Cuaresma 4B

Quick, what is another name for today, the Fourth Sunday in Lent? Give up? Actually, there are several possible answers to this question, all of them correct, and all of them originating in ecclesiastical history and liturgical practice. In some quarters, especially among our Roman Catholic friends and neighbors, the Fourth Sunday in Lent is…

En la lectura de Números encontramos al pueblo israelita en un peregrinaje por el desierto después de haber sido liberados de su esclavitud en Egipto. La trayectoria por el desierto estuvo llena de dificultades: falta de alimentos, escasez de agua y, como nos cuenta la lectura de hoy, las serpientes venenosas representaban otra amenaza más…

When you were a child, were you ever afraid of the dark? Did you imagine all sorts of scary things living in the dark of your closet or under your bed? Did a night-light give you that little bit of reassurance and comfort so that you could go to sleep safely? Most of us grow…

El Evangelio de Juan nos presenta el milagro de la multiplicación de los panes y los peces. Jesús da de comer a cinco mil hombres y por lo menos a otras tantas mujeres y a niños. En ésta como en otras bellas narraciones del Evangelio de San Juan, el propósito de fondo es ofrecer una…

Taste is a very odd thing. Goodness knows where it comes from. It can be something handed down in a family, not without rebellion. It can be cultural or societal. Then we have the issue of whether something is in good taste or not. Episcopalians are sometimes accused of being more interested in taste than…

The story in today’s Gospel has a familiar ring to it. Well, of course, it is one of the better known stories in the New Testament, appearing in all four Gospels, and, in some cases, more than once. But beyond that, it is familiar because it reminds us of the way things still happen in…

For about 1,000 years, this Sunday, the Sunday in the middle of Lent, has been a little special. Because of the Gospel account of the miraculous feeding, today has been known as Refreshment (or, in Latin, Laetare) Sunday. In the Middle Ages, the penitential disciplines of Lent were relaxed somewhat, there were some provisions for feasting…

The gospel reading today, the fourth Sunday in Lent, is the “feeding of the multitude.” It is a familiar biblical story, the almost everyone has heard before. It is precisely because this story is so overly familiar that we should really take the time to listen to what it has to say. A version of…