The King's Corner

There is an old Chinese tale about an emperor who wished to groom a young child to be his successor. Therefore, he devised a test. He invited all of the children of the kingdom to the palace and to each of them he gave a clay pot filled with dirt and a single seed. He said to the children, “This seed will determine your future. You are to take it home and plant it, water it, and care for it.  In one year bring your pot back to show me the fruits of your labor.”  Now among the children who came that day was a young boy by the name of Ling. He took his pot home and planted the seed. He carefully watered it and placed it where it could receive the sun. But nothing happened. Even after months of care, his pot remained barren. So when the time came to return to the palace, Ling did not want to go. But his mother said, “Ling, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You did exactly what you were told. Go and show the emperor your pot.” So Ling went. When he came to the palace he was amazed at the

Easter Vigil When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’” (Mark 16:1-7) What follows is the April 5, 2015 homily given by Father George Smiga (Building on the Word: A Resource for Scripture, Culture and Faith).  He helps us understand why

(Good Friday Homily) Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine.  So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." This part of our Gospel [Good Friday] contains two of the seven last words of Jesus – seven sayings attributed to him as he hung and then died on the cross.  In order, the seven are: (1) “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus was whipped.  His hands and feet were nailed to a cross. Jesus was being crucified.  Despite his suffering, he gave us our marching orders – our mission to forgive.

Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) In Jeremiah 31-33 we read: See, days are coming—oracle of the LORD—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the LORD. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the LORD. I will

Today we “sing” Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34.  So close to Holy Week I suspect it was placed between the first reading and Gospel for a reason.  Part of one stanza is: “Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”   Here is the psalm. R.        Lord, in your great love, answer me. For your sake I bear insult,             and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers,             a stranger to my mother’s sons, because zeal for your house consumes me,             and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And i

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

When the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him and cried out: “Hosanna! “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.” Jesus found an ass and sat upon it, as is written: Fear no more, O daughter Zion; see, your king comes, seated upon an ass’s colt. His disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done this for him . (John 12:12-16) Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned [forsaken] me? All who see me scoff at me;     they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads: “He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,     let him rescue him, if he loves him.”

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near

I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail and take our vengeance on him.” But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked! (Jeremiah 20:10-13)

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."

What follows is very well said and appropriate for our times of nasty and worsening political discourse focused on democracy and authoritarianism.   A Reflection for Thursday of the Third Week of Lent by Brother Joe Hoover, S.J., America’s poetry editor and the author of O Death, Where is Thy Sting: A Meditation on Suffering. Whoever is not with me is against me. (Lk 11:23) In a joint session of Congress nine days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, President George W. Bush quoted a version of this line from Jesus in Luke’s Gospel today. President Bush was speaking to the world at large, particularly addressing those countries that “provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.” His call was stirring and clear cut. It was the kind of rhetoric that, after those horrible days, made people’s hearts race with pride. It rang with a sort of Kennedy-esque flair: “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day for

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.  Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said

  Today is the beginning of Spring.  At long last! Let the celebration begin! Deacon David Pierce

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no

Homily based on John 12:20-33 A great deal is packaged into this long section of the Gospel according to John.  What jumps off the page for me is Jesus telling us: Now the ruler of this world will be driven out.   Really? Who is this ruler? John tells us it’s Satan – our image of darkness and evil. Satan does very well in the darkness of our hearts and minds.   Many of us fight the darkness competing against the light within us. We have to work very hard to drive out this ruler – to strip evil of its power over us because our opponent the devil prowls around in the darkness like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And we are on the menu. Satan and his minions – mythical, legendary, and real-life – can take control of us when we give in to temptation. That’s why our Gospel reading from John that left out the rest of Chapter 12 shortchanges us. It brings us up short of a very important conversation between Jesus and the crowd. It reads: Jesus said to them, “Walk while you have

I knew their plot because the LORD informed me; at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter, had not realized that they were hatching plots against me: "Let us destroy the tree in its vigor; let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will be spoken no more." But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge, searcher of mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause! (Jeremiah 11:18-20) We all should watch out for those who would speak against us out in the open or behind closed doors.  We should not be naive trusting lambs led to slaughter by lies and innuendo and social media rumors and direct assaults on our integrity and moral character.  There are those who take pot shots at us hoping to nail us to some cross of their making.  Such is human nature and our species’ collective failing, or fall. Now, here is an unreasonable and foolish request some of us might

The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways.  He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience.  Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words,

The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' The LORD said to Moses, "I see how stiff-necked this people is. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth'? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people

What follows is an interesting and useful conversation/interview about in-vitro fertilization (IVF). (begin) ABC News medical expert clashes with 'View' host about miscarriages: 'Definitely not a baby' at two months: Sunny Hostin challenged guest: 'Some women feel' they're already carrying a baby when pregnant – by Gabriel Hays Fox News March 1, 2024 "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin sparred with ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton over whether women miscarry babies or mere clumps of cells. Disputing the court’s ruling during the episode of the daytime talk show, Ashton described the embryo transferred to the mother’s uterus during IVF as a "ball of about 200 cells," adamant that it’s not yet a baby.

What follows was a reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent by Terrance Klein.  The Rev. Terrance W. Klein is a priest of the Diocese of Dodge City and author of Vanity Faith. When my grandchildren ask me to tell them where God is located, I will find this perspective useful.  You might feel the same way. (begin) A group of kindergarten and first-grade students came running toward me and my two chihuahuas, Coco and Lilly. The other children wanted to see the dogs, who were quite grateful to be separated from the kids by a fence. Blair, however, wanted to speak with me.

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.  While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, abou

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God . (John 3:14-21) “Moses lifted up the serpent

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14) Of what are we convinced?  All of us should plead like the tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  Unfortunately, most of us don’t, and many of us Catholics are in league with sinners –

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."  The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."  And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28-34)

Much has been said and written about in-vitro fertilization (IVF) especially because, according to the New York Times, (begin) the Alabama Supreme Court has opened a new front in the legal debate over when human life begins. Embryos created and stored in a medical facility must be considered children under the state’s law governing harmful death, the court ruled. Friday’s ruling was cheered by anti-abortion activists nationwide, who have long argued that life begins at conception. They were thrilled that, for the first time, a court included conception outside the uterus in that definition. But the strongest and most immediate effect of the decision will be on fertility patients trying to get pregnant, not women seeking to end their pregnancies. (end) What is an embryo used for IVF? (begin) Three days after fertilization, a healthy embryo will contain about 6 to 10 cells. By the fifth or sixth day, the fertilized egg is known as a blastocyst — a rapidly dividing ball of cells. The inne

  Fearful and Hopeful are two other emotions that act like yin and yang.  I'll add some others: Sickened by venom spit by political parties at each other; Disappointed in so many people calling truth lies and vice versa, and Angry at those wishing to use their faith as weapons against the other for power, privilege, and money. We are deep into Lent; therefore, those of us seeking to dwarf our nation through division and hate, should repent, start believing in the Gospel, and serve as light-bearers for Christ.  To do otherwise is to add our paintbrushes' colors to the Devil's masterpiece of lies and malfeasance. Deacon David Pierce  

  I couldn't resist including this comic.  As an owner of Welsh corgis (now in dog heaven) that were vacuum cleaner foes, I can appreciate the humor of the cat's torture.  We are being tortured by the idea that things could get a lot worse, especially in the Middle East and even in our own Homeland where democracy is under siege and dictators curry favor and influence.  God help us and those suffering from wars and evildoers! Deacon David Pierce

This year promises to be a continuation of the nightmare of political anger, disinformation (lies), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) [aka Cons and Manipulation or CM] in the political campaign carried out by the far right.  Don’t mix religion with politics is what the Constitution demands, but that requirement falls on many deaf ears attached to people insisting America must be white and ruled with an iron fist – dictatorship.  Helping us understand the insanity of outlandish and dangerous right-wing politics we have the new book “Ancient Echoes: Refusing the Fear-Filled, Greed-Driven Toxicity of the Far Right,” by Walter Brueggemann, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.  Here is a brief commentary. (begin) In Ancient Echoes, Walter Brueggemann -- one of our most influential biblical scholars -- responds to eight "truth claims" made by the radical right in US politics.

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.  The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Reading Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, that dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; you will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. (Micah 7:14-15, 18-20) Gospel Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them Jesus addressed this parable. 

Here is a recent Lenten contribution from Father Richard Rohr entitled: “Falling Down and Moving Up.” (begin) A down-and-then-up perspective doesn’t fit into our Western philosophy of progress, nor into our desire for upward mobility, nor into our religious notions of perfection or holiness. “Let’s hope it is not true, at least for me,” we all say. Yet the Perennial Tradition, sometimes called the wisdom tradition, says it is and will always be true. St. Augustine called it the passing-over mystery (or the “paschal mystery,” from the Hebrew word for Passover, Pesach). Today we might use a variety of metaphors: reversing engines, a change in game plan, a falling off the very wagon that we constructed. No one would choose such upheaval consciously. We must somehow “fall” into it. Those who are too carefully engineering their own superiority systems will usually not allow it at all. It is much more done to us than anything we do ourselves, and sometimes nonreligious people are more open t