This homily is based on Mark 7:31-37.
The Gospel story today features another one of those healing miracles performed by our Lord. This time, we are told, he heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. Nothing exciting there. Our Lord has performed more dramatic miracles–like the exorcism of a legion of demons or the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
This reflection is based on Matthew 7:1-23.
When the Pharisees saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands, they were scandalized. For the washing of hands was an important ritual for the Jews. Our Lord answered them by quoting the prophet Isaiah:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
This reflection is based on John 6:60-69.
Our gospel story has what I consider two of the most poignant questions in the entire Bible. Our Lord has just talked about one of his most controversial teachings: That we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Indeed a “shocking” teaching, a saying that is “hard to accept.” As he watches his followers depart, one by one, he turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter’s response on behalf of the Twelve is also a question: “To whom shall we go?”
This reflection is based on John 6:41-51.
I’ve been having a love-hate relationship with rice. In media, there’s been virtually an all-out war against all things carb, and for someone at my age, who needs to be increasingly conscious of one’s diet and health, I’ve exerted every effort to minimize my rice intake.
This reflection is based on John 6:1-15.
I grabbed a quick cup of coffee the other morning on the way to a meeting, and just as I came out of Dunkin Donut, there she was, a woman about my age, waiting, looking at me. “Please, sir, some change for a cup of coffee,” she said.