Blog Archives

January 30, 2022

1/28/2022

In this Sunday’s gospel we find Jesus returning home to Nazareth just as word about him has begun to spread throughout the region. The Gospel says He was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and people all throughout the region were talking about him.

He comes to his hometown synagogue and from the scroll handed to him he proclaims the Word of God from the prophet Isaiah; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Imagine for a moment what must have been going through the minds of his neighbors and childhood friends. This was Mary and Joseph’s son...how can he claim to be “the anointed one” of God?

They must have wondered “who does he think he is?” Jesus proclaims that he is filled with the Holy Spirit and has come to do the work of God.

And as members of the Body of Christ we too are filled with the Holy Spirit and are called to do the very things that Jesus proclaimed he was sent to do!

We are called to “be” good news for the poor and help those held captive by war, poverty, racism -- to proclaim the Good News to all those held captive by anything that diminishes them or holds them back from being who God has made them to be.

We are called to bring recovery of sight to all those who are blinded by anger or hatred, by loving them and walking with them in the midst of their darkness.

We are called to proclaim that the mercy and grace of God lavishly pours down upon all women and men! To proclaim they are not left abandoned in the midst of their suffering and loneliness, no they are “the beloved” and God is with them!
And so we ask ourselves, how have I felt the Spirit of God wash over me?

In the midst of all the world’s woes, in the midst of this horrible pandemic, what is the Spirit calling me to in my life at this time?

And how and to whom am I being called to proclaim the Good News? And, we can indeed do this for surely the Spirit of the Lord is upon us!

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

January 23, 2022

1/21/2022

Our liturgical year runs on a 3 year cycle -- years A, B and C. We began year C with the first Sunday of Advent which opens each new liturgical year. And year C uses the Gospel of Luke. This Sunday begins with the opening of Luke’s Gospel acknowledging that many others have undertaken recording the events of Jesus’ life by those who witnessed the events firsthand. Luke desired to do the same so that Theophilus would come to know the truth, mainly, that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, who had come into the world as its Savior, manifested by his life, death and resurrection.

Both the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles were written for this same Theophilus, all so that he might come to believe in Jesus the Christ. It has been pointed out over the years by many scholars that some of the more well-known Gospel stories are only found in Luke. Two of the most famous I would venture to say would be the annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Mary and her subsequent visit to her cousin Elizabeth from which we receive the words of the amazing Magnificat! But not to forget other stories unique to Luke such as: the good Samaritan and the Lavish Father (the Prodigal Son).

Last week in John’s Gospel we had Jesus beginning his public ministry at the wedding feast at Cana and the miracle of the turning of the water into wine. Luke similarly places the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the region of Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit, where he traveled about the area preaching in their synagogues and everyone praised him.

And then he heads to his hometown of Nazareth and Luke recounts this wonderful scene of Jesus going to his home synagogue and proclaiming the words of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus proclaims these famous words of, arguably, one of the most important of the ancient prophets. That opening line; “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”... is a proclamation of Jesus’ true identity, just as at the wedding at Cana, by his miracle he revealed his true identity.

In this case it is Jesus’ words when he sits down; “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” This is the moment when Jesus tells all of his boyhood friends and neighbors that he is not who they think he is! No he is MUCH MORE. He is the ONE upon whom rests “The Spirit of the Lord”! Now that is an amazing proclamation! And it had to have been shocking and somewhat unbelievable to his kin and to those who had known him all his life. But we will hear more about that next week.

What is the Spirit of the Lord moving me to do with my life? To whom is the Spirit calling me to reach out to?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

January 16, 2022

1/14/2022

As the scene of the Wedding Feast at Cana unfolds, Mary seemingly “pushes” Jesus out into his public ministry, ignoring his reticence to perform a miracle in the midst of the crowd of guests gathered for the wedding feast.

It seems to me that it was a moment when Mary called on Jesus to let his true identity shine forth for people to see! Jesus may well have felt that it was not the time, but he responds to her request, eventually. For the Gospel of John “signs” like the turning of the water into wine are very important as they point to the identity of Jesus as both human and divine.

St Paul is also interested in identity -- in our identity as members of the living Body of Christ.

Paul challenges each one of us to reflect on what is our “gift”?...what is our charism? The gifts that each person is given, is given them! Not for themselves, but for the sake of the whole -- for the Body of Christ!

On this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, I cannot but help to think his gifts -- of charismatic leadership, bold vision, deep faith and ultimately, martyrdom...a man who shared all he had, his very life, for the sake of the very soul of a nation.

As the struggle for racial justice, equality, and recognition of the human dignity of all persons continues, we must ask ourselves what are my gifts that God has given me for the sake of this struggle?

God’s blessings,
Fr Tim

January 9, 2021

1/8/2022

Today as we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John the Baptist, we call to mind the transforming power of discipleship. As we struggle to faithfully follow Jesus in our lives, our lives are transformed by the very struggle to be the presence of Christ in the world.

Think for a moment about the baptismal ritual itself; first the calling out of the name in the midst of the assembly for all to hear...the sign of the cross traced on a forehead, a profession of faith, holy water poured and the sacred words are uttered...“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of Son and of the Holy Spirit”...then an anointing with Sacred oil...the passing of the “Light of Christ” and a white garment, symbol of a new life born of this ancient ritual.

But with this new life comes great responsibility: to live a life as a Christian, as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
It is no easy task; to be a follower of Jesus Christ and live our baptism in concrete ways in our everyday lives. Our baptism calls us to put Christ at the center of our lives and to try and be a healing presence in a wounded world by doing good works, being compassionate, and actively working for justice and peace in the world around us that is at war in so many ways.

We are called to be healers of the wounds of divisions that separate us and cause us to be blind to the fact that we are all sisters and brothers — all of us! The children of God.

And so we ask ourselves...is it outwardly evident that I am a disciple of Jesus by the way I live my life? What could I do in my life to follow Jesus even more closely than I already do, to better live my call to discipleship received in my baptism?

Christ’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

January 30, 2022

January 23, 2022

January 16, 2022

January 9, 2021

Author

Archives

Categories