During the Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew Jesus teaches us what we call today “the Lord’s Prayer.” There is another version of the prayer in St. Luke which is slightly shorter. We can never know the original form but the differences are instructive. For example, in Luke the invocation is simply “Father” whereas… Read More »

One of the main differences between the ancient and the modern world is the attitude toward the past. In the ancient world the past was better than the present. The good old days were the ideal toward which we should aspire. In the modern world the past is, well, past. “That was then, this is… Read More »

Several years (decades!) ago I was helping at a retreat at Auburn University. One of the young men wrote a song as the theme of the retreat, “There are no strangers here, only friends I haven’t met yet.” It was a good song and a good retreat and by the end I think everyone was… Read More »

The Bible emphasizes the evil intentions of Ahab and Jezebel in acquiring the property of Naboth. But what about the people of Jezreel? Without their complicity the scheming of Jezebel would have come to nothing. Naboth’s neighbors, the ones who knew him, His fellow citizens—the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city— did as… Read More »

The fact that we are celebrating the body and blood of Christ, Corpus Christi for all of you old Latins out there, at a time when we are unable to receive the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion seems almost like a meanie joke. To reflect on the importance of the Holy Eucharist… Read More »

The expression in English, to pass on the mantle, is used when there is a transition in leadership from the mentor to the apprentice. The idiom refers back to a Bible story. Elijah had been a prophet faithful to the God of Israel and he needed a successor. He found him in the person of… Read More »

We tend to think of God as being present in the extraordinary, the unusual, the dramatic — heavenly visions, miraculous healings, a dancing sun. When Elijah went looking for God he did not find him in the earthquake, the hurricane or the volcano. Instead God was present when “there was a tiny whispering sound.” We … Read More »

The Bible says that Barnabas was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. We also read in the Acts of the Apostles the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul.” Yet despite this divine commission we read a little farther on that Paul and Barnabas couldn’t get along, had a falling… Read More »

Jesus tells us his plan of action: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” When you look at Sermon on the Mount as a whole you can see what the law fulfilled would look like. Instead of thinking in terms… Read More »

Elijah is a major figures in Judaism. To this day, a place is set for Elijah at the Passover table. The Bible recognizes him as one who was zealous for God. His very name Eli-jah translates as “My God is Yahweh.” His complete dedication to God gets him in trouble with the king so he… Read More »