We are confronted with a body. Luke emphasizes that Jesus is present bodily. As usual, if an author takes the time to say something they consider it important. The disciples think they see a ghost. Jesus has them touch his hands to feel the flesh and bone, check his feet …
“The doors were locked for fear.” John says specifically it was “fear of the Jews.” As I mentioned on Good Friday, when John uses the phrase “the Jews,” he refers to the authorities who were hostile to Jesus. Otherwise, a text like today’s makes no sense: The disciples are Jews. …
Mark decides that Easter morning is a good time to discuss fashion. I know in my family the girls get fancy dresses at Easter. Maybe that’s his inspiration. He tells us what the young man is wearing. All I can say is, Why? The grave is empty, Mark! I don’t …
Part Three. We’ve done a great deal. The liturgy tonight is unlike any other we do, and it is only part three of something long and involved. Yet for all the stories we’ve read and all the songs we’ve sung, we’ve covered no Bible stories that narrate the events of …
Part Two. In keeping with our Three Days’ practice of using John’s chronology, we heard John’s passion account tonight. One of the identifying traits of John is his use of the term “the Jews,” in Greek oi Joudaioi. He uses it seventy times, where Matthew, Mark, and Luke each use …
The Three Days is a single liturgy that takes…three days. It means so much it cannot be acted out in less time. Today is Maundy Thursday, Part One. These three days stand juxtaposed to the rest of Holy Week, and the rest of the year. One of the ways we …
Note: Holy Week preaching in 2018 consisted of short teaching homilies. There is so much we could examine. Mark speaks volumes in few words, and we read a lot of words from Mark today. I must speak about the guy in the white towel. You knew I was gonna. I …
I’ve personally never thought of planting seeds as killing them, or letting them die, as Jesus says. But in my lifetime, I’ve never been dependent upon my plants. If the garden fails (assuming I even planted one this year) I go to the grocery store. Some here are farmers or …
What is Eternal Life? Eternal Life is an important concept in John, especially in today’s Gospel. Is it life after death? Many Hebrews in Jesus’ day believed the dead would rise from the grave on the Last Day, to face God’s judgment. Their Greek contemporaries were more inclined to believe …
Our First Readings this Lenten season have moved chronologically through the covenants God made with us. The gospels set the themes—so we started with temptation, moved to solidarity, and today it is Jesus and the Temple—but the First Readings dealt with covenants—so we started with Noah, then Abraham, and today …