“Let us kill the master dreamer and see what becomes of his dreams.” This threat issued by Joseph’s brothers in the book of Genesis was used during the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Apparently the hope of the killers is that by killing the dreamer, you kill the dream. That was not the… Read More »

I find the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus chilling. The way Jesus tells the parable the Rich Man was not a bad person. He at least cared for his brothers. But he ended up in hell because he ignored Lazarus at his door. He just took it for granted that he would be… Read More »

When the people of Judah and Jerusalem were thinking about what they wanted from their religion they listed “instruction from the priests, counsel from the wise, messages from the prophets.” They didn’t feel Jeremiah provided those things so they would be free to get rid of him. The problem with this understanding is that it… Read More »

Isaiah begins his book by invoking Sodom and Gomorrah, the proverbial sin cities of the Old Testament. Their sins were like scarlet, they were crimson red. But when the prophet lists the sins they are not the ones that we expect. There is not even one mention of sexual transgressions. Instead Isaiah says, “Wash yourselves… Read More »

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.” Or as we might say nowadays, cut me some slack. It is impossible for us to know what another is going through, why they did what they did. We cannot judge their hearts. We can. however, judge their actions. We can say that this, that or the… Read More »

In the Bible, the phrase, “do not fear” appears 57 times and “do not be afraid” 46 times. I guess the Bible knows that we live in a scary world. We’re afraid about the world our children and grandchildren will grow up in. We’re afraid about what the doctor is going to tell us. We’re… Read More »

If you are from a large family at some point you probably accused your mother of having a favorite. “But I love all my children,” she no doubt responded. True, but since each child is different a mother must love each child in the unique way they need. Which helps us understand that the Jewish… Read More »

“The Lord’s way is not fair.” Every child has issued a similar complaint against their parents. What the prophet Ezekiel, and eventually Jesus, want us to understand is that God’s ways transcend our limited understanding of fairness. Take, for example, the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says we need “surpassing” holiness. One implication of… Read More »

“For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Jesus states positively that God always hears us when we call. But remember Gethsemane. Jesus asked “that this cup be taken from me.” The Letter to the Hebrews states in commenting on this… Read More »

Jesus said, “This generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” The story of Jonah is a story of repentance, of conversion, of a change of life. That sign people of the twenty-first century need to see as well. How important to remember that the Church itself… Read More »