God's Word is Alive

There is no true refuge outside God. David bears witness to God as his refuge in many of the psalms. In today's Psalm 34, he states: The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him. Today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 5:17-26 ) shows how the angel of the Lord delivers Peter and the Apostles from prison unbeknownst to their captors. They are instructed by the angel to return to the Temple – the place of their arrest: “ Go and take your place in the temple area,  and tell the people everything about this life.” Peter and the apostles obey. God their Refuge has delivered them, and the following morning, they are found preaching in the Temple. Once again taken into custody, but without force, for fear that the people might stone the Temple guards. Nothing can stop the word of God from bearing fruit in due season, though many have tried. In today...

Today's readings present a freedom that only God can give. This freedom does not make sense to the carnal mind that outwardly defines us by worldly accomplishments, possessions and prestige. The freedom of God's Spirit, poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5), defines us from within. The Gospel reading ( Jn 3:7b-15 ) presents Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, a Pharisee and secret believer in Jesus. Jesus tells him, “You must be born from above.” The Lord continues: “ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus, the Son of Man, must be “lifted up”, “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert... so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The Holy Spirit, like the wind, blows where it wills – the Holy Spirit is free! The first reading ( Acts 4:32-37 ) tells us somethi...

Today's readings provide a set of instructions for a victorious people. The Risen Jesus sends out His disciples to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” The power of His Name “will drive out demons; ” Believers “will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (See Mk 16:15-20 ) This is our heritage as followers of Jesus. His victory over sin and death is our victory – we who are members of His body. The first reading ( 1 Pt 5:5b-14 )  reminds us to “cast all our worries on [God], because He cares for [us].” God is our strength. It is He Who enables us to walk amid the storms of life without getting swept away by fear, hopelessness or despair. This message is imperative in every age, because while we are on this earth, evil will use whatever means it can to destroy our faith, hope and love for God and one another...

 Post-resurrection and before Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter and the apostles were in a liminal (threshold) phase: standing at the dawn of something new, but not yet knowing what it might entail. In today's Gospel, ( Jn 21:1-14 ) Peter announces, “I'm going fishing.” James and John, Thomas and Nathaniel go with him. They perhaps didn't yet realize they were no longer just fishermen, but fishers of men and women. We read that after a long night on the lake, their boats are empty. The Risen Jesus calls out from shore, “Children, have you caught anything?” He invites them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” The Gospel continues, “ So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in ...

  Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets; He fulfills creation's destiny and humanity's destiny. In Him, we find true purpose and everlasting meaning for our lives. The Risen Jesus tells us that the deepest God-given desires of our hearts are attainable in Him. Today's first reading ( Acts 3:11-26 ) recounts Peter's speech before an amazed crowd at the Temple after a paralyzed beggar is healed by their invocation of Jesus' Name. People would have known this person as a regular presence at the Temple's “beautiful gate.” Now he is jumping up and down, praising God. Jesus the miracle worker has been crucified and absent from the Temple. Though reports of His resurrection circulate, it is likely everything has gone back to normal. The hopes of the people must have been re-kindled when Peter stood up and announced that this mighty work had been done in Jesus' Name. Peter announces that the law and prophets, so sacred to their faith and hopes for a messiah, all...

Today's readings continue to proclaim the Easter joy that washed over Mary Magdalen, the Apostles, disciples and spread outward like an unstoppable wave. Our first reading from Acts 3:1-10 recounts what happened when Peter and John encountered a paralyzed man begging at the Temple gate in Jerusalem: “ Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, 'Look at us.' He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Peter said, 'I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.' Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.” The people who saw the man are filled with “amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.” All in the name of Jesus, spoken in faith. The psalm response (Ps  105:1-2, 3-4, 6...

 For eight days the Church celebrates the Octave of Easter. This makes the Easter solemnity (the most important of feasts of the Church year are solemnities) an eight day celebration, from Sunday to Sunday. Today's Gospel tells the story of Mary Magdalen's encounter with the Risen Jesus. She runs to Him and hugs Him. This is not just a spiritual experience; He is truly risen in His glorified body. Mary has been looking for Jesus in a tomb, among the dead. But Jesus is risen and among the living. This is the Easter Jesus we believe in. He is risen in the flesh and among us in the power of His Spirit. There is a longstanding tradition that Mary Magdalen, her sister Martha and brother were expelled from Palestine after Jesus' resurrection, set adrift in a boat on the open seas, landing in France. There, they witnessed to the Risen Jesus, establishing communities of believers in various parts of the country.* Nothing can stop the power of the Risen Christ when we have yielde...

 Monday, Octave of Easter: Peter's Bombshell Testimony Bombshell testimonies seem to emerge on a monthly basis in some part of the news media. Someone brings out new information that connects the dots to bring a whole new level of awareness about issues in our world. In today's first reading, ( Acts 2:14, 22-33 ) Peter has emerged from the Upper Room after having received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Full of divine wisdom, knowledge, courage and understanding, he steps forward and connects the dots to show that all the writings of the psalms and prophets point to Jesus. Then Peter drops the bombshell – that Jesus is risen! “ God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear.” Acts tells us that after this “about three thousand were added to their number that day;” (Ac 2:41) thousands more will be added in the days, months and years...

 Today's Good Friday readings begin with Isaiah's fourth suffering servant song. It is a powerful prophetic testimony to the sufferings that will be endured by Jesus, Who takes upon Himself our sins to make us righteous before the Father. The word tells us, “ He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. ...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.  Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divid...

Today's Holy Thursday (evening) readings bring together Eucharist and loving service. Exodus 12 ( Ex 12:1-8, 11-14 ) lays out how the Passover meal is to be observed by the Israelites preparing to leave Egypt. It is a night of great expectation, when God is going to secure the freedom of His chosen people. A spotless year-old lamb is to be procured on the 10 th day of the month of Nissan, slaughtered on the 14 th  , eaten hastily in the evening with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The meal is to be celebrated each year as a memorial to what God is about to do. The lamb's blood, spread over the doorposts of Hebrew homes, will be a sign for God's angel to pass over as he takes the lives of Egypt's first born. “ Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual instituti...

All of time points to Jesus. His death and resurrection are what St. John Paul II called the “fulcrum of history.” Everything leads to the Father's appointed time, where Jesus endures His passion and cruel death and rises from the dead. All the prophets' messages point to Him who theologians down through the ages have called, “Lord of history.” In today's Gospel, ( Mt 26:14-25 ) Jesus' appointed time draws near. Judas approaches the chief priests and asks them, “ What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” Matthew tells us, “They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.” The Gospel's focus shifts to Passover meal preparation, and Jesus instructs His disciples, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, ' My appointed time draws near ; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.' The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepar...

Most of us have worked hard at something and wondered if it really made a difference. Often, it's in response to a call that life has placed before us – with family duties; at work with a long-term project; with a friend, colleague, client, a young person who needs support, mentoring or direction. Often times we need to find deeper reasons to continue – reasons more pure, more noble, when the self-satisfaction of our ongoing labour fades away. Every once in a while, confirmation arrives to tell us we are making a difference, to remind us that it's all been worthwhile. Today's first reading is Isaiah's message of confirmation to his fellow Hebrew captives in Babylon. They are wondering if God's promises to Abraham and his descendants will ever materialize for them. They are strangers with few rights in a pagan society, stripped of the land and Temple that reminded them of who they are as a divinely chosen people. Bereft of these outward blessings, they must learn to...

God's unstoppable love, poured out in Christ, is the foundation for our Christian hope and fearlessness before the evils of this world. Like a mighty river, God's love cannot be stopped. The first reading ( Is 42:1-7 ) is taken from what most scholars refer to as “Second Isaiah.” Its prophetic writings are addressed to the Jewish people living as captive exiles in Babylon. Today's word offers hope of deliverance and the victory of justice through God's servant: “ Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations...” This servant, upheld by God's hand, has been called in victory to bring light to the world, and hope to those imprisoned by the darkness of sin and evil: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to b...

Today's Gospel  ( Jn 11:45-56 )   recounts the story of the Sanhedrin's bewilderment at Jesus' runaway success with the people. They are believing in Him, and the religious establishment fears they will lose their nation's autonomy with Herod as governor under the Romans: “ What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” My worldly mind thought, what if everyone had believed, would it not have been different, better? The Gospel story continues with High Priest Caiphas' response to the worried leaders: “ ' You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.' He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to g...

Today's readings illustrate what happens when worldly strongholds are confronted with the wisdom of God's word. We see this in today's first reading, where Jeremiah experiences worldly push-back as he announces God's word to his people: “' Denounce! let us denounce him!' All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. 'Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.'” In today's Gospel, the push-back moves from whispers to open hostility. Those who oppose Jesus' words seek to take His life. He, the Wisdom of God, announces His oneness with the Father, and the Judaeans want to stone Him: The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “ We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” The Lord is forced to lea...

Today's first reading ( Gn 17:3-9 ) tells us of God's covenant promises to Abram. He is ninety-nine years old (Gen 17:1). God promises him a multitude of descendants comprising nations and kings, with the land of Canaan as their permanent possession. His name Abram, Exalted Father, is changed to Abraham, Father of Many. Abraham and his descendants, on their part must be faithful to the Covenant: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.” Psalm 105 reveals David as a son of Abraham who knows his people's fortunes are rooted in faithfulness to Abraham's covenant with God. He knows his people's history. Each time they strayed and yoked themselves to the gods of neighbouring nations, they were overcome by their enemies. A true leader, David glorifies God as the Source of his nation's blessings, and calls his people to do the same: “ Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. Recall the wondro...

Today's readings speak to me about true freedom – the kind of inner freedom that allows a person to obey their conscience informed by the truth of God's word. In the first reading ( Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 ) Daniel and his two companions (addressed as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) choose to be burned, rather than bow down to a statue the King of Babylon has placed before the people. Daniel and his companions are servants in the king's court, and the king is livid at their refusal. He has them bound and thrown in a furnace; he then sees one who “looks like a son of God” walking with them in the flames. The king recognizes Daniel and companions' righteousness in disobeying a royal order to honour their God, and has them released. The witness of those willing to die for their faith can change even the most hardened non-believing hearts. The psalm response ( Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 ) is the hymn of praise proclaimed by Daniel and his companions in the fiery furnace. Wh...