Category Archives: Musings

Taking a moment

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In her Sunday column, Tish Harrison Warren talks an aspect of our humanity. I think the larger arc of the story is part of something that I ponder: the role of technology in improving our lives. It is an age old argument with the promise of a better future, in part, enabled by scientific and technological discovery and implementation. For example, back when I was only single-digits old, my maternal grandparents lived in Utah. It might as well have been Mars. One did not simply “catch a flight” and travel cross country. With modern air travel Utah is but a few hours away, perhaps even non-stop. If my single-digit youth was here in the 2020s, Grandma and Grandpa Obray would have only been a zoom call away. And that would have been a good thing. I hope I would be able, interested, and willing to “catch a flight” to Paradise, Utah to visit the family homestead. Continue reading →

Things you need to know

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A friend sent me this list of things you just have to know!

  • On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year. 
  • A dentist invented the electric chair. I think he didn’t have many repeat patients.😂
  • TYPEWRITER is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
  • A snail can sleep for three years.
  • The “pound” (or hashtag) key on your keyboard (#) is called an octothorpe.

You never know when you need to fill in the gap in conversation at some gathering!

Gamaliel

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In today’s first reading we see religious politics in play in the Sanhedrin which consisted to Sadducees (the majority) and Pharisees. The Sadducean leaders were so enraged by the defiance of their orders, they wanted to put the apostles to death. For such drastic action they needed the support of the Pharisaic members of the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees commanded much more public respect than did the Sadducees and it was important to have them “on board” in a case like the present, in which the defendants (apostles) enjoyed the people’s goodwill.   Continue reading →

Seamless Catholics

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What does it mean to be a pro-life Catholic? What issues come under the umbrella or pro-life – certainly abortion and euthanasia. Some people are surprised to discover capital punishment is also on the list. There is a lot more on the US Bishops’ list of issues to which we as Catholics are called to take into prayer and action. It includes topics such as trade and debt, climate change, poverty, and more. It is a wide range of issues which have in common the deeply held conviction of the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Admittedly the issues which bracket the timeline are more focused: abortion and euthanasia. As horrific as they are, as issues, they are easier to frame morally and focus action and prayer. But the issues in the between become more challenging to garner a consensus of action among the faithful. We are challenged to have a consistent ethic of life that is enacted in our Church. Continue reading →

Something curious

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Take a moment and peruse John 3 taking note of who is speaking. The exchange between Nicodemus and Jesus is clear (vv. 1-21). The testimony of John the Baptist is clear (vv .22-30). And then you come today’s gospel (vv. 31-36). It is hard to know who is speaking. If it is John the Baptist, then it is amazing God-inspired insight and no less powerful than Peter’s confession in the Gospel of Matthew. It is more likely that it is the Gospel writer offering a commentary. Continue reading →

God so loved

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From today’s gospel we have one of the best known verses in all of Scripture: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” But… I’ve wondered whether, if people thought about what this verse says for just a little longer than it takes to read a bumper sticker, it might just prove to be far less comforting and far more troubling.

Love is the language and logic of the kingdom of God. It is by the calculus of the Kingdom that God is “all in” sending his only Son. God comes in love to redeem loss, turn tragedy into victory, and demonstrate true power through sheer vulnerability and absolute sacrifice. What is troubling about that? Let me offer two reasons. Continue reading →

Clothe yourselves with humility (1 Peter 5:5)

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One afternoon in the synagogue, a rabbi was overcome with rapture and threw himself to the ground proclaiming, “Lord, I am nothing!” Not to be bested, the cantor prostrated himself and exclaimed, “Lord, I am nothing!” The temple handyman, working in the back of the sanctuary, joined the fervor, prostrating himself and crying, “Lord, I am nothing!” Whereupon the rabbi nudged the cantor and whispered, “Look who thinks he’s nothing!”

It can be a very thin line between humility and pride. Continue reading →

Baseball, Easter and the possibility of a nap

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A few days ago I posted an interesting video commentary on Sunday’s gospel. The priest in the video considered the story of “doubting Thomas” with a baseball connection. It started me thinking about faith and baseball. Maybe it is a coincidence of calendars and scheduling; maybe not. But Easter and Eastertide are always right there with the start of major league baseball season. Just saying. Continue reading →