Defensiveness, denial, rationalization, avoidance. What do these things have in common? It’s what we do when we avoid shame. None of us like to experience shame. None of us like to experience suffering. And we love to avoid. We love to deny. We love to distract ourselves because shame does not feel good. Here is the gospel, though, where Saint Peter does the same thing. He tells Jesus, “No, you cannot die. You cannot suffer. You cannot experience shame. I will protect you. I will defend you. We will avoid this.” But the reality is that Jesus Christ embraces all of these things. He embraces shame. He embraces suffering for us. This is what makes Christianity so radical that our God is not afraid to embrace shame and suffering for us. So the next time that you experience some shame or suffering, you know that your God has gone before you experience this with you.
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The Lord Keeps Us Safe
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Start Small
So at the foot of the mountain of Assisi. There is a beautiful church called Saint Mary of the Angels. Inside the church is another very small church called the Portiuncula, which is where Saint Francis began his mission. He didn’t begin as one who was feeding the whole world. He was just a simple man who said yes in a…
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Don’t Hoard Your Gifts
This Sunday’s Gospel is about the rich man who accumulates all of this wealth. But he hoards them; he doesn’t give anything away. We are called as Christians to do the opposite. We have accumulated so many skills. The question is, do we hoard it or do we give it away in love? I think a great example of this is Eleven from Stranger Things…
