The King's Corner

Friends are important.  Good friends are especially vital for our good health.   Many of us feel abnormal in some way.  That's debilitating.  Good friends heal us, lift us up, and make us realize we really are special - perhaps extraordinary. For those of us with "abnormal" friends, let's paint them a new sign they can see.  Having a good self-image is necessary for them to love themselves and then share that love with others.   What sign do we hang in front of ourselves? Deacon David Pierce

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!" (Matthew 23:27-32) Today’s Gospel about hypocrites reminds me of the need for penance – a need we all have.  

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody.  When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.  The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He even swore many things to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "W

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.' You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwe

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20) Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the

  Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalt

Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah departed with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband. She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab because word reached her there that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her. Naomi said, "See now! Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!" But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God." Thus it was that Naomi returne

Perhaps the earliest version of this prayer [not with reference to cash or loot] was written by George Wheler in his 1698 book The Protestant Monastery, which reads: Upon lying down, and going to sleep. Here I lay me down to sleep. To thee, O Lord, I give my Soul to keep, Wake I ever, Or, Wake I never; To thee O Lord, I give my Soul to keep for ever. A later version printed in The New England Primer goes: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my Soul to keep; If I should die before I 'wake, I pray the Lord my Soul to take.

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual dai

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Then Peter said to him in reply, "We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?"  Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eter

At World Youth Day in Lisbon Father James Martin answered questions.  Here are two.  First, aren’t all religions the same? (begin) So maybe you say: “O.K., I guess it makes sense to join a community, but why would I want to join yours? Aren’t they all the same anyway? Does it matter what I believe?” And here, as much as I am all in favor of interfaith relations and ecumenism, I would say that it does matter. Let’s start with Christianity. What’s the difference? Well, to begin with, unlike other world religions, Christians have a specific idea of God. We see God as a personal God. It is a God who takes an interest in what we call “salvation history.” In St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises, a four-week retreat where we meditate on the life of Christ, Ignatius invites us to start at the beginning of Jesus’ life. The very beginning: he asks us to imagine the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—looking down on the earth and seeing everyone’s needs. Ignatius asks us to imagine the Trin

Homily for 4:00 PM and 7:00 AM Mass Dog owners and lovers, have we hugged our dogs today?  Dogs are loyal companions, and we love them. Many of us have these treasured four-legged friends. Today’s Gospel and the subject of dogs reminds me of the famous Fido living in Italy during World War II.  Yes, there really was a Fido.  He was found on the verge of death by a worker who took him home and nursed him back to health.  And for this, he’d have Fido’s unwavering loyalty for the rest of his life. Every day, Fido waited for his master at the same bus stop, refusing to move until he stepped off the bus even though Italy was being bombed almost daily.  But one day, Fido’s master didn’t return from work.  He’d been killed in an air raid.

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away. (Matthew 19:13-15) World Youth Day is judged to be a success.  The “children” went to Lisbon, and they prayed.  They also heard many speakers telling them that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to them.  What follows is part of Father James Martin’s presentation.  He answered the question: Why do I need religion at all? (begin) At this point someone might say, “Well, O.K., so maybe I believe in God. But can’t I be happy without religion? I mean, what’s the point? Who needs all those rules? I can get support from all sorts of places outside of religion. So who needs it?” The answer is yes, you can be happy without religion. I’m sure you know many people who might believe in God, but have zero interest in go

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."  They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." His disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  He answered, "Not all c

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion, the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.  When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.' Falling to his knees, his fellow se

Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:15-20) If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentil

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.  Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth.  Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.” (Revelation 11:1

  On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Alex W. Evans preached this sermon at Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA. This is a rough manuscript of “Is It True: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished?” I provide his sermon because it helps us better understand why good deeds are so important even when “punishment” results.  We live in the real world where good contends with evil, and we are in that arena. (begin) “No good deed goes unpunished!”  Where does that line come from? It is NOT in the Bible - it is one of those familiar phrases that emerges over time, gets traction in various ways, and becomes part of what we think and say…this phrase - no good deed goes unpunished - goes well beyond doing good deeds in the church. For centuries, theologians have addressed conventional wisdom about God’s rewards and punishments. For example, the great theologian, Thomas Aquinas, in his “Summa Theologica” from the 13th century, states that “no evil deed goes unpunished, by God the just judge;” and “no good deed i

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening, he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.  During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stret

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, "Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Jesus said in reply, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?"  He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:14-20)

  I fear Artificial Intelligence or AI.  Jesus told us not to fear, but in this case, I fear.  We naively believe the good of AI will far surpass the bad – the evil.  I’m confident the latter will prevail.  Why?  Too many people, and governments, want the big three: power, prestige, and possessions. They are tools for control, and AI is one such tool that lead to all three.   Even referring to “intelligence” through artificial means is troubling.  Just “google” artificial intelligence to have our eyes opened to its speedy evolution and its pros and cons. Intelligence is defined as: the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason.   We humans pride ourselves on our intelligence, although none of us are exempt from stupidity, or depravity: moral corruption or wickedness.  Therein lies the danger for our society when AI will be used for ill-gotten gain and political or religious manipulations.  They are already happening, and it will get far

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." (John 12:24-26) Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr.  (begin) From Wikipedia: As a deacon in Rome, Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. Ambrose of Milan related that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of Lawrence by the prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. "Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated vir

The LORD said to Moses [in the desert of Paran,] "Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the children of Israel  (my emphasis). You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes." After reconnoitering the land for forty days they returned, met Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran at Kadesh, made a report to them all, and showed the fruit of the country to the whole congregation. They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. However, the people who are living in the land are fierce, and the towns are fortified and very strong. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along the seacoast and the banks of the Jordan."

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening, he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.  During the fourth watch of the night (my emphasis) , he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretche

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."  Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him." Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet.  But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."  The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to h

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?" And they took offense at him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:54-58) Okay, I’m confused.  Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” Let’s get rid of the negative so it now reads: “A prophet is without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”  So, a prophet has honor in his native place and in his own house.  Let’s put back the negative “not.”  Therefore, the prophet does not have honor in his native place

Jesus said to the disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there. (Matthew 13:47-53) We all have done wicked things.  We all have been righteous at one time or another.  So, where do we go?  Into fiery furnaces despite whatever good we have done?  Black versus white or good versus bad thinking and co

Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." (Matthew 13:44-46) The person who finds and then hides again the treasure buried in a field is a sneak and selfish.  He buys the field so no one else can find it.  What’s Jesus saying?  He makes no sense, so it first appears. Here is one possible explanation. The treasure in the field is humanity, and the one purchasing the field is Christ. Therefore, as the man in the parable sold all that he had to buy the field, so Christ gave up his life in order to redeem humanity.  This might have been Matthew’s point.

From Father Richard Rohr's series of reflections.  This one is by Episcopal bishop and member of the Cherokee nation Carol J. Gallagher. She reflects on how her Indigenous ancestry and the profound suffering of her people enrich her understanding of heaven and hell.  The Right Reverend Carol Gallagher, Ph. D., is a member of the Cherokee tribe and serves as Assistant Bishop for the Diocese of Massachusetts. She served as a Regional Canon in Massachusetts beginning in 2018. She wrote:  Heaven and Hell Are Here and Now  … Creator be with us as we are born anew  Amidst the frail anxiety of our lives  Come among us with your healing spirit  Carried through Christ, our brother, your child. Amen.   —Carol J. Gallagher, “Heaven and Hell”