[RCL] Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:22-30; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38 God’s truth is unchangeable. But it’s not predictable. Do you ever wish we lived in precedented times? Maybe live a week without a once-in-a-hundred-years catastrophe, without shock and surprise in the news, without a rupture in our day-to-day that might make things feel out of…

[RCL] Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:22-30; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38 Imagine the scene. You are one of the group of Galileans who have been singled out to follow the most compelling teacher ever to walk the stony hills of your land. You have been with your beloved leader, the one you call Master or Rabbi,…

Blessed Saint Peter: author of Scripture, first Pope, chief Apostle, teacher and defender of the faith, pillar of the Early Church, purported benefactor of the Gospel of Mark, and martyr. It is little wonder that Saint Peter gets so much good press amongst Christians! But there is one thing missing from this list. One thing,…

We human beings love our rules. The security that comes from knowing how things should be done comforts us in our chaotic world. God understands this about us, and so God comes to us in terms of covenant. In our lesson from Genesis, God provides a clear agreement that Abraham can refer to and rely…

Many people over the course of history have asked, “Why must a person believe in God to be nice and do good things?” Why, indeed? What separates our faith communities from other social activist groups like the Lions Club or Doctors Without Borders? The answer lies in our deepest motivation: following Jesus. With this understanding,…

In Yann Martel’s wonderful novel Life of Pi, twelve-year-old Pi decides to explore a number of different religions in his native India. He has a rather remarkable reflection on a conversation he had with a Roman Catholic priest, Father Martin, about the crucifixion. Pi thinks to himself: “That a god should put up with adversity,…

The structure of Mark’s Gospel, from which this week’s reading comes, is like a mountain. As we go up one side, we hear about the ministry of Jesus; the miracles, the healings, the feeding of thousands, the calling of the disciples. The top of the mountain is Peter’s declaration, “You are the Christ,” the first…

It is inevitable that in a political season the topics of conversation will eventually include “family values.” There is probably no more essential image in our common life. And yet, little time is spent on defining the words, “family” or “values.” The assumption is that our common life has given us a set of principles…

In today’s Gospel, Jesus very clearly issues a challenge and call to discipleship in verses 34 to 36. When Jesus called His disciples, He said, “Come, follow me” and they obeyed. We find no indication the disciples questioned how much time would be involved, how much would they be paid, what would the expectations of…