11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B) June 14, (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34)

Human beings are competitive and love the feeling of pride that comes with achievement. They are also impatient — they want what they want, and they want it now, as the radio commercial goes. The Scriptures teach us another lesson — God’s ways are not ours, nor is God’s sense of time.

Body and Blood of Christ (Year B) June 7 (Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 116; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26)

When we want to stress the seriousness and solemnity of an agreement or contract, we say that it is “written in blood.”

Trinity Sunday (Year B) May 31 (Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20)

Do I matter in the eyes of God? Does God care about what happens on Earth? Does God even exist? These and similar questions have tormented people for millennia. There never was a time when faith was untroubled and clear, and to think so is a sign that one lives in a fantasy world.

Pentecost Sunday (Year B) May 24 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

In every age and in every place, the Holy Spirit has been present, doing the work of God and advancing spiritual consciousness. One need but read Luke’s infancy narrative to realize that nearly all of the individuals mentioned in the run-up to the birth of Jesus were guided by and filled with the Spirit. 

Ascension of the Lord (Year B) May 17 (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20)

Acts I of Luke’s magnificent account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus ended with the commission to the apostles in the upper room, the joyful reaction of His followers and the ascension of Jesus. When the curtain went up in Act II, Luke revisited the time between the Resurrection and the ascension. This time we are treated to a detailed account of what turns out to be a leisurely 40 days of instruction on the kingdom of God.

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B) May 10 (Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17)

Human beings have long laboured under the illusion that God is just like us, complete with human emotions, prejudices and ideas of justice. Fortunately, they are wrong, and God often demonstrates this in dramatic ways.

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B) May 3 (Acts 9:26-31; Psalm 22; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8)

Small wonder that Saul — later Paul — was feared by the Jerusalem community. They wanted nothing to do with him, for he had terrorized the community of believers in Christ relentlessly. By his own admission in his letters, Paul had hunted them down and arrested them, voting in favour of the death penalty at their trials.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year B) April 26 (Acts 4:7-12; Psalm 118; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18)

There is a rather cynical observation that no good deed ever goes unpunished. The incident in Acts seems to support those sentiments. No sooner had Peter healed a crippled man than he found himself under arrest and standing before the authorities to answer charges. He protested that they were merely doing a good deed and healing the poor man.

Third Sunday of Easter (Year B) April 19 (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48)

Second Sunday of Easter (Year B) April 12 (Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 118; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31)