“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” (Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30) “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me…. You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11: 28-30). The Jesus of Matthew’s Gospel likes to tell parables or share scraps of wisdom, like this one, that throw his listeners a little off balance. He does this in order to make them ponder and rethink taken for granted assumptions. …
Mary Gordon's Homily from the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, June 22, 2014
Today is the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. When I was growing up in the good old bad old pre Vatican II days, the feast was known as Corpus Christi—the Latinate version naming the body and not the blood. In 1969, the feast was changed to the body and blood of Christ because there had been a special feast just for the blood, and the Church in its wisdom, decided to consolidate. The feast actually came into being through the sustained efforts of a woman, A sister Juliana of Liege who I the 13th century who had …
Patti La Cross' Homily from Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014
Genesis 1:1-31, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28: 16-20 Around the world, for over 50 years monastic communities have been aging and shrinking. Having so enjoyed the company of Benedictine Sojourners over recent years, we all appreciate how invigorating the presence of new and younger women or men in a monastery can be. So it was in Southern France, when a small group of older monks were joined by a young novice. A bright young man, he was eager to learn and full of questions. One day he was shown the Scriptorium, where monks worked copying illustrated manuscripts of the Bible, …
Patti LaCross' Homily, May 18, 2014
Blessings and great joy to each and all of you on this 5th Sunday celebration of Easter. The Easter season extends over 50 days to Pentecost, and it serves as a reminder to us that transformation-of a spiritual, or a biological nature-requires time. Each breath we take brings a new moment of life, yet the cells on the lung’s surface are fully renewed each two to three weeks. Our blood supply is refreshed every 90 days, but renewing our bones can take 10 or more years. And the message of Easter, which begins to renew us from our earliest grasp, …
Libby Caes's Homily, May 11, 2014
John 10:1-10 Most of us grew up steeped in the tenets of Western Christianity. We were taught that we have fallen and need to be saved. We were taught that Jesus is Savior; he died for our sins, he rescued us. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me… We were taught that Jesus is not like us but different from us. Therefore, he can be a mediator between us and God. This is the Christianity that was institutionalized in the fourth century with the establishment of the canonical texts and writing of the creeds. One …
Sister Lynne Smith's Homily, May 4, 2014
Luke 24:13-35 On the Road to Emmaus Audrey Hinger loves to tell a story about this Gospel reading. Some years ago one of our children’s ministry teachers was teaching this passage. After reading it, she asked the children how the disciples knew this stranger who had been walking, talking and eating with them was Jesus. One of the students who was only four or five at the time said right away, “The clue was in the bread.” That is the point, isn’t it? When Jesus sat at table with them, he took the bread, blessed, broke it and gave it …
Sister Lynne Smith's Homily from Easter Vigil, April 20, 2014
Matthew 28:1-10 The angel at Jesus’ tomb announces: “Do not be afraid…. He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” The place to look for Jesus after his death and resurrection is not among the dead but in Galilee. Galilee is the place where Jesus lived out his ministry showing the reign of God in everyday life healing, feeding, teaching, showing compassion, acting for justice. Galilee, among the people, is where the Risen Jesus continues to bring about a new creation with and through us. Jesus …
Patti LaCross' Homily from Holy Thursday, April 17, 2014
We are here tonight to claim and celebrate our identity as a community of disciples beloved by Jesus. We’re not here as outcasts from any denomination, family, religious, social, political circle, or nation. And we are not here as a collection of individual believers, but a people actively listening, and serving one another in love. For the young people among us, and anyone here this night for the first time, I would emphasize that this worship is not the Easter equivalent of a Christmas pageant. No live animals, no costumes, no auditions! There are only 2 roles, and each …
Paul Knitter's Homily from Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014
Palm Sunday April 13, 2014 ENTERING THE MOST SACRED TIME OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR Today marks the beginning of the most meaningful and sacred time of the liturgical calendar: Holy Week. – Holy Week—when we celebrate the ‘Paschal Mystery’—the pivot on which the rest of the year turns, the focus of our Christian lives. And today, Palm Sunday, we are called on to declare our commitment to that Mystery, which means our commitment to this Jesus called the Christ. – So as we begin this Holy Week, if we’re going to pour out our hearts in …
Colleen Hartung's Homily from Sunday, April 06, 2014
Grief, Resurrection and Faith John 11: 1-45 By Colleen D. Hartung April 6, 2014 On Sunday nights, at 8 o’clock, if you do just a little channel surfing you will find that among your viewing choices is (1) a show called “Resurrection” that chronicles the mysterious return from the dead of several residents from a small town in Missouri, (2) another show called “Believe” that tells the story of a group of people trying to protect a little girl with a genetic mutation that gives her superhuman powers that she uses to accomplish random acts of kindness but that other …