Pastor’s Annual Report
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III Sunday of Lent (“B”) – March 4, 2018
Some 30 years before St. John wrote today’s Gospel, the huge Temple in Jerusalem had been completely destroyed by the Roman army. Once it had been among the wonders of the ancient world, the most sacred place on earth for the Jews, the place where God dwelt among God’s people. Not it was little more than ruins. For John it was so much more than an ancient site. He had seen it is its glory days. Now he was old, but as a young man he had actually visited it with Jesus. It was Passover time and John had witnessed the huge influx of Jews, coming fro all parts of the Mediterranean world; he had seen the Temple courts being turned into a kind of bazaar, with the transactions of money changers… John could see that Jesus was distressed; more than that – He was angry. The next moment, He was clearing them out of the Temple – men and beasts and birds; He was tipping over the tables of the money changers, so that the coins went jangling across the stone pavement. “Stop turning my Father’s house into a market,” He cried. The Jewish authorities were not amused. Who did this young rabbi from Nazareth think he was? What sign could He offer to show what it all meant? John admits that it was only after Jesus’ death and resurrection that He realized what Jesus was getting at.
Within few weeks we shall be celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus; in the risen Christ we have the new, indestructible temple of God. This temple is made not of stones, but of the glorified flesh of the victorious Christ; this is where God is to be found and where God is worship in spirit and truth. This temple is build of living stones, and they are you and me. Together with Christ our head, we make one body, one temple to the glory of God.
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II Sunday of Lent (“B”) – February 25, 2018
The voice figures prominently in today’s reading. In the first reading, the voice of God seems to be asking if not the impossible, then the inhuman. Isaac – was the child God promised so that Abraham could become the founding father of “a great nation.” With relief, we discover that in fact the point of the story is the very opposite to what it appears to be on the surface: whereas human sacrifice was commonplace in the ancient Near East, what is revealed is that God does not want human sacrifice. The voice of God takes center stage at the transfiguration that Jesus’ identity as God’s own beloved Son – a truth that literally makes Jesus glow. As Jesus descends the mountain, He starts to help His disciples to understand the meaning of His sonship: that He will be faithful and obedient to His Father, even to the point of having to give up His life.
As Christians, we believe that the transfiguration is not merely a past event but an ongoing reality. God’s voice continues to be at work in our world today, and in our lives. We need to learn how to listen and perceive at more than just a superficial level. That takes time and practice and commitment. When we do listen in prayer – when we are able to step outside our own expectations and preconceptions and focus – we find that God’s voice continues to be creative and transformative. By making time each day quietly to open ourselves to the presence of God, we make room for God to affirm our dignity as God’s beloved sons and daughters. Being children of the loving Father is something that shines out from our lives – because we have learn to listen to the voice.
II Sunday of Lent (“B”) – February 25, 2018 Read More »
I Sunday of Lent (“B”) – February 18, 2018
St. Mark begins his Gospel with a flurry of witnesses to the truth of Jesus and His mission among us. In his account there are no details of the individual temptations Jesus undergoes. There is a sense of urgency and power. The Spirit, who has descended on Him in the form of a dove at His baptism, immediately drives Him into the wilderness. This desert is not just a place of individual testing. It is where the battle takes place between the powers of good and evil. Throughout His public life of preaching and healing, Jesus will appear as a strong and active person, very much in charge of His destiny. As He begins His public career, we gain a hint of this possibility, as He begins His proclamation at the very point His precursor John, another witness, has been arrested. Jesus now becomes his own witness. The time has come for all the prophecies to be fulfilled.
We live out the battle between good and evil against the wider landscape of our world and society. We also fight the same battle within ourselves. In solitude we learn to identify the true sources of evil both in ourselves and in our world. As we become more significant we become more free to focus directly on what needs changing, again either in ourselves or in our outer world. The journey into the wilderness with its experience of solitude begins our Lenten journey. It equips us to repent and believe the Good News and to proclaim the kingdom of God in our own lives. Fasting, almsgiving and prayer are the three practices we are advised to use as we attempt this mixture of purification and growth in ourselves. They are not ends in themselves but the means whereby we become more open to the life of the Spirit working in and through us.
I Sunday of Lent (“B”) – February 18, 2018 Read More »
Quinquagesima Sunday (“B”) – February 11, 2018
In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus was surrounded by disciples and healed many sick people. When He tried to find space on His own, Jesus’ disciples tracked Him down. As today’s passage opens, Jesus is alone, in an unidentified town. Under the law, a leper was forbidden to approach anyone, but this one approaches Jesus. Perhaps he thinks he has nothing to lose: he’s already as good as dead. Hoe comes up to Jesus, drops to his knees and says, “If you want to, cure me.” St. Mark says Jesus felt sorry for him. Many things happen in this story. First, the man to be declared free from leprosy, tells him to go and show himself to the priest, making the offering prescribed by Moses as evidence of his recovery. Jesus tells this man to say nothing about this to anyone, but jest as the visible testimony of his cure was evident so now is his verbal acknowledgment of Jesus’ power testimony of God’s work. Jesus, however, now has to stay outside the town, where there are no others. The one who cleansed the leper takes the place of the one he cleansed.
This miracle is about one person, but it has universal application. Jesus takes on the isolated condition of the former leper who is restored to fuller humanity. On the cross, full role reversal takes place. Jesus pays the penalty for all sin: He exchanges places with us by dying for us. We become more fully human by Jesus’ death because He has destroyed what makes us less human. Here’s the question this story poses for us: if the totally innocent Jesus took on the entire burden of our sin in His outreach to us, can we ever excuse failing to reach out to a brother or sister who is dehumanized by exclusion, persecution, marginalization? We can’t. Who are the equivalent of lepers in our community? How might we reach out to them?
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Sexagesima Sunday (“B”) – February 4, 2018
Job, in today’s first reading, doesn’t seem able to pray with hope. He is feeling the misery of the world. He is pessimistic about life. And when we turn to the Gospel we see how the crowds who suffer like Job are drawn out of their despair by the healing touch of Jesus. Our Savior has announced the kingdom of healing sick people and casting out devils from those who are possessed. He has come to preach a message of hope to a suffering world. Much of St. Mark’s Gospel is taken up with Jesus’ miracles of healing because this is what a wounded world demands. But Jesus does not want to be seen just as a wonder-worker. His healing goes deeper. He forgives sin and heals spiritual sickness.
In a society which highly values those who are young, healthy and rich, the acknowledgment of sickness and even death is not always welcome. The Bible tells us that we are mortal and gives us permission to lament our suffering just as Job did. Jesus confronts the misery of the world head-on. He makes the healing of sick people central to His ministry. Optimism is a feeling that things will get better, but Christian hope is rooted in a person who has triumphed over death. In the light of that hope we can pray to God for healing in many ways… And today we are fed with the bread of life in Holy Communion. But we are also healed, by care in our homes through the loving concern of our fellow Christians.
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Septuagesima Sunday (“B”) – January 28, 2018
Every human voice makes a different sound, and we often recognize one another by the sound of the voice that we hear, especially on the telephone when we cannot see the person in the flesh. Our voice comes from deep within us and its best is expressive of our inner self.
In the synagogue at Capernaum Jesus begins to speak. He makes His voice heard for the first time as a preacher and teacher and healer. The listening people quickly recognize that this voice is something new. This voice and the man it belongs to are something entirely new. They are deeply impressed. There is a man in the synagogue who is very disturbed and who begins to shout and disrupt proceedings. He recognizes that Jesus is a powerful man, who is able to deal with troubled mind. Jesus by the power of His word, His voice, quietens the demon of torment and brings the grace of calmness and peace to that person. In a world of so many voices raised and often shouting, in a world where human suffering and torment are rampant, here is something new and with authority behind it.
The question put to Jesus by the tormented man, is a question for us today. In our tormented world it is easy for us to hide away in our own little lives, save perhaps from the dramas all around us. His voice is powerful today to enliven our lives, to change our settled ways and to heal our hurting hearts… The tormented man’s cry truly was a cry for help and healing. Cry out today, therefore, and ask the Lord for that same healing power in your life.
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III Sunday in Ordinary Time (“B”) – January 21, 2018
Lots of motives and events influence people who switch their path in life for a new one. In today’s Gospel we hear of our fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James and John – who dropped their fishing nets when Jesus called them to follow Him. They left behind their daily routine as the Sea of Galilee as soon as they heard the call to a new life. God has a way of showing up in the ordinary places and interrupting the daily routines. This was also the experience of Jonah in today’s first reading, who was sent on a mission by God to the city of Niniveh. When these men accepted the invitation, their lives were different for ever. God’s call led them into uncertain but inspirational future.
Whatever your life is, however you spend your time, whatever circumstances affect normal living, there is in that life Jesus’ call to “Follow me”. It is a call to participate in God’s saving work and the building up of the kingdom of God. That work is always about moving to a larger vision, orienting life in a new direction and experiencing that our own story of life is connected to a much larger story of life, God’s life. It happens in context of our everyday activities: work, school, families, paying the bills, running errands, fixing dinner, relationships and trying to do the right thing. The call to follow Jesus is the call to discipleship. It was not an easy then and it will not be easy now. Christian discipleship is the commitment to live a Gospel life, a marginal life in this place, at this time, whatever the cost. True discipleship means being a witness for justice and peace even in situations of injustice or war. We choose our careers and jobs hoping that we can use the gifts and talents God has given us. What might God be asking you to leave behind? What is standing in the way of you following Jesus today? Christ is calling you. How will you respond?
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Baptism of the Lord (“B”) – January 7, 2018
The journey to sainthood begins with baptism. When we begin our prayers, we recall our baptism by making the sign of the cross. When we enter a church, we remember our baptism by dipping our fingers in the holy water and blessing ourselves. God’s grace begins to strengthen us in a new way from this time onwards.
Just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism, so baptism for each and every person is the gateway to life in the Spirit. We rejoice that we are the beloved of the Lord. Each of us shares in this wonderful title and wears the white garment of baptism. Baptism with water marks our birth into the Church as members of the body of Christ. We become adopted sons and daughters of God whose favor rests upon us. Baptism is also the beginning of the entry into eternal life. On the last day, we will find happiness in the presence of God and every tear will be wiped away to those who deserve it.
At the beginning of this year, it would be good to find out more about our baptism… This year offers a new opportunity to deepen life in the Holy Spirit by becoming more attentive to God’s word in prayer. You can focusing on the Sunday readings and allowing them into your hearts. What would happen if you looked at the Bible as many times as you check for new messages, emails or postings on social media? God desires to speak unto your heart. Are you ready to listen?
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Fourth Sunday of Advent (“B”) – December 24, 2017
The Jewish people were deeply imbued with the story of their ancestors and lived in hope that God would redeem them from past failures. The long-awaited Messiah is announced and St. Luke is concerned that we make the necessary connections, and see that this is God’s plan, so long foretold by the prophets, coming to fulfillment. Isaiah prophesied that a “virgin would be with child”: Mary is that virgin. Joseph, the one to whom she is betrothed, is of the House of David.
As we approach the celebration of the great feast of Christmas, once again the Church is inviting us to think about our heritage. Like the Jewish people of old, Christians are generally very conscious of the chequered history of the pas 2000 years. It is the story of saints and sinners, struggling with the complexities of life in every age. Like the people of the Old Testament, we may often be tempted to imagine that God has abandoned us. We are part of the new inheritance, invited to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and therefore heirs to the kingdom of God. The message announced to Mary is proclaimed again this Christmas and we are to be its heralds.
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