~~~SisterSea~~~

21 st December 2014 First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Second Reading: Romans 16.25-27 Gospel: Luke 1.26-38 Our Advent series , which we'll finish tomorrow, invites us to explore Advent in the new universe story. Looked at this way the Nativity narratives are about the birth of Jesus, the Incarnation. However, the birth of the Christ is God's love made manifest with the birth of the universe. During our Advent retreat we looked at the holy disturbances God placed in the lives of the scriptural characters we encounter in the Christmas story. Today's first reading and Gospel emphasize the theme of God's Presence throughout the holy disturbances God places in people's lives as well as how God is present in the new universe story.    First let's look at God's holy disturbances. The first reading refers to how God transformed David from a simple...

Dec. 7, 2014 - Shared Homily Starter (see note) First Reading Isaiah 40:1-5, 6-8 , 9-11 Second Reading 2 Peter 3:8-14 Gospel Mark 1:1-8 Every Sunday during the Lord's prayer, I say the words, “protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” Although it's hard to be hopeful with all that's going on in the world, Advent is our liturgical season of joyful hope. Today's second reading tells us that we are to wait for the fulfillment of God's promise for “new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.” Isaiah tells us, that “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord” and Mark's gospel suggests that John the Baptist is “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” So Advent is also a wilderness time, a time where we too, prepare the way for the Christ to be born again in us. For the Jews and early Christians, w...

23 November 2014 – Shared Homily Starter First Reading Ezekiel 34.11-12, 15-17 Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 Gospel Matthew 25:31-46 Today is the feast of Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday . The mental images that the words “king” and “reign” bring to mind are based on our knowledge of the actions of kings and political leaders. Today's first reading from the priest and prophet Ezekiel gives us God's view of leadership. The image of the shepherd is commonly used to portray good monarchs in biblical literature. So, if we think of Christ the King as Christ the Good Shepherd, we have a truer sense of what this day is about. Now, Ezekiel lived during the time the city of Jerusalem and it's Temple were destroyed in 586 BCE. He experienced the early years of the Babylonian exile. So through Ezekiel, God is saying that the "shepherds" have not taken care of the "flock,...