Sunday Homilies

We all need to resign from "The Good People's Society," and breathe the fresh air of mercy.

"Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new."  We take time to consider a time factor in "the parable that everyone hates."

The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor requires little commentary.  We consider protests in St. Louis and our diocesan synod in light of the immensity of God's mercy and the possibilities for healing human hearts.

We must not exaggerate the role of "watchman."  We must develop our trust in our one-on-one interactions, which strengthen communion in our Church.

Peter did not understand Jesus' "business model."  Of course, the path which Jesus walked is hard to grasp.  As we ponder our own labors, we seek to unite ourselves with our Suffering Servant.

Last week it was my deacon's turn to preach.  -- The imagery of keys moves us to reconsider how Christians of Rome understand themselves and their relations with other Christians.

1 Kgs 19: 9a. 11-13a/ Ps 85: 9. 10. 11-12. 13-14/ Rom 9: 1-5/ Mt 14: 22-33 On the basis of the readings above, I worked in a commentary on yesterday's events in Charlottesville, Virginia.

We must learn to trust our own religious experience, which includes accepting the testimony of Peter and others in the history of the People of God.

Another version of the previous Sunday homily.

Wisdom is not the same as shrewdness.  Wisdom calls us to take in realities beyond our own self-interest.

The homilist's first weekend in his new parishes has him considering "little things" which are necessary steps toward being enrobed in the love of the Kingdom of God.

We return to the Sundays of Ordinary Time.  "You are worth more than many sparrows" -- we are indeed precious in the sight of God.

"What is it?"  Manna means "what is it?"  "Not by bread alone do we live" -- therefore, we must plumb the depths of the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.

God is, fundamentally, relationship.  The Trinity gives us insight into the various relationships to which we are committed.

A number of people noticed that I seemed to be touching on politics in this homily.  I certainly was.  Isn't everything political?

When we part from one another, and we are sad, the sadness points to the value of what we have shared.  This value is not lost as the Holy Spirit binds us together into the Body of Christ.

"With gentleness and reverence," we share with others the reason for our hope in the risen Lord.

"Once you were no people, but now you are God's people.  Once there was no mercy for you, but now you have found mercy."  The assurance of 1 Peter 2: 10.

We are closest to God when we are in the midst of struggle.

The Emmaus incident is the most moving of the post-resurrection experiences in the Gospels.  We consider how surprised Jesus' friends were.  Our faith is not a mere wish-fulfillment.

Let us pay special attention this Easter season to the First Letter of Peter, a letter which is all about "belonging."

"You have said so."  All of creation cries out the identity of the one who laid down his life to reconcile us with our God.

Our faith is utterly personal.  Jesus raises Lazarus as he draws upon his human feeling.

This is a privileged time in which adults to be baptized make their immediate preparations for Christian initiation.

We are on a journey.  We must not trivialize the reality of this journey.  We simply live mystery as we go places we may not care to go.