Fr. Bob’s Weekly Reflections

Have you ever been hungry for something but couldn’t quite identify what it was? Maybe you’ve seen enticing ads on TV, gone to the refrigerator, and found yourself staring at various items, feeling a sense of hunger - but not for the melon or the chicken in front of you. Or perhaps you’ve felt a thirst for something, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was?

It has been two thousand years since Philip and Andrew from our Gospel story walked this earth, but we all know people just like them.

Samuel Coleridge was an English poet. One day as he woke up, he remembered he had dreamed the lines of a poem, even the title, "Kubla Kahn." He did not have to compose the lines, they were all in his head.

Today we read about how Jesus summoned the twelve and sent them out. They were the most unlikely cast of characters for anyone to choose to be the cornerstone of a worldwide movement: poor, uneducated fishermen; a tax collector who would be considered a crook; people with no influence or social connections.

When people meet each other for the first time, they tend to ask one another, "What do you do?" In other words, "How do you make your living?"

Imagine yourself in a large crowd at a sporting event or concert. You are trying to get towards the exit, and throngs of people are moving in the same direction; bumping into one another. A tap of the arm or tug of the sleeve goes unnoticed.

Jesus asks His disciples in today's Gospel, "Why are you lacking in faith?" He is constantly referring to faith. He preached to the people of His time that their faith has made them whole.

There is an old truth that we will reap what we sow. That is the metaphor in today's Gospel. As we go through life, we all sow seeds. Do we stop and think, "What are we planting? In our children, our friends, our co-workers?"

The story of Adam and Eve is perhaps the best known story in history. They ate fruit from the wrong tree. Right in the middle of the garden was a tree that was off limits. They were not to even touch it.

It is late in the day. A little boy is tired of playing. He's tense and miserable; agitated. He starts to whine. The mother is also tired, but must think about cooking dinner.

I'd like to recall the words Jesus told Nicodemus. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son."

It has been a long journey since we entered the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. We have known the gift of Holy Thursday, the agony of Good Friday, the glorious triumph of Easter Sunday and bewilderment of the Ascension.

In our Gospel, we read the prayer Jesus offered the night before He died. It's the longest prayer in the Bible. He says, "Father, Most Holy, protect them which You have given Me. I gave them Your word and the world has hated them for it.

In our Gospel today, Jesus speaks about being chosen. It was not you who chose Me, but I who chose you. And appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.

Most of us are repulsed by spiders. Rather than admire the woven web in the corner of the room, we are quick to destroy it. The spider swaying from the ceiling does not evoke amazement in us, despite its abilities. The spider disgusts us, and even causes us fear.