The escaping Hebrew slaves trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing Egyptian army was vividly portrayed by Cecil B. DeMille in The Ten Commandments. Who can forget Edward G. Robinson giving Charleton Heston a hard time! What is striking about the scene in the Bible is the astonishment of God at the lack of faith… Read More »

There’s a scene in the play/movie Jesus Christ, Superstar, where the disciples including our honoree for today, James, are hanging around while they sing: “Always hoped that I’d be an apostle./ Knew that I would make it if I tried./ Then when we retire, we can write the Gospels,/ So they’ll still talk about us… Read More »

Mary Magdalene is known as the “apostle to the apostles.” She was the witness to the Risen Jesus who announced to the Eleven the good news of the Resurrection. For this reason, Pope Francis elevated her saint day from a memorial (the usual designation for a saint) to a feast day like the rest of… Read More »

If you find yourself criticized realize you are in good company — they even criticized Jesus who was the Son of God! We should not let any criticism convince us that we are beloved children of God. What about when we are the criticizers? We all make critical judgments. One helpful guideline is given by… Read More »

During the encounter at the burning bush Moses learns the sacred name. “I am who am,” (YHWH) says the Lord. This name is treated as so sacred by subsequent generations that no pious Jew would ever pronounce it. The power of this revelation perhaps obscures a second pronouncement from God. “The LORD, the God of… Read More »

Moses is told to take off his shoes because he is walking on holy ground. Each of us has a place which became holy ground for us — the place where we connected with God. It might be some shrine or a mountain top or a forest glade. Each person meets God in their own… Read More »

When you introduce a hero it is customary to provide an “origin story.” Where did Superman get his powers? Why is Batman so dogged in his pursuit of criminals? Who is Wonder Woman? In the Book of Exodus we hear the origin story of one of the great heroes of the Bible, Moses. As so… Read More »

“A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” The tragedy of the children of Israel in Egypt occurs because the “new king” (pharaoh) did not know his own story. He forgot the past and thus ruined his present. This is an all too common trait. For Christians, who tell the… Read More »

In the age of cell phones and downloads, of Dr. Dre and Dr. Phil, of CIA, FBI, OMG and LOL are school children too sophisticated to enjoy the story of Johnny Appleseed? He was born John Chapman and for almost fifty years he went around planting apple trees, hence the nickname. His husbandry took him… Read More »

There is a scene in one of my favorite books, Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger where Zooey accuses his sister of a little apostasy. She objects to the saying of Jesus, “You are worth more than many sparrows.” All of creation is sacred from her perspective so why should human beings be worth more that bunnies,… Read More »