“Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God.” Actually that is not what Jonah said. He was fleeing the Lord out of fear. The prophet, like all of us, was… Read More »

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.” The story of Martha and Mary can be viewed as relating to giftedness. Every individual has their own individual way of serving God in the world. The problem comes when we imagine that… Read More »

The Book of Jonah, while considered one of the prophetic books, is actually a novella or short story. There are no oracles or pronouncements as in the other prophetic books. Even Jonah’s message is part of the narrative plot. While it is set in the 8th century BC the book was probably written five hundred… Read More »

On a recent beach vacation my great-nephews, ages one and three, accompanied the family. Watching them for the week provided some insight into the saying of Jesus: “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” I can think of three ways that we… Read More »

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” These words of Jesus which speak of “their angels” is chosen for today’s feast of the Guardian Angels. The belief that guardian angels serve to… Read More »

The Book of Baruch is named after the scribe of the Prophet Jeremiah. However, since there is not a Hebrew version of the book, Martin Luther excluded it from what has become the Protestant Bible. (The way certain passages are written suggests they were translated from Hebrew but no text has been found.) Baruch addresses… Read More »

The return of the Jewish people from exile required a re-dedication to their identity as the Chosen People.  Having lived without the traditional practice of temple worship for two generations they needed to find a new way of expressing their devotion to God. It would be adhering to the Law of Moses.  Ezra read plainly… Read More »

Today is the feast of the Archangels. The Bible provides the name of three: Gabriel means God is my strength. Michael translates as “who is like God?” Raphael equals God heals. Theologians describe angels as having a function, not a nature. In other words, the work of angels is simply an extension of the work… Read More »

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. St. Luke’s Gospel turns on this scene. The idiom in Greek for “resolutely determined” is “set his face.” No more distractions, no veering left or right, all ahead full. The public ministry in Galilee of preaching and… Read More »

Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem. The prophet Ezekiel during the exile had a vision of God seated on a chariot with flaming wheels leaving the temple and going toward the east. The prophet wanted the people to know that God was mobile and agile, that… Read More »