St. John the Baptist Diakonia

This has been quite a week! It began with the celebration of the recently minted federal holiday labeled Juneteenth. A date now set aside to remember when the news of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation reached the ears of enslaved Texans. An Emancipation enshrined in the 13th Constitutional Amendment. The week ended with the release of the Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade because the Court could not find an enshrined right to abortion in the Constitution. The Church rejoices because we believe in the God who spoke to Moses on Sinai saying, “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF ISRAEL, OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY.” The Church rejoice because we believe in the God who spoke through Jeremiah, saying “BEFORE I FORMED YOU IN THE WOMB, I KNEW YOU.” Both these issues center on the notion of freedom so it is ironic that our second reading from today’s Scripture begins with the words: “For Freedom, Christ sets us free!” But what does this

Happy Memorial Day Weekend… First and foremost, let us call to mind the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, on whose shoulders we stand this day. We are free and we are blessed because of them! The number forty appears many times in the Bible: Forty days and nights of rain during the flood Moses lived forty years in Egypt Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai The Jews journeyed through the desert for forty years to the Promised Land Jonah preached forty days to Nineveh The prophet Ezekiel laid on his right side for forty days to symbolize the sins of Judah Elijah fasted for forty days on Mount Horeb Goliath taunted Israel for forty days Jesus fasted in the desert forty days And now, it has been forty days after the resurrection of Christ. Generally speaking, the number forty has been considered to be used in the Bible as a rounded number. It was used to express a complete period of time rather than expressions like “many” or “some.” It would be similar to referri

There is a simple adage concerning parenting that I would like to share. It offers three pieces of advice that should guide all of us who were, are, or will be parents. Simply put the adage says, the role of parent is to provide three things for the child--those three things are ROOTS, WINGS, and EMBRACES. With these three images in mind, I propose that Jesus is the embodiment of a good parent in that he followed that adage in dealing with his “children” - the disciples of old as well as we his children, the disciples of today. In his earthly time with them, a time you recall lasted only three years, Jesus provided his disciples with the necessary ROOTS of faith. Over the past weeks we have repeatedly heard Jesus iterate his fundamental commandment “to love one another.” By his words and deeds, we have been taught the necessity to not only forgive but to allow ourselves to be forgiven. Without those ROOTS, one can conclude our faith is in vain despite whatever outward piety we may exh

The Ascension of the LORD, Cycle C, 29 May 2022 The Ascension of our Lord calls to mind two emotions: hope and joy, both are virtues and also fruits of the Holy Spirit. Saint Luke tells of this event in both his Gospel and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles, addressing each work to ‘Theophilus’, which translates to “Lover of God,” that is, all those present here. He says that Jesus ‘led them out as far as Bethany, raised His hands and blessed them. As He blessed them He parted from them and was taken up to heaven’. Now, Bethany is a village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. In Hebrew it means “house of poverty or house of affliction.” In our modern day, it carries the Arabic name ‘El Azaryeh’, which translates to “place of Lazarus.” Recall that it was in Bethany where Jesus stayed at the house of his friends, Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in the Bible in connection with David

We continue to bask in the light of the Paschal Candle, reminding us that we continue to grasp the mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. Moments ago, I began the penitential rite of the Mass by the invocation, “Lord, Jesus, by your Resurrection you have given us New Life” What does that mean? Certainly, it is a statement of hope that we will experience the new life in eternity, which we all share. But it also means that we acknowledge the reality that Christ has given us new life in the here and now. Through our baptism we have been called out of darkness into the light and life of Christ. Each of us, upon whom the waters of Baptism have been poured, need to reflect on the profundity of that event. Was your baptism merely the prelude to a family gathering celebrating your birth or was it the inauguration of your life in Christ? Each year, since that event, you have been granted the opportunity to renew your baptismal promises. Do you mean what you say? Every

Homily 5-15-22 The good news of Easter, that we’re currently following in our readings, is that the resurrected Christ has dwelt among us! Since his appearance in saying “Peace be with you” to the Apostles and Thomas in the Upper Room, to him being on the shore asking the same apostles to throw the net and catch more fish, to his probing question to Peter and us, “Do you love me,” and his call for us to feed the lambs, and tend and feed the sheep, all while following him… The Good Shepherd, up to today’s Gospel which should have sounded familiar! First, let’s agree that, as we heard in our second reading, “God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.” This reading is also commonly used at funerals, especially this time of year, as we heard the reassurance that he will also “wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order