Browsing Deacon Wilson's Wisdom
Who's In and Who's Out?
Posted by Kellee Chwala on 8/11/20
The “Members Only” signs are mostly gone today, but many of us know that there are still places where membership is restricted; where some belong and others do not. To be an insider, we still show our ID card, our green card, our picture ID or some other badge ... Read More »
Called to Faith
Posted by Kellee Chwala on 8/05/20
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, hung a sign above his office door, which read, “Called or not, God is present.” That one sentence incorporated, in a few words, what the two Testaments of the Bible have proclaimed to us for centuries using hundreds of thousands of words. It ... Read More »
Food Enough for All
Posted by Kellee Chwala on 7/28/20
Worldwide 821 million people, one-in nine, go to bed hungry every night, and worldwide, one-in-three suffer from some form of malnutrition. In the United States, 37 million people, 11 million children, live in households that struggle to put food on the table. Because of the impact of the ... Read More »
Counter-Cultural Christians
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 6/29/20
Jesus reminds us today, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is unworthy of me and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is also unworthy of me.” What a disturbing, challenging, counter-cultural gospel message! Viewed from our 21st century vantage point, this gospel passage reflects ... Read More »
Be Not Afraid
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 6/22/20
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the apostles: “Fear no one!” “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Many probably think that this charge to have courage under persecution has little to do with us. We live ordinary lives distant ... Read More »
Food for Life
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 6/17/20
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” These words are startling and visceral, and to those without faith, downright grotesque. However, with ... Read More »
Divine Love
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 6/08/20
The feast of the Holy Trinity celebrates the sharing of a love-relationship between God and humanity as Father, Son and Spirit. Without God’s willingness to share that relationship, we would find ourselves cut off, alone, unfulfilled, and spiritually deficient. However, we have been made aware of that divine ... Read More »
Come Spirit God
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 6/01/20
As Christians, we profess our belief in a God who is Father, Son and Spirit. Yet in our day-to-day living, we most often imagine God as Father or Savior, rather than a Spirit God of wind or fire. The vision of God as spirit is probably most foreign ... Read More »
Mission Possible - Always
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 5/26/20
In today’s Gospel Jesus said to his apostles: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.” Those words, possibly the last he spoke to them, shaped their mission and their lives. After three years of teaching and preaching, he reminded them one ... Read More »
The Power Promise
Posted by Janice Schmidbauer on 5/18/20
We have all had memorable experiences that stick with us long after they occur. These memories make an impact because they impress us with their grandeur, their beauty, or their power. One such image that I remember is the sound and power of Niagara Falls. Driving from Lake ... Read More »