How dense can I be?

 The Gospel reading for tomorrow is John 10:1-10.  Jesus explains that He is the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven.  I love this reading because I can be like the Pharisees at times - not opening my mind to the most direct lessons Jesus wants to teach me.  

In the reading, Jesus explains to them the metaphor of the sheep going through the gate to reach salvation, but they do not understand.  So, He explains it again, saying, "I am the gate for the sheep.  All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.  Whoever enters through me will be saved."

I picture Jesus pulling out poster board and markers and sketching out what he is trying to say, with arrows and labels, a little bit frustrated.  Those Pharisees were a little slow on the update.  And so can I be.  

Jesus' messages are simple.  We complicate them.  The whole of the message of the Gospel can be summed up with today's reading and Matthew 22: 37-39, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"   

Can you imagine what the world would be like if people internalized and acted according to these two passages?  Almost too sad to contemplate.

So it's simple.  All the theology.  All the councils over the millenia.  All of the beautiful and well-intentioned work of creating the Cathechism.  The countless heartfelt sermons by priests and preachers who devote their lives to God.  And it's really rather simple.  Just so often we don't follow what we have been taught. 

Our job then: to realize how straightforward it is to walk through the gate.  Not easy, but straightforward.  Let's try not to be as thick-headed as the Pharisees.

Peace be with you.

- The Older Brother

 

The Great Reveal

Luke 24: 13-35 (Third Sunday of Easter)

O’ Lord, You are my salvation and the great reveal who protects me from enemies who seek to breach my fortress.

Lord, instill in  me a devotion that never yields, a faith that spreads like a sunrise percolating from the horizon.

Praise to the Wonderful Mystery!

O’ Lord, as peace retreats from this place redirect us back to the Source of all kindness and prosperity.

Lord, it is only You that can restore us to divine sanity and who can redirect us back to our Heavenly destination.

Glory to the Anonymous Yeshua!

O’ Lord, it is impossible to know the depths of Your love for I can only taste it through Your son’s mercy and sacrifice.

Lord, You remain the affirmation of Truth revealed and my anticipation to know You grows more intensely each day.

Glory to the Good News!

O’ Lord, Your anonymous reveal inspires many to forge a quest rooted in charity, peace, integrity, and love.

Lord, the upper room of my heart is a place that impatiently awaits to hear You say, “Peace be unto you.”

Glory to the God of Deliverance!

O’ Lord, my legs are giving out and I have become exhausted by the journey, needing to sleep and rest.

Lord, there is so much more to learn from You and I am ready for the lessons that await me.

Praise to the Divine Harvester!

O’ Lord, more days have passed than remain, so please increase in me a desire to know You more completely.

Lord, You are Messiah Yeshua whose resurrection promise prevails and reveals itself in simple and random acts of kindness.

Praise to the Inherent Victory!

                                                                                      The Pilgrim

 Gospel Reflection 4/12/26

My brothers,

We are a people surrounded by constant noise: arguments without listening, endless news cycles- telling us what to hold true; opinions that become weapons.

We hear speak of red, white, and blue being “great again” as if that matters more than the cross on which hung our salvation- Jesus – the words He spoke and the example He invited us to follow.

We no longer make an effort to gain broader insights and remain happy staying in our narrow views of reality.

We fear differences in skin color, language, and culture, forgetting that there is one creator – and He calls it ALL “very good.”

We are weary; exhausted by the strain of a divided country – communities fractured by mistrust and violence, people of all ages struggling with anxiety and depression, a world filled with conflict and war, and we have a longing that no connection seems to fill.

We have learned how to respond to protect our “tribes” but fail miserably at communicating. We do not listen. We see silence as failure and have failed to master stillness, where we can find union with the God who calls us beloved and offers us rest.

We have advanced so much since the days of the first disciples and still we are not so different from them - locked behind doors, afraid of what may be outside, uncertain of the future.

Yet—He comes – not into a calm world, but into a world bound by fear, confusion, and doubt.

He comes through those locked doors that bind us, into the chao and says: “Peace be with you.”

This is not the peace of winning an argument, of “being right.” Nor is it the peace of everything going our way, nor the peace of control.

It’s the kind of peace that can exist in a divided nation, and even in a restless heart.

He shows us His wounds and we must not look away! In a world that hides weakness, He reveals it. In a culture that avoids pain, He gives us an example. In a people who are quick to judge, He offers mercy.

Why do we continue to try to hide our wounds as if they would disqualify us?

“Thomas doubted, and was not rejected. He questioned, and was invited closer. He reached toward the wounds, and found faith there.”

Thomas was not disqualified and we are not either! Jesus asks us to share our doubts, questions, and struggles with Him so that He can reveal Himself for us – just as He did for Thomas.

We must stop thinking we are unworthy, but more so, we must stop treating one another as enemies and believing that fear will save us. We must stop waiting for certainty before we choose to love.

This nation will not heal by shouting louder. Our communities will not be restored by locking doors.

Peace begins in hearts willing to be transformed.

We are blessed, not because we have all the answers, but because we are willing to believe that something greater than division is possible.

We ask for signs and demand proof. We measure, compare, defend. But faith was never meant to be transactional.

Faith requires an encounter. Peace offered. Mercy extended. Love granted as an invitation from the heart.

The doors we lock do not keep Him out, but keep us trapped.

So let’s open them!

And notice: He is already standing amongst us, speaking peace into the very places we thought were too broken, too conflicted, too volatile to heal.

-Ignar, the Pilgrim Prophet

 

 

OUTCAST & KING

Sunday 5 April Easter Sunday of the Resurrection

O’ Lord, You are the beatific vision available to all – the outcast and king of humanity.

Lord, You are the man-God and the perfect example of suffering and victory.

Glory to the King of Kings!

O’ Lord, although the object of mockery and malfeasance, You chose benevolence and integrity.

Lord, help me to model Your ways as I walk toward Emmaus discerning the unimaginable.

Praise to the Tender Remedy!

O’ Lord, You remain forever the “promised fulfilled” who fulfilled a selfless quest.

Lord, afford us the ability to discern Your presence in every possible moment of this life.

Glory to the Risen Christ!

O’ Lord, the great wonders of mercy You performed were simply a precursor to those coming.

Thank you for rescuing this weary traveler from an outcome too much to bear.

Praise to the Mantle of Compassion!

                                                                                      The Pilgrim & the Knight of Our Lady