Father Kevin A. Codd: Recent Episodes
Kevin A. Codd
Father Kevin A. Codd, recently retired pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Spokane, WA, shares his Sunday homilies and other occasional reflections.
The magnificent passage from today's liturgy celebrating the profound mystery of the Holy Trinity, (Proverbs 8: 22-31), is worth paying close attention to. It reveals a God who creates our universe, our earth, and we ourselves as human beings filled with delight in doing so. The Wisdom tradition in the Jewish religion in the centuries before Christ, provide us with an alternate view of God the mighty and powerful judge, as well as what may be a sort of advance look into the Christian understanding both of the Word in John's Gospel and the Holy Spirit.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
"In the beginning..." Genesis tells us that when God created the first human being, he breathed life and spirit into him as an act of pure love. "Ruach" is the word in Hebrew for "breath", but also for "wind", and "spirit". It is this same "Ruach" that we hear about in the great Pentecost story of Acts and in John's Gospel as well. The Pentecost story is that of God doing again what he once did: creating us anew in love.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Though our Easter liturgies carry on, the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday has made the past week a time of grief and hope. We remember Francis for so many lovely gestures of mercy, compassion, and love. We pray that his successor will be a shepherd who brings all his sheep to the Church's Table.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
"Happy Easter" is a fine greeting, but the word "happy" doesn't really communicate the depth of what we experience on this Easter morning. The risen Jesus offers his own "word" for his disciples and for us: "Peace."
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador, (and wrapping up a long Holy Week, the homilist is a bit weary which seems manifest in his delivery!)
John's narrative of Jesus' passion, death, and burial includes the mention of many names. There is Jesus and Simon Peter, of course, but also Malchus, Annas and Caiphas, Pilate, and at the end, the noble Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. But there is also the name of Barabbas, the brigand, and that of Caesar; what significance might these two names hold in this deeply sad story?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. All of it...eighteen minutes of it, here told again as so many times before. A simple reflection follows: Jesus prays three times in this long story and each prayer is worthy of its own homily; each one shows us something deeply important about Jesus, his relationship to his Father, and his relationship to us. There is a fourth prayer here, too: that of the criminal crucified next to him. It is one that we keep in our own heart all the days of our lives, sin besmirched as they may be: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
The Passion proclaimed to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The horrific story given to us on this fifth Sunday of the Lenten season is so much more than a story about a woman "caught in the very act of adultery"; it is a story about that woman, of course, but also about the men carrying the stones in their hands ready to kill her in the name of Moses, and it is a story about Jesus...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The magnificent parable that Jesus tells in Luke 15 proves he is one of the great story-tellers of all time. It also is a spiritual revolution because it turns upside down the way most people have imagined God. Jesus pulls no punches in this story, which as it happens, is squarely directed at the religious leaders of his day. What is God like? For Jesus, God is this father who loves his sons so much that he will do anything to save them from themselves.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
The magnificent story of Moses and the Burning Bush reveals to Moses (and to us!) a God who has the ears to hear the cries of a people enslaved, humiliated, and impoverished. That God would care with a burning passion for the sufferings of a small tribe of Hebrews trapped in Egypt teaches both Moses and us so much about the God at the heart of our faith. But there is more to this story worthy of our consideration. The voice of God emanating from that burning bush also demands that Moses draw no closer. "Stop right where you are!" This spiritual sense that we human beings can only get so close to God travels through the centuries. Distance from God is essential for he is God and we are not! And it is precisely this that Jesus turns upside down with his coming to us in flesh and blood. In him, we are invited into the burning bush that is God's presence.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
En la primera lectura de este domingo cuaresmal, encontramos con Moisés algo maravilloso: una zarza ardiendo sin consumirse. Es mas que cualquier zarza y mas que cualquier zara ardiendo sin consumirse: es un encuentro con Dios. Este Dios revela que es un Dios con oídos para escuchar los gritos del pueblo de Moisés esclavizado en Egipcio y un Dios con un corazón para los oprimidos. Ha hecho la decisión a actuar a liberarlo. Es muy importante esa revelación porque la compasión para los pobres, los desechados, los vulnerables, los esclavizados llega a ser la norma fundamental de la moralidad de los judíos y luego los cristianos. Pero hay algo más en esta historia: la distancia que Moisés tiene que guardar ante de la presencia divina también es muy importante, especialmente para entender el significado de Jesús y su encarnación.
Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Abraham looks up into the night sky resplendent with stars and sees his destiny: "Your children will be more than even the starts of the night!" James, John, and Peter look into the divine face of Jesus and are given a pre-vision of Easter glory. And more than that, they, and we with them, also see our own destiny: what we see in Jesus Glorified is what we too shall be when all is said and done.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Following his extraordinary experience in the Jordan River, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert. Here he must confront the fundamental temptations of his life, especially now that he clearly knows his is God's Beloved Son. Each of the three desert temtations is a test of his vocation and mission.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus doesn't mince his words or his imagery; he says it clearly: "Love your enemies." We all know that this is the most difficult, if not the most impossible, thing Jesus teaches us. So how do we actually do it in real life? Jesus gives us the answer and it is both a simple one and a profound one.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesús nos ofrece hoy su "mandamiento" más difícil: "Amen a sus enemigos." A nosotros en nuestras vidas cotidianas, se parece casi imposible cumplirlo porque los enemigos nuestros nos han dañado mucho. Jesús entonces nos ensena como podamos vivir su mandamiento tan difícil...por orar para el bien de ellos.
Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Entre las dos versiones de las Bienaventurados que encontramos en los evangelios de Mateo y Lucas, la de Lucas es la más difícil. Jesús se pone como revolucionario en no ofrecer bendiciones a los a la cima del orden social y religiosa del día y al contrario de toda expectativa, anuncia que los bendecidos de Dios son los más al bajo del orden social y religiosa.
Homilía compartida con la comunidad parroquial de la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador
Everyone loves the Beatitudes, though the version they love is almost always that of Matthew. Luke's version is more difficult because Jesus is in full-prophet mode as he uses his maiden sermon to upend the social and religious order of his time. Who is "blessed" and who is "woed" are not what anyone in that crowd expected to hear.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sometimes a single brief moment can define the character and meaning of a whole life. So it was for Simeon; his encounter with the child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem gave meaning to his long life and made him a figure of immense importance in the story of Israel's long-hoped-for salvation. As he received the Messiah on behalf of Israel, so he also stands in for us for whom this messiah is our "light to the nations."
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Today's impressive "miracle story" from the Gospel of John is a rarity: it is a "happy miracle!" Most of Jesus' miracles begin with a leper, a blind-man, even a dead-man (Lazarus), but this one begins with a wedding feast...the only problem is the wine for the feast has run out...not such a big deal in the face of humanity's many troubles. The changing of water to wine is a sign of the grand graciousness of God to us. Making us happy makes him happy!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
“Mijo, te quiero y me complace.” Tales palabras dicho por un papá son de suma importancia en la vida de un niño. También fueron para Jesús. Al oír palabras muy parecidas de su Padre en el cielo momentos después de su bautismo en el rio Jordan, Jesús seguramente se sentía a la aprobación de su Padre para su manera de llevar la salvación a su pueblo. No por una revolución política contra los poderes políticos, ni por ser el más famoso maestro de la ley en la historia de Israel, sino por acompañar el pueblo humilde, pobre, y pecador en el desierto y en las aguas de arrepentimiento del rio Jordan.
Homilía compartida en la capilla de las Siervas de Maria en Cuenca, Ecuador.
"I love you and I'm proud of you." These are words any son or daughter loves to hear from their father. They are much the same words Jesus hears from his Father following his baptism in the Jordan River at the hands of John. They were important to Jesus not just because he needed some paternal validation, but because they let him know that his choice for just how he is going to save God's People has been the correct one. Jesus does not choose to take on the sons of Herod as a political revolutionary, nor be the greatest of rabbis on the steps of the Temple, but by going out to the desert to be with the poor, the humble, the sinners of Israel.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
We have warm and loving feelings for our Three Magi, so prominent on this final solemn feast of the Christmas season. Because of that love, we have many names for them: the Three Magi, the Three Kings, the Three Astrologers, and the Three Wisemen. Perhaps, we missed one though: "The Three Strangers", for their coming from a far-away land, their strange dress and customs, even their status as non-believers in the God of Abraham, may make such a tital far more important to the Epiphany story than the others.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Arguably one of the most poignant lines in all of Luke's Gospel is at the heart of today's feast: "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." It tells us so much about the character and spirituality of our dear Mary. She was at heart, a contemplative, and remembering all that God had done for her was an integral part of her contemplative spirit.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecudador.
The boy Jesus' extended stay in the Temple of Jerusalem marks a significant turning point in his life as Luke tells the story. As he listens to the great rabbis teach and preach, he also asks them the big questions that have been on his mind for a long time. Over the three days he spends among them, something remarkable happens: he grows up. He lets go of the hands of his father and mother and takes the hand of his Father. He comes to know who he is and what his mission is: to be God's feet, his hands, his very face to the People of God!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
It seems that the more we honor God as "Almighty", the further he seems to be from us. We imagine the Almighty God as a severe judge, a king enthroned on high, or even as Michaelangelo's old man with a great beard floating on heavenly clouds. As God becomes ever more distant from us and our lives here on this earth, so too the cry from our hearts: "Where are you God; I need you HERE!" Those images of God Almighty are shattered on this day, when God becomes the Unmighty: nothing but flesh and blood like us, poor, cold, defenseless against the night. This is the great mystery we celebrate on this great morning: An Unmighty God Among Us!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Elizabeth is one of those dear people you just want to get to know. So today, using the gift of homiletic imagination, let's spend some time with her and listen to her tell her story...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The question is repeated several times over; John is asked: What should we do? John's answer is a baseline of moral behaviour; it is nothing extraordinary. John is just trying to get his people up to the minimum of decent human and Jewish behavior. John knows that the One Who Is To Come will ask far more of them: a much deeper kind of love, a self-giving love!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
Luke opens his version of Jesus's story with a bit of historical context. It is important in telling us that the story that follows is not a fable or a fairy tale or a great work of fiction. It is history. And this very real story begins with John in the desert...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The great prayer of Advent is a simple one: "Come, Lord, Come! It expresses our humility before God; we cannot save ourselves! It trusts in God's ability to save us. It places full faith and confidence that God, indeed, WILL save us! The pattern of crying out to God in our tribulations to come, then waiting for his coming, and finally experiencing his coming to save us is an old one, but it is especially present in the story of Jesus. His story of victory over the worst humanity could throw at him opens up our own story's end to be one of ultimate victory over evil and the forces of death and destruction. And so we yet pray: Come, Lord, come!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
The Gospel passage from John this final Sunday of the Church's liturgical year presents us with two "kings" facing one another. One is typical of most human kings: power and domination are the currency of their reign. The other is far from typical: a humble carpenter, a controversial prophet, one willing to let go of all power in self-sacrificial love, destined for a cruel death. How can he be considered a "king" of anything? Let's ponder that question in this homily...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
As the church year draws to a close, our liturgical readings are replete with apocolyptic imagery. Some of it is deeply consoling while other passages make us shiver with fear and trembling. Perhaps, the images in today's gospel can be read a different way: as images of a great love and a new life being born.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
Jesus attends to those who donate to the Temple in Jerusalem. The rich donors do not impress him, but a poor widow clearly does touch him deeply. In her self-giving, he sees himself and what will happen to him in Jerusalem.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Let us consider the Scribe who asks Jesus which of the commandments is the most important. Jesus answer seems to astound the man: "The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your sould, all your mind, and all your strength...and the second: love your neighbor as yourself." The Scribe finds these to be the perfect response to his question and says so. Jesus commends his understanding of this great mystery and says to him that he is not far from the Kingdom of God. What moved the man to ask this question in the first place? We can only conjecture, but the end result is a commendation to all of us to consider the quality of our own love of God and love of neighbor.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
El escriba en el evangelio de hoy presenta a Jesús una pregunta muy fundamental: "Cual de los mandamientos de la ley es lo más importante? La respuesta de Jesús le impresiona mucho y el escriba dice que Jesús de verdad tiene razón. Es cierto que el mandamiento más grande de todo es amar a Dios con todo su corazón y amar a su prójimo como a si mismo.
Homilía compartido en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.
The beautiful verse from the late Hebrew scriptures, the Book of Wisdom, "The souls of the just are in the hands of God and there no torment shall touch them", leads us to reflect on the mystery of life, the life God has gifted to us, and its fulfillment in the life of God. As we remember our beloved dead this day, we entrust their souls into God's merciful and gracious hands.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
La hermosa y profunda lectura del Libro de Sabiduria con que comenzamos la Liturgia de la Palabra en este dia solemne, nos ayuda a reflejernos sobre la realidad de la vida como don precioso de Dios, la muerte, y las manos tiernos de Dios en que entregamos las almas de nuestros queridos difuntos.
Homilia ofrecida en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.
"I was blind, but now I see..." When Andrea Bocelli sings that beautiful line from the hymn, Amazing Grace, you know it is a prayer that comes from deep in his own experience as a blind man. He would understand why Bartimeus in today's gospel reading would ask Jesus for just one thing: "I want to see." The most important "seeing" here is a seeing of things unseeable: love, life, amazing grace.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. This homily is a revision of one delivered in Spokane some years ago.
The brothers, James and John, make a bold request of Jesus hoping to fulfill their desire for greatness in their lives. Jesus lets them know that he can't fulfill their request, but asks them instead if they can drink the cup of which he is to drink. He then gives all his apostles a stern lesson in humility and service.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus loves the man who asks him, "What must I do to inherit everlasting life?" He already fulfills the commandments, so what more is there to do? Jesus, in love, gives him the one thing he can't bring himself to do: sell everything, give to the poor, and follow him. Alas...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus responds to a trick question about divorce. Rather than fall into the trap, he points his opponents' attention to what they are not seeing: the rich image of God's love that marriage is. The ideal of married love that he poses to them is one that animates our own understanding to this day.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus' severe teaching in the 9th chapter of Mark's gospel is a good example of radical exaggeration to make an important point. Jesus isn't mandating the cutting off of feet, chopping off of hands, or the actual plucking out of eyes. He IS mandating that we take a hard look at our own fundamental sins and excise them from our lives. Arrogance, lying, and lack of forgiveness, these are the "big ones" and the most challenging to be free of.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
One of the most popular images of Jesus is when he holds a child, embracing him/her with great love and tenderness. Today's gospel reading presents us with one of those moments, but the meaning off the story is far deeper than just "Jesus loves the little children", as the popular song from the '70's reminded us. This is a story about service, humility, and striving to be the least rather than the greatest.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus takes some time with his disciples to talk with them about something serious. He begins by asking them who others say that he is. The he asks them who THEY say he is. Peter's response is perfect: "You are the Christ." Jesus then explains what that will mean as they go forward: persecution, injustice, death...and the resurrection. After Peter protests, Jesus explains that this is essential to the mission of the Christ.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
¿Nada más que un milagro más? ¿O sea posible que en la sanación del hombre sordo y mudo estamos experimentando un encuentro intimo entre nosotros y Jesús?
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, EC.
Jesus strangely uses spit to heal the deaf and mute man in the Gospel of Mark. Why spit? It is not so obvious to us in our times, but just maybe saliva had a primordial significance for Jesus. Coming from the mouth where both breath and word mingle, it may be that Jesus' spit carries with it his breath, his word, his spirit, his humanity and divinity both. In this intimate ritual of healing, Jesus gives his very being to the other.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
The big boys from Jerusalem come to Jesus to complain about his disciples failure to follow the ways of their forefathers, more particularly, their failure to wash their hands before meals. It sounds at first like a reasonable complaint to us, but their intervention wasn't really about proper hygiene; it had much more to do with the measures they were using to judge how faithful to God one was. These cleanliness rules were really ritual purification rules and those who followed them faithfully were faithful to God and God to them. Jesus doesn't like this one bit: the externals are not the measure of a person's holiness or closeness to God; it is what is on the inside that counts!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
As the 6th chapter of John's Gospel comes to an end this Sunday...as well as his lengthy teaching on the Bread of Life...there are no cheers nor gusty rounds of applause. To the contrary, most of his own disciples walk away from him, except the Twelve. It must surely have been a most discouraging moment for Jesus and a confusing one for Peter and the other eleven. At this nadir of his ministry, Jesus asks the few remaining with him, "Do you also want to leave me?" Peter's answer on behalf of the others is almost certainly deeply moving for Jesus. "Master, to whom shall we go? We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus' question is given to us as well and so each day in our prayer, we must answer.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador. This day is also the 45th anniversary of Father Kevin Codd's ordination to the priesthood, which is reflected in his words today especially the final reflection.
Even after three Sundays worth of quarreling over Jesus' teaching on the Bread of Life, those Galileans who have followed Jesus to Capernaum are still at it. They just cant figure out what Jesus is going on about. There is a reason: they don't underestand his foundational teaching on who God is. They are stuck within an image of God as a powerful king, a severe judge, a great general. All this is far from what Jesus shares with them and others: God is first and foremost "Father" to us. Only in receiving this teaching can Jesus' further teaching about himself being the Bread of Life make any sense.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
The spectacular story of the prophet, Elija, helps us understand more profoundly the proclamation of Jesus in the Gospel of John that he is the Bread of Life, the Bread Come Down from Heaven. In Elijah's story, the God of Israel gives him the bread he needs to continue on in his great prophetic mission. So Jesus is the Bread of Life given to us by his Father that nourishes us and strengthens us for our own mission in this world.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. (This homily is also available in Spanish).
La historia del profeta Elías nos ayuda entender a Jesús cuando proclama que si mismo es el pan de vida en el evangelio de San Juan. El verdadero Dios de Israel no abandona a su profeta, sino le da el pan que necesita para seguir en su misión profética. Así es con Jesús: él es el pan que Dios, su Padre, da a nosotros para cumplir nuestras misiones en este mundo.
Homilía compartida con los feligreses de la Iglesia de Santa Teresita, Misicata, (Cuenca), Ecuador.
Those poor folks in the desert! Having just escaped the slavery of Egypt, now they must face the reality of not having bread for their journey towards the Promised Land! Their murmuring against both Moses and God is not without effect for God provides them with their daily bread because of his love for them. Jesus does much the same in his own time; last Sunday he provided a bounty of bread to a hungry crowd; but this week, he does more: he proclaims himself as the true bread come down from heaven, the very Bread of Life!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Los pobres hebreos en el desierto! Después de haber dejado atrás la esclavitud de egipcio, se encuentren sin pan y con hambre en el desierto de Sinaí. Se murmuran contra Moisés y contra Dios. Sin embargo, Dios les provee su “pan de cada día” por amor a ellos. Jesús hace lo mismo a los judíos de su tiempo; les da pan de harina de trigo (el domingo pasado) pero mas importante, les da pan que no se acaba, Pan de Vida, que es su ser.
Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Roque, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Our world has many hungers: Hunger of the body. Hunger of the spirit. Hunger for riches and power. Which of these merits the primary attention of the Christian? A case can be made for each of them. Jesus addresses all three as one in today's magnificent gospel story of the multiplacation of the loaves and fishes.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador
Hay mucha hambre en esta tierra. Hambre del cuerpo. Hambre del espiritu. Hambre tambien para el poder y las riquezas. ?Cual de esas es la mas importante para los Cristianos? Para Jesus, todos a la vez. El milagro de los panes y pescados es mucho mas que una maravilla, es un momento de formar de las multitudes un Pueblo de Dios compartiendo el Pan de la Vida.
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Roque, Cuenca, Ecuador.
"Jesus vio una numerosa multitud que lo estaba esperando y se compadeció de ellos, porque andaban como ovejas sin pastor..." En este momento tierno del Evangelio de San Marcos, la falta de pastores para las ovejas de Israel es algo notable. ¿Donde estan? Nos urge a todos nosotros examinar bien nuestras vidas como discipulos de Jesus; ¿estamos actuando como pastores a las ovejas que buscan la presencia de Dios en sus vidas diarias?
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
As Jesus encounters the crowds looking to him for an experience of God in their lives, he is moved deeply and describes them as "sheep without shepherds." But where were those "shepherds" who were supposed to be caring for them? The priests of the temple, the students of the Law, and others who should have been with them were occupied elsewhere. The implicit critique of these non-shepherding shepherds, together with the powerful indictment in the prophet Jeremiah (first reading of the day), calls all of us who are pastors in one way or another to examine our consciences as to how absent we might be from the sheep the Lord has given to us.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Life has its unexpected changes. Such was true for many of the great figures in the Scriptures, including Jesus' Twelve. In Mark 6, they experience the unexpected and challenging change from their status as "disciples" to "apostles."
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
En la vida, siempre hay cambios Asi era para los grandes figuras de las Escrituras y en particular para los Doce. En el sexto capitulo de San Marcos, la vida de los Doce se cambia en una manera grande e inesperaba: se cambian de discipulos a apostoles.
Homilia compartida a los feligreses de la Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis en Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus' return to his hometown of Nazareth is marked by the unappreciative (and unbelieving) response of his family and neighbors. Perhaps tangled expectations, part of every family's life, are the reason.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The evangelist, Mark, chooses a very rare literary form in his fifth chapter; he "sandwiches" one beautiful story between two halves of another. Let's explore what he might be up to even as we learn so much from both Jesus' encounter with Jairus, the synagogue official and the woman suffering for twelve years with a debilitating flow of blood.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Mark's version of the storm at sea contains one line that should stop us cold: "Teacher, do you not care that we are about to perish?" It is a terrible thing to say to Jesus who is "care" incarnate. What Jesus' apostles miss in the midst of their storm is the reality that Jesus is in the boat with them. We, too, often forget this same truth in the midst of our life's storms.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The character of Adam and Eve's first great sin in today's story from Genesis was not really that of "disobedience" as much as it was good, old-fashioned "hubris". Their attempt to make gods of themselves was the beginning of the troubles our human race has struggled with almost forever. It is the "great sin" still at the heart of just about all our present troubles. The Jesus story found in the Gospels lets us know we can rest in our humility for it is thus that the one and true God loves us, as evidenced by his coming to us as one of us. (And apologies for the gravelly voice today...a cold virus got to me earlier in the week.)
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
La historia de Adan y Eva es una de las mas importantes del Antiguo Testamento. Con su "pecado original" comenzamos una historia por los siglos de mucha maldad. No es tanto un pecado de desobedienca, sino uno del orgullo humano que siempre quiere ponernos como dioses. Y asi, continuamos a vivir una historia de una maldad humana desastrozo. (Pido disculpas por mi voz; estoy un poco resfriado hoy).
Homilia compartida en la capilla de las Hermanas Carmelitas, Virgen de Bronce, Cuenca, Ecuador.
The expansive display of sweets of all kinds here in Cuenca's Parque del Calderon this Corpus Christi weeks raises the simple question, "Why?" The answer is clear if we understand what sweets symbolize in the popular Catholic imagination, particularly in Latin America. Just about everything dealing with God and his love for us! Sweet are God's abundant graces in our lives!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
To "understand" the Holy Trinity is only possible after we have "experienced" the Holy Trinity as did Jesus' first disciples.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Un viñador nos ensena el significado de la viña, el tronco, y sus uvas: comunión con Dios y los demás.
Homilía compartida por el Padre Kevin con la comunidad católica de Santa Teresita, Misicata (Cuenca, Ecuador)
The image of the Marlboro Man is the archetype for rugged individualism. The humble vine-tender with his vines is an archetype of communion.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
Juan 20: 19-31: Al anochecer del día de la resurrección, estando cerradas las puertas de la casa donde se hallaban los discípulos, por miedo a los judíos, se presentó Jesús en medio de ellos y les dijo: "La paz esté con ustedes". Dicho esto, les mostró las manos y el costado. Cuando los discípulos vieron al Señor, se llenaron de alegría.
Las primeras palabras que Jesús resucitado dice a sus discípulos son sencillas pero importantes: "La paz este con ustedes." O en hebreo: "Shalom." ¿Que es esa “paz” que Jesús les ofrece? La consideramos...
Homilia para el segundo domingo de la Pascua/Divina Misericordia (B)
Jesus' first words to his disciples are simple: "Peace be with you." The fact that he repeats them two more times in today's reading from the Gospel of John would indicate they are very important words, indeed. Just what kind of peace is Jesus extending to his frightened and confused disciples?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. (A Spanish version of this same reflection is also available on this site).
On this Easter morning, John's Gospel gives us three important characters in the opening verses of his Resurrection story for our joyful consideration. Each responds to the empty tomb in a different way; only one sees and believes.
Easter homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
In the most poignant moment in John's Passion, Jesus "hands over his spirit." What might John mean by this strange final note to Jesus' passion? Perhaps we need to go back to the Creation story in Genesis to plumb its meaning.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
As we begin the Holy Triduum, the thread that runs through the solemnities of these days is captured in the Greek word: "Kenosis". Jesus teaches his disciples the meaning of "kenosis" in three lessons: the washing of feet, the breaking of the bread, and the acceptance of the cross.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani? My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? We cannot afford to warm or lighten the cold blackness of these final words of Jesus in the moments before he dies. To do so risks cheapening the mystery of the Incarnation and the glory of the Resurrection. This is Jesus in the fullness of his humanity feeling God's absence and crying out for its loss. In our own desolations of the spirit when God seems absent from us, Jesus is our companion and our guide through the darkness to the light of the Third Day.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, EC.
Covenants are part and parcel of the story of Israel's relationship with God through the centuries: "I will be your God and you will be my people." The prophet Jeremian (Jeremiah 31:31-34) sees a new kind of covenant between Israel and the Lord, one written not in stone, but in the human heart. We have come to believe that Jesus is the embodiment of that new covenant, written in flesh and blood.
This homily was delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The symbol of a serpent wound around a staff found in the Book of Numbers remains today as a symbol of healing...many doctors and medical offices still use it on their stationary. It was well known to Jesus as well since in today's Gospel passage from John, he references it, and even more, makes himself the healing sign for God's people. The key words, "lifted up" refer to what is yet to come: his own "being lifted up" on the cross AND his being "lifted up" from death itself. All this because "God so loved the world that he sent his son..."
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus clearly is very angry in today's gospel reading from John. As he goes after the sellers some wonder if such anger is wrong or right. Which itself indicates that anger comes in two flavors: sinful and righteous. Which is Jesus'?
I was down with covid on this particular Sunday so this is a read version of the written text I had shared with our Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca.
The story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, because God asked him for a proof of his dedication to him is a nightmarish story for kids. Could it be that kids understand that Abraham might have misunderstood what God was asking of him? God in heaven, after all, is a long way from us on earth. If so, then perhaps this story helps us hear the story of Jesus' transfiguration in a new way...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador.
A rare coincidence: both Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday coincide this year. The images of both are polar opposites: candy hearts vs. gray ash. Everlasting love vs. the certainty of death. Yet those ashes are not just smudges; they are the sign of the cross that allows us to see beyond death, beyond the ashes we will one day all be. And that cross is the sign of a love greater than all loves that is the foundation of everlasting life.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
What at first seems like a very nice story of a very nice Jesus becomes something far more challenging once various translations of just one word are taken into consideration. Does Jesus feel "pity", "compassion", or "anger" once approached by the leper in Mark's gospel? Perhaps both compassion and anger spring from the same passionate confrontation with evil in this story.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
Mark gives us a sort of documentary of one day in the life of Jesus in four episodes, each one particular to a place and ministry in his daily life. He moves from (1)Synagogue to (2)Home to (3)Public Street to (4)Deserted Place.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
As follower of Jesus even these many centuries later, we want to know him; we want to know his heart. Today's story from the first chapter of Mark's Gospel of Jesus' first encounter with a person possessed by an evil spirit gives us a first look into Jesus' heart.
The theme of Jesus' heart was suggested by the Ecuadorian Church's reconsecration today to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first such consecration and as it prepares for the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quito in September of this year.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jonah is a rather reluctant prophet. He avoids God when he can and when he can't he proclaims God's call to repent with plenty of grumbling. Yet Nineveh does repent out of fear of God's retribution. Jesus also calls the people of Galilee to repent, but there is a big difference between Jonah and Jesus and the character of their call to repent.
Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador
What might Jesus' time with Andrew and the other disciple, alone and at his place, been like? Jesus doing all the talking? Or Jesus posing ever more deeply the question already asked, "For what are you looking?" Jesus may well have been not the talker here, but the listener, the attender. If so for Andrew and the other disciple, then perhaps also for us as we live out the stories of our lives.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador.
It is curious how many names the central characters of today's feast bear: are they kings, astrologers, wise men, or magi? Each gives a different feel to the story of their visit to Bethlehem. Yet it is also curious the name that is missing: "The Three Strangers...or Outsiders...or Unbelievers", yet that is what they are and that is good news for us!
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. This homily is a revision of one delivered in Sacred Heart Church in Spokane in January 2018.
The remarkable story of Abraham and Sarah found in Genesis teaches us that out of "irregular" or "shameful" families, God brings blessings and great fruit. The pattern is found often in the Scriptures: a barren or aged woman is blessed by God with a child who will in turn be a great blessing to Israel. The same happens in the Gospel's Nativity stories with Elizabeth and Mary. In our times, it is a vitally important lesson: God takes imperfect families, blesses them, and brings great blessings to others through them.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
The grand Pesebre or Nativity scene set up in our church of San Francisco in Cuenca is lovely, soft, and sweet. There is, however, a darker side to these Nativity images, that is made clear in Luke's Gospel. They point directly forward to Jesus' ministry, his death, and his resurrection.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
What does it take to make a house a home? In today's readings, both houses and homes become the center of our spiritual attention. God's work of making himself a home among us over millennia, with David, and especially in the story of Mary is one that invites us to welcome God into our own spiritual homes.
Homily shared wth the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
John the Evangelist begins his Gospel account of Jesus with a mystical hymn to the Creator and the Word, echoing the opening words of Genesis: "In the beginning...." But then he interrupts it twice with the story of John the Baptist. What is he up to here? Is this just a case of bad editing or does the Fourth Evangelist see something essential in weaving together this cosmic hymn and the prosaic story of the Baptist?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Our usual image of John the Baptist, at least in Western art, is often a soft and tender one. In Byzantine iconography, he is depicted as wild and fearsome, which is closer to how we find him the Gospels. Yet, he is profoundly attractive to the people of Judea and Jerusalem and they come to him in great numbers. His humility and self-abnegation before God is a powerful Advent image even today.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
As this "new year" begins the characteristics of Advent are highlighted in this day's scripture readings: humility, peacefulness, and attentiveness to what is doing among us.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus' image of sheep, goats, and the great king who separates them for distinct destinies seems simple enough up front, but once he adds the troublesome criteria of how they are to be "judged", things get much more complicate...and worrisome. His emphasis on the corporal works of mercy rather than typical piety challenges us to examine our consciences with some justified trembling. That trembling may be calmed by the fact that before he was a "king" this Jesus was a shepherd.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
The Thanksgiving tradition of recounting particular blessings at the dinner table is a wonderful one. Each gift or grace that is mentioned comes with a string attached: the responsibility to use that gift for the benefit of others. The image of the servant who buries his one talent, not allowing it to grow or bless others, is a powerful one that encourages us to not follow his example. Gifts shared are not expended, they are expanded!
Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Wisdom, as understood in the Hebrew Scriptures in the centuries before Jesus, was imagined as a living and gracious feminine presence, seeking out souls open to its blessings. It was seen as an expression of God's presence among his people. This kind of Wisdom was alive and present especially in Jesus, his words and works. It is close to, if not the same reality, his disciples later came to understand as the Holy Spirit. This Holy Wisdom, "Hagia Sophia" in Greek, is what the world needs now...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
Jesus blasts the hypocrites who are his constant opponents in ministry with a series of accusations about their moral character. One among those accusations is particularly poignant for the cruelty it points to: those who lay heavy burdens upon others' shoulders, yet do not lift a finger to lighten the load. (A cheery apology for the interruption at the beginning of the homily when a small child wandered into the sanctuary, attracted by the beautiful statuary in the retablo of the church!).
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus yet again responds with great wisdom to the trick questions posed by those who are threatened by his public ministry. The two great commandments, including "the golden rule", to love our neighbor as ourselves, form the foundation of our moral lives and the way of the Gospel.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
In Jesus' encounter yet again with the Pharisees, he is confronted with a trap at base of which is a moral dilemma presented by the image of Caesar on a Roman coin, then common in use in the first century. Is it idolatrous to use such a coin given Caesar's pretensions to divinity or is it just a practical necessity allowed by God and for the good of his people? The trap is sprung, but Jesus turns the question on its head by making clear our concern as people of faith is not Caesar or his coins; it is our hearts and how we give them back to God.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
La hermosa imagen del "Cielo de Dios" como una grande fiesta encima de una montaña alta provee a Jesús el base de la parábola que nos ofrece hoy en el evangelio de San Mateo. Jesús nos invita a la fiesta de vida eterna aun aquí en esta tierra.
Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca EC
And the parables just keep rolling! At the foundation of today's parable of the wedding feast gone sideways, is the beautiful image from the prophet Isaiah of the great feast atop the mountain where God is present lifting the veil that covers the nations, wiping every tear from every eye, and where death is no more. Jesus' adaptation of Isaiah pleads with the leaders of Israel to come to the feast...as he does us.
Homily preached to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC
La parabola que Jesus ofrece a los sumos sacerdotes y ancianos del pueblo de Israel nos asusta. El hijo del dueno esta matado por los trabajadores. Los ancianos y sacerdotes no entienden que Jesus esta hablando de ellos. Su gran pecado de arogancia es un pecado que siempre nos afliga. El Sinodo en Roma es un ejercicio espiritual y eclesial a purificar la iglesia de este pecado tan horible.
Homilia dado en la Iglesia de Todos Santos, Cuenca Ecuador.
Yet another parable from Jesus directed to the high priests and elders of the people...but this one is particularly shocking because of how Jesus ends it: with a horrific murder. Even this does not break through the blindness and cold-heartedness of the elders. Their failure to see because their authority and power had hardened them is a failure that plagues the Church, too. The current Synod taking place in Rome is the Church doing her best to step away from this sin of arrogance that comes with power and instead serve the world in humility and self-giving love.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. (Apologies for the poor audio quality of this recording; sometimes technology just lets us down!)
Today's parable could have been snatched from any one of our homes as we were growing up: two brothers...one says yes but does nothing, the other says no but does get to work. The impact of the parable on the priests and elders to who Jesus directs it must have been hard-hitting to say the least once he explains it to them. It is also a pointed reminder to us that when it comes to the Gospel, we, too, have to "walk the talk."
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
The sudden death of Katherine Hampton came as a shock to her family and all of us. The ensuing week of grief had been difficult, especially for her mother, Sue, and brother, Taylor. As that week culminated in a beautiful funeral Mass in the Iglesia de San Francisco in Cuenca, Ecuador. Katherine's spirit was entrusted into God's hands. Consoling all present was Jesus' beautiful teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes he gives us insight into how God sees and values human beings. If Katherine had been in the midst of that crowd on the mountainside, she would have understood well just what Jesus was teaching; she would have loved this Jesus teaching her. If they had met following the teaching, their conversation would have been marked by reassurance and welcome into God's Kingdom.
As happens in every church community, death unexpectedly intervenes in our daily and weekly life. Early Saturday morning, one of the young members of our church family, Katherine, suddenly died. It moved me from working on a homily based on the day's great parable of the workers in the field (Matthew 20:1-16a) to a reflection on this Sunday's reading from Paul's Letter to the Philippians (1:20c-24), which gives us insight into his attitude to both death and life, an attitude founded in his deeply intimate relationship to Jesus, the Risen One.
Our memories of Katherine are sweet and they shall remain so. We embrace her family in our prayers and love. We entrust her gentle spirit into the hands of the gentle Lord.
Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
In a culture of super-individualism, Jesus' preference for "gatherings" is easily obscured. His great promise to "be there" wherever two or three gather in his name is a call to take seriously the importance of "gathering" in the Christian life and the life of the world.
Homily shared at the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Today's passage from Jeremiah the Prophet opens a window into the complicated heart of the prophet. Beginning with the words, "You duped me, O God...!" Jeremiah lets us know both how powerful is the prophetic vocation and and how hard it is. Hard though it is, he carries on; he cannot not preach God's word to Israel! And so it was for Jesus; his own prophetic ministry had plenty of hard knocks, too. The temptation to back off and go the easy way must have been strong for him, witness his reaction to the bumbling Peter: "Get behind me, SATAN!" Yet, Jesus perseveres to the end. And so it is as well for us as his disciples...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Jesus asks the fundamental question: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers, correctly for a change, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." And for his prize, poor Peter receives way more responsibility than he ever bargained for! Rocks and keys and loosenings and bindings! As do we!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
La mujer Canaanita que encontramos hoy en el Evangelio de San Mateo nos inspira por su persistencia en sus esfuerzos de encontrar a Jesus y pide de él lo que quiere para su hija, poseída por un demonio. Se pone en contraste grande a los "hombres de fe" que nunca piden nada de Jesús. Es claro cual de estos personajes es para nosotros un ejemplo verdadero de fe. Homilía predicada en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.
The Canaanite woman in today's reading from Matthew's Gospel is astounding for her persistence in getting to Jesus and making her plea to him for deliverance for her daughter. This pagan woman stands in contrast to the "men of faith" who are just beyond the edges of this story, the leaders of the Jewish religion who poke, prod, test, and eventually persecute Jesus. What makes the difference between her and them?
Storms are part and parcel of life...not just the climactic ones, but the challenges we face as human beings throughout our lives. The image of Jesus walking on water in today's Gospel oftentimes gets treated as just one more "trick" pulled out of Jesus' Son of God hat. In reality, it is a powerful lesson to us during the storms of our lives for it teaches us WHO Jesus is and WHY he does what he does for us.
This homily was delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
We live in a loud world these days where most everyone feels a need to holler, bellow, and even scream. It is perhaps only natural then, that we should presume that when God is talking to us, he too bellows. Our imaginations revert to the image of his voice coming from the heavens as a rumbling thunder that shakes the earth to its core. Yet, today's Gospel story of the Transfiguration of Jesus in an intimate, tender, and mystery-laded story from beginning to end. Is it not more likely that God is whispering here? And Jesus as well?
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Solomon's request from God for the gift of an understanding heart, wisdom, is one that invites us to consider what that same gift might mean for us.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
Es una parábola hermosa pero nos deja sin saber quienes sean trigo y quienes sean cizañas. Sea posible que nosotros somos cizañas?
Jesus' parable of the wheat and weeds ("tares") is clear, concise, and Jesus even offers an interpretation of each element of the parable to his disciples. However, he leaves one vital question unanswered: who then are the weeds and who are the wheat in this story? The rest of the gospel gives us a pretty good idea and only poses more deeply the question of how we ourselves fit into that answer.
This homily was shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
This homily has only the slightest connection to the readings of the Sunday liturgy; it is instead a reflection on the missionary impulse that is at the heart of the Church's life, particularly as it was lived by Father David Baronti across 42 years of priestly service to the faithful of Antigua Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan in the highlands of Guatemala. Having just returned to Cuenca, Ecuador from an extraordinary week in Antigua Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan for Padre David's funeral services, I felt it important to share some of these experiences with my friends here in Cuenca. It goes a bit long, but once I got started, it was difficult to stop!
You can read more about Father David on my website: David (kacodd.com).
The scriptures are replete with stories of welcome, those blessed moments when one person welcomes another and the blessings for both welcomer and welcomee are rich and bountiful. Today's reading from 2 Kings gives us one such story and the Gospel of Matthew 10, makes it clear hospitality with its double-blessings is part and parcel of Jesus' teaching to his disciples.
This homily was preached to the Community of Saint Francis in Cuenca, Ecuador
Of all the images from nature that Jesus could have used to give his disciples a major pep-talk on evangelization, the lowly sparrow seems among the least likely. But Jesus makes a fundamental and foundational point about who God is for us by beginning with sparrows. To understand him, we need to page back to the very first page of the Bible: the story of creation!
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
"Reading the crowd" was one of Jesus' great gifts. As we hear in today's Gospel passage from Matthew 9, his intuitive sense of both the joys and burdens of those who came to him in great numbers allowed him great compassion for them and gave him the ability to grace them with blessings where they were most need. He passes this gift on to the Twelve, a reminder to us that we, too, have been sent out, blessed with this gift to console, heal, and liberate.
When Jesus invites his disciples to pray for laborers for this great harvest, we are not praying for others to join the harvest; we have met those laborers, and they are we.
The "origin story" of today's solemn feast of The Body and Blood of Christ, more commonly known as "Corpus Christi" is really that of the Jesus' Jerusalem Passover meal on the night before he died. His gift of his body and blood was not given only to edify the recipients, but came with a responsibility to share the gift beyond the person receiving it. Jesus' self-giving love, manifested in healing, forgiving, compassion for the sinner is always a gift to be given. If we focus today only on our own spiritual nourishment and not our responsibility to do what Jesus did "in memory of him" then his memory is lost, and in a sense, he dies. This feast of Jesus' Body and Blood calls us to give our own body and blood to the world beyond the doors of this or any church.
Grief is a most unwanted intruder into our lives. It sneaks up on us from behind and wraps its dull claws around our chest, squeezing out of us words, hope, and joy. Jesus' disciples have been living with this intruder into their lives for three days now. It keeps them from seeing and knowing who it is who walks with them in their intense sadness, until...
Homily given to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador, Iglesia San Francisco.
Most of us have found that a part of our life of faith is the entertaining of doubts about that faith. Happily, we find a "patron saint of doubt" in today's Easter Gospel from John. That "patron saint," of course, is the apostle Thomas. He leads the way and accompanies us as we move from doubt to deeper faith.
This homily was preached before the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca in the Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Mary Magdalene's very bad week is about to take a very weird turn as she heads to the tomb early on the first day of the week.
This Easter lmorning homily was preached to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca in the Iglesia San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
One startling and distressing detail of John's Passion story is the profession of fidelity of the Chief Priests to Caesar: "We have no king but Caesar!" This is a kind of blasphemy and idolatry for it was no secret that Caesar pretended at divinity. How did those Chief priests get to such a place, these holiest of holy men? That is a profound question that reaches back to the sin of Adam and all of us ever since: taking God's gifts and claiming them as our own. Pride. The Cross we venerate on this night stands as a potent counter to that Pride. It is all humility and self-giving sacrifice. In its veneration we are called to mercy, compassion, and loving self-sacrifice.
This homily was shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca at the Iglesia de San Francisco. (Sadly, the audio of the prior proclamation of the Passion was not adequate so had to be deleted.)
Of the many important details that make the story of the raising of Lazarus so powerful, perhaps the one most likely to be overlooked is the simple, three-word sentence: "And Jesus wept." That Jesus would weep as we weep, especially in the face of the death of a beloved friend, reminds us of Jesus' humanity. His tears mingle with ours and ours with his. His trembling before the cold, dark tomb of his friend reminds us of his cosmic battle, his divine battle really, with the forces of death, destruction, and evil itself...a trembling which is expressed in the God-command: "Lazarus, come out!"
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador. Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca
The Man Born Blind (too bad we never get a name!) in today's Gospel from John shows forth incredible metal and character as he grows through adversity upon adversity. At first, his healer is just "than man Jesus", then he is a prophet, and finally he worships Jesus, the Son of Man. He stands before us this Lenten season as a great model of what it means to open our eyes to the Lord's presence with us every day of our life.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador, (Iglesia de San Francisco).
Jesus' encounter at the Well of Jacob with the Samaritan woman is a great story! It merits unpacking. We move from Jesus alone, tired, thirsty, to an entire village of Samaritans acclaiming him "the Savior of the World!" In between is a story filled with twists and turns, unexpected revelations, and even some light humor. And it all begins with a simple request: "May I have a drink of water?"
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, EC. (Based on a homily from 2017).
One constant in the Gospels is the command Jesus' Father in Heaven gives to his followers: "This is my beloved Son; LISTEN TO HIM!" Like Peter, we have a hard time listening to Jesus; wrapping our head and our heart around his Way of salvation is not easy, but especially in this Lenten season, "listening to Jesus" in the coming Gospel stories leading us to Holy Week, is precisely what we are called to intensely do.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador, (Iglesia de San Francisco).
Temptation, Sin, and Evil: as Lent begins, we are forced by today's scripture readings to confront the reality of human evil that has plagued us since the beginning. The stories of our first parents and their great sin of hubris to that of Jesus in the desert and the extraordinary humility he demonstrates in the face of temptation, give us our "Lenten Program".
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Iglesia de San Francisco.
To the ancient "Law of Talion", better known as the law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", Jesus takes his gospel hatchet. He calls his disciples to a higher moral code, one that enshrines mercy into how we are to calculate justice in this world.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Assisi Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador, Iglesia de San Francisco
Commandments, especially commandments written in stone by God's own hand, are not to be trifled with. But with time, some become faithful to the letter of the law and not the love that undergirds it. As Jesus continues his "Sermon on the Mount", he challenges his disciples to live not just the letter of the law, but its deeper richness founded in love of God and neighbor.
Homily preached at the Iglesia de San Francisco in Cuenca, Ecuador. (Forgive the echo in the audio...its the best we could do today!)
Salt and Light could not be more different one from the other. One a mineral, the other pure energy. Yet Jesus matches them together in today's gospel as he continues his "Sermon on the Mount". One a symbol of humility, the other a symbol of joy, together they let Jesus' disciples know who they are.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
Jesus climbs a mountain in Galilee and there initiates a revolution. With his opening words to the crowd of the humble and poor, he upsets the usual value system of who's favored by God and who's not. "Blessed are the poor in spirit..."
Luke's version of the Christmas story is made particularly touching by one line concerning Mary as she experiences the events in Nazareth and Bethlehem: "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." This contemplative Mary is a profound image for us as we begin a new year; like Mary, the events of our lives, both great and small, painful and joyful, are to be savored as God events in our lives.
This homily was shared at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Spokane.
The image of the desert held a powerful hold on the spiritual imaginations of the Jewish people. Their passage through the desert from the slavery of Egypt to the joy of the Promised Land forged their identity as a people...a people of God. It is no great surprise, then, that it is in the desert that John the Baptist prepares his people for a new chapter in this great story. From the desert, he calls God's People to prepare for God to save them anew, in a deeper, fuller way even than before. The desert shall bloom, the lame will walk,, the blind will see, and the poor shall have the good news proclaimed to them!
This homily was preached at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Spokane, Washington.
Some Sadducees, who did not really believe in life after death present to Jesus a story of a wife who marries seven brothers, one after the other. Its meant to make Jesus and his teaching about life after death look silly. Jesus turns the table on them and makes them the silly ones. In doing so, he answers one of the great questions of all humanity: what happens after we die?
(Homily shared at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Spokane, WA)
Zacchaeus, chief tax collector for the Romans in Jericho, is the worst of the worst when it comes to sinners. Yet he wants to at least see Jesus...even climbing a sycamore tree to do so. As things turn out, it is Jesus who sees Zacchaeus and invites himself into his home, to his table, into his heart and restores this sinner of all sinners to life, joy, and discipleship.
Homily shared at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Spokane WA
Yet another profound, if complicated, parable from the teaching Jesus! It is a "mercy parable" that reveals to us the very heart of God, as Pope Francis has so often reminded us: "The very name of God is mercy."
This homily was shared at Sacred Heart Church in Othello, Washington.
Father Kevin was honored to preside and preach at the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist for the Class of 1971 Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, WA.
As we look ahead to the remainder of our lives, most of us now approaching our 70th birthdays, a perplexing parable about a clever steward, when imagined with new details, can guide us forward in how we live our lives: perhaps our "mission" in the last years of our lives is to lighten others' burdens, reduce their debts, lighten their loads...
In one of Jesus' most perfect and profound parables, he shows us an extraordinary image of God's mercy and love...without hesitation, limitations, or preconditions.
This homily was shared at Saint Rose of Lima Church in Cheney, Washington.
Jesus was an equal-opportunity diner, it seems. He ate with tax-collectors and sinners...and even with a Pharisee from time to time. He takes the opportunity at the Pharisee's table to teach a lesson about humility to his fellow guests, but then goes much deeper as he turns to his host and drives home the way of God's Kingdom when it comes to with whom we share our table.
This homily was shared at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Spokane, Washington
The question asked of Jesus in today's passage from Luke's gospel almost assuredly was posed by one of the "leaders of the people". The presumption behind the question almost certainly one that included the questioner among those few.
Jesus response is not what was expected...
(This homily was shared at Sacred Heart Church, in Brewster, Washington)
At the heart of Jesus' self-revelation is his relationship to his "Father". In his prayer, his parables, and in his very life, he shows us "what God is like" for us.
Homily delivered at Saint Francis Assisi Church, Spokane.
Both the Abraham and Sarah story in today's first reading from Genesis and the Gospel of Luke story of Martha and Mary hosting Jesus in their home, teach us valuable lessons on the virtue of hospitality...so essential to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Today's homily was delivered at the Monastery of the Poor Clare Sisters in Spokane, WA.
In today's gospel passage from Luke, Jesus seems particularly unlike himself. His responses with his disciples or disciple-wannabes are short and sharp. Is he having a bad day or didn't get enough sleep the night before? Why so grumpy?
The reality is that this moment in Luke's gospel is a decisive one as he leave Galilee and heads for trouble in Jerusalem. It is not the time for hesitation or distraction. It is the moment to be all in or go home.
(Homily delivered at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Spokane)
We human beings have "family" written into our very being. Good families or troubles families, notwithstanding, there is something about belong to our families that is essential to our identity and our very being. Why? Perhaps an answer can be found in the great Christian mystery of the Trinity...
Homily delivered at Saint Joseph Church, Spokane, WA, June 12, 2022
I was honored to be invited to offer some reflections as the Catholic community in Kettle Falls, WA celebrated the 175th anniversary of the foundation of the Saint Paul Mission there. The questions I chose to reflect on were not so much the "when, where, and who" historical questions, but the much more personal "what was it like for the missionaries on the inside?" I found my resources for responding to that question from my own "missionary" experiences as a pastor over the years.
This is a read version of the text I prepared. The actual talk in the mission church was much longer!
John's Gospel ends with the surprising story of the apostle Thomas, a late-comer to the Resurrection party. Having not seen Jesus with his own eyes, he loudly proclaims his incredulity. That ends when the Risen Jesus returns a week later. Thomas' profession of faith is the climactic end of the gospel: "My Lord and my God!" Jesus then turns a sidelong gland towards us when he says to Thomas, "You believed because you saw; blessed are those who do not see and believe."
"Were you there when they crucified the Lord..." The question posed by that old hymn seems to be best answered by the practical person clearly as "no". How could any of us have been "there" over 2000 years ago? But there is another kind of logic at work in that old hymn and the question it asks, the "logic of love" and it makes us even still "tremble, tremble, tremble."
The Holy Triduum begins by remembering a night of remembering. On Jesus' final night before his death he gathers with the Twelve to celebrate the Passover Supper. On this final night of life for him, he and all Israel remember the foundational story of their faith, God's leading them out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Jesus also remembers his own life and the many encounters with sinners, disciples, the sick and lame, even the dead to whom he gave new life by the gift of his life. All these memories are kneaded into a loaf of unleavened bread and poured into a cup of wine so that his disciples memories of him might be living memories.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. In the liturgy of the day, the Palm Procession is followed by the proclamation of the Passion of Jesus, this year from the Gospel of Luke. The lengthy reading from Luke is followed by a very brief homily that calls us to both walk with Jesus on his pilgrimage from Palms to the Cross and to allow Jesus to walk with us in our sufferings, failings, and even death.
Stones have been part and parcel of human history since even before history, for both good and ill. Stones play a significant role in today's Gospel reading from John. They are meant to kill. When a woman accused of adultery is caught and brought before Jesus, it is a test for Jesus. His silence and his brief words turn the accusation back on the accusers. Realizing their own sinfulness, the stones drop from their hands and new life is afforded the woman.
Today's magisterial parable of the Father and his two sons offers the listener many things to contemplate from beginning to end. Today, let's focus on the end of the story and that older son...self-righteous and self-pitying...a toxic brew!
Moses' encounter with the burning bush on Mount Horeb reveals much about God, whose name is forever, "I AM". In John's Gospel, Jesus uses the words "I AM" nine times. Rather than asking that we come no closer, as Moses was asked, Jesus invites us deep into the burning love of God and envelopes us in that love.
The important story of Jesus' transfiguration finds its place during the Lenten season each year on this Second Sunday of the season. On this day, the Catholic Community in Cuenca also chose to celebrate the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick so today's homily is brief and attempts to connect both the Transfiguration story and this lovely sacrament of healing.
Jesus faces not just one or two great temptations, but three of them, each building on the previous one, each a challenge to his very identity as "God's Beloved Son." Let's take a close look at each one...
More than the words of any homily, it is the primordial symbol of this day that breaks open the Scriptures just proclaimed. Ashes in the sign of the cross speak more eloquently than the words of any preacher. Death is subverted by love.
"Never again war! Never again war!" Pope Paul VI's cry from the heart before the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 4, 1965 has been largely dismissed in the decades since. War upon war upon war has fractured humanity. Paul VI identifies a vile kind of pride as the root of our tendency to choose war over peace and suggests humility among nations as the response, a humility modeled by Jesus himself.
This newest war challenges not only nations, but each of us and all of us to examine our own lives for that vile pride, the "rotten fruit" sprung from a "rotten tree" and to seek to nurture instead the fruit of justice and peace so that we might truly live the prophetic cry of Paul VI: "Never again war! Never again war!"
The story of jealous Saul's pursuit of David with the intention of killing him is one of the great stories of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a great set-up for today's Gospel passage on loving our enemies. We can learn a lot from young David on this score!
(Because of a covid scare, I was not able to deliver the homily this weekend at the Iglesia San Francisco in Cuenca, but it was all ready to go! So here is a sit-down-at-the-dining-room-table version. In this unusual format, it went longer than a "real" homily in church...sorry!)
"Woe betide you!" was Sister Michael Mary's preferred way to control her classroom full of third-graders. She also offered plenty of "God bless you's" along the way. Her teaching method was not unlike that of Jesus as we see in today's gospel passage. Yet Jesus was doing so much more! He was throwing a wrench into the social order of his time...and the ripple effects of that wrench wash up on our shores to this very day...even the shores of Sister Michael Mary and her third-graders!
Jesus' powerful words and he himself as The Word, in today's gospel give us an opportunity to go deeper into the mystery of the powerful, creating Word that is Jesus.
Luke's story of Jesus' visit to his hometown, Nazareth, picks up this Sunday where it left off last Sunday. Part Two of the drama leaves us scratching our heads! What just happened here...and WHY?
Jesus didn't "need" to make that much water into that much wine; he did it for the joy of it. In doing so, he was only following the way of the Creator in the lavishly generous manner in which the universe and the earth and we ourselves were created.
Matthew's final Nativity story is a complicated drama with an abundance of characters, good and bad. One "character" worthy of special attention is that extraordinary Star that leads the Magi to Bethlehem. What manner of Star is this? It is, when all is said and done, a Holy Spirit Star...
On the Sunday following Christmas, the Church is inspired by the image of the Holy Family, one that may not always be so close to the realities of our own families with all their tensions, troubles, and "dysfunctions". Jesus himself only once holds up a family as "holy" in his teaching, and it is doozy! The story of the loving father and his two sons found in Luke 15 does show us what it takes to make a family "holy".
Luke's version of the Nativity story has the angel announcing the Savior's birth to shepherds, but why not announce to the priests of the Temple, those who had spent their lives studying the Scriptures to determine when and how the Savior might come. Luke pinpoints the shepherds in this story looking ahead to the stories of Jesus' adult life.
A few words in Spanish added at the end...
Mary's pregnancy almost surely gave others plenty of reason to be suspicious and gossipy of the young girl. Derision and perhaps even a bit of persecution came her way. All the more important and beautiful is Elizabeth's welcome and affirmation that God is at work in this!
This homily was recorded in the Iglesia San Francisco in Cuenca, Ecuador. The audio is not the greatest because of the echo in the church and that Father Kevin is masked...and trying to project at 8,500 feet above sea level!
The blindness of Bartimaeus calls us to ponder our own blindness, not of the eyes, but of the heart.
This homily was delivered at Saint Therese Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 24, 2021.
Setting aside the rather gruesome imagery of today's gospel passage, cutting off hands and plucking out eyes, Father Kevin instead shares some final reflections with Sacred Heart parishioners in his final homily before retirement.
Unsaid in this homily is the happy reality that, God willing, he will continue preaching and pastoring in new places and new ways. Next up: a brief visit to Albuquerque, then on to Cuenca, Ecuador for five months!
On this 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, (cycle B), the dramatic device of telling a story in three acts is a useful tool for following today's gospel passage in which Jesus must clarify for his disciples the manner of cross he...and they...are about to bear.
Each time we baptize a newborn child, the rite ends with a brief ritual in which we bless the ears of the child and then the mouth. This easily overlooked baptismal ritual has its roots deep in today's gospel story. One word stands out in both: Ephaphatha! "Be opened!"
Responding to Bishop Daly's request that we parish priests assist our parishioners in forming well their consciences regarding the reception of life-saving vaccines, Father Codd offers this homily.
On this feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Old Testament story of "Sad Hannah" allows us to understand more deeply Mary's joy, expressed so beautifully in the canticle featured in today's Gospel.
The great rabbi, Abraham Heschel, asks the foundational biblical question: "What manner of man is the prophet?" His description of the prophetic call allows us to understand better both Jesus and Paul.
Mark wraps one great story around another, forming one of his characteristic "gospel sandwiches". In this sandwich, the story of two unrelated afflicted women are told and in each Jesus heals them out of immense compassion and without consideration for their social and religious status.
On this Second Sunday following Easter, we hear again the story of "Doubting Thomas"; sadly that nickname stuck more than the truer reality of this apostle: he is the one who proclaims before Jesus: "My Lord and my God!"
On the Third Sunday of Lent, we are presented in John's Gospel with the images of two temples, one made by hands and one not. Both will fall, only one will rise again.
As Covid-19 continues to ravage the world, we gather for Christmas. The "darkness" of the prophet seems very much our own, but it first belonged to Israel. The knew God was near, but he wasn't here. That changes with the birth of Jesus; now, God is indeed both near and here!
The woman set among us by John's Gospel, by all rights, should not be here! For all that makes her undeserving, one thing makes her a most fitting presence among us: She thirsts!
(This was the final weekend our church was open for several months as we and all the world dealt with the covid-19 pandemic. Sunday Masses for the next three or four months took place in Father Kevin's living room...livestreamed, of course.)
On this first Sunday of the Lenten season, we are plunged into the mystery of temptation. From Adam and eve to Jesus himself, the challenge is always the same: not presuming we are gods and letting God be God for us.
Everyone loves the Golden Rule, "Treat your neighbor as you want to be treated". Most of us do a fine job of living it in our homes and neighborhoods, but when we try to "scale it up" in a complex society, it seems mostly to get lost in the compulsive struggle to survive; it is replaced by "dog eat dog".
Jesus in today's Gospel reading has much to say about this and it is not easy to hear...
Blessed are those with eyes to see...and who see! No need to be convinced of that! As valuable as our eyesight is to us, there is yet another, deeper and richer, kind of "seeing" in life. Old Simeon and even older Anna know well this kind of "seeing", formed in trust of God and hope in his will being accomplished. In them, we learn: "Blessed are they with eyes to see...and who see God!"
The Christmas season wraps up with Jesus as an adult standing on the banks of the Jordan River. There he rubs elbows with humanity in all of its brokenness and need. There he finds his vocation...
Matthew's use of the Magi as he wraps up his version of the Nativity story teaches important lessons as to just who this baby in Bethlehem is.
The ancient images of a new era of peace on Earth from the prophet Isaiah, swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, capture the great hope of humanity for better times. But just who does the forging is critical to this hope being realized: Isaiah makes it clear this is not just the work of humanity, it is the work of humanity WITH GOD!
The First Century Temple of Jerusalem was something to behold! Herod the Great's masterpiece surely would stand forever! Except it didn't. As Jesus stands in its shadow, he recognizes that this grand building will sooner or later be nothing more than shards of sandstone. His very presence there poses the great question: which temple will last forever...that of Herod or that which is Jesus himself?
Jesus' encounter with the Sadducees is another moment where he is being poked, prodded, and gamed by the Jerusalem establishment. His response to their disingenuous question is a powerful affirmation of the character of God as a GOD OF LIFE...A GOD OF THE LIVING! His message is particularly important to us as we remember our beloved dead in this month of November.
Exhortation is the usual mode of the preacher, homilist, and evangelist. Spiritual coaching is important, but today we are blessed to be able to simply rest in the holiness God has blessed us with already.
The work of raising kids...is not unlike the work Jesus had in "raising" his apostles. His great task was teaching them the great gift of humility.
Open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters; inspire in us words and actions to comfort those who labor and are burdened. Make us serve them truly, after the example of Christ and at his command. And may your Church stand as a living witness to truth and freedom, to peace and justice, that all people may be raised up to a new hope.
Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs IV
Jesus tells the greatest parable of all time that begins with the simple words, "A father had two sons..."
Jesus has a problem: How does Jesus handle his "stardom" among the crowds? But what counts for Jesus is not fame, it is carrying the cross.
Paul too has a problem: How does he handle a slave who has become a follower of Jesus...his brother in Christ?
Might we have a problem, too?
If our image of Jesus is founded in the sweet Jesus of Children's lullabies and Children's Bible Illustrations, then today's gospel reading from Luke hits us with a wallop! Here we have a raving Jesus talking about division and blazing fires. What's up with that?
Let's find out...
The lovely story of the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth in Luke is filled with tenderness, Spirit, grace, and love. Those blessings don't exist apart from the humanity of their bearers; they are made manifest in the flesh and blood of both women. Spirit and flesh cannot be separated or divided from one another! It is no surprise, then, that Mary's share in Jesus' Resurrection is one that is for the whole Mary, both spirit and flesh.
Con de la comunidad cátolica de Brewster, (Washington), Padre Kevin predica sobre la persona generosa, quien sea en realidad, "la persona eucharistica."
The greedy and avaricious person described in today's Gospel passage forces the question: how do we be otherwise? How do we live the generosity that Jesus so often calls us to? In find a fitting contrast to the greedy person, maybe it is best to look to the liturgy and see if the movements of the Eucharist don't reveal the fundamental character of the generous person.
When a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan walk into one of Jesus' stories, you can bet that Jesus is about to blow the minds and hearts of his listeners with a revolutionary teaching on God's character and our relationship to God!
In a simple story of a beaten up fellow on the side of the road...Jesus turns upside down the religious tradition of ritual purity in favor of spontaneous compassion.
(Please excuse the buzz in the audio background!)
Father Kevin was honored to be invited to preside and preach at the Jubilee celebration of the Sisters of Providence in Spokane.
Peter's kind of knucklehead in the Gospels. He is a "three strikes and you are out" kind of guy.
Jesus responds to his tri-fold failure by insisting on a tri-fold reassurance of his love. He then gives Peter his mission: feed-serve-feed my sheep!
Listen in to Father Kevin A. Codd's reading of his latest book, Beyond Even the Stars: A Compostela Pilgrim in France, hosted by Rebecca Nappi.
The event took place in the Sacred Heart Parish Center with over 125 people in attendance on April 26, 2019.
A brief homily following the extended proclamation of the Passion Narrative from the Gospel of Luke, (the homily begins just after the 19 minute mark).
Moses in his early days was something of an underachiever...spending his youth tending to sheep in a hot and lonely desert. That changes when God meets him in that desert...and it all begins...and ends...with the command: "Take off your shoes!"
Within this story are the foundational revelations of who God is for us!
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the moral exhortations of Jesus in today's gospel reading. How can I ever live up to such high standards of loving, forgiving, and self-giving! Maybe the stories of family life can help: it is in the small things that we live Jesus' moral mandates of love.
Jesus sits down with his disciples and gives them his first "formation conference." He teaches them about the kingdom of God in terms of blessings and woes. But from whom did Jesus learn all this? Maybe Mary?
Jesus' return visit to his hometown of Nazareth begins well enough: he's invited to teach in the village synagogue, and at first, all is well. Then strains in his relationship to his fellow Nazarenes goes south fast. Why?
Jesus returns to Nazareth and in the synagogue of his home town he reads from the prophet Isaiah and declares to all assembled his life mission: to open the eyes of the blind!
The onward march of science has taken some of the wonder out of our stars. We now know that they do not travel, they do not accompany, they do not hold within them our destinies. So what of the story of the Three Magi from the East and their famous star guiding them to Bethlehem? Can their story be retold for our times? Let's try!
Sometimes the radio stations just don't quite get it when it comes to separating Advent music from Christmas music! O Come, O Come Emmanuel is decidedly NOT a Christmas hymn and should NOT be aired after mid-day, December 24th! Yet maybe that error in judgement tells us something important about Christmas itself: once we were a people who longed for God to Come to us...now we are a people who are called by God to come to him.
The history of humanity's relationship to this world's kings is not exactly a positive one. Why then do we use the image of a "king" to describe Jesus, the very model of humility and self-giving service.
The story of creation, and particularly the creation of humanity, in the second chapter of Genesis is a weird one. Paramount among its weird aspects is the image of the rib taken from the Man's chest and used to create a suitable partner. What we are really talking about here is God's placement in all of us of the need to love even as God loves. This is also at the root of Jesus' words about marriage and divorce in the Gospel of Mark.
"Who do YOU say that I am?" Getting to that answer passes through a story...that of Pastor Rocky of the New Testament Baptist Church...
Jesus comes to the nadir of his public life so far. The "Bread of Life" chapter (John 6) ends with not just the "crowds" leaving Jesus, but even his own disciples. Why?
And Peter with his eleven compadres? "Will you also go?" Jesus asks them.
Peter finally gets it right: "To whom shall we go...you have the words of eternal life!"
Now in our second of several Sunday of "Bread of Life" Gospel passages from John, Father Kevin offers some Exodus background to Jesus' declaration to the crowds that have followed him that he himself is "the Bread of Life".
This homily was given at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Spokane, WA.
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Apostle, James, also known as "Santiago", we celebrate his patronage over pilgrims everywhere and acknowledge his witness to the great Christian virtue of "accompaniment along the Way,"
We are called to be good shepherds.
Learning to be a good shepherd is not so easy...Jesus is the model for all of us, popes, priests, parents!
Mark employs an odd literary style to make two great Gospel stories into one: the "Gospelburger". He slices the first story in half (Jairus and his 12-year old daughter who is dying) and slips into the middle another story, the woman suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. As the two stories are served up as one, it becomes clear they are together a "theophany moment" for the Evangelist: God's presence in Jesus is made manifestly manifest! But not with clouds and booming voices as at the Jordan River or the Mount of Transfiguration, but through that most human of gifts, touch!
John's Gospel gives a quite different account of the "Holy Spirit Moment" for Jesus' disciples following the Resurrection. Rather than fifty days later, it happens on the First Day of the Week, Easter itself! No great winds or flames of fire here, just Jesus breathing on each of his disciples to share with them the Holy Spirit. And instead of seven-fold gifts, they receive just one: the grace to forgive. That "breath" of Jesus is a very big breath indeed...it is the "Ruach" of God himself!
The rolling hills of the Palouse just south of Spokane offer a lovely image of the wheatland world Jesus knew well in Galilee. From this world he finds a potent image to make sense of his coming death...and teaches all of us the power of "letting go" and dying to self.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..." (John 3:16) This famous verse from John's Gospel summarizes well the "Good News" of the Christian faith. God loves so much that he created the world and all it contains and us within it...that is very good news! That he then shared with us his Son becoming flesh to live among us and share with us our joys and sufferings, that too is very good news! But there is a dark side too that John expresses further on: So this is the deal: the Light came into the world, but we preferred the darkness. That is not good news.
Lent calls us to examine what is yet dark within us and turn then to the Light.
We complete our parish's Lenten Mission with a service of reconcilition in which we allow the Father to enfold us in his merciful and compassionate arms. We are the sons; he is the crazy-in-love Father for us, too!
Now, finally, we meet the elder son. His sin in refusing to come into the feast, too, is very grave. The Father's appeal to him shows forth the same mercy, compassion, and "crazy-love" as he earlier showed forth to his younger son. Will the elder boy refuse the invitation or accept the father's love and come into the feast? That is the great question left unanswered by Jesus as he ends this parable.
Tonight's reflection takes a long and loving look at the father who is the true "star" of this parable. His love for his son is without limit, as is his mercy and compassion. He lets go of all his dignity to smother his son with love and in so doing, restores the boy to sonship.
This evening we take a "deep dive" into the first important character of Jesus' magisterial parable of the Father and his two sons. We learn just how deeply this boy sinned by taking his share of the family wealth and wasting it among the heathens.
In this first of our Lenten Mission Reflections, we come to know to whom Jesus was speaking these very special parables found together in Luke 15. We then take a closer look at the stories of the Good Shepherd and the Good Housewife.
So our Lenten Mission at St. Therese Parish in Albuquerque, NM begins with the Sunday homily for the Second Sunday of Lent (B). We here the powerful story of Jesus' transfiguration in front of the very eyes of Peter, James, and John. The words of Peter, "It is good that we are here...!" resonate still and remind us that as we begin this Lenten Mission we are reminded that, indeed, it is very good that we are here, too!
"Forty" is one of the big numbers in the Scriptures...it comes up time and time again. It makes its first big splash in the story of Noah: the rains fell for forty days and forty nights! It makes its appearance again in the story of the Exodus: the Hebrew people spend forty years wandering in the desert. And finally, Jesus spends forty days in the desert following his baptism in the Jordan River.
And then there is "our forty"...the forty days of Lent we have begun in earnest...
The bubbly optimism of that old Coke jingle, "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony," doesn't offer a real picture of hard it is to make the world the place it should be. Christianity faces the same conundrum: "If we are a people of such great hope and the Gospel brings us salvation...why is the world still such a mess? Today's sober Gospel reading tips the reason in one word repeated over and over again: "Hipocite!"
Today's Gospel passage highlights Jesus' healing grace as he tenderly takes the hand of Peter's mother-in-law and restores her to health. It is the perfect image for our continuing ministry of healing as celebrated in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the celebration of which in our parish follows this homily.
Mark's Gospel is similar to one of those Hollywood movies that begin with a big battle scene and then holds your attention until the last big battle scene!
Today we are treated to a front-row seat at the big cosmic battle that almost opens Mark's Gospel: the battle between Jesus and the power of God verses the impure spirit and the powers of darkness. Hold on to your seats!
Mark's version of the story of the call of the first disciples by the Sea of Galilee seems most improbable? Is it possible that he no more than shows up, calls, and they follow...leaving behind everything in an instant?
Maybe Mark is trying to teach us some important things about Jesus...and us!
He has something which attracts us like "love at first sight"...what it is?
He finds us...we don't find him.
He meets us right where we are at in our daily lives, at home, at work, at school.
Homily delivered at Sacred Heart Church, Othello, WA. (Apologies again for the raspy voice!)
Each of the popular names given to today's Gospel characters adds its own nuance to the Epiphany story, but the mostly fogotten name is the most important: The Three Strangers!
(Apologies for the raspy voice...recovering from the Great Flu Epidemic of 2018!)
Renaissance artists often pictured John the Baptist and Jesus as cute-as-can-be-infants together as cousins. Mark has none of it! In his gospel, John is a full-grown, wild-eyed prophet with divine fire in his heart!
As our human imagination fails us in picturing that which we have not yet seen, as with our earth before the Apollo missions or the universe before Hubble, so it is with God. Our images of God were so feeble compared to the reality of "God Among Us", Jesus Christ.
We can learn from television's domestic diva how to set a perfect Thanksgiving table and how to cook the perfect Thanksgiving turkey, but it is easy to find we have celebrated the great feast of Thanksgiving without much giving of thanks. Today's parable from Matthew's Gospel helps pull us back to the foundational attitudes of the heart that put the "thanks" back into Thanksgiving.
"Practice what you preach!" Great advice, but so hard to live. In fact, how could we actually, fully practice what we preach when what we preach, profess, proclaim, and teach is this beautiful Way of Jesus? We fail at it all the time! So what is to be done...not preach? Maybe not...look to Paul who knows he is a fragile vessel of the Word of God, yet proclaims it anyway!
Ten Commandments to guide us, innumerable laws to keep us on the straight and narrow, and then there is love! Loving God and Neighbor is the fulfillment of the Law, says Jesus.
This is a tough parable for many of us...it has some big twists that leave us scratching our heads. Once told, we can't help but wonder why the one guy who came in from the street was summarily thrown out of the King's wedding feas for his son. Hmmm...
The three consecutive vineyard parables of Matthew's Gospel culminate today in the most challenging of all. Jesus lets the Jerusalem big-shots have it with this third tale to be staged in a vineyard.
A lot of folks don't like today's parable from Jesus! It is just not fair...it is just not just, that those who work one hour get paid the same as those who work eight or ten! But is this really the point of Jesus' parable? Nope!
With a school community not far from us having just experienced the horror of a "school shooting" (one student lost, three others injured), today's readings are very much apropos to the hard realities of the human heart's dark side...and a serious examination of our own hearts. Do we ourselves "hug tight" wrath, anger, and vengeance or do we follow the way of Jesus: praying for our persecutors and asking the Father to forgive them for they do not know what they do?
Peter is among those who see life as a big bowl of cherries, or at least so it seems from today's Gospel. He cannot abide the thought of Jesus (or himself) having to endure suffering, humiliation, death itself. Jesus challenges his "bowl of cherries" mentality...and ours...by calling Peter...and us...to bear our crosses with self-giving love and thus transform them into trees of life.
Upon his return from Spain, Fathe Kevin shares with our parish family a bit about his experience serving as a volunteer "hospitalero" in the small village of Grañon along the Camion de Santiago de Compostela.
"He's not heavy, Father; he's my brother." The famous motto of Fr. Flanagan's Boys' Town captures the heart of Jesus' message to his followers when it comes to making burdens light for one another.
The hospitality afforde to pilgrims along the Way of Saint James reminds us that this great virtue, when an exercise of self-giving love, is a blessing both for the receiver and the giver. It is an experience of God's kind of love!
Paul's blessing of the Corinthians in his second letter lets us know that very early on the notion of God as Father-Son-Spirit was already part of the Christian spiritual DNA. Reverse engineering his lovely blessing helps us understand the experiences that led those Christians to this most unusual understanding of the One God of their ancestors.
"Be mywitnesses in Jerusalem, Judeas and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Jesus' final words to his disciples, as recorded by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles have been at the heart of the missionary vocation of the Church since the beginning. The story of one "local" missionary, Archbishop Charles John Seghers, reminds us of how powerful that command has been across the centuries. We are also reminded that "the ends of the earth" is not a matter of geography, but far more, the human heart. We are all called to be share the Gospel of Jesus Christ no matter where we are, by first planting it in the deep recesses of our own human heart.
"Annie" notwithstanding, being an orphan through most of human history has meant life in complete destitution. When Jesus promises to his disciples on the night before he dies that he will not leave them orphans, he is using a very potent and grave image. His promise is all the more powerful, not just for the Twelve, but for all of us.
The apostle, Philip's request to Jesus in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us," is not so different from a five-year-old's question to his/her mom: "What is God like?" The answer: To know Jesus is to know what God is like.
The Big Bang Theory has a curious corrolary: at some point in the future, all the stars of the universe will have been blown out so far by the Big Bang that they will no longer be visible to us on earth. The night sky will be starless and dark. Will people then believe the testimony of our generations who tell of such stars in the sky or will they believe only in what they can see with their own eyes?
It is a question that brings us to Thomas and his famed doubting...believing only what he could see and not the testimony of others. His story of coming to faith reminds us that faith in what we cannot see