Lenten Reflections
Triduum: Until he comes again
Movements shake things up! One moment, everything feels stable, secure, predictable. Then suddenly the ground shifts, the earth shakes, and what appeared steady and familiar before now feels…different. Movements shake things up. Movements change things. Paul understood this all too well. He had heard about this new thing from Palestine, this Jesus Movement. He heard […]
Palm/Passion Sunday: Hosanna!
How quickly the crowd gathered around Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and how quickly they dispersed as he was arrested, tried and crucified. People were looking for a powerful figure to challenge the status quo. As churches and as countries, we need to be aware of the ways in which we use power, even in […]
Lent 5: Purge me from my sin
Today we hear of the promise of a new covenant written not on stone but in our hearts. We hear Jesus speaking of being lifted up from the earth, and then buried in it that he might become in truth the first fruit of a redeemed humanity. While these texts invite us to look ahead […]
Lent 4: The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people
The story of the serpents in the wilderness is intriguing. The people of God had been rescued from slavery in Egypt and were making the long circuitous way to the promised land. The initial euphoria of freedom had worn off and they grew impatient. They spoke against God and Moses, trusting more in human sense […]
Lent 3: But we proclaim Christ crucified
Some things just don’t make much sense. Water doesn’t become wine, bread and fish do not suddenly multiply, the lame do not jump up and walk. And most certainly, dead people stay dead, especially those who experience the horrific death of crucifixion! And yet, where Jesus is involved, all kinds of things that don’t make […]
Lent 2: Take up their cross and follow me
“Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” A big part of taking up the cross of Jesus is being willing to speak out against injustice and hatred. In Canada, hate crimes against […]
Lent 1: An appeal to God for a good conscience
In the midst of two stories we know so well, the story of Noah and the flood and the story of Jesus and his baptism we hear in the First Letter of Peter some teaching about the nature of our baptism. He speaks of it “not as a removal of dirt from the body, but […]
Ash Wednesday: Return to me with all your heart
We are created out of love and for love. We walk the same earth and breathe the same air, and yet… We proclaim that it is God’s will that all people live in equity and peace, that all have a share in God’s abundant life, that there is liberty and justice for all, and yet… […]
Go! for Lent: Matthew 26:36
Jesus covers a lot of ground in the gospels, but who determined where he went? Matthew, the gospel writer, tells us that the infant Jesus was carried by Mary and Joseph from Bethlehem to Egypt, to avoid Herod’s wrath. Mark tells us that the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness after his baptism in […]
Go! for Lent: Mark 14:42
There is a common saying in Tamil (a South Indian language) that it is alright to pardon an enemy or an oppressor, but one should never forgive a betrayer. I think that this proverb makes sense as it is indeed very difficult to accept betrayal, especially as betrayal fundamentally means that it comes from a […]