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The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

n Deacon Greg told a wonderful childhood tale about winning a kite-flying contest . He had his string – two rolls of it – on a wheel. The breeze took his kite higher and higher, far above the other kites but then the string flew off because he had forgotten to tie it to the spool! The wind carried it for a short time, but without being moored to the ground, it soon crashed. And this, our good Deacon said, is like faith.

To stand in emptiness is a scary thing. Peter stood in the presence of divine emptiness and he was scared. We avoid emptiness with all our might. We fill it with things and things to-do. Perhaps this Good Friday we could find an empty spot and try to sit in the presence of God

Jesus had entered Jerusalem some days earlier as the Messiah, riding humbly on the colt of a donkey, as the prophets instructed, not as the Davidic king as people had hoped. He spends days preaching in the Temple yard about the hypocrisy and lack of humility of the Jewish religious leaders, and yet here are his disciples arguing about who is the greatest!

Lent is a good time to think about how we can simplify our lives to give life to others.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry.                        Luke 4: 2-3

Our time of tribulation began in the 1960s when many white families fled to the east side, which was just beginning to be developed. Charles and Gwen Gill moved into St. Therese in 1960. “You could feel the coldness,” Charles said, but he remembered Duncan Connor and Matt Renner made every effort to welcome him.

Now there are those who want to erase our history, pretend that either slavery never happened, or was benevolent. So, I am supposed to love Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, those who conspire to overthrow our democracy and stop people of color from voting?

Every once in a while, I find myself in a meeting where people are pondering how do we evangelize? Who would be interested in our faith, in our church? In western Washington we live in a very secular society. How do we appeal to those who aren’t interested?

By the grace of God, we all are who we are, and that is children of God, each of us with a part to play in the Body of Christ, in the ministry of the Church.

Love is patient and kind. St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 13:8 This week we have the pleasure of reading and listening to St. Paul’s great ode to love. I’ve often been puzzled by the meaning of love. The Greeks, I’m told, had five words for it. In my own reflections, I’ve seen it present in generosity, presence, persistence and many other qualities.

You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.          St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 12:12 I found it hard to pick out a summary section in today’s reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians about the Body of Christ. He makes three important points in his reflection: (1) each one of us is a part of the Body of Christ, (2) no part deserves more prestige than another, (3) the body doesn’t work as well if one part of the body suffers.

Each individual gets something for the benefit of all. This is good news, indeed! If you haven’t discovered yours yet, dive into a ministry. Ministry will bring it out for you.

Discerning God’s will for us is the central task of discipleship and how we each can do God’s work in the world. It means taking time for prayer and study and action.

Today we celebrate God taking human form, joining us in the limits of human existence and suffering with us from the sins of humanity. To paraphrase the Canticle of Zechariah in Luke 2: The tender mercy of our God has brought a daybreak from on high to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, and guide our feet into the path of peace.

"Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”

I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value. St. Paul to the Church in Philippi

Dear Lord God, You alone are the source of every good gift and the mystery of each human life.

Just as the Mass is about community, joining a ministry is about joining the community. You meet new people and work to achieve a common goal for the benefit of your parish community and beyond.

Jesus has put before us two extremes: those who give out of their surplus and those who give their last penny. I expect most of us fall in between these two but much closer to the former than the latter. So here’s a test for us while contemplating our Stewardship pledge for next year: Are you ever tempted to cut your pledge?