Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Mt. 21: 23-27

When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things? 
And who gave you this authority?” 
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” 
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.” 
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” 
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s often tension between God’s timing and our timing. While we want things now, sometimes God makes us wait.

Even Jesus had to wait.

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For example, in today’s Gospel the religious authorities are pressuring him to answer, “By whose authority are you doing these things?”

Jesus has been turning over tables in the temple area and telling his followers, “Blessed are you when they persecute you because of me.”

Understandably, the authorities want to know, “Who are you to say and do these things?”

While Jesus may have wanted to reveal his identity as the Son of God, he knew that once he did, the authorities would charge him with blasphemy, an offense punishable by death.

Now is not the time for him to speak. There are other things that his Father wants him to accomplish in his public ministry before being handed over. 

So, Jesus must wait.

He buys time by answering their question with a question of his own.

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So, what does this mean for us?

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There are times when we want God to act. We ask the Lord to remove a grudge, to uproot a habit from our lives, to bring our children back to church, to answer a lingering prayer.

But sometimes we must wait. Our timing isn’t God’s timing.

May the Lord give us the faith and patience we need to trust in his Providential care.

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Image credits: (1) #morningmemo (2) Christ Among the Doctor’s, Paolo Veronese (3) Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.”

This may be one of the most obscure verses in all of the Gospels, perhaps lost in translation. But it still may have meaning for us today.

What does Jesus mean when he says, “the violent” are taking over heaven by force?

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Some scholars believe Jesus was using military terms to compare his kingdom to an earthly kingdom.

In his day, it was common for soldiers to surround a foreign city and take it by force.

When attacking, those soldiers had to fight tooth and nail to enter – their lives depended upon it.

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Similarly, Jesus urges his disciples to see themselves like soldiers surrounding a city; they must fight bravely – giving everything they have – in order to enter the city of God.

Their lives – our lives – depend upon it.

May we live like soldiers in that sense, bravely confessing our faith, and doing whatever we must to live it out with love.

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Image credits: (1) The Guardian (2) Siege, Wikipedia (3) St. John of Capistrano, Pinterest

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Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The Gospels are bookended with prayer. 

In the beginning, we find Mary dialoging with the angel Gabriel. “How can this be?” she says. How can I give birth, “since I have no relations with a man?”

Understandably, she’s surprised and afraid by what Gabriel announces. This wasn’t the path she traced for herself. Mary planned on marrying Joseph, perhaps starting a family with him, raising children of their own.

Yet Gabriel proclaims something radically different. Mary is to give birth to the Son of God. 

As improbable as this sounds, and as life-changing as it will be, she concludes her prayer with the words, “let it be done unto me according to your word.”

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Here, she teaches us how to pray. 

First, we dialogue with the Lord. We share our fears, our desires, and ask our questions. We express our wants and needs.

Then we conclude our prayer with an openness to another direction. As Mary says, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” 

Meaning, we open ourselves to another path, to a different plan, to a more obscure future, one open to God’s grace.

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Jesus prays the same way at the end of the Gospels. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night before he’s killed, he kneels down and states his desire: “Father, let this cup pass from me.”

But like Mary, he concludes his prayer with an openness to a different direction: “Not my will, but yours be done,” he says.

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May we learn to pray like Mary and Jesus, who tell our Father what we want, but accept whatever he gives, trusting it’s always best.

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Image credits: (1) pursueGod.org (2) artsheaven.com (3) Agony in the Garden, Heinrich Hofmann