Fr Tom’s Homilies
Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s In the first reading for this Sunday, the Prophet Isaiah makes a startling statement. He refers to King Cyrus of Persia, a pagan, as someone who has been anointed by God. Cyrus was the king of Persia who conquered Babylon, where many Jews … [Read more…]
Jesus was not averse to celebrations His opponents criticized him as a ‘good time guy’, a glutton and a wine drinker. They did not like the company he dined in: sinners and outcasts. He did not always wait to be invited either. He asked himself to the house of Zacchaeus, the chief tax-collector in Jericho. … [Read more…]
Bad Grapes or Good Grapes? Planting a vineyard is planting for a long-term investment and relationship, a labor that will not yield its grapes, and more importantly its wine, for several years. Just ask our local grape grower Debi Gust-Boerema, who inherited 18 acres from her parents, Red and Peggy Gust, and attends to approximately … [Read more…]
The Three Sons How then do we respond to this gracious invitation to enter into God’s family? This is the challenge addressed to us in our Gospel reading. We heard that the owner of a vineyard asked his two sons to go out and labor in that vineyard. This vineyard owner, of course, represents God. … [Read more…]
The Ultimate Denarius In Palestine at the time of Jesus casual laborers were in an insecure position. There was lots of unemployment and no unemployment benefit. One denarius was the going rate for a day’s basic work and it would support a man and his family for a day, if not lavishly. The social agreement … [Read more…]
By Forgiving we Share in the Freedom of God Jesus reveals to us a God who is intensely keen on forgiving. And so when we forgive others, we live out in our own lives how God already relates to us. By forgiving others we come to share in God’s transcendent freedom that manifests itself in … [Read more…]
“If your brother sins against you” Lloyd LeBlanc and his wife talk to Sister Helen Prejean face to face. Sister Helen is a religious sister who worked tirelessly in her ministry to prisoners on death row and to the elimination of the death penalty. She eventually wrote the book Dead Man Walking, which became a … [Read more…]
Get Behind Me Satan Clarity is one of great attributes of our Lord when He gave instructions on how to be a good disciple. As I mentioned last weekend, there is a temptation to misinterpret or adapt the words of Jesus – to what we think He SHOULD have said. Today, Peter fell into that … [Read more…]
“Who do you say I am?” Albert Schweitzer wrote that: “throughout the centuries, people have recreated Jesus into what they thought He should be”. And it might seem that Jesus today invites us to create our own subjective image of Him according to our own ideas. However Peter’s response makes it clear that this question … [Read more…]
Moments of Grace Many people are puzzled as to how Jesus responds to the Canaanite woman who begs Him to release her little girl from demonic possession. We are struck by how out of character it is for Jesus not to respond to a cry for help. As the woman continues Jesus replies that His … [Read more…]