Franciscan Villa March 9th, 2020 2:00 P.M. John 3. 1-17 A 14th-century monk announced to the people of his village that he was going to preach “THE GREATEST SERMON EVER PREACHED ON THE LOVE OF GOD.” He urged EVERYONE to attend. People were CURIOUS. They wondered what the “old monk” was […]
03072020 – John 3. 1-17 (Lent II) Have you EVER entertained the idea that your thinking MIGHT be wrong? A little OFF? Tainted? Not, a part of God’s plan? You could be standing “in direct OPPOSITION to him” you know! Nicodemus had EVERYTHING going for him. Talk about your “LIFE of PRIVILEGE” … HE […]
030420202 – Matthew 4. 1-11 DEMONS, we’ve ALL GOT them! We all have DARK secrets, DESIRES or something we LUST after, our WORST fears, our BROKEN hopes…our diminished PROMISES…our countless misgivings… These “things” SLOWLY but surely CHOKE and HARM our good QUALITIES, HOPES, our DREAMS and ASPIRATIONS if left unchecked…or if we ALLOW […]
02292020 – 03012020 – Matthew 4. 1-11 I am VERY AWARE that BEFORE beginning his ministry and his leadership, Jesus spent some ALONE TIME in the WILDERNESS. It wasn’t really “ALONE TIME,” because Jesus KNEW that God was WITH HIM every step of “the WAY.” No matter WHERE he went or WHAT he did […]
In the Early Christian Writings after Passion/Palm Sunday, the Sanhedrin gathered and plotted to kill Jesus before the feast of Pesach, if at all possible. On the Wednesday before his death, Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the Leper. As he sat at the supper table with his disciples, a woman named […]
I am not pointing fingers. I am not getting political. Do not read anything into the message. I think it is important to point out that “mockery and derision” are frequently the tactic of the “rich and the powerful” to besmirch someone’s character. It is historic. It has happened for centuries. It goes way back […]
Tonight, we are headed to a home somewhere in the Jerusalem suburb of Bethany, where Jesus stopped in to see his “old friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus” before he enters the city for the last time. “He loved them,” John tells us… although he does not tell us why. It doesn’t really matter either. Sometimes […]
I really want you to know that our Gospel text for today was extremely famous in the life of the early church. As a matter of fact, the same story is recorded in “some fashion” in each of the four gospel accounts. “Basically” it would seem that there are “two versions” of the same occurrence; […]
So, I played with some words. What comes to your mind when I say these words? Reckless. Blow. Foolish. Throw Away. Wasteful. Lose. Splurge. Consume. Misspend. Deplete. Misuse. Exhaust. Carelessly. And, drain. All of these words in “one way” or “another” relate to the word “prodigal.” If you want to know what a “prodigal” son […]
What are “our standards?” “How do we respond” to those who break our standards? “Are there even standards anymore?” “Who” determines your standards for you? Does your voice “even matter,” today? Jesus was “notorious” for many things…one of the things he was notorious for (much to the chagrin of the Pharisees and scribes) was that […]