~~~SisterSea~~~

Fourth Sunday of Lent -- Reflection / Homily Starter   If you are here for the first time, after my sermon, I usually ask a question that has to do with the theme but not necessarily on what I've said. Please feel equally free to share or not. As this is kairos Sunday, today's homily will touch on kairos Canada and celebrate our community's participation in the local kairos group. The Greek word, pleonexias , used in today's Gospel, means both greed and covetousness. Covetousness is greed that surpasses the desire for more than what one needs for a comfortable life. It is an insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to another, no matter how little the other has. Such greediness is prone to continual accumulation by means of violence, trickery, or the manipulation of authority. Jesus was aware that the questioner was attempting such a manipulation. Jesus' response ‘ Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you? ’ was a r...

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia Homily 1 Gospel: John 17: 6-19 – Easter 7B Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The purpose of the day is “to promote a world of tolerance, respect and freedom regardless of people’s sexual orientations or gender identities.  For people of all faiths and no faith, the day calls us to compassion. For Christians, Jesus in today's gospel points the way beyond tolerance and towards compassionate action. John’s gospel tells of a compassionate Jesus who, while on earth, both experienced persecution, hatred, and violence and protected his disciples from them. The most prominent element of this passage is Jesus’ compassion. We see that Jesus and the early Christian community knew the pain of violence and persecution. Even though he is soon to be betrayed by one of his disciples and crucified, he prays to God on behalf of the disciples. He protects them o...

First Reading Acts 9:26-31 Second Reading 1 John 3:18-24 Gospel John 15:1-8 Shared Homily Starter Today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. It is set after Saul's conversion. We are told, “ he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. The didn't believe that this man who had been persecuting them had changed his beliefs or his heart. It wasn't until Paul's actions verified the sincerity of his words, that the Apostles truly accepted him. Yesterday some of us attended the KAIROS Blanket Exercise put together by local Kairos members and graciously hosted by St. James. The KAIROS Blanket exercise is a teaching tool that uses participatory popular education to raise awareness of the nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. 1 At the beginning of the exercise a...

Shared Homily Starter First Reading: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Second Reading: 1 John 2:1-5 Gospel: Luke 24:35-48 The liturgical season of Easter is the only time that the readings are all from the New Testament. During this season the first readings are from the Acts of the Apostles. Today's reading from Acts is another occasion where our Roman Catholic Lectionary differs from the Revised Common Lectionary and omits scripture verses. This textual omission significantly changes the meaning and therefore our understanding of the scriptural message. Today's reading is from Acts, Chapter 3, which begins with Peter and John's encounter with a cripple beggar outside the temple, where they are about to enter. Peter tells the beggar, “‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you.” Peter then cures the man in Jesus' name. The man jumped, took Peter...

The readings of the Easter Vigil are a retelling and a remembering of our salvation history. The story of God beckoning us back to our original selves. It's the story of God, coming among us and enduring suffering to show us the way home; demonstrating that death is only transitory, not only for Christians but for the greater community of all God's people—indeed all of creation. Similarly, although we are a marginalized part, our salvation history is also connected to the Roman church. So tonight, as a token of our connection with and love for the church that formed many of us, I will share with you a slightly amended: [Due to possible copyright infringement, I have not posted the amended message. However, the original can be found here or the original in pdf format can be found here ]

Shared Homily Starter The Community is invited to share after the foot-washing First Reading: Exodus 12.1-8, 11-14 Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 Gospel Reading: John 13.1-15 John's Gospel shows us that in living in the daylight of grace, we are to help accomplish the intent of the Gospel, the Good News. The Evangelist tells us Jesus loved them to the end! That also means, He loves us to the end! That is, Jesus loved them and us to the very last moment and that Jesus loves us totally, completely, with the full extent of his love. John wants us to understand that Jesus' love is a love that at its core is incomprehensible in its fullness. God's love for us is the reason that Jesus came. Jesus' mission was to teach us to have confidence in Him as the revelation of God's love. He would be put to death because what he taught could free people from the oppres...

Homily Starter As I was going over the readings for today, the story of the woman with the alabaster jar seemed out of place as part of the passion story. But as I reflected on it, I realized that there was indeed a message here. The woman is caring for Jesus, now. The Gospel Writer is pointing out, it's not what we could have done, rather, it is our actions in the present moment that are important. The disciples had Jesus-God Incarnate with them. We have the poor and oppressed, whom Jesus said will always be with us. Jesus told us that, he too, would always be with us. Unlike the disciples, we don't have Jesus with us in the flesh—yet—Jesus suffers with all who suffer. This Lent some of us participated in a Lenten Program called, “Creation Covenant.” The program introduced us to the term the “anthropocene age,” which is used to describe the current geological age, where human activities are impacting the global climate and ecosystems—for the most par...

Homiletic Reflection First Reading Genesis 22.1-2, 9-13, 15-18 Second Reading Romans 8:31b-35, 17 Gospel: Mark 9:2-10 Please bear with me as today's homily is a bit more didactic then usual. Today, I chose to concentrate on the first reading, which is about the mystery of testing and providing. However, a God who will command the murder of a son is problematic and difficult to understand--not only for me, but also--for today's people of faith. To gain insight into this part of the Abraham story, I sought insight from Jewish as well as Christian sources. This story leads to a new disclosure of God. At the beginning of the passage, God is tester (v. 1). At the end, God is the provider (v. 14). These two statements about God form the frame of the story.” 1 Today's Hebrew Bible story, known as the Akedah or binding, occupies a central role in rabbi...