Reflection for the 2nd Sunday in Lent 2025

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

As we have discussed, God uses imagery so we might clearly understand His intent for us, the picture He envisions for us. We will continue this study of God’s imagery throughout the Great Lent. 

May God’s imagery help us to achieve the vision He has for us and help us to arrive at Easter no longer ash, but light.

Last week we encountered the tremendous set of images where we saw with the eyes of our heart the fasting Jesus, tired and hungry in the dessert. There He was put to the test by Satan. We saw the rocks – would they be turned to bread, the mountain top with a supernatural view of all the kingdoms of the world, and the parapet of the Temple high above Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

Today, the eyes of our heart are taken to another mountaintop, Mount Tabor, where Jesus is Transfigured, appearing in all His glory, and standing between Moses and Elijah. The Patriarchs and Prophets give testimony to God’s Son come among us.

The three Apostles overwhelmed seek to react. We might have the same thoughts they did – what can we do and how will we do it.

Wait, let’s build three dwellings right here, then we can stay here with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Indeed, it is good that we are here. I will leave everything else behind just to remain.

The linchpin in the Gospel is the statement: they spoke of his exodus. Jesus’ path is made very clear. He is going to Jerusalem where He will be arrested, tortured, and killed, and on the third day rise.

The apostles wanted none of that bad stuff. How much better to stay on this mountain then to descend into the coming chaos.

Brothers and sisters, in this place, in this church, we ascend the mountain, and we commune with Christ Jesus. We experience His glory and are safe from the chaos out there. How lovely it would be, and I often picture this, to remain here, to rest here, to be in the Lord’s presence continually. Lovely yes, but not God’s will for us.

St. Paul, as he always does, makes it real for us. We must go out into the chaos filled with the grace we have received here and be those who thus conduct themselves according to the model [we] have in Jesus and His Apostles.

Through our Lenten disciplines let us strengthen ourselves for the work we must do in the chaos, bringing light to overcome darkness.

Reflection for the 19th Ordinary Sunday 2024

“I Am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world.”

Last week, after reflecting on the movement between proclamation, healing, service, care, and feeding the rubber met the road. Indeed, people began to react to the truth of the Kingdom and following the heavenly King Who would give them Himself as food for eternal life. 

We anticipated the reaction, and unfortunately the reaction was not positive or accepting. We heard it right at the start of today’s Gospel: “The Jews murmured about Jesus.”

Their reaction might seem natural to us. Here is this Man saying that He will give us a bread that lets us live forever. He is saying He came down from heaven and that His Father is God. He is assuming God’s name, I Am. In the end He says that He is the Living Bread and that we must eat His flesh to live forever. He will go deeper into that next Sunday. The reaction against Him will get more negative.

It is sad that this sort of thinking and reaction makes sense even in the current age. To many people, even to many Catholics, the reaction of the people who followed Jesus to Capernaum makes sense. They cannot believe His outstanding claims. It is indeed hard to grasp the power and mystery of God, because at its core we consider ourselves unworthy of God’s abundant goodness How could we possibly be worthy?

If we look at today’s reading from First Kings, we see the depth of God’s care for His servants. Elijah, afraid, exhausted, and unwilling to go forward is met by God’s provision. God provides not once, but twice. God not only provides food and water, but He also works to strengthen Elijah for all he is called to do.

This trope is repeated over and over throughout salvation history. The foreshadowing of the Old Testament points to God’s care for His people, and not just care, but more so a desire for deep and everlasting relationship. God shows His desire to commune with His people.

When God came to earth it wasn’t just for a visit. It wasn’t to say a few wise words and let us have at it. It was to bring us everlasting life, continual relationship, and perpetual communion.

Jesus calls us into a faith and belief that transcends the ordinary, overcomes our doubts, and in the end calls us to understand that we are worth it to God. He says we are worthy of this mystery so great, His very self.

Overcoming doubt and unbelief by the grace God grants us in His Eucharistic feast, let us truly accept His flesh and blood as we faithfully rejoice in what we celebrate today – salvation.

Reflection for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2019

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

Paul is once again charging Timothy to remain strong and faithful in his ministry to his people. Paul reminds Timothy, as he has been doing, of what he learned. Paul does these recaps before he enters into the strong charge his listeners are called and recalled to.

Paul tells Timothy: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it. 

Now Paul was not necessarily referring to himself – you’ve got to get this, believe it, and live it just because I took the time to teach you. Paul never stood on his own words. Rather, Paul is helping Timothy to remember that his heart was touched, his soul was moved, by the Holy Spirit who imparted God’s word to him. This word – the Gospel of Jesus – has affected your life from the beginning. It has changed the course of your life and outcomes you would have otherwise been destined for.

Because God’s word comes to us by proclamation, through the insistence of faithful teachers, by the example of mentors, in ways that are ever human and ordinary, we can easily miss Who it is that is imparting the word. Paul reminds Timothy and us - you know from whom you learned it.

If we realize the source, the rest of Paul’s set of directives becomes easy: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. If this thing I have, that we have, is from God it will prosper by our persistence and dedication, by our patience and teaching.

Jesus brings this all home. He uses the example of the worst of the worst doing right to show us how much more our great, powerful, all just, all merciful God will do for His faithful. He will prosper our proclamation, teaching, persistence, in good times or bad, work. All we need do is ask with faith.

What we ask in faith is not just some poor request from an underling – please support me if You get a moment God. No, it is a word of power from us who remain in Jesus. Jesus guarantees we will see it done speedily. Believe that!