Month: July 2009

EAT AND RUN (John 6:1-15):  26 July 2009 (Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s Readings

Dearest Lord,

What a nightmare scenario:  Five loaves, two fish–and five thousand hungry people!  But trust you to turn every event organizer’s worst nightmare into an unforgettable affair!

What struck me most this time around, however, was not what happens during the miracle, but after it:  As the people sit on the grass after feasting on your miraculous banquet, you tell your disciples, “Gather the fragments.”  They probably could once again only shake their heads in bewilderment, but as usual they do it anyway.  And to their astonishment, the leftover food fills twelve wicker of baskets.

DESERTED PLACES (Mark 6:30-34):  19 July 2009 (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Today’s Readings

Dear Jesus,

You knew about deserted places, didn’t you?  Small wonder you frequented them in your life.  In today’s gospel, you invite your disciples to “come away” to such a place.  To rest, you say, but you know better, don’t you?  And by now, your disciples probably know better, too.

BREAKING IN MY JESUS SANDALS (Mark 6:7-13):  12 July 2009 (Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Today’s Readings

Dear Lord,

This morning I remember my new pair of Jesus sandals.   You know that just the other day, my friend flew in from Hong Kong and came by to say hello.  She had just returned from a trip to the Holy Land, and she said she got me a pair of authentic “Jesus sandals.”

CRAMPING YOUR STYLE (Mark 6:1-6):  05 July 2009 (Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Today’s Readings

Dear Lord,

Do I ever do anything to cramp your style?

I suspect that’s what happens in the scene we have in the Gospel today.  You go back to your hometown and preach at the village synagogue.  Not an easy thing to do since you’re surrounded by people you’ve grown up with, people who’ve known you, people who think they can see right through you.