homiletics
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Mason and Josephine
I have known Josephine since she was about three years old, and so I know, Mason, how lucky you are to be able to take her as your wife. Even among the Winbornes, who are all awesome in their own right, Josephine is a particularly beautiful person. It doesn’t take one very long, Josephine, to Continue reading
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Remain in the Sabbath
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them. – 3 John 3:24 What does it mean to remain in him? It’s not an action in our common use today. We tend to use the word “remain” to indicate something left over after an action. So we have to unpack what Jesus Continue reading
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The Seventh Word from the Cross 2024
Into your hands I commend my spirit. Lk 23:46 Jesus has completed his mission. He has redeemed humanity from its Original Sin. His redemption is not limited to the children of Israel but is offered to all who will accept his invitation. Jesus has established the New Passover, the new exodus from enslavement to death Continue reading
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Apostolic Mission
A clean heart create for me, O God,and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Psalm 51:10 The readings today bring to mind cleanliness and renewal. We are all born with the stain of original sin. It is the sacrament of baptism that cleans us and prepares us for a life in Christ. And when we Continue reading
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Transfiguration and Satisfaction
On the second Sunday of Lent, the gospel is always about the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, where the three leading apostles are shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that this Jesus they have been following is more than a Rabbi or even the Messiah anointed by God. The Transfiguration manifests the reality Continue reading
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Something’s Coming
In the 1950s musical West Side Story, the lead character Tony sings a song called “Something’s Coming” which shares the sense of excited expectation we should have on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Tony sings, “Something’s coming, something good. Something’s coming, I don’t know what it is but it’s going to be great.” Here in Continue reading
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Christ is Truly King
The Feast of Christ the King is relatively new, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. The point of the feast is relatively old, for it weighs in on the question of whether or not those who live in the world but do not recognize Jesus as their king are nonetheless his subjects. Continue reading
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Discerning Caesar
The gospel reading today has much to tell us about discernment. The end, the goal, of discernment is the identification of the best or truest outcome, and the determination to do what is necessary to achieve it. Last week, the parable of the wedding feast was also about discernment. The wedding banquet was not limited Continue reading
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The Laborers’ Gift
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. Mt 20:1 The grumbling by the workers at the end of the day is sometimes the main thing that we take away from this story. I want today to look at it from a different angle. Continue reading
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Be a Fool for Christ
Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Do you think Peter really understood what he said? It’s a true statement, but like Peter we do not really know the full truth of that statement. It’s Continue reading
Bound in Love 