Category Archives: Musings

Hidden Motives

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The first reading for today is one that is often quickly passed over. In part because it is in a book of the Old Testament which seems distant, filled with too many strange names, and there is often a sentiment of “let’s just move on to Jesus.” I have read it several times, but didn’t stop to delve into the passage. Probably a good time for me to do so.

The account centers around Moses and his brother Aaron and Aaron’s wife Miraiam. At the core of the story Miriam and Aaron complained, “Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks? Does he not speak through us also?” As a result, the Lord “calls them on the carpet” (so to speak – actually he calls them to the Tent of Meeting) and lets them know in no uncertain terms that Moses is the one who God has commissioned to act and speak on His behalf to the Israelites. “Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?” So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed, and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper!”

How are we to understand this passage? And why is only Miriam affected? As a result she is going to be placed “outside the camp” apart from family and the people. No small thing in a wilderness environment.

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The End of One’s Rope

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In the first reading for today, it seems as though Moses has reached “the end of his rope.” We encounter one of Moses’ most raw and human moments—bordering on what may seem like a “pity party,” but is really a profound leadership crisis. A leadership that Moses was likely unprepared for and had to grow into the role. There was no mentor, no role model. He had been asked to do God’s work to free the Israelites from slavery. At this point, his encounters with Pharaoh are over and he has led the people from Egypt into the wilderness. The thrill of their freedom has worn thin and they begin complaining—again—particularly about food. They’re tired of the manna and cry out for meat.

“The riffraff among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.'” (Nb 11:4-5; the reading leaves out the first part of v.4)

The nostalgia for Egypt is ironic—they remember the food but not the slavery. The people’s constant complaining and lack of gratitude push him to the edge – Moses is overwhelmed

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Where Heaven and Earth Meet

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In the first reading today (from Exodus 40) we hear of the “Dwelling” or the “tent of meeting” also known as the Tabernacle. It was a “portable” sanctuary used by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness – portable in the way a large meeting tent can be erected, taken down and transported. It was not a small tent.

Exodus 36, 37, 38 and 39 that describe in full detail how the actual construction of the tabernacle took place during the time of Moses. It is a part of the Bible when readers quickly start turning pages to “get back to the action” of Exodus. But let us pause for a moment and consider the Dwelling that is detailed extensively in the Book of Exodus.

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What we treasure

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In our gospel for today, Jesus gives two short parables today—simple, vivid, and deeply challenging. They’re about people who find something so valuable that they are willing to give up everything else to possess it. One finds a treasure in a field. Another finds a pearl of great price. In both cases, the person sells all they have in order to gain the one thing that matters most.

The point is not hard to grasp: the kingdom of heaven is worth everything. Not just some things. Not just a Sunday here and there. Not just the parts of my life I’m comfortable letting go of. Everything.

If we’re honest, most of us are tempted to hold something back. A corner of our heart we don’t want God to touch. A grudge we don’t want to forgive. A comfort we don’t want to lose. A habit we don’t want to surrender. Maybe even a good thing—family, work, reputation—that we allow to crowd out the call to discipleship.

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The Heart of God

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“So the LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed: ‘The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on the children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation.’” (Exodus 34:6–7)

Today is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. There are two gospel options. A reading from John 11 recounting the scene around the death and raising of Lazarus, or a passage from Luke 10 recounting the story of Martha and Mary during a visit by Jesus. In both passages there are lots of questions asked of Jesus. I am reminded of a passage from St. John of the Cross’ Ascent of Mt. Carmel in which St. John offers:

“In giving us His Son, His only Word (for He possesses no other), He has spoken everything to us at once in this sole Word—and He has no more to say… because what He spoke before to the prophets in parts, He has now spoken all at once by giving us the All who is His Son. Therefore, anyone who now wants to question God or desires some vision or revelation is not only acting foolishly but is also offending Him, by not fixing his eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. For if God wished to speak a word, it was no other than His Son. He is the complete Word, and there is no more to be said.…” (Book 2, Chapter 22)  

The author goes on to explain that in the person of Jesus all that is knowable about God that we can comprehend has been given to us in the person of Jesus.

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Earthen Vessels

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“But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.” 2 Cor 4:7

St. Paul speaks with remarkable honesty about the fragile condition of human life and discipleship. We are, he says, like jars of clay, earthen vessels—ordinary, breakable, imperfect. And yet, within us is a treasure: the presence and power of the Risen Christ. The contrast is deliberate. God’s glory is not hidden by our weakness—it shines through it.

St. James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was among the first called by Jesus. He was also one of the first to drink the cup of martyrdom. Though chosen and close to Christ—present at the Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane—James was not a perfect man. Along with his brother, he once asked for a place of honor in Christ’s Kingdom (cf. Mark 10:37). Matthew’s gospel has his mother make the request. Yet it was precisely through the transformation of his ambitions, through suffering and service, that James became a true vessel of the Gospel.

Paul continues, “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair… always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” (vv. 8, 10)

Christian life is not an escape from suffering; it is a path through suffering toward resurrection. Like James, we are called to remain near the Cross, to carry the dying of Jesus in our own bodies—through sacrifice, endurance, and fidelity. But we also carry His life. The trials we face are not the end of the story. The final word belongs to grace.

Paul ends with a word of hope and purpose: “Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.” (v. 15)

Our trials, our witness, even our weaknesses can serve God’s glory when offered in faith. We do not need to be flawless—we need to be faithful. Like James and so many CHristian before us, we are called to recognize the treasure within, to proclaim the Resurrection with courage, and to let thanksgiving overflow from our lives.

Image credit: Pexels and Canva | Roman Odenstov | CC-BY

Civilization and Air Conditioning

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I was 38 years old before I lived in a home with air conditioning. Growing up in Orlando, while our parents had a window unit in their bedroom, the rest of the house depended on a massive in-ceiling fan that drew the evening air (relatively cool) up and through the house and discharged into the attic space forcing out the heated air that had collected during the way. It mostly worked. The US Naval Academy was not air conditioned. (That first summer in Annapolis exposed me to levels of heat+humidity previous never experience by this Florida boy). The submarine was air conditioned. My “when in port residence” in Aiea Hawaii didn’t have, didn’t need it – thank you tropical breezes. My home in Virginia was not air conditioned until it was added… when I was 38.

I have often wondered if air conditioning was the beginning of the downfall of western civilization. Growing up in Orlando, folks sat on the front porch in the cool of the late afternoon and early evening, …. watching all … reporting all misbehavior to the appropriate parents. It was a civilizing element to an otherwise steamy summer world. It also meant we knew our neighbors – which in the case of my block growing up was fortunate all things considered.

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The Feast of St. Bonaventure

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In many ways St. Bonaventure is a Saint for the times in which we live – when divisions are ripe and the unity of a nation is being sorely tested. In the years while St. Francis was alive, the Franciscan Order experienced rapid growth – which only accelerated after St. Francis’ death and canonization – each friar and local fraternity trying to discern what it meant to follow Christ in the “tradition” of Francis of Assisi. They came to several differing conclusions and the opinions were not always offered “humbly.”  Over simply, one group called for poverty to be the mainstay while another called for obedience. A third group was in the middle just wanting everyone to get along because fraternity and minority were the hallmarks of Franciscan life. The Order was beginning to come apart at the core.

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The Household of Faith

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 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…” (Mt 10:37)  I think there is a tendency among believers that when we hear those words, we respond with, what I call, “the holy nod.” It is our reflexive response: Jesus said it, it must be true, amen, alleluia. Yet if we sit with it for a moment, there is a certain harshness to the words. We treasure our families—we pour our hearts into the daily rhythms of care, communication, sacrifice, and support, and more.  How do Jesus’ words reconcile with the Christian ideal of love?

But Jesus is not diminishing the love we owe our families. Rather, He is reordering it—elevating it. In calling us to love Him first, Jesus invites us to see that love of family finds its fullest meaning and power when rooted in our love for God.

We are called to “take up our cross” (v. 38). And for many, that cross is carried not on distant mission fields or grand platforms, but within the home: in caring for an aging parent, raising a child in faith, forgiving a sibling, or choosing self-sacrifice for the good of the household. These acts, often hidden and humble, are expressions of deep discipleship.

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