Thoughts, Ideas, Sermons (Page 3)

Today we have another story about Peter. He is an interesting man. He is the leader of Jesus’s followers, during the time when Jesus was on earth, and also after Jesus ascended into heaven.  What can we learn from the story of Peter? In the story today [To see the words of today’s Gospel, click here.] Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” His followers give different answers — Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, one of the prophets.…

Yesterday, August 15, is a special day every year, honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus. It tells the story of her assumption.  What does it mean? When Mary died, she was buried. But her body did not stay in the ground to waste away and become dust again. Jesus brought his mother’s body up into heaven. So now in heaven we have two glorious people, fully human: Jesus and Mary. So let me talk a little bit about Mary today.…

St Paul in the second reading today talks about his pain.  Let me explain the background.  (To see the words of the second reading, click here.)  Paul is hurt because he believes in Jesus, knows that Jesus is the one God sent to save them. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Savior. He is the Lord. Paul knows that his people, the people of Israel, have waited for centuries for the Messiah to come. The Messiah came — Jesus.…

The gospel today is the story of Jesus feeding a big crowd of people. (For the words of today’s gospel, click here.) Notice that the gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist and the story of a banquet.  King Herod had a banquet for his friends with much food and drinking. His stepdaughter came in and danced.  The girl pleased King Herod so much that he promised to give her anything she wanted. She asked her mother what…

The theme of today’s readings is “heart.” We have to have an open heart.  Look at the first reading. Solomon has become king; he is a young man, perhaps 20 years old, and he prays for a wise heart. (For the words of the reading, click here.) Remember, for the people of Israel, the heart was the place of thought and ideas, right thinking, and right feeling. Solomon wanted to be a good leader for his people; he impresses the…

God the Father alone can judge people.  He can make wonderful things happen. [To see the words of today’s gospel, click here.] I want you to use your imagination: It is the time of Jesus or maybe the time of the early Church  community. Where are they? They are in Israel; it is a small country, part of the Roman Empire, far away from the center of power, Rome in Italy. The people in Israel are weak. They’re fighting among…

Jesus talks about sowing the seed of the Word of God. Imagine, maybe it’s the year 90 or 100, 60 or 70 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. The early followers of Jesus are trying to show others the truth that Jesus has risen from the dead, that he is the Son of God, that he has come into the world to be a savior, to give healing, hope and strength.  They talk about Jesus, the Savior who…

St. Paul talks about creation, the world, the universe; it is suffering, waiting for redemption. (To see the words of St. Paul, click here.) But I thought only people needed redemption because only people can sin.  Yes, people sin, but because people sin, the earth, the world, nature suffer. So nature, the world, the universe is waiting for full redemption.  Go back to the beginning of the Bible, Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve, the very beginning; they were…

The gospel tells us many things about Jesus.  One thing is that Jesus is gentle. Let me begin with a story. The story is about the wind and the sun.  They argued about who was more powerful; they agreed to have a contest. They saw a man walking down a road alone on a cold day. The sun and the wind agreed,” Whoever makes this man take off his coat first, he’s the stronger; he’s the winner.”  The wind went…

In the Gospel today, Jesus says, “Carry your cross, then you can follow me. Give up your life, then you will find true life. To keep your life means you will lose your life.” The cross means suffering.  [To see the words of the gospel, click here.] But the cross of Jesus means much more than that. What more? The cross of Jesus means life; the cross of Jesus means love; the cross of Jesus means joy. The cross means…