Cup o' Joe

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 18, verses 35-43 Jesus walks through Jericho and encounters a blind man sitting by the side of the road.  Through persistence, the blind man is brought before Jesus.  And it is in this encounter that Jesus asks The Question.  It's a question we must answer as well. Today is a mini-pod - something I'm going to be trying out.  Let me know what you thin...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, verses 26-37 Jesus continues his discussion regarding the coming of the Son of Man with His disciples.  And while that can certainly point to the Second Coming, it doesn't have to.  The Son of Man comes today and we are invited out of our routines to see and make a decision.  Here.  Today.  Now.   We also celebrate the life and death o...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, verses 20-25 The Pharisees are giving Jesus a hard time, asking exactly when the Kingdom of God will come.  He replies to them that they have it all wrong.  The Kingdom of God is already among them.  And us.  But if that is true, where exactly do we see it?  Our world is torn with violence and division.  Where does God reside?  I use t...

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, verses 11-19 On this Feast of St. Leo the Great, we hear the wonderful story of the 10 lepers who were cleansed, and only one returned to give thanks to God...a Samaritan.  So today, we focus not only on faith and trusting God to be with us on the journey; we focus not only on our salvation resting on the fact that all is gift and rendering that as gratitude; b...

The Gospel of John, Chapter 2, verses 13-22 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica - in other words we celebrate the dedication of a building.  But it is much more than that.  We celebrate an event.  We celebrate a turning.  And, like most crossroads, there are blessings and perils down that road.  This gift brought similar choices.  An...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17, verses 1-6 Jesus is not afraid of a little hyperbole in today's teaching, so why stop at one example?  Instead He uses three.  Millstones, Multiple Daily Forgiveness and Mulberry Trees being recklessly uprooted and thrown into the sea.  But when we can move beyond the exaggeration, there is much for us to ponder within this beautiful passage.  

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 16, verses 1-8 Today Jesus, in speaking to his disciples (i.e. you and I), tells a parable with which I have always struggled.  Not because I don't like it.  But because I'm not certain of where Jesus is inviting us.  And so, I take it in two different directions - and invite you to take it wherever the Spirit may move within you.   Effectively,...

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, verses 1-10 We enter into one of the greatest chapters in all of Scripture today, with Jesus giving us two parables addressed to the self-righteous in His midst.  Those to whom He is speaking have a tendency to divide the world in two - those in and those out.  The righteous and the non-righteous.  Jesus sees no such divide.  He sees people in ne...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14, verses 25-33 Although we celebrate the feast of St. Martin de Porres today, we are back in the Gospel of Luke.  And today, Jesus is challenging the large crowd following Him that to live a life of discipleship is not an easy task.  It's not for large crowds or the faint of heart.  It takes strength to put at the center that which needs to be at the center...

The Gospel of John, Chapter 6, verses 37-40 Today, my friends, we celebrate another feast day - a decidedly Catholic one: The Feast of All Souls.  And so on today's pod, we talk about Purgatory.  And in talking about Purgatory, we discuss it not in a punitive way, but as the hope-filled doctrine that it is.  It is so good.  I also use an analogy from the recent past to invite u...

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 1-12a My friends, we celebrate a Holy Day within our Church today - the Feast of All Saints.  And this day celebrates not only those canonized and held before us as examples, it celebrates all those holy women and men within our families, communities and lives.  And it reminds us of our own call to sanctity and how we are invited to live that in commu...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14, verses 1-6 Jesus had to get tired of being set up by his enemies, didn't He?  If He did, He sure doesn't show it in today's Gospel.  Instead, He uses it as a teaching tool to try to bring them beyond, over and past where they are stuck.  But they refuse to engage.  Yet none of that stops Him from doing the right and the good thing...even knowing that...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 12-16 Today we celebrate the feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, two of the forgotten apostles of Jesus.  What do we know about them?  Two things: Their names and the fact that they said yes when called.  That seems a small amount to attain discipleship, but we sometimes forget that discipleship isn't earned with an impressive resume.  It's given as a...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 13, verses 22-30 Jesus gives us another hard Gospel today.  Not just hard to understand (although it is that, too!).  No, today is a hard truth.  He's telling us that it is decision time.  Stop standing with a foot in both camps.  Get out of the doorway.  Decide which side of the door you will stand on.  And what people, habits and things...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 13, verses 18-21 Today, Jesus uses two images to help describe the Kingdom of God to us: a mustard seed and yeast.  But here's my question to you - how would you describe the Kingdom of God?  What imagery would you use and what is it you are wanting to convey? Today's Gospel is a great Gospel of hope.  The end is determined.  It's just the time of growth...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 13, verses 10-17 This is so good, brothers and sisters.  Jesus performs a healing of a woman bent over for 18 years.  But the real battle happening here is not between sickness and health, but rather what the law is truly about.  Is it about freedom, dignity and life?  Or is it about power and control?  You know where Jesus is going to land, but it...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 54-59 On this Feast of St. John Paul II, Jesus invites the people to learn how to read the signs of the times to the degree that they are able to read the meteorological signs all around them.  Well, you know that they are us.  That same challenge lies at our door.  Are you able to read the signs of the times?  And are you able to see where th...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 49-53 Jesus continues to bring hard truths to the people.  What does He have to say to us today?  That He came for division and that if we allow ourselves to be filled with the fire and passion of the Holy Spirit, expect kickback.  Gird your loins, my friends...

The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 39-48 Jesus, through Luke, continues to speak to those who may be growing weary of waiting for the return of The Master and uses two more images - one quite stark and in-your-face - about our need to be prepared.  He also holds us accountable for the knowledge we hold.  The question is - what will we do with it?

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 35-38 Jesus invites us to be ready, for we know not the hour of His coming.  So what, exactly, do we need to put up on our refrigerator?  Guess you have to listen to find out ;)

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 1-9 Today we celebrate the Gospel of Luke and his "yes" to Christ - and how it changed the world and continues to do so.  We also focus on who God is within Luke's Gospel, mainly that God is mercy and forgiveness itself and doesn't limit who He will call in order to pass this word along, including even calling us.

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 1-7 Jesus continues the theme he had been speaking of with the Pharisees around the dinner table, only this time warning His disciples to be wary of hypocrisy.  All that is hidden will be revealed.  He then goes into what could be a scary place, so I attempt to understand it before landing it on one of Jesus's most beautiful thoughts regarding God's gre...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 47-54 Jesus finishes up his dinner with the Scribes and Pharisees, but not before he names a present reality to them - that they honor the prophets that previous generations have killed.  And in so doing, perpetuate the cycle.  I would love to say that was something that was only present to that specific generation 2,000 years ago.  But unfortunate...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 42-46 Jesus continues (courageously, I might add!) to hold a mirror up to the Pharisees gathered around the table, naming the truth that lies within them.  If only that truth and mirror applied to those hearing His words 2,000 years ago - but they continue to resonate through the years and speak to the Pharisee within all of us.  But even so, they conti...

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11, verses 37-41 Jesus finishes speaking to the crowd and has dinner at the home of a Pharisee.  But he quickly comes under fire for not keeping the precepts of the Law.  Some hospitality, right? Jesus then reprimands the Pharisees - and speaks to us over the ages - about the need for the inside and the outside to match.  At stake?  Freedom.