In today’s Gospel the disciples ask: Lord teach us how to pray. A simple request to which Jesus gives an amazing response! It surely amazed the disciples, to speak to God in such warm and familiar terms.

Think for a moment of reaching out to the Creator of the universe as the “perfect parent,” a loving Mommy or Daddy. It is both intimate and tender. Scholars have for years concluded that since Jesus and his disciples spoke Aramaic, and he had an intimate, indwelling, relationship with his Father, he would have used the common Aramaic word “Abba,” which is trans-lated into English as: “Daddy”. A profoundly intimate name for our Divine Creator.

He is calling his disciples, and us, into an intimate relationship with God. The intimacy of this prayer sets up a whole new world view. Taken seriously, it has the power to affect how we interact with each other, it can shape our stance towards the world, our stance towards life itself!

In place of a distant and impersonal deity, Jesus’ words call us into an intimate relationship with the Creator as a loving and caring parent! That would mean then we are the beloved children of this God!

So, then this prayer not only speaks to God’s identity as loving parent but in a very real way proclaims us to be the beloved children of our Abba God.

In this prayer we pronounce that the very name of God is holy, and then we cry out that “God’s way” should prevail both in heaven and on earth. So, as we pray for this to be a reality then we are also called to work for it to be so, by the way we live our lives…building up the Reign of God. And we do this by our daily actions, by who and what we stand up for and by what we denounce as unethical, immoral and evil. We shine a light on the evil atrocities happening in Gaza, in Ukraine, in the DRC and right here in our country!

As the prayer progresses, we next ask for the necessities of daily life…not for a super abundance, but for “our daily bread”. Just that which we need -- not for riches and excess! This request has much to do with how we live on this earth. For instance, it has everything to do with our carbon footprint, with how we care for our common home by how and what we consume and waste.

Not “my daily bread” but rather “our daily bread,” that which we need as a community. I believe that buried within these simple words is a call to see the interconnectedness of all humanity. There is a call to acknowledge that we are part of a much greater whole, and we are called, on a deeply spiritual level to take a stance towards that greater whole, and live and pray and work for the good and needs of our neighbor! That would include all the strangers who roam the face of the earth in search of a safe home.

That would include all of the immigrants and refugees, all those who are marginalized by political policies and social structures that exclude and deny the fullness of people’s human dignity, whether because of the color of their skin, their gender or who they love, or where they were born…excluding them from our praying for “their” daily bread is failing to pray as Jesus taught us to pray.

Asking only for “our daily bread” impacts the needs of others, especially the poor and the marginalized. If we truly seek “only what is necessary for our lives” then our excess can be shared with those in need.

I would argue that this reality is directly connected to the previous request that “God’s way should prevail both in heaven and on earth” because surely sharing our excess with the poor and the marginalized is building up the Reign of God, as Jesus taught us through his words and actions.

As the prayer moves along, we ask to be forgiven as we forgive others. This is a very dangerous ask because it seems to be asking to limit God’s forgiveness to the same extent we forgive. Do we really want God’s forgiveness to be modeled on and limited to the manner and extent of our personal forgiveness of others? I am not so sure that is the case.

But I think there is a challenge here for us: to look at how we forgive others. A call to more freely forgive our sisters and brothers; to let go of grudges and past hurts; walking in the light of Christ; seeking to be a healing presence; to “be the face of mercy” to others. Fortunately for us, God’s grace and forgiveness is limitless, always available, and just waiting for us to ask for it, and accept it, and allow it to transform us more and more into who it is that God dreams us to be!

And finally we ask our loving Abba God to guide us and guard us as we journey through our day. In the midst of all the “violent words” we hear spoken each day, let us speak these words of intimacy, tenderness and forgiveness. Let us open our hearts to these words and allow them to transform us and our world into a place of peace and healing…ever more fully into the Reign of God.
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May God’s most abundant grace be upon you. Amen.
​Fr. Tim

“They who do justice will live in the presence of the Lord.” The responsorial psalm this weekend tells us that it is by doing justice that we live in the presence of God…it is in and through building justice that we co-create the Reign of God.

How is it then that such great injustices like racism, bigotry and misogyny, are so prevalent in our “Christian” society? Racism, bigotry and misogyny are outright sins and need to be called out for what they are.

Justice demands that we look at the very structure of our society that claims to be built on the ideal of “justice for all persons,” and yet, clearly acts contradictory to our notion of all women and men being equal. Actions in outright violation of people’s civil rights are committed more and more frequently and without appropriate consequences, especially to people of color, women, immigrants, refugees and migrants and those seeking asylum!

The reality of “inequality” is seen in the Gospel this weekend. Mary chooses to sit at the feet of Jesus “as a disciple” -- a decidedly male role, clearly breaking the norms of her society --and Jesus defends this unorthodox behavior.
Mary is drawn to Jesus’ words like other women of Jerusalem who broke with tradition and traveled with Jesus to support him in his mission. Jesus did not up-hold the laws that supported a patriarchal society that clearly valued men and devalued women and children.

This attitude of inclusion that Jesus demonstrates over and over again -- by eating with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes -- shows his willingness to stand up to societal conventions that degraded, dishonored and ignored the dignity of people on the margins.

Jesus reached out to the poor and the marginalized and commanded that his disciples do the same and in doing so they would come to be recognized as his followers.

We simply cannot stand by in silence as our government continues to disrespect and degrade immigrants and refugees, housing them in inhumane and heartless conditions and turning away legitimate asylum seekers and immigrants fleeing violence and poverty; those seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

We cannot stand by in silence while our government freely choses to deport people to foreign countries, other than from where they came, as a form of crulty and revenge for them having come here without proper documentation. This practice is nothing other than vidictive and meant to traumatize these immigrants and their families. This is more than morally wrong. It is evil.

As disciples we have to ask ourselves what are we doing in the face of the sin of institutionalized racism, bigotry and misogyny and hate crimes that plagues our nation?

How can we work together to build true justice for all people -- to call out racism, bigotry, white supremacy, misogyny and anti LGBTQ+ rhetoric and actions, whether in our schools, our neighborhoods, our places of work or the highest offices of our government?
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Filled with the Holy Spirit let us go forth emboldened to build up the Reign of God and be builders of peace and justice. To do as Jesus commanded us to do by continuing to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry and shelter the unhoused, clothe the naked and loving God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves. This is who we are called to be as disciples of Jesus Christ and this will be our response to the manufactured, intended chaos being created by this administration in Washington D.C.

Let us continue to be the face of Mercy with words and actions that stand against the chaos and lies, and stand with the most vulnerable and at risk in our communities and our nation -- letting them know that they are not alone, that we see them, love them and will stand with them against all that is dark, against all that is unjust, immoral, corrupt and violates their human rights. To let them know that we see them, we recognize them; that they are our neighbor! Let us continue to act out, to write, to call and to march. To make our call for justice and peace heard in the halls of
Congress and beyond. And in doing so, we will be living out our discipleship of Jesus Christ.

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

This Sunday’s Gospel story is without doubt one of the most famous in Christian scripture…we all know it…we all get the point…or do we? As a majority Christian nation we certainly fail to live up to it!

We find ourselves living in a country of great extremes: on one hand we have sinful waste and staggering excess and on the other hand we have ever growing numbers of our sisters and brothers living in crushing poverty. And, so very many of our citizens seem to not care at all about the suffering of the poor, nor do the majority of our elected politicians. Our political discourse has degraded to an increasingly violent and vitriolic distain for not only competing ideas but for the actual persons who hold those competing ideas and visions.

The more hysterical the rhetoric, the more clicks and reposts it garners and then more support among what appears to be a callous and morally bankrupt faction of our nation. Somewhere along the journey we have lost sight of the meaning of the parable of the good Samaritan.

Samaritans were considered by the Israelites to be “subhuman”…not unlike the dehumanizing rhetoric we hear used today by public officials toward immigrants and refugees, towards women, towards members of the LGBTQ+ Community, towards persons of color, towards the unhoused and towards those who are differently abled. Samaritans were often compared to dogs…not cute cuddly puppies…but rather mangy half-starved denizens of the night who wander the dark streets in search of a morsel of food. And this is precisely who Jesus makes the hero of this parable.

It is the “outlier” who is really the “insider”; it is the one who acted as God would desire all of us to act toward another human being in need. Who was his sister? Who was his brother? Surely not an Israelite, who after all hated and despised his people. But in the midst of that knowledge the Samaritan was moved with pity and cared with gentleness and kindness for the one who hated him.

This Sunday’s Gospel offers us the chance to reflect on who we wish to be: the hardened, heartless priest who passes by…or the good Samaritan who risks being gentle and kind to someone who most likely despised him?

God cries out to us to be compassionate and kind toward others -- especially those in need; especially to those whom our society marginalize and despise, just because of who they are.

We know all too well who the marginalized and despised are…what are we willing to do for them? Are we willing to risk being a good Samaritans by refusing to remain silent in face of genocide, racial profiling and injustice, cruel and inhumane attacks? Are we willing to continue to call, to write and march for what we know is morally correct and just? Because your every phone call, your every letter, your every form of protest matters -- individually and collectively. It matters.

Because it means that we are willing to cross to the other side of the road and do the right thing. To demand true justice and to call our politicians back to a previously established moral and ethical standard from which they have walked away from, no longer “seeking a more just and more perfect Union”.

The dream has dimmed…but is not gone. Not as long as we continue to fight for it -- in our everyday words and actions demanding to form a more just, peaceful, kind and caring society where everyone is seen, valued and respected and cared for.

God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim

This week’s gospel reading recounts “the sending out of the seventy-two” disciples to preach the bursting forth of the Reign of God. They were preaching this reign that was “at hand” and is still coming upon us. Last week the theme of Sunday’s readings was “God’s call”. And so we reflected on God’s call to each of us, here and now.

God’s call to each of us is at the same time unique for each one of us and yet the same in that we are all called to preach the Gospel and to live in and build up the Reign of God. But are we ready to “live” the Reign of God? Jesus makes it abundantly clear that it will not be easy. And, in fact, our very lives may be at risk for proclaiming the Gospel and “living it”. Jesus cautions us that we are being sent out into the world “like lambs among wolves”.

As we have just celebrated the 4th of July, the great “high feast day” of our nation, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we as citizens are working to build a country that reflects the values of the Gospel; the values of the Reign of God? Are the homeless being housed…are the thirsty quenched…are the hungry being fed…are immigrants, migrants and refugees being welcomed? Is achieving true racial justice a national value and goal to which we are actively working? Are all these realities not signs of the bursting forth of the Reign of God?

And when we as a nation fail to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless and to welcome the stranger -- the immigrant, migrant and refugee -- we fail in creating true racial justice and then we fail “the mission”. We fail to build up the “Reign of God”. We fail to live out our discipleship!

The vast majority of Congress claim to be followers of Jesus. How then is it that the laws they pass are in direct violation of words, vision and the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

How does hunting down hard-working, tax paying immigrants and refugees and deporting them to third party countries where they have no relatives, may not speak the language, are not wanted and have no real possibility of building a viable life -- how is that welcoming the stranger? How is that loving my neighbor?...which Jesus told us, in the final judgment, would be exactly what we will be judged upon.

How is canceling USAID which will lead to the death of millions upon millions of people around the world in the next few years, and the canceling of US food programs for the poor and most vulnerable of our nation along with gutting Medicaid and other social safety net programs for the poor – how is that morally and ethically defendable?...all while giving tax breaks to the wealthy.

In what world is terminating and reversing all federal DEI programs, and attempting to bully private institutions and businesses to do the same – in what world is this a morally and ethically defendable course of action?

There is a very important message of hospitality that runs through today’s Gospel. In it there is a cultural expectation that the disciples will be received and offered hospitality in the towns and villages that they go to, to preach the Reign of God. They are told by Jesus to accept the hospitality in whatever form it is offered and to not move around seeking the best accommodations, the better food and drink, but to take what is offered and be satisfied.

And just as importantly, they are to wish peace upon the house and its inhabitants. So, there is a twofold nature to the giving and receiving of this hospitality. The recipient of the hospitality not only just receives, but also offers the gift of peace to the family and to the very home itself.

It speaks to a way of being in the world -- it is about the stance one takes towards the other and towards the world. It is a
fundamental stance of openness and love; of leaning into the encounter, led by the Spirit, aware of the presence of God in the moment and in the other and in the world.

And it seems that over the past few years there has been a seismic shift in the stance that many Americans have taken towards the other and towards the world. It seems to have become a stance of anger and resentment, closed off to the encounter and a rejection of the presence of the Divine in the other who is not like them.

Perhaps, in light of the celebration of our nation’s birthday, for those of us who are Christian, we should take a few minutes to reflect on how, we as a nation -- our elected officials and our fellow Americans who claim to be Christian -- are doing living out the mission Jesus gave us. And, ask ourselves what we might need to do differently, as individuals and as a nation, to readjust our fundamental stance towards the other and towards the world.

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

Throughout the Gospels Jesus is drawn to the outcasts -- to the poor and the marginalized. We see him time and time again reaching out to the leper and the unclean; to people that he should have avoided but instead he embraced. It is precisely in his embracing of the “suffering ones” that I believe Jesus’ identity shines forth.

In today’s Gospel Jesus asks the disciples “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter correctly responds: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To which Jesus responds by telling Simon he is blessed because this has been revealed to him by the Father in heaven.

And he gives Simon a new name -- Peter, meaning rock -- and proclaims that he will build his church upon this rock and hell itself will not prevail against it. And then he sternly warns the disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah.

And in the following passages, Jesus then goes on to tell them that even though he is the Messiah, he is going to suffer greatly, be rejected by the religious leaders and ultimately be killed! He tells them that anyone who wishes to follow him must deny themselves and pick up their cross and follow him and whoever loses their life for him and for the sake of the Gospel will save their life! Jesus is letting them all know that they too are going to be beaten, stripped and spit upon just like he will be as he will make his way to Golgotha.

Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem and to the cross was a journey of embracing all of those who suffer under the weight of their crosses -- crosses placed upon them by human traffickers, by inhumane and unjust immigration policies. It was an embracing of those who bear the weight of the crosses of systemic racism, bigotry and misogyny and social marginalization.

He is the Son of the God, the one of whom Isaiah spoke of, who walked with the weak and vulnerable. Just as he embraced those whom others recoiled from or found unworthy or “out of place,” we, as his followers, we are called to embrace them and welcome them too, just as Jesus did.

In the midst of a nation in such chaos, and so deeply divided, we are called to be voices of unity, and speaking out in support of those who are marginalized and threatened because of the color of their skin or their nationality or their gender or sexual orientation.

We are called to be voices of welcome to all those who are being turned away and chased down like they are less than human and cruelly deported to foreign countries where they know no one and have little or no chance of establishing a meaningful life. We are called to be voices of welcome to the thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who are so
desperately looking for a new life, a new home in our country.

We are called to carry the cross of all of those who lost their lives in ongoing military attacks and in the ever-growing number of wars…and for the families and loved ones left behind whose lives are forever wounded and scarred.

All the afore-mentioned women, men and children are the crucified whose crosses, like Simon of Cyrene, we may help to
carry even if for just for a few steps on the long and sorrowful journey of their shattered lives.

And in the carrying of their crosses, we may come to know them just a little better and come to see Christ present in
them, in the midst of their sorrow and suffering.

As I wrestle with Jesus’ question…who do you say I am?…whose cross might I help carry? Who might I let help carry my
hidden cross?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim