Jeremiah warned ‘Until the land has retrieved its lost Sabbaths…it lies waste!’ in this excerpt from 2 Chronicles. This seems a paraphrase of the Commandment to ‘Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.’ Do I keep it holy? What makes something holy? I think it means set aside, special to God. Well, yes, I go […]

Another reading from Hosea today. The prophet and the Gospel writer present us with a contrast; the self-righteous (piety as ephemeral as the morning dew) versus the humble (like the spring rain). I admit to the sin of pride. I have been blessed with gifts and sometimes consider myself a bit better than others because

The prophet Hosea promises us today that those who turn back to God will be like the olive tree. What a blessing to be like an olive tree!! They are long lived, have beautifully grained wood for carving, and bear versatile fruit. Not only can the fruit be eaten, but olive oil has countless uses:

“the Kingdom of God has come”, says Jesus in today’s passage from Luke’s Gospel. What does the Kingdom look like? What does it mean to be subjects of the Kingdom? We are not slaves or serfs! I don’t think we are minions either! St. Paul says we are co-heirs with Christ. That makes us princes

In our reading from Deuteronomy, Moses enjoins the Israelites to instruct their children and grandchildren in God’s statutes and remind them of God’s great deeds. Even the psalmist mentions blessing the children. I don’t have children to whom I can hand down my faith. I have only my friends and neighbors and their children. I

In today’s scriptures, Azariah, in the midst of the blazing furnace, begs God to be merciful for the sake of Azariah’s faithful ancestors. What an interesting thought! God remains faithful because our ancestors were faithful. Today would have been my dad’s 102nd birthday. Dad was a faithful and faith-filled man until his death 7 months ago.

Today we meet Naaman, the army commander and a foreigner, who traveled to see the prophet Elisha seeking to be cured of his leprosy. Naaman was a man of action, so he was deeply unhappy that Elisha did not come out to perform a miracle, sending only a message to go and wash in the

Ever lose your temper over people distorting something you hold dear—twisting it to serve their needs? I do!! I get angry when I watch the real news and see yet another false attack on a politician or piece of legislation. The good of the country has been abandoned, or rather sacrificed at the altar of

Today we hear Jesus’ detractors muttering, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Remember being told to pick your friends carefully? Or not to hang out with “that” crowd. Actually, it is sound advice, but we are not to place ourselves above others. Jesus moved in many circles hoping to bring the Good News

‘After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.’ Talk about a dysfunctional family! Jacob/Israel’s family (in Genesis) had dysfunction in spades. The above quote comes when they decide to sell one of their brothers rather than let him die in the cistern into which they’d thrown him! Nice!! Still, somehow God took these petty