SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2026: THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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St. Peter Receives the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, St. Joseph’s Abbey, Spencer MA, USA. 

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.       Matthew 15:16-19.

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First. let me refer you to the reflection of August 9th, where the connection between Peter’s name and its meaning are explained in some detail. If you speak a Romance language it will be much easier for you to understand the explanation! This passage from Matthew is the foundation of the claim for the Pope to be the direct ordained descendant of Peter, and to hold the keys of Heaven as Christ said. Indeed, the very coat-of-arms of the Vatican City State display this claim to the fullest:

Here you see the papal crown (which has not been used to crown a pope since Pope Paul VI in 1963) and the keys of St. Peter. The Vatican City State is the smallest sovereign state in the world, at just under 50 square kilometers. For centuries the middle of Italy comprised the States of the Church until the reunification of Italy in 1861, with the result that popes were so-called “prisoners in the Vatican” until the creation of the Vatican State in 1929. This means that the Vatican now has ambassadors (called “nuncios”) throughout the world, representing the “Holy See”. But I doubt that Jesus had all that in mind when he addressed St. Peter in the way described in today’s gospel! But it certainly represented a significant recognition of Peter as the leader of the first Christian community. And the Catholic Church has taken that passage as demonstrative of the claim that the Pope is the leader of the Christian Church here on earth. However, all Orthodox Christians and all Protestants deny that claim; however for the first 1000 years or so, it certainly seemed that way, or at the very least, the Pope was “first among equals” (primus inter pares in Latin). Additionally, if you look back to Sunday 9 August 2026 (the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time), you will see my lengthy explanation of the meaning of Jesus’ new name for Simon bar Jonah, “Cephas”, or “Rock” in Aramaic, Jesus’ language. Also, note that today’s gospel ends with the commission making Peter the leader of the church. Nothing more. But if you read the very next verses, where Jesus announces that he will be arrested, condemned and killed, Peter vehemently objects and is then called Satan by Jesus! Because Peter, and the rest of the disciples, have no idea of what the true Messiah must undergo. Their idea of the Messiah was the same as everybody else’s, the conquering hero who will defeat the Romans and re-establish the Kingdom of David. Not so.

But today’s gospel only points to the leadership of the early church and who was to lead it. Note also the authority Jesus gives to the early church, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”. It is similar to the authority Jesus gave to the apostles after this resurrection, where he gives them power to forgive sins, among other things, but here the basis of the sacrament of Reconciliation, accepted as such by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. So these verses are very important in the development of the early church, and date down to this present moment. Today’s other readings seem to be a reflection on the theme of leadership – or its mystery: “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?” – as the second reading says. In other words, remember who is really in charge! So today is perhaps a lesson in reality and humility – even the early church required a way to control itself, a way to bring order into potential chaos. And so it was. And for many years the papacy really did proclaim the pope as a semi-divine leader, using all the pomp derived from the Roman Empire itself. But now humility seems to have become the order of the day. Today the pope is a leader facing the same challenges and should demonstrate the same humility all leaders should show, and perhaps has become a model of appropriate use of authority, a Christian model, a humble model, replacing the older model:

 

Pope Pius XII, 1939-1958 in St. Peter’s Basilica: the Sedia Gestatoria.

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SUNDAY 16TH AUGUST 2026: THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Jesus and the Canaanite woman, “Serbian Fresco” provenance unknown.

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[The Canaanite woman said] ….”Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Matthew 15:27.

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Here is Jesus taking a leaf out of his own book! You will recall his parable of the Good Samaritan, where a Jewish gentleman on his way to Antioch was waylaid by robbers, beaten, stripped and left to die in the desert sun. A priest and a Temple official passed by without stopping. A hated Samaritan (Jews at that time considered Samaritans to be condemned heretics) stopped, bandaged the man, took him to the nearest inn, told the innkeeper he would be back and would pay for any extra expenses. The Jews hearing that story for the first time would have been astounded! Jews and Samaritans did not get long well together! Now in today’s gospel we have a real-life parallel. Jesus was apparently traveling in old Canaan, near Tyre and Sidon, which was definitely not a Jewish land. Indeed for centuries the Canaanites were considered to be the traditional enemies of the Jews. But, for whatever reason, Jesus was in Canaan. Then it happened. A Canaanite woman, who somehow had heard of this Jewish master teacher and healer of all sorts of maladies was in the area. She must have done some research and found out where he was. She had a daughter who was being plagued by devils. Now that could have been any number of problems which we today would call by different names, but the result was the same: abject misery and desperation. So she begged the Lord for help. A Canaanite begging a Jew would in itself be extraordinary; she was clearly at her wits end. Then came the extraordinary conversation with this woman and Jesus. The Lord clearly considered himself called only to the Jewish people, the Chosen of God. That becomes crystal clear in the dialog which followed the Lord’s silence after the woman begged him for help:

But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

And it seems that Matthew’s version of this encounter, as there is a similar one in Mark, is more combative; for example, the term “Canaanite” was obsolete by then. Mark’s term is “Syro-Phoenician”, which was current at that time. Matthew saying “Canaanite” seems deliberately to conjure up the centuries of warfare and distrust between the two peoples. That, of course, makes Jesus’ volte-face even more striking! The woman’s clever retort to Jesus’ put down clearly counted for something: he restored her daughter to health (look at the right side of the icon above, showing the moment the evil demon was exorcised from the girl). But he had obliquely called the woman a dog! No question about that. What is going on? Here is one powerful explanation: “The narrative portrays Jesus being bested by a woman and changing his behavior on that account. This is the only instance in the extant tradition of Jesus being taught by someone, and that someone is a woman who should not properly be speaking to him at all.” (Harriot Reed Congdon). It is apparently a critical moment, when Jesus enlarged his own view of his mission, now open even to non-Jews, the Gentiles. And this done by a Gentile woman! Oy veh!

Like most of us, Jesus grew up in a society which had its heroes and its bêtes noirs as all do. For centuries the Jews and the Canaanites had been at each others’ throats, not least because of the Canaanite belief in the supreme god El, and all their other gods and goddesses. It was somewhat similar to the world in which I grew up, where we Catholics were assured at all Protestants were doomed! Thankfully all that has been quietly dropped, but Jesus was in the thick of a tradition which confronted him directly and strongly – and he changed! Not exactly in a gentle way, as his response was, at the least, abrupt: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Almost begrudging! But he helped her, and her daughter was returned to her. That was the point. Yes, Jesus was sent to everyone! He clearly had a bit of an internal struggle, but of course he came down on the right side, and almost certainly established a tradition among his followers that we are all God’s children, even those we don’t like! And in a way it culminated later in the gospel in the Roman centurion approaching Jesus on behalf of his servant who was dying. Firstly he was a Roman soldier, symbolic of Jewish oppression, was unclean as he ate food forbidden to Jews, and a pagan (Matthew 8:5-10). (And note that his humility is echoed by each of us every Mass when we respond to priest’s announcement: “Behold the Lamb of God….). But it seemed that Jesus had much less difficulty dealing with him than he had with the woman. But both the Canaanite woman and the Roman soldier seem to stand for most of us who were not brought up in a Jewish family but yet are fully incorporated into Jesus’ church. It took some adaptation on the part of the totally Jewish early Christians to accept non-Jews, but they eventually came round to the idea that we are all God’s children, all in need of the Lord and his saving power. And, typically, the Canaanite woman and her daughter were apparently fully incorporated into the church, both even given names in the Pseudo-Clementine literature. We should also not forget that the Devil is an equal-opportunity merchant, happily servicing pagan and non-pagan alike! The other two readings today seem to echo the theme of incorporation, stating “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord” in the first reading and Paul’s remark to the Romans: “Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles…” So, along with the walls of Jericho, all the barriers between us and the first Jewish-Christians came a-tumblin down!  – and it has remained so ever since; after all, it was Pope Francis who urged us all to “build bridges, not walls”…

POLITICO, Nov. 11, 1989 file photo, East German border guards are seen through a gap in the Berlin wall after demonstrators pulled down a segment of the wall at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.

 

SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2026: THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Christ Walking on the Water, Fr. Luke Dingman, Dingman Iconography Gallery.

Peter said to him….. “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 stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”      Matthew 28:14-21.

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The first thought which suggested itself to me here was why? Why on earth would Peter want to walk on water for any reason other than, possibly, to be rescued at sea (which he did not need at that time)? And note that the Prince of the Apostles wavered in his belief and instantly began to sink before being rescued by the Lord. It was not Peter’s best moment, of which of course he had several. He did seem to be a bit of a simple soul, open to temptation and very human in his actions. We know so well those times of extreme weakness (denial of knowing Jesus), his braggadocio (Peter sald he will never deny the Lord!), and in today’s gospel scene where his faith falters, which in some ways makes him very human, just like ourselves. And perhaps that is the message. In another part of Matthew’s  gospel when there was a very quiet moment, which might echo today’s first reading, that Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, after Jesus had asked: “But who do you say I am?” It was at such times that Peter came through correctly, despite being grieved much later when Jesus asked him three times if he loved him. We are dealing with a very human man here, one we can identify with quite easily. And this was the man Jesus entrusted all of us to. One of the most familiar anthems sung in St. Peter’s Basilica is “Tu es Petrus” – You are Peter – when the Pope is present, reminding him of the descent from Peter’s day to the present moment. And in addition, recall that Peter was not his original name; that was Simon bar Jonah, Simon son of Jonah. Jesus renamed him Cephas, the Hebrew word for Rock, rendered as Peter in English. But note this: In French, the word for stone, pierre, also means Peter. The same in Italian, Pietro with the double meaning, and again in Spanish, Pedro. But not in English. We do have the name Peter, but with no connection with stone. We do have one weak linguistic connection, “petrification” means turned into stone, but that doesn’t really work, does it? So when Jesus says to him, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, there is no double meaning at all. But in French there is: “Tu es Pierre et sur cette pierre je bâtirai mon êglise”. And in St. Peter’s basilica in Rome, you can read the same in Latin up inside the great dome, again with the double meaning, though here it is literally true: St. Peter’s stands on what is thought to be Peter’s actual tomb, three stories down where there is an actual burial place from Roman times.

TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM

Tu Es Petrus at Mass with Pope Leo XIV on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 29 June 2025 HD

So although Peter’s faith in Jesus took a significant number of falls, ultimately he remained true, even to the extent of being crucified for his faith, and by tradition upside down, considering himself unworthy to be killed in the same way as the Lord. I imagine that within the acquaintance of many of us there is at least one hothead, someone who will respond to a challenge or dare with instant action, just as Peter did in today’s gospel. There is something attractive in such a person (possibly with a little regret, such as “if only I could be like that…”). It is someone ready to take a risk, be challenged by new things but determined to conquer them. Exactly what the early church needed, of course. Perhaps you are such a person! In which case, does your temperament respond always in the way God wills it? Someone with such a go-to, hands-on lust for life attitude can do great things for God’s church today!

But then there is today’s first, fascinating, reading. God hidden not in thunderclaps and crashing rocks, but in “a tiny whispering sound…” Perhaps Jesus’ one word invitation to Peter over the waves – “Come” – was in such a subdued way, completely unlike Peter’s almost frenzied response, followed by near disaster. But the Lord was there to save him. As he is there to save all of us too. The second reading today is a mini lesson in Hebrew history. It was to the Jews that God first came; to them he gave the divine law; the covenants; the patriarchs and ultimately, the Christ, the Messiah. But they did not recognize him. And Paul says this extraordinary thing: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people…” In other words he would give up everything to have his own people recognize the Messiah in the person of Jesus. Indeed he spent his whole life after his conversion trying to do that. But in his lifetime he saw little evidence of growth or acceptance, only persecution and death. If only he could have lived a few hundred years more! But note: every day in our own lives there will certainly be a moment when we can speak and act as a child of God, saying something that will build up, something that will encourage, something that will heal. In other words, we can act as Paul would, as he tried to build up God’s world of peace, love and forgiveness. It may be that we can each be the Lord, and reach down and help someone out of crisis, disaster or whatever. That will build up God’s kingdom, be pleasing to the Lord and even encourage us to be even better next time. With, as ever, God’s help. And note from the picture below, the lighthouse is not a light of welcome and warmth, but of warning and potential disaster. “Steer well clear” it is telling the sailer, and with the Lord as a pilot, there is every hope of a safe voyage…..through life itself.

At The Helm, Diana Hahlbohm 2016, FineArtAmerica.

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SUNDAY 2 AUGUST 2026: THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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The Loaves and the Fishes, Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, Tabgha, Israel.

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[Jesus’ disciples told him…]..“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.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves”.   Matthew 14:15-16.

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Jesus had just heard the news that King Herod had executed John the Baptist, the one who had recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Son – the Lamb – of God. They were cousins according to ancient tradition, so Jesus, as we all would, wanted somewhere quiet to mourn and pray. Not to be – the crowds who now followed the Lord wanted to hear more of what he wanted to say. And – note – Jesus responded in kind, curing their sick and, presumably, comforting them and giving them hope. And then he heard his disciples advising him to dismiss all of them to the nearby villages for the the night – and also get something to eat! And then came the famous instruction, quoted above. His disciples must have been astounded. We are told there were many more than 5000 there, excluding the women and children! There was no way they could be all fed! But the Lord calmly instructed them all to be seated on the ground, took the five loaves and two fish, blest them and handed them to his disciples, who then distributed them to the multitude who, it seems, consumed them to the extent of having 12 baskets full of leftovers! But there are two ways to consider this miracle. One is a miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The other way, beloved of scholars, especially those not partial to the miraculous, was that no-one in their right mind would go out into the wilderness without preparing something to take with them and eat afterwards. The scholarly take on all that would be to admire the generosity of everyone there to share all they had, moved by Jesus’ presence and spirit. Either way, it seems, is an acceptable take on the powerful presence of the Lord, moving many people to be super generous and share all they had with others. The other way, of course, is to see this miracle as fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, today’s first reading: “You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! But even that can be seen in the light of human generosity and divine expectation of the way God wants all of us to be.

So being generous is very close to the heart of God. Indeed, the Son of God gave his very life rather than deny his whole mission of revealing God’s love for us in any and every generous way. That is ultimate generosity! Interestingly, the word generous derives from the Latin word generosus, which means “of noble or good birth”. It is thought that it took its present meaning by moving from one fortunate to have been born into a wealthy, noble family, into the expectation that one who was that fortunate would have to act honorably by sharing that which he was fortunate enough to be born into (genesis, gentry and gender come from the same root meaning). That meaning does seem to flower in the first reading today: “Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!” It reminded me of an act of generosity which Princess Mary, daughter of King George V of England, originated. It was intended in the beginning as her Christmas gift to British and Imperial troops serving in the trenches of World War I, but developed into a recognition of duty and service up to 1920! I myself was granted an extremely generous gift from the British government in the 1960s. I grew up in a very poor family (one cold water tap in our apartment, water being boiled on the gas stove and carried over to the small hip bath we had, etc.). it was pretty bad. But the government at that time believed in education. I was given a 100% financial grant to study in college for three years (the standard time for a British degree) and get my London University degree, plus, a few years later, a full grant for living expenses, board and lodging, books and even transport, allowing me to go to Oxford University for a year to get a Teaching Certificate. I had to commit myself (by word of mouth) to teaching for three years in England, which I did, then I joined the Society of Jesus! When I tell students about all this now, both in England and the USA, they do not believe me! That governmental generosity set me up for life, and I have been extremely grateful to this day. That is the power of generosity, and why we are called by God to be as generous as we can be for those less fortunate. When I see the situation in so many parts of the world where something like my experience is utterly unknown, then I feel called to be as generous as I can afford to be. I believe we are all called to that Christian life. As Jesus himself said, the poor we will have always with us (Matthew 26:11). But we can do all in our power to do something about it!

And then there is the unlimited generosity of the love of God! As the second reading today says: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is the ultimate generosity. No matter how ungrateful we might be, no matter how sinful and disrespectful we might be, God’s love awaits us all, waiting for that moment when we will come to our senses and say “Sorry” and respond to the warmth and acceptance that is God and begin to live life to the full, being as generous as the Lord himself who gave his life that we might live!

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (detail), Lambert Lombard 1545, Rockox House, Antwerp, Belgium.

 

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SUNDAY 26 JULY 2026: THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Tympanum of the Last Judgment, Great West Door of the Abbey Church of Sainte-Foi, Conques, France. Picture taken in 2008.

[Jesus said] “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.”  Matthew 13:49-50.

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The first thought which occurred to me looking at today’s first reading where God appears to the young Solomon, son of King David, and offered him anything his heart desired. Solomon replied:: “Give your servant…. an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” Well my first thought was one of incredulity. I wonder how many of us would reply that way to such an offer. You might reply “Oh, but Solomon was destined to rule the population of the kingdom – I’m not”. But we are all called to rule over ourselves! That is a challenge which quite a few of us seem unable to do, judging from certain behaviors! And Jesus is pretty blunt at the consequences if we fail to do that – just look at the picture above, closely and carefully. That is the grand entrance to the Catholic Romanesque Abbey Church of Sainte-Foi (Saint Faith) in Conques, now under the Premonstratension Order of St. Norbert. Conques is rough mid-point between Bordeaux, Toulouse and Lyon in France. The West Door shows vividly both the result of a life rejecting God and those around us, and, on the other hand, what we can expect if we have responded as best we can to Christ’s call to love God, neighbor and self. Although it does not look like it, that doorway was constructed between 1107 and 1125, 900 years ago! And the message remains unchanged. Love God, neighbor and self. 

Relic of St. Faith, Treasury of the Abbey of Sainte-Foi, Conques, France.

God granted Solomon his wish and the “Wisdom of Solomon” entered our language, and all others, and became known throughout the world. The other two readings reveal what we can rightly expect if we do desire to live the life that God wants of us. We have been called to such a life which hopefully we have decided to respond to it, and hence be justified and, according to today’s reading, be glorified by God when called to account for ourselves. That is quite a promise! It seems as though God is trying to convince us all that the right way is, indeed, the right way for all. And that is the explanation of the well-known parables in today’s gospel. If we discover the pearl of great price among regular old semi-precious pearls, or a treasure buried in the field that we now do our utmost to purchase, the pearl and the treasure are both the discovery of the right, best, most fulfilling way to live our lives, loving God neighbor and self. Anything to the contrary is to be discarded, the wicked expelled from God’s presence of their own accord, where, as we saw last week, there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth! And, if you look closely at the Conques doorway above, properly called a tympanum, all this is vividly rendered!

But, looking at Jesus’ words today, there does seem to a slight element of luck involved. Someone found the treasure by what seems like luck, hides it again, and pools everything to buy the field and, of course, the treasure buried in it (a little bit like “detectorists” in the UK who search and find such things). The fishermen haul out a goodly catch, and then sort out the good fish from the bad, discarding what is useless, which sets the model for the Endtime: separating the wicked from the righteous. Does that mean we all might well find a buried treasure accidentally? Actually, I believe the answer is yes! After all, we are all fully aware of the Lord’s teachings and have probably been for a long time. Then, perhaps blindingly, we might suddenly realize that here lies the golden hoard we have been looking for all our lives! Here lies the secret of life eternal. It is this treasure which will provide certainty and happiness forever, and how to achieve it. It will give us the strength to deal with every challenge. It will guide us through life’s ups and downs surely and confidently. Isn’t that a treasure worth everything? Just look at Saint Faith, and how strong was her total conviction that God was with her to the end. And her certitude was what attracted many others to the Faith. The blood of the martyrs was – and still is – the seed of the church, first expressed, it is thought, by Tertullian, probably in the third century. Today we might not be facing the threat of martyrdom,  but there is a recent British report that claimed 4998 people were killed worldwide for faith-related reasons in 2024. So some are still confronted by those Big Questions to the point of martyrdom, even if many choose to ignore them. But they do provide answers to such questions and have done so for 2000 years, even when they culminate in violent death. However, at that dread Last Judgement, I trust that I and all around me will be able to declare without equivocation that we have led a life in union with Jesus to the very best of our ability. If so, then our place will be on the left hand side of every Last Judgement ever created, being helped on our way into Heaven. Let us pray for divine guidance and assistance that that will be so.

The Last Judgement, Michelangelo 1541, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City State.

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SUNDAY 19 JULY 2026: THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Brassica nigra (black mustard), Cal-IPC 2026.

[Jesus] proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”     Matthew 13:31-32.

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One more time I had to acknowledge my city upbringing and rush to the all-knowing Internet to find out about the mustard bush. It seems to have been chosen by Jesus because of the tiny size of its seeds and the speed and resilience of the plant itself, regrettably now condemned as an aggressive weed in the USA, especially California, but with a glowing reputation in the part of the world where our Savior grew up. Read all about this star-crossed history here. However, it is no wonder that the Savior took this plant to make his point. It can flourish where many others cannot. Dry conditions seem to hold no threat for the mustard plant, one of the principal constraints for many plants. Even poor soil seems to be simply a challenge to this plant. And this is the plant which provides the raw material for that condiment on the dinner table around the world. And Jesus picked this example of hardy life and human benefit (at least in the Middle East) to make his point. And I found that its seed is really tiny:

Tiny mustard seed in between two fingertips, Dreamstime.

Yet another miracle of nature, where so much is contained in so little. And that is what Jesus was talking about. In fact, as he said in today’s gospel, “the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed” and began to speak of the power contained in such an insignificant little speck of life. And you can easily imagine small birds balancing on the branches of the mustard bush in the picture at the top of this reflection. So, then, it is in the field of our mind that this tiny seed is planted, and it is God’s hope (the sower) that it will find a good home there, be productive and become the strong, life-giving source of our activity as a child of God.

And there are parallels with the other examples of hidden life, both bad and good seen in everyday life. Anyone who has made a loaf of bread from scratch is amazed at what the yeast does, on its own with no help from us. How does it do that? And then there is the example of the sabotage inflicted on the farmer who had planted good seed only to suffer an enemy planting weeds where he had just sown. No doubt many of us have suffered at the hands of such people who have ruined something we tried to accomplish for others’ good. Jesus’ disciples clearly had not really understood what the Lord was getting at, and had to have everything ploddingly explained to them – which Jesus did, it seems, without exasperation – and there is another lesson for all of us! And the punishment of those who have wrecked the good intentions of others is also added, including that strange “grinding of teeth” which comes up from time to time in Scripture. What IS that all about? I have to confess even when driven to extremes of anger about something, I don’t think I have ever ground my teeth! It seems so weird if you have never done that.  But it might be an unconscious reaction to a challenging situation I suppose. I once heard the strange squeaking noise of teeth being ground together. I was a Jesuit at that time, and we were on vacation in the middle of nowhere, and one of us had just returned from India (and had caught malaria there, but we did not know at the time). We were six to a room, and that fellow ground his teeth. It was a very strange sound, weird and creepy. But not the result of anger… However, according to AI, “bruxism” as it is called, is “extremely common” when experiencing anger, nervous tension, or frustration. New to me. You?

Well, the Lord goes on to assure us that those malefactors will receive the reward they deserve when “they are thrown into the fiery furnace at the end of the age”. Of course, they will be the ones who don’t even think in terms of regret or sorrow or asking forgiveness. In fact they might even be proud of the suffering they have caused. Consider Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, for example: “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n,” . Or Gaston (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), a literary and cinematic villain completely unbothered by his cruelty and entitlement. He proudly schemes to kill the Beast and manipulate others, never once questioning his own righteousness. Or O’Brien (from 1984 by George Orwell) the ultimate totalitarian antagonist. He tortures the protagonist not just physically, but psychologically, aiming to strip away reality, individuality, and even the concept of truth itself for the benefit of the Party. And I suspect pride is happily at work in most of these. So today’s readings have a lot to say about right living and its opposite. And the comparison is stark, with the call of the Savior, challenging as it is, clearly the more attractive, the cleaner and, I believe, the more rewarding. But that is one opinion. Evil always has a very attractive side. The thing is, where does it lead and how do you get there? 

 

St. George and the Dragon, Carpaccio 1502, Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice, Italy.

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SUNDAY 12TH JULY 2026: THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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The Sower (De zaaier), Van Gogh 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterloo, The Netherlands (The Van Gogh Experience).

And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow…..”

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“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up….”  Jesus gives us another parable, a very familiar one, and again with a setting which would have been much more familiar to those people listening to Jesus all those years ago, but not to us. The closest experience for us might be, for those who have gardens, carefully planting seeds for those flowers we want to grow – or those vegetables we want to harvest – and then water them and wait. That must be a far cry from today’s parable. For us today, all we can do is try to imagine what it must have been like. But even Van Gogh himself might well have seen such activity in the area around the city of Arles in the south-east of France at the end of the 19th century, where he probably painted that famous scene above. But today all seeding and suchlike is mechanized, so all we can do is to try to imagine what it was like. And for us, it might well become a romantic setting, birds tweeting, sun setting, etc. The reality, of course, must have been much less romantic, sweating in the sun, angry at the birds stealing the seed, exhaustion at walking around the field all day, and so on. Good exercise though! And then there is the reality which Jesus works on in his parable. And each setting, where the seed lands, can easily be transferred into our own life experience. I’m constantly amazed at how clever Our Lord was, translating everyday reality (as it was back then) into insights which we can transfer into our own experience. Then everything becomes real! For example, Jesus says some seed falls into shallow soil where it takes easy root, springs up quickly, but because it lacks good roots, it will quickly wither in the strong sunshine and be parched, and unable to sustain itself. The parallel in real life is the person who is hugely attracted to a new teaching and becomes very enthusiastic about it, but if it becomes challenging in some way and difficult to sustain, then that person will simply give up and walk away, no matter how attractive the teaching was. No roots, no strength to carry on. And each situation is easily paralleled to a life situation, with the finale being the seed falling into good, nourishing soil, the equivalent of hearing the word, as Jesus says, understanding and accepting it and what it demands, and the result is fruit which yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. It is all logical, easily understood, easily applicable even today to our own situation, and causing us to ponder and question our own reality. It is brilliant teaching, unthreatening in its approach and triggers healthy self-examination. And if you look at the Van Gogh quotation in the picture above, he states the same thing in his own way (the missing word being “other”).

But this parable came alive to me a few years ago. A mourning dove couple set up home beneath my bedroom air conditioner, the part that is in the open air (these birds mate for life). They created a nest, eggs were laid, and the waiting period began. Eventually there was much movement under the air conditioner, many flights to and from the nest by both parents, and clearly things had happened. But then two large, fierce-looking crows arrived – and ate the chicks, with the defenseless parents looking on. The crows left. The doves sat looking at the remains of their nest, and eventually moved on, as they say. In Jesus’ parable, this might be the equivalent of “Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it”. I guess the human equivalent could be mixing with the wrong type of people to the extent that your own potential is smothered by being belittled or mocked or scorned, and you not being strong enough to fight it. Until you realize that you are a child of God….. My doves never reappeared.

And the Romans, to whom Paul was writing, were dealing with the same question: “The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us”. And the passage from the prophet Isaiah carries the same message, strongly suggesting that God’s word will be heard and will take root. We all know what we are asked to do, but do we have the conviction, the strength, the determination to carry on? Perhaps not on our own, but we are the children of God, and have God’s friendship, trust and help. And if we truly believe that, even thorns, crows and the evil around us can be defeated. Hence the parable invites us to transport ourselves into the various situations outlined, and if we recognize them, can understand what is happening, and ask for God’s help to deal with them, and defeat them.

 L.M.Duvall, Duvall Curiosities LLC.

 

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SUNDAY 5 JULY 2026: THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Walking Humbly with God, Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Hector on Palm Sunday.

[Jesus said] “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart…”         Matthew 11:28-29.

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Well, at my age, 81, I always welcome new knowledge which I should have known many years ago. The word “yoke” started it, found in today’s gospel. I have always imagined that this was what looked like a heavy log-like piece of wood carried by a beast of burden as a control, hauling, for example, a plow (plough in British English) through heavy earth before it is seeded for next year’s harvest. Well, yes, as far as it goes. But – it does not go far enough. That “piece of wood”, when made properly, was always contoured to the beasts themselves, a tailor-made yoke used by those beasts and no others. In that way it did not cause any harm, did not rub unnecessarily against the their skin, and stayed in place with relative comfort… (And, moreover, it is a standard element in modern tailoring, to trace the pattern of a customer’s shoulders to get the exact shape unique to him or her: take a look at this). Of course the carpenter-Jesus would have known this from his boyhood. So I therefore conclude that his words in today’s gospel should be seen in a somewhat different light. Yes, hauling a mighty plow will be exhausting, but it will not include unnecessary pain and major discomfort. It will be designed for what God knows we can take, no more, no less. And, note, it is what God thinks, not us… And note Jesus’ promise, again from today’s gospel: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”, though I am certain that some of us would find that somewhat of a challenge to our faith – but there it is. Faith requires trust.

Then today’s second reading takes us a little further into the realm of the spiritual. St. Paul tells the Romans, “you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you”. And, Paul says, this is the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, hence the all-powerful Spirit. And this same Spirit comes to each of us, should we allow it, and if we do, Paul says, we will live in the spirit. Because if we live only by the flesh, the deeds of the body will result in death. Living in and by the Spirit will result in life, and the choice is entirely ours. Then, looking to the gospel, we can be assured that we are not locking ourselves into something impossible, but rather into a pathway of life, challenges, pain, frustration and all, but with the divine promise of eternal life as a reward. (And, note well, the knowledge that we are fulfilling God’s will induces a profound sense of satisfaction and happiness). And all this to be subsumed under a discrete, humble veil. We are told of the arrival of the king into Jerusalem, “on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9). Now here was another situation about which I was a little ignorant. The terms horse, colt, foal, donkey, ass and mule were, for me, just lumped together. But to anyone who knows about such beasts they are not all the same: they are almost all very different. (The mule, by the way, is the sterile offspring of a male donkey and female horse). The unnamed king arriving in Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of an ass, means he was riding on a young donkey or ass (they being the same animal, ass coming from the Latin asinus). They are biologically distinct from horses, although nowhere near as magnificent, the point being made by Scripture of course. And Jesus deliberately took that scene from Scripture to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on an ass, big ears and all. This was a king who had conquered death (Lazarus), but not the one who would conquer the Romans…

So one could say that today’s readings as a whole are about submission and modesty. When talking of God, of course we are – and must be – humble and accepting. But it reminded me of a scene from the nineteenth century. The Emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II, in 1898 visited Constantinople, now called Istanbul, the then capital of  Turkey, which was called the Ottoman Empire at that time. They were military allies. Hence the Ottomans catered to his whims. One was that he desired to visit Jerusalem, also then part of the Ottoman Empire. This was duly arranged, and as he wanted to arrive in splendor, the authorities had to enlarge the Jaffa Gate by which he was to enter the Old City. This is it, still present in Jerusalem today:

The gap made for the German emperor in 1898.

Then, on a white horse, the Kaiser rode into the city in style:

Some might say in the completely opposite way as described in Zechariah! The Kaiser however donated two churches (one Lutheran, the other Catholic, both still very much alive) plus a hospital which caters to the Palestinians to this day.

So we have here what might be called two events somewhat opposite in style. We are called as children of God to be obedient and accepting, convinced that God is not asking the impossible of us, but is expecting us to be as completely obedient and accepting as we can be. This is in the knowledge that God has gifted us with sufficient strength, which is to say our unique talents from God, to obey what God desires of us. This will allow us to achieve the best in what is expected of us, and will welcome us fully when called to account. Let us recognize that and respond as fully and whole-heartedly as we can, knowing the Lord is always there to support, to help and to strengthen us. The Kaiser, by the way, ended up losing his throne having been at least partially responsible for starting and being defeated in World War One, and was obliged to live in relative obscurity in the Netherlands until his death in 1941. Certainly an example of pride coming before a fall. Most of us, on the other hand, are usually called to a less exotic standard of behavior (and probably much safer), but will still stand before the same judge with the same yardstick of accountability. Have we responded appropriately to the range of challenges we each face in life with love, sensitivity and Christian awareness which each has demanded? If we can answer “yes” with confidence and truth, then we can hope to be welcomed into heaven as a good and faithful servant. That is the goal now, and ever shall be. And with God’s eager and ever-present help, it will be so.

And this being a Very Patriotic Weekend, let’s end this way:

 

OnSiteStudios, “God Bless America” 2008.

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SUNDAY 28 JUNE 2026: THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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Greed is Good? Linkedin August 2016.

[Jesus said] “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”   Matthew 10:39.

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If ever you are tempted to object to the claim that the Lord was counter-cultural, just look above and see what your reaction is. Would Jesus and Gordon get along together like old buddies? Er, I suspect not. But today’s world, I think, would more likely follow Mr. G. and his school of thought rather than the penniless preacherman from Galilee if left to themselves. After all, isn’t a great three-storey mansion a better deal than a one-room apartment anywhere? So, is Gordon Gekko, the star of the famous movie “Wall Street” as played by Michael Douglas, a new style Savior of the World or not? Well, perhaps we should begin with a definition of the very word “greed”. Firstly, it derives from the early English word grædig, meaning voracious, hungry, or eager (modern German, gier). This developed into meaning an overwhelming urge to acquire or consume more than is needed. And the word “more” is the key. I believe each one of us has inbuilt limits – how much we eat until full, then stopping; taking up available space for “things” where we live until no space is left and then stopping, and so on. Having the discipline to know when enough is enough is key. And I think we all have that, and that going beyond is unnecessary and can be unfortunate, if we are able to stop. So what is the Lord saying?

I believe the Lord is saying we should carefully balance out what is necessary for each of us to have a decent life, yes, but to note most carefully that there will always be the less fortunate ones who do not even have that foundation. Jesus did say that we would always have the poor with us,  (Matthew 26:11, also Mark 14:7, and John 12:8), so we can be pretty sure of that. But that places an obligation on us, which I suspect Mr. Gekko would say is nonsense, and he would respond with the likes of “Let them get on with it, get an education, get a job”, and so on. Yes, true, but that may not be a possibility for many, especially in the poorer parts of the world. And many labor under mental conditions which, I suspect, many of us would simply not understand. And if you look at the rest of the gospel in that light, I believe we can grasp the Lord’s point. “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me”, for example, suggesting self-sacrifice and discomfort. But this is a necessary burden, because it would allow us to understand those less fortunate. Our burden, of course, will be making sure as far as we can to decrease the burden on others, make it less heavy, even as we carry our own particular cross. Why? Because we are all one family under God, glancing at today’s first reading from the Second Book of Kings, where a kindly family tried to make a holy man more comfortable when he came to stay, even though that meant increased expenses for them. That good deed did not go unnoticed. The Lord notices everything, rest assured. Our second reading simply confirms everything: “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him”. And that implies the same thing, sacrifice for the sake  of others (making modest allowance for ourselves of course). From today’s gospel: “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple — amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” Pretty clear….

Knowing Jesus, Luke 14:27 (& Matthew 13:21).

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