…” Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.ā More
“…we always have the poor because we are the poor. Jesus wouldnāt be with his friends physically again. This was their last time together, and it needed to be memorialized with a grand gesture, which Mary provided with all the love and compassion that was in her heart.” More
āThe Church missed its high calling to be the new thing in the world when it decided to worship Jesus instead of following him.ā
Verna Dozier in The Dream of God More
Evidently, the crowd knows who Jesus is, but the difference now is that Jesus doesnāt silence them. He is ready to fully assume his messianic identity and confront the authorities in the capital city. Matthew and John in their respective versions quote a passage from the prophet Zechariah, which talks about a king that will come riding on a donkey not a warhorse, one who will be peaceful and meek. This king was David coming back to Jerusalem, peaceful and humble. He had been saved and vindicated by God. And Jesus is seen as the new David who will save his people from oppression. More
āOffer yourself to God, like Jesus did, with love and compassion in service to others, and youāll know what it is that you have to give and will be sustained in whatever that is for the long haul.ā More
God, after all, is the force that animates us, and as such is the ultimate overseer of whatever happens to the world and to its creatures. This comes through very clearly in todayās lesson from Isaiah, where the prophet reminds us that even if Cyrus didnāt know the God of Israel, it was this God who was in charge! More
When Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a generous king, I initially like the idea very much. I imagine that the king is God and hope this God will generously forgive my debts, my transgressionsā¦ But then if Iām the slave whose debt is forgiven, I have to face my own meanness of spiritāmy inability to pardon even the smallest debt from a fellow servant although I have just been granted enormous generosity. And where did Godās initial mercy go? Did the king-God decide that my sinfulness is so great that I do not deserve any more generosity but rather to be tortured? Itās a hard lesson to take. How can I apply this to my own life and come out a better person on the other side? More
The Reverend Patricia Catalano August 23, 2020 Proper 16 When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, āWho do people say that the Son … More
The United States of America will be 244 years old on Saturday. I ask you, how are we going to celebrate? We cannot waste this moment of righteous anger; we cannot waste the energy that is moving people to protest and to do the work needed to change a status quo that is hurting manyā in particular, people of color. More
The word for prophet in Hebrew is navi, which means to be called. Therefore, a prophet is not someone who sees or tells the future… A prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God or of a higher Truth to the people in his or her life, in their context and about their current situation. A prophetās life is not easy. From the moment he was called by God, and to the end of his career as a prophet, Jeremiah was vituperated, railed against for being unfaithful and even traitorous to the king. He was thrown in jail, and sadly, eventually and, despite it all, proven right! More