The following homily was delivered by Colleen Hartung at Sunday Assembly on March 13, 2011. The Gospel reading from the lectionary schedule that day was Matthew 4:1-11. Today’s scripture readings tell two different tales of temptation. In the first reading Eve is tempted with a piece of fruit. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…”. Who wouldn’t? In this reading a forbidden fruit is presented as the …
Jim Penczykowski's Homily from February 27, 2011
The following homily was delivered by Jim Penczykowski at Sunday Assembly on February 27, 2011. The readings from the lectionary schedule that day were Isaiah 49:8-16a, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 and Matthew 6:24-34. “We pray with confidence in the words our Savior gave us, …” These are the words that introduce the prayer of Jesus in the Roman Rite. It is a phrase I wish to meditate on with you today, for our readings from the prophet Isaiah and from the Gospel of Matthew are all about having confidence in what God is bringing about. A scripture scholar of some note, Richard Sklba, taught me …
Colleen Hartung's Homily from February 6, 2011
The following homily was delivered by Colleen Hartung at Sunday Assembly on February 6, 2011. The Gospel reading from the lectionary schedule that day was Matthew 5:13-20. “You are the salt of the earth”. “You are the light of the world”. “A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket”. “In the same way, let your light shine before others”. With these words Jesus names the gathered crowd as salt and as light…as preservers of life and illuminators of wisdom. In a sense he chooses and urges these …
Ed Beers' Homily from January 30, 2011
The following homily was delivered by Rev. Ed Beers at Sunday Assembly on January 30, 2011. The readings from the lectionary schedule that day were Micah 6:1-8, I Corinthians 1:18-31, and Matthew 5:1-12. A few years before becoming a Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, then a student at Columbia in New York City, was especially fond of his English professor, Mark VanDoren. In his autobiography Merton described how VanDoren entered the lecture hall, already deep in thought,and how he would open the class with a single question, as he stared pensively out the massive windows, wondering if the answer might mystically appear. …