TBBS112 – A Markan Sandwich, The Witcher, An Artistic Surprise

In this episode:
   - Reflecting on one of the less-known literary elements of the Gospel of Mark
   - A spoiler-free review of the Netflix series "The Witcher"
   - Fr. Chris reflects on a surprise gift he unexpectedly received

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TBBS098 – Gaudete, Bohemian Rhapsody, Christmas Preparations

In this episode:
 - A reflection on "Gaudete" and the time of rejoicing
- A spoiler-free review of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody" 
- A look at the Christmas Decoration skills of Fr. Chris

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TBBS097 - The Advent Stories

    


We find ourselves in the beginning of the Season of Advent, but where do its origins come from? Why do we celebrate this Season? What's our special point of focus during the Season?

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TBBS095 - Why do we pray for the dead?

In this special edition episode:
The question "why do we pray for the dead?" is pondered and answered. Fr. Chris goes into details speaking about the differences between All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

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TBBS094 – Commodity, Rampage, Protection From Evil

In this episode:
    - We live in a commodity-driven world, but what happens when people are made into commodities? 
    - A spoiler-free review of the movie "Rampage" starring Dwayne Johnson
    - What are some ways proven to protect ourselves from evil?

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06.24.18 – Nativity of John the Baptist – Beyond the Surface

Beyond the Surface

Nativity of John the Baptist

06.24.18

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TBBS084 – John the Baptist, VR Adventures, Era of Anti-Catholicism

In this episode:
- Who is John the Baptist?
- Fr. Chris shares his VR adventures
- An era of Anti-Catholicism

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Who Do you Say that I am? ... Quotes from Holy Week

One could say that all of the celebrations of the liturgical year find their climax in Holy Week. Holy Week is the history of our salvation as human beings. It is the greatest love story of all time, and we are characters within the story.

All throughout the Gospels, people respond to Jesus in a variety of different ways. We could say that even today, people give a plethora of responses to Jesus. Some call Him "King" while others mock Him. Some call Him "Lord" while others betray Him. Sometimes even those who call Him "Lord" and "King" are also the ones who shout "Crucify Him!" 

After reflecting on the words of others, who do we say that Jesus is?

Sunday :

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:10)

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (PS 22)

Monday:

“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”
“Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial” (JN 12:5,7)

The Lord is my light and my salvation.  (PS 27)

Tuesday:

“Master, where are you going?” 
“Where I am going you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later”
“Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you”
“The cock will not crow before you deny me three times” (John 13: 36-38)

I will sing of your salvation. (PS 71)

Wednesday:

“One of you will betray me.”
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.” 
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi” 
“You have said so.” (Mt. 26: 21-22, 25)

Lord, in your great love, answer me. (PS 69)

Thursday:

“Master are you going to wash my feet? You will never wash my feet.”
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” (John 13: 6,8)

Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ. (PS 116)

Friday:

“Behold, your king!”
“Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?”
“We have no king but Caesar.” (John 19: 14-15)

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (PS 31)

Saturday:

“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: 6-7)

Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, my God. (PS 42)

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The Gift of Thankfulness - 4th Sunday of Lent (A)

“Imagine if the only things you had today are what you thanked God for yesterday”

What would your world look like?

This question came to me one day in prayer a few years ago

And honestly, the world I imagined was a world of darkness

The people and things I failed to thank God for just seemed so tiny compared to the gifts I realized He gave me on a daily basis.

Our Cycle A Readings from the 4th Sunday of Lent

Click Here To Listen to Audio Homily

My friends, our Gospel for today speaks about one of those gifts so many of us take for granted each day:

The gift of sight

Throughout the course of the story, we follow the story of a man born blind

In Jewish culture, people born with physical impediments were often seen as having sinned or their parents had sinned to cause this

These folks could not get any job aside from relying on the generosity of folks by begging

On this particular day, this the blind man encounters Jesus

Jesus comes without money, but what He offers is so much more

Not only does He cure the man of his blindness

But He also reveals His identity to the man as the “Christ”

When the man realizes this truth, his only response is to worship Jesus

While sight was certainly a great gift

The man realizes the greatest gift was having an encounter with the Christ

Ironically, our Gospel speaks very heavily about another type of blindness: Spiritual Blindness

While the Jewish officials could certainly physically see, Jesus subtly points out they are spiritually blind

They do not realize that right in front of them all along is the Christ that they have long waited for

This is the Christ they preach and teach about

Yet when Jesus comes and performs these wondrous deeds, they cannot see

They doubt

My friends, those who often come to believe in the Gospels are those who are most simple

Think about it

To whom did the Angel Gabriel appear to announce she would be the mother of God?

A simple woman from Nazareth

Who else did the Angels appear to?

Simple Shepherds

Who became the first evangelist for the Church?

The Woman at the Well… a sinful Samaritan woman who’s encounter with Jesus caused her to tell the entire town about Him

And who did Jesus call to be His disciples

Fishermen, tax collectors… very simple and often uneducated men

While having so little, they lived a life dedicated to thanking God through their works and words

I think that so often in life we can close off our minds to the work of God all around us

When we encounter people daily, we can become blind to see Christ inside of them

We find ourselves on this 4^th Sunday of Lent having encountered Christ

But what do we do with that encounter?

Do we talk about it?

Are we willing to share it?

Today, my friends, I pose you the same dilemma that came to me in prayer a few years ago:

“Imagine if the only things you had today are what you thanked God for yesterday”

Your imagination may reveal a dark world to you

But we need to remember that Christ came into the world to be the “Light of the World”

Today is not too late to live a life of thanksgiving

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The Gospel of Mark (Part III) - The Secret

For the 6th Sunday of Ordinary time (B), Jesus encounters a Leper who pleads with Jesus to cure him of his illness. The Gospel tells us, "moved with pity" Jesus heals the man. After the healing Jesus gives the man instruction from Mosaic Law to cleanse himself and see the priest. He warns him strictly not to tell anyone about what just happened. But what does the man do? The Gospel tells us that, "the man went away and began to publicize the whole matter."

So what just happened?

The Markan Secret

This is not the only instance of Jesus telling someone He heals to not say anything. We find out very quickly that people cannot seem to hold onto this secret. Jesus's fame as a miracle worker spreads very rapidly. He cannot seem to shake the publicity. But why would Jesus not want this attention?

To put this precisely: the people in the story do not know Jesus's true identity. They do not

know the end of the story. They do not realize that He is the Christ. At the end of Chapter 1 of Mark's Gospel, Jesus is known as a miracle worker. But Jesus didn't come to just perform miracles. Jesus tells us about His mission in Mark 1:15: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

In that whole statement, Jesus does not say that He has come to perform miracles. He has come to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. His story must unravel for people to understand His identity. But the story of Jesus is already spreading faster than wildfire by the end of the 1st chapter of Mark.

Jesus was afraid that His identity would be misinterpreted. He tells those He heals to keep it silent. He rebukes demons from revealing His identity. His identity must remain secret in order for His true identity as the Christ to come to fruition.

Not the Christ You're Looking For

The Old Testament builds up into the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Jewish people are waiting for their long-awaited Messiah. It was a promise made by the Lord to many of Israel's leaders through the ages. Someone was going to rise up from the line of David to rule the nations. This promise gave hope to a long oppressed nation.

While Israel was able to historically win some battles against nations like the Canaanites and Phillistines, they struggled for most of their history in Israel against the Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Romans. After reading through the Old Testament, it would appear as though the Israelites were under captivity longer than they were a free nation. When Jesus comes onto the scene at the dawn of the Anno Domini (AD), Israel is under the rule of Rome. 

When God promises to send a Messiah, Israel starts to believe that this Messiah would put the nation of Israel on top of the known world. Israel would be the number one superpower to supplant all nations. This Messiah would not rest at peace until all nations were under the rule of a united Israeli empire.

We quickly find out that the Christ does not fit these qualifications that the nation of Israel has dreamed. Jesus came to proclaim repentance and the coming of the Kingdom of God after all. Jesus never said that He came to conquer the world, and if people realized He was the Christ, this is the Christ for whom they would be looking. 

Jesus came to usher in the peace of God's kingdom. His kingdom is a kingdom of peace. He tries to teach His disciples and other believers how to eventually become citizens of this kingdom. Unfortunately, we find out very quickly that even Jesus's disciples never seem to get it. Despite His clear teachings and consistent demeanor, the disciples still fall under the cultural trap. They think the Messiah would conquer all nations. They think that they will be His generals.

We Know the End of the Story

Jesus dies on the Cross at the end of the story and rises from the dead. He shows that the power for which everyone was looking was not the power He was bringing to the table. His power far surpassed anything of which anyone could dream. No one had ever risen from the dead, but Jesus did. It is from this truth that the disciples build the Church and are eventually dubbed "Christians" or (Believers in Christ).

Jesus has a kingdom and He rules in that kingdom; however, the kingdom of Christ is far beyond our understanding. It is the kingdom of heaven. He did not want to rule here on earth by taking away the free-will of people, but He wanted people to understand that this life is not the beginning and the end of life; rather, He is the alpha and omega who calls us back to Himself. His kingdom is a kingdom of eternal life. We've seen the fall and rise of many nations, but His is the only one that has and will last for eternity.

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The Gospel of Mark (Part II) - Jesus defies Culture

In this current Church year of 2015, we hear most from the Gospel of Mark on Sundays. About two weeks ago, I posted an article explaining that the greatest gems of this Gospel are found in the details. If you would like to read 'part I' click here. For the purpose of this short article, I'd like to continue looking seeking out the treasure of this Gospel by highlighting another unique Markan detail.

Dismissing Cultural Norms

What you find very quickly about Mark's version of the Gospel is that Jesus very rarely plays by the rules. I don't mean that He is breaking laws, but He plays by a whole different set of cultural norms. Let me highlight this idea for you.

In our Gospel from the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year -B), the Gospel has Simon Peter leading Jesus to His sick mother in law. They trust that Jesus can heal her because they've already witnessed some of His miracles. So what does Jesus do? The Gospel tells us: "He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them." (Mark 1:31)

This might just look like a whole bunch of actions, but Jesus is doing something here that would make most good Jews during Jesus's time gasp with shock. The treasure is in the detail and this particular detail involves Jesus grabbing the hand of Simon's mother in law. For 21st century westerners, this doesn't make much sense; however, for some cultures including Jesus's Jewish culture, touching a woman who wasn't your family member was a big cultural "no-no." A man never touched even the hand of a woman who was not his direct relative. To make things even worse according to Jewish cultural standards, Jesus touched someone who was sick. People were not to touch the sick otherwise you too would be considered unclean. Basically, Jesus broke two cultural norms with one simple action.

What does this mean for us? Very simply put, it means that Jesus doesn't play by the rules that any culture puts in front of people. Jesus's primary concern was for people, especially the most vulnerable. These are the people whom Jesus sought out. His love for His people shined forth very vividly through His public ministry. Often, I think we can identify with some of these characters in the Gospel, because just like many of them, we yearn for the healing touch of Christ. The people in Mark's Gospel did not know that He was the Christ, but they knew that there was something different about Him. The benefit that we have today is that we know the whole story. Are we willing to trust Him with our life?

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The Lenten Challenge

***Click Here for the Lenten Challenge Calendar***

As most of us are well aware, Lent is just around the corner. I've already had a few inquiries from friends asking me for ways to help them improve their Lenten experience. I thought I would share with all of you what I shared with my 5th grade students on preparing for Lent.

When we think of Lent, we think of the three primary Lenten practices: 1) Prayer, 2) Fasting, 3) Almsgiving. It doesn't take much for most of us to realize that we need more prayer in our life. 

1. Prayer is the essential communication line between us and God; therefore, praying more often helps to strengthen that line of communication. We establish more trust and a better relationship with God when we pray more sincerely and more often. Perhaps there is an area of your life where you can pray a bit more. Perhaps before you roll out of bed or before you go to sleep. Perhaps it would benefit you to pray in the car or before you take a big test. Praying before doing an activity brings God into that activity, and as we know, God is always ready to walk any road with us if we invite Him to do so.
2. Fasting is often viewed from a negative standpoint in our culture. People see it as simply giving something up. While there is sacrifice involved, there is also an opportunity for growth. When we give up something for Lent, it provides us with the opportunity to find alternatives. For instance, 7 years ago I gave up soda-pop for Lent. Because I was away from it for so long, I had to think of alternatives to drinking the soda I enjoyed so very much. The opportunity to grow provided me with a way to go without drinking soda for the last seven years while enjoying other beverages...namely, water. Fasting improves the virtue of temperance in our lives.
3. Almsgiving is the third Lenten practice. It pulls us out of ourselves in order to think about the needs of others. As a child, my form of almsgiving during Lent was giving up various sweets during Lent in order to put my extra change into the CRS Ricebowl. I learned that $1.00 could feed a family for a day in many countries. Knowing this made it easy to give up my lunchtime ice cream.

There are many things that we can do to improve our Lenten experience, but the best thing to do is to start the planning process now. Make an action plan for yourself. In the link above, I created a Lenten calendar for 2015 that tracks all of the days of Lent until Easter Sunday. Print it out and challenge a friend to do the same. Answer the questions on the back and make yourself accountable to doing these things on a daily basis. You'd be surprised just how impactful something so simple can be on your life.

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The Gospel of Mark (Part 1) - Inside or Outside

We find ourselves predominantly using the Gospel of Mark during the Year B Cycle of the Sunday Lectionary. For some people, this may be exciting because Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels and it is usually the quickest to the message of Jesus. This may also be less than exciting for folks who realize that Mark presents a group of disciples that just never seem to get it right. My hope here is to provide you with a bit of context to help you understand the Gospel of Mark a little bit more as you hear it throughout the year.

Inside or Outside

As we make our way through the Gospel of Mark, it doesn't take long for us to realize that there is a group on the inside and a group on the outside. The group on the inside are Jesus' chosen disciples. Having the gift to read hearts, Jesus separates the people who truly want to follow Him and listen to His words with an open heart from those who come to Him with their own personal agendas. Because of this, Mark makes it very clear to whom Jesus is speaking. Let me highlight this point a bit more:

In Mark 4:26, it says, "Jesus said to the crowds..." Jesus proceeds to speak to the crowds in parables. And towards the end of the pericope, in Mark 4:33-34 it clearly states that Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables so that they "were able to understand." These are the people on the outside. Jesus realizes that their agendas prevent themselves from hearing Him speak plainly. Their hearts prevent themselves from understanding anything except teachings through stories (parables). Mark 4:34 states that Jesus then turns to His disciples after this episode and "explained everything in private." He spoke to them plainly because they were those on the inside who had no personal agendas except to learn from Him.

When we listen to the Gospel of Mark at Mass, pay close attention to who Jesus is addressing because it will help us understand if He is about to use a parable or if He is speaking plainly. We have the benefit today of knowing the end of the story, which hopefully helps us fair better than the Disciples did as they are presented in the Gospel of Mark.

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