Wow – those scribes and Pharisees were slow to learn, weren’t they!?!  Over the past three weeks, we’ve heard Jesus try to teach them about their disobedience, avarice and indifference toward God and today, instead of repenting and turning back to God, we hear them plot against him.  Let’s quickly review.  Three weeks ago, we heard Jesus speak to them through the parable of the man who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard.  You’ll recall that the first son said “yes” but did not go; the […]

I hope you paid careful attention to today’s readings, especially the first reading and the Gospel.  If you did, you noticed that both of these readings tell of a wonderful banquet.  Just reading the first line from Isaiah makes my mouth water:  “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wine.”  Who wouldn’t want to join in that feast?  But, we hear in the Gospel that those who are initially invited refuse […]

Vineyards are all in the news these days, unfortunately because several of them have been destroyed by the ongoing wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington State.  I have family living in California and I’m a wine lover, so I’ve been watching all of this with great interest and concern.  When we think of a vineyard, we think of visiting a winery and tasting their selections or of enjoying a nice glass of wine with friends over a leisurely dinner.  It’s a luxury that many of us enjoy.  For the people […]

Have you ever caught yourself – or someone else – doing something wrong and blaming your parents – or their parents or their upbringing for it?  We all do it, often without thinking about it.  It’s easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility ourselves.  For example, in ancient Israel, it was believed that when a person was afflicted with a disease or suffered some personal tragedy, it was the result of a sin he/she had committed.  And, if he/she had not committed a sin, it was the result […]

Election day is fast approaching and we’re all getting bombarded by messages from political candidates making all kinds of promises: lower taxes, health care for everyone, more or less government involvement, etc., etc.  Suppose a political party made this promise:  to introduce a new, revolutionary wage policy.  Instead of an hourly pay rate or a salary based on your position, every worker will receive the same daily pay.  And, whether you work one hour a day or 16 long hours, you will receive the same wage, sufficient to provide for […]

We’ve all heard the phrase: “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”  It’s straight from the Bible; in fact, you’ll find it in three books of the Old Testament:  Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.   It follows right after the Ten Commandments and is offered as a practical application of the 5^th Commandment: Thou shalt not kill.  After decreeing that “whoever strikes someone a mortal blow must be put to death,” the text goes on to decree the appropriate punishment for lesser injury.  It ends with, “if injury ensues, […]

In writing to the Christians in Rome, we hear St. Paul say in today’s second reading that the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. He is reiterating the teaching that Jesus often offered, indeed, his greatest commandment. The commandment to love – God, oneself, and one another – is emphasized over and over again in all four of the Gospels.

 God’s love for us is also very clearly presented in the Old Testament, although it is easy to miss this in the midst of all of the messages […]

Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we experience God’s presence in two amazing ways: in his living Word and in our Lord’s life-giving Body and Blood.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this Mass, we are excited for several of our young parishioners who will experience God’s presence in a new way for them as they receive Holy Communion for the first time.  It is, indeed, a special moment for you and we rejoice with you! 

 But, we also experience God’s presence as we hear him speak […]

Today’s Gospel begins in a somewhat unusual way. Rather than starting with the typical “Jesus began to teach them,” or “Jesus told his disciples another parable,” it starts with a statement about geography, about a particular city called Caesarea Philippi.  I’ve been there and can tell you that it’s well worth visiting, although it’s hard to get access to it these days.  Located some 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, it is today an uninhabited no-man’s land in the hotly disputed Golan Heights.  Well before the time of […]