Weekends can be a busy thing around the holidays.  Ironically Advent invites us to slow down while the world around us is speeding up with decorating, parties, shopping, etc.  That's why a challenge like reading a chapter of Luke every day is important - it refocusses you. Chapter 8 starts out with a parable about a farmer sowing seeds.  Most of the seed ends up useless, while the seed that fell on good soil yielded a massive harvest.  When the disciples asked what the parable is about, Jesus described it in terms of the Word of God, often falling on hearts that are either unwilling or unready, and it doesn't take hold.  But for some, it lands on a heart that's willing and ready, and bears much fruit. This sets the stage for two miracles that come next - the calming of the sea and the healing of a demoniac.  Jesus and the disciples went out on a boat, and a big storm came upon them.  While everyone else was panicking, Jesus was fast asleep in the stern...

Luke was a genius when it came to structuring this Gospel.  Chapter 5 is framed on two sides by calling of disciples, with two miraculous healings in between them. The chapter starts with Jesus calling Peter, James, and John, and as part of the calling provides them with a huge catch of fish.  The payload was so big that several other boats were brought in, yet they all started to sink because they were so full.  When Peter expressed his unworthiness, Jesus simply told him to follow, and Jesus would make him fish for people. This miracle foreshadowed the role Peter would play in the early Church.  On the first day of Pentecost in Acts, Peter's preaching converts several thousand souls in one day, and tradition holds that they returned home and began their own local Churches in their communities.  But the question remains, what are all of these conversions for? The next two sections in Luke 5 gives us a clue as to the answer.  First Jesus heals a leper, and ...

 Chapter 4 begins with a whirlwind of events.  First Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness, then he returns to Nazareth only to be rejected, then it's on to Capernaum where he cast out demons and healed the sick. One of the things this chapter does is highlight the difference between a fallen world and the world that Jesus is repairing.  The temptation shows how we fall in the first place - every temptation is a deliberate misuse of power.  Turn these stones into bread.  Fall down and worship me and I will give you all authority on earth.  Throw yourself down off the temple so people will notice you.  Each temptation tried to get Jesus to be inwardly focussed. When Jesus came to Nazareth, his home town, the people there couldn't believe what he was saying.  They knew him as a little boy growing up.  They knew his mother and family.  They already knew who he was - so they thought.  Sadly, those preconceived ideas prevented them...

The main focus of Chapter 3 is John the Baptist.  We move quickly from his birth to his ministry in the wilderness.  The other day at Church someone was asking me why he spent the majority of his life in the desert / wilderness.  The best answer I have is that there was a community of people who thought the temple priesthood was so corrupt, that they moved to the desert to begin anew.  These people were called the Essenes and sought to return to the time of wandering, when Israel followed God completely for 40 years before entering the promised land.  John's parents joined this group, which was interesting since his father, Zechariah was a priest in the Temple.  Something must have happened - we're not sure exactly what, but Zechariah and Elizabeth felt that God was calling them to another way of life, so they left what they knew, with all of its security and predictability, and moved to the desert.  There John grew up, and eventually became a very lar...

It's been a long time since I published here - about 10 months.  My life has taken some twists and turns.  As I went along I reflected on last year's journey, and my plan to launch Parish Development Ministries.  When I look back at everything I intended to do, I do think I had a decent road map.  But I didn't do a lot of it.  As it turns out, my heart really is in parish ministry, and I'm really glad to be back in that role. Last summer I accepted a call to St. Mary's Church in Wayne, PA.  So we moved again, and I'm settling into this new and wonderful place.  Since it is a year of new things, I decided to launch an Advent Challenge for the new year.  Things worked out nicely.  There are 24 days of Advent this year, and it's Year C, when we'll be reading the Gospel of Luke.  Since Luke has 24 chapters, it just makes sense to read one chapter a day this month, and be prepared for Christmas. Luke is an interesting Gospel.  He has one...