To understand the magnitude of this Gospel, it is helpful to know that anytime a rabbi or scribe taught during the days of Jesus, they would have referenced another, most likely their teacher.  Likewise, their teachers would have referenced teachers before them, so that a line of teachers and teaching could eventually be traced to the original teacher – Moses, who received his instruction from God directly.

But Jesus did not reference his teachers and so the astonishment came from the implication that Jesus was teaching something entirely new.  And if that wasn’t shocking enough, he did so with an authority that even the unclean spirits recognized.

A new teaching with authority – exactly as the Lord promised to us through Moses in the first reading.  Exactly what we are told in the first reading that the people wanted:  a prophet like you from among your kin.

Exactly what we asked for . . . just not the way we thought we would get it – how many times does that happen to us?

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: (Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95; I Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28)

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Today we have a tale of two responses to the same request.  God calls Jonah just as Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and John.  Jonah runs away and Peter and the Four drop everything and follow Jesus.

Two responses and one simple lesson:  if God is calling you – you can run, but it won’t be pleasant.  Biblically speaking – the central tragedy of human life is to refuse the call of God.

Here is what I can assure you of:  most struggle comes from a refusal to align our will with the will of God.

So how do we know the will of God?  To this question, there are many answers, but it begins with an understanding of what you value.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: (Jonah 3:1-5,10; Psalm 25; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20)

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There is a very clear message in our readings this Sunday:  we only come to know hope and the things of God through the encounter with a person – the person of Christ, with whom we encounter through our family and friends.

In our lives today, we are the Eli to Samuel; the John to Andrew; and the Andrew to Simon Peter.

Of course, most of us doubt our ability our credentials to perform this role.  Most of us feel that we are too sinful and too unfamiliar with God and God’s ways to ever show God to others; and so we must learn to be comfortable with ourselves as saints and sinners.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: (1 Samuel 3:3-10,19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15,17-20; John 1:35-42)

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Today, as we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, we celebrate the majesty of our faith. These words of Isaiah – in fact the whole reading – reminds us that substance of our belief has captured the imagination of the world for centuries. What do these three kings represent? Why is their role in this story so important? It is not just that they brought gifts, but that they symbolize the peoples of all the world celebrating the God with whom we know intimately.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to embark on a journey to rediscover the celebration of the Church. We are going to relearn what the three kings have already told us – that what Christ has done is not just for us, but for the entire world.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Epiphany of the Lord: (Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72, Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6, Matthew 2:1-12)

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Archbishop Timothy Dolan (New York) says that Christmas celebrates the fact that God will not take “No” for an answer.  He just keep trying, he wants to break through to us, he want to get through to us.  Finally God said, maybe they’ll listen to a baby, because nothing changes lives like a baby!

Now I know enough people who have had children to know this to be true, but I would like hear from those of you who have had children.  How did having a baby change you?  What did you learn from that little one?

And so what I would suggest is that those very same things you have learned from your child are in fact the very same things you learn from a relationship with God – only at a broader level that applies to everyone and everything.

This is poetry.  It is metaphor.  It is art.  It is song.  Think of all of the images, sounds, and flavors of Christmas – this is, quite literally, God breaking through into our lives in order to get our attention – to tell us that there is something more than what you have conceived in your mind.

Our readings today are even about building houses.

In our first reading, David decides he is going to build a “proper house” for God since God has been living in a tent as Israel made its way from exile to Jerusalem.

But God, through Nathan, says to David that God will instead build a bigger and better house far beyond what David can imagine. In fact, God tells David that he will build a dynasty that will last forever. Virtually the same message is told to Mary by Gabriel. Her own body will be the house – indeed a house much different than anything she might have imagined.

“For nothing is impossible with God” – Mary is told.

Do you remember what I said at the beginning of Advent – four Sundays ago? What is advent all about?

This last Sunday of Advent, we recognize that our house has turned out differently than we imagined, but it is indeed a grand house!

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: (2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-11, 16; Psalm 89; Romans 16:25-38; Luke 1:26-38)

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When you think of advent, what words come to mind?

As you listen to the readings this Sunday, they all speak of a coming, but as we have already discussed, this is not simply the coming of a little baby – this is the coming of a new world order.  It is the beginning of a revolution.

But how did this new world order begin?  Was it a grand plan?  Some strategic initiative?  A new system of government?  A new economic stimulus?  Nope.  It was brought about by the repentance of a person – one after the other.

It was as Mother Teresa answered when she was asked how you change the world – she replied, one person at a time.

But the difficulty with this is not that it takes time, which is true, but I think that many of us struggle with the idea of repentance, especially in our world today.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Third Sunday of Advent: (Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; Luke 1; I Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28)

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The first 39 chapters of Isaiah speak of Israel and Jerusalem as relatively prosperous, self-confident and material-minded.  But this new author speaks from a new place – the people once so confident are now exiled, discouraged, dazed, and in need of consolation.  They do not need to be punished or tried any further – they need to be sustained.

And so today that is what we hear in the first chapter of an exiled Isaiah – chapter 40 – which reads like an overture to an entire discourse.

Isaiah reminds us today that there is a way out of the wilderness.  We all feel like exiles in this world; we all feel lost; we all feel like we are not where we are supposed to be.  But this is not a story about being lost – this is a story about the long way home.

There is value in our wandering, for it is purifying, but we must not wander for too long for what we have learned is to be shared – shouted from upon the mountain-tops.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Second Sunday of Advent: (Isaiah 40:1-5;9-11 Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8)

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Advent is understood by many as a season of preparation, but it is actually much more than that.

It is actually we celebrate as an in between time – a time between promise and fulfillment. The tension that results gives rise to many questions about God’s promises.

Not too long ago, several students surfaced these difficult questions about God and about doubt. We decided to use Advent to give us permission to ask these questions and ritualize the doubts that we have.  Due to the nature of this very different style Mass, there are two homilies for this Sunday:  the first is a normal Sunday Mass, but the second is highly interactive focused on doubt and bringing light to the darkness.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the First Sunday of Advent: (Isaiah 63:17-17; 64:1,3-8; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37)

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What you hear in today’s readings are the qualifications for Christ the King. You could think about this like his campaign promise, which is also a rather brutal commentary on the incumbent party.

If you were to read the section of Ezekiel just before what we hear today, you will understand Ezekiel tells them, “Woe to you who feed yourselves. For you consume the milk, cover yourself with wool and kill what was fattened. You did not feed my flock. You did not strengthen the weak, heal the sick and because you did not lead them, they were dispersed and killed.”

And so we hear today, what the leaders would not do, God will do on his own. Through Ezekiel, God promises to save Israel – not just to send a Messiah, a savior, but to be the savior. God promises to come down and save us from ourselves.

CLICK HERE for the Readings for the Solemnity of Christ the King: (Ezekiel 34:11-12,15-17; Psalm 23:1-3,5-6; I Corinthians 15:20-26,28; Matthew 25:31-46)

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