In this climate of political divisiveness and social polarization, I hear many Christians longing for worship that is free of advocacy,...

I used to hear the words of Isaiah and think about a garden near Mexico City where statues of the indigenous tribes bring offerings to...

This reading seems jarring, unsettling— Frankly, it feels as if it belongs in our headlines, not our Gospel. In fact, given the ugly...

The TV ads are sounding off more intently, “It’s late summer. Take some time to relax and (use our product / go to our vacation site /...

Rev. Eslinger shares a homily, and commentary, "Pastoral and Rhetorical Elements in a Homiletic Example” It happened again. Someone in...

Today we meet Jesus praying in a certain place. And when he had finished his time of prayer, the disciples asked the Lord Jesus to teach...

As so often happens with scripture, we tend to glide over the surface of this story of Martha and Mary, smoothing out the rough corners,...

Who is my neighbor? The scholar in this passage asked Jesus this question because, like all of us, he knew that loving others is often...

“Now is the time for this mission,” Jesus announces. Seventy-two will be sent out, sent to towns and places he intends to go. Two by two,...

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.  This is the patronal feast of the city of Rome, because both Peter and...

It sat like a gleaming jewel right smack in the middle of a poor town’s poorest neighborhood.   It was nothing fancy, really— just a...

It was just about 25 years ago, when I was sitting in my office, arranging and re-arranging the stacks on my desk, and staring at the...

One hot summer in Oklahoma City, my Dad began to find little piles of matches, twigs, scorch marks on the driveway where we parked the...

These forty days, the precious days between Easter and Ascension, were utterly unique. A singularity! Here was Jesus, crucified and risen...

Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Who is saved? When I was a kid growing up smack on...

My sheep hear my voice. God’s voice shattered the silence of the void with a Word. God speaks and Hope becomes incarnate, pitching a tent...

St. John continues his rather ambiguous treatment of the disciples’ recognition that Jesus had indeed been raised from the dead. To be...

Last Sunday, we found an empty tomb.  This Sunday, we find mercy.  Perhaps it is better to say that this Sunday, mercy finds us. The...

It is very early on the first day of the week when Mary Magdala comes to the tomb. In fact, it is still dark. She does not come with any...