Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 18, 2026: Give the Lord glory and honor!

Give the Lord glory and honor!
Are we ready to give God thanks, always? 

    When the Lord God empowers Cyrus, King of Persia, to send the people of Israel home from exile with the wherewithal to rebuild, the people are meant to understand that God is at work through Cyrus, even if Cyrus himself is unaware of this. I am the Lord and there is no other, God announces through the prophet Isaiah. God is at work even when we ourselves are not doing God’s work. This is why we have hope: because God is at work and so we do not despair. Rather, all are to give the Lord glory and honor, as Psalm 96 reminds us, singing a new song that speaks of God’s wondrous deeds to all nations. 

    In Matthew’s Gospel, the Pharisees are still blind to all that God is doing in their midst, and so they go off and plot how they might entrap Jesus in speech. But their plan is faulty. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? they ask him. Their thought is that, if Jesus says they should pay the census tax, he would be seen as supporting their oppressor, Rome, whereas if he says they should not pay the census tax, the Roman authorities could arrest him. Instead of responding immediately, Jesus asks them to show him the coin that pays the census tax. The very fact that the Pharisees can readily produce such a coin in itself condemns them. Yet Jesus simply says, Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. And what is it that we owe God? Glory and praise! Jesus is calling upon the Pharisees to open their eyes, their ears, and their heart so that they can see what God is doing right in their midst, and give praise. 

    The greeting of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians demonstrates quite clearly the praise that Paul knows is due to God: We give thanks to God always for all of you, Paul says. Paul and Silvanus and Timothy can be with the Thessalonians in spirit, supporting them in their prayers, unceasingly calling to mind the Thessalonians’ work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. To endure in hope is to continue to follow the gospel even though you are not yet experiencing it in its fullness, allowing God to dwell in you and to work in you. In so doing, the Thessalonians praise God, and so should we, allowing God to continue to speak to us, that our relationship with God might form and deepen over time, hearing the Word and living the gospel with our hearts and with our lives, in praise! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 19, 2025: Our help is from the Lord...

Our help is from the Lord…
 But how do we go about acquiring it? 

   The point of this week’s Gospel reading from Luke couldn’t be clearer: Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. But what does that kind of prayer look like? The parable tells the story of a judge who is approached repeatedly by a widow who wants him to render a just decision for her against her adversary. In the end, the judge gives in – why? Because of her persistence – she does not become weary but calls out day and night to the one who can secure justice for her. 

   But prayer is a complicated bird. We pray, and sometimes our prayers don’t seem to be answered. Or, like Moses and Aaron and Hur in our reading from Exodus, we put our faith in tangibles – like the staff of God that Moses raises during battle, a sign of God’s support. As Psalm 121 points out, the Israelites’ help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth, a response to their plea, whence shall help come? Much later, during his own ministry in Ephesus, the disciple Timothy is also losing heart; Paul tells him to turn to the Word of God in the form of Scriptures that are capable of giving Timothy wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. For engaging with Scripture is itself a form of prayer; it is a medium through which God speaks to us in an on-going revelation of God’s love. 

   Is prayer what you do to get what you want, or is it an act by which you affirm your belief in God’s love and goodness? If in prayer you place yourself in the presence of divine love, what effect does it have on you? Does your prayer challenge you to anything new? Prayer, persistent prayer, needs to be sincere, to come from the depths of our being. If we open to divine love, if we are persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, then divine love will have something to say to us, because love, more than anything, is what we need. And love is the beautiful fruit of a relationship grounded in prayer. 

This post is based on one of Fr. Pat’s Scripture classes, “vintage” edition. 
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 20, 2024: Can you drink the cup that I drink?

Can you drink the cup that I drink?
Do we really understand what our faith calls us to? 

   It must have been so difficult for Jesus to be misunderstood by so many people through his ministry on earth! Even those closest to him do not always understand where he is coming from… or where he is going. When, in Mark’s Gospel, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come to Jesus and ask to sit one at his right and one at his left, Jesus must have been at the very least frustrated, if not despondent. Can you drink the cup that I drink? he asks them. Can you share my fate? Do you not realize that I have come to suffer, as the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah, of whom it is said, the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity? 

   Jesus is that Servant, come to offer redemption on behalf of all people, giving us the opportunity to return to God, restoring our access to the Lord who loves us. His sacrifice, that of the great high priest who has passed through the heavens, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, compels us to hold fast to our confession, to hold firmly to our faith, to live up to what we believe. He, the ever-faithful Suffering Servant, gave his life as an offering for sin; through his suffering, he justified many, that all might seek to see the light in fullness of days, safe from the darkness of sin. Like Jesus’ disciples, we too must pass through death to life in him. 

    Jesus Christ is the source of our hope. Only through Christ can we receive mercy and find grace for timely help, the mercy and grace humankind has sought through all the ages, as Psalm 33 makes clear: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you. Only when the eyes of the Lord are upon us and our eyes are clearly fixed upon him can we know the fullness of his mercy and the true joy of connection, a connection made possible by the sacrifice of the Servant who gave all, that we might have all, in him. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 22, 2023: I am the Lord and there is no other...

I am the Lord and there is no other…

Do we recognize the one Lord of our hearts? 

    How odd that, in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah the Lord anoints a foreign king, Cyrus, whose right hand God grasps, subduing nations before him. Cyrus, King of Persia, allowed the Jewish people in exile to return to Jerusalem and gave them the wherewithal to rebuild their city, asking only that they put in a good word with their God in return. God calls Cyrus by his name, it is true, and for a reason, but God also makes one thing very clear: I am the Lord and there is no other, he tells Cyrus, I am the Lord and there is no other, he repeats. Even if Cyrus doesn’t hear this message, the people of Israel do; they know that their God is God alone – there is no other! Their prayer of praise and gratitude might well have been Psalm 96: a new song, one they haven’t sung before, sung in a way they have not sung before, with greater insight into the awesome nature of their Lord and his wondrous deeds! He is the Lord, and there is no other. 

   The Pharisees seem to continue to struggle with this notion in Matthew’s Gospel. They want to test Jesus, to entrap him, and so they send emissaries to challenge him by asking, Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Jesus’ response is not only ingenious; it is also a reminder that their shared God is God alone: repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. The census tax is part of life; Rome needs to maintain order and pay its soldiers. But what is, or should be, most important to the Jewish people is to do what serves God. 

   The Thessalonians know this lesson. Paul recalls their work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are not passive states of being but active effort on behalf of the kingdom of God. Their work is driven by faith, their labor is driven by love, and their endurance is driven by hope – all manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Is our work imbued with faith? Is our labor done out of love? Do we hope with endurance? This will be so if only we recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord and there is no other. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class. 
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 16, 2022: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth...

Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth…

How do we know God is with us? 

    As the people of Israel journeyed through the desert, they were not alone, and they were not always at peace. In the Book of Exodus, not long after God causes water to come from the rock Moses strikes with his staff, the Amalekites commence an unprovoked attack against the Israelites. But the people of Israel trust in God’s power, for Moses is standing on top of the hill, with the staff of God in his hand, a sign of God’s intercession on their behalf. They know, as Psalm 121 reminds all, that their help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. So long as they go into battle in prayer and stay in prayer throughout the battle, focused on God at work in them, the people of Israel can be sure that the Lord will guard them from all evil. It is their persistence, and that of Moses, Aaron and Hur, that brings Joshua and his soldiers through the battle successfully. 

    In Luke’s Gospel, the widow who petitions a dishonest judge, calling out to him day and night, is persistent because of her faith; unlike the judge who neither feared God nor respected any human being, the widow knows she is one of God’s chosen ones, and he will see to it that justice is done for her. Jesus tells his disciples this parable so that they might recognize the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. Like Moses, who must keep his hands elevated in prayer for his people to be successful in their quest, Jesus’ disciples must remain open to God continuously through prayer and petition, never forgetting that God is with them. St. Paul will remind Timothy of this very same lesson: be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Timothy has known the sacred Scriptures from infancy, and they are to be the focus of his prayer and the source of his wisdom for salvation. He has but to remain faithful to what he has learned and believed, and to proclaim the Word, persistently, grounding himself in prayer. 

    We too have the Scriptures to serve as our source of wisdom, and we must pursue the Word with open hearts, persistently, that we might know always that God, our help, is with us, and we with him. Then when the Son of Man comes, he will find faith on earth. Our faith can and must remain persistent and patient, and it can only do so if we open ourselves to God in prayer and find our strength in him, that we too might proclaim the Word, embodying that faith on earth that reassures us that God is indeed always with us, no matter what we may be facing. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 17, 2021: Can you drink of the cup that I drink?

Can you drink the cup that I drink?

How do we participate in repairing our world?

    The people of Israel believed that when they sinned, they had to make a sacrificial offering of atonement for their sins. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Suffering Servant makes his life as a reparation offering (NABRE) to atone for the people’s sin, on their behalf, suffering for their sake as Jesus would one day do on behalf of the entire world. The Suffering Servant is willing to be crushed for the sake of his own people because he loves them; his suffering will repair what they have broken through their sin. As Christians, we believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ brings reparation to our world, in all its sinfulness and brokenness. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, while the Letter to the Hebrews notes that Jesus, the Son of God has been tested in every way, dying for our sins, making a reparation offering so that all humankind might be forgiven. We may thus approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help, placing our trust in the Lord, as Psalm 33 states, knowing we will be delivered from death through the kindness of God, as manifested in the reparation offering of his Son.

    Thus, when James and John ask Jesus for places of honor with him in heaven, Jesus’ response calls them to refocus their energies. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? he asks them. Baptism is an entry into his death which must become a way of life; the disciples are called to die for the sake of Christ, and be willing to suffer for the sake of his love. We participate in this same baptism; we too are baptized into his death; it is our invitation to inclusion in the Body of Christ as servants, ready to suffer for our world.

    Sin endures; people are still damaged and broken and in need of forgiveness. Jesus let his humanity die that he might raise all of humanity up, giving us access to God’s love. As Christians, we must participate with Jesus in this forgiveness, dying to sin and egocentricity and rising to love, a love that forgives. We make our reparation offering, not for ourselves but for each other; it is love that must drive us, rather than ego, mercy, rather than judgment, selflessness rather than selfishness, that we might give our lives as a ransom for many, following in the footsteps of Christ.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 18, 2020: I am the Lord, there is no other...

I am the Lord, there is no other…

Do you recognize God at work in the world around you?

  When, in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God calls upon Cyrus, the King of Persia, to return the people of Israel to their lands, the gesture is extraordinary:  a foreign king is being called by name to achieve God’s ends, and so Cyrus sends the people back to Israel with the wherewithal to rebuild.  Moreover, God is explicit about God’s own role in this project:  it is I who arm you, though you know me not.  When God works through Cyrus to benefit the people of Israel, God makes it very clear that the power lies with God:  I am the Lord, there is no other.  God wants the people to know that there is none besides God who merits the glory and honor referred to in Psalm 96.  The people are to sing to the Lord a new song, one not sung before, from a place they haven’t been before, from a place of understanding and appreciation for all that God has done and continues to do, in holy attire, prepared, heart open, ready to do good.  Psalm 96 calls for an intentional recognition of God at work in the world around us.

   The Pharisees and Herodians, on the other hand, do not recognize God at work in the world around them, not even with Jesus standing right before their eyes.  When, in Matthew’s Gospel, they test Jesus, asking, Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?, the Pharisees and Herodians are failing to recognize God’s hand in Jesus, failing to give God his due.  Jesus’ reply goes to the heart of this:  repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.  Remain focused on God, in other words, see what God is doing in the world right in front of you, keep God ever before you.  God blesses us by being with us in good and in bad; we must be open to the revelation, open to God acting in ways we might not expect.  We see in Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians that the early Christian community exists in union with Christ, and through Christ in God:  Grace to you and peace, Paul says to them – may God dwell among you and bring you peace.  The gospel came to them not in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit; the Thessalonians responded to God’s call in the affirmative, ever aware of God at work in the world around them.  We are called to no less.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 20, 2019: Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient...

Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient…

What does it take to endure in faith?

  When, in the Book of Exodus, Moses enjoins Joshua to go out and engage Amalek in battle, Moses assures the young man that he himself will be stationed on top of the hill with the staff of God in his hand.  The staff is an object of power; it represents the power of God active among the people of Israel.  As long as Moses remains steadfast in holding the staff high, confident in his prayerful relationship with God, God will support Joshua in battle.  The challenge is one of endurance, and of Moses’ enduring confidence in God to be with his people at all times.  Moses is sure, as Psalm 121 proclaims, that our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  We, too, are called to have confidence in the Creator of all things, to remain in prayerful relationship with God who is beside us, guarding us from all evil.  We are challenged to endurance in faith:  we must constantly lift up our eyes toward God, prayerful, trusting in his never-failing care.

  The theme of endurance is evident in Luke’s Gospel as well, as Jesus recounts the parable of persistent widow and the dishonest judge.  The widow herself demonstrates endurance, maintaining her course of prayerful petitions to the judge even though he rejects her time and time again.  Eventually, the judge gives in.  And if even a dishonest judge can render a just decision, how much more so will our just God respond with justice, particularly to those who call out to him day and night with prayerful respect of God’s power to effect good in their lives?  Jesus is encouraging his disciples not just to pray, and to pray always, but to cultivate a profoundly prayerful relationship with God that will sustain them in everything they face – and they need to be persistent in this, demonstrating endurance in faith, prayerful, always.

  In his second letter to Timothy, St. Paul echoes this need for endurance:  Remain faithful to what you have learned… Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient.  Scripture holds a central place as a source of our confidence and endurance; the Word of God is where we find solid ground to stand on, leading us to a prayerful awareness of and relationship with God.  Scripture speaks to this one reality to which we all belong, the reality of perfect love acting on our behalf, beside us, waiting for us to realize the mystery unfolding in our own lives.  We have but to endure in faith, prayerful, trusting in God’s love in all things.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 21, 2018: Can you drink the cup that I drink?

 Can you drink the cup that I drink? 

What does it mean to sacrifice for another? 

   Well into Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples still really don’t understand the mystery associated with Jesus (who he is, why he came, what he intends to do), or Jesus’ notion of the kingdom of God.  James and John demonstrate their limited understanding when they ask Jesus to grant that in his glory, they may sit one at his right and the other at his left.  Their idea of the kingdom is earthbound – concrete and limited to human parameters.  Jesus responds, Can you drink the cup that I drink?  Can you share in my experience, in other words, and come to understand what it means to sacrifice for another, to lose your life for another?  This is the true kingdom, a kingdom grounded in sacrifice and service.

   As he makes perfectly clear, Jesus came not to be served but to serve, to die for them, for all.  He is the incarnation of the suffering servant in Isaiah, who accepts the sacrifice requested of him, giving his life as an offering for sin.  And the Lord is pleased to crush him in infirmity, Isaiah tells us, because that infirmity, or suffering, is necessary to the Lord’s plan of salvation:  if the servant is crushed, the plan has begun to unfold, and the Lord is pleased because he wants salvation for his people, so that they might be justified.  Jesus, as the Book of Hebrews notes, has been tested in every way and can therefore sympathize with our human weakness.  If we believe that Jesus Christ is mercy, that he died and rose so that mercy, and therefore grace, might be ours, then we are demonstrating the trust described in Psalm 33.  Only if we trust, and open ourselves to that grace, allowing it to fill us, can we ever come to understand what it means to drink the cup that he drinks, and to see how the will of the Lord was accomplished through Jesus; only then can we know his mercy. 

   Imagine:  what if the will of the Lord were accomplished through us, through the cup we accept?  How might we learn to sacrifice ourselves and be servant of all, following in the footsteps of Christ?

This class was based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordle.net