Last evening I attended the annual Franciscan Mission Service celebration/gala. It was 25 years ago that I joined FMS and headed to to Kenya. Yikes! That was brought to my attention when a pre-dinner slide showed the commissioning of overseas group #36. I was in group #7 sitting with a friend who was in group #1. There is a great energy at FMS – and all this right before World Mission Sunday.
Recently our Sunday gospel recounted the story of Jesus’ question to the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29) It is a question we should each be able to answer in a way that reflects the impact and meaning that Jesus has in our life. Thomas’s answer, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) is a great answer, but perhaps just a summary. What are the details? Can you combine your answer with the admonition of 1 Peter 3:15 (Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope)?
I wonder if there is also an “always be ready” moment to think about who people say that you are? Hopefully your thoughts on the matter are close to the answer others would give…but, these days, I wonder. We live in a world in which our political affiliations are increasingly the lens by which we see and are seen. Continue reading
Merriam-Webster defines “sloth” as a “disinclination to action or labor” and “spiritual apathy and inactivity” – as in the deadly sin of sloth. All this is not exactly fair to the slow-moving arboreal edentate mammals. To be fair, the “disinclination” meaning came first. When the sloth was observed by Spanish explorers, the moniker was assigned to the animal who observed to sleep as much as 20 hours a day. What they did not notice was that the sloth is an amazing swimmer and able to hold its breath up to 40 minutes. And they may not have noticed the sloth noticing them given the sloth can rotate its head 270 degrees in either direction. Still the name stuck. So… don’t be slothful, but congratulate a sloth should you happen to meet one in the wild. Continue reading
Even in these times, when like Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog, we emerge from our pandemic shells, if you are attentive, you begin to notice the tidal changes in daily life. As you adjust to the new normal, now is a good time to consider things. Maybe some of the basics. For example, what am I grateful for in my life? And then consider if you have given any demonstrable witness to that gratitude. Maybe, “I am grateful for my family” is on the list, but have you expressed it to them? Continue reading
Remember grade school and picking teams at recess for activities like dodgeball? If you were assigned as captain and had first pick, you wanted to pick “the one,’ the sure winner, the thoroughbred on which to ride all the way to the finish line.
The first reading is from the Letter to the Romans.There is always a lot going on in St. Paul’s epistles and the Letter to the Romans is as complex as it gets. He is offering that you are captain for something way more important than dodgeball teams. It’s your pick. Which one will you choose?
I think we need a scorecard to keep track of two different “the one’s.”
This One
This one disobeyed God
This one became a sinner and so did we all
Through this one, sin entered the world
Condemnation came to this one and then all
Death followed for this one and then for all, plus eternal damnation
Through this one sin and death reigned
That One
That One is God
That One was sinless
Through that One grace entered the world
Salvation for all came from that One
Justification for Eternal life for all came from that One
Through this one love, love and the Kingdom reigned
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.” …and who picked the right One. “Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.” (Luke 12:37) Such is the Kingdom of God.
If you would like to watch a great introduction to the Letter to the Romans, our friends at The Bible Project have a two-part video series you should watch: Romans Chapter 1-4 (7 minutes) and Chapters 5-18 (9 minutes). It is an amazing introduction to one of the most theologically dense epistles.
The refrain from today’s psalm proclaims: “Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.” The words of psalm are taken from Psalm 145, verses 10-18. The words proclaim the glory of God and the splendor of His Kingdom. They extol the justice, power and holiness of God’s works. The words announce the everlasting presence of the kingdom and the call to all to draw near.
I would have picked different verses from the same psalm.
In the first readings Paul makes mention of his friends who work to make known the kingdom and the Messiah. In the gospel, Jesus commissions 72 friends (He calls them “disciples”) “whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” Their instructions included the command to “say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”
I would have picked Psalm 145:3-7
“Great is the LORD and worthy of much praise, whose grandeur is beyond understanding. One generation praises your deeds to the next and proclaims your mighty works. They speak of the splendor of your majestic glory, tell of your wonderful deeds. They speak of the power of your awesome acts and recount your great deeds. They celebrate your abounding goodness and joyfully sing of your justice.”
One generation to the next, each one proclaiming the mighty works of God.
Here on the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, let us give thanks to God that he did what was his to do, passing on to countless generations the account of the mighty works of God in the person of Jesus, the Messiah, and in life of the early Church. Let us pray that we fulfill our role in passing on the story to the current and the next generation.
Oops…. forgot to post this yesterday!
The Triumph of Death is an oil panel painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted circa 1562. The painting shows a panorama of an army of skeletons wreaking havoc across a blackened, desolate landscape. Fires burn in the distance, and the sea is littered with shipwrecks. The Triumph of Death captured perhaps the greatest event of mass human suffering in the history of civilization: the Black Death (1346–1353). Bouts of plague ravaged Europe intermittently from at least 430-1750; however, it was the period of the Black Death that induced the greatest suffering, claimed the greatest toll of life, and laid the groundwork for the fundamental transformation of the world’s economic and social systems.
Received an obituary from a friend that I thought good to share:
The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees!… You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” (Luke 11:42).
Back before this pandemic, I would often go with friends to the movie theatre. I am forever fascinated by the movie previews they select. I always think that the folks in marketing select the previews based on who they think is about to watch the feature movie. I remember going to watch a movie, “The Martian” which was about a US astronaut who is left behind, stranded on Mars. It is a story of the heroic human condition in the face of adversity. It is a science fiction movie. It is many things. But the previews were almost all horror movies. Maybe it was the proximity to Halloween. Continue reading
The Georgia coastal city is known for manicured parks, horse-drawn carriages and antebellum architecture. Its historic district is filled with cobble-stoned squares and parks such as Forsyth Park shaded by oak trees covered with Spanish moss. It has its own rich history and lots of great restaurants. The official guide to the city offers: “Savannah, Georgia is a charming Southern escape where art, period architecture, trendy boutiques and ghost stories are all set under a veil of Spanish moss. Savannah is a place where cuisine comes straight from the coast and cocktails are served at every meal.”
Did you know it is the third largest container shipping port in the nation behind only Long Beach, CA and New York? Continue reading
