The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 10, 2023 – Second Sunday of Advent-Mark 1:1-8

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I have been present at the baptisms of all our children, and some of our grandchildren. They are always happy blessed events, mostly performed by priest friends of our family. I stand quietly close by thinking about what’s happening in our presence. Water is poured over the infant or child’s head (two of ours were baptized as youngsters as they were adopted years after their births). God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is there being sacramentally incorporated into the very being of these precious little persons. It’s all so apparently simple, yet in that moment, the heavens open and the power of God descends into their small bodies with the same divine power and energy that originally created the universe, 13.8 billion years ago.

Today’s astronomers search the heavens to find planets outside our solar system. They are called exoplanets and their known number is already in the thousands. Once pinpointed, these heavenly bodies are examined to determine whether they contain liquid water because as we currently understand life, water is a necessary component for its existence.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 8, 2023 – The Immaculate Conception, Mark 1:26-38

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I like to think that the early years of Mary of Nazareth were fairly ordinary. She learned the household duties of a young Jewish maiden, made friends with neighbors and went on short trips with her family to nearby villages.

Then one day something rather remarkable happened. She was by herself, perhaps quietly reciting a prayer psalm when suddenly she had a visitor, whose name she learned was Gabriel. The angel (Mark later wrote) informed her that she would give birth to a child, a boy she was to name Jesus. He would become a ruler over the people like King David. Jesus would come directly from God and be the long-awaited messiah.

As we read this gospel, we can only guess how disturbing this must have been for Mary. God had singled her out to be the most important mother ever!! She no doubt had many questions, but they were not to be answered yet. All the angel wanted was her initial agreement to be part of God’s plan. She gave Gabriel a yes because that’s what good people do when they believe God is calling them to do this or that.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 3, 2023 – First Sunday of Advent, Mark 13:33-37

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“How’s it going?” my neighbor asks me as he passes by our home with his dog in tow. “Okay.” I answer. “But you never know what’s ahead,” I add. He nods and proceeds on his way. Thus transpires a common, but meaningful exchange about the nature of life. The past is set but the future is open-ended, uncertain. We best be prepared for almost anything. And greet the future being fully present to whatever it offers.

Today we celebrate the beginning of the church year, the first Sunday of Advent. And we are given important advice on how to best welcome and enter our own personal futures. “Be watchful (keep your eyes wide open). Be alert (focus on all that is happening around you). God’s Spirit is present and invites each of us to live more fully. But you may miss it if you are not present to its arrival or not as fully aware of its potential as you might be.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

November 26, 2023 – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe - Matthew 25:31-46

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We seem to have a strong interest in knowing all sorts of ratings these days. We want to know who is currently the best or the “number one” in everything. For instance, we desire to know like who is ahead in the political polls. We are interested in knowing the top sports teams in every imaginable sport. We watch cooking competitions which determine the best dessert cook on the show. We even have contests to determine the best of the show, which I think has something to do with canines. And we have awards for the best performances each year in music and cinema. And there’s the annual judging to determine the best books of the year, a contest in my view which does not receive as much attention as it should.

Shifting gears, we might also try to rank the teachings of Jesus. Which are the most important for us? Recall the passage in the gospel in which Jesus teaches us that there are two great commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. The first Sunday gospel of this month had Jesus reminding us that the last will be first and the first will be last. Perhaps he was referring to how people were seated in court, or at official events, or even perhaps in places of worship. Talk about a turnaround!  

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

November 19, 2023 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 25:14-30

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Today’s gospel is one that most are familiar with. It’s about money management. The money involved is called “talents” which was a form of currency in the time of Jesus. A wealthy person decided to give his servants a portion of talents for them to use while he was away. We easily interpret this parable as God giving each of us talents – or abilities – to use during our lives. The amount given to each is not the same. Some receive more than others.

Upon his return, the rich man wanted to learn what his servants did with what he gave them. The one who received the most doubled his allotment, and another who received a bit less did the same. But the servant who received the least, buried his talent, as the gospel notes, “out of fear.” He did not want to take chances. He wanted to play it safe.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

November 12, 2023 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 25:1-13

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For much of my life I have been fascinated by the passage of time. Especially the relationship between the present and the future. With the past already determined and packaged, I don’t dwell there very much. But the rest – the right now and the not yet – well, I can wonder endlessly about that.

I am a believer in cherishing the present moment, in being aware of myself and my surroundings and being attuned to others that come my way. I notice the changing seasons, the people with whom I cross paths, especially those in our family, close friends and neighbors. And I try to keep informed about what’s happening in the world around me.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

November 5, 2023 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 23:1-12

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I have a special set of memories about church life. One of them connects with today’s gospel about humility and the social order. Jesus was bothered about the way those in high positions used their status to gain certain privileges. My memory goes back to a time when I was invited to give a presentation on family spirituality in a midwestern diocese. The diocese had a facility which served not only as offices for the diocese, but some of the diocesan staff lived there. I was offered a guest room for my stay.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

October 29, 2023 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 22:34-40

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My initial reaction to learning that love was at the very center of Catholic Christian life, was one of surprise mixed with a little confusion. I had progressed through many years of Catholic education and this emphasis on love was hardly mentioned. I knew the two commandments of loving God and neighbor where part of the package, but that it all could in some way be boiled down to just those two commandments seemed overly simple. Although I would have to add, I did not think this was a bad idea. And it was certainly worth further investigation.

What followed was more than a decade of formal education that led to my earning a PhD in Historical and Systematic Theology from a school that was just one inch short of recently defeating a tough football team from Ohio State University. (The luck of the Irish?)

My formal education was followed by close to fifty years of teaching theology at three Jesuit universities. During all that time, I continued to learn more and more about our shared Catholic Christian faith. And that certainly included much of my continued reading, research and theological exploration focused on the meaning and application of those two great commandments - the ones that are the substance of this Sunday’s gospel.

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

October 22, 2023 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 22:15-21

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So what’s in your wallet – the commercial asks. And something similar was asked by Jesus in today’s gospel when he asked, “Who’s got a Caesar coin in their tunic? I need one for a second. To make a point about what’s primary and most important in life. “Don’t worry,” he added, “I’ll give it back.”

Today’s gospel insinuates that they (the bad guys) were out to trick him. Push him into a corner. Get him in trouble. But as always happens in the gospels, he turns everything upside-down, and they walk away with wonder and their own questions about this new teaching.

Give to Caesar what’s his (actually, not much) and to God everything else. Because God has already given everything to you. Your existence, your life, your days and nights, hopes and dreams, every step you make, every breath you take, every joy you feel, every blessing that is showered upon you. All this is a gift freely given.

But what exactly does God want from us in return?

The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

October 15, 2023 – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 22:1-14

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Weddings are generally important social events. And the manner in which the wedding is enacted and celebrated is what should be judged as most important. But also, on a lesser scale, is the list of those relatives, friends and associates who are invited to attend. In medieval times, the list of invitees was largely determined by social class. Even seating arrangements were prescribed. No one was allowed to be “out of place.”

Today, however, there’s more creativity and variety entailed in weddings. In general, they come in all styles and shapes. Recently, our family was present to celebrate the wedding of one of our daughters. Besides family, there was a rich variety of friends in attendance. Some from the couple’s work life. Some longtime schoolmates. There might even have been a wedding-crasher or two.

It took place outside with the garage transformed into a bar, a neighbor’s yard (with a great view of the mountains) into a chapel, a side yard became the dining area and as the bar became more popular, the driveway became a somewhat wild dance floor. And a very accommodating Mother Nature smiled overhead into the night.

Jesus knew the importance of weddings in his time and often connected wedding celebrations with his teachings.