homiletics
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Fishers of Men
“Repent and believe in the Good News.” This message is so commonly proclaimed by preachers, it can become so familiar we stop listening and just hear “blah, blah, blah.” Jonah was not the first preacher in Nineveh, and Jesus was not the first in Galilee. Somebody else preached from this very ambo on these very Continue reading
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Mary, the handmaid of the Lord
The Ark of the Covenant and the Temple of the Lord were important physical manifestations of the presence of Yahweh in the lives of the Israelites. God was the creator of everything, willing it into existence in the creation story by saying, “Let it be so.” Adam and Eve, the first human persons, were his Continue reading
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Preparing for his coming
After two months of Gospel readings about the day of judgment at the end of time we are given in the readings today a picture of who it is that will judge us in the General Judgment. We had story after of story of a day of reckoning, and there was Gehenna and locked doors Continue reading
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The Coming Day of Judgment
You may have noticed the serious tone of the gospels we have been reading for about a month. We had the unfaithful stewards, who neglected their duties and tried to get the master’s vineyard for their own. And there was a day of judgment in that story. And we had the story of the wedding Continue reading
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Whose Image is on the coin? On you?
In the Old Testament reading, we meet Cyrus the Great, who was king of the Persian empire. Through the prophet Isaiah, God tells Cyrus that all his power came from the God of the Israelites even though Cyrus did not acknowledge the Lord. In the Gospel reading, we hear of a challenge presented to Jesus Continue reading
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The parable of the laborers
Last week’s reading from the Gospel was about the mercy of the king, and this week’s seems to be about justice. Last week, the debtor who received mercy from the king could not extend mercy to somebody in his debt. This week, the laborers agree on a just wage with the landowner at the start Continue reading
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Tweeting the Parable of the Laborers
The defining characteristic of the social media tool Twitter is the 140 character length limitation. Twitter started on cell phones, and the old messaging systems would only accept 140 characters. Most of what we like and don’t like about Twitter is due to this size constraint. The 4pm Saturday Vigil Mass is very much like Continue reading
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I AM – the North Star
In the days before Google Maps, kids would learn how to navigate using the stars. You had to find the North Pole Star, and from that you could figure out which direction was the one you wanted to go. The neat thing about the North Star was that it never moved. But, of course, you Continue reading
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Ordinary 16A at CTK
One of the cable news channels has the slogan, “We report. You decide.” And it – at least the second part – is true. We decide. We decide what news channel to watch, or what show to watch. We decide which book to read. We decide who to follow on social media. And we Continue reading
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AscensionA at CTK
“I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Here we are in the last days of the Easter season, and the Church gives us readings to prepare us for two different things. We prepare for our life as his disciples and we prepare for his return. With a spirit of wisdom and Continue reading
Bound in Love 