Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Suffer... Suffering... I do not like the very sound of these words. I don’t like the thoughts that these words trigger in my mind. I don’t want to imagine or think about it. There is not a single moment that I have spent trying to figure out what like must be if I had a lot of suffering. I have imagined my life without suffering... not ever getting old, not getting a single grey hair, not ever having to deal with wrinkles, not ever having to go the hospital, not ever having misunderstandings... but I try not to spend time imagining suffering. And yet, even as I stand here and preach, there is no denying that for one reason or another, I suffer. And I am aware that each one of you, for one reason or another, in small or greater degree, suffer.
Fifth Sunday of Lent - Year A Scrutinies
Between last weekend and this weekend we have had three funerals. There are many things I could say about each of these funerals. At one of them, the grand-daughter concluded her eulogy by saying what she would say to her grandpa when he was still alive. She said, “See you later, alligator.” Is it not precious that we can say that to each other as bury the people we love? Sometimes I think, though, that sometimes we take the reason for this hope for granted? Why is it that we can say, “See you later,” when people die? What did it take to get us to that hope?
Fourth Sunday of Lent - Year A Scrutinies
One of the most meaningful parts of my ministry is spending time in conversation with people. On an average I talk to at least five to ten people each week. The conversations revolve around the enormous amounts of PAIN that people carry. And I can identify with every person because I have my own pain. Take for example, talking with a person to whom the doctor has given a limited time to live; think about a family where both the adults are unemployed; think about the person who discovers that the spouse had been secretly unfaithful for months and sometimes years; think about the pain of a family on the verge of breaking up; think about the pain of being misunderstood; think about the pain of emotional, physical and sexual abuse; the pain of addiction and the pain it causes to families; and then there is the pain of sin, guilt and loss of faith. These are all real-life situations that I encounter on a daily basis and I am sure you do too.
Third Sunday of Lent
I have only one niece. And she loves being my only niece. Recently she graduated from medical school and I was telling her how proud I was of her. When she about three years old I would often ask her how much she loved me. When she was mad with me she would hold her two little fingers just a little apart and show me that’s how little she loved me. But this time, she had her arms open wide as she said, “This much.” And I asked her, “Only that much?” She stretched a little more and said, “This much.” This went on for about four or five times until she could not stretch more without hurting. That last time as she said, “This much,” there were tears in her eyes. Of course, I just picked her up and covered her with as much love as possible. That is one time in my life when love – pure, simple, and innocent yet overpowering, overwhelming and indescribable totally overcame me.
Second Sunday of Lent
I have some serious questions for us to think about this week. The first question is, “How deep do you think your relationship with God is?” Let me put this question in other words: “Could God take you for granted?” Now I want you to think about the most precious thing in your life – your marriage, your children, your job, your health, your entire life’s savings. And now think if God said to you what God said to Abraham – “Sacrifice what is most precious to you for my sake” – what would you do? Once God put claim on what is most precious to you, will that change how you feel about God?
I am wondering if we now have a better insight into Abraham’s dilemma.
First Sunday of Lent
A sign on Interstate 75 caught people’s attention this Ash Wednesday: “Drive Through Ashes.” On Ash Wednesday the Mt. Healthy United Methodist Church I Cincinnati offered drive through ashes to somehow accommodate ashes into people’s busy lives. On the one hand this is very creative. On the other hand, Ash Wednesday is really not about the ashes, is it? Ash Wednesday and Lent are really not about finding a way to accommodate God into our busy lives. It is exactly the opposite. It is about bringing God to the center and finding a way to accommodate our lives around God! Christianity is not a drive-through spirituality. It is about pausing, about slowing down, about setting aside time for something very sacred and holy.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
We might be inclined to focus on the story of the paralytic which is a rather impressive story of faith and healing. As I read the reading very carefully, I also realized that there is a theme hidden in the first reading and the gospel reading that can easily get glossed over. The very last sentence of the first reading says, “It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more.” (Is 43:25) And then in today’s gospel reading, when the paralytic is lowered down from the roof, Jesus’ first response was “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Are the readings really, then, drawing our attention to the concept of sin? I am inclined to think they are.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
There is a Youtube video that is going viral these days. Jefferson Bethke is a young rap artist who has posted a video called “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” Since he posted the video a month ago, it has gotten close to 19 million hits. Only four other videos have been this widely viewed. Bethke arguments are simplistic and we can easily punch holes in them. But the young people particularly are resonating with his trend of thought. Let me share some of the lyrics of his poem with you. He writes:
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I always look forward to going home, and in fact, my tickets for my next trip are already booked. What I do not look forward to is what the travel, the jet lag, and the vacation do to my prayer. Each time I have huge adjustment issue and unless I make heroic efforts my spiritual discipline takes a severe beating. I detest that. When the only thing that is constant in my life is disrupted the rest of life seems scattered and disjointed. The challenge for me is to find ways to stay centered. This week’s reading gave me some insights and I hope it will help you as well.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This homily is based on one word – “authority.” Let me propose my reason for this focus. The last couple of weeks, the readings have focused on the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry. We also know that he called some people to follow him radically and closely as apostles and disciples. Last week, we became familiar with Jesus’ mission and belief statement. He said, “The time of fulfillment is here. The kingdom of God is at hand: Repent and believe in the gospel.” And today’s gospel introduces another important dimension of his ministry. Mark says, “All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him” (Mk 1:27).
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
In terms of flights and connections this last vacation was the worst one that I have ever had. My very first flight out of Dayton did not show up in time for me to connect in Washington DC. As a result all my flights had to be rebooked for the next day. I spent fourteen hours in DC before I even got on my 13 hours flight to Delhi. When I got to Delhi, they told me that they could not find my ticket to Bhopal on their computer and that I should go to upstairs to the main check-in counter. With only about fifty minutes to go, I got upstairs in a state of panic. And then… I met God. This mere baggage loader named Ashish (means, blessing) came to me and asked me if he could help. When I told me what had happened, he said to me, “Please do not worry. Just come with me.” He took all my baggage and took me to the appropriate counter. When the person behind the ticketing counter could not help, he took me to the supervisor, got her to get on to the system, found my booking, came back to the counter, got the agent to print my boarding pass, and then accompanied me all the way to the seat on my flight. He actually put me on my seat. Walking to the gate to board the flight, I thanked him profusely. He said to me, “When you came, I saw that you were desperate.” And he said to me, “Sir, this is what I believe. I believe that every person who comes my way at work is like God. When I take care of them, I take care of God.” I looked at him with awe. I could not believe that people like this exist in the world. Before I left the counter with my boarding pass, I had just said to the ticketing agent, “Today, this man came to me like God himself.”
Second Sunday In Ordinary Time
The theme of God’s call is perhaps the most preached about theme. The reason is simple. Stories of God’s call to human beings occur quite frequently in the Scripture. There is the call of Abraham, the call of Moses, the call of Samuel in today’s first reading, the call of David, the call of Isaiah, the call of the Mary and the call of the Apostles in today’s gospel reading. And, if we compare these stories we realize that there are common threads that run through each of these stories.
The Epiphany of the Lord
At least on two different occasions last year I had the opportunity to visit newborn babies in the hospital. To enter the room to visit either the mother and the baby or the parents and the baby is a very special experience. There is a sense of mystery and awe during such times. After nine months of wondering, waiting, expecting, hoping and longing, out comes the miracle of life. Every baby born is a sign that God still loves the world.
olemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Before you begin reading this homily I would like you to watch this YouTube clip:
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Many of you probably have received via internet, the now popularized story of the father and the son who collected rare works of art. And then the son went to War and lost his life trying the save the life of another soldier. The father was crestfallen. Just before Christmas that year, the young soldier whose life the son saved, came to the door and presented to the grieving man a portrait of his son that he had painted. The man kept the portrait on his mantel and often admired its realism. When he died, an auction was held for all the rare works of art and among them was the portrait of the son by an unknown artist. At the auction, everybody’s eyes were on the rare paintings but there were no takers for the portrait of the son. The family gardener had fond memories of the son and he was the only one to bid ten dollars for the son’s portrait. That was all he could afford. At once the auctioneer announced that the auction was over. He told the puzzled gathering that there was a secret stipulation in the old man’s will. “The son, the son,” he auctioneer cried out, “whoever took the son will get everything.”
Fourth Sunday of Advent
I was talking to a dearly beloved parishioner yesterday. And she was talking about how her knees and her hips were beginning to give her problems. Obviously, she was very scared. She loves dancing, skiing, and being with her grandchildren, and she is afraid that she might have to stop doing the things that she loves to do. She talked to me about a healing mass she participated in. She genuinely wanted her ailment to be gone. When the priest anointed her with the laying on of hands, he prayed in words like, “Lord, please heal her of her pain but if it is your will that she should carry this pain, then give her the strength to endure it.” She said, to me yesterday, “But that is not I wanted to hear.” When I asked her permission to share this story, she said “I was being silly, but I meant what with all my heart!”
Third Sunday of Advent
Scripture Readings
We are mid-way through Advent. And my question to you is, “How is it going?” The first Sunday, I invited all of us to step-back, examine our lives and ask God for a renewal. Last Sunday, I suggested that the God was offering us comfort, a challenge and a responsibility. It is my hope that each of us is preparing, as John the Baptist would say, a highway for our God. And so I am asking you again. “How is it going?” The answer to the question can either take us deeply or superficially into the message of the God’s word in this third week of Advent.
Second Sunday of Advent
Last week I began with the story Corey Cooper and Christina Jackson who died in a car accident. Ever since the accident, not only have I offered my comfort to the families but I have also wanted to reach out to Robert Finkley, the man who caused the accident. On Thursday, I made a visit to the jail and spoke with him for about half an hour. He did not know that I was coming, who I was or what to expect. He came to the window holding a Bible in his hands. The man I met was unspeakably regretful and filled with inexpressible sorrow. He wanted me to convey to the families how incredibly sorry he was for his actions. As Robert said, “What I did was more than a mistake.” I have rarely seen such hopelessness or sense of despair. I asked him not to give up on God, on faith, and not to lose hope. May be, he could become the greatest campaigner against driving under the influence.
First Sunday of Advent
Just today, I buried two young people who were killed in a car accident. Corey Cooper was only 18 years old and Christina Jackson was 20. When they left home the night of November eighteenth, no one thought that this would the last time they saw their family; when they got into the car that night, no one thought this would be their last car ride; when they sent their text sitting at the red light early morning of November nineteenth, they did not think that would be their last text ever sent. Like a flash of lightning, their brief lives were over. “Watch therefore,” Jesus says in today’s gospel reading, “you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.”
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King
I have heard this story many times, but it never ceases to touch me. So I would like to repeat it for you. On a cold day in December in New York, a little boy was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady who noticed him, approached him and asked him what he was looking at. “I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.” The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. She took the little boy and removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said asked him to go along on his way. As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked “Are you God's wife?”