Sunday Reflections

A man had a nightmare! Ruins of his life were all over! What do to?  The man dreamt that he was to go to a certain bridge and there to dig into the earth. And there he would find a solution to his problems.  All was not in ruins! All was not lost!  His wife said “GO.” She had a vision of what he would find.  All the digging resulted in nothing.  At the same time his wife called him – “Come home.  The treasure is here, under the fireplace”.  His answer was to go home, not away.  And so it was!

In the Resurrectionist Prayer, we pray to the Risen Lord—the Way, the Truth, and the Life—asking him to make us faithful followers of the spirit of his resurrection, helping us to be inwardly renewed, dying to ourselves so that he may live in us.  St.

This gospel is familiar to us.  The person of Zacchaeus was the most unlikely host for supper for Jesus and his disciples as they passed through Jericho.  Yet Jesus chose this public sinner, a tax collector, to be his host, much to the surprise of Zacchaeus.  That dinner invitation changed his life, and Zacchaeus, moved by the person and preaching of Jesus repented of his sin and promised to make amends  That same Jesus comes to us and 'dines' with us (in the Eucharist), so that we too might have new life and turn from our sinful ways.  Let us not delay, but

Reading Jesus’s parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector reminded me of an old signature song of Tom Jones that includes the words, “O Lord, it is hard to be humble when you are perfect in every way.”  The Pharisee, although he probably would not admit this, seems to be laying out all his goodness before God.  In the face of this, what can God do but love him….after all he has “earned” or “deserved” or “merited” this love based upon all his good works! 

                The Constitutions of the Congregation of the Resurrection begin with the acknowledgment that “God loves each of us with a personal, unconditional love.”  A few sentences later, the Constitutions insist that a “life-long process is involved in our coming to know God’s unconditional love for each of us as the most fundamental fact of our lives.”  The gospel this Sunday might suggest that this life-long process will take much persistence on our pa

The images of Jesus in his parables are universal and eternal, speaking to us in every time and place.  Indeed, the mustard seed is so small, yet Jesus tells us that if we have faith it will grow and develop as large as the mulberry tree.  True faith is not only an intellectual exercise, but bears fruit in action.  Our life with God should lead us to responsible use and sharing of our gifts and talents.  Let us work on that balance of faith and action, to fulfill the will of God and to bear witness to Jesus.   

A number of years ago when I was in Peru I was part of an earthquake.  Everything shook, nothing was stable, walls came down.  Worse - there was nothing to hang onto.  There was nothing that would give hope, except we could support one another.  Lord, help my unbelief.  Have you experienced something like this in your life?  When everything is falling apart – nothing is stable, all is collapsing – what do we do?  Where does our strength and hope come from?  Health, relationships, failures – how do we cope?

                The Resurrectionist Mission Statement calls for us to “join in solidarity with people diminished by unjust structures.”  Attempts to do this would find support from the prophet Amos who, in the first reading, chastises the rich for taking care of themselves in luxurious ways, while neglecting the poor.  Similarly, our Gospel presents the challenging story of the rich man Dives, who seems to enjoy all the luxuries of the world, and the poor man Lazarus who is covered with

The gospels speak to us often of stewardship, the wise and prudent use of our time, talents and treasure.  This is a challenge for all of us.  The parable of Jesus speaks to us of stewardship gone wrong.  The steward has not been responsible, but rather has abused his power and leadership.  By following Jesus faithfully we will fulfill our responsibilities, and (Jesus tells us) we will be blessed and given more responsibility.  Let us 'count our blessings' and be responsible stewards of God's many gifts. 

A lady died and was greeted by St. Peter at the gates to heaven.  She was told that to get into heaven she would need 100 points – results of her life on earth.  However, St. Peter added up her points – so sad, she only had 18 points.  “What”, said Peter “Are you going to do?”  She smiled and responded, “I guess I will just have to rely on God’s mercy.’ “Aha,” said Peter, “That’s worth a 100 points!”  Welcome home! With mercy God’s bucket list is filled.