The Lord Jesus grew up in an agricultural setting, and so it’s no surprise that He draws on images that run through that world.
McKenna
John 3:16 – Read It!
by Tom McKenna, CM | April 3, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
If you’ve watched any sports events over the last decades, you’ve seen banners held high, calling attention to a famous passage in John’s Gospel.
A Closer Walk (John 2:13-25)
by Tom McKenna, CM | March 20, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
Early in St. John’s gospel, we see Jesus resolutely striding into the outer courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple, a space bordering on what the Jewish people acknowledged to be God’s own Dwelling place.
Gratitude: The Key (1 Cor. 9: 16-19; Mk.1:29-39)
by Tom McKenna, CM | March 6, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
A question: what is it that allows people to keep on giving? What is it that motivates someone who isn’t receiving any reward or payment to continue being generous?
The Collaborative Instinct
by Tom McKenna, CM | February 21, 2024 | Formation, Reflections | 3 Comments
There have been times in both the history of the Jewish people and in our own Church when there was a wide dividing line between the clergy and the rest of the believing people.
The Shining Gaze (Ps 4:7a; Lk 24:36-80)
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 1, 2024 | Formation, Reflections
A favorite verse, Psalm 4, reads: “Lord, let your face shine upon us.” It summons up a very warm and private kind of experience that each of us in our own way can recognize.
Solidarity – in Life, Death, and New Life (Mark 14:1-15:47)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 17, 2024 | Formation, Reflections
A remark I once overheard: “I don’t mind suffering when nobody knows about it – as long as somebody knows about it!”
Inside The Fold (John 10:1-10)
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 3, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
Preparing for this Sunday, which is often called Good Shepherd Sunday, I came across a description of the things a shepherd in Jesus’ time would do to care for his — or her — sheep.
Paying It Forward (Acts 2:42-47)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 19, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
In the Acts of the Apostles, we come across a behavior that is not quite self-explanatory.
Toward Jerusalem
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 5, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
We disciples of Christ profess to follow the Lord Jesus– and this week in particular, we would follow Him to Jerusalem.
Never Alone (John 11:1-45)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 22, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
One of the heaviest of feelings is the one of being alone. You hear it in the cry of an infant, and more generally you catch it in the forlorn look of any lonely person.
Seeing What’s There (John 9:39)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 8, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
How many times have you heard people use the phrase, “I finally woke up?”
Struggles at a Well (John 4:5-42)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 22, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
Some of the traits which come out in the Samaritan woman as she interacts with Jesus at the noonday well could paint her as a hard-hearted and difficult lady.
Higher (Matthew 5:38-48)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 8, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
There’s a phrase from the sports world, “setting a high bar.” It means raising the height of the jump just beyond the mark the athlete think he can clear.
A Divine Bias? (Ps 146; I Cor 1:27-30)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 25, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
The word “bias” doesn’t have an especially pleasing connotation. It usually means an unfair leaning toward one group and a blindness toward its opposite.
Outbreaks of Glory (Isaiah 49:3)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jan 11, 2023 | Formation, Reflections
Every once in a while when reading the Scriptures, something lights up, jumps out into the present time and place.