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God Ahead
Throughout Advent we hear “Prepare the way.” So we get busy filling in valleys, making mountains low, smoothing the rough ways. All the earth is getting ready, actually evolving to become Love, the metaphor of Christ. The Spirit who breathed upon the waters in Genesis continues to breathe over the earth. Through the Spirit Christ…
Read MoreAs Jesus Cured the Blind, So Will the Universe
In today’s lectionary readings Jesus cured two blind men because of their faith, and the prophet Isaiah claimed that “on that day…the eyes of the blind shall see.” Whatever Jesus did and was will be fulfilled in the Second Coming, when we will all see aright. We are evolving toward the end times when all…
Read MoreOn That Day
Lectionary readings in Advent and Advent hymns often speak of “that day.” “On that day” all good things will happen—peace, prosperity, plentiful food. That’s certainly worth waiting for. And so in Advent we wait, but our waiting cannot be the waiting of Charlie Brown in a pumpkin patch watching for the Great Pumpkin to arrive…
Read More“That All Be Made One” and There’s No Looking Back
The wolf with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the calf with the lion, the cow with the bear—and all led by a child. That’s unity beyond anything we can now imagine. In Advent we long for the coming of the Lord, best expressed in Jesus Christ’s own longing for unity “that all may…
Read MoreEarth to Heaven, Come in, Please!
The Book of Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. What will the new earth be? The new earth will be the Reign of God. There will be something “un-earthy” about it, something quite heavenly. Such a transformation flows from the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. Turning the world into the Reign…
Read MoreEvery Act of Worship
As a liturgist/musician I participate in nearly every act of worship in the parish. This should make me holy, don’t you think? But it doesn’t seem to be working that way. The liturgy can easily wash over me without my participating in the reality. Ron Rolheiser writes: “We participate in Jesus’ sacrifice when we, like…
Read MoreThe World Replete with God
The wind of God, the Holy Spirit, continues to sweep over the face of the earth. After billions of years God’s creativity is as vibrant as ever. God just can’t stop! Day by day our world is becoming more and more “charged with the grandeur of God” (Gerard Manley Hopkins). The grandeur of a mountain…
Read MoreDaily Tedium or Daily Tea?
As a human being, Jesus Christ was as subject to daily tasks as any of us. In the carpenter shop in Nazareth did Jesus wonder about the punishment of Adam and Eve to work, especially the work that is tedious, thankless, mindless and so repetitive that we wonder why we even bother? (“I’ll need to…
Read MoreInfected by God
“Let us be infected by the holiness of God.” Pope Francis said this in a general audience in October 2013. With the Ebola epidemic spiraling out of control, the word “infected” takes on more import. For our spiritual lives, too, the prayerful hope of Pope Francis should also take on more import. Are we infected…
Read MoreAlways Looking for Great People
If schools, stores, churches, and other buildings had a banner stating “Always Looking for Great People,” I’d want to go in! I’d be curious about who was inside, the mission statement, procedures for day-to-day operations, visioning, and goals. What if next Sunday every Christian church displayed such a banner? Would false humility keep you outside?…
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