The Book of Wisdom talks about finding God. The first place to look is in nature. When you see something beautiful you want to know who made it. So with creation, the beauty of creation causes us to look for the creator, to find God. Another avenue for finding God according to the author of… Read More »
NOVEMBER152019
There is a show entitled “How the Universe Works.” It explains big issues about the cosmos. One topic that comes up frequently is the Big Bang, the current best explanation about the origins of the universe. Scientists explain what they can about the Big Bang but they don’t seem curious about why the Big Bang… Read More »
NOVEMBER142019
“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 »
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 »
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