HOMILY: “It is the vulnerable who make the world safe for humanity,” says biblical scholar Brendan Byrne in conclusion to a three-page commentary on today’s gospel. Byrne’s refrain repeats with a difference the words of Jesus: “You who are poor are blessed, for the reign of God is yours.”
HOMILY: For five consecutive days I paddled out into deeper water, out to Sepulchre Island.
HOMILY: We are offered these gifts and more: love’s universal scope; God’s boundless goodness, the unexpectedness of God’s ways; opportunity for hosting the stranger – a share in hospitality; Wisdom; a clear and new beginning.
HOMILY: There are people we admire – and mimic/imitate. It’s one way that we learn – to become the kind of people we become.
HOMILY: With respect to texts such as John 2:1-11, it is tempting to read an account of magic – a magician’s trick – turning water into wine.
HOMILY: “Spirits of the universe, give glory to God,” the psalmist sings. “The voice of God is heard in storms, rousing all creatures. God’s voice strikes fire from desert rocks …” It’s a fitting psalm for our celebration of the Baptism of Jesus. And it invites consideration of the fact that following his baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert. Jesus is led into a wilderness we might call a storied country.
HOMILY: The word magi comes from the plural of the Greek magos, which in turn comes from the Old Persian magus. The magi are lovers of wisdom from the East … non-westerners, Arabian or African philosophers, Asian priests …
HOMILY: “On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me … five gold rings …” Allegedly, the popular 18th-century carol was a means of teaching the faith, the five gold rings represented the five books of the Torah.
HOMILY: “I know that I can sing, that I can write. But what I’m really good at is understanding what a lyric is about. I always ask questions about the context of the lyric, enter into it, become the lyric … [and] I became a better singer as I gained more life experience …” (Agnetha Fältskog, 2013).
HOMILY: Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter of encouragement, joy and gratitude (eucharist). True joy, the imprisoned apostle says, comes from faith in Christ. His own imprisonment, he says, has led to the proclamation of the gospel.
