The Scriptural Deacon

As we approach the Great Fast or Lent, the Church is preparing us for our encounter with the Living God at Pascha/Easter. She is showing us though the Bible and her Liturgy what desire, true repentance, and merciful love looks like in action. This past Sunday in the Eastern Church, the Gospel was the very familiar parable of the Prodigal Son. It is only found in the Gospel of Luke and fits well into his “orderly account” (Luke 1:3) of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It this parable we see the full compassion and love that a father has for his repentant son. We are reminded that no matter how far we stay from God, he is always there to welcome us back with open arms and much rejoicing. When we stand back and look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we see a five-act drama told by our Lord. It is full of interesting charters and events that allows the story to come alive before our very eyes. Now to observe the full picture, the full plot, we must move a bit back in Luke’s account ...

Mark 5:1-20 At this point in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus makes a special trip across the sea. He does so to get to the country of the Gerasenes, after this encounter with the demoniac he immediately goes back the way he came. This lets us know that this was the only reason Jesus made this trip was to heal and restore this man. As if Jesus already knew full well what he would find on this journey. It reminds me of the many ways that Jesus comes to us, trying to get us to follow him in his ministry to restore lives and save souls. Calling us to both proclaim and live the Good News, that Jesus’ mercy and love are at work in our lives. Even flowing through us to all those that we meet. Jesus went to this far off country in order to change it, as he sends each of us off to change the world we live in. Jesus steps out of the boat and sees this wild man living among the tombs, meaning he was living among the dead. Like so many today, alive but they have no life, they only pass time and offe...

Here is my homily from Mass today. Feast of St. Francis de Sales 2 Samuel 7:4-17 Mark 4:1-20 Throughout the Bible agricultural terms are used to help the listener or reader better understand what is being taught by the sacred text. Many times, we find Israel referred to as a vineyard, meaning something that needs planting and tending. Also, our Lord also uses many of these same images in his preaching. Today, we have him talking about the different soils that people would see around the country side in their daily life. He uses these to explain the different situations that people find themselves in as they journey through life. It works well because it is something tangible, we can easily understand what Jesus is talking about. We can put our hands on it, his meaning is not hidden from us. The Saint that we celebrate today, Francis de Sales, he was also very fond of using many illustrations from nature in his writings. He does so for the very same reasons, it helps to kee...