Reflections on the Sunday Readings

                                                                              In last week ‘s gospel, we saw Jesus leading his disciples into the pagan territories of Sidon and Tyra to teach a lesson.  Last week, it was to teach them that God‘s house, is a house of prayer for everybody, Jew, and non-Jew alike.  This week he leads them into an area known as Caesarea Philippi.   This was a gentile area North of Israel, where people worshiped all sorts of different gods Roman, Greek, et al.   In this area away far from the Jewish authorities and the criticisms of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus wants his disciples to see him in a new light.   So, first he asks them “Who do others say that I am.”   It is interesting that in their answers they...

  As we look at the gospel for this Sunday there's a lot of similarity with  the gospel from last Sunday.   In fact, we might call both gospels agricultural gospels, since they deal with the growing of foods for the service of people.                                                                                                                                     Last week we talked about the condition of the soil and how the seed responds to that so...

                                                      The 15 th  Sunday in Ordinary The readings this weekend seem to preach their own homily.  They are simple and not too complex.     From the first reading to the last, the gospel, they speak about words and the Word of God.  The words of God come from the Old Testament and the prophets like Isaiah in the first reading.  The Word of God comes in the New Testament through the life and salvific work of Jesus Christ.                              Of course, in the Old Testament there were many words of God as we look at what the prophets and people like Moses wrote.  The gospels speak not only of the words of God also, but more importantly they speak the only Word of God, Jesus, “In th...

One of the words in the gospel this weekend that really spoke to me was these words about yoking.   “In its most common literal sense, a yoke  refers to a  wooden bar or frame  used to join two draft animals (such as oxen, horses, mules, or water buffalo) at their heads or necks so they can work together pulling a plow, cart, or other load” 1  Yoking means coupling or joining with, in order to complete a task or objective.   In the gospel, Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon our shoulders.    A yoke always requires a relationship between two (i.e., persons, animals, or objects) So, Jesus is inviting us to join him in his work of salvation for the world.                                                                                 ...

                       13 th Sunday Ordinary Time       6-28-26 When I was a little boy, about 11 years old, I and my two brothers (ages 13 and 8) were on our way with my parents for a day at the beach.   We were sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car; my dad was driving and my mom was in the front seat beside him.     I do not know what started it, but my older brother got into an argument with me, a fight of pushing and shoving and exchanging blows developed.   It got so intense that my father raised his voice for us to settle down.   When his pleas were not adhered to, he finally pulled over to the side of road to deal with my brother and I differently than just saying words to us.   Suddenly, my older brother jumped out of the car and ran off.    While I was “licking my wounds,” I was also very concerned beca...

There is an old saying:                                                                                                                                            “A man there was, and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had.” 1                                     As I was looking over the readings for this weekend’s liturgy, the 11 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, one word kept coming to my mind.   That word was “generosity.”                   ...