Month: November 2022

27 November 2022 At St Agnes & St William Churches in Naples, FL

Isaiah 2, 1-5 + Psalm 122 + Romans 13, 11-14 + Matthew 24, 37-44

On this first day of Advent the first reading of the day and season is the voice of Isaiah who awakens us to the promise of this season. He speaks today just as he did generations before Christ. He speaks to a people in danger of giving up hope on their dreams because their experiences suggest that faith no longer makes sense. They knew the stories of how God had acted in the past, of how God had delivered a people from Egypt, of how God had spared Noah, of how the faith of Abraham had been affirmed by his countless descendants. … more »

November 20, 2022 at St. Peter & St. William Parishes in Naples, FL

2 Samuel 5, 1-3 + Psalm 122 + Colossians 1, 12-20 + Luke 23, 35-43

It is hard for us Americans to really wrap our minds and imaginations around this idea of Christ as King. Those who dared to dream this country into existence and shape our governance with a constitution were certainly not monarchists. Far from it. The consequence of their dream and hostility toward a monarchy gives us some trouble with this idea of Christ as King. I guess we could look to Pilate when it comes to formalizing this image of Christ, but for the people of Israel, the memory of King David and their whole collective memory that things were better when David was King had already set the stage for Pilate’s proclamation. … more »

November 13, 2022 at St. Peter & Saint William Parishes in Naples, FL

Malachi 3, 19-20 + Psalm 98 + 2 Thessalonians 3, 7-12 + Luke 21, 5-19

About forty-six years before the birth of Jesus, Herod the Great, looking for favor and admiration from the people began refurbishing the Temple. It was not because he was a holy man or necessarily because it needed it, but because he wanted to impress everyone with his vision and power. Archeologists tell us that some of the granite stones as big as boxcars were cut with such precision that they fit together so well there was no need for mortar. The episode in this Gospel today takes place on a hill just opposite the hill on which Jerusalem is built with the Temple sitting there like crown. … more »

November 6, 2022 at St. Peter Parish in Naples, FL

2 Maccabees 7, 1-2. 9-14 + Psalm 17 + 2 Thessalonians 2, 16-3,5 2 + Luke 20, 27-38

The journey of Jesus to Jerusalem is complete.  Jesus is there in the Temple. In Luke’s Gospel, the Temple is the place it all began and the place where it all ends. Like bookends, Luke frames his Gospel from the moment the old priest, Zechariah is visited by an angel in the Temple to this moment when Jesus stands in that Temple the mission of Jesus unfolds for us. Earlier he has cleansed the Temple, almost claiming it for himself. Unafraid of his opposition, he teaches openly and bravely while his enemies continue to harass him. … more »