Sermons from July 2020

Sunday Ordinary Time 17 A

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…

Sunday Ordinary Time 16 A

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…

Sunday Ordinary Time 15 A

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…

Sunday Ordinary Time 15 A

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…

Sunday Ordinary Time 14 A

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…