Our homily today is based on Luke 19:1-10.
The encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus has got to be one of the strangest–and funniest–scenes in the Gospel. So we’re told our Lord is, as usual, on his way somewhere, followed by the usual massive crowd. Then without any warning, he stops in his tracks, looks up–and, we can imagine, all the people around him instinctively looking up as well–to see, of all things, a man straddling a branch, hiding behind its leaves.
This reflection is based on Luke 18:9-14.
Today’s familiar Gospel story reminds us of God’s boundless mercy for sinners, but also His dissatisfaction with self-righteous Pharisees–those of us who tend to look down on others and exalt ourselves at their expense. As our Lord reminds us:
“…whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
This homily is based on Luke 18:1-8.
Today’s Gospel passage made me question my prayer. Blame that widow in the Gospel who keeps repeating her request to a judge until it is granted. What is her request? It is pretty concrete: “Render a just decision for me against my adversary.”
It’s one of the most important prayers–and one of spiritual writer Anne Lamott’s all-time favorites:
“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
This homily is based on Luke 16:1-13.
Our Lord was notorious for his parables. His stories were powerful because they were vivid, but to the original audience, they must have been also quite provocative. Just last Sunday, we heard three parables, one after the other, stories that are really more controversial than we give them credit for today.