's neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, "Aren't you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way out of the grave and haunt you for the rest of your life?" She replied, "LET HIM DIG. I HAD HIM BURIED UPSIDE DOWN...AND I KNOW HE WON'T ASK FOR DIRECTIONS." Like any good husband, I prefer to be the driver and that also means I know where we are going all the time.   Who needs a map?   Who needs directions?   I got thi

  Thursday - Feast of St. Mark Gospel– Mark 16:15-20 You’re Hired! Chapel of the Ascension We take a brief pause today during the Season of Easter to celebrate the Feast of St. Mark, Apostle and Evangelist.   What we hear in today’s Gospel is the very end of the story according to Mark – the Ascension.   Rather curious actually, since we still have a long way to go before we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. There is a story I recall many decades ago about a Christian missionary who went and lived with an isolated tribe in Africa.   For 2 years, he lived with them, worked with them, instructed them and guided them in the Christian faith.   At the end of 2 years, a good number of them were baptized.   And at the end of the Baptismal rite, he got up and told them “I have finished my last instruction in your village.   I will never come back to teach anyone else here again.   From this day on, it is you people who must teach and judge whether anyone is ready for Baptism.