Category: Pastor’s Message

In his first line of today’s Gospel, Jesus says that if we love him we will keep his word. That might be a tall order; since keeping our own word is hard enough. Napoleon said it well when he advised: “The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.” The author of…
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In today’s Gospel, we are told to love one another. We don’t usually think of that command as applying to the animal kingdom, but God made animals with the same loyalties and instincts we experience. Such loyalty was demonstrated last spring when elephants seemed to grieve over the death of the man who had saved…
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The Gospel today says that the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. But can sheep be fooled by someone just imitating the real shepherd? How many eloquent and clever preachers have turned out to be charlatans intent on fleecing the flock for their own gain? But the real voice of our Shepherd Jesus cannot be duplicated.…
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Scripture scholars have long wondered about the possible meaning of the count of 153 fish in the catch described in today’s Gospel. One proposed that there are 153 varieties of fish found in the Sea of Galilee, and therefore the number symbolizes all generations of people. Yet, the most important number in today’s Gospel is…
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A few months ago, some folks were concerned about the so-called Mayan Apocalypse. Whenever there is an end of the world prediction, there are always people who believe it. They buy flashlights and lay in supplies. But most of us are like Thomas: We’re too smart to fall for things like that. When news came…
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