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No Other Name?

Fourth Sunday of Easter (B)   Acts 4:8-12

“There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” – Acts 4:12

Does that quote bother you?

If so, you are not alone. Our contemporary American society puts a high value on diversity. We love options and alternatives. We esteem the varied cultural backgrounds of our citizens. We like to think that there are many ways to accomplish something. We value diversity more, perhaps, than previous generations did. However, its flip side is also true: we have a hard time with commitment, with sticking with only one thing: be it a job or a relationship. Even when we make a commitment with the intention of keeping it, we are looking for as much wiggle room as possible. We hate getting “locked in”, as a rule.  Most people don’t like putting all their eggs in one, and only one, basket.  Continue reading “No Other Name?”

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Life, Revealed

Third Sunday of Easter (B)  Acts 3:13-19

If you live – or spend any significant time – away from the lights of a city, you have the opportunity to observe the night sky when the weather is favorable. If you watch the heavens on a nightly basis, it will appear, from your perspective, that the moon and stars are orbiting Earth along circular paths. Based on such observations, some ancient cultures came to certain conclusions. If heavenly bodies, which are above us both physically and existentially, all move in circular paths, then the circle must be the perfect or ideal shape.  Continue reading “Life, Revealed”

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The Liminal Sabbath

Holy Saturday

Having bought a linen cloth, (Joseph of Arimathea) took (Jesus) down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock, Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid. – Mark 15:46-47

Holy Saturday. The forgotten day. The Church has no public liturgy for this day, other than the Liturgy of the Hours. Moreover, the way our parishes tend to schedule the Triduum celebrations on three consecutive nights – Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil – makes Holy Saturday itself all the more invisible. Liturgically, we lose the sense of the Resurrection happening “on the third day”. Moreover, we easily slide past Holy Saturday in our rush to the Vigil. This is a shame, as Holy Saturday has much to teach us. Let us pause, then, by the tomb of Jesus, as Mary Magdalene and the other women did, that we might see what this time might reveal to us.   Continue reading “The Liminal Sabbath”

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Gethsemane

Holy Thursday

It was a meal that gave Jesus’ disciples a lot more than they expected.

They had prepared a Passover meal, eager to celebrate this great feast of God’s liberation of their people with their Master. Jesus, unexpectedly, redefined the meal. He would be their Passover lamb. His own sacrifice would be the means by which humanity would be reconciled with God. The disciples, on their part, were to reenact this new Passover in memory of what Jesus was about to do.  “What did this mean?”, the disciples must have wondered.

But there was more.   Continue reading “Gethsemane”

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He Emptied Himself

Palm Sunday (B)

Living in our multimedia society, we cannot help but notice how many people, near and far, are in great need. News reports bring to us people who have endured great poverty, famine, disease, war, and natural disasters of all kinds. Local reports tell us of the needs of people much closer to home. Many of us get a steady stream of form letters and emails, requesting our help for some great need or other good cause.   Continue reading “He Emptied Himself”