Category Archives: Musings

Under the fig tree

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Today is the Feast of the Archangels with a reading from the Gospel of John in which Jesus encounters Nathaniel under a fig tree. It is only at the end of the reading that angels get a mention: “you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51) Otherwise, Jesus is involved in the calling of the disciples, having found Peter, Andrew and Philip at work. He finds Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. Micah 4:3-4 and Zechariah 3:10 suggest that “under a fig tree” may be a place of contemplation. It may be that Nathanael was a “thinker”. He wouldn’t accept anything at face value, but he would question and contemplate everything until he was sure of its truthfulness. On the other hand, sitting in the shade, eating the free figs, might indicate that he was just a lazy bum. Continue reading →

Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus

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Today includes an optional Memorial in honor of St. Wenceslas of Bohemia (which today we would understand as modern Czechoslovakia). The first reading for the memorial is from 1 Peter 3:14-17 and has what I think is one of the most foundational of Biblical and life commands, especially for these times in which we live: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope…”  In various and sundry ways people have asked me that question. Often it comes from a family member in the ICU waiting room, a loved one hovering between life and death. The surgeons come to say, “We’re doing all we can.” What is the reason for hope at that moment? Continue reading →

Lessons from Suffering

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Job was nearly crushed by the pain of suffering. He tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell to the ground when he heard that his children had died (Job 1:20). And yet in the midst of such pain and heartache, Job cried out.

“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21)

Continue reading →

Connected

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Something described as sporadic occurs occasionally, irregularly, or randomly across time or space. The word comes from Medieval Latin sporadicus, which is itself derived from Greek sporadēn, meaning “here and there.” It is also related to the Greek verb speirein (“to sow”), the ancestor from which we get our word spore (the reproductive cell of a fungus, microorganism, or some plants), hinting at the seemingly scattered nature by which such cells spread and germinate. Things like this are why etymology has always fascinated me. (Source: Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day)

Bumblebees are not Fish

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Yesterday the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s bumblebees can be protected under the law as a type of fish according to California Endangered Species Act. Ahhh….ok…. This has to be fodder for all manner of internet memes, YouTube videos and possibly a SNL skit. The court actually ruled that it would not hear arguments over whether the California Fish and Game Commission can consider granting protections to a number of bumblebee species whose populations are in steady decline. In writing for the court, however, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said that even though the law does not use the word “insects,” sections of the law suggest that invertebrates may be grouped under the category of fish. She also suggested that the Legislature “is in a position to make whatever statutory amendments it may regard as necessary or useful” to clarify such ambiguities in the endangered species act. The Chief Justice warned against misconstruing the decision as “an affirmative determination by this court that under the law, bumblebees are fish.”  A needed clarification.

Remembering

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I could not begin to guess the number of times I have said or heard the words: “Do this in remembrance of me” – part of the Eucharist prayer celebrated at the Holy Mass in places and times around the world. I imagine that across the globe, at every moment of time there is a voice speaking those words. At every moment of time there are believers gathered to worship and collectively remember the story we live by – the life and redeeming death of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Why are you called?

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Today is the Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle, the author of the Gospel of Matthew. He is identified as a tax collector for the Roman authorities (Mt 9:9 and 10:3) In similar passages both Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 describe Jesus’ calling of the tax collector Levi, the son of Alphaeus, but Mark and Luke never explicitly equate this Levi with the Matthew named as one of the twelve. However, that is well established in Tradition.

As a tax collector, his fellow Jews would have despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force. The Pharisees lumped them with “sinners” (Mt 9:11-13). If Jesus had used a Public Relations firm to help him select the 12, I am pretty sure Matthew would have been judged to have too many “negatives” in public perception and would thus be a liability “to the team and mission.”

But then again, Jesus’ mission was to call sinners to redemption and to the renewed covenant with God.

Why did Jesus call Matthew, the tax collector? I don’t think it was for someone to keep accounting records and make sure the taxes were paid. What was Matthew’s contribution to the nascent Christian community? At the beginning, it was hard-to-impossible to say. At the end, under the gift of the Spirit, he produced the inspired Gospel of Matthew, plus took the gospel out into the world on mission.

Why did God call me? Trust me, lots of people who knew me back in the day would have been surprised. But after all these years of mission and ministry, one hopes the Good has come from it.

This is what I do know: “But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry.” (Eph 7,11-12)

You are equipped for the work of ministry…. Are you doing it?  Just asking….

Image credit: Call of St. Matthew by Caravaggio, Public Domain, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome