A message from Father Pete

For Sunday, April 30, 2023 Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1 Peter 2:20-25; John 10:1-10 It’s amazing how I’ve come to regard as commonplace the workings of my cell phone and my computer. Sometimes I can actually figure out what’s wrong and how to remedy the situation. Really, I’m just a novice at this … perhaps only in the first grade, hoping to move on to second. An offshoot of Artificial intelligence (AI) is the so-called “smart speaker” that relies on voice recognition. It’s another amazing fact for me to be asking Siri so many questions for directions ... what’s the weather ... or to remind me about something or learn some information. And “she” answers immediately, even though I’m still learning to ask in the “right way.” This process isn’t voice recognition, which concentrates on identifying the speaker’s identity. Today’s readings are directing us to the source of what are lives are to be … how we live … how we get closer to God … how we put Jesus’ teachings into our lives … how we put all o...

For Sunday, April 23, 2023 Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 We have interesting questions today from our readings about what we see and what we believe ... questions that are repeatedly asked of us. What do I see around me … what do I believe? Spring is blooming beautifully all around us. Flowers are blossoming, trees full of life are showing their new leaves. We are blessed to witness the beauty of spring in Virginia. There are simple decisions we have to make, such as: Do I wear a jacket? Is it going to rain later? Do I take a nice walk? So much depends on the inconsistencies of the weather and our own personal frame of mind. Our prayers often do the same. We have experienced Lent; so often this sets the mood of our belief in God being present to or seemingly far distant from us. We mistakenly blame ourselves for a “failed Lent,” thinking: If I had done this or that and been more faithful to prized “devotions,” it would have made for a better Easter. But nothing sto...

For Sunday, April 16, 2023 Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31 What was it like for the apostles and disciples of Jesus after their Master’s death? Even for us, death is a mystery. It forces us to ask questions: Why am I alive? Is there a purpose for my life? How do I live? For whom do I live? Am I prepared to die … now? Later? Look at what Jesus’ friends must have felt after His burial. I’m sure they were dazed … confused, certainly … angry over the cruelty to the most beautiful person they had ever known personally … bitter and resentful. The meaning of their lives and hopes had been taken away. Following that amazing Passover meal, everything had come to a complete standstill. What was left to do but go home? But they were hunted men and women. Would they be safe? Jesus said He was coming back; He would never leave them alone. Now we are alone, they echoed. Today John shares Jesus’ appearance to the apostles. They were looking at an unimaginable sight and thinking about the...

For Sunday, April 9, 2023 Acts 10:34, 37-43; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9 There’s a great line in John’s Gospel that is the best guide I have found in understanding the Resurrection. John describes Peter and John arriving at the tomb: John enters first because he is younger and faster. He sees the burial cloths but does not go in, then Peter arrives and goes in: “The other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.” [John 20:9] They Do Not Understand — but somehow understand that everything about Jesus is unique. He talks with women; Jewish men do not do this in public. He touches diseased and crippled people: Jewish people feel that if they do so, they will be infected too. He associates with unbelievers: Gentiles, Samaritans; He dines with the hated class of tax collectors; He heals all, including Romans and pagans; and He raises the dead … even Lazarus...