Reflections on the Sunday Readings

Our readings today tell us of the two most prominent saints of the Christian faith. But, for these two, like most of us, they did not start out that way.   Both encountered Jesus   in very different ways, but each had to decide, following that encounter, whether to follow Jesus completely or not.   And even when they did decide to follow him, we can see from the scriptures, it does not mean there was a smooth easy road ahead of them.   For both, in their relationship to Jesus and in the development of their own faith in Jesus, there were questions and periods of confusion . Peter initially, encounters Jesus after a night fishing and catching nothing.   Peter has pulled his boat on shore, but Jesus tells him to put out into water and cast his nets again Simon, the fisherman, informs Jesus, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” (Luke 5:5)      Of course, we know what happens tha...

  This weekend our liturgy focuses on   the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ .                       The gospel this weekend, while not a eucharistic feast itself, has all the ear marks of Jesus    concern for those who seek him and are his followers.   In the gospel, Jesus asks the apostles to feed the crowd.   They respond that they have only 5 loaves and 2  f ish.     So little for so many.   But Jesus asks them to give what little they have.   Imagine what their thoughts might have been when Jesus takes all they have (little as it is) and feeds everyone.   They are asked to trust in Jesus, surrender what they have, believe that it will be more than enough, and receive what Jesus will give them in return.   From those 5 loaves of bread and two fish, he, after praying (i.e., “looking up to heaven”) is able to provide food enough for all t...

                                                                          Our readings on Pentecost bring to an end the Easter season with the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, about the coming of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                           When the day of Pentecost came the Spirit came upon the apostles and the disciples gathered in the Upper Room.  They have been told to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Spirit.   So much has hap...

                                                                        Over the past couple of weeks in our gospels, we are taken back to the upper room where Jesus celebrated the last supper with his apostles.   Because the impact of his message that night cannot be contained in one single homily or reflection, but rather it needs the reflections of many Sundays to underscore the importance and impact of what he said to apostles and through them, to us.   In the gospel this weekend, Jesus s peaks of his leaving but also of his coming again through the power of his resurrection and through, the presence of his Holy Spirit among the community of believers.    He assures them and us that he will be among us forever.   His ongoing presence, through the power of the Spirit reverberate...

  One day, when a beggar in shabby clothes entered a very popular bakery, all the customers around held their noses with contempt.                                                                                                         Nevertheless, the bakery operator still welcomed this beggar warmly. The beggar took out coins from his pocket carefully and whispered to the operator that he wanted to buy a small cake.                 ...

Don Ratzlaff, a pastor and editor wrote an article for The Christian Leader, a publication of the U.S. Mennonite Brethren in which he tells the story about the importance of paying attention: As the flight attendants called our attention to their pre-flight safety instructions, I turned to the in-flight magazine, flitting through the pages on the off chance of finding an article worth reading. I was still searching when I felt a nudge from my traveling partner, a friend who had spent several years in the pastorate. He nodded toward the flight attendant standing near us and said with a wry smile, “This is just like preaching.” I didn’t catch his meaning at first. When the light dawned, I glanced around the cabin. Like me, many of my fellow passengers had their noses in a magazine, newspaper, or paperback. Others were chatting with their seat mates. Some stared vacuously out the window. A few already had their eyes closed, anticipating an in-flight doze. Maybe a handful were givin...

  During Eastertide, that period between Easter and Pentecost, a number of our readings   will focus on the early church and its development from being that tiny community in Jerusalem and then through the expansion to various countries in the Mediterranean area.   These readings are like a family album which contains within it snapshots, so to speak, of how the process of Christianity slowly spread and the issues that expansion brought for not only the young Church but, also   for those who were the leaders of Judaism.                                                                                                                              ...