Humility is not saying, “I’m wretched, I’m no good, I can’t do it, I’m pretty useless.” Look at the epistle reading for today. The author writes: “you have not drawn near to an untouchable mountain and gloomy darkness.” If we truly were no good that would be how God would deal with us — we’d… Read More »

“On the subject of fraternal charity you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” But he did write! St. Paul can’t resist giving advice. But this advice did not come because he was a first century version of Dear Abby. As the… Read More »

When I was in the seminary there were earnest messages posted on the walls meant to encourage us. One was a quote from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians: “This is the will of God, your holiness.” I wondered how to get that holiness: more prayers? more time in church? more fasting? more charity?… Read More »

In the Oscar Wilde play, Salome, John the Baptist is portrayed as feeling like a failure. His efforts to get people to repent seem to have fallen on deaf ears. In addition, he is not sure what to make of Jesus. The gospels portray him as asking “are you the one who is to come… Read More »

“Woe to you, scribes and pharisees…” The gospels are clear that Jesus fussed at the pharisees. He didn’t fuss with the sinners but instead welcomed them. He didn’t fuss with the Sadducees, another of the movements in first century Judaism, even though they were aloof from the people and collaborated with the Romans. The pharisees… Read More »

When St. Paul entered Europe his missionary method adapted to the culture of Greece. “We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.” Instead of merely preaching and teaching the Apostle entered into a relationship with the people of Thessalonica and shared his life with… Read More »

For the past few months the Bible readings have been taken from the first eight books of the Old Testament, the story of Israel’s beginnings. For the next few months the readings will be taken from the epistles of St. Paul which document the beginnings of the Christian Church. The first epistle to the Thessalonians… Read More »

Ellen Noble and I used to swap poems. One of my favorite poets to share with her was Rainer Maria Rilke. In response to a letter from a young person who seem full of doubt and confusion Rilke wrote this: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the… Read More »

The apostle Bartholomew has a feast day today yet the gospel text is about Nathaniel. What is going on? The companion of Philip in Matthew, Mark and Luke is named Bartholomew; in the Gospel of John, Nathaniel. Are they the same person? The short answer is: we don’t know. That tells us something about being… Read More »

This summer the scripture readings have been selected book by book from the Old Testament. Today we reach the eighth book, Ruth. Ruth is a small, domestic soap opera, significant because it speaks of an ancestor of King David. We learn from the story that Ruth, David’s great-grandmother, was a foreigner, an immigrant, a non-Jew,… Read More »