Gospel Reflections for Challenging Times

  Thursday - 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John13:16-20 Bath Time! Jordan River, Caesarea Philippi Memories!   I remember back when I was just a wee one, that my mom was occasionally give us a bath in the kitchen sink. And I remember being able to look out the window at Dad’s store and our yard!   And that also reminds me of the many times we would give our daughter Jaime a bath when she was just a baby.   But what sticks out in my mind is not so much where we bathed her but HOW!   I remember trying to be so very careful and gentle, with slow soft wipes of the cloth, never too rough or too hard.   It was all these tender touches that were always accompanied with smiles and giggles, with soothing words and baby talk.   It was never ever just a chore or a job to get done.   It was a ministry, of sorts, a ministry of love and compassion.   A labor of love!   A bonding of parent and child!   And I certainly didn’t mind if I got...

  Wednesday – 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 12:44-50 Follow the Light Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem There was a little boy living with his family on their farm.   He always liked to help out as much as he could but he had a secret fear of the dark.   One night, his father asked him to go out to the barn to check on their cows.   His father gave him a lantern to light his way but the boy was still terrified.   “I can’t even see the barn” he said.   His dad replied “You don’t need to.”   “Just go as far as the light from the lantern will take you; then go a bit farther, then a bit farther, and you will reach the barn.   Just keep following the light and you will get there.” So it is for us – baby steps, follow the light, and eventually we will get to the kingdom. We all have moments of darkness, even as adults.   Moments when we are lost, frightened, so unsure of the future that we just want to crawl under the covers and ...

  Tuesday - 4 th Week of Easter Gospel – John 10:22-30 Falling on Deaf Ears Wailing Wall In Monty Python’s highly irreverent comedy “The Life of Brian”, there is a scene where Jesus is preaching the Sermon on the Mount.   There is a great crowd of people listening to His every word.   But when He teaches “Blessed are the Peacemakers…”, the people way in the back don’t hear the words clearly.   Instead they hear “Blessed are the cheesemakers.”   And they begin to grumble and argue over why Jesus would single out only one profession above any other.   Why cheesemakers?   Or does He really mean anyone involved with dairy and production?   Curious! Sometimes, many times, we hear what we want to hear!   Our hearing becomes either highly selective or outright deaf!   Sometimes we can be so distracted by other things that we are completely blind and deaf to those around us.   Those of you with teenagers know this to be true! Some...