Author: admin

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Gospel: Mark 16: 15-20

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A businessman once approached Mark Twain with a false piety, proclaiming: 

“Before I die, I intend to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I want to climb to the top of Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud.”

To which Twain responded, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you stay right at home in Boston and keep them?”

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier, a priest of the 16^th century who travelled extensively throughout Asia, baptizing over 40,000 people, following the command from Christ in today’s Gospel.

While that’s a remarkable feat, baptism was simply the first day in these Christians’ journeys. 

Like that businessman from Boston, they’d be challenged to not only accept the faith, but also to live it out day by day.

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We face the same challenge.

As we enter into this Advent season, how is the Lord inviting us to live out our baptism in a deeper way?

Maybe that means becoming more aware of Christ in our neighbor, especially the poor and downtrodden. For example, Americans are forecasted to spend $1 trillion this holiday season. Yet most of us don’t need another sweater or an extra pair of socks. 

But there are plenty who do. We should not forget the victims who lost everything in Hurricane Melissa. Or those who go without inside our own borders.

How different might our society be if we spent more on the poor than on those with plenty this Christmas?

Perhaps living out our baptism means growing in the virtues of faith, hope, and love; or being intentional about letting go of a grudge or a lingering habit; or more deliberate about spending time in prayer.

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As Mark Twain might say, “Whatever the Lord is inviting you to do, just stay here and do it.”

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Image credits: (1) Grace Lutheran Church (2) Saint Francis Baptizing, Britannica, 18th century (3) Stockcake

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Isaiah 11: 1-10

On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.

On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

The Word of the Lord.

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We are reminded constantly in scripture that God does the impossible.

When darkness seems overwhelming, suddenly a light appears.

When hope is nearly lost, a door is opened.

Or, using the imagery from our first reading, when a tree is cut down to its roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. 

Life continues, even if in a way that is different than one imagined.

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These words come from the prophet Isaiah while Israel is living in exile. Their land has been invaded, their homes have been destroyed, and their king has been dethroned.

As the Psalmist cries out, “You have rejected and spurned… your anointed… You have hurled down his throne to the ground… How long, O LORD?”  

Israel has been cut down like a tree to its stump. 

But the Lord promises them, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Life will go on. A king will come, ushering in divine justice and everlasting peace.

We see this promise fulfilled in Jesus. 

When God takes on flesh, he fulfills his promise from long ago; he has come to save us. And when he was nailed to a tree, then placed in a tomb, and all seemed lost, he did the impossible again. 

A shoot sprouts; a bud blossoms; life gushes forth from the tomb as he is raised from the dead!

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What’s the “stump” in my own life? What part of me seems cut down, in need of renewal?

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Advent is the time for us to deepen our faith in the Lord, trusting that whenever we feel reduced to our roots, a shoot shall sprout, a bud shall blossom.

New life will come, even in ways we never imagined.

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Image credits: (1) Mourning Mercies (2) Philip Lymbery (3) iStock

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Gospel: Matthew 8: 5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Centurions were the backbone of the Roman army, each in charge of 100 soldiers. They were widely considered to be men of virtue, cementing the morale of the military. Interestingly, every time a centurion is mentioned in the Gospels, he is also praised. 

There was the centurion who recognized Jesus on the cross as the Son of God. Several times, a centurion provides safe passage for Saint Paul. There’s Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to Christianity. 

And, of course, the centurion in today’s Gospel, who is the most praiseworthy of them all. 

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According to Roman Law, slaves were nobodies. They lived and died at the mercy of their masters. Yet this centurion not only cares that his slave is sick; he also goes out of his way to save him – not by medicine, but by faith.

Hearing that Jesus has entered his town, he rushes out to greet him, pleading for help. The only problem is that the centurion is a Gentile, not a Jew, and the two were sworn enemies. Why, then, would this centurion turn to Christ?

Making matters worse, Jesus reminds him that it was against Jewish Law for a Jew to enter the house of a Gentile, as it would render him impure. 

Undeterred, the centurion cries out, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

This profession of faith leads to the only time in Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus is “amazed.” He’s not only amazed by the centurion’s compassion, but also by his faith. 

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The centurion teaches us two important lessons. First, faith in Christ is for everyone; it transcends the Law.

Second, those who care for others, especially the poor and vulnerable, always attract the heart and attention of Christ.

During this season of Advent, may we seek to deepen our faith – not only in word, but also in action by caring for the poorest among us.

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Image credits: (1) Be Still… (2) Ottawa Church of Christ (3) Biola Center for Christianity