Musings From The High Desert

The passage about the blind man comes up every year, several times. We know that it's about spiritual blindness being healed, but this time we take a closer look at what that means... and what is required for this new vision. Listen in. (Luke 18:35-43)

It is the impossibility of getting beyond our ego-needs that is at the heart of the passage about riches and the rich young man. Join Fr. Gabriel as he contemplates this passage once again. (Luke 18:18-27)

What is it about this Kingdom of God that Jesus keeps preaching? What are the possible meanings in the background? What is his special meaning? And how do we enter this kingdom? Join Fr Gabriel as he leads us into the mystery of the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 4:12-17)

Fr Gabriel considers the life of St Basil of Caesarea on his day. The quotation toward the end of the sermon is from On the Human Condition: St Basil the Great, translation and introduction by Nonna Verna Harrison. SVS Press, 2005.

We are all stories. Our stories are grounded on our genealogy and our experience, but there is more. We are also embedded in the genealogy of God's dealings with humanity. That's what the Sunday of the Forefathers is all about. Listen in.

This week as we enter more deeply into the Winter Lent, Fr. Gabriel considers how we might be better prepared to greet Christ in our lives, beginning with the basic notes we find in our catechism.

The story of the woman whom Jesus healed on the Sabbath is a cautionary tale. From it we learn the perils of religion, specifically of scrupulosity and fastidiousness. Jesus teaches us to prefer compassion above holiness, if the choice must be made. (Luke 13:10-17)

The passage for this Sunday needs to be viewed in the context of the question put to Jesus just prior to the parable of the "rich fool," as it is called. We need to pay attention to two words in this text: "soul" and "fool." These are the leading words for our lesson. (Luke 12:16-21)

This week, in the wake of our national election, Fr. Gabriel outlines the politics of Jesus and the ongoing struggle to live "in, but not of, the world." (St. Luke 10:25-37 and others)

From the Fathers to our contemporary understanding, Fr Gabriel looks at the story of the healing of Jairus's daughter and the woman with the issue of blood. (Luke 8:41-56)

Today Fr. Gabriel follows up on his consideration of II Corinthians 12 with more thoughts and insights into Paul's particular form of mystical experience and how it relates to us. (II Corinthians 12, part 2)

In this passage Paul combines two aspects of his life, his mystical experience and his visible physical impairment. In a culture so focused on ideal exemplars of the human body as was Greco-Roman culture, Paul's appearance no doubt caused consternation. How could someone so physically unappealing be a "favorite of the gods?" Listen in. (II Corinthians 11:31-12:9)

"To you has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." Did our Lord really mean to bar others from understanding or did he imply something else. Listen in as Fr. Gabriel explores the meaning of the parable of the sower from a different angle (one taken by St. Cyril of Alexandria in the Tradition). (Luke 8:5-15)

"Come ye out from among them" rings many bells for Fr. Gabriel from his own past. Today he considers what this text—which goes back to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Leviticus in both words and spirit—can mean for contemporary Christians (II Corinthians 6:16-7:1).

If "God is in the details," we need to pay attention to texts, especially when the details are so sparse in the biblical accounts. Listen in as Fr Gabriel looks inside the details of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain. (Luke 7:11-17)

So what does the term "sinner" mean in this context? And what does it mean to be merciful, as God is merciful, in this context? Listen in as Fr. Gabriel muses on these things. (Luke 6:31-36)

As we move into the Lukan cycle of readings, Fr Gabriel brings his perspective on the great draught of fishes and Peter's confession of his sinfulness. Christ receives Peter into the mission, despite the awareness of Peter's failures that lies behind the Lukan version of the calling of the first disciple (which is amplified beyond that of Matthew and Mark). (Luke 5:1-11)

Suppose Jesus really meant it. Suppose he was not "gentle Jesus, meek and mild." Suppose he called people to accountability. What then? How shall we understand this parable? Listen in.

"Which (commandments should I observe)?" says the rich man in today's story. This one word leads us into a consideration of his motivation and his willingness to hear the words of Christ, and the real meaning of "rich" and "poor" in Jesus's vocabulary. (Matthew 1916-26)

This text is all about forgiveness. Don't think of the "talent" as material wealth. Think of it as spiritual wealth. And remember the focus on "debt" in the Lord's Prayer, echoed in this story. Listen in as we see this lesson in the context of the gospel of Matthew and of the Church, to which it is addressed. (Matthew 18:23-35)