The Rambler

  TWELFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME  According to St. Paul, the gift outweighs the transgression (see Rom. 5:15-21). In this case, he is contrasting the Calvary-effect with the Eden-effect. What took place in Eden could be seen as a setback. Meanwhile, Calvary could be understood as a form of “jackpot.”  Something will be lost as a result of the Eden-effect. Conversely, something will be gained through the effect brought about on Calvary. Paul maintains that, proportionally speaking, the gain surpasses the loss.  By way of analogy, let’s look back on the 1986 World Series. Game six began to sway in the direction of the Red Sox, thanks to a throwing error committed by Mets 3rd baseman Ray Knight. The Mets, however, staged a late rally and managed to force a decisive seventh game. Knight would come through, in that final game, by hitting the go-ahead home-run, putting his team over the top. You could say that what he provided in game seven more than made up for the faulty execution feature

  ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Paul clarifies the time-table for us. Jesus takes the initiative and dies for us, despite our state of depravity (Rom. 5:8). He doesn’t wait until we can become worthy of his gesture. He dies for us while we are completely entangled, overcome by the burden of sin. Upon being redeemed, we press forward in the journey of life—and at times life gets the better of us. But then you find yourself being lifted  up. It’s as if you have grown a new set of wings, powerful wings, after the fashion of an eagle (Ex. 19:4). To put it rather plainly: you’re being blessed. You’re being blessed with the gift of redemption, and you’re also being blessed through the gift of divine accompaniment. Our first two readings speak directly to this experience of being blessed.  What do we encounter when we shift to this weekend’s Gospel passage? We hear something about the concept of “paying it forward.”  The disciples have received the Good News; having received, they must mak

 These are text versions of the sermons I have prepared for the Sundays of the calendar year. I am a Catholic priest of the diocese of Gaylord (Michigan), ordained in 1997.