Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year 4, NL)

Late in life, my mother confessed that she never enjoyed cooking. "But," she said, "I did take satisfaction in serving simple meals to my family." Well, there's no such thing as a simple meal anymore.

Which would you rather do, contemplate belief or consume the flesh and blood of Jesus?

It made a lot of sense for Jesus to use the metaphor of animal sacrifice—at least, it did in the first century.

For decades, my students have failed to grasp the resurrection of the body as an article of faith.

It is not enough for the prophet to declare God’s consolation—it is framed in visions of loud singing and dancing.

Who is Jesus really? The answers are almost as varied as the believers.

When my daughter was in grade school, her teacher included a unit on table manners. The rule that amused me was, “When served food, you should never ask, ‘What is this?’” I don’t think I’ve asked that question aloud, but I’ve certainly thought it, especially at potlucks.

Thou shalt not be ridiculous. Paul says, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." When Paul wrote that wonderful sentence he probably was sitting in an upper room in Athens. It was late at night, quiet, and all the fools were asleep.

Jesus called the Twelve together and put the question to them with unsettling directness: Do you also wish to go away? I wonder sometimes how I would have responded to the question. Because at times the truth is I do wish to go away.

God has become clear in the person of Jesus.

In the face of existential threat, God comes with the grace which is the courage to be.

You have helped us to look profoundly into the meaning of life, Peter is saying, and we are not able to find a decent alternative to your way and to your truth.