Blog Posts containing "John 1:14"

Year A Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

A landowner leased his land to tenants. The harvest time came. He sent servants to collect his produce. The tenants refused to pay their tithes. He sent his son. The tenants killed him. What will the owner do to those tenants? The literal parable would say with the religious leaders that he will put them to death and lease the vineyard to tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time. The grace translation would compare and contrast the differences between a stone that is rejected and one that is the cornerstone.  Read more


Transfiguration Sunday

This story of the Transfiguration is one of the most significant stories in the Scripture. There was Jesus, Elijah and Moses. What did they all have in common? Much! They were talking to Jesus about their Exodus. Each one was involved in a type of exodus experience. Elijah was caught up in whirlwind and the flaming chariot. Moses led the Exodus of the children of Israel out of the slavery in Egypt. Now Jesus was to have His Exodus being resurrected from the grave. Peter displayed his legalism saying. “Rabbi it is good we are here. Let us make three booths one for you one for Elijah and one for Moses.” Mark adds almost in astonishment, “He did not know what he was saying.”  Read more


Advent III: The Christmas Peace

Jesus is asking the people what did they go out into the wilderness to see in John the Baptist? It was not some prince in a palace. If they did they would be terribly disappointed. They went out to see a prophet. But the question is how do you see a prophet? What do you look for? A prophet of God is not something you see. It is something you feel. You feel they are in the Presence of God and are sharing not their thoughts, but God’s thoughts. This is what a true prophet is. You listen to what is being said because the speaker is in the Presence.  Read more


Advent II: The Christmas Peace

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'” Presumption can lead us to believe we are in God’s Peace when we are not. It can have us believe that no matter what happens we cannot and will not ever be in His Peace about certain things in the past, present or future. Presumption leads us to believe that we know how to change the unchangeable by working on it long enough or thinking about it hard enough. We overcome our presumption by knowing as a fact, that when we are in the Presence of the Peace of God we can be at Peace under any condition. St Paul tells it like it is when he wrote in Romans 2:2, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed.”  Read more


Year C Twenty-Seventh Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

“All sins shall be forgiven and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” Mark 3:28-29 Those seeking a literal answer ask, “What is the unforgivable sin?”  Read more


Year C Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

“Then came to Him certain of the Sadducees who deny that there is any resurrection” What we are thinking is irrelevant. How we are thinking is relevant. The lesson today is an example of the fact that literal thinking trying to get rational answers to spiritual questions is irrelevant. Only spiritual thinking can get grace answers concerning spiritual questions.  Read more


Year C Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

“Then came to Him certain of the Sadducees who deny that there is any resurrection” What we are thinking is irrelevant. How we are thinking is relevant. The lesson today is an example of the fact that literal thinking trying to get rational answers to spiritual questions is irrelevant. Only spiritual thinking can get grace answers concerning spiritual questions.  Read more


Year C Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

Zaccheus may have been among the tax collectors at the Baptism of Jesus. Luke 3:12 Jesus met with many tax collectors and publicans during his short three year ministry. In Luke 5:29, a Tax collector named Levi who became the Apostle “Matthew”, made Him a feast in his house with a great company of publicans. In Luke 7:34, Jesus was accused of eating and drinking with publicans. In Luke 15:1, “All of the publicans drew near to hear Him.” It would be difficult to believe Zacchaeus only knew of Jesus; they likely knew each other personally. How did Jesus know who that person was in the tree? After all, He called him by name!  Read more


Year C Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

The story is a simple one. Two men are in the Temple for prayers, one a Pharisee and the other a Tax collector. The Pharisee prays to himself about how faithful he is. He is not at all like the tax collector. The tax collector merely prays, “Lord have mercy upon me a sinner.” He leaves justified and the other not. The Pharisee is not much different than some in America. They see themselves as religious people. They are rich enough to follow all the laws. However, they do all they can to legalistically not follow the laws. They hate paying taxes and they see themselves as patriots. They are not thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like the tax collecting traitor.  Read more


Year C Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost Meditation

Literal thinking sees this parable as a comparison between and the unjust judge and the God of justice. The parable of the widow and the recalcitrant judge is about the need to always pray and not to lose heart. Literal prayer needs to be persistent. Things to do are to say prayers, sing praise hymns, take communion and go on retreats. The problem is, that is not how it works. You can pray prayers, and not pray, sing praise hymns and not praise, be stuffed with Eucharistic bread or go on retreats and not be in communion with God. If it does not work once, it does not work at all. Jesus likes to quote Isaiah, “In vain you worship me. You worship with your lips but your heart is far from me.”  Read more


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