The King's Corner

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2:1-11) Today is Pentecost when we speak of noise, wind, fire, and the Holy Spirit.   This passage greatly contrasts with our Gospel in that the first reading has the Holy Spirit appear and fill everyone in a rather wild, chaotic, and perhaps frightening manner.  The Gospel is quite different with its focus on peace and quiet breath.  It reads: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?  You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. (John 21:20-25)

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify Go

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17:20-26) Oneness. There are two definitions

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus: “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.  And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. (John 17:1-11) This passage from today’s reading reminds me of what I say at the end of Mass: “Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life.”  There are options from which to choose, but this one seems the best because it presents a challenge to all of us.  In a way, it means make the Lord proud of us.  We are to live a life that gives glory to God by what we say and do especially in these difficult times. We glorify the Lord when we are kind.  Kindness is a mark of our h

The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”  Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:29-33) Yesterday’s Gospel spoke of the world.  Today, Jesus tells us the world causes us trouble.  Clearly, it does especially because we are constantly accosted by powers, principalities, thrones and dominations – all words used by St. Paul to describe the devil.  According to Father Rohr, “these are premodern words for what we now call corporations, institutions, nation states, and or

On this 7th Sunday of Easter we read: Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.  Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.  Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given

“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”  (John 16:23B-28) Jesus tells us he was leaving the world and going back to the Father.  Eventually we all will do the same.  However, not now.  Please God, not yet.   This song from The Little Mermaid reminds us that before we leave, we must look at the world around us and appreciate what we have now while we breathe, taste and see the goodness of our lives and all about us.  If you haven’t heard the tune, find the song and listen.  It’s Walt Disney’s “Under the Sea.” The seaweed is always greener In somebody else'

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish.  But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (John 16:20-23) Today’s Gospel speaks of hope and better times ahead.  Our grief will become joy that will help erase the memory of pain and anguish.  John cites Jesus’ use of the birth of a child and a mother forgetting that pain of childbirth.   It’s a good example, but for many of us bad memories don’t fade and go away.  Joy isn’t the outcome.  Our lo

Jesus said to his disciples: “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.”  So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’ So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.” (John 16:16-20)

The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.  For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’ as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination. (Acts 17:15, 22 - 18:1) Unlike Paul, I don’t mind images of divinity fashioned in gold, silver, or stone. Using human art and my imagination – and that of other people

The end was near for Jesus. He knew he faced the final curtain (the one torn). To his disciples, his friends, he made it clear. He was certain that our Advocate – the Holy Spirit – would come to us. He traveled many paths and Roman highways and preached a life made full when lived with love and compassion, He opposed sin the way it was defined by those who wouldn’t love and laugh with outsiders.  He condemned those who would not forgive. He stated his case clearly and did what he had to do. His regrets were few, and he stood tall until bowed on a cross and losing his life. Those who followed him and loved him teared until they subsided with his rising. Not in a shy way, he did it his way – for us.

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify,  because you have been with me from the beginning. “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.” (John 15:26-16:4A) John speaks of a misunderstanding – a serious one in that everyone wishing to kill Jesus’ disciples thought by doing so they were offering worship to God.  Quite ludicrous, but that’s what John told his fellow followers about Jesus and those in the synagogues.    Here’s a story about another misunderstanding – not so lethal, but with far-reaching consequences. A new monk arrives at the

Deacon David Pierce homily Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!” Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. Many of us may react to these commands in our psalm with confusion.  The earth cries out to God with joy?  We are to shout joyfully?  Where is that joy in the daily news?  Our newspapers are filled with local and world-wide, depressing coronavirus news.  TV coverage is difficult to watch since there’s little to no joy – just sadness and anger, and those feelings are truly infectious. Wait.  Let’s change the channel so to speak and focus on the bigger picture – that which gives us hope and lifts our spirits and gives us joy.  It’s the sixth Sunday in Easter.  It’s the middle of May, and the earth has come awake and cries out with joy – at least in the Northern Hemisphere and certainly here on Cape Cod.  Flowers bloom; t

Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.” (John 15:18-21) Persecution. Dogged persecution.  Some of us are persecuted for our beliefs or perhaps simply for who we are – how we look, for example. Racism is a form of persecution for no other reason than there is a need for someone to blame – to find a scapegoat.

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.  It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” (John 15:12-17) Of all that Jesus has said, this passage attributed to him by John might be the most important, in my opinion.  It’s a constant reminder of our responsibility, not necessarily as Catholics, but as human beings.  “Love one another, as I love you.”  Twice he said this to his disciples. We all should respond, “Amen!”

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said, “My brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. Judas was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry.  For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it. and: May another take his office. Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.”  So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you.  Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’  If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. (John 14:27-31A) Oh, if we could only accept and live by Jesus’ peace.   It has become very difficult not to be troubled and afraid about the social and economic consequences of coronavirus infections and deaths.  Inner peace is elusive.  Our hearts ache for less troubled times and the pandemic’s end.

There was an attempt in Iconium by both the Gentiles and the Jews, together with their leaders,  to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas. They realized it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside, where they continued to proclaim the Good News. At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him, saw that he had the faith to be healed, and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.” He jumped up and began to walk about.  (Acts 14:5-11) The crippled man rose at Paul’s command reminding us of Jesus’ resurrection through the stories provided in the Acts of the Apostles.  Being still in the Easter season and suffering through the coronavirus threat, we’re reminded of what happened and is still going on through this Peanuts comic strip and this conversation between Charlie Brown and Linus. Deacon David Pierce

Today’s Gospel is almost identical to yesterday’s; therefore, I shift to that which Jesus emphasized: love, love of God and neighbor.  I also draw on one of my favorite cartoonists with a sense of humor I appear to share (not sure that’s a good thing): Stephan Pastis and his “biblical” Pearls Before Swine comic strip. He and I appreciate a good pun (yes, there is such a thing).  I’m also a big fan of England, home of all my ancestors on my mother’s side.  Beatles' fans take notice. Deacon David Pierce

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:7-14)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6) This is one of the most meaningful and spiritually uplifting passages in the Bible, at least for me.  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  Have faith in me.  Do not let your hearts be troubled.”   Our hearts always seem to be troubled and for good reason now with the state of our economy and ever-present threat of the coronavirus – an unthinking, incred

Today and every day we should focus on that which is most important.   Yes, love is one answer.  Some would say wealth.   But there is another made even more important by our on-going battle with coronavirus.   It's something we all seem to take for granted, but we shouldn't. Deacon David Pierce

When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me. From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” (John 13:16-20) The Scripture to which John refers is Psalm 41 “For the leader. A psalm of David.”  It sings: Blessed the one concerned for the poor; on a day of misfortune, the LORD delivers him. The LORD keeps and preserves him, makes him blessed in the land, and does not betray him to his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed, you turn down his bedding whene

The Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts used an old joke in his Cape Cod Times April 16 article, “Sometimes, the faithful make faith an unnecessary gauntlet.”  I provide a version of that joke below. A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately. A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:22-30) The feast of Dedication is Hanukkah.  It’s the Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. It is also known as the Festival of Lights. It occu

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.  I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”    (John 10:11-18) This powerful reading is about laying down one’s life for others, for example, not to give up on someone in

May 3, 2020, Fourth Sunday of Easter Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

We’ve been reading many passages from Acts giving an account of the Apostles' experiences after Jesus’ death. Acts also provides accounts of Paul’s transformation and travels.  All of this reminded me of a book I read about 15 years ago: “In Search of Paul: How Jesus’ Apostles Opposed Rome’s Empire with God’s Kingdom” by Crossan and Reed (2004).  These authors said: “…Paul opposed Rome with Christ against Caesar, not because that empire was particularly unjust or oppressive, but because he questioned the normalcy of civilization itself, since civilization has always been imperial, that is, unjust and oppressive…The Roman Empire was based on the common principle of peace through victory or, more fully, on a faith in the sequence of piety, war, victory, and peace.   Paul was a Jewish visionary following in Jesus’ footsteps, and they both claimed that the Kingdom of God was already present and operative in this world.  He opposed the mantra of Roman normalcy with a vision of pe

…As Peter was passing through every region, he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.” He got up at once. And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.  Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated is Dorcas). She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving. Now during those days she fell sick and died, so after washing her, they laid her out in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa,  the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”  So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs where all the widows came to him weeping and showing him the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter sent the

S aul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”  The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.