The Star and Leviathan

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Years ago, I read a science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clark, “The Star.” I read it in a collection of short stories by Clark. “The Star” appeared in the inaugural issue of Infinity Magazine. The story is about a group of space explorers from Earth returning from an expedition to a remote star system, where they discovered the remnants of an advanced civilization destroyed when its star went supernova. The destroyed planet’s culture was very similar to Earth’s. Recognizing several generations in advance that their star would soon explode, and with no means of interstellar travel to save themselves, the doomed people spent their final years building a vault on the outermost planet in their solar system, whose Pluto-like orbit was distant enough to survive the supernova. Continue reading →

Getting Underway

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This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 35 On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.  Continue reading →

Ten Dollars

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An old farmer and his wife always went to the county fair. And, every year they saw the same pilot offering to take people up for a spin in his airplane for $10.00 a ride. Every year, the old farmer asked his wife to give him $10.00 so he could go up. Every year, the wife responded by getting very mad at him and saying that ten dollars was ten dollars and they couldn’t afford to be so frivolous with what little money they had. He told her that he was now 80 years old and if he didn’t go up this year, he never would. In a very angry voice, she repeated that ten dollars was ten dollars. At this point they got into an argument about it. Continue reading →

Righteous Deeds

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I have always wondered about the practice of nonprofit fundraising and especially large capital campaigns that offer naming opportunities to attract seven-, eight-, and nine-figure donations from high-net-worth individuals. As far back as the first century CE, Roman general Marcus Agrippa had his name inscribed on the Pantheon temple. The practice continues today as expressions of civic responsibility, prestige, and power. Continue reading →

Divine Power over the Seas

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This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We are people who live in a time when transoceanic sailing is routine, but for the people of Old Testament times, the seas, deep oceans, and their creatures held a mix of practical, symbolic, and theological significance. To the OT mind the sea is the place of chaotic power, the habitation of sea monsters, and the place from whence comes evil. Given that perspective, there are three primary OT motifs which arise, not only in Scripture, but also in the text of other Ancient Near East cultures:

  • The ability to control the sea and subdue storms is a sign of divine power
  • The image of the storm was a metaphor for evil forces active in the world and especially for the tribulations of just people from which only the power of God can save
  • The religious person should always trust in God even in the midst of the most terrible storm

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Perfection

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There is a picture in my office that I have had since last century. It is a picture of Jeff Pierce. You probably have never heard of Jeff. He was a professional bicycle racer. He rode for the 7-Eleven team back in the late 1980s when they were the first American team to race in Europe. In the 1987 Tour de France, Jeff was a domestique, a rider whose principle task was to be a support for the team leaders: carry water bottles, protect the top riders from the ravages of wind, and at the end of the day to struggle across the finish line well after the leaders. Against all odds Jeff won the grand finale, the last stage in Paris on the Champs Elysees. A gendarme in the background of the photograph stares in disbelief. Jeff is alone. Crossing the finish line, arms raised in unbelieving triumph. He won against the greatest riders of his day. An American in Paris.  I look at that picture and know that perfect moments are possible. Continue reading →

Learning from Signs and Miracles

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This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Despite the traditional marking of chapters in the Gospel, most commentators do not include our gospel passage with the bulk of Chapter 4. Rather, our gospel passage is included with the content of Chapter 5. In 4:35-5:43 Jesus teaches with miracles that demonstrate the extraordinary character of Jesus’ power as he stills a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee (4:35-41); casts out a demonic legion (5:1-20); raises Jairus’ daughter and heals a woman sick for 12 years (5:21-43 – our gospel text for next week). These miracles show that Jesus has power over the realms of nature, the demonic, and death. Continue reading →

Withholding Forgiveness

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During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus references Exodus 21 in which Moses is explaining the Torah to the people. It is a description of and an attempt to regulate fair punishment for violence so that the punishment did not exceed the injury. The instruction was aimed not at excusing brutality, but at controlling vendetta. Here is a portion of the passage: Continue reading →

A Next Step

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This coming Sunday is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lectionary Cycle B.  From the beginning of Mark, chapter 4, we have seen Jesus teaching via some very memorable parables about the Kingdom of God:

  • Parable of the Sower (vv.1-9)
  • Purpose of the Parables (vv.10-20)
  • Parable of the Lamp (vv.21-25)
  • Parable of the Seed that Grows Itself (vv.26-29)
  • Parable of the Mustard Seed (vv.30-34)

Continue reading →

Two Powers and a Kingdom

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In today’s readings, the first reading from Ezekiel and the gospel from Mark, we have “winged creatures” or “birds of the sky” are able to rest and find shade in an unexpected place. The readings are at least thematically connected. Jesus’s focus in the Gospel is clear as he asks: “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God” – the kingdom being a topic Jesus has proclaimed since the beginning of the gospel: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). But what is Ezekiel talking about? Continue reading →