Tagged: Gospel of John

Rick and Ilsa

Homily

The Greatest Love Story of All Time – Homily for Holy Thursday 2016

The world is full of great love stories. We see them in literature and film and in history: stories like Casablanca, Pride and Prejudice, and Titanic. Lovers like Romeo and Juliet, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, even Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary. We all relate to a good love story. What makes them so powerful are the obstacles that the lovers try to overcome. Sometimes they’re successful and their story ends in joy; and sometimes they’re not and the story ends in tragedy. But they remain great stories...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Homily

The Force Awakens – Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

I’m sure you’ve heard about the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens. It’s breaking all box office records, and I’ve seen it myself a couple of times. One of the things I find interesting about this new Star Wars trilogy is that it begins in the same way as the original trilogy with Luke Skywalker. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’m not giving much away by saying that the main character starts the story on a desert planet feeling forsaken, feeling abandoned, just like Luke Skywalker...

Pope Francis Washing Feet

Homily

Sacrifice and Service: Homily for Holy Thursday

What if, at communion, after receiving the Body and Blood, after consuming the consecrated bread and wine, we were handed a consecrated towel? What if we came forward with arms held out, and the priest or deacon or eucharistic minister said, “The Body of Christ,” and handed us the host, and then, “The Blood of Christ,” and handed us the cup, and then “The Service of Christ,” and gently placed a white towel in our hands? And what if we took that towel walked out of this building...

Isenheim Crucifixion by Matthias Grunewald

Homily

The Isenheim Crucifixion – Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent

Do you remember the first picture of Jesus you ever saw? Was it a picture in a children’s Bible? A coloring book page from Sunday school? The actor Robert Powell in Jesus of Nazareth? There are many famous images of Jesus, and some of them hang on the walls of our homes. There’s the famous Warner Sallman painting of the Head of Christ, which has sold over 500 million copies. There’s the familiar Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Divine Mercy image. Another popular painting of Jesus is...

Grandmother and Granddaughter

Homily

Eli, John and Andrew – Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

In the first reading we hear that “Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD.” Now that doesn’t mean you get to sleep here in church during the homily! But we do have something in common with Samuel: at one point, we, too, were not familiar with the Lord. Samuel is called three times, but he does not recognize who is it is. It is the priest Eli who helps him understand that it is the Lord who is calling. In the gospel, too, Andrew and an...

Dark Forest

Homily

The Lure of the Will-O’-The-Wisp: Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter – Year A

In Scottish and English folklore, people tell of the will-o’-the-wisp, mischievous lights in the bogs and swamps carried by fairies and goblins that lead lost travelers to their doom. As the travelers follow those elusive and fickle lights, they leave the path behind, and when the lights are extinguished the travelers are even more lost than when they began. On our journey of faith we sometimes lose our way, following will-o’-the-wisps. We get lost, like those travelers in the woods who wander off the path, following the goblin...

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio

Homily

To Dance in our Woundedness: Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter – Year A

“These signs have been written that you may believe.” In today’s gospel, Thomas needs help in order to believe. He needs a sign. Who can blame him? His friends were making a pretty far-fetched claim. Jesus is risen from the dead? Thomas had seen Jesus crucified. “Prove it to me,” he says. “Show me the wounds.” And Jesus does prove it to Thomas. In his mercy, Jesus appears a week later. Thomas sees the wounds. He also sees the living Christ. And he responds, “My Lord and my...

Jesus Washes Disciples' Feet

Homily

My Feet, Lord? – Homily for Holy Thursday

Jesus asks, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” As we begin these holiest days of the year, it would be good for us to do just that: to realize what Jesus has done for us at the Last Supper. The opening lines of the gospel set the scene. First, Jesus knew that his hour had come, and second, he loved his own to the end. He knew his hour had come, and he loved his own to the end. In his darkest hour he did...

Jesus Heals the Blind Man

Homily

Light from the Mud: Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent

Today is Laetare Sunday, which is why we are wearing rose today. We are over halfway through Lent, and the entrance antiphon to today’s liturgy begins, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.” Laetare is the Latin word for “rejoice.” Today is meant to be a little more festive than a typical Lenten Sunday, and is there anything more festive than the birth of a child? So it’s very appropriate that on this celebratory Sunday we get to witness a birth. We get to witness the birth of...

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Homily

Jesus Thirsts for You: Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

Here we are in the third week of Lent. How are your Lenten resolutions going? Mine aren’t going so great, to be honest. Last Friday, I made myself a turkey sandwich for lunch, forgetting it was Friday. I think I was just going through the motions of the day, not really paying attention. Sometimes life is like that, a series of unconscious, or nearly unconscious, actions that add up to a day. The Samaritan woman in today’s gospel is going through the motions of her daily life when...

The Voice Logo

Homily / Music

The Voice – Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year C

Some of you might be familiar with a reality TV show called The Voice that’s been on for a few seasons. Contestants come on stage one at a time and sing to three [actually four] judges whose backs are turned. Based solely on the sound quality of the singing voices and their potential, the judges try to choose the most promising contestants to continue on in the competition. There’s something compelling about a distinctive voice. The music industry is filled with great voices from many different genres and...

Ceramic Squirrels

Homily

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

I wonder how many of us have hidden in the back corner of the storage closet somewhere, a collection of wedding gifts that didn’t quite match our personalities. The set of ceramic squirrels, that yogurt maker, the 3D picture of horses? We welcomed the gifts graciously, and then promptly put them away. Maybe we bring them out when the people who gave them to us comes to visit, but then they goes back in the closet and continue to collect dust. In the gospel today, the young newlyweds...