Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, July 27, 2025

The Lord’s Prayer is a dialogue that is both humble and bold. We address God as our Father: our loving, caring, concerned father. What father would not want to hear from his son or daughter? My heart brightens every time I see that my son is calling me. I love hearing his voice. God our Father loves hearing our voices. As we pray, we develop a loving relationship with Him. We get to know Him and we allow Him to know us. This is particularly true when we approach Him with humility and gratitude and without a long list of wants and needs.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we immediately recognize that prayer is not about us, it is about God. We begin our prayer by humbly revering His name, praying for His Kingdom and inviting Him to do His will. It’s about God first. Then, we get a bit bold by requesting that he sustain us with our “daily bread.” We recognize that we are like little children who are totally dependent upon their parents every day of their young lives. This prayer reminds us of our daily dependence on God.

The prayer then turns to how our relationship with God helps us in our relationships with others. As He forgives us, it’s only fair that we forgive others. We humbly seek forgiveness only to the extent that we model forgiving behavior. We ask that we not be tested, presumably because we know that we could never pass even the simplest test. Finally, we recognize that we will fall victim to the power of evil unless God physically delivers us from that terrible fate.

Every relationship needs many touch points to grow deep and strong. Human relationships are nurtured through being together whether in thoughts, words, or in physical presence. We accomplish this through social media, texts, phone calls, and getting together in person. In our relationship with God, we accomplish this through prayer in its many forms. That’s why it’s so important to pray. How can we possibly have a relationship with God if we don’t ever reach out to him? The Gospels mention that Jesus took time to pray often. Jesus IS God, yet he still needed to stay close to the Father through prayer. We should visit with our Father often!

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, July 20, 2025

“Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?”

In the First Reading Abraham and Sarah receive a visit from three “men.”  Abraham invites them to sit for a while, to bathe their feet, and to have something to eat and drink.  As they are leaving, one man says, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.”  That is where the Lectionary passage ends.  However, in the next part of the passage the writer explains that Sarah and Abraham are very old and that “Sarah laughed to herself…” about this prediction because she doubted that it was possible.  The man confronts her about laughing and asks, “Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?”

Many biblical scholars believe that the three visitors were angels representing the Holy Trinity.  One of the most beautiful depictions of this scene is found in an icon called “The Hospitality of Abraham” written by Andre Rublev more than 600 years ago.  We will soon have a version of this icon in our adoration chapel.  The icon shows God in the Trinity with the Father on the left, the Son in the middle, and the Holy Spirit on the right.  They have identical faces, but different clothing.  The Son and the Spirit lovingly look toward the Father. 

We may never be able to truly understand the concept of the Trinity.  This icon helps us to focus on the beauty of the relationship rather than trying to figure out how it can be possible.  It helps us to accept God’s invitation to participate in the loving communion of the Trinity and to consider the question, “Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do?”

Fr. Mike

Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, July 13, 2025

Many of us make excuses. Even when we say, “Well, I don’t want to make excuses,” we usually follow those words with, “BUT” and then lay out our excuses. One of the most common excuses is, “I didn’t know.” But in our legal system, “ignorance of the law is no defense.” Our system assumes that everyone is aware of the laws that apply to them.

The same is true for Moses and the Israelites. Moses reminds the people that they do, in fact, know the law. God laid it out for them and even wrote it on two large tablets. The law is not far away, it’s in their hearts. They cannot claim to be ignorant of the law. In fact, knowing the law is not the hard part. It’s right there in front of them. The challenge is keeping the law. He tells them, “you have only to carry it out.” However, both the ancient Israelites and many modern Christians assume that keeping God’s law is impossible.

Having spent more than 20 years in Oregon, I became quite familiar with Nike and have long been inspired by their slogan, “Just Do It.” It was first used by Nike in 1988 and, according to my handy AI assistant, “the slogan has become a widely recognized call to action, often associated with motivation, determination, and perseverance.” The basic concept is that, if you know what needs to be done, don’t procrastinate, don’t over complicate, don’t make excuses. Just do it!

A priest in the 2nd Century explained to his people how critical it was for them to follow the law, “When…unbelievers hear the words of God on our lips, [they] are amazed at their beauty and power, but when they see those words have no effect in our lives, their admiration turns to scorn, and they dismiss such words as myths and fairy tales.”

Very few people come into the confessional confused about whether their actions or failures to act are sinful. They know the law and they know when they are committing a sin. Sometimes, they try to explain (“I don’t want to make excuses, but…”). Most often, however, people own their sins and are accountable. This is a huge step forward. The next step for all of us is to be better at carrying out the law.

Fr. Mike