“The Kingdom of God is among you.” Translating this saying of Jesus is open to interpretation. There is a famous book by Leo Tolstoy entitled The Kingdom of God is within You. In it he argues that a personal conversion to Christ will lead to a peaceful and just world. (This book was a major… Read More »
NOVEMBER132019
The Book of Wisdom is a very late book of the Old Testament, written in Greek, probably in Egypt, somewhere around 100 B.C. (It is not included in the Hebrew scriptures and, hence, the Protestant Bible.) The author writes to encourage the Jewish people who are living in an environment hostile to the values that… Read More »
November 17 2019
November 17 2019
NOVEMBER122019
In a business book, Good to Great Jim Collins gives suggestions on how to make your company great. The first step is to get and keep the right people — and you do so by incentivizing them with high salaries and bonuses. He was challenged by those in the non-profit sector that those incentives don’t… Read More »
NOVEMBER112019
If he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” At first glance this exchange between Jesus and his disciples seems like a non-sequitur. What does an increase in faith have to… Read More »
NOVEMBER102019
If you are susceptible at all to the charms of science fiction I recommend The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. In it, the space traveler, named Genry, comes to a planet where they can actually foretell the future. He is amazed that this ability makes no difference in their lives. He says, “You… Read More »
NOVEMBER92019
The people of St. James have endured the loss of the building where generations have worshiped. That loss led to a discovery — that being church is not defined by a building. It is a community which welcomes, prays, forgives, serves, grows which makes Church. It is true, however, we expect the place where we… Read More »
NOVEMBER82019
“I am convinced … that you are full of goodness … but I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you .. to be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” You can picture the Church at Rome reacting negatively to St. Paul’s letter. He doesn’t know us, they might have said,… Read More »
NOVEMBER72019
When you ask people why they have “left” the church a frequent answer is “I felt judged.” If we are judging others we are not heeding the message of St. Paul. “Why do you judge your brother or sister? … We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Of course the church must… Read More »
NOVEMBER62019
The great African bishop, St. Augustine, once said: Have true love and do what you will. In this he is echoing St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” The Ten Commandments, the six Precepts of the Church, the Code of Canon Law are all (very poor, at… Read More »
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