God invites us to participate in resurrection, if we dare to notice crosses – Luke 16:19-31, Amos 6:1a, 4-7

26th Sunday of Ordinary Time; Holy Infant parish.

To preach on this text, I need to be honest about where I stand, honest that when I hear this parable, I don’t feel like Lazarus.  In fact, I’m frightened that I act like the rich man, and I’m begging God to help me grow into Christ’s likeness, who crossed from heaven to earth to show God’s love to sinners like you and me who rejected him.  So, I’m going to preach to scratch my own itch.  But, I say all this recognizing that some people hearing this might feel like Lazarus.  Pope Francis once said that every verse of scripture is gift before it is demand, and if you do feel like Lazarus in this story, then maybe you don’t need the demand, at least not yet.  Maybe you just need to assurance of choirs of angels celebrating your entry into heaven and embrace not just of Abraham but of Jesus.  Be assured, and now let me talk a little to those who are frightened by this parable.

God looks upon our faith – Luke 16:1-13, Amos 8:4-7

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C; Holy Infant parish

This is my first time preaching the Sunday morning Masses here at Holy Infant and, while I’ve celebrated with the daily Mass crowd and Vigil Mass crowd, I was still really hoping that for my first time preaching for this gathered assembly, I’d get a nice easy Gospel passage.  I guess God and the lectionary had other ideas!  But, while this is a very strange parable, I want to start with what’s clear about it.

Jesus provides better than what we’re grasping – Luke 14:25-33

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C -- Holy Infant parish.

When it’s your first time preaching a Sunday Mass in a new parish, you kind of hope for an easy gospel passage to preach on.  But, I guess God has a different plan in mind, furnishing this teaching about hating family and carrying instruments of torture around with us.  God actually has a track record on waving this passage in my face on occasions when I’d most like to avoid it.  As you might recall, the Sunday readings cycle round on a three-year rotation, and the Sunday corresponding to this one three years ago, September 8^th actually, I remember the date well, because it was the occasion of my ordination to the diaconate.  Just what I wanted!  When I was welcoming my family to the seminary to celebrate with me, they’d be subjected to a gospel claiming I was meant to hate them!