Christ's Wounds that Heal Us

Do you have any scars with a story behind them? Maybe you have a scar from when you had your appendix removed or some other kind of surgery. Or maybe you were hurt badly enough to need stitches. I have a few scars. One that’s most obvious is over my eye.When I was six months old I had a growth of some sort above my eye that the doctor thought should be removed, so I had an operation. Of course, at six months old I have no memory of the operation. I have a few other scars too, particularly one on my chin. What happened was embarrassing

Maundy Thursday

This week we are walking with Jesus and his disciples through his last few days on his way to the cross. The journey to the cross is difficult to understand and to accept. We know that the people of Jerusalem at Jesus’ entrance into the city of Jerusalem were hailing him as their king. Now just a few days later they have turned against him. They are now prepared to reject him as their king, because he didn’t turn our to be the kind of king they wanted.  They want a Messiah who will overthrow Rome and restore their political power in the world. Their desires are much too small!

         Even the disciples, those who are closest to him, don’t understand the kind of king, the kind of Messiah he is.  How could they? They, too, are concerned about worldly greatness and power.

The Cross that Transforms

 During Lent we are on pilgrimage together moving towards the cross. We are journeying to the theological crux of our faith, to Holy Week, the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. The readings today on the second Sunday of Lent are a wonderful juxtaposition of lessons from Genesis, the gospel of Mark and Paul’s letter to the Romans. In Genesis we read about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, his only son Isaac, foreshadowing God’s willing sacrifice of his son Jesus for our sakes.  In Mark’s gospel we hear Jesus proclaim his mission to undergo great suffering, to be killed and after three days rise again. He adds that all who would be his disciples must take up their own cross and follow him. Discipleship means taking up your cross and following Jesus. Then in Romans we read Paul’s reassurance that even though we endure hardship

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus

Happy New Year! Twenty-nine years ago today, on New Year’s Day in 1983, I gave birth to our second child. At that time a pregnant woman didn’t have the option of finding out whether she was having a boy or a girl through an ultrasound. The parents had to wait until the baby was born. We had picked out a boy and a girl name, so that when the child was born, we’d be ready with a name. And when we saw that adorable little girl with a shock of black hair on her head, we knew she was Genevieve Susannah. John and I, like all parents, spent a lot of time thinking about the names we would give our children. We decided that one name would be a family name, and the other a name one with history and beauty behind it. So Genevieve is named for St. Genevieve,

How to be Good

A number of years ago when I was traveling I picked up a novel to read at the airport by a British author names Nick Hornby called How to Be Good. The title called to me, because I wanted to see what this writer would say about how to be good. Basically the book was about people trying very hard to be good. The main characters are a married couple who are average modern people, educated, good jobs, living in the suburbs. The woman is tired of her boring and meaningless existence. She has a longing for some kind of purity, some kind of unselfish life, a life that means something, a life that makes a difference.

"Suddenly their eyes were opened..."

Luke's recounting of the disciples' conversation with Jesus on the road to Emmaus is a very important resurrection story in the gospels. In their encounter with Jesus the two disciples have their eyes and their understanding opened to see what is real and true. In the first part of the story Jesus opens the scriptures to the two disciples, and they receive understanding about how all the law and prophets point to Jesus. But there is yet another veil that lies over their eyes.

Growing Seeds in Silence

Isabelle and I flew back from Italy recently after being there for three weeks. I led a retreat on St. Francis and she had a great time with friends. We flew on Swissair and had to change planes in Zurich, Switzerland, but we are always happy when we are in the Zurich airport because it is so calm and peaceful. I know that sounds impossible, but somehow the Swiss have made a quiet beautiful airport that runs smoothly.  If you’ve ever flown out of Terminal E at Logan you know that it is incredibly noisy. They have music playing, TV monitors on, and every couple of minutes the loudspeaker comes on with TSA warnings about not leaving your baggage unattended. It’s an utter din that makes it hard to even think. But if you land in Zurich it’s quiet…. No music, no TV’s, no loudspeakers. Quiet escalators and moving walkways whisk you from one part of the airport to the next.