LUKE: 10:38-42 is an interesting, troubling passage for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it is a story of hospitality, and the apparent breaking of the laws of hospitality – something not done in those days without serious consequences. In fact, that epic The Odyssey is all about good and bad …
Independence Day
July 4 is a day called Independence Day. Some municipalities are calling it a “summer celebration” because they don’t want to use the word Independence. That is a puzzle to me. The day is marked to commemorate the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. It was a great day, and …
Another Letter
For I have seen him lying beneath the sun Reading Donne perhaps, Eyes upon the world, Laughing in a moment of a too long too narrow view; Speaking of a shelter in the coolness of your voice. Here, away from instinctive days of waging the “Civil War in the Cave” He came upon a tender …
Knowing
He saw the remains of a broken diety and hated. He, the Ethos, (Or so he believed often enough) Began to run, to sweat in the heat Of fashioning something different. In the strength of his hands he sang; Jealously, the painful passion , How others could go on… The violence found, the full …
A Bird of Prey
Sad and disheartened, taking notes On the approaching secret darkness. The owl watches. Retaining a gravely impressive manner Singular in wisdom and isolation, He excites admiration. His loss of spirit, his loss of hope Occurs in the night, Active only in the concealment of the gloom-dreary Remoteness of himself. Dejected from being alone, Wise because …
The Attic
In the attic along with the dirt and darkness Are the bones of children. Skeletons. A thousand individual sets Hiding from light. At night, while watchers and wishers assume Their death-like states, The  children play with street signs And various stuffed animals. They laugh when one willfully falls apart; They build dreams made of wooden …
Benedict Emeritus or Benedict Arnold?
I didn’t even know Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote a letter. I thought he retired. I called my friend to wish him a Happy Easter and he wanted to talk about two things: the letter of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and the Mueller Report. I told him, “What letter?” and he sent me this link. …
DIALOGUE WITH THE POPE
In the Encyclical Letter “LAUDATO SI’” on “Care for our Common Home,” Holy Father Francis invites us to enter into a dialogue early on in this 40,597-word document — “In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home.” (p. 3[1]). In fact, “dialogue” is an important concept …
THE UNJUST STEWARD WAS A CROOK, JUST LIKE HIS BOSS
So I have always had a problem with the Luke 16 1:13 about the UNJUST steward. First, those debts were the debts to his boss – not his. I understand the concept of “steward,” but he also had his master’s business as his core responsibility; he was doing that forgiving of debt to make sure …
Disobedience, Repentance and Forgiveness. An Interpretation of the Book of Jonah
The Book of Jonah is remarkable in many ways, one of which how short it is (just over 1300 words). Some may in fact argue that there are missing chapters. It is essentially a story of disobedience, repentance, and forgiveness. Jonah disobeys God and becomes the root cause for a subsequent storm at sea. God …