May 31, 2026, at St. William and the Naples Maronite Community

Exodus 34: 6, 8-9 + Deuteronomy 3 + 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13 + John 3: 16-18

It says here: “God so loved the world.” It does not say: “God so loved the Church, God so loved the pure, God so loved the pious and holy, or God so loved America” or anywhere else for that matter. God’s love is for the World. This story is about God’s deep and abiding love for all and everything created. The Divine Incarnation, the sending of God’s Word in flesh is for the world, for everyone, everywhere. He did not send his Son, His presence in human flesh into a Tabernacle. We need to understand that the Divine Presence is in a Tabernacle because that presence is first in us, all of us.

The implications of this love are massive It means that God is to be found where the Son of God is to be found living, incognito in the world. In the space of just two chapters of this Gospel, Jesus is found in the dark of night talking with a Jewish leader, Nicodemus, a classic insider. Then, he is found at Midday with a Samaritan woman, a classic forgotten outsider. He can be found in the synagogue, in the Temple, but usually he is seen in the streets feeding, healing, teaching, forgiving. He has been given to the world!

Yet, how often the world hears a different message. How often the world hears a message of judgement and condemnation. How often the people of the Church, where he should be found first, are busy separating and judging all the while looking holy and pious as they push people out to the margins of society because they are slow to believe, broken by divorce, gay, or some kind of public sinner.

The mission of Jesus Christ passed on to us is not a rejection mission. It is a rescue mission because God loved the world. The judgement spoken of in this Gospel is not the judgment of God. God does not condemn. The judgement is a choice to remain in the dark hiding from the light of God’s love. That choice is an act of self-condemnation.

Some love the darkness imagining that eternal life is found in possessions, power, and prestige. For some, the darkness is a land of addiction to short-term fixes that can never hide deep pain. In that darkness evil deeds become a habit and so much a part of our way of life that we barely recognize that this behavior and these attitudes are out of synch with Jesus Christ. Believing in him and trusting him means being in synch with him, living in harmony with God’s extraordinary love for the world.

There is no one in this world who is not good, and no one is going to hell if God has anything to say or do about it. Yet, the love of God revealed in Jesus demands a decision to believe, or not to believe; to live in response to the love of God for all people, or not. To say no to the love of God in Jesus Christ is to choose a life in the darkness of the world we have been taught to call reality. That is real condemnation, to the “living hell” of the real world that has chosen to ignore or dismiss its creator who loved the world into existence.

May 24, 2026 at Saint Agnes Parish in Naples, FL

Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-11+ Psalm 104 + 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7, 12-13 + John 20: 19-33

There is a sense of powerlessness hanging over many of us these days. There is violence in homes, schools, and even churches that leaves us uneasy at best and fearful at its worst. There is button at every altar in this city waiting to be pushed at the first sign of trouble, and our parish offices have one as well. Most of us live behind gates, and many have alarm systems at home, and we don’t seem to know what to do about it. And so, we flee from communities that are dangerous and hide. We are a very much like the Apostles in today’s Gospel. They were hiding in some upper room.

Like us, a great task and mission was entrusted to them. Yet they had neither the strength nor the will to begin. Then the Holy Spirit came, and they were changed. Christ Jesus had said to them: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit come on you, and then you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.” The key word here is “power.” It is exactly what they needed as they hid feeling absolutely powerless, overcome by fear and a feeling of inadequacy. Having seen what happened to Jesus they needed courage and someone to empower them.

What Christ Jesus promised is what we celebrate today. It is a promise of power, but it does no good to celebrate this Feast if we fail to accept that gift. We are a people empowered by baptism and confirmation. We are able to take charge of our situation. We may not wait for someone else to do it for us. We are a people filled with the Holy Spirit.

Our Church, its values, its vision of the Kingdom of God, its message of peace and reconciliation cannot remain hidden because we are timid or feel inadequate. We should not think that the change in the Apostles was something instant. That’s a too literal reading of the Gospels. It had to be a gradual thing, a growth process, and that can be painful and slow. We do not easily let go of old ways, habits, and attitudes.

People change when they are given hope, and they change when they are loved. They come out of hiding and some kind of energy is released in them. I believe that the miracle of human change is perhaps, the only real miracle. The power that changed the Apostles is not just for them. The Holy Spirit did not just come for a day and then blow away like the wind. That Spirit is ours too. It stirs up power in us like the wind. If fires up our courage to get up, speak up, and act up in the name of Jesus Christ and all that he taught us.

We are not helpless, and together we are far from inadequate. We are a people of hope with a clear vision of the Kingdom of God which is at hand and available now for those who choose every day to say: “Come Holy Spirit.” When we do things will change. We will no longer be waiting for someone to do what we can do, and fear will be replaced by joy.

May 17, 2026.

This homily will not be delivered. I am away from Naples.

Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-11 + Psalm 47 + Ephesians 1: 17-23 + Matthew 28: 16-20

I recently read a great story about Jesus returning to heaven after his death and resurrection. It seems that the Archangel Gabriel who started it all, if you remember, was surprised to see him back so soon. Thirty-three years is not a long time, especially when you think about the importance and proportions of the task he had been given. Gabriel says: “Back so soon?” Jesus said: “Well, I would have stayed longer, but they crucified me.” “They did?” said Gabriel. “I guess that means you failed.” “Not necessarily,” said Jesus. “You see, I called together a little group of disciples. They will carry on my work.” “And what if they fail?” asked Gabriel. “I have no other plans.” Jesus answered.

There is no other plan. What those of us left must discover is that the Ascension of Jesus is his liberation from the restrictions of time and space. It does not represent his removal from the earth, but his constant presence everywhere. A sense of the presence of Christ with us does not change the world for us, but it should give us the courage to face the world.

The transformation of this world back into the Paradise that God intended depends upon us. There is no other plan. It is not a daunting task. It is a privilege. When we witness, stand up and speak about truth, justice, love and peace, we bear witness to and carry on the work of Jesus. We witness to truth by living truthfully. We witness to justice by acting justly with others. We witness to love by acting lovingly with others, and we witness to peace by living peacefully with our neighbors. It’s not such big challenge when we get down to the core of it. We might simply remember and draw encouragement from what Mother Teresa said once: “I don’t pray for success. I pray that I may be a faithful witness.”

May 10, 2026, at St William Parish in Naples, FL

Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8, 14-17 + Psalm 66 + 1 Peter 3: 15-18 + John 14:15-21

The quid pro quo world in which we live and in which we hear these words of Jesus Christ presents a problem, and we need to ask ourselves, “Does enjoying God’s loving and abiding presence really depend upon my keeping Jesus’ commandments? If it does, I have a problem, and I suspect I’m not the only one. Jesus being lifted from earth and drawing all people to himself does not depend on anything we do or fail to do. This is not a reward for being good. It is a gift not a prize. We must get out of that mentality. God’s plan does not depend on us. When Jesus speaks these words, he is attempting to inspire trust among us. These words are intended to assure us not threaten us. He is not laying down conditions for receiving the Spirit. It is a gift to us, not a reward or some personal possession.

Think of this. That word, “condition” has a lot of definitions. It could mean “something necessary” as in “It is necessary that you keep the command of Jesus for him to ask the Father to send the Advocate.” However, there is another way to define “condition” as a “way of being.” In other words, it is like describing what condition we are in, and that is where John is going with this. Those whose way of being is to love Jesus and keep his commandments, have the gift of the Spirit for without it it would be impossible to stay in love and keep the commandments Jesus has given us.

I think it helps to remember that in John’s Gospel “love” is always a verb, not a noun. It is not a thing, it is a way of being, a condition we’re in or a way of acting that comes from a deep intimacy with the God Jesus has revealed to us. This is the consequence of the Incarnation, the Word Made Flesh. Jesus is comforting and assuring those disciples with a description of what they will be like after he departs. It is a description of the Church, a Spirit filled faithful people who love, serve, reconcile, comfort and inspire.

Choosing every day to obey that commandment of love making it our very way of being in this world requires a little teamwork, and that’s why we are a church. What Jesus asks we cannot do unless the Spirit abides with us and sets up shop among us. A Spirit-filled church with the abiding presence of Jesus is all we need. Many in this world cannot see Jesus any longer, but we can because he lives in us now by the presence and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

May 3, 2026, at St William on Saturday & St Peter on Sunday

Acts of the Apostles 6: 1-7 + Psalm 33 + 1 Peter 2: 4-9 + John 14: 1-12

In John’s Gospel Philip is a main character. He is named twelve times as opposed to once in the other three Gospels. He is the first disciple to lead someone to Jesus. He is troubled that there will not be enough when asked to feed the crowd. He is the one the Greeks seek when they come wanting to see Jesus, and he is the one present with Andrew as Jesus prays that his hour has come.

Today we hear Thomas speak as a representative of the group, and Jesus answers him as such. When Philip tries the same move, Jesus gets personal with him. Jesus has made it clear that he will return to the Father. The disciples are stalling almost as though their questions can delay what is not only inevitable, but also God’s plan. And so, Thomas and Philip ask questions that are a bit silly, and it annoys Jesus. With that he scolds a bit and then reaffirms his intimate relationship with the Father offering all who follow him the same relationship.

“Show us the Father” says Philip, and with those words he speaks for many in this world who wonder “where is God” when tragedies happen and death and evil rage uncontrollably. They wonder, like Philip what God is like and what if anything God is doing.

The response of Jesus to Philip is echoed to all of us who too often get stunned by violence, fear, a personal tragedy that leaves us stunned and wondering how this could happen to us raising that question, “Where is God when we need God?” What happened to that part, “Whatever you ask in my name?” He says to us, look at my works, what I do: changing water into wine, healing the servant of a royal official, healing a paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda, feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, walking on the water, restoring sight to a man born blind, and calling Lazarus from the tomb.

More than these works, Jesus points us to where we might look when we find it hard to believe his words. Wherever Joy and abundance replace embarrassment and scarcity, hungry people are fed, calm overcomes a storm. It is astonishing. Christian people can do what Jesus did and more, and many have over 2,000 years. This is where we must look to see what God is up to and where God is to be found.

The issue is whether we will do what Jesus did or not. It is up to us. The fact that we can do them is due to the fact that Jesus completed the very work God set him to do which was to show us the Father, show us what the Father is like and what the Father’s love can accomplish. To Thomas and to Philip he gave that task, and they have passed it on to us. No one should ever wonder why God has abandoned them as long as we hear their cry.