Blog & Pastor Letters

I often lead group prayer with similar words: “Give us the wisdom to know Your will for our lives and the courage to follow it as we seek to make our community a clearer reflection of the Kingdom of God.” The words acknowledge that we need to be about God’s will, not our own, and in that journey, we will bear greater witness to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

“There’s something different about you.”

Think about the times in your life when this has been said to you. Maybe it was after someone complimented you on a job well done, and you realized that you were walking through life with a little more confidence. Maybe it was after meeting someone special, as you carried the glow of that relationship wherever you went. Chances are, if someone has noticed something different about you, it’s because, inwardly, you’ve been changed by the loving or respectful actions of another person.

Sheep get an awfully bad rap, linguistically. Some are quick to label people as “sheep” if we think they haven’t sufficiently questioned authority or if they’re too willing to go along with someone else’s plan. We say someone has “the wool over their eyes” if they aren’t willing to see what we think is very obvious. “A wolf in sheep’s clothing” is what we call someone looking to take advantage of those too gullible to identify a real threat.

I am struck by how Jesus addresses the disciples in the 21st chapter of John. They have been fishing all night, and when the dawn comes, Jesus asks, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They hadn’t caught a thing, so he tells them what to do to finally fill their nets. These children thought they knew best, but they couldn’t get the job done until they listened to Jesus. Like a child who needs a parent, these early followers of Jesus were learning that real maturity of faith requires trusting in and listening to the Teacher.

If you’re a parent, you know this to be true: the world is watching. All it takes is one slip-up — one bad word, one selfish action, one uncharitable commentary, and that’s the thing your child seems to notice.

When he or she calls you on it, the only thing you can do is come clean. “Yep, I did that,” you have to say. “I’m a work in progress, but luckily, God never stops working.”

Today, on the most important day of the liturgical year, the Apostle Paul is calling us out.

“I see you hiding in that tomb,” he says. “I see you baking with that old, stale yeast, thinking no one will notice.”

He says it a little more elegantly, I’ll grant you. But the message is this: If you want to be raised with Christ, you’d better be ready to step out of the shadows. Seek what is above — not what is on earth.

Jesus warns us in the Gospel of Matthew, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” It is an invitation to a way of life, and a plan that leads to holiness. But make no mistake, it is a warning as well. The cross is a sign of victory, but only in light of the Resurrection. Alone, it is a symbol of ultimate sacrifice: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for a fallen world, and the sacrifice we are called to make to truly follow him.

What’s your comfort zone: emotionally, professionally, personally? We all have one. But did you realize that you can have one spiritually? Think about what you like and what you don’t particularly enjoy when it comes to church, prayer, and liturgy. We all have “those songs” we crinkle our noses at, either because they’re too modern or too old-fashioned. We all have “those people” in our parish whose ideas we aren’t so sure about, whether that’s because they’re trying to change too much or because they seem always to be looking toward the past. Also, when was the last time you sat on the OTHER side of the church during Mass?

When a church is raising funds for a new building or a diocese is launching a stewardship appeal, there is usually someone — or several someone’s — who serves as the face of the campaign. Maybe it’s a married couple, or a family, or a group of folks who have been particularly active in the community and can speak to the worthiness of whatever endeavor is being undertaken.

Perhaps this Lent you are working hard to stick with your devotions, avoid hamburgers on Fridays, and fight your temptations for soda since you gave it up for Jesus. You are planting seeds in your spiritual life in hopes of growing them into something beautiful and meaningful. However, you have been trying this approach now for many years, and it is hard to say that much has grown during all that time. You could deduce that what you are doing is not as worthwhile as you once believed. There is no fruit because these things don’t matter. Or you could take a real hard look at your life, see where you are planting those seeds, and finally notice what the problem has been all along. WEEDS!

Where do you live? I live in North Carolina. There I pay taxes, own a home, and belong to a parish. North Carolina is in the United States, so I also abide by federal laws, pay taxes, and vote for candidates in all sorts of elections. I identify as an American and try my best to meet certain expectations placed on me by the government, state, and fellow Americans. I do certain things because of my identity.

Lent calls us into deeper everyday stewardship because it beautifully creates opportunities to be mindful of the call of Christ in even the most mundane moments of our day.

Many of us will participate in the time-honored tradition of doing penance, or “giving something up” for Lent. When we do this, we are mimicking the Israelites who filled their baskets with the first fruits of their harvest, “and having set them before the Lord, your God, (bowing) down in his presence” (Deuteronomy 26:10).

Grocery delivery apps are all the rage these days, and I can’t deny the convenience of tapping your finger a few times and seeing your week’s shopping dropped on the doorstep. But there is one aspect of this trend that seems to make a lot of shoppers nervous — fruits and vegetables.