Reflections
These reflections are originally published in the weekly newsletter, the Net.
All reflections written by Fr. Bill Garrison will be archived here.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to read previous entries.
“I am the Good Shepherd.”
We will be talking about a Good Shepherd as a metaphor for Jesus Christ this week. Please note that the text quoted above says am, not was. Jesus is the Good Shepherd today as well as he was when he first made the statement about himself.
Jesus as the Good Shepherd has a long history. The figure of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was often found on the walls of the catacombs, where Jesus was depicted carrying a sheep on his shoulders. The spiritual leader of a congregation is often called a “pastor” and this title comes from the latin word for “shepherd”.
We can learn much from this metaphor about God and Jesus. Let’s talk about it this Sunday.
Low Sunday
This Sunday is famously known as "Low Sunday". Historically church attendance plummets from the high of Easter Sunday the following week. Thinking about this prompted me to consider what the reaction of Jesus' disciples was after his resurrection. I imagine they felt a ton of relief and probably...
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...
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,...