Homily stories

4 Feb 2018

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

All the Valentines you need

Remember the little cardboard Valentines with their odd-shaped envelopes? Some had a little clasp that allowed a part of the card to move. We used to be able to buy the cards by the bagful, sometimes paying as little as 50 cents for a hundred of them.

28 Jan 2018

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

A new teaching with authority

I once worked in a place where the director hired a man named James to take over a successful program in the company. James came in like gangbusters. He had new ideas, and energy, and a strong desire to share what he believed with others. In addition to thoughts on his own projects, some of what James said implied dissatisfaction with programs that others led.

28 Jan 2018

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Why call names?

I was walking past a schoolyard yesterday and the kids were hanging out waiting for the bell to ring to start the school day. As kids will, some little third grader was taunting another one. She said, “Why should I listen to you? You’re just a dork.” 

28 Jan 2018

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Life’s choices

One of the earliest pictures my brother took was of me back in 1955, a half century ago, dressed in my Hopalong Cassidy outfit with hat and six shooter and holster. I was kneeling as my brother Tony, an Indian, shoved a lance through my body. For a while I really wanted to be a cowboy. That was before I wanted to be a priest and after I wanted to be Captain Video.

28 Jan 2018

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Words that carry weight

In 1989, in the months leading up to the 40th anniversary of the communist regime in East Germany, a Lutheran pastor in the city of Leipzig began preaching at a peace vigil in the city’s Nicolaikirche. With every passing week, more people came to the vigil, and eventually attendance reached into the thousands.

21 Jan 2018

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The whole story

Many of us experienced being overwhelmed in school by the number of papers we had to write, tests we needed to study for, and books we needed to read. Who among us didn’t at one time or another fall back on “Cliff’s Notes” to get us around reading Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights or some other lengthy tome?

21 Jan 2018

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Take the first step

I used to feel guilty I wasn’t like the first apostles, ready to drop everything and run after Jesus. I know how many attachments I tend to hang onto, even when I think I’m “letting go and letting God.”

21 Jan 2018

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Don't quit your day job

A common reaction after hearing the story of the first disciples—fishermen who are told to come follow Christ and become fishers of men—is to try to imagine ourselves in a similar situation. There we are on the job, and Jesus walks up and tells us to drop what we’re doing and come follow him. Could we do it?

14 Jan 2018

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Cat's got my tongue

“Why do you want to get a cat?” people asked me and then rattled off all the reasons not to. I didn’t really know why. The best reason I could give is that I had never had a pet before, because I have allergies, and I wanted to find out what it was like.

14 Jan 2018

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Hear God's message

It is fashionable for some people to complain about all of the messages that they receive and how busy they are. Usually they bring it on themselves.