Scripture: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18Matthew 25:31-46 Reflection: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. -Leviticus 19:18 The Lord’s call to holiness for His people is consistent. Just as He told the Israelites through Moses, Jesus tells the disciples from His own lips…
First Sunday of Lent Scripture: Genesis 9:8-151 Peter 3:18-2Mark: 1:12-15 Reflection: “Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between…
Scripture: Isaiah 58:9b-14Luke 5:27-32 Reflection: The Lenten message is simple, but easily missed and almost always quickly forgotten: Following the ways of the Lord brings happiness and life. If we do what is right and good—if we especially seek justice…
Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-9aMatthew 9:14-15 Reflection: Our Lenten season began with the prophet Joel’s exhortation to “rend your hearts, not your garments.” The challenge to “fast” stares us once again in the face and confronts us. The children of Israel are…
Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:15-20Luke 9:22-25 Reflection: In our Gospel reading for today, after Jesus predicts His own Passion and death and resurrection, He tells His disciples what it means to be a disciple: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he…
Ash Wednesday Scripture: Joel 2:12-182 Corinthians 5:20-6:2Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Reflection: Between the jubilant melodies of Fat Tuesday and the delightful chocolate bunnies of Easter Sunday lies the season of Lent. In today’s unapologetically secular world, ever rife with materialism, some…
Scripture: James 1:12-18Mark 8:14-21 Reflection: The text for today is immediately following Jesus feeding the crowds for a second time, the Pharisees demand for a “sign” and Jesus’ refusal to give them one. And so, the story is set in…
Scripture: James 1:1-11Mark 8:11-13 Reflection: Today’s readings present a captivating contrast between faith and agnosticism. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus has arrived in the region of Dalmanutha, on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. He has come there after…
Scripture: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-461 Corinthians 10:31-11:1Mark 1:40-45 Reflection: “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Several times in the Hebrew Bible, God punished people for their disobedience by inflicting them with leprosy. The Israelites naturally assumed that leprosy was…
Scripture: 1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34Mark 8:1-10 Reflection: I’d heard the story of loaves and fishes so many times that I no longer paid much attention. Then I decided to pray with the text and see where it led me. I…