All posts filed under: Lectionary

Good Friday, a reflection

April 14, 2014
by rick
comment 1
Christology / devil / Easter / Gospels / Holy Week / Jesus / Lectionary / Lent / New Testament / satan / sin / Theology / Year A

I have this wonderful painting hanging in my office, “Cimabue after Disney” by the Rev. Dr. Dennis McNally, SJ. Jesus is muscled, teary-eyed, and dead. Blood trickles down his hands and feet. He’s also naked, and exposed just enough that that’s the one thing people notice when they see it for the first time. Subtly, at the bottom of the painting is a less-known feature. A mouse, with a dark halo, lapping up some of […]

Maundy Thursday, a reflection

April 14, 2014
by rick
Leave a comment
Christology / Easter / Holy Week / Lectionary / New Testament / Paul
wafers_bw

“For as often as you eat this bread, and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death, until he comes.” We sometimes speak of Holy Communion as being a “memorial.” We use this language because Jesus himself said that we are to “do this in remembrance of him.” This is, I think, dangerous in our context because we have a weak understanding of what exactly constitutes “remembering.” We say we remember something when we recall […]

lent 4a: rise from the dead

March 22, 2014
by rick
comments 2
Current Affairs / Easter / Epistles / Eschatology / Lectionary / New Testament / Paul / Year A

Zombies. Hungry with an insatiable appetite for living flesh, they roam alone and in hordes, looking and listening for prey. They have no regard for their own safety. No regard for life. No compassion. No relationships, not even with each other. They just want to feed. They want to consume. They are all hunger. As such, they are a grotesque statement on humanity. On culture: mindless consumming.

last epiphany a: overcome with fear

February 19, 2014
by rick
Leave a comment
Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Religion / sin / temptation / Year A

The mission of the Church is to be a vessel where transformation can happen. Where lives may be changed by the Presence of God. Where people are reconciled to God in Christ, and to each other as neighbors. That transformation isn’t a small thing. It’s not a fresh coat of paint. It’s not even an upgraded operating system. It’s metamorphosis. It’s wholesale change. From the bottom up. From the inside out. And, to be honest…it’s […]

epiphany 5a reflection: lose the morons

January 31, 2014
by rick
Leave a comment
Current Affairs / Epiphany / Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Religion / Year A

It is to be noted that the semantic parallel of “low-grade” with imbecile is far closer than might have been expected. (The Anchor Bible Commentary: Matthew by W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann. Page 55.) That is, quite possibly, the funniest statement that I’ve ever read in a biblical commentary. Had I been enjoying a beverage whilst reading that statement, I would have soiled the book. Albright and Mann have a quite different translation […]

advent 1a reflection: like a thief

November 22, 2013
by rick
comments 2
Advent / Eschatology / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Year A

The following is a reflection on 24:36-44, the Gospel Lesson appointed for the 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A. I was sitting on the couch. Watching TV. Who knows what great and inspiring programming I was zoning out to… My wife yelled from upstairs: “Rick…RICK!” “Yes?” I said, rather annoyed that she hadn’t had the grace to wait for a commercial break. “My water broke.”

keeping it simple – a reflection on Luke 17:5-10

September 29, 2013
by rick
comments 5
Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Religion / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 17:5-10, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 22C according to the Revised Common Lectionary. The apostles ask Jesus to “increase” their faith. For me, when a parishioner walks into my office and asks for help increasing and deepening their faith, I’m thrilled! I break out some good books, talk about their prayer life, get them signed up to serve Communion on Sunday… But Jesus? He brushes the disciples […]

squandering right – a reflection on Luke 16:1-13

September 10, 2013
by rick
comment 1
Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / Money / New Testament / Religion / Status / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 16:1-13, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 20 C, of the Revised Common Lectionary. What’s the fastest way to make God laugh? Tell Him your long-range plans. Almost every year I plan this Sunday as a ‘welcome back’ Sunday where we have all the kids in church, and we have them come up and get involved in the sermon… I always envision a tear in every mother’s eye, […]