Lazarus is blessed. Yes, the poor, hungry, homeless man covered with the sores from Luke 16 is blessed. When I compare this parable to the Beatitudes I see Lazarus as a picture of what it means to be blessed. Jesus taught, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will…
No, this is not a take on the George Thorogood song. But it is an important question. Who do you love: God or Mammon? The Scripture readings for this Sunday focus on how we view money. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). Mammon is the personification…
When I reflect on the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), thankfulness for God’s mercy wells up within me. Perhaps because I’ve been away from my home in Christ in the past, it’s easy to remember what it was like to trust in the world and seek its pleasures instead of trusting in Jesus. I was searching in “a distant country” for happiness. Far from Christ, I was indeed a lost sheep. Reflecting on…
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.– Luke 14:27 What does Christian discipleship look like? Jesus defines discipleship by saying what it is not. who puts earthly things–even good things–before God cannot be a disciple. One who refuses to “carry his own cross” and follow Jesus in His suffering cannot be a disciple. To follow Jesus—to truly be His disciples, day-in and day-out—we must accept the crosses…
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. – Luke 14:11 Humility is how you see yourself in relation to God. God is omnipotent and perfect; I am His creation, flawed but also His daughter. God’s will is infinitely good, full of love and mercy; mine strives to be loving and good, yet it often falls into restless self-seeking. When I humbly put my will…
Pentecost celebrates the coming of God’s Spirit of love into His Church. How could you explain the love of God to someone who does not know Him? How can we ourselves, as Christian disciples, understand the love of God, as incomprehensible as it is? God’s love has been described in Scripture in various ways; particularly as water, fire, and wind. God’s love is like water. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,…
…you are clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and His disciples would be “clothed with power from on high.” Can you imagine what this might look like, to be clothed with God’s power? Perhaps being clothed with power looks like a suit of armor. Maybe even a suit of spiritual armor, as St. Paul described: “Finally, be strong…
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. – John 14:23 Where does God live? (I’ll give you a hint: there’s more than one answer to this.) One answer is that He lives in heaven where He is the light and temple of the City of God: “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is…
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:34-5 As Christian disciples, we are called to love God and others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ in a special way: as He loves us. Jesus loves you and I more…
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He calls us each individually by name (see John 10:3), but he also calls us to come together to belong to His flock. He may leave the ninety-nine sheep to save the one who has strayed (see Luke 15:4) but he leaves them in order to bring the one back into the fold. This is where we belong, in the community that is the Church. A flock of sheep out…