We all have pushed God away during our lives but we nonetheless always have a yearning to return to God. We may hear and see glimpses of Jesus in our day-to-day lives. That is why we never lose the thought of someday opening a Bible and reading it from start to finish.
Or, we tend to pause for a second when someone starts reciting parts of the Bible in public. We may be reminded that we too are Christians, servants of Christ, who need to be proclaiming God's gospel.
Somehow a Bible verse gets stuck in our mind and we then work to distract ourselves with something else. Yet, we still deep inside want to find out more about it. It is at this point that we wonder "where do I even start to make sense of this large book?"
With 15 books that were written across 1,200 years by various authors how can we fully understand it properly? While there are experts who spend their lives studying the Old and New Testament, many do not readily share their knowledge to the majority of us who are just getting interested in scripture. We are forced to either enroll at their university to take their classes or pay for their expensive book or online course.
But what if we don't have the time or money for all of that? We are just starting off and don't want to commit to such a large expense. You just want someone to guide and explain what you are reading at your own pace and budget.
And so, you try to search for sermons, bible studies, or homilies online. When you do, however, you notice that the results often reflect a singular male, Euro-centric point of view. This can remind you of why you stopped going to your local church to begin with. Because the pastor sounded hateful, out of touch, or boring in his preaching. Is this all that's available? Why should God's Word be confined to one type of perspective and voice?
GatherClip began as a simple online search for reflections, sermons, homilies for the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Filtering through the bland and generic content, looking for the voices of women, laity, and many citizens of the world that can better represent the broad Church as God sees it. Voices that are engaging, informative and without a paywall to access.
Over time, with a collection of preachers gathered from websites, podcasts, and YouTube videos, GatherClip is able to provide you with a diverse explanation of the Sunday scripture readings. Where else can you find such a resource online?
We hope that the weekly 27+ reflections will help you understand the Sunday readings, grow and keep your interest in the Bible, and broaden your perspective of the Church family, Church community. To know God's Word, Jesus, and grow in God's family.