It seems that Hurricane Hermine is going to be a cross for more than just the Florida Big Bend area. The jet stream and a high pressure ridge are conspiring to make Hermine sit off the east coast of the Middle Atlantic states and bring record rains. We should especially pray for the areas affected.
It will be their cross to bear. Sadly, in an all too familiar way to the folks in Baton Rouge. Friends of mine saw the waters of Amite River rise into their home. They could see the “cross” coming, suffer its immediacy, but also see beyond it to when the waters receded and life will return to normal.
Mother Teresa will become a Saint today. She was one for whom Jesus pointed out the cross and asked her to bear it. If you have read her diary, you know that what kept St. Teresa going was her ability to see beyond the life in the slums of Kolkata to the promises of Christ. Maybe its that kind of vision that makes for a saint.
No all of us can see beyond our cross.
In 1982 Thomas Webb III moved from Chicago to Norman, Oklahoma. As best he could see, it seemed like a reasonable move. There wasn’t a lot happening for him in Chicago and a friend said there was opportunity and fun in and around the University of Oklahoma campus. Why not? In 1983 he was convicted of rape, burglary, and other crimes and sentenced to 60 years in prison. He always maintained his innocence but he had been picked out of lineup on two separate occasions. The victim was unshakeable in her identification.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” It is one thing to carry a cross that is your own, but this cross thrust upon him unjustly. It the cross of someone else’s making. Why would he carry it, have to carry it, or even willingly carry it? Continue reading
Jesus was a master of the story form known as parables. One of the most memorable parables can be found in Luke: the story of Lazarus and the Rich man (Luke 16:19-31). The parable starts simply enough: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores.” Very quickly in the parable the two men die. The unnamed rich man goes to a fiery afterlife of torment while Lazarus rests in the arms of Abraham, awaiting the day when Jesus will open the gates of Heaven for the faithful. 
Habits of the Soul. Discipleship is thus an all-consuming vocation. It must be accepted with mature deliberation. Discipleship is not periodic volunteer work on one’s own terms and at one’s convenience. Yet what are the marks of discipleship? 
The Olympics are over…. alas. I have to tell you, I watched every moment of the Rio Swimming that I could. US Swimming, not expected to be all that strong, was amazing – record numbers of gold and total medals. There were a few races that had me on the edge of my seat. It was so much fun. That being said, I can totally beat Michael Phelps.* 
The priest I lived with in Kenya was away for a much-needed break. He assured me it would be a quiet week. Which is of course a guarantee that something will happen. Perhaps not monumental in the way of things, but yes indeed is was a memorable week. It was the week the Kenyan Security Forces came looking for the leaders of the Rwandan refugee community – of which my name was on the list. We were all in a meeting when they showed up. We all slipped out the windows in the back of the church. All very dramatic, but in truth I don’t think they tried that hard to catch us. Still, kind of memorable to be on a top ten list if even for an hour. But that wasn’t the most memorable. 
friarmusings 