“Jesus said, ‘Come and have breakfast” (Jo. 21:12). There’s a mysterious quality to our Gospel reading today: a story set after Jesus’ resurrection, that shows the disciples returning to their life before as fisherman by the Sea of Tiberias, and the risen Lord appearing to them on the shore of the sea. The disciples and their teacher fish together and share a meal and conversation. This experience, the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples ... Read more ..read more

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26). This Easter, the words “death” and “the enemy” conjure up images from eastern Ukraine: ruined buildings and ruined lives, stacked up in a shambles. Peace broken by vain ambition and desperate cruelty; human life taken away; futures destroyed. Theologians and philosophers teach us that evil is privation, a “no-thing” that has no being, except to the extent that it leaches off something that is ... Read more ..read more

“They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory” (Is. 61:3). I’ve lived a fair portion of my life in Florida and south Louisiana, not far from the Gulf of Mexico, and one of the markers of that region is the Live Oak. When you think of tree-lined avenues covered with Spanish Moss, you are most likely thinking of this tree. The Live Oak tree is an American ... Read more ..read more

“And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts” (Lk. 23:48). Our Gospel describes Jesus’ execution as a “spectacle”: an event held for public display, intended to awe and to impress. In our day, executions are held in a corner, out of public view as much as possible; but in the past, this was not so. There was a carnival atmosphere ... Read more ..read more

“This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Today we’re at that point in Lent where there’s more behind us than there is ahead. Palm Sunday next week, and then Easter following. Two weeks: but still time to practice the disciplines of Lent; still time to exercise ourselves in ... Read more ..read more

“This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Lk. 15:24). “I told you so”: for some, these are the most satisfying words in the English language. You know the context: someone gave you good advice, and then you went on ahead with your plan in spite of what you were told. Maybe it was a case of wishful thinking on your part, or maybe you honestly thought ... Read more ..read more

“Wait patiently for the Lord” (Ps. 27:18) What a difference the context makes when we pray! This Lent that context is shaped by images of war. Not that last year there was peace on earth (there wasn’t): there was still war in Syria, conflict in Ethiopia, violence in Yemen. In that sense, nothing has changed. Yet the sudden outbreak of war in Ukraine two weeks ago creates a different context, bringing home to us with ... Read more ..read more

“Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world” (Lk. 4:5). There are three temptations in our Gospel today: the account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, which we hear every year at the beginning of Lent. In the first temptation, as St. Luke narrates it, the devil invites Jesus to turn stones into bread, to use his own power to provide food in the desert ... Read more ..read more

“And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white” (Lk. 9:29). One of my besetting sins is forgetting to pray: when the time for decision comes, or a significant work is undertaken, I sometimes get moving without remembering to pray. “God, what do you want me to do?” or “Dear Lord, bless the work of our hands”: good prayers to remember before we move to action. I ... Read more ..read more

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (Lk. 6:32). If our Gospel reading sounded a little out of focus this morning, it was not the reader’s fault. What we heard was part of St. Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, different from the more familiar version in Matthew’s Gospel. For instance, and to my point, in Matthew, Jesus talks about “reward”: “For if you love those who ... Read more ..read more