Reflections

These reflections are originally published in the weekly newsletter, the Net.
All reflections written by Fr. Bill Garrison and Fr. John Saville will be archived here.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to read previous entries.

Fences

In ancient times there were a lot of rules for living. Most important, for our discussion, were the cleanliness laws. They covered items such as who a person might associate with and what people could properly eat, and what we needed to do to get God to hear our prayers. Then Jesus Christ came into the world and the system of laws was replaced by grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus. All the barriers between God and people had been removed.

Unfortunately, barriers appear to remain between us and God. They are different though than those previously in place. Some are incredibly high, it feels like. Where did they come from? Who is responsible? Let’s talk about it on Sunday.

Authority

Have you noticed that when we say something is true people want to know how we know it is a fact? They want proof. Scholastically we must cite the writings and research of others to prove that we know what we are talking about. I have noticed that the press is fact-checking our politicians now,...

Come and See Continued

This past Sunday several people asked me to write something about finding Jesus in scripture. I call my process learning to SPELL. Each letter stands for a part of the system. Here is an explanation for each. Study scripture regularly. Read the New Testament. Starting at the beginning and reading...

Come and See!

Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." This snippet of conversation from this Sunday's gospel has great significance to me. First of all Nathanael doesn't have a lot of respect for the hometown of Jesus. That's pretty obvious. And in...

Well Here We Go

The gospel this week is from Mark. Mark is the gospel closest to the events marking the life of Jesus. It was written about 30 or 40 years after the resurrection. It's also written in simple language unlike the other gospels. The writer would have made a great witness in a trial and I find his...

The Logos

In the gospel for this coming Sunday, we encounter "Word". This is a translation from the Greek word "Logos" and doesn't even come close to expressing what the writer meant to say. A better understanding would be "the revelation of God in the world." I like to say that God tore the fabric of...

Where Do You Find God?

This week the gospel tells us about John the Baptizer. He was out in the wilderness, dressed in a camel hair coat, eating bugs, and preaching a baptism of forgiveness. Scholars call him the last Old Testament prophet. They say tons of people were going out to him to be baptized. His baptism was...

And Now We Wait

Christ is coming. He will tear the fabric of reality and join us as a baby. We remember that at the end of his life he changed everything. Because of Him, we will no longer be judged by our works. Instead, He has closed the gap between us and God and guaranteed our eternal life. Instead of a long...

When Did We See You Lord?

`Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them,...

The God We Believe In

In this week's gospel lesson, three people are given incredible wealth to manage while their master is gone. Two invest and earn their master interest. The third hides what he has been given and it remains exactly as it was when the master returns. God, of course, is represented by the master and...

Don’t Wander Off

The gospel lesson this week is about a wedding once more. This time ten young bridesmaids are waiting to greet the bridegroom. It starts getting late, midnight in fact, and five of the girls don't have enough oil. So off they scurry to attempt to buy more and while they are gone the bridegroom...