We all have our times in the wilderness. Times we feel all alone, times when the bottom has fallen out. times when life has taken an unpleasant turn, sometimes suddenly...out of the blue, you are in the wilderness.

Do you ever feel like everything was leading up to right now? If you have been around for a while, you might think about your life experiences and how all the different things on your resume set you up for right now.

I bring this up because God has given us guidelines, advice, help to live better lives, to have better relationships with him and better relationships with others.

You can’t be perfect. Go ahead and try –and even by some miracle, if you could be perfect from here on out, you still couldn’t make up for what you’ve already done…we simply aren’t perfect

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

This is an interesting Gospel text for us...

What God is saying to us is that fishing for people is not optional. He won’t be satisfied until everyone joins the family and He wants you and me to make the introductions and invite them in…

Naming a child is an important process. It's important process because that name will stick with that kid for good or bad, for the rest of their lives.

Now if we believe that Jesus is the son of God, and if we believe that he is sinless, why in the world did Jesus get baptized?

Even though it’s the 12th day of Christmas, it just doesn’t feel like it anymore… But…when we get past the romanticized and sentimental feelings, John has a new reality for us.

In today’s gospel, John the Baptist wants just the facts. That's all he's looking for. He just wants to know the truth. He doesn't want a spin on it, he doesn't want a partisan angle on it, he just wants to know.