“I come to gather nations of every language…brothers and sisters from all the nations.” Such is Isaiah’s description of the in-gathering of the faithful from north and south, east and west, all worshiping on God’s holy mountain; invited by God, brought in by God. It is a compelling vision. Continue reading
“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Those are Jesus’ words from the gospel but it is not hard to imagine those same words coming from the prophet Jeremiah. He had begun his public ministry during the heyday of the religious reforms of the good King Josiah. It was the best of times. The people were being taught the Word of God and right worship – and Jeremiah was on the vanguard of the reforms. Then King Josiah died in battle and everything changed. Continue reading
The story of Abraham and Sarah is a story that should begin, “Against all odds….” It is a pretty amazing story of perseverance, endurance, and life lived for a mission greater than one’s self. Abraham and Sarah persevered and endured the long journey from modern-day Iraq to Israel on to Egypt and back to Israel. Even as they reached their older years, they continued to hope for a child of their own. They believed in the Lord’s promises even when his timeline was a whole longer than their timelines. They bore the hopes and expectations of all the people they led. Certainly, they lived out St. Paul’s message from 1 Cor 13:7 “[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” Continue reading
“Suppose one of you has a friend…” Maybe it is a family member, a close friend, someone you know, an associate at work, a friend of a friend – whatever the spectrum of how one thinks of friends. This person comes to you with a request. Maybe it’s easy – “can I borrow a cup of sugar?” Easily asked, easily answered and only takes a spot of time. Continue reading
Let me confess to you: I have never much liked the story of Martha and Mary. Maybe it is because there is a part of me that likes “to do,” to see measurable progress, and know we are moving ahead. Don’t get me wrong, I treasure my quiet time, but… Most of my life I have heard that the point of this story was that Mary’s attention to Jesus’ teaching is better and more important than what Martha is doing – the work of hospitality. The women in Kenya heard it that way and it rubbed them the wrong way. They quickly pointed out the biblical importance of their work: “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.” (Hebrews 13:2) They also could have just stayed here in the Gospel of Luke where hospitality is evangelical. In the end, these women felt that the story undervalues or dismissed their efforts to be welcoming, hospitable and to serve. Continue reading
“Go and do likewise.” This seems like a pretty clear command from Jesus. Go about your day and life, showing mercy, being a merciful person. As Moses says in the first reading this command is not mysterious, hidden, something remote and inaccessible. Just do it! ….So… are you a merciful person? Yes? No? Sometimes? Hopefully we at least reach the “sometimes” rating. Jesus’ dialogue with the scholar, in a way, held up a new standard for him to follow: the 10 commandments are great – follow them – but, as St. Paul says, without love, without mercy, those commandments are just clanging gongs and clashing symbols. Just noise. Continue reading
These days there is no shortage of devices to take photographs and videos. We have albums upon albums of memories: a newborn, the baptism, the first bicycle ride without training wheels, pictures of the school years, dropping that young adult at college, the wedding, and the pictures of the newborn. We record the person growing into an independent life. It is a visual record of a mantle being passed on as the child takes on the mantle of an adult. Continue reading
Do you enjoy magic shows? I do – they are just a lot of fun. Many years ago, as part of a white water rafting trip, we spent several days in Las Vegas. I took the opportunity to see one of the big-time, over-the-top, oh-my-gosh-how-did-he-do-that magic shows. I am totally willing to suspend scientific inquiry long enough to accept the invitation, enter the moment, and be totally entertained. It is part mystery, part force of personality, coupled with flair, a sense of the dramatic, and showmanship that makes it enjoyable. Of course I was sitting next to a curmudgeon who kept leaning over to whisper, “I know how he did that.” Since he was unwilling to leave the realm of knowledge and disbelief behind, he was not inclined to accept the performer’s invitation, did not enter into the mystery, and was unchanged by it all. Continue reading
We have all kinds of solemnities, feast days, and other special days in the church year. We commemorate happenings in the life of Christ: Mary’s visit from Gabriel, the birth of Jesus, the arrival of the maji, the Baptism of our Lord, the Transfiguration when the glory of Christ is revealed, Palm Sunday, the empty tomb and Resurrection of Easter, the glorious Ascension, the explosive coming of God’s spirit to the church at Pentecost … and then we have Holy Trinity Sunday. And suddenly it is like we have moved from these great events in the life of Christ, and now…. tadah!! We are celebrating… well… what are you celebrating this Sunday? Take a moment and make a list of the possibilities. Continue reading
If we are attentive to Scripture we should be able to recall the Apostles’ reaction to their witnesses to the Resurrection: let’s see….. went back to the Upper Room and hid, .. hmm…. they went fishing in their old haunts of Galilee … what else? … then went back to the Upper Room … then went out to witness the Ascension … and went back to the Upper Room. At first glance it seems as though there is a lot of lollygagging going on. I mean what happened to “ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”? Not a whole lot of going, disciple making, baptizing or teaching going on. What’s up with that?
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