“Pentecost: Thought to Thought & Heart to Heart”(c) Pentecost — May 19 , 2024 Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com I thought it would be amusing to have AI write a Pentecost homily; amusing in the ironic sense that a digitally generated message could ever speak the language…
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“Faith in Wonder & Mystery”(c) Feast of Ascension and Mother’s Day — May 12 , 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Serene Jones is President of Union Theological Seminary (UTS) in New York City. A scholar in her own right, she has held this leadership role for 16…
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“Social Catholicism and Remembering Paul & Barbara Misner”(c) 3rd Sunday of Easter — April 14, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Paul and Barbara Misner played a large role in the decision Jean and I made to come to Wisconsin. Barb and Jean were Servite Sisters who taught…
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“Entering into Promise”(c) Palm Sunday– March 24, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Our Lenten journey transitions this week from a season of renewal in faith to accompanying Jesus and his followers with a focus on the Paschal Mystery, on Jesus’ dying and rising. One last time we…
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When ordinary becomes extraordinary © 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time — January 14, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, PhD — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org In the past I think I have made it clear that when I find myself in need of a poem to settle my unsettled thoughts, my first recourse is to…
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On the Road (again) 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time — January 21, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org We are at the start of Year B in the 3 yr. liturgical cycle. I am a great fan of the Gospel of Mark, the synoptic designation for Year B. …
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6th Sunday in Ordinary Time — February 11, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org It has taken 5 weeks in the Lectionary calendar to hear and reflect upon the 1st chapter of the Gospel of Mark. This has been the time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday. Each Sunday…
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3rd Sunday in Lent — March 3, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org This Lent I have been taken with the Exodus story. Chapters 1-14 of the book of Exodus tell the story of the liberation of the Israelites. That’s what the Jewish people were called in those…
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“The Desert: Wandering as Penitence & Discipline”(c) 4th Sunday in Lent — March 10, 2024 Rev. Jim Ryan, M.Div., Ph.D. — jimryan6885@gmail.com Pastor, Mary Magdala Community, maryofmagdala-mke.org Psalm 95 ends with this statement from God: “Forty years I endured that generation; I said they are a people whose hearts go astray. So I swore…
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“Spontaneity rather than Direction” Rev. Jim Ryan, Ph.D. The writing of the Gospels provided authors a way to tell the story of Jesus. The structure of how the story is told adds spontaneity and freedom in the telling. For example, the 15th chapter of Matthew’s gospel tells familiar individual stories. Jesus has confrontations with Pharisees…
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