20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - August 17, 2025

 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

August 17, 2025      11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

What Does Jesus Mean?

 

Today’s gospel is not one of those warm passages of Scripture.

 

It is very different from Jesus saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.” And it is very different from Jesus praying, “that they may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.”

 

And it is very different from Jesus’ greeting to the apostles right after his resurrection. “Peace be with you.”

 

This passage can seem out-of-sync, almost contradictory to the rest of the gospel. So, we can ask: what does Jesus really mean here?

 

I think the key to understanding this lies in the three images that Jesus uses. 1) Fire, 2) Baptism and 3) Division.

 

1.   Fire

 

The passage begins with Jesus saying, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.”

 

Fire, especially a blazing fire sounds threatening. We may feel afraid of it.

 

However, Scripture commentators explain that the image of “fire” here expresses Jesus’ passion. He’s not out to burn anything down. 

 

Instead, he wants to light us on fire with enthusiasm for his teaching and his way for living. So, as he says in the Beatitudes, he wants us to be intense about being “peacemakers,” working for reconciliation and understanding and common ground between people. 

 

Again in the Beatitudes, Jesus wants us to be “clean of heart,” to be very intentional about a life of chastity and faithful love. These are examples of the ways Jesus wants us to be on fire for his teaching.  

 

2.   Baptism

 

And then Jesus says, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized.”

 

Maybe surprisingly, Jesus is not talking here about the sacrament of baptism. Instead, he is talking about his and our willingness to be immersed not in water but in suffering. 

 

The idea is that our being on fire for his values will probably bring some suffering upon us, just as it did for Jesus. I have to think of Jesus’ words about the final judgment and the criterion for that: “I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcome me.” 

 

Well, if we are on fire for Jesus in these ways, we may suffer because others may be critical of us as they were of Jesus. I have to think of the Archbishop of Miami who has led the way in giving care to the immigrants who are imprisoned in Alligator Alcatraz in Florida right now.

 

I am sure he is taking heat from some people because of his living out Jesus’ way and teaching. This is the kind of baptism Jesus is talking about today, an immersion in suffering, not water. 

 

3.    Division

 

And then Jesus says that he has come for division and not for peace. 

 

Well, just think about it. This flows, regretfully, but it flows from being on fire for the Lord. 

 

Jesus knows that our choice to follow his way will sometimes divide us from others. So, our youth who say no to alcohol or drugs may find themselves divided from some of their peers. 

 

Or our not participating in conversations that are hateful of other individuals or whole groups or nationalities of people may divide us from others.  But notice.

 

It is not Jesus who causes the division. The division comes because some accept Jesus’ way and others reject it and reject those who follow it. 

 

Conclusion 

 

So, to go back to where we began, this is a difficult passage of Scripture today.

 

Are Jesus’ words contradictory? Challenging yes, contradictory no!

 

In truth, they are in sync with the rest of his teaching and his way. They simply spell out the implications of it.

 

So, I ask you today or this week to take these words in and think about them. See if they speak to you in some area of your life: the words fire, baptism, and division.  

 

 

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - August 10, 2025

 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

August 10, 2025     8:30am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Trust Not Certainty 

A man named Kyle has talked about his faith. 

 

He says that for many years, he treated faith like a checklist. Prayers said, rules followed, doubts buried! 

 

Kyle thought that faith meant certainty, unwavering belief. But life eventually cracked that illusion. 

 

There was an unexpected layoff from his job, then his mother’s illness, and then a friend’s betrayal of his confidence. All of this shook the ground beneath him. 

But then, one day, Kyle was at a playground with his little son, helping him to swing. They were having a good time, and his son got the nerve to jump from the swing into Kyles waiting arms, even laughing in midair. 

No fear. No hesitation. Just trust. And then it struck Kyle. Faith wasn’t about having all the answers. 

It was about letting go, even when the future was unclear. Like his little boy, he didn’t need to see the safety net. 

He just needed to trust it was there. From that day, Kyle prayed differently—not to control outcomes, but to lean into uncertainty with trust. 

He realized that faith wasn’t just a fortress of beliefs. It was trust – trust in God. 

 

Faith as Trust

 

Kyle’s breakthrough is what we hear about in today’s second reading.

 

The passage makes two points: 1) Faith is trust about what is not present but hoped for – what is not present but hoped for.  And 2) faith is trust about what is present but not seen – what is present but not seen

 

1.   Trust: Not Present, but Hoped For 

 

So, first, faith is trust in what is not present but hoped for.

 

The Letter to the Hebrews gives us Abraham as a model. Abraham and Sarah lived in what is now Iraq, but at God’s calling, they set out for an unknown land.

 

They were also advanced in years, but they now had God’s promise of a child. So, they had trust in what was not present but hoped for – a new land and a child.

 

In our lives, we need this same kind of faith. Maybe when we leave home and go out on our own for the first time, or maybe when we take a new job. 

 

I remember having to do this when I was trying to make a final decision on becoming a priest. I ended up having to trust that when I got ordained, God would be there for me helping me to live this life happily and be a good priest.  

 

My point is that we are all often called to have this kind of faith: this trust in what is not present but hoped for.  

  

2.    Trust: Present, but Not Seen

 

And then, faith is also trust about what is present but not seen.

 

To go back to today’s second reading, Abraham had to trust in what God was telling him about a new land and a child. He had to trust that God was really present to him in these promises, even though he did not see God.

 

Maybe we need this trust that God is still present with us when we feel very dry, empty in our prayer. Maybe we need this when we are grieving the loss of a loved.

 

Maybe we need this when we are doubting our own worth because of a traffic accident or a foul-up at work that we are responsible for. In times of darkness like these, we need trust God still loves us and is still with us.  

 

My point is that we are often called to have this kind of faith also: this trust in what is present but not seen. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, Kyle in the story that I shared came to realize that faith is not so much certainty as it is trust: trust about what is not present but hoped for, and trust about what is present but not seen.

 

With that understanding, I ask you to do one thing right now.  

 

As we make our usual Profession of Faith, offer this today as an act of trust. Make it a statement of trust in God and of entrusting yourself and your worries and upsets to God and God’s love. 

 

 

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 20, 2025

16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

July 20, 2025            

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton   8:30am 

 

Dinner with Friends

 

So, Jesus is visiting with some friends: Martha and Mary. 

 

Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus. We are not told what they are talking about, but Mary is interested and taking in Jesus’ words.

 

Martha is busy putting dinner together and she eventually feels resentful of her sister Mary. She asks Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her.

 

And, as we know, Jesus doesn’t do that. Instead, he says: “Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.

 

“There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

 

Well, the passage just ends there, but I have to think that Martha had some response. Maybe like: “Okay, Jesus, how about if you get up and fix this plate with humus and chips.

 

“Oh, and then put the rolls in the oven and keep a watch on them. And while you’re doing that, clean out this pan that I cooked the lamb in.”

 

Martha may have resented Jesus saying that “Mary has chosen the better part.” Wasn’t getting the food ready just as important or even more important than what Mary was doing? 

 

I’m thinking that many of us would identify with Martha. We might not feel so good about Jesus’ response.

 

So maybe the question to ask is this: what does Jesus mean by “the better part”? I have two ideas: one – what it definitely does not mean – and two – what I think it does mean.  

 

Definitely Not Prayer Above Action 

 

First, some commentators interpret Mary as an image or figure of prayer.

 

She is sitting, conversing with Jesus, and taking in his wisdom. These commentators say that “the better part” means that prayer is more important than our work or activity. 

 

Many other Scripture commentators – and here is where I stand on the matter – many others say that this is not the case. “The better part” definitely does not mean that prayer is better or more important than work or activity.

 

Why do they say this? Because this passage comes right after what we heard last week in the gospel – the parable of the Good Samaritan. There Jesus was lifting up compassion for others who are hurting  as being most important in our following of him.

 

So, it just doesn’t make sense to think that here, today, Jesus is teaching that prayer is more important than work or activity. This is not what he means when he says that “Mary has chosen the better part.”  

 

Definitely Awareness

 

What then does Jesus mean? 

 

 A number of good Scripture commentators hold that “the better part” means awareness. It means that we are with the Lord, aware of the Lord whether we are praying or working.  

 

Look at it this way. Jesus is a guest in the home of his friends. 

 

Mary is really with Jesus, keeping him as her focus and aware of what he is saying. On the other hand, Martha gets so deeply involved in the details of the meal that she loses the focus. 

 

She’s not really aware of Jesus. The meal has become more important than her friend and guest.

 

So, “the better part” means keeping our focus and awareness of Jesus. It means doing this no matter what we are doing.

 

Our Awareness 

 

So, for example: we are honest with our boss at work in filling out our timesheet – because of Jesus.

 

We are truthful with our parents about whether we did our homework – because of Jesus. We don’t join the crowd in bullying a classmate – because of Jesus.

 

We do grocery shopping and get meals together for our family – because of Jesus. We feel compassion for those who are homeless or impoverished – because of Jesus. 

 

This, I recommend, is “the better part.” Living our lives with some awareness of Jesus – no matter what we are doing – that’s what Jesus is reminding Martha and us to do today.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 13, 2025

 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

July 13, 2025            

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton   5pm 

 

Good Samaritan 

 

Probably we all know that in the northern part of Baltimore City, there is the Good Samaritan Hospital. 

 

I did a quick check on the internet and learned that there are at least ten hospitals in our country named Good Samaritan. There are also numerous social service centers with this name. 

 

And then, all fifty states and the District of Columbia have Good Samaritan laws. These laws differ in each jurisdiction, but they all try to encourage us to help a person who is in some emergency need.

 

These Good Samaritan laws give assurance to a person who helps that they will be free of prosecution or lawsuit. So, the term Good Samaritan has a very favorable meaning for us.

 

Because of that, we can easily miss the punch - and there is a punch in Jesus’ parable today. To get to that, let’s look at each of the persons in this classic story.       

 

The Persons in the Story

 

First, there is the victim. The story tells us that he was robbed, stripped, beaten, and left half-dead.

 

He was probably unconscious, and it was difficult to tell whether he was alive or dead. Also, without clothing and without speech, you couldn’t tell what nationality he was – and that is significant and we’ll come back to that.

 

Then there is the priest. The priests worked in the temple and led the temple sacrifices.

 

If they came into contact with a deceased person, they were seen as ritually unclean and had to go through a purification ritual. This is probably why the priest sees but doesn’t stop to help the beaten man who might be dead.

 

Next there is the Levite. The Levites were assistants to the priests.

 

The same rules for ritual cleanness applied to them. So, he also sees but doesn’t stop to help the beaten man.

 

The Samaritan

 

Finally, there is the Samaritan and here is Jesus’ punch.

 

Unlike our positive feeling for the expression Good Samaritan, in Jesus’ day the Jews really hated the Samaritans. This antipathy had been going on for centuries. 

 

So here, in his parable, Jesus is driving home a lesson by portraying the hated Samaritan as the hero. The passage simply says, “he was moved with compassion.”

 

He doesn’t try to figure out if the victim is a Jew or a Samaritan or some other nationality. He’s not concerned about whether the victim is worthy or deserving of his help.

 

The Samaritan just sees him as a person in need. He feels compassion and helps him.

 

So, Jesus is saying: if a Samaritan, someone you look down on and think is no good, if he does this, you also are to do it. You are to have compassion for others just because they are hurting – because they are beaten and at the side of the road in some way. 

 

Neighbor

 

Jesus makes this same point in how he flips the question that the scholar of the law asks him. 

 

After he and Jesus agree on the two great commandments, this man asks: “Who is my neighbor?” He seems to be thinking: if I know who my neighbor is, then I will know whom I have to love and, therefore, whom I don’t have to love. 

 

But, as we know, Jesus flips the question. Instead of asking, “Who is my neighbor?”, Jesus wants this man and us to ask: “To whom must I become a neighbor?”

 

And, of course, Jesus’ answer, as the parable highlights, is: everyone. Anyone who is beaten and lying at the side of the road.

 

So, I may show compassion by listening to a son or daughter who is feeling lost and unsure of where they are heading. Or by texting a hello to someone who just their job. 

 

I may show compassion by offering a few dollars to a man begging at a traffic intersection. Or by praying for the more than 100 million refugees in our world, and yes, praying for the immigrants in our own country.   

 

Jesus’ lesson is to be compassionate. We cannot literally help everyone, but we are called to be compassionate in some way to all those who are beaten and lying at the side of the road. 

 

This isn’t an easy lesson for me and maybe for you. But it’s pretty central to what it means to follow Jesus. 

 

 

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle C - June 22, 2025

 The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – C 

June 22, 2025

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

“Took, Blessed, Broke, and Gave” 

 

In a few minutes, I will stand here at the altar and lead the Eucharistic Prayer.

 

I will repeat some words that we have heard many times. The prayer says that Jesus “took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples.”

 

This morning, I want to focus on those four action words. Jesus “took, blessed, broke, and gave.”

 

And I want to do in a slightly different way. What I am thinking is that we have also been takenand blessed, broken and given. 

 

We Are Taken and Blessed

 

First, we are taken and blessed.

 

I remember when I was growing up in the Northwood community of Baltimore City, we would often organize our own baseball games on a field in the neighborhood. Each time we did this, two of us would be the managers of the teams and we would take turns choosing players from among the guys who were there.

 

Well, it was a big deal to be taken or chosen first. It meant that you were a good player and it was a real ego-booster.

 

Thank God, almost always, everyone was taken. No one was left out.

 

Well, the first thing we have to realize in the spiritual life is that God has taken and blessedeach one of us. God has spoken over us the same words that the Father speaks over Jesus at his baptism: “You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter.”

 

In this, God transforms us. In and through Jesus, God makes us valued and worthy.

 

This is so important as our foundation for life. In our world, value and worth are often conditioned on being a good student or a good athlete or successful in our job and on it goes. 

 

But Jesus assures us that God has already taken and blessed each one of us. Everyone is valued and made worthy by God. 

 

What a wonderful sense of self and what a strong personal grounding this is for life! We are taken and blessed by God.

 

We Are Broken and Given 

 

And then, we are broken and given.

 

Here we have to understand the word broken a bit differently. Jesus has not broken us. 

 

Instead, he wants us to realize that we are broken. Each one of us is broken in at least some way.

 

This is true first of all because we are all human. We are incomplete in our own humanity and we are restless for the wholeness that only God can give.

 

We may also feel broken for any number of other reasons: because of some trauma that has happened to us, because of some physical or emotional disability, because of some sin we have committed and now regret, or because our family is split apart. We may feel broken for lots of reasons.   

 

Jesus wants us to be aware of our brokenness. And then, with that awareness, we can be given.

 

We can be given or give of ourselves caringly to others who also have some brokenness. Maybe a family member or friend who just needs a listening ear, or someone who is sick or anxious or lonely or grieving, or those who come to Our Daily Bread in Baltimore for a hot meal. 

 

The important thing is that we are to be given or to give of ourselves authentically. We will do this because we remain humbly aware that we too have some brokenness. 

 

This is why at the Last Supper, Jesus coupled the giving of the Eucharist with the washing of the feet. He wanted us to know that the Eucharist empowers us to be given, to give of our ourselves for one another.

 

Conclusion

 

So, Jesus “took, blessed, broke, and gave.”

 

He gives us his own body and blood to nourish and strengthen us on our journey. And he wants us to be aware that we also are taken and blessed, broken and given.

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Cycle C - June 15, 2025

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity – C 

June 15, 2025 – 11am        

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Nicaea

 

Exactly 1,700 years ago, in the year 325, the bishops of our Church met for the first ecumenical council.

 

The word ecumenical means that all the bishops of the Church at that time met together. And in the year 325, this was the first time that this happened. 

 

It set a pattern that has continued right down to the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. This first council took place in a town called Nicaea, located in the northwest corner of what is now Turkey.

 

And it was this Council of Nicaea that put together the nucleus of the Profession of Faith that still bears its name. It is called the Nicene Creed, and we recite it every Sunday.

 

Why?

 

Why did the Church find it necessary to do this? 

 

Basically, it was a response to various passages of Scripture. Up until this time, the word Trinity had been used only by one or two theologians.  

 

Our doctrine about God as one God with three persons had not yet been taught. But the Scriptures were filled with references to this.

 

Take today’s gospel. Jesus says: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 

 

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to all truth.” And a few sentences later: “Everything that the Father has is mine.”

 

So here and in other places, Jesus speaks about the Father, himself as the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And then take a look at today’s second reading.

 

Saint Paul says: “We have peace with God [the Father] through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And then: “The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”

 

And, of course, there is the greeting that Paul used in several of his letters and that we use at the beginning of Mass. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

 

So, we had these statements in Scripture but with no clarification or explanation. The early leaders felt that they had to clarify our faith in some way.

 

One God/Three Persons 

 

So, they first clarified that we, the followers of Jesus, were not departing from the Old Testament belief in one God.

 

The Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed make it clear that there is one and only one God. But then, they also clarify that in some way, this one God is three persons.

 

The Creed is clear that God is the Father or creator of all that is. He – the creator – has brought into being everything that is.

 

Then, the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed make it clear that there is a Son, an only-begotten Son. Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, is this Son here on earth.

 

And he is also called Lord – the “one Lord Jesus Christ.” So, he is also God, of the same substance or being as the Father, “consubstantial with the Father.”

 

And finally, the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed make it clear that God remains with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also God, as the creed says, “the Lord and giver of life.”

 

The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. And again, he is one with Father and the Son in being one God.    

 

Trinity 

 

So, ever since Nicaea, we believe in one God as a Trinity of persons.

 

We cannot fully explain or understand this. In fact, God or the Trinity is not a problem to be solved.

 

Instead, the Trinity points us to the transcendence of God and calls us to accept the mystery of God. That’s what faith is.

 

Ultimately, it is trusting in mystery, in the mystery of a power greater than us and greater than anything we can know. With that said, I hope we will now have renewed awareness as we recite our Profession of Faith today and in the future.  

 

I hope we will feel our connection with Christians from over the past seventeen hundred years. And I hope we can recite the Nicene Creed as a way of entrusting ourselves to the mystery of God – a Trinity of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.